And morally treasonous, heavyweight aaron sorkin weighs in live today, tuesday, december 16th, 2014. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning. Welcome to today on a Tuesday Morning. Were starting to get details from pakistan and an attack out there. And the details are shocking. It is our top story. Unthinkable attack of the taliban on school. Students and teachers shot one by one as gunmen went through classrooms. Nbcs katy tur has the latest on this. Good morning to you. Good morning, matt. 126 killed, mostly children. Were told the gunmen went in, wearing suicide vests and, as you said, shot some kids one by one. There are also more than 150 injured. These numbers keep going up as the attacks are still ongoing. They are going through each room of the school to make sure. This made only more complicated by reports of booby traps. Ambulances and police rush to a military school as at least six taliban gunmen stormed the compound, killing dozens, injuring scores more, and holding many hostage. Soldiers reportedly evacuated about 500 student, but there was worry that many were still trapped inside. A taliban Spokesman Says the attackers were suicide bombers on a revenge mission. This boy made it out only to describe the horror from a hospital bed saying, today we had a chemistry exam. As the firing started, militants opened up. They killed a 2yearold child who was visiting. Others inside say the gunmen went class by class and shot some kids one by one while they beat others. A military officer told reporters the militants literally set a teacher on fire with gasoline and made the kids watch. Nearby, a hospital was told to get ready for mass casualties, as the death toll and number of victims continue to crime. The city, which is just miles from the afghanistan border, has been the target of frequent attacks in the past, but its seen relative quiet as of late. This morning, the taliban claimed responsibility saying, we targeted the school because the army targets our families. We want them to feel our pain. That spokesman also said the bombers were told to target soldiers and older students, specifically the children of senior military officials. The group says this attack is in retaliation for Army Operations in the countrys tribal area. Matt . Katy tur, thank you very much. Richard engel is nbcs chief foreign correspondent. Good morning to you. Were used to hearing and have become accustomed to hearing about attacks by the taliban in afghanistan. This is across the border. It appears to be for revenge. What can you tell us . The taliban operates on both sides of the afghan pakistan border. And for years the taliban have been crossing over the border and fighting in pakistan. The pakistani government is fighting the taliban on its side of the border. And the problem is there has never been a really effective, coordinated strategy between pakistan and the United States to try and push them from both sides of the border. And as the u. S. Troops draw down, taliban have been getting stronger in afghanistan, which is causing problems on the other side of the border in pakistan. And then in june, to get to this specific attack, in june the Pakistani Military launched a major offensive in the tribal area that is katy mentioned where the taliban is strongest in pakistan and that is the reason that the group says it carried out this revenge attack against a school. And the strength of the taliban right now in this region, how would you describe it . I would say its getting stronger. Its getting stronger because u. S. Troops are drawing down. Its like squeezing a balloon. You squeeze it in one part, it just shifts to another area. As u. S. Troops draw down in afghanistan, do fewer and fewer operations, they are able to grow in numbers, grow in strength there and operate in pakistan as well. Richard engel, its a terrible story. Thank you for coming in this morning. We appreciate it. Mean while, closer to home, an intense manhunt under way in pennsylvania. An iraq war veteran suspected of killing six family members, including his wife. A possible sighting leading to a Massive Police response overnight. Rehema ellis has more on all of it. Good morning. Reporter good morning, savannah. Im at Police Headquarters 30 miles outside philadelphia. Some schools are closed today as a precaution as police hunt for a man in connection with whats been called one of the deadliest shooting rampages ever in this region. Overnight, a possible lead in the search for fugitive gunman Bradley William stone after an attempted robbery in doylestown, pennsylvania, by a man who matches stones description. The victim, who was armed, resisted and fired multiple rounds at the suspect, last seen fleeing the area on foot. The incident follows a dramatic scene on monday with s. W. A. T. Teams following a home in nearby Montgomery County where they believe stone was hiding out. We saw the smoke come up. They threw it in their front door. I dont know. It was crazy. Reporter police say the suspect was not there. As we stand here right now we do not know where he is. Reporter Authorities Say stone went on a deadly shooting spree early monday morning, killing six family members, including his exwife, her sister and brotherinlaw, her 14yearold niece, her mother and her 75yearold grandmother, 17yearold nephew, the only survivor, is being treated for a head wound at a philadelphia hospital. Its just hard to believe. This is just in one day its all gone. Everything is all gone. Nbc affiliate wcau talked with a neighbor who didnt want to be shown on camera, but said she heard gunshots and saw stone leaving with his two children. I opened the window and i asked him was everything okay. He just looked at me and said shes hurt pretty bad. We have to leave. Reporter Authorities Say his two children were found unharmed. Mr. Stone