Transcripts For WRC Today 20160322

Matt lauer. Were covering this breaking news out of belgium. The Prime Minister said this is a terror attack, a dark moment for his country. What we fear ee eed has happene someone or someones went up to the airport area, detonated one device outside of the building. Someone else, apparently a suicide bomber inside the terminal, packed with morning commuters. People lining up to catch flights to other parts of europe and parts of the world. Near a starbucks, waiting to get coffee. Standing side by side, everyone with a backpack, suitcase or package, when the explosion ripped through the terminal. The devastation is apparent for anyone who can see the images. At least 15 people confirmed killed. This is an area of an airport where you havent gone through security yet. You pull up in a car,et one of our colleagues from msnbc said, he came up from a rail system beneath into the great hall, the departures terminal, when the explosion had gone off. No one had been screened for security. As we speak to counterterrorism officials, like they say, this is a soft target. Little to no security. As we said at busy airport situations, this would be presecurity. Maybe some but not what we recognize when youre boarding a flight. A short time later, another soft target with little security, a metro train underneath the streets of buss el brussels. Youre looking at video of the darkened tunnels where passengers were torres eforced evacuate the train after the bomb went off, maybe their way to safety and the area aboveground. The seat of the European Unions government. It has also become a hot bed for terrorist activity and planning, as we learned after the paris attack. The cell most of the attackers came from the neighborhood in brussels known as molenbeek. We just had the arrest of one of the paris suspects, Salah Abdeslam in the last few days. Hes been interrogated by authorities. Unclear how much cooperation hes given. This morning, the key question is, what and to what extent his arrest, this mans arrest, may have to do with what were seeing this morning in brussels. Other accomplices in that area fear that after he was arrested, as we look at images inside the metro in brussels, did other accomplices fear that after he was arrested, he would divulge information their locations, their identities . Did that force them to carry out these plans before they had intendto beginning with keir simmons. What can you tell us . Matt, good morning. Clearly coordinated and terrifying series of events in the heart of europe. Brussels airport rocked by explosions at around 8 00 a. M. Then the metro hit close to the seat of european government. The city is now in lockdown. Transportation shut down. With images emerging that tell a story of substantial blasts causing extensive damage. You can see here, matt and savannah, passengers from the airport being evacuated. The images you saw earlier of the blast inside the airport and the blast on a subway train speaks to a very, very serious, substantial explosive device being used. The belgium Prime Minister now saying that he believes that at the airport, it was a suicide bomb. At the metro, it was a he is saying what we feared has happened. This morning, the u. S. Embassy is urging u. S. Citizens not to use Public Transportation in brussels. There are troops on the streets of that city. As officials, matt and savannah, scramble to establish whether more attacks are planned. Whether, as you mentioned, this is connected to the arrest of Salah Abdeslam, who was wanted in connection with the paris attacks. It is in a suburb of brussels that many of the paris attackers from last november came from. The question this morning, are these attacks connected to that same network of isis affiliated jihadists . Keir simmons, stay there. Well go back to you as we follow these developments. Lets bring in our chief justice correspondent, Pete Williams, who talked to his sources this morning. Pete, anything new you can add to this . A couple of points. One is were expecting a statement shortly that, white house. Noting that the government is well aware of this. Theyre assessing and trying to decide what to do. Theres been no formal guidance to airports or subway stations or train stations in the United States from the u. S. Government. There have been internal messages from the usual places that keep these operations informed of attacks. These messages have been flowing for the past several hours, to let the operators of airports, train stations, subway stations in the u. S. Know what happened, give the best information they have and urge them to take appropriate precautions. The security of all those facilities is not a federal matter. Its in the hands of local authorities. We only know of one specific plan to do anything in response, and that is not surprisingly in new york. The new York Police Department says it is going to have a very aggressive and visible presence today at subway stations, train stations, bridges and but we have not yet heard of any specific plans by airports in the u. S. To adjust their security measures in response to the attacks in brussels. Whether they will restrict travel, restrict curbside checkin, whether they will restrict cars getting near the airport. We dont have any word of any of that yet. But in the hours to come, those local airports are going to be making those decisions. Coincidentally, the administrator of tsa that is responsible for the Aviation Security was actually in brussels for scheduled meetings with european officials. Hes obviously been in touch with people here about what he knows. But because of the uncertainty of who is responsible for this, the u. S. Authorities are still trying to decide what the best steps are. Were told there will be a white house statement coming shortly, though we dont expect a great deal of substance in it. Pete williams, officials briefed on intelligence tell nbc theyve been expecting these attacks, or some kind of attack in europe after what happened in paris, that theyre struck initially, not as coordinated or sophisticated as what we saw in paris. Yet, we see they were able to inflict a lot of damage. Lets go to tom costello who covers aviation for us. Also very familiar with this airport, with this region. He has family that lived there many, many years. What can you add . A couple things. Delta Airlines Flight 80, atlanta to brussels, is sitting on the ramp, unable to move the people off the plane because it is mass chaos on the ground at the airport. Youve seen all these people being evacuated from the airport tarmac or rather the terminal out on to the ramp. The numbers of people, hundreds, even thousands of people, waiting to figure out where to put them. Its not easy because there are no trains, there are no busses, there are no taxis, there are no subways. Everything in the city is shut down. Additionally, Delta Airlines 42, new york to brussels, has been diverted to amsterdam. Both of the planes, were told, are safe. To give you perspective, Brussels Airport is in zaventem, a small town actually my inlaws live right there. Seven miles from downtown brussels. We can tell you there is Train Service and Subway Service also into that airport. When you talk about the entire subway system also being shut down following the terrorist attack on the subway system, this paralyzes the entire region. I also wanted to make note of the fact the european air Traffic Control headquarters is on the backside of the Brussels Airport. That, according to some video weve seen this morning, has been surrounded by heavily armed Police Tactical units, as well, this morning. About 20,000 people work at that airport alone, and it is not necessarily the biggest in europe but certainly is a critical airport, serving as the europe, but also, of course, as a gateway to the United States and into africa and across europe. There are the subway pictures weve been watching this morning throughout the morning. Tom, stand by there. Well check back in in a moment. Nbc news analyst sean henry, the former executive assistant director of the fbi joins us now. The investigators now, Law Enforcement now in brussels and belgium at large have two major jobs. One, they have to try to prevent anything further from happening. Two, theyve got to begin the investigation as to how this happened. Where do they begin . Both of those things are really kind of locked together. As they continue this investigation, theyre going to be developing intelligence of who might have been involved. Theyre coming on the backside of what happened with abdeslam. The intelligence theyre collecting from that. Absolutely, the top priority will be preventing any further attacks. Again, matt, it really starts with identifyi w cohorts are here, what theyre pulling out of their ongoing investigation. There have been hundreds of searches. There have been dozens of arrests in the weeks preceding this. Theres a lot of intelligence there that investigators will be combing through to try to put the pieces of the puzzle together. When you see the images, sean, especially those images inside the departures terminal at the airport, whats your first thought, your gut reaction . This looks like a catastrophic attack, and it looks like a large payload. Its very unclear what type of device this was. I think about people in an airport. Weve all been there, pulling a large suitcase behind them. That could potentially conceal explosive device thats a lot more substantial than what you might see on a suicide vest, a suicide bomber. Again, unclear how the explosion was concealed, how it was brought in, how it was delivered, what the triggering device was. It certainly appears, just from preliminy that it was larger than what weve typically seen with suicide vests. You hate to put it in these terms, but is this is attack that would be hard or easy for somebody to pull off . You know, when you think about planning that goes into this, theres coordination because youve got multiple sites, multiple events. You have a group of people who have to conceal their communications to try and stay below the radar. There is a sense of sophistication in that. Especially when theres been so many arrests in the preceding weeks, searches, et cetera. Theyre trying to evade police while continuing to plan and execute this type of event. An airport, we talked about the soft targets, there certainly is security at airports before you get to the gates but, again, weve all been in the large, cavernous areas. You get out of a car, taxi or bus, walking in, not a lot of security there. To that extent, not having to pass through traditi checkpoints, theres a lot of vulnerability there, savannah. Sean henry, thank you. Stay by. Well check back with you in a little while. Well turn again to Andrea Mitchell, in havana traveling with president obama this morning. He was expected to give a big speech. Has the president been briefed . The president has been briefed. Susan rice, the National Security adviser, is with him. The National Security staff communicating, of course, back to washington and to all the intelligence officials. The director of national intelligence, james clapper, had recently testified about the high level of threat from isis and other groups. Of course, we dont know who the perpetrators were of this apparent suicide attack, but that would be the most likely suspect. Some felt related to the arrest on friday of abdeslam in belgium. Obviously, theres been a lot of criticism of the officials in officials. They have been trying to step up coordination since what happened in paris in november. As well, john kerry is here, and now the secretary of state did have a planned interview, we are told, with telemundo. He was doing Spanish Language television today. We dont know if that was going to happen. I was supposed to interview susan rice at 9 30 eastern today. We dont know if thatll still take place. Theyre scrambling now to rewrite the president s speech today, to put out a statement and decide whether we see the president before his planned speech on Cuban Television. Unprecedented event as that was to be, that was supposed to be his speech to the cuban people. He was going to broadly address the human rights issue here, which beca such a point of contention, even in that unprecedented joint News Conference between raul castro, the president of cuba, and president obama yesterday. Theres been a lot of firsts here. Some of which may not now take schedule, how they adjust the schedule, hes due to leave here this afternoon and go on to argentina, where they had a very important commemoration of the end of the socalled dirty war. I was told that there might well be declassification of the american cia in that dirty war in the 70s and 80s in argentina. Theres a lot we dont know about the president s schedule, but hes been fully briefed. A lot of moving parts, as you suggest. Andrea mitchell traveling with the president in havana, thank you. More details from keir simmons. What can you tell us . Thats right. Nbc news has confirmed that at the metro station, the blast there in central brussels, 15 people have been killed. As soon as you saw this picture, this image of one of the carriages, you really feared that the extent of the deaths and injuries that might be cause bid somebody like that, and now we dont know how many have been killed at the airport. There, you can see pictures of other passengers fleeing, trying to get away. They know that an explosion has happened. They are evacuating from a carriage down the rail line, which you know is dangerous in itself. It gives you a sense of the panic that was caused. I was mentioning at the airport, we dont yet know how many people were killed there. Reports from there, matt and savannah, suggest that that may be a high toll. Certainly of injured. Again, just looking at the pictures of that airport, the glass blown out, the debris strewn around, its hard to imagine there havent been a serious number of casualties from that. You look back at the images of the metro, of the train there, that explosion apparently happened after that train had left a station. Looks like it happened well, that looks close to a station, but the images we saw a second in a tunnel somewhere, away from the station, and trying to right here make their way aboveground. Of course, the fear wevemorl would rise, apparently that has come to pass. At this hour, we know of 13 dead at the airport scene. Now were getting reports this morning that the numbers are rather high from the metro attack, as well. A brussels transit spokesperson saying 15 dead, as many as 55 injured at that attack at the subway station. Weve been seeing these terrifying images of passengers evacuating in these dark and smokey tunnels. Imagine what life is like for the people of brussels this morning. There is no air transportation in or out. There is no Train Service in or out. Cell phone service is sketchy, to say the least, although they are allowed to text and use social media. Clearly, life has come to a standstill, at least for this morning in brussels, attacks. Well continue to follow the breaking news and check in with our correspondents. We have new images and firsthand accounts of what has transpired there. Well put it into context as we continue our breaking coverage. First, on a tuesday whats in your wallet . Bushs baked beans. Theyre totally eating their vegetables. I know. Its awesome. Booyah. Blow it up. Bushs baked beans. The veggie kids love. Look, i know youre a cow and all. And you may not know what im talking about, but, uh. The yogurt made from your milk, is delicious. Mmmm, yoplait. This is the allnew 20wow, its nice. Lets check it out. Do any of you have kids . I do yes. This car has a feature built in called teen driver technology, which lets parents see how their teens are driving. Oh, thats smart. It even mutes the radio until the seat belt is fastened. laughter cause that could be useful. This is ahead of what my audi has for sure. Wish my beamer had that. I didnt even know that technology existed. 