Im just glad to have my daughter here with me. As questions swirl around the cause of the accident and those mysterious cries for help heard by rescuers. And, gator on the green. A golf course in florida overrun by massive alligators today, thursday, march 12th, 2015. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and savannah guthrie. Live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to today on a thursday morning. Its 7 00 a. M. On the west coast. 9 official ss are just beginning a News Conference on the new violence in ferguson overnight. Thats police Jeff John Belmar addressing reporters. Two officers are being treated after being shot during a demonstration just hours after the Ferguson City police chief announced his resignation. Nbcs ron allen is in ferguson this morning. Reporter this is a shocking and terrifying development. After months of protests never a shot fired by the police at protesters or by the protesters or anyone else at police. Police warned this would happen. They say theyve been attacked by bottles and rocks and things of that nature. This is perhaps a game changer here. It happened as the events of the night were winding down, the crowd was going home, the police were packing up their things. The police have the road blocked off, the Main Commercial part of the city of ferg be son, and now the city is very much on edge. Here is what happened overnight. [ bleep ] at least four shots rang out shortly after midnight here as officers attempted to control a dwindling crowd of protesters outside the Ferguson Police department. Is he hit . Four shots i heard. Everybody hit the ground. Thats when officers got up. Two officers didnt get up. Reporter police say a 41yearold officer from st. Louis county was shot in the shoulder and a 32yearold officer was shot in the face. Both victims are conscious and talking but still in the hospital. Police could not provide a description of a suspect or gun but say the shots were fired from across the street from the police department. After the shooting, officers with guns and in riot gear circled the station and more than a dozen squad cars blocked the street. I would have to make an assumption that these shots were directed exactly at my Police Officers. Reporter the protests started just hours after the ferguson officials announced resignation of the police chief he received scathing criticism from the justice department. Jackson was under pressure since last august, with holding the name of wilson while releasing a video of brown allegedly committing a robbery. Mann while, police are work inging to contain a city that remains in a state of unrest. Were getting new information about the condition of the officers who were shot. One was shot through the shoulder, the bullet exiting through his back somehow. The other has a bullet lodged in his cheek, very serious wounds. The officer presiding over the press conference says were fortunate by the grace of god we did not lose two officers tonight. Theyre very, very concerned about their condition, however, going forward. Very serious wounds and, again, this could be a game changer. Theres never been a situation where police felt targeted directly. They never fired a shot directly at the protesters in anger erer but, again, things are very different now going forward. This Community Hopes to be moving forward but now appears to be taking a huge step backwards. Ron, were going to monitor the condition of those two Police Officers and conditions in ferguson. We spoke to jennifer early this morning and she describes what she saw and heard. We were on the side of the street of the Police Station. We were were, as i said, alongside with the police. We had been there since about 8 00. We thought things were starting to calm down. Some of the protesters had left but there were still a couple of dozen there. A few Police Officers had left but they were still in force. But we did get the feeling that things were starting to calm down for the evening. When all of a sudden from the top of this crest of this short hill, this street across the street by the tire lot across from the Police Station, loud noises. Pop, pop, pop. It sounded like firecrackers. Thats what we thought at first. But when everybody hit the floor and the police said, get down, get down, and guns were drawn, we all hit the floor. It was a frightening moment. And there is a short brick wall next to the Police Station where we were standing and the police all ran for cover there. They told us to get there. We were on our knees next to the Police Officers and there were no more shots fired but it was a very, very tense few moments and they said, as soon as we give you the okay, you run down the back of that building and get to the very back of the parking lot. And we did that. And then we were told to move further back over behind the fire station, and thats when they brought one of the injured policemen and put him in an ambulance and off to the hospital. Jennifer, when you saw that and you saw the injured officer or officers, were you able to get a look . Could you tell how serious those injuries were . From our vantage point, at the end of the driveway, it appeared he was not sitting up but at least not lying down and we got the impression that he might not be in too bad a shape. But we werent close enough. But it did appear that he didnt have extraordinarily serious injuries. We never did see the other officer being taken away. We waited for quite a while but that ambulance never came so it must have picked him up on the other side of the Police Station. But we know that some of the protesters fled. They didnt have any