it's monday, march 14th. coming up on "early today," vitriol and violence filled many donald trump rallies over the weekend, but will tuesday's big vote dent the front-runner? dangerous tornado in multiple states and deadly flooding inundate thousands caught as waters continue to rise. a police cruiser is stolen leading cops in a high-speed chase of one of their own heavily armed cars. plus let the bracketology begin as the ncaa tournament is set. where in the world has richard simmons been. and "snl" lights up the weekend with the return of larry david. "early today" starts right now. good morning. we are only one day out from tuesday's all important primaries in five states including winner-take-all ohio and florida. as front-runners donald trump and hillary clinton look to put

seal the deal. tromp is ahead in marco rubio's florida but slightly behind john kasich in ohio who received a big endorsement over the weekend from fellow ohioen, former speaker of the house john boehner. mitt romney as part of his anti-trump crusade is campaigning today in ohio with kasich, although, he is not expected to make an endorsement at this time. the rubio campaign has even started encouraging supporters to vote kasich in ohio in an effort to defeat trump, but this has been overshadowed by violence that is getting worse at trump's campaign events. nbc's gabe gutierrez reports. >> reporter: the atmosphere toxic and grotesque say his opponents. lots of interruptions and no arrests at donald trump's rallies. >> get them out of here? go ahead and get them out. get them out now! >> reporter: this after secret service surrounded trump saturday when one protester rushed the stage hours after a chicago rally was canceled amid violent clashes. on wednesday a trump supporter punched a man.

>> i don't accept responsibility. >> reporter: trump came to his defense. >> i don't condone the violence. i don't condone what he did. but you know what? not nice on the other side either. >> it's possible you could help him with legal fees if this man needs it. >> i've actually instructed my people to look into it, yes. >> reporter: in illinois, a 70-year-old veteran was among those kicked out, telling nbc's halle jackson he thinks trump is inciting the violence. >> i get very impassioned mainly about the whole racism and hate that is being shown at these rallies. >> reporter: marco rubio is very concerned that someone could lose their life at a trump event. he's in florida, his make-or-break home state, grasping for votes as our new nbc news/wall street/marist poll has him behind trump, almost 2-1. >> he has turned the most important election in a generation into a circus, into a complete fiasco and a carnival. >> reporter: john kasich fairing better in ohio. even if he wins his home state,

he can't secure the nomination without a contested convention. >> i think when people around the world see images of americans clocking each other at a campaign rally, they're like, you know, we're in disarray. that's what they're going to try to say. it will be used as a propaganda tool. >> reporter: ted cruz is focusing on snagging delegates in north carolina and missouri in a prolonged fight against trump. >> responsibility starts at the top, and it is not beneficial when you have a presidential candidate like donald trump telling his supporters punch that guy in the face. >> reporter: the gop front-runner remains defiant, refusing to pull any punches on his way to the nomination. >> nbc's gabe gutierrez reporting. well, trump is now blaming the democrats and specifically bernie sanders for the violence at his events, accusations which have led bernie sanders to flat out call trump a liar while hillary clinton is doubling down saying foreign leaders have reached out to see if they can endorse her to stop trump. this as her latest attack on sanders' misfired badly,

although, it doesn't seem to be affecting the polls. nbc's kristen welker has more. >> reporter: donald trump calling for the arrests of violent protesters at his rallies, now saying democrats are orchestrating them, laying blame directly at senator bernie sanders. >> they had bernie sanders signs all over the place and they were made by bernie sanders people. >> reporter: sanders dismissing trump's claims. >> we have never, never once called anybody to do anything like that. the truth is this guy really is a pathological liar. >> reporter: trump threatening retaliation, tweeting bernie sanders is lying when he says his disrupters aren't told to go to my events,. be careful, bernie, or my supporters will go to yours. and while some sanders supports acknowledge protests at trump's rallies, they denied getting violent, insisting it's the other way around. >> i've been getting death threats since the trump rally, and it's something that came with the territory. these are the types of people that are supporting donald trump. they've been calling me "n"

words. >> reporter: this comes as the democrats are locked in a tight race after sanders' surprise win in michigan. our latest poll shows clinton with commanding double-digit leads in florida and ohio. but in her home state of illinois, topping sanders by only six points. clinton caused a minor dust-up saturday, accusing sanders being absent during the 1990s' health care debate. >> i don't know where he was when i was trying to get health care in '93 and '94. >> reporter: prompting a sanders aide to post this video from 1993 showing sanders standing behind the then first lady during one of her health care speeches. >> i'm grateful that bernie sanders would join us today. >> reporter: the clinton team insisting the video proved their point, that clinton was actually was leading the fight, but sanders isn't backing down. >> to criticize me on health care is not quite fair because i have been a leader in congress from day one in the fight for

