britain is on their highest. soldiers are sent to the streets as we learn the names and stories of the people killed at the concert monday night. and chilling testimony from the former director of the cia and the warning he gave on russia before the election. >> good morning. it is wednesday, may 24th. i'm ayman mohyeldin. we are up early as president trump has historic meeting with pope francis on his world tour. >> rome is part three of the official trip. pope francis welcomed him at the vatican. they ahad a brief meeting at th

papal library. he will go to the sistine chapel and leave for brussels for the g7 summit. despite not officially meeting before, the pope and president trump had a contentious relationship considering his rhetoric and climate change. pope francis treated dialogue allows us to plan for a future in common. through dialogue, we build peace taking care of everyone. >> we have chief white house correspondent hallie jackson. this had a chance of being an awkward stop on the tour given the fact there has been through social media an exchange of the views on the pope and things he said at press conferences on the campaign trail. how did it go? how diit play out? >> reporter: as scripted i think is a fair characterization at

this point. we know this is a carefully choreographed exchange. it was. the president with a lot of pomp and circumstance coming in to the papal residence and going to the papal library and court yard. meeting pope francis for the first time and his delegation from the u.s. greeting the pope. we have new information on that as we look at images from the last hour or so at the vatican. when we talk about the gifts and when you talk about the area where is this could be awkward. the big conflict with pope francis and president trump is immigration and idea of building walls. this is something that pope francis criticized. president trump said that was disgraceful to cast into doubt someone's will religion because policy. the pope wasn't talking specifically, but generally. and the other issue is climate

change. it is notable one of the gifts that pope francis gave was the encyclical on the environment. as for what the president gave to pope francis. we reported it was a case of books from martin luther king jr. each book according tohe white house is cusm bound and accented with hand told gooled elements. anne thompson spoke about the gifts. he highlighted four americans and among them dr. king to talk about his message and talk about how much that meant to pope francis personally. this was a very intentionally chosen gift. the white house sending information gave an except of

the speech. two gifts given to pope francis. one was a piece of stone. granite from the martin luther king jr. statue which is the stone of hope. if you have been to washington and visited the monument, it overlooks the tidal basin in d.c. it is a place of peace and comfort. the pope was given a piece of that granite and custom bronze statue symbolizing peace and unity. some information on the gifts exchange at the vatican. highly symbolic here. perhaps the pope's message very direct. a bit more direct, i would say, because of the climate change and environmental encyclical and because of the messaging on peace. the olive branch medallion.

not unusual. the president said i will read these when i get home. meaning the papal documents. we will hear more from the president about this visit after he gets back to washington and perhaps on the trip. clearly an important moment for him. >> we will check back if with you later in the show, hallie. joining us now is anne thompson who covers the vatican for us. anne, there are specific dos and don'ts. talk us through those and interestingly, when you caulked with ayman in the last hour, some commonalities between pope francis and president trump. >> reporter: i would say protocol is not their strength. neither one seems to relish in protocol. pope francis is different from

pope benedict xvi. he is more spontaneous. i think what struck me today is watching him certainly after the private meeting was how he seemed to light up at the president's family. he really came alive when melania trump came in and when he met her. there was this light moment where reporters in the room said he supposedly say asking melania what do you feed him, meaning the president and she said pizza. and he was happy to see ivanka trump. that was a humanizing moment if you will. these two men, outsiders and disrupt disrupters, trying to change the way things are done. the pope trying to change the vatican to make it more responsive to the people.