brick wall to hide behind. They fled when they heard the shots. And because we were hunkered down, we didnt see too much else but we know that some of the protesters that were still there were questioned by police afterward. It clearly was a long night and a scary one for you. Were glad you and the crew are safe. Thank you for sharing your experience with us this morning. We appreciate it. Thank you very much, savannah. Well continue to mon are tore the News Conference, the police chief saying no one is in cust itody this morning. Lets turn to washington now where the secret service is dealing with another new scandal. Two highlevel agents reassigned, accused of crashing a car into a white house barricade following a party. Chris jansing is nbcs senior white house correspondent. Chris, chapped here . Reporter oh, boy, matt this is a stunning setback for the secret service after a string of embarrassing Security Breaches because this latest breach was allegedly caused by agents themselves. And when president obama was briefed on the incident, he learned that someone he trusted with his life is a target of the probe. This morning, the white house is confirming the investigation into two highlevel secret service agents. One, an elite member on the president s close detail. According to the Washington Post, the men drove a government car into White House Security barricades after drinking at a Late Night Party last week. Were talking about a very, very senior person who is regularly within arms length of the president. And if this person, if its true, doesnt get any worse than that. Reporter two sources familiar with the investigation confirm to nbc the men are senior supervisor George Ogilvie and the second in command on the president s detail, Mark Connolly who has been by the president s side from ireland to tucson to coney island. According to the post, officers on duty wanted to arrest the agents and conduct sobriety tests but the officers were ordered by a supervisor to let the agents go home. Even though, witnesses say, the car was being driven erratically, lights flashing, tearing through security tape before hitting the barricade and disrupting the Ongoing Investigation of a suspicious package. The investigation will be a significant test for the agencys new director, joseph clancy, who came out of retirement to clean up the service after a series of highprofile missteps rocked the agency. 2012 in colombia, a prostitution scandal led to some agents being fired. March 2014, two agents were booted from a president ial trip to the netherlands after one of them was found passed out in a Hotel Hallway after drinking. And last fall, the agency made headlines again after a man with a knife jumped the fence and got into the white house. These new allegations will put clancy and the agency back on the hot seat. The deepseated concern is that the shine of the secret service has been rubbed off. We cannot keep having this discussion. Reporter congressman chaffetz tells me hes directing a letter to clancy wanting answers to a lot of questions. Because the agents are so high up in the service, the investigation is being done by the Inspector General of the department of homeland security. While thats happening, the agents have been reassigned and have not responded to our requests for comment. Matt . Savannah . Chris jansing at the white house this morning, thanks, chris. Meanwhile in the wake of the fraternity scandal in oklahoma the fraternity, sae, is pushing. Back. Gabe gutierrez is on the story for us once again. Gabe, good morning. Reporter good morning. O. U. s president announced a creation of a new position, vpice president of diversity. Meanwhile, while its investigation is still ongoing, the National Fraternity now says it cannot verify any reports of racist chants beyond this campus. [ bleep ] [ bleep ]. Reporter all week it called this video appalling. This morning, Sigma Alpha Epsilon says the problem seems to be limited to one chapter. The fraternity has come under attack and a lot of chapters and members are vilified. Thats unfair. We hear the critics. We hear the conversations taking place. We know we can make this better and prevent this from happening. Reporter calling it a horrible cancer, ou says racism entered its university of Oklahoma Chapter three to four years ago. Thats about the time keith logan started college. He was among dozens of people attending a previously scheduled town hall meeting wednesday night to discuss racism on campus. That it happened at the same time is not surprising. Reporter parker rice, one of the sae members in the video is keeping quiet saying his family has been threatened. Outside his empty dallas home, a small group of protesters gathered. We are planning on filing a complaint with the department of justice. That way they can actually look into every chapter across the nation of sae. Reporter but the fraternity says, so far it has been unable to verify any rumors that members using the chant beyond ou. E. J. Beasley is a proud africanamerican member of sae at the university of cincinnati. I would not be part of a fraternity thats racist. Reporter at ou, two students have been expelled and the University Says more are possible. But now some experts are questioning whether thats even legal. Students at public universities have free speech rights. Now if they had threatened a specific person, that would be different. But merely uttering even offensive racist speech is protected by the first amendment. Reporter University Officials certainly feel that those expulsions are justified. Matt and savannah, right now there is no timetable for when their