Happened. Terror cell in spain, new arrests overnight tied to the attacks in barcelona and cambrils, Spanish Police still looking for at least one man who may have been the driver of that van that barrelled through barcelona killing and injuring scores. This as we learn more about the california man who was killed as he celebrate d his first wedding anniversary. All of that plus boston prepares for tens of thousands who are expected at the socalled free speech rally. A Seattle Seahawks player gets support from a teammate after he chooses to sit during the National Anthem. And taylor swift goes dark, her media accounts a blank space with rumors flying she may be able to drop a new album. Today, august 19th, 2017. This is today, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Welcome on this saturday morning, im craig melvin. And good morning to you. This has become a bit of a familiar ritual, getting up on a saturday morning with another Top Trump Administration official gone. Its true. Reince priebus, sean spicer and steve bannon all ousted on a friday. President trumps former top strategist steve bannon speaking out about his exit from the white house. Bannon now vowing to go to war for the president s agenda and against his enemies in the west wing. Nbcs Kelly Odonnell is in new jersey with more. Good morning to you. Reporter good morning, craig. One of the president s most powerful advisers from the campaign to the west wing is not going quietly. Steve bannon is vowing publicly to quote crush the opposition. The decision to oust bannon came from the new chief of staff john kelly and its a sign of his authority. The post steve bannon era begins, President Trump did not respond to questions friday about the dismissal of his chief strategist. Bannon leaves the white house but not the battlefield. Already back to his former world at the conservative media outlet breitbart named executive chairman and already speaking out. Bannon bluntly told the weekly standard, the Trump Presidency that we fought for and won is over. This image captures the exodus, all of the advisers from the early group now gone. Bannon, the hard line nationalist lost his power struggle within to more moderate voices. Bannon also said of his return to breitbart, now im free. Ive got my hands back on my weapons. Critics including Many Democrats blasted bannon as an altright leader who gave a bigger platform to White Nationalist anger. Wall street reacted with traders cheering. Bannon is said to have submitted his resignation. Tuesday President Trump defended ban on but later agreed he should go. He is not a racist, i can tell you that. Reporter peter king wanted bannon out. Now its up to the president and general kelly, the new chief of staff to show that the white house can run the chain of command and run in an orderly way. Reporter the white house released its own photos and music backed video from inside the president s camp david meetings friday with his National Security team. Making the absence of steve bannon all the more obvious. Reporter and two more unrelated separations from the white house, carol el icon said hell no longer be advising President Trump based on criticism he was doing so while running his business and the president s arts council is leaving with artistic flair. In a letter explaining their decision, first letter of each paragraph spelled out the word resist, which has weekend a battle cry for democrats and the left against President Trump. Kelly odonnell starting us off. Thank you lets bring in alease jordan, former top adviser to the Rand Paul Campaign and jonathan swan, a National Political report for axios. Good morning. Theres a lot of competing narratives how this went down with steve bannon. Was this a good breakup or bad one . About as breakups can get. Theres a good reason why donald trump didnt give steve bannon a warm farewell. Its because donald trump cant stand steve bannon. Now that could change over time but at this point we reported on axeios that donald trump was telling associates that bannon was a leaker. Hes saying who does this guy think he is, resents the narrative that donald trump has seen that bannon was the architect of his election victory and donald trump has been complaining about a book called devils bargain which people close to donald trump which has been described as a vanity biography of steve bannon. This was a kelly decision but it was really also a donald trump decision. Jonathan, we just heard from kelly o. That bannon goes on the offense, making provocative comments about the Trump Presidency being over and vowing now to go to war, his words. What is this war going to look like that steve bannon is promising . My understanding from talking to a number of sources familiar with breitbart is that the mercer family, billionaire new York Hedge Fund mogul, bob mercer who also funds breitbart, they are going to reinvest, probably quite heavily, breitbart will continue what its been doing, which is a multifront war. They are going to attack a Establishment Republicans on capitol hill. I expect theyll probably engage in a campaign to remove the speaker of the house paul ryan. And then they are going to turn their fire on bannons enemies enside the white house. The quote unquote globalists bannon has been fighting on the ip side. Hell keep fighting on the outside. Its people like jared and ivanka and gary cohn, h. R. Mcmaster, dean thdina powell. Theyll hold his feet to the fire when it comes to fights, debt ceiling fight, they are going to demand that donald trump sign a bill that has money for the border wall. Thats going to be a really hot fight in washington. So much talk about bannon this morning. Can you talk about for a moment, why does all of this matter from a policy standpoint and optics standpoint . Well, you look at how