it's monday, may 18th, coming up on "early today," one u.s. marine is killed and 28 others taken to hospitals when an osprey made a hard landing. and a criminal biker gang turns deadly. >> this is the worst crime scene, the most violent crime scene that i've ever been involved in. plus, a csx train hits a bus injuring six. plus, more severe weather over the weekend. plus, a murder mystery that has the nation's capital on edge. "early today" starts right now. good morning. thanks for waking up on this monday with us, i'm betty

nguyen. 22 marines were on board an mv-23 osprey when it slammed into the ground. one marine died. this is video from the scene. the others were taken to the hospital as a precaution. the unit is from camp pendleton, now, there's no word on what caused the hard landing. let's take you to texas, biker gangs converge at a restaurant to talk recruitment. when things went wrong. right now, nine people are dead. nbc reports. >> reporter: police and witnesses say that it was chaos and engaged in a full on turf war. >> people started pulling guns out and shooting people. no one was doing anything. >> it started with a brawl in the bathroom spilling into the bar and then the parking lot. at least nine gang members dead and 18 or more injured. >> this is the worst crime

screen the most violent crime scene that i have been involved in. >> reporter: officers were nearby and information police say that they shared with the restaurant managers. >> what happened here today could have been avoided. we have attempted to work with the local management to twin peeks. they have continued to allow the bikers to gather here, and this is the cull that nation of what occurs. >> police detained 100 people and took more than 100 weapons including clubs, knives and guns. as the investigation continues so does the concern. >> we have intel that there maybe other bike groups heading into waco. >> local federal and state say if that's the case they're ready. >> we will not stand for this in

the city limits. we will not stand for nit the county. >> reporter: jay gray nbc news. a renown dare devil athlete is dead this morning after a tragic b.a.s.e. jumping accident. helicopter crews had found the bodies of 43-year-old dean potter seen in this video and another man. they were jumping from a 7500 peak. the two were trying to fly through a gap in a pair of notches but smashed into a rocky outpouring. potter is known for his bold stunts like climbs with no ropes or high up tight-rope walks. b.a.s.e. jumping is illegal in yosemite. extreme athlete potter dead at the age of 43. at 5:53 eastern time this morning, a return of full service of the 75,000 daily passengers along amtrak's northeast corridor. for the first time a train will

leave bound for new york, passing through the same area as that deadly derailment. late sunday in philadelphia, they honored the victims. >> robert gildersleeves -- that >> robert. bob, gildersleeves -- that bell thank with all eight who died in the tragedy. a suspicious mark on the windshield could mean that the train was hit with something before the crash. engineer brandon bostian didn't radio he'd been hit by rocks or other projectiles. he says he doesn't remember what happened. but two other trains reported being hit along that same route just minutes before. isis is grabbing more land inside iraq. the terror group has taken control of ramadi, the city west of baghdad. the u.n. said 145,000 iraqis have left. several leaders were taken out including abu sayyaf, he's the

isis top money man. all of this after a raid in syria and the top money man that managed the groups skpoil money gas. now to a scary mishap in louisville, kentucky, a school bus dragged an elementary school student 100 feet down the street as her backpack got stuck on a door as she was getting off. >> really i just don't see how he didn't know that the girl was dragging, her bouncing around in that door all the way down the street. suffered road rash but otherwise she's okay. let's get to atlanta. there's another incident involving a bus. all right. well, we're trying to show you a csx train slammed into a city bus as it was waiting on the tracks at a red light. screaming passengers tried desperately to free the vehicle before impact. six suffered injuries while running for their lives. >> only two cars can fit before you cross the tracks. and a lot of times, the trains

just show up out of nowhere. the bus driver was given a citation for an improper stop on the train track. millions, they are cleaning up, after dozens of tornadoes just pounded parts of the u.s. in oklahoma, storm chasers capturing this a funnel cloud forming near a field of cows, nbc's john yang reports. >> reporter: massive tornadoes sliced across southwestern oklahoma. this wedge tornado struck near elmer, to the east, homes were damaged in broken arrow, outside tulsa. >> it's just chaos. it was making me shaking -- it was shaking me. >> reporter: trees were uprooted and power lines down. at least 29 reports of tornados in nine states from texas to minnesota. >> you folks stay really alert, this is a violent tornado down here and it is big. >> reporter: another round of lightning strikes outside of oklahoma city.

