Jet. Deadline day arrives for amazons Second Headquarters sweepstakes. Remember me for centuries 21, the count. And staying alive. The cubs top the dodgers to stave off elimination. Hammered into left. Watch it fly. The yankees make it three in a row over the astros, putting new york on the brink of the world series today, thursday, october 19th, 2017. Remember me for centuries announcer from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to today. Nice to have you with us on a thursday morning. Matt, yankees, on the brink of the world series. I dont think we should say that about the dodgers and the yankees. Youre on the brink of the world series when you win the fourth game. I dont want to jinx anything here, but it was a great game last night. Fun to be at. Meanwhile, we had a big event in our studio this morning. The former cia director, john brennan, is with us. Well have a live, exclusive interview with him in a couple minutes. The president facing new str scrutiny over his condolence calls to families of Fallen Service members. Kristen welker has the latest. Good morning. Reporter good morning to you. This morning the demands for answerings are growing as the pentagon investigates how a lowrisk mission in niger turned into a deadly ambush by fighters affiliated by isis. John mccain is adding pressure, saying the administration isnt being forthcoming about the attack. President trump facing difficult questions about that and about his outreach to gold star families. This morning, President Trump will try to move past his latest controversy involving the families of fallen u. S. Service members. Overnight, former cia director, john brennan, weighing in on President Trumps suggestion he has done more outreach to those gold star families than his predecessors. Brennan has served under former president s clinton, bush and obama. All of them acted so president ial in those cases. Unfortunately, i think theres been too much in the in this year about comparisons, about doing things better. Reporter this after a bitter back and forth escalated wednesday, after democratic congresswoman frederica wilson, accused the president of making insensitive remarks to the widow of Army Sergeant johnson, one of four american soldiers killed in niger. President trump denying the charge. Had a very nice conversation with the woman, with the wife, who sounded like a lovely woman. Did not say what the congresswoman said. Reporter but the congresswoman who overheard the call on speakerphone not backing down. He said, well, i guess you knew something to the fact that he knew what he was getting into when he signed up. But i guess it hurts anyway. Reporter the aunt who raised johnson insisting the congresswomans account is accurate, telling the Washington Post, mr. Trump did disrespect him. But the president blasted wilsons story on twitter as totally fabricating, adding, i have proof. That proof, not a recording, but according to press secretary Sarah Huckabee sanders. There were several people in the room that were on the call, including chief of staff john kelly. Reporter President Trump said hes called virtually all families with lost soldiers, murphy, who was killed in may in syria, say they havent heard anything from the president. If that letter or that phone call could bring my son back, i would run from here on foot to washington, d. C. To get that letter. Reporter chris baldridge, whose son was killed in afghanistan, said President Trump called in july to offer condolences and even offered to send him a personal check for 25,000. Baldridge tells nbc he has not received the money yet. This morning, the white house confirms President Trump recently sent the check and that the delay was caused by approval process. Officials here adding it was a generous gesture made privately by the president who has personally followed up to ensure the check was being sent. Savannah . Matt . Kristen welker at the white house, thank you so much. John brennan served as director of the cia under president obama. He joins us exclusively now. Director brennan, nice to have you here. Thank you very much. Good morning. The reason this subject of condolence calls is coming up is because we lost four American Service members in niger. Senator mccain wants more information about what exactly happened. Is there anything as the circumstances as theyre known publicly right now, where the soldiers were operating, the conditions under which they were operating, the fact that one apparently was left behind . Is there anything that raises questions in your mind . Well, the United States military has been involved in providing assistance to a lot of military forces, particularly where terrorist groups reside. There are questions about why they were so far forward with the niger military. Because going into those places, it really makes it difficult to help the group if they are ambushed. It seems they were ambushed by a larger group. So i know secretary mattis and others are going to be looking into the details of this, how the approval process, you know, were made, but there are questions about what was going on here. Let me ask you about north korea. Over the summer, the president said he would unleash fire and fury on north korea. At the u. N. , he said, if were forced to defend ourselves or allies, hell have no choice but the totally destroy north korea. He said his secretary of state mr. Tillerson should stop wasting his time in negotiating. Based on what you know about that situation, do you think this is the president being that tough negotiator that he promised his supporters he would be, or is this a president who doesnt understand the gravity and the seriousness of that issue . I think it is both. I think hes trying to demonstrate that he is tough, and he is trying to intimidate opponents. At the same time, he is not experienced at all in International Brick stone ship and on these issues. His comments have been provocative, and its increased tensions, not deescalated them. I hope tillerson can address the issues behind the scenes. Interesting because you said at a Forum Last Night you thought the chances of some military conflict with north korea had risen to 1 in 4 or 1 in 5. 