To be a wedding to remember today, sunday, august 17th, 2014. From nbc news, this is today. With lester holt and erica hill live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Welcome to today on this sunday morning. Im erica hill. Im lester holt alongside jenna wolfe and dylan dreyer. The situation in ferguson, missouri, remains very tense despite the overnight curfew. We are going to get you to the latest. We want to take a look back to remind everyone how we got to this point. S la the saturday, 18yearold Michael Brown was shot and killed by a ferguson, Missouri Police officer. Brown was unarmed. What followed was a week of protests, peaceful and violent have the officers were brought in to handle a rash of looting and violence. Their heavily armed presence further enraged some residents there. On friday, Police Revealed the name of the officer who fired the fatal shot, officer Darren Wilson. Police also released Surveillance Video of Michael Brown allegedly robbing a store shortly before he was shot and killed. On saturday, missouris governor declared a state of curfew. Ron allen has been working this throughout the evening. He has the latest. Good morning. Reporter it was an absolute stunning show of force last nye night. The police say the initial plan was to patrol the neighborhood on foot but it changed when they heard reports of an armed gunman and shoot can victims. So they gave the order to clear the streets. Attention had been building for a showdown. Many protesters obeyed the call to leave the streets. A Defiant Group dug in. Scores of police armed with military style weapons that have addeded to the anger and resentment. First, came a warning. This is the Police Department you are violating the stateimposed curfew. Then, about ten minutes after midnight, police advanced forward opening fire with smoke canisters, multiple rounds, sending the crowd running for cover. Police said their resfoponse wa appropriates, because they had more to deal with than a demonstration. We have a shooting victim in critical condition. We have some extending in the middle of the road with a handgun. We had a police car shot at tonight. Yes, i think that was a proper response. Earlier in the day, missouris governor had declared a state of emergency. We can not allow the illwill of the few to undermine the goodwill of the many. He was responding to an outburst following the roux release by local police of a security tape showing Michael Brown allegedly stealing cigars from a store some ten minutes before officer Darren Wilson shot and killed the unarmed teenager about half a mile away last saturday. Now, this. Authorities have said that most of the protests here have been peaceful. They blame a small number of criminals for the violence. Tonight, they seem determined to root them out. In less than an hour they had taken back control. Night. A heavy rain helping cool down the confrontation. The police considering their next steps as they try to keep the peace. It is important to point out that all that violence happened in a very small area, several blocks long. The rest of ferguson was peaceful, observing the curfew. Officials have not said whether theyre going to try to impose another curfew tonight. Lester . Ron, the lines of authority there are a bit unusual. The state police, heigthe highw patrol brought in to secure the streets, but my understanding is they dont have a role in the shooting investigation. Does that leave them between a rock and a hard place . Reporter organizationally, yes, but they are out in front here. Im sure theyre assisting with the investigation in terms of gathering information. They made the point yesterday that the state police did that there were some 40 fbi agents here from the federal government going door to door in the neighborhood where Michael Brown was killed, canvassing, trying to find witnesses that will come forward. We talked to so many people in the community here who say theyre afraid to talk to the local police, fearing retribution and retaliation. They dont want to give their names or addresses because thats the kind of climate that they live in here. So, yes, the state police are somewhat caught in the middle. But theyre very much out in front and thats reassuring to the community, i would say, because they just dont trust the police. They also dont trust many of them, the county prosecutor here, the level of the organization that could bring charges against the officer who fired those fatal rounds, and that seems to be the key demand of so many here, they want to see charges filed against the officer, Darren Wilson, who allegedly shot and killed Michael Brown. Until that happens, people here are going to be very angry. All right, ron, we appreciate your coverage. Thanks very much. Erica . Lest, thanks. Our chief Foreign Affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell is filling in as moderator of meet the press this morning. Good morning. We know ferguson is a National Story at this point. Will be a major focus of the show for you this morning. A lot of what is surfacing as ron talked about too is this fearfulness, this fear of divide in the country. How much can and should the president be weighing in on that at this point . Well, thats a big question. There is a big question about leadership, about why it took the president and particularly why it took the governor jay nixon several days to get to what people in ferguson are calling ground zero. He says he was engaged behind the scenes, ill be talking to him and asking him both