Getting into these childrens hands. How will washington respond . Here it comes. Much of the east coast bracing for a nasty winter storm this weekend, from snow to ice to freezing rain, al has the forecast. All that, plus tough going for team usa. Mikaela shiffrin just missing out on another medal. 0. 08 between fourth and a bronze medal. Thats definitely it stinks. A crushing night for nathan chen, while another american dazzles. Adam is the prince of the olympics. And shes back. Lindsey vonn set for her first race tonight. Well talk to her about her return to the olympic stage, eight years in the making. Today, friday, february 16th, 2018. From nbc news, this is today, with Savannah Guthrie and hoda kotb, live in pyeongchang, south korea. And good morning, everybody. Welcome to today, on a friday morning. Were glad to have you with us. We are. We have a lot to get to this morning from here in pyeongchang. We want to begin with the latest on that Tragic School shooting in florida. Thousands attended a candlelight vigil for the victims. This morning, we are learning more about the 19yearold believed to be behind the shooting after police say he confessed. We have in depth coverage for you. And well start with nbcs gabe gutierrez. Gabe, good morning to you. Reporter savannah, good morning. The 19yearold nikolas cruz confessed to police that he was the gunman who shot up Marjory StonemanDouglas High School here, killing 17 people. And now, questions are swirling about whether warning signs are missed. Were hearing about the details about the timeline and one student came facetoface with cruz just moments before the massacre. The gunfire lasted less than ten minutes. But this morning, new details are emerging about how the rampage unfolded. One student says he encountered the shooter loading up his weapon before the attack began. He said, things are going to get messy. Reporter he says, nikolas cruz was loaded with a bulletproof vest, and an ar15. At 2 06 p. M. , an uber car picked him up, dropping him off at the school at 2 19. At 2 21. The suspect enters the east stairwell of the building. And then, begins shooting at several classrooms before heading to the second and third floors. At first, david hawke thought it was a drill, similar to one earlier in the day. We walk outside to our ev evacuation zone. And on the way there, theres a flood of people coming in the opposite direction. And they say go back. Hes coming this way. Reporter trapped with dozens of his terrified classmates, he took this cell phone video of this time when they didnt know where the gunman was. At 2 27, the gunman drops the rifle and backpack where he blends in. At 2 50, he gets to walmart and gets a drink. At 3 01, he is in mcdonalds. 20 minutes later, they arrest him without incident. We try to identify his motives. Reporter this video, obtained by cnn and not verified by nbc, reportedly shows cruz in october, firing a weapon in his backyard in broad daylight. This morning, nikolas cruz is being held out bail, charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. As he faced the judge, he said just two words. Yes, maam. His attorney offering this defense. Hes sad. Hes mournful. Hes remorseful. He is fully aware of what is going on. And hes just a broken human being. Reporter but were warning signs missed . Back in september, ben bennight found this on his facebook page. Im going to be a professional school shooter. The fbi agents said they tried to track down the person who posted the comment but hit a brick wall. Cruz had no criminal history. But he had a troubled past. His mother died in november. Hes being held without bail in an isolated cell on suicide watch. Hoda and savannah . Gabe, thank you. Now, back to that moving scene we showed you at the top of the show. Thousands of people turn sining for a vigil to remember the victims and to mourn the potential that was lost. This as survivors try to cope with their overwhelming grief. Nbcs Kerry Sanders has more on all this. Hey, kerry. Reporter good morning. Overnight, two victims were released from the hospital. That leaves, now here at the hospital, one in Critical Condition, six others in stable condition. But this morning, there are so many more victims who are recovering at home. Not injured physically, but rather, emotionally wounded. This morning, inconsolable anguish for 17 devastated families. Those lives should not be lost in vain. Reporter and heartbreak for an entire community, who will never get to hug, kiss or laugh with their friends and classmates again. Haley betancourt lost eight friends. I was really close with them, too. Its horrible. Why . Reporter among the dead, 15yearold luke hoyer, who loved basketball. 