Speaks out about his recovery. Why he says hes committed to returning to the force. And playground scare. Without a 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 rock fellefeller plaza. Good morning. Welcome to today on a wednesday morning. Im matt lauer. Good day to you. Good day. I dont know if its yesterday or tomorrow but its nice to be back. Weve got some breaking news this morning. Our top story, this chilling report just released by french investigators. They say the copilot of that Germanwings Flight 4525 repeatedly set the cockpit controls to do a slow descent on the flight just before the one that slammed into the french alps. Its incredibly disturbing. Weve got this covered with tom costello and katy tur in london. Katy what have we learned . Reporter good morning. Breaking just now, Andreas Lubitz practiced the crash. You can see in this graphic released in the preliminary report the up and down lines appear to show how lubitz changed the autopilot altitude multiple times. First to 100 feet. Then 49,000 feet. Repeatedly bringing it up and down for a fourminute stretch that the captain was out of the cockpit. This morning, french investigators are led to believe lubitz practiced his deadly flight. Repeatedly putting the plane into a descent and bringing it back up again. All while it sounds like the captain was out of the cockpit. That flight landed safely. This just hours before he would do it again. This time fulfilling his plan and crashing the plane on the return leg. 30 minutes into that now infamous flight back from barcelona to dusseldorf he locked out the captain then manually changed the flight to 100 feet. During the descent, the captain can be heard trying to break down the door while passengers screamed. The plane ultimately slammed so hard into the alps little more than small pieces remain. And all 150 on board died. In the days and weeks after the crash, lubitzs medical issues emerged. Including severe depression and potential loss of eyesight. Inside his german home investigators found torn up doctors notes and searches for ways to commit suicide and cockpit Door Security measures. Though Authorities Say they have found ample evidence of how lubitz carried out the crash, still no concrete reason on what drove him to kill himself and 149 others. And that why is still the biggest question for families. And it is still unanswered. Again, guys the story just gets more and more disturbing the more we learn about it. Very unsettling report this morning. Thank you so much. Tom costello covers aviation for us. Hes been working the phones as well. Good morning to you. Its a little bit confusing, this information. What we do know is this happened on the outbound flight. This was the immediate flight prior to the doomed flight. Five times he programmed this controlled descent. Now, theres also an element of this where the ground tried to contact him in the cockpit. Is it clear theyre talking about during that same period of time . Reporter all indications as i read this report suggest that in fact they were trying to contact him repeatedly on the flight from barcelona to dusseldorf dusseldorf. But we see more indications of erratic behavior. We know they were concerned about his behavior and his psychological profile in the weeks running up to this flight. And now were seeing that on that flight down to barcelona that in fact he was displaying erratic behavior by moving that from 49,000 feet down to 100 feet and up and down and up and down. Theres very irregular and very erratic. He was doing it when the pilot was out presumably using the lavatory. Im using your words here. Irregular and erratic. But if a pilot or copilot exhibits irregular or erratic behavior why isnt that person prevented from getting back on the cockpit on the very next flight . Reporter im not sure that anybody knew it. Heres the problem. Air Traffic Control doesnt necessarily know what you plug into your flight management system. They only know how your plane actually behaves. If you are programming in erratic information into your computer but its only for a few seconds and youre for the most part maintaining a level flight air Traffic Control doesnt see that they dont know that. So he would have kept that secret to himself, what he was doing during that previous flight. And while the pilot was in the lavatory. But this all goes back to you know all of the evidence suggesting that there was something clearly wrong clinically or psychologically with this individual in the weeks and days and now we think even the hours running up to this. And one last question. Any indication from this investigation that on that first flight that he overrode the manual key pad to allow that pilot back into the cockpit like he did on the doomed flight . Reporter it does not appear so. It appears when the captain wanted to come back in, he was allowed in. Tom costello. A lot of questions still unanswered. Thank you very much. Another big story were following. Investigators learning more about the two suspects shot and killed after they opened fire at a controversial event in texas. And the unanswered question this morning. Were they working directly for the terror group isis . Nbcs Miguel Almaguer is in phoenix where these men lived. Good morning to you. Reporter savannah good morning. Folks that live here say the suspects behind the shooting were quiet and unassuming. Those who knew them well said 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 nadir soofi raised no red flags while living in their phoenix apartment. Applying to run a Carpet Company from home before they shot a Security Guard outside a dallas area 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 to 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 soofi spent time as a child in pakistan. Friends say he came from a privileged family was a popular heart throb 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 and even the capitol among potential targets. At least 49 people arrested for wanting to wage jihad here at home or overseas. Releasing statements or speaking briefly, family members of both men say they are shocked and saddened by the shooting. As for the assault rifles used in the shooting Law Enforcement said they were purchased legally. Thank you very much. Lets turn to politics now 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 obama seven years ago to rekindle her relationship with hispanic voters. 