Beau bergdorf and kidnapping hoax the victim of a reported violent abduction shows up safe and sound. Police now believe the entire story was made up. The fact that weve essentially wasted all of these resources for really nothing is upsetting. Now that woman is missing again today, thursday march 26th 2015. From nbc news this is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a if rockefeller plaza. And good morning, everyone. Welcome to today on a thursday morning. What a stunner of a headline when you hear this pilot and the plane that crashed might have been outside the door. Every once in a while i get a piece of information that turns in a direction. This might be one of those pieces of information. Its our top story and Big Questions facing investigators now. Why did the pilot leave the cockpit and why was he then reportedly locked out . And one thing that is being ruled out, a midair explosion. Investigators are also saying at this point the crash does not appear to be linked to deep pressurization. And this morning we are hearing from friends of the three americans who died. Lets get right to nbcs keir simmons. Hes in france this morning. Good morning to you. Reporter savannah good morning. This has people absolutely shocked here as yet unconfirmed reports that one of the pilots of the plane that flew into the Alps Mountain behind me here was locked out of that cockpit as the plane descended. For days we were trying to physical out why this a320 flew into the range. Do we now have part of the answer . The urgent focus this morning. Reports that one pilot was outside the cockpit when the german wings airliner mulligan its devastating descent. The news overnight has people stunned. Enormous and theres a lot of speculation riding on germany whats going ought in the cockpit. Reporter the force of the crash makes debris in the mountain a huge challenge. According to an investigation source quoted by a French News Agency and the New York Times, the badly damaged flight recorder indicates that first the cockpit door opened and closed. Then a knocking was heard. Perhaps one of the two pilots banging on the door trying to get back if as the plane went down. The airline owned by lufthansa has not confirmed the claim. We cannot understand how an experienced lufthansa pilot was involved in such a terrible exodus. Reporter another pilot who flew over the crash site just minutes after the a320 disappeared from radar told nbc news visibility was clear. If the pilot was alive hed see the mountain right in front of him, very very difficult for him. Reporter but we know more this morning about how the tragedy here has touched american families. Emily selkie and her mother yvonne from virginia were killed. On cnn, friends remember them as loving. Two amazing loving people who were left behind friends and family who love and miss them a lot. Reporter emily studied the Music Industry at Drexel University. Others say she always put others before herself and care deeply for all those in her life. This morning, lufthansa is refusing to identify the pilot and co pilot. It says the pilot had 66,000 hours of flying experience. The copilot has 630 hours. He had joined a german wings the airline from a training but, matt you know if these reports turn out to be true you just shudder to think what it must have been like in the final minutes on that plane. If are you a passenger one of the pilots trying to get into the cockpit, that couldnt have been much good. Lets bring in greg fife and nbcs tom costello who covers aviation for us. Tom, this idea that a cockpit leaves the pilot leaves the cockpit, isnt it policy or protocol that a member of the flight staff goes in to replace that pilot . Thats right t. Flight attendant usually goes into the cockpit and stands there with the pilot who is flying the plane so that when the pilot who is left to go to the restroom comes back that Flight Attendant can verify who it is that wants to get back into the door usually through a pooem peep hole in the door. We dont know that protocol was followed in germany, assuming it was in this particular case the question is what happened to that Flight Attendant, why wasnt he or she able get back into the cockpit . Was there a criminal act here . We dont know. For a captain to have 6,000 hours, that itself not a lot of experience for a captain and for a first officer to have 30 hours. In the United States you need 1,500 hours to be a certified first officer on a commercial flight. So these levels of experience are fought great levels of experience. Tom real quickly, if there was no Flight Attendant with the remaining pilot, how easy is it for the pilot to override that code panel that would allow that other pilot to regain access on the cockpit . Reporter on the airbus 320, there is a key panel on the outside the pilot punches in a code to get into the cockpit. But inside the cockpit, whoever is in there can, in fact override that and essentially lock somebody out t. Reason they do that is to prevent a terrorist from getting in of course in a situation like this you may have exactly the wrong impact. Greg lets bring you in right now. I know you think its still very early and we shouldnt jump to any conclusions. Is it unusual at all for one pilot to leave the cockpit as that plane reaches its cruising altitude of 38,000 feet . Reporter matt that would have been a normal place for a pilot to lead because the airplane would have been stable and crews fright thats a normal work load time period. One or both of the flight crew members will lead the cockpit, leave the cockpit, not simultaneously but in that work load period. In the particular instance as tom brought up there was a way to get back into the cockpit. So it is evident whoever remained in the cockpit had to have intentionally moved that switch to disarm the keypad and allow access back into the cockpit. And the fact that the pilot who was locked out first gently knocks on the door to regain access to the cockpit eliminates a