Returning to the force. And playground scare. Without warning, a huge tree falls down on top of a group of children. Two of them injured. That park shut down today, wednesday, may 6th, 2015. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And good morning, everyone. Welcome to today. 7 00 on a wednesday morning out on the west coast. And as we welcome savannah back from australia, we welcome you back with some really disturbing overnight news. Yeah, and its just come out this morning. Its our top story, chilling new information about that deadly plane crash in the alps. According to a report just released this morning, the copilot, Andreas Lubitz, practiced descending to 100 feet, on another flight just before the crash. We have more with tom costello and katy tur. Katy, what are we learning . New disturbing evidence that Andreas Lubitz planned the crash, practicing what you could call a dress rehearsal on the inbound flight from dusseldorf to barcelona, repeatedly changing the settings during a 4 30minute stretch while the captain was out of the cockpit. This morning, french investigators revealed that Andreas Lubitz practiced his deadly plan on the outbound flight from dusseldorf to barcelona. Changing the autopilot settings five times during a 4 1 2minute stretch while the captain was out of the cockpit. The preliminary report claims lubitz repeatedly adjusted the altitude to as low as 100 feet and as high as a maximum 49,000 feet as shown in this graph. Would anybody have noticed . No, they wouldnt, because the aircraft was already in a descent. So if you do select a lower selected altitude, in this case 100 feet, the aircraft would have still continued in its normal descent. Reporter this flight landed safely in barcelona. But on the return leg back to dusseldorf, lubitz would fulfill his plan and crash the plane into the alps. 30 minutes into that nowinfamous march 24th flight when the captain left the cockpit, this time investigators say lubitz locked him out, then manually changed the autopilot from 48,000 feet to 100 feet. What followed was an eightminute controlled descent with the captain furiously banging on the door and passengers screaming. Before it slammed into the french alps, killing all 150 people on board and leaving the plane in thousands of nearly unrecognizable pieces. In the days and weeks after the crash, lubitzs medical issues emerged, including severe depression and potential loss of eyesight. Inside lubitzs german home, investigators found tornup doctors notes and internet searches for medical treatment, ways to commit suicide, and cockpit Door Security measures. Even with this mornings revelations, no answers on why he did it and that why is still the biggest question for families. Guys, the more we learn about this story, the more disturbing it seems to get. You can only imagine what the people on that inbound flight must be thinking right now. Another unsettling piece of the puzzle, though, katy, thank you very much. Nbcs tom costello covers aviation. Hes been poring through the report all morning. Tom, we already knew that andrea Andreas Lubitz had researched ways to commit suicide. Now we are finding that he actually tested his final idea on a previous flight. What jumps out at you . Well, i think the fact that these settings seem to be so erratic and so irregular. You know, down to 100 feet, up to 49,000 feet, and over the course of just a few seconds, it appears. It also appears that the settings were so fleeting that they may have gone undetected by the pilot and by the people on board that plane. But its not clear that he ever hit engage when he set these settings on the autopilot, but he was literally just turning the dial and practicing. Yeah, and when you talk about practicing, we want to draw a distinction between practicing or perhaps starting to carry out his plan and then changing his mind. Theres no indication on that first flight, the previous flight, that he attempted to override the manual code system on the door and permanently lock out the pilot. Yeah, and we presume that the pilot had left to go to the lav, which is exactly what happened on the flight going back to dusseldorf. But when that pilot came back into the cockpit on the first flight, apparently lubitz let him back in. So if this was a trial run, he was literally just playing with the dials, it would appear, and not doing anything beyond that. But again, for people who are hearing this news this morning saying wait a minute, if this happened on the previous flight, how did the airline not know and keep him out of the cockpit on the doomed flight, they probably wouldnt have known based on what were learning now. The pilot would have returned to the cockpit, as the settings are as they were when he left, he would have seen nothing irregular. And its empirely lyentirely probable that air Traffic Control would not have known especially if he caused it to descend or climb dramatically, air Traffic Control may not have ever known what he was doing up there when he was alone. Tom costello in washington. Again, tom covers aviation for us. Tom, thank you very much. Another big story were following this morning out of texas. What investigators are learning about the two suspects who opened fire at that controversial event in texas that featured cartoons of the prophet muhammad. Well, theres one unanswered question, were these two directly working for isis . Nbcs national correspondent, miguel almaguer, has traveled to phoenix where the men lived. Miguel, good morning to you. Reporter savannah, good morning. Folks that live here say the shooting suspects were quiet and unassuming. Those who knew them well say they had no idea they were capable of planning such a violent attack. This morning, authorities are digging into the digital trails of both suspects, looking for any possible ties between isis and the