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 mistakes. 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. It was daughter chelseas turn to defend it. She suggested that criticism is politically motivated saying quote, my family is no stranger to scrutiny and neither is the foundation. When you mix together the higher level of scrutiny around the foundation and then the political dimension, i am not surprised. On the gop side another arkansas native Mike Huckabee has entered the race. Hes wasting no time taking shots at both Hillary Clinton and jeb bush. I dont have a Global Foundation or a taxpayer funded 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 caucus. Political season definitely heating up. Speaking of weather conditions weve got al here and 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 yesterday afternoon out in big springs, texas. Just north of there. Again, about nine reports of tornadoes yesterday. We expect more today. 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, isolated tornadoes. Plus we now have all this rain so flooding is a big problem. Some areas may pick up to 8 inches of rain in oklahoma. Then as you look at the tropics, are we looking at Tropical Storm ana right now . Its got an investigation area. 40 chance of developing into a Tropical Storm. Whether it becomes a storm or not, its going to have big impacts along the coast. Hip current rip currents and high surfed. 3 to 5 inches of rain from Cape Hatteras all the way to savannah georgia. Well 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. The weather map has something for everybody, al. Boom baby. All right. Thank you. Natalie has more fallout in the riots in baltimore. Good morning. 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 called a rally 4 peace. After the recent protests and riots over freddie grays arrest. Concert attendees are being asked to wear gray. The u. S. Senate passed a budget blueprint 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. They are expected to set up another showdown on the Affordable Care act. This morning some frightening moments in a boston suburb when a day at the park goes terribly wrong. It was 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 35 foot tree suddenly collapses on top of several children. A tree fell on us. And i hit my head. Reporter this 8yearold is shaken but on the mend. With some staples in his head and scratches on his shoulder. A 2yearold boy is being treated for a possible fractured skull. Three in the park coming to his rescue lifting the trunk just enough to drag them to safety. It doesnt look like it was uprooted. Reporter the park remains closed as other trees are checked for safety. Meanwhile officials at the park say it was completely renovated a couple years ago and 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. This is video from a grueling 12 mile road march in new jersey. You can see Army Captain Sarah Cudd fall to her knees there. She then uses her rifle to prop herself back up it is required to earn the s. E. A. L. S badge. Less than a quarter of those who attempt it actually pass. But captain cudd eventually completed that 12 mile journey. Everybody cheering her on there at the finish and she earned the badge. So congrats to captain cudd. Awesome. Thats what courage looks like. If you think you cant go further, you know you have something left in the tank. Nice the other soldiers cheered her on. Mr. Roker . All right. Thats whats going on in the 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 70s today. The meet tomorrow. 60s in the morning, 80 tomorrow afternoon. Nice and comfortable. Humidity stays low thursday and friday even though the temperature climbs. 85 on saturday with clouds and sunshine turning muggier for mothers day sunday. Have a great day. 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 pay per view 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. 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. 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. And you may not be aware of safety concerns. Raises a lot of questions. Our heart goes out to sheryl and her family for sure. Also ahead, youll hear from the new York City Police officer who was badly injured by an axe wielding man in an isis inspired attack. And are you about to see even more drones overhead . The faa is set to make a major announcement about the future of drones today. Well be there live, but first this is today on nbc. Coming up on trending, Vincent Van Gogh spotted riding the subway . We have the story behind this photo. Plus were taking time to honor our moms this week. Natalie recreates a picture that means a lot to both of them. A great story. But first your local under loud music this is the place. Their beard salve is made from sustainable tea tree oil and kale. You, my friend, recognize when a trend has reached critical mass. Yes, when others focus on one thing you see whats coming next. You see opportunity. Thats what a type e does. And so it begins. 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