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Sometimes the best deals are pretty plain to see. Back on a Tuesday Morning with this special edition of today on the terror attacks in brussels. We want to go now to Richard Engel, correspondent. Richard, i know youve been working the phones, finding out what you can on this. What can you tell us . It seems there were one senior u. S. Counterterrorism official told me this seems to be a complex and coordinated attack. That this was not the work of a group of amateurs. That this was a sophisticated terrorist attack. That there were two explosions at the airport, terminal b at the airport. One of them inside the checkin terminal. Unclear how many killed, but there are reports of at least 11, maybe 13 or more killed there. Then about an hour after the airport attack, the airport attack happening around 0800 in the morning, so 8 00 a. M. In the morning. The other attack happening at 9 00 a. M. Local time, at the metro station. U. S. Embassy personnel were not, fr also, there is a nato headquarters also not far away. Being told to shelter in place. Very difficult for the people who are living in brussels right now to move around, to communicate. Cell phone has been spotty. It makes people feel, well, panicked, frankly, because they cant communicate as easily as they would, even just to tell friends and family theyre okay. Theyve been told to get inside and stay inside. Let the Law Enforcement do their job. Let them secure the streets. There are, according to people weve been in contact with through text messages, Police Officers had all the major intersections and cross roads leading in and out of brussels, trying to make sure theyre secure. Make sure someone they may be looking for doesnt slip through. It happened after the paris terror attacks. The city of brussels is now western europe on high alert. Many, many areas of transportation have been paused, as well. We want to take a it is now 7 26. We continue to follow the breaking news out of belgium where explosions have rocked the airport, some metro stations in brussels as well. The blast being called acts of terror. Just a few minutes ago we got confirmation at least 15 people have died as a result of the scene on the subway system there in brussels. Good morning, everyone, im aaron gilchrist. Im angie goff. We might be thousands of miles away but whats going on in brussels is having an impact on security here. We want to check in with molette green, she joins us from Dulles International airport. Good morning. Reporter good morning. Weve been talking to airport workers throughout the they tell me they fully expect to see stepped up security in the wake of what has happened. But not seeing any visible evidence of that yet. Also, airport workers told me very early on, the one flight set to depart later today at 6 00 tonight, flight 950, that flight, obviously, canceled. Very early on in the aftermath of this disaster. So that is the latest live from Dulles International airport. Back to you. Thank you so much. Lets go to Melissa Mollet now for a look at the morning commute. Good morning. Right now, looking typical. Maybe a bit lighter than normal. Some of the folks are off for spring break. Suitland parkway at suitland road, brandnew crash. Falls road typical going 40 Miles Per Hour as you head southbound on 270. I want to mention you may likely see metro transit with extra dogs out at metro stations today and doing additional patrols as a cold start on this Tuesday Morning, were in the 20s around 30. Later today the low 60s. Low to mid 70s wednesday and thursday. Chancef showers ola and in metro stations. Thats right. The death toll now stands at this hour, at least 28 people. 13 killed at the airport. 15 in the subway attack. Were now seeing the first images coming in of the damage and devastation. That image appears to be a train car. Weve seen some terrifying images coming out of the airport, as well. We havent had that image verified yet, but we do know that we have images of the scenes of devastation at Brussels Airport. Where someone apparently set off one device. Weve been told by authorities or belgium authorities that these were suicide bombers. One outside the departures terminal. One inside the great hall. Those are the scenes from inside the departure terminal, where just after 8 00 this morning, thousands of people would have been waiting, lining up to check in for flights. Everybody in the area would have had a suitcase with them or some sort of package. Impossible to know who got what into that terminal. They were inside and created devastation. This is a city, a country, whole region that has been on edge since the paris attacks of late last year. The Prime Minister of belgium, charles michel, saying our worst fears have come to pass. Confirming it was a terror attack. Indeed, in the case of the airport, the chief prosecutor in belgium saying its believed to be a suicide attack. We dont know what nature attacks of november 13th. Theres already an image making its way around social media this morning of the french people comforting the belgium people with the dates of these two terror attacks underneath. The people draped in the flags. That image right there. November 13 and march 22. The dates of the attacks both in paris and now in belgium. Were going to talk to some witnesses who were at the airport and forced to evacuate. Also, well be joined by donald trump, the front runner on the republican president ial side to get his take on whats happening this morning. We want to begin this hour with nbcs justice correspondent Pete Williams. Pete, i think if you can help us put this into some timing perspective, because these attacks come four days after the arrest of Salah Abdeslam, who is said to be the guy who planned the paris attacks. They have him in custody. Theyve been trying to talk to him. Unclear as to what, if any, informn them. Right. And how dependable that information is. The question here today is, matt, was this an attack that had well been planned in advance and just happened to be carried out a few days after his arrest, or as is more likely, was pressure on this group in belgium causing them to accelerate a plan that they had been thinking about in advance, or simply take whatever devices they had and head to the airport and head to the subway with some intend intended plan to do this at the same time . Thats what theyre trying to figure out today. Pete, can i ask you an obvious question . They have him in custody. Are the rules the same in belgium as they are here in the United States, in terms of what he is allowed to do in terms of not answering questions and what the belgium authorities are allowed to do in trying to get information from him . No, theyre not the same. They can hold people there, i continue to interrogate them without having filed specific charges. He will face specific charges, but the socalled miranda rule youre talking about here, about statements used against you, thats generally the rule but they vary from country to country. For intelligence gathering purposes, they can try to ask whatever they want, as long as they dont use the evidence in court. Thats the general rule in many western countries. In terms of the response here in the u. S. , the white house has put out a statement saying the president has been briefed. The Justice Department has a statement saying the authori ii general has been briefed. They emphasize a couple things. One, there is no intelligence warning of any kind of attacks in the u. S. Along these lines. There have been no directives sent out to the operators of airports in the u. S. Or trains or subways, telling them or urging them or recommending precautions. Has been shared with federal authorities and their local counterparts. Theyre keeping them informed and unto date and many are responding on their own. In washington, d. C. , our metro system, subway system, all hands on desk. Exclo explosive sniffing dogs, more visible security. Youll hear announcements on our subway. Watch for suspicious packages and report anything you think is suspicious. In new york, the police are going to have to have a much more visible and aggressive presence at tunnels, bridges, subways, trains, commuter facilities and at airports. I dont think that the travel experience for travelers in the u. S. Flying today will be substantially different, but undoubtedly, theyll see a lot more security. Theres going to be a lot more sharing of intelligence that people wont see as this plays out in the nex Pete Williams, our justice correspondent. Stick around. Well be coming to you many times this morning. Lets go to kelly kocobiella. Shes making her way to brussels. She was on a train, which was stopped. Shes now in a car. Good morning. What can you tell us . Good morning. Im on the highway on the way into brussels. Hopped in a cab from the train station in france. If, in fact, the borders are closed somehow by highway, theres no sign of it as yet. The taxi driver, happy to take me into brussels. Traffic is flowing here. Weve been told at some point, this will stop. That we wont be able to get into the country. Were testing out that theory now. Yes, as i was on my way into brussels this morning, the attacks had already happened. The explosions had already happened at the airport. We were stopped about 20 minutes outside of that it was for security reasons. Shortly thereafter, the train station in central brussels was evacuated. The train station was closed, and we were turned around and sent back to france. As it stands, were trying to get our way in. As i mentioned earlier, the Transportation System is very difficult. The metro lines are shut down. The trains have been shut down. Airport is shut down. Its become very difficult to get into the city. I can only imagine the situation there, kelly. Keep us posted. Look forward to your report as you arrive there at the scene. Nbcs tom costello has new information on the attacks and the impact on the airlines and airports. Tom, before you get to that, i want to say, you also have a different perspective. As i do, you have close relatives who live in belgium. You spent a lot of time there yourself. In particular, youve spent a lot of time at that airport. Well, this one hits close to home for me. My wife and kids they have dual nationality. My wife used to work at the Brussels Airport. I went to graduate school in brussels and used to live there. We have been in and out for 25 years. We know it well. When you look at those images right there of the brussels terminal, that is a devastating impa impact. From having been there firsthand, i dont see them recovering from this in 24 hours as they initially suggested. This looks like the entire departure level of the Brussels Airport has been obliterated by a massive bomb or bombs. This is going to be a significant blow to not only air travel in and out of brussels and by the way, thats the shot right there. The starbucks right next to it, to the right if you will in the picture, is where we believe the bomb went off. Or close to it. Those are Ceiling Tiles that have come down from the airport terminal down to the ground. There you have the concourses throughoutjammed and people fleeing out on to the ramps and tarmacs. An update on the status of american Airlines Flights going into brussels. American Airlines Flight 751, scheduled to depart from brussels into philly, thats been cancelled. Flights into brussels, delta 80, atlanta to brussels, is on the ramp and holding in brussels. They dont want to deplane the passengers because of the chaos and security scene on the ground. The passengers who have been on the ground for several hours are staying on the ground. Delta flight 42, new york to brussels, has been diverted to amsterdam. Nu united 950 landed at 7 01. That would suggest the passengers may have been in the terminal at the time of the explosion. Youre looking at a shot there, live air Traffic Control look at the traffic in and around brussels. The Brussels Airport down. What youre seeing there are planes going over the top of brussels but certainly not landing in brussels. United 999, newark to brussels, has been, we are told, rerouted to a remote location. I dont know if thats on the ramp in brussels or another airport. A military airport or something. I simply dont know. Thats united 999. Safe and on the ground at this hour. One other point, i would tell you, the Miami International airport has just advised us that because of the concerns about the cpossibility of another attack on this side of the ocean, miami is increasing the use of canines today. More uniformed officers in the miami airport. More behavior detection units will be out and about. Random patrols and perimeter patrols, random screening and checkpoints, a roving checkpoint situation throughout the miami i wouldnt be surprise firstdegr if you see that throughout the United States airports. My sisterinlaw and brotherinlaw there there outside of belgium. Schools are in session there, which is surprising to me. Theyre a few miles from downtown brussels. Schools in session. Some parts of life remain normal there this morning, tom. You consider and i have my cousins who are the same ages as my kids, who are going to school in belgium. You might consider, there is no place safer for them right now than to keep them in school rather than out on the streets. In belgium the most of europe, kids routinely ride the subways to and from school, and the trains. To keep them in school, in a safe environment, makes sense. Im sure, just as you have, ive been getting facebook instant messaging all morning from my family and friends in europe, checking in that theyre okay. Clearly, we have a situation where many people are been killed in brussels this morning. This happened at 8 00 local time. May be that some kids were already in school at that hour and being told to stay put, especially since transportation is such a challenge now. We want to turn to an msnbc contributor, steve. He happened to be at the Brussels Airport at the time of the attack. Good morning. We spoke to you earlier so we know youre doing well physically. Good morning. What did you see . What did you hear . Basically, i was at the airport to be there early to get back to washington. Id come up from the train. Id left brussels north train station this morning, got to the airport and was there literally minutes or within a minute to r so aft or so after the blast. I saw the smoke and chaos but i wasnt able to get too close. Im the train who were literally thats mine. Sorry. Right now, a lot of tension, even on the train im on, about people worrying about bags. My bag was here. Theres tension everywhere. A lot of chaos this morning. Went back to brussels north station. At that point, we began to hear rumors about the bombs that had gone off in the subway station. Things tensed up. Security got very tight. I was able to get what seems to have been the last train out of belgium. Steve, thank you very much. Thank you, matt. If you can add anything, please get back to us real soon. Again, to recap, we have a devastating scene in brussels, belgium this morning. Both at the airport and in a metro train beneath the streets of brussels. Where several explosions have gone off. At least two at the airport. At least one in the metro. At least 25 or 28 confirmed dead. Many others injured. The scenes youre looking at now of extreme damage to that subway train there. Also inside that departure terminal at the airport, where what is being called a suicide bomb was detonated. Not sure if its what weve come to expect or imagine, with someone walking into a terminal wearing a belt or some kind of a vest. The people weve spoken to this morning who are more expert at things like this than we are, have looked at those scenes of devastation and said it appears to them this was a larger device. Perhaps carried into that departure terminal in a suitcase, a box, maybe a backpack. Obviously with devastating impact. Somewhat coordinated, as theres more than one attack. That is the image weve been seeing this morning, of apparent devastation of a metro car. We now know at least 15 were killed in that attack at the metro station. 