universal health care. an amtrak passenger train derailed in kansas. here is what we know. the train was traveling from l.a. to chicago. 42 passengers and crew members were on board. around two dozen people have been hospitaled. none of the injuries are life threatening. >> well, six people are dead with thousands displaced as heavy storms moved through the south. more flooding is expected today with 2 million people in four states under a flash flood watch. all this rain set march records with as much as two feet over the past five days in some parts of louisiana and mississippi, spawning twisters in arkansas. in texas the sabean river reached 29 feet yesterday morning and could hit 35 feet by tomorrow, breaking the record set in 1884. the louisiana national guard said over 2,400 people and

nearly 200 pets were rescued by sunday night. they distributed almost 1 million sandbags across 13 parishes hit by the storms. bill karins will have more on the intense weather coming up. authorities in serbia are investigating a cargo crate. it was discovered on an air serbia flight to the capital belgrade. >> an official in the prosecutors office tells nbc news that two missiles have been found in a cargo area of the airport and an investigation is underway after sniffer dogs discovered explosive particles leading to the discovery of these missiles. the cargo's final destination was portland, oregon. we understand from the manifest it was to take the cargo here to

london next before the united states. at the moment experts are working to prove are they real or are they training missiles? whether these are live and some media outlets have reported or if they have been in contact with explosive material leading to trace amounts that the dogs were able to sniff out. there have been reports that the two are american-made hell fire missiles, versatile weapons that debe launched from a variety of platforms. >> thanks so much. a little disturbing. an unusual police chase in los angeles when a police cruiser reportedly carrying weapons was stolen. topping speeds of 100 miles per hour at times, knbc's chopper followed the nearly hour-long pursuit. >> a sharp turn there, red light, high rates of speed on the freeway. a left turn eastbound through an alley, and he's kind of stuck. he's got nowhere to go. so this might be coming to an end. >> police pinned the driver who tried to escape before being

stopped, smoke apparently coming from the spinning tires. shots were fired and the suspect was pronounced dead on the scene. we don't know whether the suspect pointed weapons at officers authorities are running criminal investigations. richard simmons is responding to a "new york daily news" report that alleges he's being held against his will in his hollywood hills home. the 67-year-old fitness guru tells "entertainment tonight" that he's, quote, not kidnapped and that the people that surround him take great care of him. the "sweatin' to the oldies" star said he had a knee replacement and has been taking it easy. simmons hasn't been seen in public since 2014. on saturday the "daily news" published an expo say citing friends and other sources that suggested his housekeeper, brother, and his manager are keeping him isolated. a rep for simmons later dismissed the claims as untrue and preposterous. nbc meteorologist bill

karins is here with more on the storms in the west. >> march is very active. severe weather, flooding. we have numerous storms that brought significant winds into northwest. at one moint over 100,000 people without power. we have the northwesterly flow. we will have numerous showers throughout the northwest. we are losing our connection here to subtropical jet stream. stop getting huge amounts of significant rainfall. as far as the radar goes you can see the hit and miss showers off the waters. high elevations still wringing them out and getting a good deal of snow. that is good for the snow pack. flood threat is beginning to diminish. we could deal with a little mudslide activity if we get areas with enhancement there with additional rain.

still advisories and warnings one to three feet throughout th coming days. showers for portland and seattle and salem throughout today. the west will be improving after a pretty wild weekend. >> how many more days until the end of weekend? >> the 20th. just ahead we have new details on the maryland police officer who was shot and killed in an unprovoked attack. and pope francis celebrates three years. ♪ (cell phone rings) where are you? well the squirrels are back in the attic.

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was referred to a psychiatric hospital two weeks before the crash, but the information was never revealed to his employer. the report recommends requiring doctors to speak out of if a pilot threatens public safety, and more mental health checks for pilots. and pope francis celebrated his third anniversary as pontiff greeting visitors in st. peter's square who were going wild for him. the holy father surprised the crowd by distributing pocket gospels during his weekly prayer. defending champion of alaska's iditarod dog race is moving closer to his fourth title in the nearly 1,000-mile competition, a mere 171 miles from the finish line mid-sunday. meanwhile the 26-year-old man appeared in court on allegations that he intentionally drove a snowmobile into two teams, killing one dog and injuring two others on saturday. well, let's get down to business.

