hard with tornadoes and widespread flooding. "early today" starts right now. good tuesday morning. i'm frances rivera. >> and i'm phillip mena. president trump is set to meet with the republican senators and house members today with gun control likely to be front and center. this ar after the president raised eyebrows with a meeting at the nation's governors saying if he were on the scene at the parkland school shooting he would have charged in, even unarmed. >> you know, i really believe you don't know until you test it, but i think i really believe i'd run in there even if i didn't have a weapon and i think most of the people in this room would have done that, too. >> the president also pledged to take action on background checks and bump stock devices. even taking on the nra if he needs to. so, this newest round of meetings prompt congress to act? nbc's tracee pots has more from washington. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. that's a good question. the president is promising to take action on some of those issues. congress is at odds, and republicans are at odds even with the governors on background checks. the senate is stuck right now on a bill where republicans say it infringes on individual rights. democrats say it's simply not enough. but the president is pledging to take action on his own on bump stocks and told those governors, don't worry about the national rifle association. >> bump stocks we're writing that out. i'm writing that out myself. i don't care if congress does it or not. i'm writing it out myself. don't worry about the nra, they're on our side. half of you are so afraid of the nra. there's nothing to be afraid of. you know what, if they're not with you, we have to fight them every once in a while. that's okay. >> reporter: now, issues facing congress include whether or not there will be an assault weapons ban. democrats are pushing for that, not really any support on the republican side. whether they will close the gun show loop hole and as i mentioned whether or not they will deal with background checks with even republicans now at odds over whether the president's suggestion of arming teachers is something they want to do. frances? >> already, tracie, thank you. >> the armed security guard blasted for not entering the parkland florida high school during this last month's shooting is now speaking out. an attorney for scot peterson saying the officer is not a coward as many have called him. rather peterson remained outside because that's where he thought the shots were coming from. the attorney also accusing the broward county sheriff of rushing to judgment without considering all the facts. nbc's terry sanders has more. >> reporter: 12 days after the massacre, the attorney for armed campus deputy scot peterson is speaking out. peterson, under withering criticism for never entering the building as the killing went on inside. >> what was he doing on video? >> nothing. >> reporter: peterson's attorney now saying his heart goes out to the families of victims in their time of need. however, the allegations that peterson was a coward are patentsly untrue. and that peterson who resigned last week took up a tactical position because he thought the shots were coming from outside the building. >> based on his training, his protocols, equipment and tactics, he should have went in and done everything he could possibly have done to neutral eyes the killer. >> reporter: internal affairs investigative sources tell nbc news they believe in the crucial four minutes while peterson was outside, six people were gunned down on the third floor of the building. and now the broward county sheriff's office is investigating whether two or three more deputies arrived and did not go in. an emotional appearance by student mattie willeford hit by three bullets, in her stomach, chest and hand. doctors calling her recovery a miracle. >> and i would just like to say that i'm so grateful to be here and it wouldn't be possible without those officers and first responders and these amazing doctors. >> reporter: while students are grateful, some are also anxious about returning to class on wednesday. teachers arriving back at their classrooms greeted by a rainbow. >> rainbow was there, rainbow was there for hope. >> reporter: almost every republican member of the state of house of representatives in florida has called on the governor to remove sheriff scott israel from office. not one democrat has requested the same thing. sheriff israel says politics has no place in a criminal investigation. philip? >> kerry, thank you. >> education secretary betsy devos is ordering an investigation into michigan state's handling of allegations against disgraced gymnastics doctor larry nassar. nassar was convicted of molesting patients for years at msu with some accusations going back decades. msu is already under investigation by the state attorney general and a congressional committee. the new federal probe comes as michigan legislators unveil the package of bills aimed at preventing sexual abuse. with some of nassar's victims by their sides, lawmakers said the bills would increase the statute of limitations for sexual crimes against children, expand