13 at the airport. Dozense this is a dark hour for that country. Well have the latest in the investigation ahead. And get Donald Trumps take on the events when he joins us live after this. With your Friends Family savings pass shop friday night owls and saturday early birds. And dress them up with 40 to 60 off dresses kids dressy apparel. And new shoes for the whole family. For him save 45 to 55 on a crisp new dress shirt and tie. And pick up a new Spring Handbag at 50 off. Everyone gets kohls cash too now thats the good stuff. Kohls. I am never getting married. Never. Psssssh. Guaranteed. You picked a beautiful ring. Thank you. Were never having kids. Mmmmmm. Breathe. I love it here. We are never moving to the suburbs. We are never getting one of those minivan . We are never having another kid. I am never letting go. For all the nevers in life, state farm is there. Muddling through your morning is nothing new. 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Unbelievable taste. Enjoy i cant believe its not butter good morning and welcome back to a special edition of today, as we cover these terror attacks in brussels. At least 28 people have been killed in suicide attacks. One took place at the airport there. Another at a metro station. This heightens concerns at airports and Public Transportation here in the United States. We can tell you that president obama has been briefed on the situation, as you know, hes traveling in havana. National security is a key issue in the president ial race. Republican front runner donald trump joins us by phone. Good morning to you. Good morning. Often, people talk about a president getting that 2 00 a. M. Or 3 00 a. M. Phone call when something tragic has happened, either the world. So lets go to the hypothetical situation. President trump gets that 2 00 a. M. Phone call. What would you have done . First of all, you know, this is a subject that is very dear and near to my heart. Because ive been talking about it certainly much more than anybody else. Its why im probably number one in the polls, because of the fact that i say we have to have strong borders. We have to be very vigilant and careful who we allow into our country. I know brussels well. Brussels is a total mess. Brussels is a im not talking about the attack today im talking about generally speaking, its a city that used to be one of the finest, most beautiful and one of the safest cities in the world. Now, its a catastrophic, very dangerous city where the police have little control. Let me take you back to my question. Its too bad. What would you have done first as president of the United States if you got this call . Well, as president , i would do probably wha time that i was president. I would be very, very tough on the borders. I would be not allowing certain people to come into this country without absolute perfect documentation. Were allowing thousands of people already to come into our country. They dont have proper documentation. We dont know where theyre coming from. They happen to come from, perhaps, syria, but nobody really knows. They have no idea of telling because they dont have the documentation. Which people would you exclude . On what basis . How would you make that determination . I would exclude the people coming in from syria that dont have documentation, coming in from the migration line. Interestingly, they have cell phones in many cases. You say, how did they get the cell phones and where do they get their bills paid . I would exclude those people from coming in. The assimilation has been a disaster. You go to paris and you go to brussels and you go to other cities, you look at whats happening there with germany, with merkels brilliant move to pour into germany. Its not working. Its turning out to be catastroph catastrophic. They have in belgium a guy by the name of Salah Abdeslam in custody now. Hes said to be the man who planned the paris attacks of november 13th. Hes in custody. What would you say would be appropriate in terms of what they can do to him at this moment to get any information they can about possible further attacks . Well, i would say they should be able to do whatever they have to do. They have to get the information. I would say they should be able to do whatever they have to do. Be specific. The laws are so liberal over there. They wont do that. But they should be able to do whatever they have to do to get him to give the information. The very sad thing is, he was being guarded and protected by people that were a few doors away from where he lived. They were protecting him, and they were guarding him. It was lucky they were able to find him. He was planning another but they didnt find him because people turned him in. Those people were guarding him and protecting him. Thats not supposed to be the way the system works. When you say do whatever they have to do, can you be specific . What do you mean by that . Im not looking for breaking news on your show, but the waterboarding, if it was up to me, and if we changed the laws or have the laws, waterboarding would be fine. If they want to do as long as its with because we work within laws. They dont work within laws. They have no laws. We work within laws. The waterboarding would be fine. If they can expand the laws, i would do more than waterboarding. You have to get the information from these people, and we have to be smart and be tough. We cant be soft and weak, which is what we are right now. When i say we, im talking about other countries, also. If you talk to experts who do the interrogations, you often time a division. Some people think that harsh interrogation technique works and will deliver you the information, and others doesnt work. Youll get false information. Are you in the camp that harsh interrogation, lets use the word, torture, works in a case like this . Yes, i am. I am in that camp. I dont believe the other people. Im in that camp, absolutely. Theyll read him his rights. Hell sit there with a good lawyer. The lawyer wont give ten years will go by. By the time it goes by, he wont know anything because the world will have moved on to a worse place. I am in the camp where you have to get the information, and you have to get it rapidly. Lets keep in mind, draw the distinction here, abdeslam is being held by belgium Law Enforcement, not by a military unit or by some intelligence service, like was the case in this country when the cia took suspects to secret sites in other countries. Hes held by the belgium justice system. Hes being held by whoever. Let the military take him over. They have to get their act together. Belgium is no longer belgium. Belgium is not the belgium you and i knew, ago, which was one of the most beautiful and safest cities in the world. Belgium is a horror show right now. Terrible things are happening. People are leaving. People are afraid. This all happened because, frankly, theres no assimilation. They are not assimilating. Theyre not assimilating in other locations either. Just a couple of seconds they want sharia law. They dont want laws that we have. They want sharia law. You know, you say to yourself, at what point . How much of this do you take . Were allowing thousands and thousands of these people into our country. Were going to have nothing but problems, as sure as youre sit tlg. In the 30 seconds i have left, what would you say to the American People on a morning like this . I would say to the American People that we are going to be very strong. We are going to be very vilgilat and tough. Were not going to allowt if it happens, well find the people who did it and theyll suffer greatly. Donald trump, thank you very much for joining us. Thank you very much. We also asked Democratic Front runner Hillary Clinton to join us this morning, and she declined. By the way, president obama has been briefed by his National Security team. We mentioned he is traveling in havana,xpected to give a major speech there. We watch what unfolds in brussels, belgium. The heart of the European Capital, at the airport and subway station. We have reports of 28 people who perished this morning. Dozens of others injured. As we sit back and take the toll once again of yet a terror attack on a major western capital. Waking up to the images we all dread seeing in some major european city. Were going to take a break now, let some stations breakaway for their local news and weather. Others, well be back with more of today. More of today. Now, 7 56. Were watching the breaking news out of belgium this morning. Explosions have rocked the airport and a metro station in brussels killing at least 28 people at this point. Those blasts being called acts of terror. Were seeing precautions taken here in the d. C. Area in the wake of these terrorist attacks in brussels. Chopper 4 live for us over the new carolton metro station. Metro Transit Police telling us they are monitoring the situation in brussels. They say there is no known specific or credible threat to our metro system. As a precaution, they are doing extra patrols today with dogs matter of fact. Lets go to Melissa Mollet on your first 4 traffic. Just to note, no delays right now on metro. Taking a big look at the beltway. Top of the beltway typically slow. Outer loop approaching 50 clearing up. Inbound 29 cold now, later today near 60. Low mid 70s wednesday thursday. Looking nice for the easter weekend. Aaron . Tom, thank you. If youre heading out the good morning. We have breaking news. This is a special edition of today and these are the chilling images out of brussels, belgium this morning. The scene of devastating terror attacks, apparently coordinated. At least 11 People Killed in a suicide bombing at the airport. At least are 15 others killed in an attack on brussels subway system. Nbcs keir simmons joins us now. What can you tell us . Matt, across europe, people have been braced for Something Like this. The belgium Prime Minister saying this morning, what we feared would happen has happened. Nbc news confirming so far, 26 fatalities. Matt, this was a clearly accord n coordinated and terrifying series of attacks in europe. Brussels airport rocked by the explosions around 8 00 a. M. Then the metro, close to the european government. The city is in lockdown. Transportation shutdown. Images emerging that tells a story of substantial blasts, causing extensive damage. There you can see terrified passengers fleeing from metro cars, heading down what must be dangerous rail lines, just to get away from the explosion that has taken place in another carriage, in another part of that metro station. Meanwhile, at the airport, the pictures we are seeing of windows blown out, of debris strewn around, tell a story of a substantial explosive device. You have to simply look at this to see that this was a serious blast. Two blasts, were being told by belgium officials. This is having a profound effect in europe. The president of france saying suffered its own attacks in november, saying this morning, through brussels attacks, the whole of europe has been hit. France will continue to relentlessly fight against terrorism, both internationally and internally. This morning, the belgium Prime Minister is telling people to stay in their area. The u. S. Embassy urging u. S. Citizens not to use Public Transportation. There are troops on the streets of brussels this morning. As officials scramble to establish whether more attacks are planned, matt and savannah, the people who carried out the november paris attacks, many of them came from brussels. One of them arrested just friday. The fear now is that this has some connection to the same group who selfdeclared a selfdeclared isis terrorist cell. You brought up the paris attacks in paris on november 13th, there were a lot of people who were stranded in that city with nowhere to go. On social media, the hashtag became popular, suggesting if you needed a place to go to find shelter, those people were offering shelter. Something similar in brussels now, in belgium, after these attacks. Open house. Keep in mind, a lot of people going to the airport this morning turned away after these attacks were not from belgium. They were trying to travel to their home countries and left with nowhere to go. People coming out of the subways couldnt get home. Couldnt get to work. Needed a place to find shelter. The open house on social media has become popular in belgium, just as port due vare did after the paris attacks on november 13th. A smoke lets go to Pete Williams, following this from washington. Do you have extra information for us . If not, remind everybody the context in which this happens, in which you have abdeslam, who was, of course, involved in the paris attacks, arrested. People are concerned the attacks may have been connected to that. Either as retaliation or plans that were in place that were accelerated because people involved with him felt that police were closing in on them. Thats a big question for investigators who are trying to figure out who carried out these attacks. In terms of the United States, there is, were told, today no intelligence indicating there were any plans like this to attack subways, trains or airports in the u. S. As a result, there has been no recommendation from the federal government for those facilities to make any big changes. Nonetheless, many major cities are already increasing security on systems. Weve been told in new york and here in washington and other big cities, youll see much more visible security on subways and commuter trains. More of the bombsniffing dogs. More reminders for people to report anything they see suspicious. Youre going to hear that, see something, Say Something message a lot in the coming days. In terms of airports, no recommendation to change security. There will be youre going to see more of those people in the airport areas. Youre