and more hail and flooding in north texas where the national guard rescued ten people from their homes and cars. outside kansas city, missouri, residents were evacuated when this river flooded leaving homes under water. the severe weather there postponed a major league soccer game. in eastern kansas, authorities said strong winds derailed this. in oklahoma where twisters are an annual rite of spring, residents are cleaning up. that was nbc's john yang reporting. and bill karins sheer with more. >> >> flash flooding a possibility. those are scary storms. yesterday we made it through without the tornados after 34 were reported. we can though the catch a break. it's been so wet in the area in this part of the country, it's one batch after another. if you're not dealing with tornados, it's flash flooding. some say more than four inches of rain in some of the counties here. we have one in the mississippi area too. this goes to 9:00 sentcentral time

so the city is under that flash flood warning. one to three inches of rain is wide spread through the area. the heaviest toelts are through central louisiana. the worst highway to be driving on is from jackson, mississippi to sheave port. just outside of houston, we have a big cluster of storms and a flash flood warning also. again it's not block buster but we will see two to three inches and also that sport north of houston. we're looking pretty warm in the ooers and west not many problems and temperatures remain especially

near mammoth. a scattered shower or storm. not a lot of rain for the west looks like a nice week ahead too. >> that sounds good too. thank you bill. prices are rise for the most poplar products. we'll show you which ones and how much. plus a few republican presidential hopefuls probably wish they could have switched places with mitt romney this weekend. you're watching "early today."

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the fact -- >> reporter: after jeb bush stumbled on questions on the war -- >> i missed that, for sure. >> reporter: marco rubio found himself doing the same thing. >> was it a mistake -- >> it was not a mistake for the president -- >> the world was a better place because saddam hussein is not there. >> reporter: a blunder that was supposed to be about unity at the republican dinner in iowa. >> we can beat hillary, we must beat hillary, we will beat hillary, if she ever takes any questions. someone needs to ask hillary clinton was a good idea to topple gadhafi and libya. >> reporter: the theme, hillary in a state that thrived on old-fashioned retail politics. from rick perry to scott walker. 11 presidential hopefuls in front of activists in iowa from everything from wisconsin cheddar to root beer floats. the grand handling followed speeches. each candidate got just ten

minutes to sell themselves and their plan for victory in 2016. but hillary clinton beats them all in head-to-head matchups. >> i think republicans have been disappointed in some of the stumbles that hillary clinton has encountered over the past couple weeks do not seem to have wounded her in a serious way. >> reporter: still, republicans believe cumulative attacks will what wear away at hillary. can you beat hillary? >> we don't know if hillary is going to be a candidate or not. >> reporter: serving up some wishful thinking or a recipe for a win. in case you missed it over the weekend, former presidential candidate mitt romney jokingly showed up in his suit. to face off against evander holyfield in the boxing ring. romney went two rounds with the heavyweight champion before throwing in the towel. the event raised more than $20

million in charity that will provide eye surgery for people in other countries. bad news for drivers, gas jumped 22 cents in the past two weeks to $2.80. analysts say supplies are expected to increase. and that should slow the increase. the deadly bird flu virus, eggs have risen 32 cents. so far, 35 millions birds have been affected. cisco says that it will plimt the eggs for 18 months. >> it's costing more to fill up at the gas pump. it's gone to $2.82 ray kbal lon. it's because of the weaker dollars. the skies are a bit more crowded this summer and that means 222 million passengers will fly on the carriers from june to august. that's a four percent last year and an all-time high thank toss

the stronger economy, and to make demand airlines are making more seats available. >> thanks landon. but a lumberjack competition you just have to see. sports is next. join red nose day, a national event to help lift children out of poverty. it's easy: support red nose day at walgreens and start making a difference. it's a good laugh for a good cause. tune in on may 21st to watch the red nose day benefit live on nbc. are you so congested... it feels like that brick's on your face? try zyrtec®-d to powerfully clear your blocked nose and relieve your other allergy symptoms. so you can breathe easier all day. zyrtec®-d. find it at the pharmacy counter.