mandatory reporters to include people like youth coaches and increase penalties for child pornography. >> now to the hunt for a killer in a shocking murder that played out on facebook live. the victim streaming himself walking down the street in north carolina when suddenly fatal shots rang out. this morning police have identified a suspect, 65-year-old douglas cleveland colson. nbc's morgan radford has the story and a warning these images are disturbing. >> reporter: 55-year-old francis robinson was on facebook live streaming his walk home from the local police station after having his phone stolen. when suddenly -- >> you'll laugh. you'll laugh. >> reporter: robinson was approached by a man who killed him in cold blood. >> only being a block or so away from the police department is -- i mean, that's not brazen, i don't know what is. >> reporter: a local university was on lockdown for an hour. >> we all hid under table ands we like put tables in front the door. >> reporter: residents say robinson often used his facebook to publicize neighborhood disputes. >> putting stuff on facebook about other people of what they're doing, people don't like that. people get angry. >> reporter: this isn't the first time a shooting has been captured on social media. in 2016 philando castile's girl frernd live streamed his shooting on facebook. >> please don't tell me my boyfriend just went like that. >> reporter: and last spring the random killing of a cleveland grandfather was also streamed live. in north carolina police are still scouring for clues, searching for a killer on the run. morgan radford, nbc news, win gate, north carolina. >> facebook says it will remove instances of videos that are shared supporting or encouraging such acts of violence. >> thousz of residents are picking up the pieces after a series of weekend storms splamd of slammed the heart of the country killing six people. tornadoes ripped through arkansas, tennessee and kentucky damaging dozen dz of homes and leaving trails of do you understand -- downed power lines and up rooted trees. numerous high water rescue, the high water rose hitting the highest level in 20 years. the grand river submerging the white cap ballpark. in shelby, ohio, they recovered the body of a 6-year-old who fell into a creek. more weather misery is feared as a new round of storms are expected later this week. >> nbc meteorologist bill karins joining us now. bill, good morning. what can we expect now? >> a little break this morning then the rain moves in this afternoon. flash flood watches have been in areas of tennessee. this goes through thursday. this was the rivers already high and the soil saturated. here's how much rain is expected. this will go throughout the next 48 to about 60 hours. the areas of red is 2 inches, the pink in the middle is up to 3 inches. so now i'm going to add on where we have the current river flood warnings. those are the red polygons down the mississippi river, the ohio river, illinois river and areas in some rural sections of arkansas and also louisiana. northeast texas. that's why we have the threat. we already have river flood warnings and now we're going to add 2 to 3 inches of rainfall on top of some of those same locations. that's why we're going to see the additional problem. so, today's forecast a nice day on the eastern seaboard. no problems whatsoever. beautiful actually about 10, 15 degrees warmer than it should be in many cases. st. louis you look good. there's that rain developing in the middle of the country as we go throughout the afternoon especially in the ahead, which actress hopes to become a member of congress? 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"what headache?" nothing works faster to make pain a distant memory. advil liqui-gels and advil liqui-gels minis. what pain? fast forwarding into tuesday, white house communications director hope hicks is scheduled to appear before the house intelligence committee in a closed door interview. hicks was scheduled to appear last month, but that interview was delayed while both sides worked out what types of questions she could and could not answer. >> beginning today the tsa will begin testing new suicide vests detection technology at one of the world's busiest travel hubs, new york city's penn station. >> and today is a house of national pancake day so guests at i-hops nationwide can make a donation to charity to help treat children with critical illnesses. >> cool. new bombing and blood shed in syria despite a resolution for a 30-day cease fire across the region. the syrian regime has used chlorine gas in eastern gout a raising the death toll to 500 according to the associated press. lucy cavanagh joining us watt latest. lucy, good morning. >> reporter: russia has ordered what it's called a humanitarian pause in rebel held eastern ghouta which has been under a intense bombardment by pro government forces for a week now. president putin has ordered the shelling to stop for five hours every day 9:00 a.m. to about 2:00 p.m., in order to give civilians time to leave the enclave. it is not clear in aid agencies will be able to bring food and medicine into the area, but russian defense ministry said the syrian