going to see those detectivers, the behavioral detecter people watching out for people. Without intelligence to act on, theres no big change, i dont think, that travelers in the u. S. Are going to see, other than more visible security. In terms of actual access to airports, curbside checkin, being able to drive up to airports to drop people off, we havent heard of any changes along those lines. The federal goven counterparts in europe. Everybody has been briefed. Theyre all talking to their european counterparts to get more information. That seems to be the picture so far this morning. By the way, you made a good point earlier, pete, when you were talking to us. Security in airports is handled by the tsa. The exterior of airports, that is handled by local Law Enforcement. You also brought up there is a koicoincidence here, the new he of the tsa is actually in belgium. The new Transportation Security Administration was in brussels for previously scheduled meetings with his european counterparts. Hes safe. There are federal air marshals in and out of that airport all the time. Theyre looking after anybody they need to watch for. Youre right about security of airports, not only outside the airports but inside the airports, all the way up until you get to the tsa checkpoint, all the security and the major waiting areas, the Airline Ticket counter all of that security is the responsibility of the airport operator. The local authorities who run the airports. Not the federal government. They certainly make recommendations. Tsas responsibility, the federal responsibility begins when you show your id and do the security screening. Thank you very much. A wire Service Reporting there are house to house searches conducted. Investigators looking for suspects or somebody with information in connection with the attacks. Well turn to tom costello who covers aviation but is also familiar with belgium. His family is from there. We talked this morning earlier, tom, a bit about the situation in brussels. In particular, the molenbeek neighborhood of brussels, which has lately become a community that has housed in recent days, the paris attackers, and also become something of a center of this islamist, them, they feel theyre losing their country. They have an open immigration policy over the last half century, and allowed almost anybody, sweesespecially from t areas breeding terrorism, many are not thoroughly vetted. Theyre given a generous social stipend to live off of. Many belgians feel like theyre bearing the fruits of that policy. They are seeing this kind of terrorism in belgium. Let me give you an update from the airport. Were hearing of 11 people dead at the airport. We just double checked. It now appears the delta flight that was sitting on the ramp in brussels, in which they really did not want to deplane anybody, didnt want to deboard the passengers, theyve now deplaned. The passengers are off the plane but not into the airport. Theyre out on the tarmac, out on the ramp. Delta flight going to brussels earlier, 42, was diverted to amsterdam. A united flight has been cancelled pardon me a united flight 950 landed safely at 7 01. An hour before this attack occurred. I think what were also seeing here on the metro attack is important, and ill draw your attention to the fact that the date line or the locater before that metro attack explosion is different from molenbeek. Molenbeek is where weve had the islamic extremism. This neighborhood is in and around the European Union and the European Commission headquarters. Belgium is a trilingual country. You have an awful lot phlegmish and french flanames. The Brussels Airport is in zaventem. Thats why you see the phlegmish on the signs there. Were lucky to have you with us, tom. We have ryan heath joining us from brussels. Hes the politico senior ue correspondent. Lived in brussels for years. Id like to have you to put this into perspective, and also the level of fear that the people of belgium have been living in over the past several months. To be honest, its chaotic. Ive been unable to get back to our offices. 150 yards from that metro station that was bombed. Im back at my home, which is itself 300 yards from the molenbeek district. It has been chaotic this morning. You hear sirens in the background, people are being given instructions. It wasnt severe how all the activities were. Some people are still locked up in the European Union headquarters. Others are told they have to go to work or they will be fired. There is confusion. You have the things in the airport where most people were evacuated. Some were stuck at their gate. Others like the delta passengers have been sitting on the plane until the last few minutes. Its been flying in all different directions. I think after four months of graf stavitating between the fu terror lockdown in november and wondering when the authorities would catch abdeslam and his accomplices, its been a difficult time for people here in brussels. They have started to lose some of their trust in how authorities are handling the situation. Theyre forced at times to rely on their gut instinct. Thats never the position you want to be in when you know the threats are out there. Based on events of the past several months, even the past several years, there are not a lot of people surprised by Something Like this brewing in their town, but it doesnt lessen the shock of it actually happening . Exactly. There is a resignation or weariness about the town. It doesnt mean that people lock themselves up in their homes, but in a sense, they know that this process isnt over and done with. They know that more than 90 people has trained and becomrade c beco meradicalized in syria and came back to belgium. Even if you catch the people behind the paris attacks, there were surely others still operating. We were warned that by the interior minister earlier this week. Catching abdeslam doesnt mean the other terror cells were shut down. We were told to be on alert and, unfortunately, thats come true this morning. Interesting perspective. Politicos chief eu correspondent. Thank you so much. Pleasure. What he describes, adding to everything thats unfolded, can you imagine the get to work. School s are still in session yt the trains are shut down. Cell service isnt available. This is trying hours for the people of brussels, belgiubelgi. Were back with more coverage in a moment. Binge eating disorder, or b. E. D. ,. Isnt just overeating. Its a real medical condition. And while the exact cause is unknown. Certain chemicals in the brain may play a role. B. E. D. Is also the most. Common eating disorder in us adults. Hi, im monica seles. When i binged,. I wasnt in control. I never felt satisfied. 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Kids learn to be brave and curious and all kids speak the language of bug. Hey cortana, find my katydid video oh this is so good. laughs if youre trying to teach a kid about a proboscis just sketch it on the screen. I dont have a touch screen on my mac, im jealous of that. laughs you put a big bug in a kids hands and change their world view. laughs the citi double cash® card comes in very handy with cash back twice on purchases. Ow, and cash back again later. Its cash back deja vu. The citi double cash card. The only card that lets you earn cash back twice on every purchase with 1 when you buy and 1 as you pay. With two ways to earn, it makes a lot of other cards seem one sided. Good morning. Were covering breaking news this morning on this special edition of today. These attacks in brussels, belgium. Two locations. The airport and a metro station there. The death toll at this hour, 26 people. Many, many more injured. We want to talk to a witness right now. Jeff is on the phone, an american working for nato in brussels. As i understand it, he was at the airport and witnessed the explosions and the aftermath. Jeff, good morning. First of all, tell us how you are doing, how those you are doing, and what you saw and heard this morning. Good morning. It was very interesting morning to say the least. Im doing okay right now. The people with me, actually i have my girlfriend here, as well as an american from ohio. We brought back here since im assuming hotels will be jammed up. I think were all doing okay. I dont think its completely hit. The three of us were actually potentially right next to the explosion. Were you inside the terminal, jeff, or were you in the curb checkin area . My girlfriend was flying back, booked on the departure to philadelphia. We were checking in roughly about 7 40. I was waiting outside the checkin line. They wouldnt let me go through to help her with the bag. She was at the counter. Im assuming around 7 40 something in the morning. The first explosion occurred to the right o airlines has its checkin, was my guess from what i saw. The first explosion hit, and i felt the shock wave hit me. Basically, you kind of turn and a lot of debris comes flying at you. I turned to her and the entire checkin line, as well as everyone behind the counter, was frozen in place and everybody was looking around. At that point, i started to move towards her. Thats when the second one went off, which was a little further away. Over towards there was actually a starbucks in the main terminal, before security. I believe it was essentially right next to the starbucks. At that point, you had no doubts whatsoever what was going on. Everyone hit the floor. It was shocking to me, the fact that the air inside the terminal was immediately full of smoke, debris, dust and Everything Else you can think of. Jeff, you would say what, abouten youve now told us something that we didnt have before. We had been told originally that one of the explosions happened outside the terminal at the curbside checkin area and the other inside. Are you saying both were inside the terminal . From where i was, both appeared to be inside the terminal building. Once the the first explosion was followed this will sound horrible but it was follow hehe by screaming. The second was followed by dead silence. Ever since the bataclan attacks, ever since paris, the lockdown we had the second week of november, youve seen soldiers, especially at the airport. I guess what shocked me at first was no one moved. No one appeared to be standing. No one was around. When i glanced over to where the second explosion occurred, given the fact that the feceiling was mangled and next to starbucks, its a Brussels Airlines Customer Service desk, if i remember correctly. That appeared to be demolished. Once i was outside of the airport, i didnt see any damage. It was all inside the terminal building. Did you see, jeff, some of the casualties . Yes, i did. Making your way out of the building whar building, what did you see . When i glanced over, and i grabbed shareen and we started to move toward the front entrance, i remember a soldier came running by with his weapon. I looked down at the floor and there was a blood trail leading out. When i had glanced over and kind of hustled her past, i viewed what i saw was a large number of casualties on the ground. Again, 30, 40 feet away. It certainly did not look like we were going to be looking for survivors in that immediate vicinity. Once we exited the terminal buildingou doors, there was an individual, he was in tact, but he was bleeding from the face. Propped up against the wall. Then you would see other people. We ended up crossing the terminal road and kind of sheltering in the garage area for a few minutes. Then, you know, we were probably there for 15 minutes. Thats when they started wheeling the gurny gurneys past we understand some were coming out on stretchers and others moved out of the terminal on luggage carts. How did you get away from the airport . We checked over i had a small cut on my finger. We grabbed our new american friend from ohio and we began walking. At that point, all traffic in and out of the airport was completely shut down. We ended up in an area over by the cargo terminals, where there was a large mass of people. We were there for probably 30 minutes, until authorities pushed us out. I actually live downtown, so we apartment. We went to the Railway Station and attempted to find a cab, which took us a bit of time. We ended up walking probably about two miles out of the airport. You get to a point and look down and youre like, why is the luggage still in my hand . Jeff, based on being there, do you have a sense of the magnitude of this blast . Did it seem to be a very powerful explosive . I think they were fairly powerful. If i were to venture a guess, and also hearing what others who were there with me, it was definitely a suicide bomb. I think there were two individuals. That seemed to make the most sense. They dont security has been high here quite some time. You wouldnt be able to just drop a package and walk away. I have to assume that im no expert but suicide bomb and, yes, second was probably more powerful, even though it was further away. You work for nato. Any thoughts, after the events over the last several months in belgium and brussels, about staying there . Yeah, probably too early this morning to clarify, im a consultant for nato, not a direct employee. But i dont know. Right now, i think its a case of girlfriend is still here. As i said, we have an american guest who will be staying here because i cant imagine there will be hotel rooms. First assessment is going to be, how do i get them back home . Then well go from there. I think, speaking personally, i was in istanbul one week before the suicide blast there. Ive been around in so many of these wonders, perhaps im getting a signal to go home. I hope your girlfriend has been able to communicate with her family back home, and your friend from ohio has been able to tell his or her family that hes that theyre okay, as well. Yes. We managed to make contact with everyone. 