investigation might wrap up. Gabe gutierrez, thanks. New fallout this morning tied to the Hillary Clinton email scandal. Its a controversy that could impact the rollout of her expected run for the white house. Nbc National CorrespondentPeter Alexander it in washington. Good morning, peter. Reporter hey, matt, good morning. Hillary clinton hasnt even announced shes running for president yet and already these stumbles handling the controversy have Many Democrats nervous, persuading clintons advisors she needs to speed up her 2015 campaign launch. I opted for convenience to use my personal email account. Reporter despite Hillary Clinton digging in her heels this week, she hasnt silenced the skeptics. The spectacle reminding many anxious democrats of the 1990s when another clinton was in the white house. New this morning, Time Magazine putting clinton on its cover, the clinton way, they write their own rules, will it work this time . Clinton now reportedly considering moving up the rollout of her 2016 campaign to early april. Even some of her democratic defenders acknowledging the trust issues. You dont believe her, dont vote for her. Thats what i think. And if you believe her, then vote for her. Reporter the white house has been forced to address questions whether it trusts the 30,000 emails clinton says she deleted were all personal, not work related. Theres not been any evidence thats been produced to raise any doubts. But no one can produce evidence because she deleted them. Reporter all this focusing new attention on clintons wouldbe democratic pray mare opponents who remain silent on her email issues. Maryland governor Martin Omalley who was in New Hampshire last weekend couldnt avoid the issue last weekend. Frankly, im a little sick of the email drama. Reporter Vice President joe biden hasnt said a word about the controversy, while senator Elizabeth Warren who said shes not running made waves last month when she seemed to side step al sharptons question on whether clinton pro be progressive enough. Thats what we have to see. I want to hear what she wants to run on and what she says she wants to do. Thats what campaigns are supposed to be about. Reporter former White House Press secretary robert gibbs tells the Washington Post clinton and her team waited too long to answer questions about the controversy. Theyre the ones who put air in this balloon in a way that was not necessary at all. Shes a candidate without a campaign. And this morning, clinton is being challenged on her claim that all email to her state Department Colleagues were saved by them. A new state department Inspector Generals report says for the last five years, most important state Department Emails for the entire department were in fact not properly archived because of inadequate training, a failing computer system, even some employees deliberately avoiding creating computerized records. Matt and savannah. Peter in washington this morning. Thank you very much. Natalies got the latest on that investigation into a terrible military accident in florida. The certificate of will resume this morning, weather permitting. The helicopter went down tuesday night in the Santa Rosa Sound along the Florida Panhandle during a training exercise. Hundreds of people attended a solemn candlelight vigil wednesday night. Military officials have not said what caused the crash, but there was heavy fog in the area at the time. Some frightening moments in Central Alabama on wednesday after an explosion at an industrial plant. One person was killed and at least two others were injured during the blast at brent industries. Fire triggered some secondary explosions. Fire officials are still trying to figure out how it all happened. A dramatic rescue near sacramento, california wednesday take a look at this truck pulling a trailer. It went off of the overpass and landed in the water. The driver ended up trapped in his truck. Rescue crews were called in and they hoisted the man to safety. Police say the man may have had a medical emergency. He was flown to the hospital. A police chase in los angeles turned deadly with when a car being pursued by police slammed into the back of a fire truck. One person was killed and another injured. The two were wanted in connection to a shooting. Outrage this morning over a huge brawl at a brooklyn, new york, mcdonalds and the fact that no one jumped in to break it up. The video youre about to see is disturbing. The cell phone video shows several teenage girls beating up a 15yearold girl. Dozens of kids at least two adults watched. None of them called 911 or even tried to help the girl. Instead, as you see there, many pulling out their phones to record the fight. Mcdonalds employees did call the police. The girl was taken to the hospital. So far, no one has been charged in that case. Three crew members of the International Space station landed safely in kazakhstan early today. The soyuz capsule touched down in heavy fog. A nasa astronaut and two russian flight engineers spent six months in space. All three are in Good Condition as they sat in their chairs bundled up in freezing temperatures there. A royal visit this morning to the set of downton abbey. The duchess of cambridge herself, 8 months pregnant, pulled up to the studio where many of the interior scenes are shot for the show. Shes touring the set and meeting the cast and crew. She and Prince William are both said to be very big fans of the show. As are we, savannah. We want a tour of the set. I knew i liked her. She has good taste. Eight months pregnant. The month off. Gnatnatalie, thank you very much. Al is off today. Dylan dreyer has her work cut out for