>> happy national pie day. not the food but the mathematical constant. and to celebrate pizza hut is rolling out a contest on its blog. on wall street try to extend the weekly winning streak to five. the markets boosted partly by higher oil prices. the fed is not expected to raise interest rates but when the next hike is coming. you may be among millions of people distracted by college hoops. workers preoccupied with filling out brackets will cost employers nearly $4 billion. 51 million may take part in

office pools. just ahead, march madness is here. plus, a story so udderly unbelievable we're going to milk it for all it's worth. you're watching "early today." soup and sandwich and cannonballs and clean and real and looking good and sandwich and soup and a new personal best. and a little help and soup and sandwich and study group. good, clean food pairs well with anything. try the clean pairings menu. at panera. food as it should be. wiback like it could used to?

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let's get you caught up on

sports now with dara brown. >> selection sunday is complete. bracket s are being filled out as we speak. north carolina, virginia, oregon and overall number one seed kansas. some are calling foul over michigan state not getting a top seed after winning the big ten championship. the first four square off tuesday night with florida gulf coast. all on tru tv. there is controversy over a leaked copy of this year's tournament bracket hitting twitter about 20 minutes into the show. the ncaa is looking into the matter. for those snubbed by the ncaa there is national invitational tournament each getting a number one seed. to the hard court where the man known as greek freak took brooklyn by storm. lit up the center with a triple double including 28 points, 11

rebounds and 14 assists. knicks, lakers a final good bye. in the final seconds game tied as they nail the three for the win. final score 90-87. something you don't see every day in australia over the weekend a bull somehow got loose and ran over the pitch at a soccer game. there were no red uniforms and no one was injured. thanks, dara. larry david's bernie sanders was back and it is huge. you're watching "early today." i use what's already inside me to reach my goals. so i liked when my doctor told me i may reach my blood sugar and a1c goals by activating what's within me. with once-weekly trulicity.

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to help refugees escaping the war in the middle east. and everyone's favorite bernie sanders impersonator made his way back to "saturday night live" over the weekend. senator, many think you need these super delegates to win the nomination. >> not true, no. not true. i have the voters. my message is resonating with a very diverse group of white people, and i've got supporters of all ages, 18-year-olds, 19-year-olds. that's it. the young people love me. this is "early today." (baseball on tv in background) with heart failure, danger is always on the rise. symptoms worsen because your heart isn't pumping well.

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prince george's county officer killed. authorities say a gunman fired at the first officer he saw sunday. that prompted a shootout which left an under cover narcotics officer dead and suspect wounded. both the shooter and second suspect were arrested. six gunman who attacked

ivory coast beach resort. at least 16 people were killed including four europeans and two soldiers. the shooters were killed after a long standoff with special forces. a group linked to al qaeda has reportedly claimed responsibility. in las vegas at least a dozen people injured on a highway after a car swerved into a bus causing it to flip. police arrested the driver of the passenger car for driving under the influence. tiny orange flags are raising attention. city workers fed up with dog owners who don't pick up after pooches decided to shame them by putting up a little bit of orange for every bit of brown left behind. so far more than -- >> that's horrendous. >> 600 flags have been raised. a police station in western australia has taken in a new

team member that is causing just about everyone to smile. look at this little munchkin. officers adopted the baby kangaroo after his mom was killed. the station has facebook followers to name the 4-month-old and settled on kujo. now to a look at the day ahead. michelle obama welcomes the broadway cast of hamilton to the work shop. three-time nba all-star steph curry who turns 28. actor/comedian billy crystal is 68, and oscar winner michael caine is 83. record producer quincy joan is also 83 today. now keep it right here for more new, weather, and sports. thanks for watching "early today."

developing overnight, a late night head-on crash on highway 4. several children needed a water rescue while the adults they were riding with died. a live report next on what led to this devastating accident. a risk for people after a sinkhole gives way and gas line ruptures. presidential candidates pushing to keep their campaigns afloat as hundreds of delegates up for grabs this tuesday. "today in the bay" starts right now. good morning, thank you for joining us at 4:30 on this monday. >> on monday. a little early on a monday but we're here and we're happy. i'm laura garcia-cannon. >> you know who else is back,