7 40 in the morning, early in the morning, didnt want anybody waking up on the east coast and, you know, not having a message to take down the tension. Jeff, we appreciate you spending time with us this morning. Send our bests to your girlfriend and friend. Thank you for sharing with us what you experienced. Our best to you. Cant imagine. So many of us have been in a situation where youre just getting on an airplane, seeing a loved one off, kissing them goodbye. Can you imagine what it would be like to be there . Lucky he was to be where he was. Not further to the right or further to the left, where these explosions went off. Jeff, thank you. Let us pause now. Well get some stations an opportunity to do their it is now 8 26. Were watching breaking news out of belgium this morning. Several explosions have rocked the airport and metro station in brussels. New reaction from the belgium ambassador to the United States. Explosions, which most probably have been coached on the one hand by suicide bombers. Kamikaze. On the other hand suspect packages, which indeed exploded. At least 26 people have been killed and dozens more hurt in russels this still feeling wintry cold in the 30s now with clouds coming through. It will give way to a Sunny Afternoon climbing to near 60. Tomorrow milder up into the low 70s. On thursday increasing clouds into the mid 70s. Sun back friday afternoon. Nice easter weekend to follow. Thank you. Following the train explosion in brussels. Metro tells us Kathleen Matthews if we want to be heard, we need women in congress. It was the women who forced republicans to include Womens Health and contraceptive coverage in the Affordable Care act. In congress, ill fight for pay equity, family leave and tougher gun safety laws. And, as an environmentalist, ill work combat climate change. I know as a journalist and as a Senior Executive in business that when women are at the table, we get things done. Im Kathleen Mathews and i approve this message. Back. Its 8 30 here on the east coast. We have special coverage this morning. Tragic news out of brussels, belgium. Terror attacks rocking the city. Two explosions at the airport there. At least one in a metro train underground in downtown brussels. Want to be joined now by Pete Williams. Chief justice correspondent. Youve been on the phone, talking to a lot of people. There are concerns about what they might have heard leading up to this, and more selfish concerns about what consequences this will have on us in this country. So far, the consequences seem to be limited, matt. What youre definitely going airports, already in the dairpot in washington, much more visible security, bombsniffing dogs. This is the kind of thing youre going to see at airports all over the u. S. Today. Weapons at the ready. Weapons deployed. These are airport Police Officers. As weve said before, the pictures look like theyre from dellus airport, outside of washington, d. C. Youre looking at the counterpart of the airy area attacked in brussels. This is where youd go up to the airline checkin desks. Theyll have more bombsniffing dogs. The behavioral detection people will be out in force. Theyre the ones who work for tsa, to spot suspicious behavior. Weve already been done, in major cities, washington and new york security on train stations, commuter lines coming into the cities, subway stations. One of the attacks in brussels was in a subway train actually on the train car, which is reminiscent of the bombings carried out in los dondon when subway system there was attacked. These are pictures from the subway station attacked in belgium earlier today. Devastating attack inside one of the subway cars. Other than that, i think travelers are not going to see a lot of changes. There dont appear to be any word from any major airport on restrictions on where you can do, whether you can check in curbside or drive your car up to drop people off. We havent heard of changes there. More visible security. More reminders of people to report suspicious behavior. Why is that . The answer, were told, is that there is no intelligence indicating any kind of u. S. Thats the natural thing that they would respond to. Theyre doing all of this, not because of any intelligence information they have theyre not sharing, its to what we know. The message traffic weve seen from the u. S. Government to these local authorities is passing along, basically, whats been publicly reported and what theyre seeing on social media. What is obvious, what has happened, thats enough for them to pass along these statements of concern to local officials. Theyre not recommending or requiring any changes in operation. As you pointed out earlier, pete, theres only so much you can do at an airport in terms of extending the perimeter. You cant go off airport prob m property. You start the security procedure in those roadways that lead right passengers off. Theres not much you can do beyond that. Right. We talked about this before. Perhaps it bears repeating. The security situation involving isis actual operational people, who have been to syria and trained, is a light years difference in europe than it is here. The intelligence authorities in the u. S. Estimate that almost 7,000 people, 7,000 people from western European Countries have gone to syria to train with isis and returned to europe. That is a huge number of people to track. Its tiny in the u. S. Compared to that. One of the problems that european authorities have had is theyre overwhelmed, trying to follow this rapidly developing threat they have. Now, thats separate and apart from the focus on this specific group in brussels. Im sure well hear more on whether authorities in were doing enough. The complaint weve consistently heard from authorities in europe, intelligence and local police, is that this is such a big problem. They have to try to focus on the worst of the worst. They cant follow everybody. Exactly. We remember from the paris attacks, as the ringleader, abaaoud has been to syria and had come back, name was known to authorities and even that was a challenge. The magnitude of what is before these Counter Terror officials as they try to detect the plots before they happen cant be overstated. Pete, stand by there. Well turn to tom costello. I dont know if you heard, we had a witness on, nato consultant, who was very, very close to the explosions. He described those two explos n explosions that sounded to him like both had taken place inside the terminal. What did you make of that . I have to tell you, we talked about how well i know that terminal. Matt knows the terminal well. The devastation there looks really q im not sure that theyre going to be able to reopen this airport as quickly as they originally thought. By the way, every u. S. Carrier that was flying into brussels, the planes have either been diverted or the passengers are safely on the ground. Several flights into brussels already in the air from other longer destinations, but not the United States, have been amster paris or antwerp. Theyre small Regional Airports but putting some planes there. I think you think of this as belgiums 9 11. Putting the entire city, the entire country of 11 million into a lockdown here. I was just on the phone with my wife, who is in touch with family in belgium. All the schools are on lockdown, as weve discussed. The Free University of brussels announcing theyre evacuating their campus. Primary schools through high school are on lown them to be. Several individuals in belgium are telling me their cell phone rs not working for voice calls. They are speculating, they are speculating, that that could be the government or the police, trying to shut down the Cell Phone Network to make it more difficult for any potential suspects to communicate. That is conjecture and talk. That gives you a sense of where the population is right now. You can imagine the terror we kept on 9 11. Especially those of us on the east coast. How people in brussels are feeling at this very moment, with the entire country locked down. No rail service, no Subway Service, no plane service. Busses have been shut down to a large extent. Buildings closed. Schools on locktown. It it is a state of fear and concern at this hour. Tom, thank you. We know youll continue to stand by. Lets bring Richard Engel back in for more on the terror investigation. Good morning. Good morning. A senior u. S. Terrorism official says this is a terrorist attack, described it as sophisticated and are concerned there could be followup attacks. 50 to 100 syriantrained, isis militants are in europe looking for targets. They dont know exactly which countries theyre in. They dont know exactly which targets theyre looking for. But that is a significant number. Going back to what Pete Williams was saying earlier. Thousands of europeans have gone to link up with isis. Many of them getting combat training in iraq and syria. Then returned home. Thats compared to only 70 americans who im told either went to join isis or tried to join isis. Still, 70 is a number, a high number, but nothing compared to the thousands in europe. So far, theres been one claim of responsibility from isis. We have not verified it yet. What we have seen is many supporters online, on facebook, on Different Social Media platforms, celebrating this attack, cheering this attack. Isis had been actually weakened, as of yesterday or a few days ago. Their number of tweets was at an alltime low. Some might interpret this as a way for isis to show that it is back. That it is trong. Th strong and has recovered from personnel loss that is the group has been suffering in iraq and syria. Richard, as weve seen, and talked about earlier, its not necessary that isis even directs or coordinates from its stronghold in syria. A lot of times, these are fighters who get some measure of training, come back holding western passports and are on their own and have a good idea of what to do once theyre there. Thats usually the way isis operates. It is veryel organization. You could have a small group go, maybe one or more of them go to syria, get combat training, operational training, and then they come back and find their friends, relatives, associates. They form a very secretive cell. Those cells can operate autonomo autonomously. They dont need moment by moment direction from iraq and syria. Then youve seen groups from isis saying, dont come here at all. Just do these operations on your own. Be inspired by the message of isis in iraq and syria. In order to carry out a sophistica sophisticated, coordinated attack, Counter Terrorism Officials Say if you make the trip and militants get bombmaking experience, it elevates their capacity significantly. Richard, back to a point you made a second ago, where there could be dozens of isistrained operatives or isis in europe looking for targets to strike, one of the very things that europeans love so much about the European Union is that they can move freely between countries. That is the very thing that makes it so hard to stop terror suspects from moving freely between countries. The open border system that has been inside europe has come under tremendous amount of pressure for two reasons over the last several months or about a year. One is the migrant and refugee crisis. Hundreds of thousands of people have been leaving primarily iraq and syria and making their way up through turkey, greece, macedonia, syria. Following the migrant trail into europe. The second is the security implications. Where the two meet is a very sensitive and explosive issue for europe. Were already seeing the rise of the right wing. Were hate attacks, where people will use the terrorist attacks, these incidents, to vilify all of the muslim community. Which, of course, only makes the situation worse. Then people feel isolated, ostracized, ghettoized, and they retreat to their own communities. Richard engel, stand by. Thank you very much. Lets go back to keir simmons who has been following the developments from overseas. What are you hearing . Savannah, good morning. Were looking now at the people the authorities in belgium were trying to track down before these attacks this morning. Savannah, i think in some senses, we should talk about this as not just one attack today, but as an ongoing attack. If you think back to france, to the attack on charlie hebdo, the satirical magazine earlier in the year, and then the now these in belgium, they are part of a continuum. Many of the people involved in each of the first two attacks i mentioned came from brussels. Now this is brussels. Weve been talking about Salah Abdeslam. He is the man, of course, arrested by belgium authorities on friday. Then through the weekend, news emerged that he may have been talking and saying that another attack was planned. Lets talk about someone else, too. A man called najim laachraoui. His details were released yesterday. They wanted to hunt him to find him. Said he was dangerous. His dna was found in apartments where they also found explosive material. There has been reporting suggesting that he may have been on a cell phone communicating with the paris attackers from pea belgium while ttt while weve been talking about the arrest of Salah Abdeslam and what connection this may have to that, we should also be talking about the other people connected to him. The authorities have been saying openly they want to find. Whether those people will have felt like they were under a good deal of pressure. Connected either loosely or directly. Its hard to know how. Right. Keir simmons. Exactly. Thank you very much. Matt, i was going to say, i think just to add so that, we are going to look at growing criticism of the intelligence agencies in europe because every time an attack happens, the dots are connected. Yet, they dont seem to be able to connect those dots enough, and richard was just saying how many isis jihadists may have come from syria. Its a big task. But people are going to start asking in europe, how come we aren appear to have the intelligence available . That is just going to add to the sense of insecurity and fear. Another attack, another attack again, ha z ts the risk it wille a profound effect on the phycology of europe. Just as 9 11 did in this country. Keir, thank you. Right. We want to pause for a moment and give our other stations a chance to join us. As we continue our breaking news coverage. Companies must adapt. Changing environment, but one thing should remain constant a financial relationship with someone that understands and cares about your business. Pnc corporate and Institutional Banking offers strategies tailored to your companys needs. Know that our dedicated teams of local experts offer insight to help you achieve your business objectives. See how working with pnc can help your company grow at pnc. Com ideas when you build one of the biggest Retail Businesses in america, you spend a lot of time working closely with elected officials. From secretaries to president s you learn what works in government and what doesnt. And if youre david trone you take those lessons all the way to congress. You pledge to take nothing from pacs or corporations because the only special interest a congressman should have is you and hell promise to work with anyone if itll get things done. After all hes spent 30 years working both sides of the aisle. Im david trone and i approve this message. Its about taking a stand. For too long, wall street banks had their way. They crashed our economy. But democrat Donna Edwards wont take their money because she stands up for us. As a single mom, she knows the challenges our families face. Shell be our voice. Tightening regulations on the big banks and fighting to keep dark money out of politics. Democrat Donna Edwards, marylands next senator. In the today on a Tuesday Morning. Good morning again. This is todays special coverage of the terror attacks unfolding this morning in brussels, belgium. There have been explosions at the airport in brussels, as well as at a subway station near the seat of government. The eu capital. Youre seeing these images, a powerful blast by the looks of it. Weve got tom costello who covers these issues for us and is intimately familiar with the region. Costello joins us now. Tom, what do you know . Flemish television is reporting this morning and this is unconfirmed by nbc news but Flemish Television is reporting a third suicide pelt has been found at the airport, undetonated, and they are therefore looking for the possibility that somebody got away. Television reporting that a suicide best undetonated was found at the airport. Belgian police are looking for a to s potential suicide bomber who got away. We have been inundated with emails, tweets and phone calls from people concerned about their relatives or students studying abroad in belgium. 