the president donald trump trying to change the ways of washington. their approach could not be more different. the cardinal who worked on the encyclical on the environment tweeted this morning on the approaches to peace saying, you know, the pope approaches peace through dialogue and president trump approaches peace through arms sales. pointing to the $100 million deal with saudi arabia. so those are the differences there. clearly as we made the point, they differ on immigration. they differ on climate change. where is the common ground? that is the key question. what is what pope francis tries to do. he tries to find common ground with every leader he meets. is it on religious persecution or human trafficking? what did he say to the president at the end of the meeting reporters heard the president say something to the effect, i

will keep that in mind. it's going to take some time, certainly perhaps we will find out soon from the president whether he will tweet or talk to the press about his meeting. one of the things i try to keep in mind is for somebody who has never been to the vatican before and never met a pope before, how really almost overwhelming this can be. i was there when bernie sanders met pope francis last year and i was struck after talking to the senator how really moved he was by the encounter and being in the vatican and meeting pope francis. i'm curious to see if the president has that same kind of feeling that you are dealing with someone whose authority comes from a higher power. ayman. >> thank you, anne thompson.

>> that is what i was think. >> extremely spiritual. >> england under a new terror alert after the man killing 22 people in manchester. the 22-year-old british born citizen of libyan descent carried out the terror attack. abedi was identified by a bank card found in his pocket at the scene of the explosion. i.d. card found in rubble. this is the raid of the police taking over his home and they busted it down among the raid and search. the 23-year-old man taken into custody yesterday was his brother. it is unclear at this point if he is actually connected to the bombing or if others are

involved. the british prime minister theresa may is raising the terror threat level from severe to the highest rating of critical. take a listen. >> it is now concluded on the basis of today's investigations that the threat level should be increased for the time being from severe to critical. this means that their assessment is not only an attack remains highly likely, but further attack may be imminent. >> the move by the prime minister allows officials to deploy thousands of british military to the streets. in some cases replacing police officers to key security across the country. while isis claimed responsibility, no confirmed proof backs up that claim. joining us live from manchester, england, is matt bradley. matt, good morning. what do we know about salman abedi and the ties to overseas

terror groups? >> reporter: thanks, yasmin. we know he grew up here not far from the arena where he killed 22 people. he grew up within the libyan community here in manchester. this is the heart of britain. there were a lot of connections among the community. especially for young men like him. he was perceived to be by many to be quiet and also devout. unlike many of the quote lone wolf attackers who struck across europe, he did not appear to have history of violent crime or drug use or drug dealing like the attackers before. he actually was a pius muslim. he may have traveled to libya over the years and may have participated in fighting. he may have had connections to al qaeda, but also to islamic

state. that claim of responsibility that came out yesterday. we know those two groups are different and fight each other, they are ideologically very similar. yasmin. >> matt, let me ask about abedi's brother. we know authorities in the uk and the prime minister raised the threat level to critical. are authorities still searching for a possible accomplice in the attack? what do we know about the brother and why raise the threat level? >> reporter: that's ght. nbc believes that the brother whose name is ismael. the 23-year-old young man arrested. the british media is not or the reporting that and it is not clear whether or not it was in fact the brother. there have been some talk among people in manchester that the entire family has long ago left

and gone back to libya. especially salman's father. it is not exactly clear where the brother is and whether or not he is in custody. we know that prime minister theresa may did use this increased threat level in order to deploy extra soldiers or soldiers on the streets of britain. clearly, ayman, this will have a lasting political impact. ayman. >> keeping an eye on that developing story. matt bradley, thank you. increased police and military presence on the streets of england last night. thousands flocked to vigils across the nation. a fund raised 700,000 british pounds. those stories of those in the arena of those of young children and teens continue to pour out. >> i thought we were going to die. it was horrendous. i remember the smell. i can't describe it. it was an awful smell.