15yearold peter wang, last seen holding a door so others could escape. Football coach, aaron feis, protecting his students from bullets by using himself as a human shield. He is a hero. He will be remembered as a hero. Reporter 17yearold Joaquin Oliver became an american citizen just last year. He wasnt afraid to go against the grain, which in high school, is not very common. Reporter psychologists say survivors are victims, too. 15yearold Isabella Gomez texted her older brother goodbye. I love you, if anything happens to me. He said, what, i love you, noodle. Whats going on. Reporter you werent sure you were getting out. I thought i was done. So much screaming. I can hear it all over again. Shots right by me. Reporter grief counsellors say posttraumatic triggers may creep up in unexpected moments. My friend was doing her makeup in her makeup room. And she was slamming the doors and it freaked me out and it reminded me of the shots. Reporter some survivors say just talking about it helps. I was hearing bullets like, boom, boom, boom. Stop for a second. Boom, boom, boom. And he was screaming, open the door. Open the door. I was leaning against the wall and he was shooting at the wall. He shot higher. I was on the floor. I felt it sizzling. You could hear a firecracker. In the grief, emotions erupting, as in this interview on cnn. I just spent the last two hours putting the bureauial arrangements for my daughters funeral who is 14. President trump, you say what can you do . You can stop the guns from getting into these childrens hands. Reporter and for thosebulle early to think about what is next. School must resume. Can you go back . I dont want to go back there. I have friends that are dead there, that died there. Reporter for the moment, students are being urged to seek counseling. And parents are being told to look for signs of their children withdrawing and to recognize that they may have some emotional delayed reactions, much like soldiers returning from war exhibit ptsd. Hoda . Savannah . All right, Kerry Sanders. Kerry, thank you. In the meantime, the president is planning to travel to parkland to meet with families and first responders. The shooting and what the president did and did not say during his address to the nation, has revived the debate of guns in this country. Peter alexander is at the white house for us with that part of the story. Hi, peter. Good morning. Reporter good morning to you. The shooting happened not far away from the president s maralago estate, where he was headed for the weekend. He will leave later today. President trump has not endorsed any new policy ideas, even after three of the deadliest shootings in modern American History all occurring in the last five months of his presidency. We are here for you. Reporter cast again as comforter in chief. Your suffering is our burden also. Reporter President Trump at times t s targeting his message. I want to speak to americas children. Reporter some say missing the mark. The president in a sevenminute speech, never mentioning the word gun or semiautomatic rifles, like the ar15 used to kill 17 in that school in florida. Calling the lone suspect mentally disturbed. Calling out neighbors and classmates for not reporting his erratic behavior. Were committed with working with state and local leaders to help secure our schools and tackle the difficult issue of mental health. Reporter after last year revoking obamaera regulations to make it harder for some with Mental Illness to buy guns and failing to followup on any changes to federal gun laws in the five months since the las vegas massacre. Now, democrats insist its time to take actions. Can you tell us when the house may muster the courage to take up the issue of gun violence . [ applause ] the gentleman is not stating a proper parliamentary inquiry. Reporter adding renewed pressure. If you are not working today, to try to fix this, to try to stop the shootings, youre an accomplice. Reporter some Republican Leaders say its too soon. This is not the time to jump to conclusions. Reporter one senator from florida isnt ready to rule new restrictions out. None of the laws that have been presented here in the past would have prevented any of the attacks, including the one yesterday. That doesnt mean there isnt anything to do. Reporter meanwhile, steve bannon meeting over multiple days with robert mueller, two sources tell nbc news, after unloading on his old boss in a tellall book. Also this morning, the new yorker is alleging details about an alleged affair between donald trump and a former playmate of the year. Mcdougle documented their relationship in an eightpage note shared with the magazine. The article says the National Enquirer paid 150,000 to kill the story. The alleged affair and payment was reported by the wall street journal, immediately before the 2016 election. The white house hasnt responded to our request for a comment. But a spokesperson said he told the new yorker the president never had a relationship with mcdougal. It is just an old story that is more fake news. Peter alexander, thank you. Much of the east coast is bracing for a powerful winter storm. Were talking about snow and ice and freezing rain. That could have a big impact on travel. That means its time to hear from mr. Roker. Thats right. Were seeing a lot of heavy rain throughout parts of the northeast and the Allegheny River valley. Were looking at storm watches from eastern pennsylvania into new england. 