gunmen. Neighbors say Elton Simpson and the other man raised no red flags while living in their phoenix apartment, applying to run a carpetcleaning company from home before investigators say they shot a Security Guard outside a dallasarea cartoon contest featuring the prophet muhammad. Born in the u. S. , simpson attended high school in phoenix, played competitive basketball, later converting to islam, attending this local mosque for nearly a decade. U. S. Officials say he actively supported isis on social media. Tweeting about the texas event before the shooting. Four years ago he was convicted of lying to the fbi in connection with a terror investigation. I never would have imagined him being involved in anything like this. He just seemed very calm and quiet. Reporter the father to a young son, nadir sufi spent time as a child in pakistan. Friends say he came from a privileged family, was a popular heartthrob in high school, never showing signs of becoming radical. With isis taking credit for the attack online, u. S. Officials say theres no proof the terror Group Planned or directed the plot. I dont believe its an isis attack. I believe its an isisinfluenced attack. Reporter those backing isis have planned attacks in the u. S. Before. Coney island, even the capitol said to be among the potential targets. At least 39 people from 12 states arrested for wanting to wage jihad here at home or overseas. Releasing a statement and speaking briefly to the media, both of the suspects families say they were shocked and saddened by the news of the attack. Again, they say they had no idea this was coming. As for those assault rifles used in sundays shooting, Law Enforcement sources tell nbc news that they were purchased legally. Investigators now in multiple states continue to comb over evidence including inside the apartment complex behind me looking for the very latest on the motive and what may have been behind this attack. Savannah, back to you. Miguel almaguer in phoenix for us, thank you very much. Lets turn to politics and things are getting interesting in a hurry in the 2016 president ial race. Hillary clinton returned to nevada, the site of one of her most bruising battles with barack o seven years ago. To rekindle her relationship with hispanic voters. At an event with high school students, she declared her unequivocal support for a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, drawing a hard line between herself and her republican rivals on that issue. Make no mistake, today not a single republican candidate announced or potential is clearly and consistently supporting a path to citizenship. Not one. Meantime, the clintons still under fire over the clinton foundation. And it was daughter, chelseas, turn to defend it while traveling in morocco. She suggested that criticism is politically motivated, saying, quote, my family is no stranger to scrutiny, and neither is the foundation foundation. When you mix together the higher level of scrutiny around the foundation and then the political dimension, im not surprised. Another arkansas native, former governor Mike Huckabee is now the sixth republican to enter the race. And hes wasting no time taking thinly veiled shots at both Hillary Clinton and jeb bush. I dont have a global foundation. Or a taxpayerfunded paycheck to live off of. I dont come from a Family Dynasty but a working family. I grew up blue collar, not blue blood. Mike huckabee will hit the campaign trail in iowa today where he scored an upset victory in the 2008 caucuses. Political season definitely heating up. Speaking of weather conditions, weve got al here. Youre watching storms today. Thats right, storms today plus things are heating up in the tropics as well. Look at whats going on right now out in the southwest. This is roswell, new mexico. And you can see this rope tornado, luckily no major damage, although some garages were damaged. There were some problems there. But again, they continue to watch this. We also had some pretty good tornadoes touching down throughout parts of texas. Were watching this one live. This was yesterday afternoon. Out in big springs, texas, just north of there. Again, about nine reports of tornadoes yesterday. We expect more today. In fact, as we go to the radar, things already firing up from omaha all the way down to houston. Strong storms. So we do have a slight risk of Severe Weather today stretching from Central Texas all the way on up into parts of nebraska. 3 Million People at risk. Damaging hail and wind gusts of 60 miles per hour. This goes into thursday and really right on into the weekend. Dangerous lightning, icesolated tornadoes. Plus, we now have all this rain, so flooding is a big problem. Some areas may pick up to eight inches of rain in oklahoma. And then as you look at the tropics, are we looking at the development of subtropical storm ana . Right now its called an investigation area. Investigation 90. 30mileperhour winds. 40 chance over the next five days developing into a tropical storm. Whether it becomes a storm or not, its going to have big impacts along the southeastern atlantic coast. Rip currents, high surf likely, very dangerous, beach erosion, coastal flooding. And look at some of these rainfall amounts, anywhere from three to five inches of rain from Cape Hatteras all the way to savannah, georgia. So we will continue to watch this situation and then around wyoming, we could be looking at about a foot of snow. So we could be looking at Severe Weather, a tropical storm, and winter blizzardlike conditions. Thats a weather map thats got a Little Something for everybody. Boom, baby all right, thank you. Natalies here with new fallout over those riots in baltimore. Good morning once again. Attorney general Loretta Lynch promising to improve baltimores police department. Lynch met tuesday with the family of freddie gray, the man who was fatally