alarms going sirens everywhere. people running and screaming. it was just crazy. i thought that was it. i thought we were going to die. everyone was running for the doors. and obviously my little hysterical. >> the grim task of identifying the 22 victims carries on. the bodies finally taken out of the arena last night. the 18-year-old was studying health and human care at university. she met ariana grande. olivia campbell. her mother made desperate appeal to find her after her friend was treated at a nearby hospital. her daughter olivia was found dead. saffie rose was just 8 years old. hillary clinton an applauded the

people of manchester's sign of love after the attacks. >> my heart as i know you feel the same goes out to the families of victims and all who were injured and traumatized and to that city which reached for love, not hate, in such a dark hour. i have to say that i hope our country will always choose resolve over fear. never backing down from our commitment to work with those who stand against terrorism, but also to exemplify the same compassion and caring we have seen over the last 24 hours. >> later this morning, we look at how the rest of the world is paying contribute tribute of the

victims of the attack. still along day ahead full of meetings as the president's tour continues. and john brennan was on capitol hill yesterday. he said he learned last summer that american voters would be outraged by an attack by russia. brenn brennan's prediction proved inaccurate. stay with us. those stories coming up.

elcome back. the former directorf the cia john brennan testified yesterday before the house committee. >> he said investigators uncovered troubling information with russian officials and americans with the trump campaign. listen. >> by the time i left office, i had unrevolsolved questions if

russians were successful in getting u.s. persons involved in the campaign on their behalf in a witting or unwitting fashion. >> did coordination exist between russians and state actors at the time you learned of 2016 efforts? >> i encountered and am aware of information intelligence that revealed contacts and interactions between russian officials and u.s. persons involved in the trump campaign. i don't know whether or not such collusion and that is your term, collusion existed. i don't know. i know there was sufficient basis of information and intelligence that required further investigation by the bureau to determine whether or not u.s. persons were actively

conspireing or colluding with russian officials. >> i have studied russian activities over the years and have seen it manifest in many cases and how they have been able to get people, including inside cia to become treasonous and people who go along the path do not realize they are along the path until it gets to be too late. >> there are new developments in latest reporting that president trump asked two of the nation's top spies over the investigation of the ties with the russian. mike rogers and dan coats testified before separate committees on capitol hill. the house sub committee did not ask rogers about the report and coats would not confirm nor deny. take a listen sdplch. >> i have always believed given the nature of my position and

the information that which we share is not appropriate for me to comment publicly on any of that. so on this topic as well as other topics, i don't feel it is appropriate to characterize discussions and conversations with the president. >> so still ahead, we are covering the president and the pope who spent together in rome. they are looking for places to work together like human trafficking. and later, remembering an icon of james bond. sir roger moore. the man augurgued was the best bond. we'll remember his life when we come back in just a moment. look . who's e lucky lady? i'm going to the bank, to discuss a mortgage. ugh, see, you need a loan, you put on a suit, you go crawling to the bank. this is how i dress to get a mortgage. i just go to lendingtree. i calculate how much home i can afford. i get multiple offers to compare side by side.

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you're not thinking that? >> i sure am, boy. >> sounds a bit old fashioned doesn't it? pistols at dawn. that sort of thing. however, i accept. as soon as i finish this lunch. >> yes, my name is bond. james bond. >> welcome back. tributes pouring in after the news broke that actor sir roger moore known for playing 007 has

died. his star on the walk o fe w adorned with flowers after he passed away with a short bat well cancer. he retired in 1985 from the bond role and devoted time to charity. he became a unicef goodwill ambassador. he was knighted in 2003. he said being honored for charity was greater than winning an oscar. he was 89 years old. still ahead, more live coverage from rome as the president plans to tour the sistine chapel with the first lady. plus soldiers deployed to the streets of england among fears of an imminent attack. that did not stop people from taking to the streets last night. we are back with the continuing coverage in just a moment. shocked. it's very close to home. and i'm here to show my support because manchesters stand

together. nothing is going to stop that bond. >> it is hard to comprehend. really. it's a little bit of shock. there's no script for it, is there?