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take care, guys. >> this morning on "today," go, matt, go. find out how matt lauer is doing

on his bike ride from boston to new york for red nose day. and now to sports action. >> good morning. a huge comeback for the houston rocket down two games to one. james harden and company battled and they head to the western conference finals for the first time since 1997. houston takes on golden state in game one tomorrow night in oakland. next, the world's top-ranked golfer proves yet again why he's number one. rory mcilroy shattered the tournament by ten strokes. the second victory in the past three weeks and 11th on the pga tour. >> the u.s. women's soccer team played a tuneup game for world played a tuneup game for world cup competition. in the 26th minute, sydney leroux makes a difficult shot to strike first. mexico strikes back with a

kick and beautiful shot. that gets past the goalie hope solo. but the u.s. rallies to win this friendly 5-1. next to atlanta, shelby miller is one out. but a single up the middle. miller finished the game with a two-hit shutout for his fifth win of the season. finally to italy. the world's toughest lumberjack race. it boiled down to two. the aussie was the winner chopping up four tree trunks in less than 58 seconds. >> announcer: "early today" is brought to you by just for men mustache and beard just you and the look you want. all right. >> thanks so much. so, the stars, they came out last night. just ahead, the best moments for the billboard music awards. plus, what some goats did to end up in the back of a squad car.

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>> she was nominated for 12 and won eight. >> she won top artist. >> brittney spears showed that she still has all of the moves. ♪ it was the end of an era at amc, "mad men" had its finale last night. they said good-bye to everyone else. amc channel went dark for the finale, putting up everyone is watching the "mad men" series on amc. come join us. >> that's like five days of tv. >> it's worth it to bing watch it. according to a series of tweets by activist jay hansen, jay z donated a significant amount of money for ferguson,

missouri. reading in part, when we needed money for bail for baltimore protesters, i hit up jay, as i had for ferguson. wired tens of thousands in minutes. jay z has not commented, and the tweets have been deleted. and at the movies, the bellas have another hit. "pitch perfect 2" bringing in $70 million. >> more than expected. >> "mad max: fury road" and then "avengers: age of ultron," i'll tell you that "the avengers" just won't let go. >> pitch perfect. the reviews were not the best but it's about people loves pitch perfect. >> this is "early today, we hope it's your first stop of the day on nbc.

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all right. so in washington, d.c., a murder mystery not far from the vice president's residence. a multimillion-dollar mansion torched. a prominent couple, their 10-year-old son and housekeeper killed. and police are zeroing in on a so-called person of interest. nbc's kristen welker has our report. >> reporter: authorities say a man in this surveillance video say person of interest in a fire that ravaged this house. four bodies were recovered. 46-year-old savvas savopoulos and his 47-year-old wife amy. police discovered the family's

blue porch 50 miles way and torched near the video camera. the dc police chief said that the fire was set intentionally. >> we can say that there were on three of the four victims, there were injuries discovered and appeared to be blunt force or sharp object. >> adding to the mystery, a housekeeper told police that amy texted her the morning of the fire telling her not to come to work. >> he was ceo of a fireworks company. two daughter s were away at boarding school. the home is four blocks from where the vice president lives, and near a house owned by hillary clinton and her husband bill recently spotted on a jog outside. >> i am shocked. i am absolutely shocked and horrified that something like this has happened. >> something that's gripped the nations capital. nbc news washington.

and now, for some lighter fare as you head out the door, in merrimack, new hampshire -- that's right, a couple of stray goats were found wandering around town. in australia, a world record for number of dogs wearing bandanas, 764 dogs wearing bandanas. that's twice the previous record. and in mexico, the world's first underwater bar opened over the weekend. in a 13,000 gallon tank where you can play board games and bubble shoot guns. bubble guns, that is. celebrating birthdays, "30 rock" and former "snl" funny woman tina fey is 45. king of country george straight turned 63, and hall of famer reggie jackson is 69. i'm betty nguyen. thanks for watching "early today."

darting down the freeway in the wrong direction. a driver leads police on a chase before crashing and he's still on the run. new clues. south bay police are releasing as think search for a man who tried to kidnap a girl. close call on communications hill where a brush fire comes dangerously close to nearby homes. the bay bridge on monday you are watching "today in the bay." all right. wipe away the weekend. here we are on monday. i know. bearer of bad news. i'm sam brock. >> let's hold on to the memory of it as we start on monday morning together. good morning. i'm laura