Just 18 years old and already with millions of fans, and his faithful mahomies have filled our plaza for a concert on monday, may 26th, 2014. From nbc news, this is today, with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And good morning. Welcome to today on this memorial day monday morning. Im Natalie Morales. And im willie geist along with tamron hall, dylan dreyer is with us. Matt, savannah, and al all have the morning off. Lets keep track of how many times we can say mahomies. Thats Austin Mahone live practicing right now, rehearsing, getting ready for what would be a massive concert outside on our plaza. Huge crowd outside. Just a couple of young girls. I love the brave dads wearing the tshirts im here with my daughter. Sure you are. And to clarify its mahomies. If youre a fan, you know who you are. We will get to that concert coming up in the next hour. But first, todays top story. What were now learning from the investigation into that killing spree through a California College town. Nbcs mike taibbi is in Santa Barbara. Mike, good morning. Reporter good morning, willie. Police now have a clear idea of the chronology of that rampage, but given Current Mental Health laws, they dont know how to hold off the next Elliot Rodger. You denied me a happy life, and in turn, i will deny all of you life. Reporter alleged gunman Elliot Rodgers own words are painting a clearer picture of the possible motives behind the murderous rampage through a seaside Southern California town. Along with a final 11th hour video that he posted to youtube, he reportedly circulated a 140page manifesto titled my twisted world just before the massacre. In it, the writer says hed been thinking about his killing spree and planning it since he was 17, five years ago. Frustrated by feeling repeatedly rejected by women, he called his plan the day of retribution and wrote, i cannot kill every single female on earth, but i can deliver a devastating blow that will shake all of them to the core of their wicked hearts. According to reports, rodgers divorced parents, his mother chin and his father, the film director, peter rodger were among the recipients of that chilling diatribe. After receiving the email friday night, they alerted authorities and frantically tried to find their son, but it was too late. I need three ambulances here. Shots fired, shots fired. Reporter last month, they had alerted elliots therapist about his increasingly maudlin, though not yet threatening, videos and blogs. Police were asked to check on him. They did. But he wrote in that manifesto that he tactfully told them it was all a misunderstanding, that it was fine, and that the police never came back. That happens, say Mental Health advocates, when police see no record or indication of immediate danger in subjects like rodger. They can pull it together for long enough to do the interview. How long was the interview . Five, ten minutes . Reporter the result, a month ago he did not meet the criteria for an involuntary Mental Health hold. Reporter now, seven young victims, including the one police now call a madman, are dead. The chancellor here at Uc Santa Barbara has declared tomorrow a day of mourning and reflection, and the largest of several memorials is scheduled for 4 00 in the afternoon here at Harder Stadium on campus. Willie. Our thoughts this morning are certainly with the families of all those victims in Santa Barbara, california. Mike taibbi, thanks, mike. Meantime, president obama has returned to washington this morning following a lowing surprise visit with u. S. Service members in afghanistan and he has a busy memorial day planned. Nbcs Kristen Welker is at the white house. Reporter good morning to you. President obama will participate in the traditional memorial day ceremonies later today, including laying a wreath at Arlington National cemetery and hell continue to navigate the mounting scandal over the v. A. , after a whirlwind fourhour visit to afghanistan. As veterans across the country prepare to mark memorial day, a surprise visit by the commander in chief over the weekend to thank those still serving in afghanistan. The American People stand united. We support you. We are proud of you. We stand in awe of your service. Reporter adding to the tribute, a performance by country star brad paisley. Mr. Obama acknowledged many in the audience were on their final tour of duty as the nearly 13yearlong war winds down. Afghans will take full responsibility for their security. Americas war in afghanistan will come to a responsible end. Reporter even as combat operations end, the question is how many of the more than 30,000 u. S. Troops will remain on the ground . The president dropped a hint. A limited military presence in afghanistan beyond 2014. Reporter white house Officials Say hell likely get into more specifics during a speech at west point wednesday. Overshadowing the trip, the growing scandal at home over allegations of widespread misconduct at v. A. Hospitals. Mr. Obama alluded to the controversy. Helping our wounded veterans and warriors heal isnt just a promise, its a sacred obligation. Reporter the v. A. On the minds of veterans at parades across the country. I believe that whats happening, if its factual, is a disgrace to our veterans. Were humans. We will make mistakes. They do take care of us. This is a systemic problem that has happened for many, many, many years. Reporter now, there was one glitch to the president s trip. There are reports the white house inadvertently provided a list to reporters of briefing attendees in afghanistan, which included the name of the top cia officer there. The white house quickly fixed its error. Officials here are declining to comment this morning. Willie, back to you. Kristen welker at the white house. Thank you. Paul rieckhoff, an iraq war veteran, is the founder and executive director of iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. Paul, good to see you. Good to see you, willie. So the president goes to afghanistan yesterday, reaffirms that this war by and large will be over by the end of the year with some residual forces remaining. 