questions. Also what next, what about the racial divide between majority africanamerican communities across the country and almost all white Police Forces as you know there are only three white three black Police Officers in the town of ferguson in a community that is 67 africanamerican. Plus the militarization of the Police Across the country as we have seen in the days since the mid90s. Originally tempted for the counteracting the drug war, but now we see Armored Vehicles that look like a combat zone, and continuing protests with the reported mishandling of this by local police. Still, no answers as to actually what happened with the shooting of the unarmed black teenager, Michael Brown, and why that report has not been released. And there have been a lot of there has been a lot of talk about the fact that that investigation does need to happen so the details can come out. As we talked about briefly at the beginning, as ron mentioned, federal investigators now going around the neighborhood, trying to get more information. Is there a sense in washington that this is being handled as quickly as it should from that investigation standpoint. As you mentioned, it took a while for them to get there on the ground. While the federal officials, the justice department, the fbi were there rather kwukly, they still had not been interviewing witnesses around the housing complex, in that neighborhood in ferguson until only yesterday. As we all know with witnesses, first reports, first indications could be the most accurate. So i have a lot of questions about that as well. Were go being to be talking to the mayor of baltimore about what they do in the majority of Africanamerican Community where she will acknowledge ive been talking to her this week that they have not done as good a job as they could. Theyre working at making it more racially diverse, police and fire departments. There are a lot of questions across the country. This is something that Many Americans may be very surprised at. There is a real feeling of disengagement as to why a town like ferguson has so few africanamericans in their leadership in the city council, school board and in the police. Well be looking forward to hearing more of that this morning from you on meet the press. Nice to see you. Thank you. You bet. Good to see you, erica. Nascar star tony stewart will be racing db wie ining racing. Lester has more on that now. Last night as the track reopened for First Time Since that tragic night, fans remembered kevin ward jr. In an emotional tribute. Kristen dahlgren is here now and has more for us. Good morning. Good morning, lester. I heard this called a watershed moment for racing. Nascar and many small tracks instituted new safety rules. But the biggest difference this weekend is that kevin ward jr. Isnt there. Kevin will always be remembered as an inspiration and a good man. Reporter in stands that are usually full of cheers and excitement, it was a somber tribute, a memorial to a young driver whose dramatic death rocked a community. To see a young kid like that get killed, it is heart breaking. Reporter it was here, just last saturday, that ward exited his car after a runin with threetime nascar champion tony stewart. This video posted on youtube shows the young driver on the track, moments before he was hit by stewarts car. He hit him reporter the sheriff says the investigation could still take weeks. Stewart remains out of the public eye. As the Michigan International speedway later today, jeff burton will be behind the wheel in stewarts place. Hes had a really tough time. Hes hurting a lot. And, you know, so just from all accounts, from the people around him, hes really struggling. Reporter there has been no decision on when stewart will return. But this week, nascar changed its rules, issue a bulletin telling all drivers to remain in their cars after accidents until safety workers arrive unless at risk from fire or smoke. Many small tracks have done the same. A big change in a sport sometimes known for short tempers and high drama. Initially, you think is it going to take emotion out of the sport . You get to the bottom of it, im not going to criticize any organization or racetrack for doing something they think is going to make it safer. Stewarts team is taking this one week at a time no decisions have been made beyond todays race. It was wards father who encouraged them to get back to racing saying that kevin would want them to, lester. Kristen, thanks very much. Time for a look at some of the other stories from overnight. Jenna is following those for us. Good morning again. Good morning, everyone. Pope francis extended an olive branch to china today saying he wants to improve relations with the countrys catholics. The pope made the remarks during a meeting with asian bush nisho south korea. China cut ties with the vatican in 1951 after the communist party took power. First african doctors are said to have received the same scarce experimental ebola drug that american doctors have already gotten. Health care workers in liberia administered the drug zmaxx. Health officials requested the drug after american ebola patient dr. Kent brantly and nan Nancy Writebol received the serum. 