delivered his two daughters to a neighbor in pennsburg. That is the last time he was seen by anyone. Reporter police say 35yearold stone has been known to use a cane or walker, but they dont know if hes using any of those devices now. Savannah and matt . Rehema ellis, thank you very much. We have a series of tragic stories this morning. Were learning more about that terrifying hostage siege in sydney, aust australia. The victims held for more than 16 hours, and were also learning more about the man behind it. Hallie jackson is in sydney with the latest. Hallie, good morning to you. Reporter good morning, matt. The australian Prime Minister says the gunman was not on a terror watch list and described him as disturbed. Here in downtown sydney, many are choosing instead to focus on the victims. Even at 11 08 at night, this plaza filled not just with flowers but with people, who came to pay their respects to the two hostages who died in this crisis, both now being remembered as heroes. Just hours after this dramatic and deadly end to sydneys hostage crisis, a somber Service Honoring the two lives of the innocent victims killed in the downtown cafe. These heroes were willing to lay down their lives so that others might live. Reporter katrina dawson, 38yearold lawyer and mother of three, died after reportedly shielding her pregnant friend from gunfire. 34yearold tori johnson was killed after he tried to wrestle the gun away from his captor. He wasnt coming out until everybody else was. Reporter the shot that killed johnson triggering the Police Response that ended the nearly 17hour siege, officers storming the building. Hostages sprinting for safety. The Lindt Chocolate cafe lighting up from inside. Several people were hurt, including a police officer. The gunman was killed. He had a long history of violent crime, infatuation with extremism and mental instability. Reporter the selfdescribed cleric had a criminal history, released on bail last year after being charged as an accessory in the murder of his exwife, who was stabbed and set on fire. This man represented him in that case and others. Were talking about a person who, probably as a result of a combination of factors, became unhinged and acted in this extraordinary, catastrophic way. Reporter he forced his hostages to hold an islamic flag on the cafe windows but australian Officials Say hes a lone wolf, an extremist. As an australian and a muslim as well reporter this man one of hundreds waiting to place flowers at a growing memorial near the cafe. In the heart of sydney, a testament to its unity. The crisis is over, but the investigation is not. A full official account of those 16plus hours inside the cafe is still some time away. Police say theyre talking with the hostages and their families but understandably theyre very emotional. Matt and savannah . Hallie jackson, thank you very much. The hacking scandal that has rocked Sony Pictures. Hollywood is bracing for the possible release of even more emails and private information. Should the press publish them . Joe friar is in los angeles with the latest. Good morning. Reporter good morning, savannah. Town hall meetings, execs reportedly apologized and tried to rally the troops. Were hearing from the stars of the sony movie the interview, upcoming comedy about north Korean Leader kim jongun that the hackers say they dont want released. Its impossible for seth rogen to do an interview about the interview. I cant believe people are so happy. Look at this stolen information. Lets read it. Reporter theyre upset that its become public. Theyre not doing anything illegal. Theyre not trying to fool you as the consumer. Theyre having private correspondence with one another. Here, read it and pick it apart and dissect it. Reporter rogen and franco have not escaped the steady flow of revelations, which include their recent salaries and negative internal memos about their new movie. In a town hall meeting monday, Sony Pictures cochair amy pascal reportedly apologized again for controversial emails unveiled during the attack. I think the question has to become for sony, whats the economic tradeoff of keeping amy in the seat versus replacing her . Reporter now the man behind the tv drama the newsroom is criticizing Media Outlets publishing information from the hack. In a New York Times oped, aaron sorkin writes, as demented and criminal as it is, at least the hackers are doing it for a cause. The press is doing it for a nickel. Many legal experts say its hard to stop the coverage. The media is free to publish even illegally leaked information, information originally stolen by someone else and then leaked to them. Attorneys for sony have sent letters to some Media Outlets, demanding they not publish materials from the hack. As for the movie the interview, due out on christmas, seth rogen says he has not been asked to make any changes to the film since this hacking attack started. Savannah and matt . Thank you, joe. By the way, well talk to aaron sorkin in the next hour. He of course wrote that New York Times oped saying the press is complicit with the hackers. Interesting to hear what he has to say. Closer to throwing his hat into the 2016 president ial ring, and its former Florida Governor jeb bush. Nbc National CorrespondentPeter Alexander has more on that. Hi, peter. Reporter hi, matt. Good morning to you. Jeb bush may have just handed out the clearest clue yet hes preparing to unwrap his president ial ambitions, announcing hell release tens of thousands of emails as well as a new book in the new year. Now his mother barbara bush appears to be on board too. Jeb bush taking the stage as Commencement Speaker of the university of South Carolina monday. And i can tell you from personal experience if your parents worked in politics, well, you know the rest. Dont be afraid to shake things