16 university of missouri students are said to be fine and well and not harmed at all. Of course, many of these universities that have study abroad programs are right now reaching out to the students and trying to find them. Its going to be difficult because Cell Phone Service through much of the country, or around the capital region, has been shut down. Its not clear whether thats an official police action, though thats the rumor on the streets. Cell phone conversations in and out of brussels is very difficult, as parents and concerned individuals on this their kids on that side of the ocean, or their loved ones on that side of the ocean. 200 flights cancelled so far. All of the u. S. Flights inbound into brussels are on the ground safely or have been detoured to other airports. Thank you for that information. Don, back to you. He says according to sources that a third undetonated suicide belt has been found inside that airport. Whats your first reaction to that . Then i have another question for you. Great piece of evidence is my first reaction. You can get dna. You can get fingerprints. Look at the device itself and, a lot of times we talk about how bomb makers have their own signature. The way they put things together. They may be able to trace it back to the origin to see if its the same person that made the explosives in paris and this one. A lot can be gleamed from that. Given that, that there may be someone and there probably are other people still on the loose as a result of Something Like this if youre the person making the decisi belgium, get back to business . Do you allow people tomorrow morning who werent directly affected to get back on busses, to go to their jobs, go to the banks, to go to school . How do you start to gauge this sort of thing . Very difficult situation. Obviously with somebody potentially during the early hours, theyre going to be operating under the assumption that theres at least another person who has left the belt behind, and maybe more. Are the attacks over with . The First Priority has to be public safety. Until the officials feel like theyve got their hands wrapped around the situation, i cant see theyll be opening up the subways and airports. We saw what happened in belgium. I believe it was around christmastime, when things shut down. Here we go again. So i know theres going to be a lot of pressure to make that decision. Public safe they has to take precedent. Potentially a hunt for suspect or someone who will be connected. The third may be a suicide bomer if the phlegmer te flemish telet is correct. Salah abdeslam, one of the paris attackers, was able to live, perhaps not well or out in the open, but was able to be for the last four months without detection. What can authorities really do . We heard a roueuters report of going door to door and house to house. Network of your own intelligence people that can infiltrate a Community Like that. It doesnt appear they have that. If they have an intelligence network, its not robust. You do go door to door. You cant plant yourself in front of the door 24 7. You need intelligence. You need the cooperation of the community. We said that all the time. Prevention is the key to this thing. The best way to prevent is not more rings of physical security. But you need people that will come and tell you that an attack is in the works. Richard engel, i believe, or maybe keir simmons, just said there has already been criticism within europe of their intelligence gathering capabilities. Their ability to stop things like this. Although its extremely difficult. An attack like this in belgium will amp up that criticism. What cooperation is there between european officials and american officials, and can american officials really have any impact when were talking about what goes on in places like paris and belgium . I think so. First off, there is good cooperation between our European Partners and the u. S. Certainly, we share even some of the most classified information with our trusted partners in europe. And expect the same from them. There will be a lot of pressure for the belgians to step up what theyre doing. The u. S. Will offer whatever resources can be brought to bear. At the end of the day, its their build a robust Counterterrorism Network like we have in the United States. We have joint Terrorism Task forces that are run by fbi all over the country. I think the notion of that is still somewhat new in europe. I mean, imagine if each state in the United States didnt coordinate with one another through the fbi and through other organizations. I mean, it would be chaos. People in your business call these soft targets. To the layperson watching this, this is real life. Its a cafe in paris or a concert hall or an airport or a train station. Its so terrifying to think that these areas are so vulnerable. Thats a lot of the key, what makes isis and other organizations so successful. You dont necessarily have to kill thousands. But the psychological effect, the fear, i mean, thats what these groups really trigger. The gut, the fear tha not want to go out of your house. Then when they do that, they win. Don, as always, thanks very much. We have much more to get to this morning as we continue to cover this breaking news coming out of brussels in belgium. At least three explosions have rocked that European Capital overnight. Two at the airport, one on a subway train. Many more developments headed our way. Well bring them to you as soon as we have an opport it is now 8 56. We continue to follow the breaking news out of betginal. Explosions at the airport there and on a metro train. We want to get right to Megan Fitzgerald outside the Belgium Embassy here in d. C. Reporter we had an opportunity to speak with the ambassador who actually arrived morning around 6 00. Hes been on the phone with officials back in his home country throughout the morning. You can see they have lowered the flags here at halfstaff. He calls this a troubling day for belgium. He also tells us that they are working on increasing security here at the embassy and something that stuck out is when he mentioned there was increased security for the last several days at the airport in belgium. We will have more on this coming up on nbc washington back to you. Stroand restoring aing a newbfathers faith. Its standing tall after one surgery. Not six. Stronger is being a typical kid. Despite a rare disorder. Stronger is finding it earlier. And coming home sooner. Stronger is seeking answers. And not giving up, until you find them. Because we dont just want your kids to grow up, we want them to grow up stronger. A few clouds coming through. Still cold i0  30s. Later will climb around 60 with sunshine. Tomorrow mostly sunny low 70s. Mid 70s on thursday. Maybe rain late thursday night and back into the afternoon. Northea easter st its about taking a stand. For too long, wall street banks had their way. They crashed our economy. But democrat Donna Edwards wont take their money because she stands up for us. As a single mom, she knows the challenges our families face. Shell be our voice. Tightening regulations on the big banks and fighting to keep dark money out of politics. Democrat Donna Edwards, marylands next senator. Let us reset for you. 9 00 on a Tuesday Morning on the east coast, 6 00 a. M. Out on the west coast. This is a special edition of today as we continue this mornings deadly attacks on the airport and subway system in brussels, belgium. It has been a morning of fastmoving developments. 26 dead at both the airport and at the subway station. You have a major western European Capital, all but shut down this morning. Lets go to nbcs kelly cobiella. She has been traveling to brussels all morning. Not an easy trip. You have made your way there. Tell us what you see and hear. Good morning, savannah and matt. Just arrived at the metro station where that blast happened several h Tactical Police on scene. Investigations ongoing. Quite a ways down the street, as well, one of the entrances is off to the left. Another one farther down the street. We spoke to a witness here who was here at the time of the explosion. Said he was on his way to work, traveling on the metro, as he does. He heard the blast first. He said everything went to black. When he could see again, he saw many, many people injured. We now know that 15 have died at this attack site. More deaths at the airport, as well. Just in terms of how the city is functioning right now, we know that the metro stations have been closed. The metro has been closed. Trains are not coming into the main train station. Eurostar trains have been diverted, turned around, as mine was. There actually is quite a bit of traffic on the street. There are people out traffic is extremely heavy getting out of the city and fairly heavy getting in, as well. There was some talk of closing the border between france and belgium. We were able to drive straight in and, again, into the city. No changes there. Just in terms of travelers getting into and out of the airports, the airports have been closed. Really, the city now in a state of shock. People trying to figure out whats next. Do we go to work . Do we stay at home . Do we collect our children . Are the phones working yet . They have been in and out. Ive been able to get some phone calls through. But it is still sort of a city in flux right now, guys. Kelly cobiella on the scene there. I know youll continue to keep us posted. She mentioned she was able, matt, to drive . Which i was surprised to hear. Youve been remarking and you know the area well, having had family there, these are borders. Im surprised kelly and her team drove right to the area where the metro attack took place and not be stropped in the process. You can see the streets look basically deserted. Pete williams has been joining us with information coming in from his justice colleagues and sources. What can you tell snus . As weve been saying earlier today, the administrator of the Transportation Security Administration, peter, who will have a role in deciding what the u. S. Response will be, was in brussels. He was there for meetings with european counterparts. He was not at the airport. Hes safe at the embassy now. Tsa is also checking on the safety of federal air marshals. They regularly travel into and out of this airport, as they monitor and fly on flights into the u. S. From brussels. Some were coming in. Some were going out. Tsa is now checking to see wh thats the process thats going on now. We have had no confirmed reports of american casualties, either in the dead or injured, at the Brussels Airport or at the bombing of the subway car. In terms of the u. S. Response, theres been no recommendation from the federal government that airports or mass transit in the u. S. Should do anything different. A number of federal agencies, fbi, Justice Department, homeland security, tsa, the transportation department, theyre all sending messages to the operators of these systems, telling them whats going on in brussels. Frankly, passing along what is being publicly reported and said on social media. The decisions on what to do in response are up to local authorities. Weve seen much more visible Police Presence at the airport here outside of washington. At the airports in new york, also additional security at the airports in chicago. The police in boston say they have adequate resources in place. All information to indicate that there are any such attacks planned against these targets in the u. S. Pete, weve learned that b l belgian officials raised the terror alert to the highest possible level. If youre a citizen, you exercise the most vigilance. What does it mean for Law Enforcement in a country like that . It varies. It probably means they have specific duties, specific places theyre supposed to go to. The teams that are responsible for rooting out these terrorists have kind of been on working 24 7 for the last several days. What its going to mean is as they investigate these attacks, as they find frag m ments of evidence, itll give them new leads which will be additional things they can follow up on. It meanse guarding public facilities all throughout belgium. Its going to be very different duty for them than it would be here. Pete, one last thing. Don was just here and commented on this. The discovery of that undetonated suicide belt at the airport, thats a huge lead for investigators. Absolutely. If that report is confirmed and turns out to be true, then that will be a huge cache of evidence. Theyll trace where the components came from. Theyll do fingerprints and dna. People who make suicide vests tend to think they wont be left behind, so they may not have been careful in how they put it together. The hope will be high that theres going to be enough remember, it was a dna trace found in one of the places where the police in belgium searched that led them to believe that the main terror figure was still alive, and also gave them an additional name of a person theyre extremely important. There have been reports here and there, not yet confirmed by us, that there may have been weaponry recovered at the airport. That could also be a treasuretrove of evidence. Thank you very much. Lets go to tom costello. I understand you have news for us. Couple pieces of information. Flemish television, vtm, is reporting that the doctors who are treating the victims are reporting significant nail injuries. They believe that the bombs may have been packed with nails. They have been pulling pieces of nails and shrapnel out of the victims. Thats from a doctor at a hospital in belgium. 15 miles away or so, major trauma center. My kids were born there, actually. Another doctor is reporting there has been at least one, maybe more amputations already as a result of the injuries. Also, the French Security forces have crossed thede responding to assist the belgian authorities. Theyre arriving in downtown brussels as you would expect, moving at great haste across the countryside to respond to downtown brussels, to help shore up the main city center of the capital there. Where the European Commission is and down through the brussels, belgian government offices. The u. S. Embassy is not far from that either. Theyve been told to shelter in place. U. S. Embassy officials are okay. No reported injuries among them. It goes without saying but ill say it anyway n a story like this as it unfolds, well get more and more images from the scenes of these explosions. Either official images or from individuals who have taken pictures with their cell phones. Well be careful in deciding what to put on the air. Well warn you. Obviously, a lot of the images we may see are going to be thats right. Lets turn to Richard Engel, chief foreign correspondent, always a wealth of information about the context. On a day like this, richard, what more can you add . I can tell you u. S. Counterterrorism officials are watching this very closely. Theyre asking themselves, this is a quote, how big is this cell . They certainly believe or suspect that there are more people involved than just the bombers who carried out this attack. When asked whether u. S. Officials think this could be the start of a wave of attacks in europe by isis, the answer i was given was, quote, likely. So not good news coming from u. S. Counterterrorism officials as they watch this. They think there are more suspects involved in this cell, and this could be likely, i was told, a start of another wave of attacks in europe by isis. That does duck tail with from intelligence sources, saying that there are a few dozen, 50 to 100, syriantrained, isis militants in europe at the moment. Looking for targets. None of this is good news. Chilling detail we just got from tom costello, who has been monitoring some of the local television, Flemish Television, saying some of the injuries that doctors are finding and treating there is consistent with nails. These may have been explosives packed with nails. Unfortunately, something weve seen before. On the other hand, richard, as you know, it may be as authorities get into the forensics and are able to pour through the scene, sometimes you can find a signature of a particular bomb maker or style of attack. As we watch the new images come in. Its very standard that they pack suicide vests can nails, ball bearings. Sometimes theyll put other materials inside the vests. Rat poison is onet sometimes used. All of these things are unfortunately now readily available online. On isis websites. On isis platforms and their magazine. Theyll put the manuals out so that people can learn how to make them. Then Law Enforcement officials in a cat and mouse game, try to take them down, only to see them reposted again. You can imagine what it would be like in that airport. Im looking now at the screen, with all the smoke hanging in the air, when these apparently nail encrusted suicide vests detonated inside the airport. Yeah. Sometimes, its not just the images but the sounds. This is video that has audio along with it. You can hear the cries for help. And the screams and the seconds immediately following one of those blasts. Its very, very haunting and difficult to watch. Richard, thank you. Well be back with you in a little while, all right . Sure. W coverage right after this. Trustit powers. 