27yearold cory griffin from massachusetts died in a diving accident saturday. It happened just hours after he raised 100,000 in honor of his friend who struggled with lou gehrigs disease helped inspire the ice bucket challenge. Police have released few details about the circumstances surrounding griffins death. The utah woman who unknowingly drank iced tea laced with cleaning fluid is making progress this morning. An attorney for jean harding says she was able to whisper and get out of bed. Suffering severe burns to her mouth and throat after drinking the toxic tea sunday at a restaurant. Authorities say cleaning solution was accidentally mixed into a bag of sugar that ended up in the iced tea dispenser. So what is the difference between car pool and a car in a pool . Well, everything. Because theyre nothing alike. I just felt like saying that. This driver is okay. It happened in the Southern California town of altadena. He told officers his flipflops got tangled up with the pedals, causing him to lose control of the car. Hes fine. It does make for some interesting pictures. Yeah . It reminds us of the story from dylan of something that happened to her husband in the car yesterday. Well get to that in a second. Thats cool. Hes fine. Everybodys fine. Thats awesome. The pools good too. Refreshing. Finally, a story about the agelessness of love. Jim mongon and jean, both in their 90s, got married at their assisted living facility in wisconsin. Their advice to younger people, jean says, be good to one another. Jim was a slightly more jaded view of love says dont marry the first one that comes along. 90s. Both decided it was time after, you know, years and years and years and years. Dont want to rush into it. You want to take your time and think. It is a cerebral thing, the marriage thing. Dylan is here with the weather. We set that thing up im sorry. The floor mat got under the accelerator and couldnt the floor mat set the accelerator going and it buckled up under the brake pedal, he couldnt hit the brake. Hes going 110 down 95 because he couldnt stop the car. Hes fine. Pulled over. Thats all i was thinking. What did i say . He ended up in a pool. Everyones fine. Tell us about the weather. Were looking at really heavy rain in parts of kentucky. Look at this map here. You can see the darker the reds and darker the purples the heavier the rain. Evansville, indiana, down to parts of kentucky, thats where we see our heaviest downpours now. And advancing forward, well see this move to the east as we go through the day. We could see some heavier downpours. And slight risk of strong storms up through iowa and the Northern Plains later on today. Good morning. 6 15 is the time right now. Waking up to fog and low clouds across the peninsula, even in San Francisco, you can see the Golden Gate Bridge is socked in, and winds are gusting just a bit. Temperatures are very comfortable later. Highs back into the 70s and the 80s. East bay youll be at 75. Over towards the trivalley, thats where well see some of the warmest weather, close to the 0 degrees. Take it easy if you happen to be outside and were all rooting for the 49ers. And thats your latest forecast. Up next on today, the touching story of a bride and one very special Wedding Guest f it wasnt for him, frankly, she wouldnt be around for the biggest day of her life. Thats coming up after this. Thats why theres a listerine® product for every mouth. One to clean your whole mouth. One for those hard to reach places. One to protect kids mouths from cavities. Even one to freshen breath onthego. With over 100 years of innovation in oral care. Theres a listerine® product for every mouth in your house. For cleaner, healthier mouths go beyond brushing alone. Listerine®. Power to your mouth ™. Wow. s your vacation in a word. And heres the sale to match. Royal caribbeans wow sale is going on now. Get up to two hundred dollars in onboard credit and a fifty percent reduced deposit during our biggest sale of the summer. Call today. Today, a beautiful bride will begin the next chapter of her life, one that she may not have seen if not for one brave man, who will be there, as she walks down the aisle. Janet shamlian has their story. Reporter on the eve of her wedding, shima is at a relaxed picnic, surrounded by her family. One guest is not a relative. Joe of the new york Police Department is as close to family as anyone here. I think you might be the daughter he never had. I love him. I do. And his wife helen. She means just as much to me as he does. Reporter 20 years ago the two met under what could have been tragic circumstances. When he hshe stopped breathing, saved her life. She was just two months old. It was only a matter of moments that all this took place. But it felt like it was an instant. Reporter in that moment, a friendship formed that survived time and distance. The family stayed in touch. And he never missed her birth y birthday, not one. He saved more than a dozen lives in the 45 years hes been a Police Officer. But with none of those families has he bonded like he has with this one. The palestinianamerican family calls barka her american father and they meet. When shima walks down the aisle today, joe barka from new york will be there. Ill be misty eyed, im sure. I had three boys, theyre married. This girl here, i treat her as if shes my daughter. We have just such a strong bond. Reporter barka plans to retire next month. 20yearold shima is a registered nurse and says it is her turn to save lives. My passion to be there for people and take care of them and nurse them back to life. What more could i want . Reporter a friendship brings joy among the happiest of occasions. For today, janet shamlian, nbc news, chicago. I love that story. I love the fact he saved so many lives. How many people can say that . What an honor to be able to do that. 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