20 or 25 chance it can happen. Is that because of north koreas actions, because of the u. S. s actions and rhetoric or both . I think it is a combination of the two. I think the caustic and bellicose comments coming out of washington, and mr. Trump on his tweets, really has led to an escalation in tensions. Im concerned there could be a clash between south korea and north korea forces that can escalate. I feel weird asking you this, but youve read the same stories ive read. You know the key players around the president in mattis, mcmaster and john kelly. Stories are going around out there that if the president inches closer to some kind of a Nuclear Confrontation with north korea, that those guys are going to do something. Theyre going to lock him in a room. Theyre going to tackle him. Youre smiling. But these are the stories that are out there. And they will prevent him from carrying out any action that would cause that. Is that all nonsense . No. I think the military leaders, current and former, mattis, kelly, also joe dunford, they know the risks of escalation. They know just how dangerous the situation is. I think they are governors on the president s instincts to continue to try to intimidate and bully. Youre technically not answering the question. Would they take some action to prevent the president from carrying out an order . The president has unilateral authority to be able to authorize military action. That order goes through secretary mattis. Secretary mattis can try to talk him out of it, disagree with it, carry it out or not. In july, you said it is the obligation of executive Branch Officials to refuse to carry out some of those orders that are inconsistent with what this country is all about. I was talking about the context of some like the firing of jim comey and the efforts by mr. Trump and others to try to, i think, delay and to put obstacles in the way of some of the investigations that are underway. I think it has to go forward. We are a country of laws. Sometimes i feel that mr. Trump feels that it is trumps laws that trump others. If youd been in your old job and you had been given an order that you thought was dangerous to this country, would you have if i was asked to renew waterboarding, i would have said, no, im notd goi going tot and youll have to fire me. It would have been plain and simple for me. You think mattis, kelly, dunford and mcmaster would be willing to do the same if circumstances warrant it . It all depends on the circumstances. They are patriots, all of them. And they understand the gravity of the situation. They understand the gravity, and i dont believe mr. Trump does. Based on what you know about the situation in iran, if the president rips up that iran nuclear deal, does he risk, in the short term, owning a nuclear iran . Well, he certainly has another issue and another problem. He alienates our partners and allies that were part of that agreement. He runs the risk of escalated tensions in the gulf that could lead to our detriment and potential risk to u. S. Military in the region. Will you stay for the next hour . We have a lot to talk to you about. Sir, thank you. Great to have you. Appreciate it. More to get to, including the suspect in a twostate shooting spree, including a deadly workplace shooting in maryland. Hes behind bars after an hours long manhunt. Tom costello has the latest. Reporter the suspect is here. He will be arraigned later today. The people in delaware, in maryland, surrounding statd ini breathing a sigh of relief. Overnight in maryland, a the scene of the original shooting, a candle light vigil to remember the five people shot, three of whom were killed. Then the suspect fled, leading police on this multistate man hunt, only to be taken down in delaware by federal, state and local authorities. This morning, an accused killer is in custody. 37yearold radee prince captured by atf agents in delaware. Following a manhunt that stretched across multiple state lines along the east coast. Police say prince, described as a career criminal, shot five coworkers with a handgun at this maryland Business Park, killing three and leaving two in critical condition. I have a 40ishyearold male hit on the head. Reporter prince had worked at the company the last four months as a Machine Operator and knew the victims. So far, police dont have a clear motive. After the shooting, prince fled to delaware, where he allegedly shot another person he knew at a used car lot. The victims knew each other. These were targeted shootings, and that was premeditated. Why . He drove straight from maryland. Reporter driving a 2008 black gmc acadia, Police Chased the suspect but lost him. Authorities fanned out across the i95 corridor, creating a dragnet from the nations capitca capital to new jersey, monitoring tollbooth cameras and highway exits. In delaware, police found his car near a local high school. After a foot pursuit, prince was in custody. He has 42 arrests in delaware alone. 