lot of things like massive decompression or an incredible mech nextal failure, doesnt it . Absolutely. Because there was no erratic movement of the aircraft and, in fact if this pilot had gone incapacitated and accidentally hit the side stick controller or the auto flight system had disengaged there are oral warnings. So investigators will be listening to whatever oral warnings may have been recorded on the cockpit voice record tore see if there is anything unusual that may have taken place that could either corroborate incompasstation or intentional . Incompasstation, you wouldnt override the emergency code panel. Reporter absolutely. Those are the logical steps investigators will have to take. Because there would have been no reason to lock anybody out of that cockpit if there was an mortgages. Thank you both. Keep on that. Meantime we are following another big story the deadly and destructive tornadoes in parts of the south. At least one person has died in oklahoma where mortgages crews have been busy throughout this nate Gabe Gutierrez is there. What are you seeing there . Reporter this used to be a donut shop. Last night tens of thousands of people are without power here in oklahoma. This morning, emergency crews will spend the morning assessing the damage. Whoa islam. Oh dear lord. Reporter terrifying moments wednesday night as Storm Chasers cap cured this tornado barreling towards west springs. One person was killed and at least three others injured in a Mobile Home Park ravaged by the Severe Weather. I just ran. I dont know where i was running to pan. Reporter in tulsa, a possible tornado ripped through a jim face innium with 60 to 70 people inside. Firefighters rushing young girls to safety. Amazingly, they all escaped. No one was seriously hurt. Reporter the rain is still going good as far as the rotation it slowed down a bit. Reporter as the storms pred across oklahoma travelers frantically huddled at the tulsa airport. Further south a twister caused damage in moore the same place where a massive tornado in 2013 killed 24 people and injured more than 300. Nothing compared to may 20th. Not in comparison from size to damage injuries nothing compared to that day. Its right here. Reporter interstate 35 was closed through moore when they said they were littering the freeway if both directions. But the mayor of moore says it could have been worse. Its just one of those things that happens. Like i zell tell people were the center of the universe this is where things happen. Fortunately, there is no deaths with this. We had very few injuries. Here in tornado alley, it had been a quiet season so far. Today several School Districts in the area are closed. Again, here in oklahoma tens of to us of people are still without power. Al. It could be a long season thank you so much. Whats ham righthappening right now . Not tornado producers, cincinnati you will be looking alt the showers and thunderstorms coming up. We will be watching this all push to the north and east. So its going to get into memphis, tennessee, cincinnati ohio. As the morning wears on we expect showers and thunderstorms for nashville. Sharply cooler tomorrow behind the system snow into parts of michigan. Syracuse new york rain and snow one to three inches of snow. Then as we get into early tomorrow the rain moves away. We will get a few more showers, but what we are looking at much cooler air coming in guy, over the next 24 hours here in the northeast. Where out west as well see in the next half hour temperatures 10 to 30 degrees above average. We will check with you in a few minutes. Meantime u. S. Army Sergeant Bowe bergdahl is facing the possibility of life if prison. He abandoned his post by the taliban for five years. Now, he is being charged with desertion. Nbcs jim miklazewski is at the pentagon good morning to you. Good morning, matt an army general has pretty much thrown the book at Bowe Bergdahl a stark reminder of how serious it is to abandon your post under any circumstances in the middle of a war zone. After five years in taliban captivity, sergeant beau derg calls full is again if question. Hes combharnl hes been charged with desertion, it could lead to life imprisonment for leaving his fellow soldiers. Im enlighted, actually. I wasnt sure we would ever get to this point. Reporter her son darren was in bergdahls unit later killed and she believes bergdahls actions contributed to her sons death. I dont think he should have anything less tan life if federal prison. Reporter a fellow soldier said there was no doubt he deserted. He left his weapon behind and it was clear he wasnt coming back. Reporter bergdahl was held captive appearing under duress an american soldier and propaganda tool for the taliban. This war isnt worse, the waste of huh pan life. Reporter his release kicked up a political firestorm the Obama Administration released five high valued taliban prisoners in exchange for bergdahl. Republicans again accused the president of negotiating with terrorists. They were traded for bergdahl who deserted his men while these individuals were traded. I think this was a bad decision. It was also in my opinion a violation of the law. Reporter bergdahls lawyer is eager to have derg call tell his side of the story in military court. People will learn many things that they have not yet been privy too about sergeant bergdahls conduct, his motivation. His intentions as waelz the details of his captivity at the hands of the taliban for nearly five years. Reporter now, bergdahl could be offered a plea deal to avoid any jail time. But one official familiar with the investigation tells nbc news there was no indication that bergdahl posed any tlerkts held any malice towards the u. S. But hes instead described as just one really mixed up kid who made a very bad mistake. Matt. All right, jim miklazewski at the pentagon. Thank you very much. Savannah. Okay matt tanks, that is just one story that has the attention of mitt romney the former republican president ial candidate recently