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Good morning to you. Good morning, matt. From your time as secretary of state, you know that area very well. You nobknow belgium well. What was your initial reaction when you heard the news . It was just terrible, horror. The idea that terrorists are continuing to strike at the heart of europe and now brussels, and the number of casualties from what look to be fairly sophisticated coordinated attacks is deeply distressing. Weve got to stand in solidarity with our european allies, as they have stood with us on so many occasions. We have to intensify our efforts to find and prevent terrorists from ever doing this again. Its going to be a long challenge because theres a lot of factors, including, you know, these easy accessibilities to powerful explosives and the mobility of terrorists in todays world. But weve got to be absolutely strong and smart and steady in how we respond. Secretary clinton, its savannah guthrie. As you well know, we arent yet aware whether or not isis is taking responsibility for this, if isis directed this, or if nonetheless, i think we all agree that isis is really at the heart of this. If you were president today, what would we be doing differently to try to get at this root cause . Well, savannah, youre right, that were not sure yet, but its also true that, you know, we have been confronting the threat of terrorism for quite some time. This is the latest terrible manifestation of it. Weve got to tighten our security. Ive talked about a visa system and passenger record system. When i was secretary of state, we often had some difficulties with our european friends because they were reluctant to impose the kind of strict standards we were looking for. That after paris has changed, and we need to do much more to tighten things up. I know our security that. But its unrealistic to say were going to completely shut down our borders to everyone. That would, you know that would stop commerce, for example. Thats not in anybodys interest. We have to do a much better job in coordination with the europeans on tracking and following anyone who has any connection with terrorist activity or terrorism. Secretary clinton, when the European Union was established, borders became invisible. Anybody could travel between countries in europe easily. Do you think europe will have to reconsider that, now that we see how easily terrorists have moved between france, belgium and other countries . You know, matt, i think they already are reconsidering it. The dream of a whole free europe that was at peace is one that should not be walke it was an essential development after the horrors of world war ii. But we do have to be realistic about how people move from place to place. Its been my understanding that the europeans are looking hard at how to better protect their borders internally. Of course, they are coping with this extraordinary wave of Syrian Refugees and refugees from other products of the middle east and south asia. They have labored to do that in an appropriate way. That, too, poses extra burdens on them. So this is a time for us to, you know, reaffirm our solidarity with our european friends and allies, individually and through nato, to support them as they struggle with how best to defeat the secretary clinton, this is obviously a time to think about whats the proper policy response, what the Law Enforcement response is, but i keep thinking about someone sitting at home and watching these images and thinking about europe and our friends in western europe, and wondering, could Something Like this happen here . Is this something that people should fear . Well, savannah, i think weve got to recognize that the threat posed by the modern incarnation of terrorism is one that we have to be individual levigilant aga. I know americans have every reason to be frightened about what they see and what happened to us with San Bernardino. Remember, the terrorists are trying to undermine the Democratic Values that are at the root of our way of life. We cannot let them to keep america safe and to work with our friends and allies to help them be safe, as well, from these threats. You know, it seems, secretary clinton, that information is so vital when it comes to combating terrorism, and that is why, perhaps, perhaps, you hear some people say, when you get a key suspect like the one taken into custody in brussels last friday, maybe you should use some enhanced techniques to get information out of that person. It also may be why the you look at this country, in the wake of the San Bernardino shootings, that you just brought up, a lot of people say, wait a minute, apple, you have to unlock that phone that was left behind by one of the shooters because its crucial that we get that information. Is that just simply a logical step that people take after events like this, and do you agree with it . Matt, i think it is understandable that people would be asking those koinds inds of questions. As to waterboarding, our countrys most experienced and bravest military leaders will tell you th tell you torre chture is not effective. It puts our soldiers and civilians at risk. But we have to give Law Enforcement and intelligence officials all the tools they need to keep america safe. They dont need to resort to torture, but they are going to need more help. You know, just yesterday, i said with respect to the question about the cell phone, i just cant believe that we cant find a reasonable path forward here. Trying to help our Law Enforcement professionals get the information they need, both to follow up on a importantly, to prevent attacks. You know, the privacy and safety of people who can lose their lives or be injured in an attack has to be weighed against the privacy and safety of our information. I just still believe theres got to be a way for our great Tech Companies and our Law Enforcement professionals to figure out how to deal with that. It appears from the early refrain on the capture of the terrorist suspect in brussels, that one of the ways he was tracked down was through the use of his cell phone. We also know that terrorists are not stupid. They are quickly adapting. The more they use encryption to communicate, the more difficult its going to be to figure out what the heck theyre up to. We have to weve got to work this through, consistent with our values. Secretary clinton, we appreciate you joining us this morning. Thank you f thank you. Great to talk to you both. Thank you. And i appreciate the way youre handling this very serious matter. Thank you very much. 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It also supports wonderfully high levels of humiliation in her daughter. Karen shes a little bit shy. In just 7 days, your joint comfort can be your kids discomfort. Osteo biflex. You were made to move. So move. Atand that in a new house,tee a fyou probably dont sharece, the same tastes as the previous owner. [ dolphin chatters ] so when you need a little house painting or a complete remodel, well help you get the job done right, guaranteed. Ome is where our heart is. The time is 9 26. We continue to follow breaking news out of belgium where several explosions have rocked the airport and metro station in brussels. 26 people have died. And a short time ago we spoke with the belgian ambassador to the u. S. About the response to the terrorist attacks. Four is the highest threat level that we have in our system, which means imminent and serious threat. The flags at the Belgian Embassy have been lowered to halfstaff. A check on your forecast is nt. Stay wiexth good morning, near 40 now. We got some clouds coming through. And a lot of sun breaking out during the afternoon. Highs near 60. Tomorrow mild, the low 70s. Sun easter weekend looking nice. High 60s saturday and sunday. Maybe more rain on monday. The latest iformation onn us. Its 9 30 on a Tuesday Morning. We have more of our continuing coverage of this incredibly difficult situation and tragic situation in brussels, belgium. 31 people dead following at least three explosions. Two at the airport there. One in the subway system. Earlier in the morning, kelly cobiella, one of our correspondents, was making her way on a train to brussels. That train was stopped and not allowed to proceed. She then got in a car and managed to get into the area very close to where that Metro Explosion took place. Kelly, good morning again. What can you tell us . Good morning to you, matt. Just about a block away really from the entrance to thatwa by police and evacuated. There are investigations ongoing there. Difficult to see the entrance really from where we stand. Theres one to the left and then beyond your eyesight is another entrance. That is where investigators are carrying out their work at this point. We understand now that more than 70, 70, people were injured here alone. I believe youve report td number of deaths has gone up again. At the subway, the metro stop, extremely terrifying moment for morning commuters. This explosion happened at the height of the morning commute. This is truly the center of brussels. The European Commission building, very close to here. Perhaps, matt and savannah, a sign of the nervousness in the city right now. Just in the past ten minutes or w side of the streets, the street im now facing which had been open, traffic flowing, has been blocked off. Counterterrorism police appearing very nervous, telling all of us to stay back because of a suspicious car. This is the scene thats been happening throughout the city since the explosions happened. Again, we dont know if there is anything specific about this car. We dont know if it is actually something connected to the attacks. Again, a sign of nervousness, a sign of tension in the city, everyone has been told to stand back while they investigate it. Kelly cobiella, thank you so much. We want to turn to a guest who i think is joining us by skype. Shes a Technology Reporter for plo politico. She worked in brussels the last five years and was at the airport this morning. We see you. Youre looking well. First of all, how are you, and what did you see and hear . Im i actually was i was at the train station just avenue the bla after the blast occurred. Which is where the place where roughly, were hearing, it looks like 15 to 20 people have died there and dozens more who are injured. What did you see and hear . So i was outside the train station as they were bringing people out. There were people who had been laid down on the sidewalk, upon the main street which goes between the european quarter and the embassies on the other side of the area. That is where the u. S. Embassy is. There were probably half a dozen to two dozen people who were on the ground. Some of them were covered in white sheets. They, as far as i could tell, were not people who were dead, they were people who were injured. Many, many people crying. Some of them covered in blood. Just a general state of how long have you lived in brussels . I have lived in brussels for a year now. I moved here last year. I was here after the paris attacks, during the brussels lockdown. So this is not this is the sort of thing that brussels is becoming used to now. Yet, as you say that, the reason i ask you is in the last few months and weeks even, with so much talk about increased security and tension, and after the arrest of Salah Abdeslam four day ago, and people started talking again about the potential for other attacks or incidents, was there concern about gathering in places like subways . Were people talking about it in the groups you hang out with . Were people worried about traveling that way . People werent worried dir t directly after the capture of Salah Abdeslam. On friday was when this when this all occurred, when the raids happened around brussels, when he was caught. In n about how this could actually increase the Terror Threat in brussels. The Terror Threat stated three of a maximum four until this morning. After the Brussels Airport attacks, as soon as that had happened, we were on our way into the office to cover it and into the city to cover it. Among the reporters at politico, we were basically saying, nobody get on the train or the met cro. We expected it would be problematic. You were near the train station. You described what you saw in the aftermath of that attack. Were you able to talk to any witnesses or anybody that had been underground . Whats your understanding of where and how this explosion took place . Was it on a platform . Was it in a train car . It seems to me that the explosion happened on a train car. It was under the train station. Station itself. Weve seen some photos of the train car that looks completely wrecked. Looks like a bomb had exploded within it. Certainly, the indication is that this was something that happened in the train itself. This is a major station in the european quarter, so the sense is that the European Commission and European Council and generally those involved in eu affairs, probably the targets of that they tack. Let me ask you what this will mean in your opinion moving forward in brussels. There are all kinds of reports of this cell that existed there, larger than perhaps was originally thought. Theres a very good chance there are more people, more accompl e accomplices, still yet to be detected. How do you think that will impact daily life in that city as you move forward from this event . I think daily life is unlikely to be hugely impacted in brussels. These attacks have happened, in the immediate aftermath, people do tend to avoid large gather g gatherings and train