donald trump came into the white house in sort of a black swan event and steve bannon was really the force behind a lot of the ideas that donald trump already had in his heart but helped donald trump market those ideas, gain more widespread appeal and it went shaky from the very beginning. You look at how the executive order about the socalled muslim ban, how that was rolled out and steve bannon, that was his first big initiative. So while steve bannon certainly achieved a lot of renowned for being the top strategist. Doesnt have that much successes to add to his ledger for his time in the white house. You look at how many other congressional failures there were, looking at his six months, there wasnt really that much that he did. And the question now is how destructive of a force is he going to be outside of the white house. With with regards to the legislative agenda, going back to what jonathan said, elise, what does all of this mean for that when Congress Returns . Well, as jonathan pointed out, the huge question is the debt ceiling and how much of a fight is there going to be over raising the debt ceiling past 19 trillion, which the secretary of the treasury, Steve Mnuchin said we can pay our bills to the end of september but congress has to vote and approve to raise the limit. Thats going to be a huge fight because they are going theres going to be the nationalist faction that wants funding for the border wall. Will you really see a Republican Congress put their votes behind a border wall in raising the debt ceiling . Its going to be interesting. Liaison with the freedom caucus. Elise and jonathan, thank you. Lets get to breaking news overnight. Police officers under attack in several states, sadly one of the attacks was a deadly one. Ann thompson is following all of those developments for us. Good morning. Good morning, craig, the shootings were in florida and pennsylvania, President Trump weighing in early this morning expressing his condolences and police are trying to figure out what was behind all of this violence. Overnight a string of attacks against Police Officers in florida and pennsylvania. Breaks my heart to have to come speak to you tonight about another senseless tragedy. Reporter the officers were responding to reports of a suspicious person in an area known for drug activity when they appeared to be ambushed. I can inform you that officer matthew backster has succumb to his injuries tonight and howard is in grave condition and the prognosis sis does not look good the president tweeted my thoughts and prayers are with the kiss sim mee police and loved ones. Like five or six cops speeding down real fast and two more ambulances come down. We dont know whats going on. Reporter two officers were shot responding to an attempted suicide call. As the officers approached the house and attempted to enter one of the doorways, the suspect began shooting through the door at the officers. The suspect advanced on the officers and exited the house. Reporter police shot and killed the suspect. One officer is in critical condition. The other remains in stable condition. And in pennsylvania, two state troopers were shot outside a grocery store. But both are expected to be okay. The suspect, dead. Now both suspects in the jacksonville and pennsylvania cases are dead. Police say they have caught three people in connection with the kissmee case but still looking for one more. Ann, thank you. In spain there were in arrests overnight. But police say they are still looking for at least one more person. Kristen dahlgren is in barcelona. Good morning. Reporter good morning, were learning from the Spanish Government this morning, they say they believe this terror cell has been disbanded but Authorities Say not all suspects are in custody so this morning a massive manhunt is under way. In a town north of barcelona, more arrests, the crowd yelling murderer as one suspect is taken by police. Four men are now in custody, allegedly linked to two attacks that left 14 dead and more than 100 injured. Five other suspected terrorists were killed, shot by police in the seaside town of cambrils after the attack there. Among the dead, a 17yearold Police Believe rented the van that plowed through las ramblas on thursday. Spanish authorities are still on the hunt, reporting he could be the driver of that van in what police now believe was plan b. Authorities say they think the men were planning a much bigger attack using explosives until a house where they were stock piling propane exploded wednesday night. Among the dead in barcelona, american jared tucker. Celebrating his First Anniversary with his wife heidi. Back home in california, his father still in shock. I dont know how you feel. Im not angry necessarily but more i dont understand it. Its just hard to understand how anything like that could happen. The family is now safely back in the states. They were 10 feet from where the van jumped the curb in las ramblas. We were hoping knowing was going to happen. Theres sadness and solidarity. The crowd chanting i am not afraid. The popular Tourist Destination as crowded as ever amid haunting reminders of all that was lost. So still a good showing by the crowds here but just to give you some idea, this is still a crowd on edge. There was a point where a massive people began running and screaming and the Police Rushed to our south. It was a false alarm but that gives you some idea that people here are very aware there is still a terrorist on the loose. You can certainly understand that. Thank you. In boston today, tens of thousands of people are expected to come out on both sides for rallies over freedom of speech from White Nationalists to the counterprotesters who want to fight against the message of hate. Morgan ratford is in boston where theres a very heavy Police Presence already