13 years on now, paul, some 2,300 americans dead, did the United States achieve its objectives as they were set out in 2001 in afghanistan . I dont think we know yet. Well find out over the next few years and next few decades. I think for our troops and veterans, theyve done everything theyve been asked to do. Theyve stepped up and theyve sacrificed and especially on memorial day its about reflecting on those weve lost and spending time with our families and trying to reconnect after very long years of war. The president did talk obliquely about the Veterans Affairs scandal. He said its a sacred obligation that we take care of our veterans when they come home. That hasnt been going on lately at the department of Veterans Affairs. How frustrated are you and your constituency, not just with the department, but with the president of the United States . Extremely frustrated. Our members are outraged nationwide. Theyve lost faith in the v. A. , in secretary shinseki and in the president. Hes got to work hard to regain that trust and faith for the millions of veterans who depend on the v. A. This is crossing geography and partisan lines. Its outrage ive never seen before. The president took too long to get to this. The secretary took too long to address it and now theyve really got to make up ground to regain that trust. Youve stopped short so far of calling for the resignation of secretary shinseki. So lets be constructive about this. You get rid of the guy at the top, thats one thing. But theres a massive problem underlying that. What are some things we can do right now to improve the v. A. . Its a massive bureaucracy thats been broken for decades. Shinsekis at the top of it. We also need massive reform. Congress just passed a v. A. Accountability act. We need the senate to pass that through as well. We need better oversight from congress. Theyve also been asleep at the switch here. We need all americans to step up. They can support communitybased nonprofits and all the other local veterans groups that have to fill that void when v. A. Cant be there. As you pointed out many times, were just at the beginning of this problem. Weve got a lot more veterans about to come into the system. It has to be fixed now. Thats right. Almost 2. 8 million men and women have served overseas since 9 11, and on this day especially, on memorial day, we want to honor the folks weve lost. Put the politics aside. Were asking everyone around the country at 12 01 to go silent. Thats the hash tag were using. If you want to remember somebody of any generation thats been lost, remember them today at 12 01. Take a minute whenever you are. This is really a day where everybody else goes to the beach and the vets go to the cemetery to remember those weve lost. I think thats a great idea. Paul rieckhoff, thank you for your service, not only abroad, but continuing in your years afterward. Thank you, always appreciate you, man. Lets head to tamron for a check of the mornings other top stories. Good morning, everyone. Emergency crews this morning are looking for three people missing after a massive mudslide during the night in colorado. It happened in a remote area near collbran about 40 miles from Grand Junction and west of denver. The Mesa County Sheriffs Department says the slide is about four miles long, two miles wide, and 250 feet deep. Today pope francis is wrapping up his emotional visit to the holy land. This morning, he met with Holocaust Survivors and prayed at some of the worlds holiest locations. Nbcs Anne Thompson has more from jerusalem. Anne, good morning. Reporter good morning, tamron. On this trip, pope francis describes himself as a pilgrim, but he has become a peacemaker, with his extraordinary invitation to the leaders of israel and palestine, to join him at the vatican next month for a meeting. Today, pope francis confronts the future and past of the middle east. At yad vashem, israels memorial to the holocaust, francis kissed the hands of several survivors, praying that there would never be another such crime. He visited the dome of the rock, where muslims believe the Prophet Muhammad ascended to heaven. Here the pope asked that no one abuse gods name through violence. At the western wall, the most sacred site in jewish faith, he left a note and his own message, embracing his traveling companions, a rabbi and a sheik. His prayer here mirrored his prayer at the graffiti covered concrete barrier that separates israeli from the palestinian west bank. This palestinian fought her way through the crowds at sundays mass in bethlehems manger square to ask for the popes help. We are surrounded with the high cost of war and we are tombed. But israel wants the pope to understand the wall was built for security. So today, israeli Prime MinisterBenjamin Netanyahu took francis to the memorial for terror victims. Unlike amman in bethlehem, there are no huge crowds here to greet the pope. Much of this city is on lockdown. The streets are empty, and in fact, the most visible sign of the popes visit is the very heavy security presence. Tamron . All right, anne, thank you very much. New violence today in eastern ukraine, where there are reports of heavy gunfire near the airport in donetsk after gunmen took over the terminal, demanding