bewelcome back. i'm yasmin vossoughian alongside ayman mohyeldin. it is the bottom of the hour. >> earlier this hour, the pope met president trump in the papal

library. pope francis gifted the president three books. one on family, the joys of gospel and care of our common home the environment. he gave him a medal saying it is a symbol of peace. joining us now from rome, italy is claudio lavanga. claudio, tell us the reaction so far. >> reporter: it is not often you see president trump humbled by a meeting with another world leader. that is exactly what happened this morning. they were all smiles when they met. the reporters there in the room at the time report that president trump said i'm honored to meet you. that was a relief in a way. the pope and president trump started on the wrong foot for the past year and a half during the presidential campaign. there was back and forth of the pope calling building walls and

not bridges and president trump responded to that saying it was disgraceful. it was nice seeing them smiling. then they went in for 28 minutes with a private canconversation closed doors. we don't know what was discussed. a lot to talk about. perhaps it was too short a time. what they may have touched been were the areas they disagreed. pope francis likes a challenge. those are climate change and migrants and refugees and capitalism. it is unclear if pope francis could have used some of his soft power or moral persuasion to try to pass along his point on those particular areas. ayman. >> claudio, how are people on the ground reacting to the president's visit today? >> reporter: sorry? how did the vatican react? >> how are the people acting?

>> reporter: this is a strange time to have a meeting with the pope. it is wednesday and every time there is a general audience. you hear voices behind me. pilgrims filling up the square. there were big screens in the square during that meeting which took place right before the general audience. there was a big cheer that came up when on the screens the pope and president trump appeared. it isn't clear if they were cheering for the fact the two met or just because they saw pope francis popping up on the screen before arriving at st. peter's square. in terms of all of the people in rome, probably more upset about traffic than anything else, really. >> nbc's claudio lavanga. great to have you with us live

from rome. despite not having officially met before, the pope and president trump had issues on policies like climate change and immigration. pope francis is for immigrant policies and tweets support using bible references. in one instance during the campaign, he said about the border wall, quote, a person thinking about building walls and not building bridges is not a christian. trump replied on facebook, if and when the vatican is attacked by isis which is everyone knows is isis trophy, i can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that donald trump would have been president because this would not have happened. no leader should have the right to question another man's religion or faith. however, just before the meeting, pope francis tweeted dialogue allows us to plan for a

future in common. through dialogue we build peace taking care of everyone. >> let's talk about this. joining us now is anne thompson covering the vatican. ayman brings up the contentious relationship up until now. how frank do you believe the po pope was in the 28-minute closed-door meeting? >> the pope is a shrewed politici politician. i likes to read people and figure out where they can connect. i think that's probably what he did in 28 minutes. it is very short period of time. i was on the papal plane when the pope made the remarks about someone who thinks about building walls all the time is not christian. he was careful not to direct them at any one person. then candidate trump took great offense at that.

i don't think on certainly on pope frais'id it was a shot across h bow, but not at him is the way i would put it. now that donald trump is president of the united states, pope francis knows it is better to have a good relationship with him than to have a contentious one. again, find where thiey can wor together. >> besides the issue of immigrants. there are stark differences on issues. climate change is one. refugees is another. the pope has demonstrated through his actions his viewpoints on both of those. >> right. truly when i think of the refugee issue, i think one of the most extraordinary things he did was in april of 2016, he

l lesbos, greece. i think that great thing about francis is he has shown all of us. it doesn't matter if you are catholic or muslim or jewish. he showed us a way of life by doing small things and when you add up all of the small things help solve a big problem. he was walking the talk. he asked every paris in europe to adopt aefugee family at the height of the fugee crisis. there were some cardinal whose pu cardinals who pushed back. some adopted refugee families. francis bringing the three families back. he show what is can be done. he is very much a person of positive change. he wants to show you what you can do. i would imagine he probably talked to president trump about what he can do.