entertained a third White House Run earlier this year. He joined us now having decided not to. Good morning to you. Good morning, savannah. Lets start with the Bowe Bergdahl case. First of all, you seen he isnt maybe Court Marshalled. Do you agree with that . Do you think he should have been . Well if he deserted his post thats appropriate for military justice. If a Court Marshall goes forward and he were convicted, do you think this is someone who should spend time in a military brick . If it were a severe setting, where he abandoned his post and put other members of the military at risk then of course a prison term is something that has to be contemplated. Let me ask you about the decision that the president made to trade five taliban prisoners for Bowe Bergdahl. It was controversial. The president presumably knew the circumstance of beau bergdahl leaving his post. He said though leave no soldier on the battlefield. Iffed that had been you in the oval office would you have made that conflicting call . There are two conflicting principless here. One is leave no one behind. The other is dont negotiate with terrorists. In a setting like this Congress Said you must have the president go to congress. He didnt do that he violate aid gen the law. But number two the real question for me is do the people being released represent a threat to american lives in the future. In this case i believe i do. As a result i was critical at the time of the exchange and continue to be critical. It doesnt sound like you would have made the trade. I dont think i would have made the trade. Ted cruz is in the republican race this year. He is someone you have praised for his oratoriccal skill. The reason he says theyre fought conservative enough. Thats the case he takes. I believe everybody expresses their own views on issue, everybody choose which views they align with and choose that nominee. Ted cruz will make his case. Well have ten or 12 other people making their cases. We will have exciting debates. I think the democratic debates will be quiet with Hillary Clinton and people that want to be her vp. I think ted cruz and a whole group of folks represents an interesting thought within the republican party. Well see who gets the prize. So you dont take personal offense that hes basically suggesting the reason republicans didnt win, you didnt win in 2012 because you were to use his word mushy . I made lot of mistake, im a big target. Im happy to have people express their views about why i lost but thats a decision that will be made by Republican Voters as to who our nominee ought to be. Ted is a legitimate contender, obviously, a skilled orotoator. We have other skilled contenders in the race. You said its time for a next generation republican leader quote, not as well known as you are, who is just Getting Started and had not yet had the opportunity to take their message across the country. I have to say, governor that does not sound like governor jeb bush. Is that what you meant . No, im talking about the next political generation. I along with a few other people ran in the last contest and i was not successful and my thought was, we need a new face someone yet fought defined in the publics mind. Jeb bush is one of those new faces. I want to hear what he has to say and marco has to say and chris christ tee and other and others. Why conservatives are better helping middle class and poor people do better in this country. Would you consider being one of these nominees Vice President s . I dont think anyone wants to be a vp. Not a good job . I wont say the things that have been said about this job. Im looking to serve these people to be president. That sound like a no to me. Lets talk about your next career. Boxing champion you are taking on evander holyfield, what are earth are you thinking . All im thinking is dont get him angry. We have to go soft. You are right. We are raising money for something called Charity Vision which provides surgerys to poor people in the world. He is kind and willing to get in the ring with me and not hurt me too bad. Evander is the real deal rocky was the atellian stannion are you thinking of a name for yourself . Just the fastest runner inside an arena. Governor romney i appreciate your time. Thank you, savannah. Good morning the former university of oklahoma student seen in a video chanting racial slurs is apologizeing. Levi petitt sat down briefly with african leaders. All of the apologies wont spend what i have done. So i will spend the rest of my life trying to be the person who heals and brings people of all races together. He has been expelled from school and the sae chapter ou has been shut down. Saudi arabia launched airstrikes against rebel positions in yemen and mobilized 150,000 troops in an attempt to restore yemens government. Saudi arabia said nine other countries have joined the military coalition. President obama authorized logistical and intelligence report. The airstrikes could spell concerns about the security of middle east oil shipments. And the probably isnt the best parking job you will ever see. Those are angled parking lots the driver of the car who happens to be Congress WomanEleanor Holmes norton decided to go straight in. She left it in the precarious position for half hasnt hour. Ill leave it there. I think that shows real skill. Okay. I dont know. You ever look for a parking space at the capital . Fair enough. Thank you mr. Roker. Next time sake the subway. Well get to your all your life youre told to tame your curls. When you try to tame my curls, it feels like you want to tame me. Dove wants you to unleash the beauty of your curls. Thats why we created new dove quench absolute. This system deeply nourishes curls to quench dryness for 4 times more defined natural curls. New dove quench absolute. Good morning, im meteorologist bill henley. Tracking a chance of thunderstorms. Look at those temperatures. Middle 60s to 70 degrees this afternoon. Storms roll through this evening. And behind them a chilly day for fri