stations. Generally, things get back to normal because this is one of those things where, what can you do . You cant stop living your life. You cant stop going to work. You have to continue doing what you need to do. So my personal feeling is that people will be more cautious now and more scared, but theres not really all that much we can do in brussels, from the perspective of avoiding public spaces. Correspondent from politico, thank you for your time this morning and we wish you the best, as i imagine its tifrlt difficult to recover from this. Thank you. Goodbye. Wellspoken young lady. Lets bring Pete Williams back in. Pete, i know, has been on the phone. Every time hes not with us, hes either broadcasting over on msnbc or on the phone with his sources. Anything you found out, pete . Couple things, matt. Number security administrator in brussels is safe and accounted for. The Transportation Security Administration is doing its Security Check of federal air marshals to see if theyre safe. Were waiting from word by the state department, whether americans were injured or casualties in either of these two attacks in brussels. We have not gotten any confirmation of that. The state department is asking americans in brussels to check in. There are lots of schools that have students there. Theyre checking in with them. So far, we have not heard of any americans involved in these attacks or injured in these attacks. In terms of whats going on in the u. S. , many cities are stepping up security on their subway systems, at their airports, simply because of the pictures and the kind of thing youre seeing right now. Not because of any intelligence information. There isnt much. Theres no specific information warning of attacks here. They are responding to the obvious. Theyre looking at what reports, the information theyve gotten in bulletins from federal agencies here, from the department of homeland security, Justice Department, transportation department, pa passing along what is known from these attacks in belgium, and deciding to step up security. Weve seen it here in washington, d. C. At the airport and on our subway system known as the metro. Weve seen it in new york on bridges, tunnels, at the airport and subway stations. Were seeing it in chicago. Were seeing it in l. A. All these cities taking these responsive steps on their own. When you go to these places today, go to take the train or the subway or take a ride at the airport, youre going to see more officers with weapons and with bombsniffing dogs. Youll hear more announcements on see something, Say Something. More vigilance on packages, luggage, anything abandoned, even much more of that vigilance. Nothing beyond that that weve seen. Nothing that would restrict where you can drive at the airport, or whether you can drop your baggage off curbside. We havent heard of any changes like that. As to our knowledge, none of those are contemplated right now, based on everything known. Pete, just to keep it in perspective because naturally you see this and worry, wow, could that happen here . The scenes are familiar to us. They can take place in any city in the world. On the other hand, we are somewhat fortunate in this country that we dont have the same exact situation that the authorities in the counterterror officials in western europe are dealing with, in terms of the number of people that they want to be surveilling. Step back from this for a second. The supposition here is this is an isisinspired or directed or every reason to think so. There are unconfirmed reports about that. All the previous attacks have been connected to isis since the paris attack. The people that have been rounded up and the arrests, the frequent raids weve seen in brussels all have those connections. Whats the isis threat in the u. S. . Its somewhat changing. It was originally, and still continues to some extent, to be homegrown extremists. People that are consuming isis propaganda, that isis reaches out to and tries to get to do something. Lowlevel attacks, go out isis tells people to stab somebody, shoot somebody. We have seen people in the u. S. Follow up on those attacks. Isis is also trying to get people into countries all over the world to carry out largerscale attacks, which is what youre seeing in europe. The contrast youre talking about is this, if you look at the total number of having successfully gone to or tried to get overseas and get to syria and join up with isis, that number is somewhere around 150 or so, according to american officials. A number are actually fighting with isis, considerably smaller. Contrast that with western europe. Almost 7,000 people in western European Countries have done that. Have either tried to or succeeded in getting to syria to come and join isis. Flooding back to their home countries, overwhelming the ability of authorities to keep track of them. Thats a totally different Security Posture youre seeing and thats why its different here than it is there. Isis told followers all around the world, dont go out and look for key strategic targets. Go for any targets. Do whatever damage and create whatever carnage ua create. When you look at the scenes inside the airport in brussels, thats textbook what theyre asking their followers to do. Yes. Airports and subways have been consistent targets of terrorists in the u. S. , in spain, mass transit, airports, trains, subways, for the last two or three decades. Pete williams, thank you very much. We expect president obama to comment on this mornings attacks in about 45 minutes or so. During a muchanticipated speech to the cuban people. Nbcs Andrea Mitchell is in havana traveling with the president. Andrea, good morning again. Good morning again, matt. The president should be speaking around 10 30. Thats the timing he was going to go on Cuban Television and speak to the cuban people, unprecedented speech, speaking about human rights, before he meets with dissidents later. Of course, hell begin the speech, i understand, w comments, the first comments from an administration official, about the terrorist attack. We assume hell try to calm fears and talk about communication with our counterterrorism officials and Foreign Ministers in other capitals. About conversations with belgium counterparts, as well as french and british and others engaged. And how there is coordination. That said, theres a lot of concern among National Security officials that there has not been enough coordination within europe, and borders have not been secured. Borders are still open, as matt and savannah, youve been reporting. According to the european system, the European Union system is going to be closely examined. Also, we should point out that the president did in december, december 17th, he met privately with print columnists, in a series of interviews for the atlantic about foreign policy. He acknowledged he did not respond reassuring the American People after paris. He was about to travel to turkey. Similarly after San Bernardino, there was concerns the president didnt respond quickly enough. After paris he recollects did not immediately go on television and talk to the people in america about how they should feel and how the government was responding. I think youll see an attempt today by the president to respond. Hes still expected to meet with the dissidents at the embassy. Then we dont know whether he will complete the schedule. They say he will. He was quick to attend the cubanamerican baseball game. That follows his loosening of regulations last week that would allow for the first time cuban players to sign with the mlb, o potential potentially, without defecting from cuba. A lot has going on with the president here today. Matt . Important trip but, of course, overtaken by the talking a little bit ago about how in this country, theres no direct orders to change anything in how security is carried out at airports, train stations or bus stations, you can expect more of a Police Presence at the locations. Its something were familiar with here where we broadcast from. You can see, i think, some Police Officers, larger number than normal, behind me here. I think a lot of this is a visual deterrent, but a lot is to comfort people. Yeah. Let them know things are being looked after. In rockefeller center, when we see a special contatactical uni arrive, some people think it makes them nervous. I find it makes me feel more secure and confident. I say to the Police Officers thank you for being here. Youll see that at locations all around the country. Nice to say thank you. These are intense times for them, as well. Well continue our coverag brussels, belgium, after a short break. Well be right back. 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Go paperless dont stress, girl i got the discounts that you need its a balancing act, but i got to give the people what they want more box. Any words for the critics . What can i say . Critties gonna neg. [ applause ] the what . [ laughs ] i got minds to twist and alrivalues to warp. His. Mr. Tyler, your skittles portrait. That is e to the z oh twiddly deesgusting you havent heard me sing diddlyding yet. Dream on higher. Dream on dreammm onnnn rock the rainbow. Taste the rainbow. We need women in congress. If we want to be heard, it was the women who forced republicans to include Womens Health and contraceptive coverage in the Affordable Care act. In congress, ill fight for pay equity, family leave and tougher gun safety laws. And, as an environmentalist, ill work combat climate change. That when women are at the table, we get things done. Im Kathleen Mathews and i approve this message. I underscore limited. The schools are still on lockdown. Interesting, free taxi rides now. Several of the taxi drivers have come back to the Brussels Airport. You saw all the people standing out on the streets, outside of the Brussels Airports. They couldnt get out. Had no place to go. There were no planes anymore. The subway shut down. The busses and trains shut down. The highways are taken over by emergency services. People were walking down the highways, carrying and pulling their bags. Taxi drivers have come back to the airport and are picking people up, free of charge, and taking them where they need to go. It reminds me of 9 11 and the ferry operators who came back across the hudson river, picking people up on manhattan island, afs i mo to new jersey on that day. In these terrible instances, there is the sense of community and coming together to try to help people in their darkest hours. We had an american nato consultant we spoke to on the phone earlier who had been at the airport, dropped off his girlfriend and witnessed the explosions. He had taken a fellow american from ohio. Before that point, a stranger, and said, come with me. Come to me house. You have nowhere else to go. If there is a silver lining, its always that there is humanity in the midst of all this. Tom, thank you very much. Interests me that tom said the belgium Law Enforcement detonated that belt that they found at the airport. Believed to have been an undetonated suicide belt. I guess you have to do that because those things are unstable. Could cause harm to anyone working in that area, in terms of a police or first responder. But you have to wonder then, what do you lose there terms of potential evidence to help track down these terrorist w more out there. Exactly. Keir simmons has been following this for us. Good morning. What are you learning . Hey, good morning. Were hearing increasingly from witnesses, particularly who were at the airport, describing what they saw and heard. I want to take you through some of the accounts. They really are distressing. As we look at the pictures of the smoke and degree that wbrise airport, one witness saying people were crying, shouting. Kri children. It was a horrible experience. I dont want to think about it. I would probably have been in the place when the bomb went off. This person says, clearly describing that they were close to being exactly where the explosion happened. Many people saying as they were entering the airport or moving through the airport, the explosion happened. One of their first thoughts was, what about if i had been there . I was about to go there. I had just been there. Another meters from us, we heard a big explosion. Its like when youre at a party and suddenly, your hearing goes out from a big noise. Another one saying, took a very long time for the ambulances to come. Maybe half an hour. Another witness, everything was coming down. Glass, it was chaos, unbelievable. It was the worst thing. People were running away. A lot of people were injured. Many of these accounts from the airport that youre seeing there because, of course, its a fairly open space. There would have been a large number of people who were able to be witnesses but, thankfully, were not injured. Much more difficult in the metro, where a third explosion happened around an hour later. As you guys know, in those on those occasions, a bomb goes off in an enclosed space, anyone who is around is going to well, frankly, theyll struggle to survive. One perso metro, it was panic everywhere. There were a lot of people in the metro, this witness says. It was, again, around 9 00 local time. It will have been just past the rush hour. Still, as you guys will know from there and from anyone who travels by subway, to work or back, that kind of time is a time when people there would have been people crowded on to that train. 20 people on that train, we are hearing, have been killed. 11 at the airport. 31 in total. Keir simmons, helping us understand the human toll weve seen this morning. As we continue to cover these attacks in belgium, were going to take a quick, quick momentary break. Let other stations join us. Were back right after this. Good morning, its 9 57 on this tuesday march 22nd. We know 31 people have been killed in this mornings terrorist attacks in belgium. There were two blasts at the Brussels Airport. About an hour later a bomb went off on a subway train near the European Union headquarters killing 20. Belgium has raised the terror alert level to its highest lev clouds coming through. Temperatures in the low to mid40s. Well get sunshine back in the afternoon as we climb to 60. Overnight tonight down in the upper 40s. Milder weather moves in wednesday and thursday. Mostly sunny both days, low 70s tomorrow. Mid 70s on thursday. Late thursday night maybe rain showers. Easter weekend looks good. Highs mid 60s saturday and sunday. Aaron . Tom, thanks, a special programming note news 4 midday will come on at noon. Well return to the nbc special report after a s ho stronger is blasting her tumors. Without risking her bones. Its training her good cells. To fight the bad guys. Stronger is less pain. New hope. Ht. Its doing everything in your power. And everything in ours. Stronger, is changing even faster than they do. Because we dont just want your kids to grow up. We want them to grow up stronger. Regular programming. Good morning. Breaking news. Terror in brussels. Suicide bombings rocked the breaking news. Terror in brussels. The death today rising to at least 30 people. Just this morning new video emerges. Train raiders forced to travel through dark tunnels. The first explosion didnt sound horrible but was followed by a lot of screaming. The second explosion was greeted by dead silence. A hunt potentially for