>> brief, but important meeting between these world leaders. anne, thank you very much. england under elevated alert after the man whom british authorities say carried out the bombing in manchester killing 22 people. 22-year-old salman abedi carried out the worst attack in decades on monday night. abedi was identified by a bank card found in his pocket at the scene of the explosion. the i.d. card was later found in the rubble. this is the picture from police raiding his home. you see officers approaching a door before busting it down. u.s. officials tell nbc news, the 23-year-old man taken into custody yesterday was his brother. it is unclear if he actually was connected to the bombing or others involved in the planning

or at large. as the investigation is continuing, theresa may is raising the terror threat level from severe to critical. the move by the prime minister allowing officials to deploy british military to the streets. in some cases, replacing police officers to guard key sites across the country. while isis claimed responsibility sore far there no proof to back that up. joining us now is nbc news foreign correspondent matt bradley. matt, what do we know about abedi? did he train with anybody? >> reporter: good morning. what we have learned is salman abedi may have traveled to libya. he is from the libyan community here in manchester. that is an important ideological ferment where he grew up. a conservative muslim community and secular liberal muslims

here. this is here in manchester, which is the heart of multicultural britain where he sprang from. we heard from various friends of his he was a quiet guy and devout and pius. unlike the attackers who use the lone wolf attackers over the last several years. it is clear he had some sympathy toward al qaeda and ideological successor. islamic state. islamic state claimed responsibility. the important part for british investigators is he did seem to have some sort of intertional connection. he did seem to have some sympathy beyond just himself which just means that there may be some accomplice. there may have been someone else assisting him in making the highly effective bomb. yasmin. >> matt, the prime minister

raised the threat level to critical. you have been on the ground close to two days. what are you seeing with security presence which has been beefed up and are you seeing the military deployed on the streets of manchester? >> reporter: quite frankly, ayman, i have not seen any military deployed on the streets of manchester. that is because the idea behind what theresa may described which was operation temper which was released in 2015. the ideas if the armed soldiers could come and replace some of the police officers who would normally be deployed on the streets of the city of london and manchester. i don't know if you can see around me, there are a lot of police officers here and many are armed. the point is british police are famously unarmed. having fatigued military troops patrolling the streets of london and downtown london where i know you know that area where there

are lots of tourists and huge international presence. that will be a very jarring new development for the public. ayman. >> matt, when you think back to the bataclan attack which went on for weeks and months. there were many involved in that investigation. looking at that attack and isolating it. what are the next steps for the investigation inforward and considerinthe arrest of the brothe being taken into ctody there. >> reporter: theresa may, the prime minister, they praised the investigators and said things have gone remarkably fast. the investigation has gone very quickly. you are comparing this to the bataclan attack in paris. i like to bring up the attack at westminster back in march. that was a gentleman who was from london. he drove a car into pedestrians on the bridge in front of the

parliament building and got out of the car and basically stabbed to death a guard in front of parliament. in that investigation, police knew he was the only one who was the perpetrator. they still arrested a dozen other people. there was thinking he had pol e accomplices and people ideologically motivated with him. all of those people were released and the man acted alone. that may be the case here. yasmin. >> we are keeping an eye on the developments. matt bradley, thank you. skitill ahead, president trp talking about the crackdown and what took place with the two leaders. and severe weather across the south. we will have bill karins with the forecast and if we will get any relief. stay with us. lilly.

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welcome back. the president of the philippines declared declared martial law. he said overnight, it will quote be harsh. >> the warning comes as a transcript of duerte's phone call was leaked. according to the transcript obtained by "the washington post" trump said i'm hearing of the job of the drug problem. we have the problem. what a great job you are doing. the president called north korean dictator kim jong un a mad man. the call ended with president trump extending an invitation to the white house saying if you want to come to the oval office, i would love to have you anytime you want to come. i will be in the philippines in

november. anywhere in d.c., come meet me. and military personnel back to the airfield in homs according to the u.s. against officials. this is the same airfield hit with tomahawk air strikes on march 6th. officials say the syrians have repaired the damage airfield infrastructure and believe they will be flying out of the base soon. none of the coursources could sf the weapons were stockpiled at the airfield. let's get to our meteorologist bill karins with the latest on the severe weather. >> and they will get it again today. today is a bigger coverage area of storms. we could deal with more tornadoes. we are going into the day thinking a chance of tornado. we know we would have severe weather. we had 11 tornado reports and in