the withdrawal of Ukrainian Forces from the facility. Meantime, a 48yearold candy tycoon is claiming victory in sundays president ial election. Petro poroshenko is vowing to put an end to war, chaos, crime, and bring peace to ukraine, following recent crisis there, hes indicated he wants to mend relations with russia. Moscow, meantime, says it is ready to meet with him. Some big milestones in sports. The dodgers josh beckett is celebrating the first nohitter of his career. Striking out six, he shut out the Philadelphia Phillies 60, tossing the First Major League nohitter, by the way, of the year if youre counting. It was the Dodgers First nohitter since 1996. Also celebrating, ryan hunterreay, who won the indy 500 on sunday, beating helio castroneves. Hunterreay is the First American to win the race since 1996. Its his first indy 500 win. He describes himself as a proud american, appropriate on memorial day. And just four days after announcing that he and tennis star fiancee Caroline Wozniacki were calling it quits, rory mcilroy came from behind on sunday to beat childhood friend shane lowry by one stroke. Its his first victory of the year. Going through a lot there. I guess it would be bittersweet. I mean, youre winning and going through an emotional thing with your fiancee, its tough. Yeah. Sometimes people, you know, they fight through the pain. Turn the page nicely. Im thinking about her. Sorry. Seems to be working for her, too. All right, tamron, thank you. Dylan is in here for al this morning. Some serious concerns for beach goers in florida. Yes. Dangerous rip currents. Dozens of people had to be rescued on sunday. Today red flag warnings are in effect once again. It will take you away if youre not paying attention, and then youll look up and have to work your way back in. Reporter David Simmons was among the beach goers battling against rough waters in Central Florida sunday when 100 people had to be rescued from rip currents. It dragged us out a couple of times, but the lifeguards have been very diligent. Theyve been out with the flags and warning people to come back in. Reporter rip currents are powerful narrow channels of fastmoving water caused by Shifting Sands that can move at speeds of up to eight feet per second, faster than an olympic swimmer. Local Officials Say on an average day they only rescue about a dozen swimmers. We had very hazardous rip Current Conditions today and well probably have that throughout the weekend, so we strongly urge people when they come to the beach, make sure they swim in front of an open lifeguard tower. And remember, if you are ever stuck in that rip current, swim parallel to the shoreline to get out of that current. Meanwhile, on this memorial day, we are looking at some areas of severe storms. South of amarillo, texas, moving south of austin, and dallas will see some of those stronger storms as we go into this afternoon. We are looking at scattered showers and storms up into parts of the western great lakes, stretching all the way down into texas, but in the same area, similar to where it was yesterday and the day before, this is where we could see some of your stronger storms, especially some wind gusts and that could cause some wind damage, and also the chance of perhaps up to 3 to 5 inches of rain and hail perhaps up to 2 inches in diameter. So we are going to keep a close eye on that area again in texas today. Thats a look at the weather across the country. Your local forecast coming up in just 30 seconds. Coming up in just 30 seconds. Direct trade coffee means tracing the beans back to the original farmer and paying them a premium based on the quality of the bean. Target was the first major retailer to sell direct trade coffee. With the extra money they can really invest back into their farms and their families. It makes my job really worth while. Nbc bay area microclimate Weather Forecast is sponsored by yucult probiotic drink. 7 16 the time right now. Anthony slaughter in for christina loren. Clear skies in San Francisco across the bay and brufl conditions headed our way later this afternoon and even right now back into the 50s right near 60 degrees at sf and later on close to 70 in San Francisco, close to 90 in the north bay and east bay, peninsula and south bay will see a mix of low to mid80s for today. All right, dylan, thank you. With millions heading to the beach today, it is important to remember the atlantic Hurricane Season begins on sunday, and this year, forecasters will get help from a predicting tool that might surprise you. Heres nbcs kerry sanders. Reporter this is the newest weapon in the battle to more accurately predict dangerous hurricanes, sharks. Scientists at the university of miami are putting sensors on sharks and other big game fish to transmit data, including deep water temperatures. Increasingly, scientists believe those readings could help predict when a Tropical Storm will turn into a category 5 hurricane. The National Weather service is predicting as many as 13 Tropical Storms this year. Six could become hurricanes, and two, they say, could be category 3 or higher. Their goal is to be able to sound the alarm when a big storm is coming. This brandnew storm surge simulator at the university of miami could help. It combines coastline surge and wind models. The Weather Channel got a sneak peek. Were on the cusp of really making some exciting developments. Reporter when its fully operational, it will be able to simulate a category 5 hurricane with winds in excess of 157 miles per hour. These will be the highest wind measurements that have ever been made. That will hopefully improve hurricane forecast models. Reporter and it will allow sci