to prevent a repeat of charlottesville. Good morning to you. Reporter good morning to you. This is expected to be the largest rally since charlottesville. This is socalled free speech rally. They invited White Nationalist speakers to take the stage and also why Boston PoliceDepartment Says they expect to see more than 20,000 counterprotesters coming right here to say that boston doesnt stand for bigotry. Just one week after a white supremacist rally turned violent, leaving one woman dead, more demonstrations are popping up across the country. From durham, north carolina, where hundreds took to the streets protesting bigotry. To boston where police are setting a barricades ahead of the socalled free speech rally which invited several White Nationalists, leaving some residents on edge. I hope nobody gets hurt and i dont know, piece of me wants to sabotage it but im just going to stay away. Bostons rally is expected to be the biggest since charlottesville. Its organizers claim this one isnt about white nationalism, its about having the right to express your views even if it is offensive. The speakers that we have booked are very much in keeping with our message of trying to bring people together around our core values of free speech. Just blocks away, several groups are organizing a counterprotest. They say that hate even under the guise of free speech has no place in boston. Why protest . What about those who say you cant convince the other side. Why sit and do nothing would be my response. Were not going to like what each other has to say. Reporter neither side willing to back down. Four other cities across the country are holding counter rallies today, which is why boston officials are pleading for peace. We dont respond hate with hate. Reporter and residents are taking a stand. You want the world to know theres 20,000 people who think hate is say bad idea. Reporter now to be clear, there were four other free speech rallies scheduled across the country today but those all got scrapped after things in charlottesville turned violent. Thats why Boston Police say they are going through peoples bags and monitoring social media to make sure it remains a safe place. We hope and pray it is peaceful. Now to other stories making headlines, two suspects in the fatal stab of a 26yearold man were extradited from chicago to california to face first degree murder charges. One suspect was a professor and other employee at oxford university. Investigators say one of the suspects had a personal relationship with the victim. A los angeles judge on friday rejected a request by the woman who was raped by roman polanski. The oscar winner fled the country in 1978. The woman said she has for given polanski and wants to move on with her life. Michael bennett sat during the National Anthem for the second straight preseason game. His decision to sit is in response to the recent violence in charlottesville, virginia. Team mates supported bennett with britt laying his hand on the defensive ends shoulder. Dylan is back with the weather. We had nasty storms move through the northeast. We have some flooding that was reported at a train station. Look at this in long island new york, the rain pouring over the sidewalk there. We also had a family that was rescued in farmingdale new york, an elderly couple stuck in their car with 3 feet of water surrounding that car. Luckily they got out with no injuries. We are going to see another round of storms today although not as widespread, maybe isolated popup storms. Most of the activity will be back across the greatespecially. Its all with this unsettled air sitting across the northeast. Very humid and combine that with the cold front moving eastward and that could trigger isolated storms, not widespread by any means. We have heavy rain down along the gulf coast today adding to the several inches of rain weve been seeing over past several weeks. That could lead to minor troubles but not defini seeing dense fog 56 right now and in san now we got that marine layer but over the next couple of hours latest forecast. Well get more on big eclipse coming up. I can nerd out if you want me to. In a second, stand by. The debate over confederate statues in the country. Should they be taken down . Well catch you up on the rest of the big stories, including a terrifying moments a man struggles to stay afloat in raging waters. First, this is today on nbc. E. First, this is today on nbc. Isaac hou has mastered gravity defying moves to amaze his audience. Great show. Here you go. Now hes added a new routine. Making depositing a check seem so effortless. Easy to use chase technology, for whatever youre trying to master. Isaac, are you ready . Yeah. Chase. So you can. Time for the download, our look back at the week that was. The political fallout from charlottesville dominated most of the conversation, but there were plenty of other headlines. From the ongoing back and forth from the u. S. And north korea and a victory in court for taylor swift, just some of the stories you may have missed. The war of words heating up between the United States and north korea. Well take it out. The u. S. Warning it is prepared to use military force against the rogue nation should it choose to launch Ballistic Missiles toward guam. Mexican drug kingpin el chapo appeared in federal court asking for a judge to dismiss his public defender so that he could hire mob boss john gottis former lawyer instead. The bottom line is that Joaquin Guzman is not going to be afforded a fair trial. And thats what were here for. The judge made no promises, aware that the government may seize any compensation claiming it as drug money. A nationwide frenzy. Millions counting down to mondays historic eclipse. Got to do it. Apparently everybody wants to see it. Its definitely a onceinalifetime opportunity.