north carolina which destroyed a fire station. we had one injury when the mobile home was blown over in georgia. we had amazing pictures from the tybee island area in georgia. right now, the first piece here up to d.c. and up to philadelphia. this is round two that comes in this afternoon. the new storm rolling through louisiana and mississippi. when this kicks through, we will get more storms. we had 38 million people at risk. that is north carolina, south carolina, georgia and florida. florida is west palm beach. your storms will be later tonight. this is at 6:00 a.m. the new storm system rolls through alabama. then it firing up at 4:00. a lot of storms south of atlanta and charleston and charlotte. the line of storms from tampa to

orlando and i-4 corridor through 6:00 p.m. the line of storms weaken overnight as it approaches west palm beach and miami. isolated tornadoes possible in the carolinas today. we are also seeing quiet day today in new england. tomorrow is the rainy day. if you have things to do outdoors, get that done. tomorrow looks like a soaking rain. middle of the country, you are quiet and the heat will build. middle of the country from the central plains down through texas. they have 90s and 100s. >> i keep seeing phoenix at 107. >> it is summer there now. thank you, bill. still ahead, president trump taking action into the russian role of the election. we will talk about who is tapping to lead a brewing legal fight. and the esident's budget is not going well on capitol hill including those reacting to the spending blueprint.

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this morning, president trump has had his audience with the pope and viewing the sistine chapel. later in the day, he heads to brussels to meet with nato allies. >> president trump will retain his attorney as private counsel on matters released to the russian investigation. he has represented trump for more than 15 years. he is known as a litigator.

white collar defense is his area of practice. he sued the times over an article of two women accused of groping them years ago. when the times published the 1995 tax records last year, it was kasowitz who threatened prompt action. another angle is a high profile case defending the largest state run russian bank. and credthe president's prol which was sent to congress yesterday is drawing backlash to the cuts to the social safety net. some deep cuts target programs providing assistance to children, including medicaid, food stamps and social security

disability insurance. democrats pounced on the proposal immediately and some fiscally conservative republicans found parts of the plan praise worthy like the defense spending boost and many sought to distance themselves from it. >> we know this is a recommendation. we will take into account what the president is recommending. it is not determined in every respect. >> we have to negotiate the top line with democrats. we know they will not be irrelevant in the process. at some point in the near future, those discussions will begin. >> senator, can i ask about the president's budget. is it dead on arrival? >> yes. the commitment to rebuilding military cannot be fulfilled with this level of spending. >> yes, definitely dead on arrival. this budget fully implemented requires us retreat from the

world dramatically and putting people at risk. >> this budget exists somewhere over the rainbow where the dreams of nick mulvaney and paul ryan and the koch brothers really do come true. of course, these dreams are a nightmare for the average working american. >> when you add it all up, the trump budget is comic book villain bad. just like comic books, it relies on fantasy to make the numbers work. >> this is a budget that is immoral and that will cause an enormous amount of pain for the most vulnerable people in our nation. >> doa. coming up next, continuing coverage of president trump's first overseas trip. >> president trump wrapping up the visit to rome and meeting pope francis at the vatican. we will have more on the two leaders who have not always seen

eye to eye. and we learn new details about the man p behibehind the g in manchester. we will have a live report from manchest manchester. keep it here everybody. the battle has begun. evony: the king's return. download now.

this morning, president trump meets pope francis at the vatican at the vatican. despite clark in the past, the two find common ground. learning more about the bombing suspect who u.s. officials say receive trorist training abroad. former hea of the cia testifies before congress about unresolves questions involving trump campaign ties to russia. good morning, it is wednesday, may 24th. rome part three of the first official trip. pope francis welcomed him at the vatican. they had a brief private meeting in the papal library, exchanged customary gifts. the president and first lady are taking part