up. And dont be afraid of change, especially in your own life. Reporter his visit to the important gop primary state comes after the former governor announced he will release 250,000 emails from his time in office. Part of serving or running, both of them, is transparency, to be totally transparent. Reporter another sign . Bush has also recently shed 15 pounds. The son of 41 and brother of 43 says will he decide whether to chase 45 in short order. I have no idea if i would be a good candidate. I hope i would be. I think i could serve well as president. Reporter last year on today, barbara bush made her opinion clear. There are other people out there that are very qualified and weve had enough bushes. Reporter but now she has even had a change of heart. I think shes come around now, honestly. So many people have come up to her and said jeb is the most qualified guy. Reporter hardly a shooin with positions on immigration and education at odds with much of the partys base. A bush announcement would immediately put pressure on another familiar last name in president ial politics, Hillary Clinton, who has signaled he could wait until spring to launch a 2016 campaign. Matt . We will wait and see. Peter alexander at the white house, thank you very much. Natalie is here with new fallout on the uva story. Thats right. New developments in that story about Sexual Assault allegations at the university of virginia. University officials knew back in midseptember about those allegations of a gang rape at a fraternity back in 2012, yet they did not request a Police Investigation until after a Rolling Stone article about the alleged attack was published. That was more than two months later. The Daily Progress says an associate dean met in september with fraternity reps to inform them of the allegations. School officials have not responded to requests for comment. General motors has raised the death toll in relation to the defective ignition switches to 42 people. The attorney hired by gm to compensate victims says he has received 251 death claims and more than 2,000 injury claims since august. The fund so far has deemed 100 claims eligible for compensation. Hanukkah, the jewish festival of lights, begins tonight in washington, d. C. Theyll mark the occasion by lighting the national menorah. Its a symbol of the eightday holiday. Vice President Joe Biden will deliver remarks at the event. Heartwarming story of a tortoise who helped his friend get back on his feet. Take a look at this video was shot at the taipei zoo in taiwan. One tortoise is stuck, upside down on his shell. His friend comes to the rescue. Slowly, using his head and front legs, managing to nudge him from underneath and flip him over. Getting him right backside up. Didnt appear there would be a thank you there, but i think he was pretty grateful for that. The kids certainly you hear them cheering and happy. No thank you, because he was the one who pushed him over in the first place. Probably. Just making good on it. They actually sped that up. It took two days. It was a heartwarming story. Leave it to the dover boys. Al, whats up . Weve got some showers and thunderstorms along this front. Nothing all that horrible. We are looking at activity ahead of the front. Warmer conditions, 10 degrees warmer than behind it. Pittsburgh right now, showers. Chicago, lot of fog. Going to be a lot of airport delays both at ohare and midway. Behind the system, weve got colder air. We watch snow wrap around this, u. P. Of michigan on into parts of wisconsin, michigan as well. Rain moving into the northeast. Well see some airport delays during the day today as the afternoon wears on. D. C. , baltimore, philly, new york, newark, and boston. Back behind the system were looking at generally between 3 to 6 inches of snow. Well get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. Honey, havent i asked you to please use the. We dont have a reception entrance. Ship a pak via Fedex Express saver® for as low as 7. 50. Good morning. 7 18 now. We do have a little bit of lingering shower activity but you can see the sky over san jose starting to open up. Plenty of clouds to go around. Cloud and sunol. Gilroy and morgan hill will be clearing out briefly for today and we have a heavier rond on the way as we head out this evening through tonight. The heavy stuff moves in by 3 00. Mr. Roker, thanks very much. Tamron is here with all things orange, in the orange room. Not all things, but most things. You know what . Were kind of teeing up tomorrows looking back at the biggest news story of the year. From the ebola crisis to the amazing care workers who not only treated patients but ultimately survived that virus to the many other topics we discussed during the year. Of course, Malaysia Airlines lost two passenger planes. Since its disappearance in march, mh370 mystery lingers on, only to be followed with a plane shot down over the ukraine with 300 souls on board. And ferguson continues to be a big story. Well take a look back. And transitioning into the world of sports by the way, ferguson, 16. 8 million tweets. And the world cup solidifying its top at the list. Some of the big stories you see there. Isis, ebola. Polar vortex. Mr. Roker, you remember the big controversy with that . Whats that . People never heard of it and then you had to whip out your meteorological book, if thats the word for it, from 1910, that the polar vortex was not made up. Do you remember that . I do. Im just kind of glad you finished that. That pause was a little long. Anyway, its on the list. Ray rice. We know that matt recently spoke to ray and his wife. And the bill cosby story. Well break it down tomorrow with the big list. Tamron, thank you. Coming up on the ongoing Sexual Assault allegations, bill cosbys wife breaks her silence. What she has to say. Plus aaron sorkin and the cyber