30 Million People at risk. The snow will start saturday evening and go to into sunday evening. We have the front that pushes through today. Tomorrow morning, another low pressure system moves across the south. Heavy rain risk with possible flooding. It becomes snow in the northeast. Were looking for snowfall heavy in the mountains of west virginia. And heavy snow, from long island, coastal connecticut, parts of rhode island, into new england. As you get further to the west, the snowfall amounts drop down a bit. Again, guys, the path of this storm hasnt started quite yet. But if it moves further away, it means more snow closer to the coast. All right, al. Thank you. Plenty of action to talk about. From the skating rink to the ski slopes. And craig melvin has it all covered this morning. Reporter good morning to see you. Its been a rough day for top athletes, including Mikaela Shiffrin to a difficult night on the ice for nathan chen. Slips, slides and stumbles for nathan chen. Chen stumbled through his routine in the short skate. The utah native was expected to be in the hunt for gold. After falling twice in his program, hes considered a long shot to medal. After a Short Program like that, hes going to have to fight hard in the long program. It was really rough. Nothing really went the way i wanted it to. But it is what it is. Just move on from here. Reporter adam is the prince of the olympics. He is giving it to us. Reporter a much better night for adam rippon, the consummate showman, galvanizing the crowd, with a dazzling display of jumps, fist bumps and passion. Hes not letting any of the jumps go. Reporter his emotional performance, landing him in seventh place, and making him one of the breakout stars of these winter games. I feel like im coming into my own. Im confident in who i am and what im doing. Im having a great time. Reporter from the ice to the mountain, another heartbreaking loss. Unexpectedly, Mikaela Shiffrin settles for fourth. Reporter one day after grabbing gold in the giant slalom, a setback for Mikaela Shiffrin. The 22yearold in fourth place in the slalom after her first run. More than a halfsecond back. Reporter in her final run, schifrin, narrowly missing the podium in her signature event, a race she won in sochi. After yesterday, such an emotional high. And, yeah. I mean, it happens. I think my second run was better. But i was not aggressive enough in the first run to be worthy of a medal. Reporter from that upset in the slalom, to another heartbreaking blow for Lindsay Jacob ellis. Lindsey jacobellis, the fourth time is not the charm. Reporter one of the best snowboard athletes ever. Racing for redemption in snowboard cross, after not winning an olympic medal since she took the silver in the 2004 torino games. Jacobellis is looking to make a move for the lead. Reporter jacobellis, in second place after a semifinal run. Big air. Reporter ultimately leaving another winter games after a medal, after a wild photo finish left her a fraction of a second off the medal stand. Unbelievable race. Jacobellis almost had that bronze. Reporter despite her defeat, jacobellis staying positive. Its great to make it that far and still be scrapping with these girls and progressing the sport. Reporter another storyline here that weve been following, we told you before the games, a number of security guards came down with norovirus. Now, members of the Swiss Ski Team have it, as well, including this guy, the guy that became a viral sensation for pulling the escalator stunt earlier this week. Heres a look at the medal count. The latest, norway extending its lead, while the United States remains fifth overall. And what should you look for tonight . Lindsey vonn making that pyeongchang debut in the superg. Figure skating wraps up with the mens free skate. And mens and womens curling matchups, the men taking on denmark and the women facing the team from russia. Savannah, hoda, back to you. Craig, a lot going on in this. A lot of heartbreak for the americans. What have you got in the weather . A quick look at whats going on around the rest of the country. Cold in the northeast. Record highs in the midatlantic states. Some snow moves into the pacific northwest. Were going to get [ upbeat, energetic music ] lets go. Bye, mom. Thanks for breakfast, mom. You look fantastic today, honey. With Quality Ingredients like roasted hazelnuts and cocoa, nutella is sure to bring a smile to breakfast time. Nutella, spread the happy. Good morning. Im meteorologist bill henley. Grab your umbrella. A rainy morning and its going to pea a rainy afternoon, too. But what you wont see today is any cold air. The temperatures stay in the 50s all day long. 57 degrees for philadelphia. The suburbs up to 54, and a stea steady rain in new jersey with a high of 57 degrees. Youll see the rain and late this afternoon, 54 degrees. And a steady rain right on through the day with a high of 57 in delaware. Have a great day. Latest weather. Savannah . All right, al, thank you. Straight ahead, more on the mens figure skating competition. Despite a rough start, could one of the Americans Still find himself on the podium later tonight. 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