government will suspend its attacks during this break in the fighting and that so-called pause started nearly two hours ago. its ha been quiet in eastern ghouta. this morning it is progress in the sense it is the first tangible move since that u.n. ordered 30-day cease fire on saturday, but it is not an implementation of that cease fire. it is not actually sticking to that resolution. and some have accused russia of effectively buying time for the syrian government. there are reports of government troops and pro government me lish -- militia amassing on the border. they have attempted to regain control. the thing to watch would be what happens on the ground in about three hours' time when the so-called humanitarian pause is lifted. >> it's heart breaking images coming out of there, lucy. thank you. >> still ahead disney gives back after an incredible success of "black panther." plus the 80s all over again with some of the most fanatic mullets on display. where is that? you're watching "early today." o the doctor's office, just for a shot. but why go back there, when you can stay home with neulasta onpro? strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection. neulasta helps reduce infection risk by boosting your white blood cell count, which strengthens your immune system. in a key study, neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17% to 1%, a 94% decrease. applied the day of chemo, neulasta onpro is designed to deliver neulasta the next day. neulasta is for certain cancer patients receiving strong chemotherapy. do not take neulasta if you're allergic to neulasta or neupogen (filgrastim). ruptured spleen, sometimes fatal as well as serious lung problems, allergic reactions, kidney injuries, and capillary leak syndrome have occurred. report abdominal or shoulder tip pain, trouble breathing or allergic reactions to your doctor right away. in patients with sickle cell disorders, serious, sometimes fatal crises can occur. the most common side effect is bone and muscle ache. so why go back there? if you'd rather be home, ask your doctor about neulasta onpro. it's 6 am. 40 million americans are waking up to a gillette shave. and at our factory in boston, more than a thousand workers are starting their day building on over a hundred years of heritage, craftsmanship and innovation. today we're bringing you america's number one shave at lower prices every day. putting money back in the pockets of millions of americans. as one of those workers, i'm proud to bring you gillette quality for less, because nobody can beat the men and women of gillette. gillette - 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there's a common thread i see every time i'm in the field. while this was burning, you were saving other homes. neighbors helping neighbors and strangers alike. - this is what america's about. - sometimes it's nice to see all the good that's out there. bringing folks out, we have seen it in community after community. taking a stand, local students plan to walk out of class today after a teachers is punished for speaking out after the florida school massacre. joy of a lifetime. team usa returns hope from the olympics. what a pennsylvania athlete says was his secret to the success. and the king, attempting to lure lebron james to philadelphia. >> announcer:s in n nbc10 news now. >> he's going to see it. >> oh, he's going to see it. good morning, this is nbc10 news first look at 4:00. i'm tracy davidson. >> i'm vai sikahema. let's take a look with meteorology bill henley, the most accurate forecast in town. >> we're clear this morning and that's part of why we're colder. right now, 37 degrees in philadelphia. once the sun is up, we'll see a quick warmup. the wind is out of the north out of the northwest at 6:00. 9:00, up to 43 with bright sunshine. then the wind shifts this afternoon and that's when the temperatures will warm up nicely from the 20s. 56 from the suburbs in philadelphia. middle 50s for new jersey, the lehigh valley and delaware. and at the shore. a nice sunny day with a high of 50 degrees. i'll break it down hour by hour and show you how quickly the temperatures will climb. jessica boyington has the "first alert" traffic. >> will, we're starting on the schuylkill expressway which is one of the biggest things that we're actually dealing with. a lane restriction on the left side. you can see traffic moving there. one lane blocked under ahead which is pretty typical. and it usually is cleared around 5:00. we'll watch that. checking in with 422, eight-minute trip from the eastbound side from 29 to the schuylkill, speed there at the 60s. just to check in with the tacony-palmyra, no opening on the horizon right now. nice and clear heading over the ben franklin bridge. it's 4:00. and happening students at a school planning to walk out 0 of class in defense of a teacher suspended after raising concerns about school safety following the school shooting. nbc10's matt deluca joins us live. matt, the students say the principal is planning on punishing those who walk out. >> reporter: right, tracie, some of the students say they are concerned they could be suspended if they walk out in support of their suspended teacher. th