injured while in police custody. And she said in a meeting with community leaders, quote, we are here to hold your hand and provide support. Six Police Officers involved in grays arrest have been charged in his death. Meantime, pop icon prince has announced plans to perform at a concert in baltimore this sunday called a rally for peace. Its meant to be a catalyst for pause and reflection after the recent protests and riots over grays death. Concert attendees are being asked to wear gray in freddie grays honor. The u. S. Senate passed a budget blueprint tuesday that calls for cutting safety net programs and increasing money for the pentagon. It would cut 5 trillion including cuts to programs like medicaid, food stamps, and student aid. The bill is expected to set up another showdown with president obama on the Affordable Care act. Well, this morning some frightening moments in a boston suburb when a day at a park goes terribly wrong. It was all caught by a surveillance camera. Reporter it was a beautiful 80degree spring day, one of the first nice days after a long winter, bringing kids out in droves to a Neighborhood Park in chelsea, massachusetts. When, without any wind or any warning, a massive 35foot tree suddenly collapses on top of several children, leaving them no time to get out of the way. A tree fell on us. And i hit my head. Reporter 8yearold diego ruiz had stapled in his head and a scraped shoulder. A 3yearold is being treated for a fractured skull. His father and three others in the park coming to the boys rescue, lifting the trunk just enough to drag them to safety. What im looking at doesnt look like it uprooted because the roots still appear that its still there. Reporter the park remains closed as other trees are checked for safety. Meanwhile, officials at the park, they say it was completely renovated a couple of years ago and that a full assessment of the tree was done at the time. And an inspiring story this morning of a soldier who refused to give up. Take a look. This is video from a grueling 12mile road march at fort dix in new jersey. You can see army captain sara cud fall to her knees there. She then uses her rifle to prop herself back up. The march is required to earn the armys expert s. E. A. L. S medical badge. A decoration awarded to those who pass a battery of tests. And less than a quarter of those attempt it actually pass. She completed that 12mile journey. Everybody cheering her on at the finish and she earned the badge. Congrats to captain cud. Thats what courage looks like. You think you cant go further keep going. Youve always got something left in the tank and its nice of those other soldiers to cheer her on. Mr. Roker. All right. Thats whats going on around the country. Were going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. Youre unpacking already . Yeah. Help me find some mugs . Sure. [ beep ] hey. Okay. Thesell do. Yeah. [ male announcer ] wake up to the mountain grown aroma of folgers. The best part of wakin up so, where do you want to start . I think this is a pretty good place. Is folgers in your cup wednesday morning. Im meteorologist christina loren. Temperatures are comfortable. Its a little cool. Probably grab a jacket. Nice mild finish to the day. We do have elevated pollen levels. 69 on the peninsula today. 70 degrees on the east shore. 77 for the north bay. 71 degrees in the south bay. Staying steady temperaturewise for the next few days. We are going to bring in some light showers by tomorrow. We will have more on that for you in just moments. And thats your latest weather. Al, new controversy tied to the socalled fight of the century. On tuesday we told you that Manny Pacquiao was facing a suspension for not revealing a shoulder injury to the boxing commission before his fight against floyd mayweather. Now fans not happy with that news are filing a 5 million Class Action Lawsuit. It seeks damages for all persons who paid for tickets to the event, purchased payperview showings, or made wagers on the event. The reason . The two people who filed it claimed they were victimized by pacquiaos failure to disclose that injury or cover up that injury. And there are reports of a second Class Action Lawsuit filed in los angeles. They cant settle that one in the ring. No. This is really a big deal. A lot of money changed hands there. You Better Believe it. Meantime, the facebook coo Sheryl Sandberg is speaking out for the First Time Since the death of her husband. David goldberg. Tamron is here with more on that. Such a sad story. It is so sad. Sheryl sandberg and David Goldberg have been together 11 years. He was laid to rest with an invitationonly Memorial Service at Stanford University on tuesday. Goldberg, the ceo of surveymonkey died unexpectedly at the age of 47 after reportedly slipping off a treadmill while on vacation. 1700 people came to pay their respects. Some of the biggest names in Silicon Valley. The ceos of linkedin, yelp, cofounder of paypal also there. In addition, Facebook Ceo Mark Zuckerberg were george lucas, ben affleck also in attendance. After the service, sandberg turned to facebook posting two photos in a tribute to her husband. She wrote, we had 11 truly joyful years of the deepest love, happiest marriage, and truest partnership that i could imagine. Dave was my rock. She went on to say, as heartbroken as i am today, i am equally as grateful. 11 years of being Dave Goldbergs wife and 10 years being a parent with him is perhaps more luck and more happiness than i could have imagined. Goldbergs death is shedding light on the Alarming Number of treadmill injuries and the growing concerns about treadmill safety. Coming up, were going to take an indepth look at that much more in our half hour. A lot of people talking about a great loss of a parent, beloved husband. But also something that thousands of us do daily, get on the treadmill. An