15 felony convictions. Two years ago, he was charged with illegal possession of a firearm. Last february, he had a restraining order filed against him from a former employer. But the District Court of maryland denied the request. The father of one employee at the Business Park tells our nbc station in baltimore, prince was a loose cannon. This is a desperate person. Hes already killed three people. Were lucky it came to the conclusion it did. Reporter in a statement, advanced granite solutions, the company where the five people were killed, say, words cannot express our feelings. We mourn for the loss of our friends. I asked the police chief, a guy arrested 42 times, 15 felonies, is on the streets . He said, we as a system have got to do better. Back to you. Thank you so much. Talk about a controversial speech thats generating angry protests, and it doesnt everyone happen until later today. Itll be given at the university of florida by the White Nationalist who helped to organize an august rally in charlottesville, virginia, that sparked deadly violence there. And fearing a repeat, floridas governor declared a preemptive state of emergency. Kerry sanders is in gainesville for us. Kerry, good morning. Reporter good morning. The barricades are up. The police are deployed. And anxiety is growing. On social media, protesters have organized what one calls a show of force, to shout down altright leader Richard Spencer, scheduled to speak her later this afternoon. This morning, theres a state of emergency at the university of florida. More than 500 Police Officers on high alert. The National Guard activated and ready. My mom called me and was like, please dont go outside. Reporter all because today, this man, Richard Spencer, a selfdescribed White Nationalist, is making a controversial speech on campus. Spencer helped organize an altright rally in charlottesville, virginia, which turned violent. One woman was killed when a speeding car crashed into a crowd of counterpprotesters. Are you prepared for violence . We are prepared for anything that could happen here. Do you fear for your safety in florida . Reporter spencer not commenting. Officials a staterun university of florida initially turned down spencers request to speak. When he brought a First Amendment lawsuit, administrators relented. Im urging all of our campus to stay away from the event. It is because supremacists like him, extremists like him, really thrive on attention and confrontation. Reporter spencer is paying more than 10,000 to rent this building and cover security inside, but outside, the budget for Law Enforcement is already well over 500,000. Spencer tweeting this image, referring to himself as hurricane ricardo. Are you prepared for violence . We are prepared to make sure violence does not break out. Protect peoples right to free speech while also keeping them safe. Reporter Richard Spencer has 700 tickets to distribute. He says he will only give those who believe in his extreme beliefs. Of course, theres no way of knowing who goes in with other intentions. Matt . Kerry, thank you very much. Now to a dangerous stunt that has landed the crew of a passenger jet in some hot water. It was all caught on camera. Nbcs Kelly Cobiella has the story behind that image. Kelly, good morning. Reporter good morning, savannah. This is the kind of move you might see in an air show but not as a busy commercial airport, unless something has gone seriously wrong with the landing. Some who were watching thought the plane was headed straight for the terminal. This morning, an air berlin pilot has reportedly been suspended after this risky move caught on camera. An a330 with 200 passengers on board buzzing the airport in do germany, pulling close to the runway and banking sharply left. The stunt was meant to mark air berlins last transatlantic flight. The company filed for bankruptcy in august. The flight left miami on sunday. Arriving in dusseldorf, germany, on monday. The pilot saying, we wanted to make a mark. A dignified and emotional goodbye. The maneuver, a go around procedure, is meant to be for emergencies only, in case of an aborted landing. While the air berlin pilot reportedly got the okay from the tower first, one airport worker said, quote, we did not know before that it would do an honorary lap. In videos online, air Traffic Controllers can be heard saying in german, were in awe, as they watch the fly by. But german aviation authorities were not. This morning, they and air berlin officials are investigating. That plane landed safely right after that maneuver. While we havent heard from any passengers on board the flight, this morning, we did hear from air berlin. Theyve told us theyre taking the incident very seriously. They say safety comes first. They want to question the pilots who are now grounded for the time being and the people in the tower who fav tgave the okay. Matt . Savannah . Wow, kelly. Thank you very much. So many questions. Yeah. Well get a check of the weather from wnbcs dave price, who said that is what happens when oktoberfest comes around. Just saying. Good to see you. Lets walk to the weather maps right now. A dome of High Pressure really helping out. Basically twothirds of the u. S. With above average temperatures. A warm southerly influence and an amplified jet stream. What thats doing is spinning up and locking all the cold air to the north. Look at these temperatures. 73 in new york city. As we work our way up toward bismarck, 75 degrees. 78 in denver. The cool air is locked along with the bad weather in the Pacific Northwest right now. As we take a look and roll into the end of the week, these warm temperatures, 10 to 25 degrees above our normal highs, are going to continue for many of us right through the weekend. Thats a quick look at our thats a quick look at our national maps. For hollywoods neil biggest stars. And at kay, he designs for the star in your life. This ring was inspired by an art deco design that goes back 100 years. At kay, the numberone Jewelry Store for. Yes every kiss begins with kay. Guys, kay jewelers would like to remind you its engagement season. Save 25 off all engagement and wedding rings, october 6th22nd. At kay, the number one Jewelry Store for. Yes wedding bells well, weve got another day with beautiful weather from start to finish. Temperatures rising rapidly during the morning. And by afternoon, were up near the 70 degree mark. Some places in the 70s. Little bit above average for this time of the year and then as we head towards the weekend, i it