there ya' go. breaking overnight, a military helicopter crashes in california. at least four are feared dead. the latest details for you just ahead. a massive police response to a workplace shooting at youtube's california headquarters. this morning new details on the shooter and the wounded. until we can have a wall and proper security, we're going to be guarding our border with the military. >> the president taking border security to a whole new level as he continues to push for his wall and the funding to build it. new crash test results just released on seven of the hottest small suvs, and there are some surprising findings. a fast-moving dust storm enveloped parts of the west. and today more extreme weather, ahead. nbc interrupts its regular

program schedule to bring you the following special report. >> martin luther king jr. was killed tonight in memphis, tennessee, shot in the face as he stood alone on the balcony of his hotel room. >> and 50 years later, a rare interview with a woman who has barely spoken about the events she witnessed firsthand while visiting dr. martin luther king jr. good morning. i'm phillip mena. >> and i'm richard lui in for frances. we begin with breaking news this hour. four military service members are presumed dead after a marine helicopter crashed in the vicinity of el centro, california, according to officials. the marine corps saying the crash involved a ch-53e super stallion, one of the military's largest choppers. the incident is under investigation. the names of the victims are being withheld pending family notification. we're going to keep an eye on that and have details later for you if we get it. tragedy strikes the tech world following a shooting at youtube headquarters in san bruno, california. according to police, a woman opened fire using a 9 millimeter

handgun and injured three people before turning the gun on herself. responding police were met with frantic employees fleeing the building. authorities say the victims are a 36-year-old man, a 32-year-old woman, and another 27-year-old woman. a fourth person was being treated for a broken ankle. senior law enforcement officials have identified the alleged shooter as 39-year-old san diego resident nasim aghdam. right now investigators have no evidence that she knew the victims other was individually targeting them. in videos posted online that appear to be the suspected shooter, the woman claims her videos used to get many views, but now received far fewer after youtube, quote, discriminated and filtered her content. nbc's jo ling kent has the latest. jo, good morning. >> reporter: phillip, good morning. it was terror in silicon valley. a female suspect allegedly shooting multiple people at youtube's headquarters in san bruno, california. the story still developing, but so far what we know is it may be a domestic-related incident.

terror inside youtube headquarters. shots fired just before 1:00 p.m. >> we have a report of subject with a gun. they heard seven to eight shots being fired. >> reporter: police storming youtube alongside fire and s.w.a.t. teams as employees escaped with their hands up. then patted down. police say the shooter was female and used a handgun. multiple law enforcement sources tell nbc news she died at the scene. >> we did transport four victims to the hospital for treatment. three of those victims had suffered injuries as a result of gunshot wounds. the fourth victim i believe it was an ankle injury suffered trying to get away or flee the scene. >> they identified a female in a white shirt. that's one we have down in the center court area with the gunshot wound to the chest. >> at least 20 shots. first time it was three to four shots. second time, it was 10 or 11 shots, nonstop. >> reporter: one youtube employee running for his life, saying i looked down and saw blood drips on the floor and stairs.

the focus is on this outdoor dining area with red umbrellas and chairs knocked over. police seen placing markers on the ground. google, which owns youtube saying it is coordinating with authorities. patients have been transported to zuckerberg san francisco general hospital. senior law enforcement officials tell nbc news the woman suspect was in her mid-30s, and this incident had nothing to do with terrorism. of the four people transported to the hospital, one is in critical condition. phillip? >> jo, thank you. to washington where developments in robert mueller's russia probe are rocking the capital after "the washington post" reported that special counsel told president trump's attorneys that while the president does remain under investigation, he is not, quote, currently a criminal target. with reporters for the post writing, quote, in private negotiations in early march about a possible presidential interview, mueller described trump as a subject of his investigation into russia's interference in the 2016 election. the special counsel also told trump's lawyers that he is preparing a report about the

president's actions while in office and potential obstruction of justice. that's according to two people with knowledge of the conversations. ty cobb, an attorney for president trump, declined to comment on this post report. another attorney for the president, jay sekulow told nbc news, quote, we the not discuss real or alleged conversations between our legal team and the office of special counsel. also, the first punishment was handed down in special counsel's russia investigation. dutch lawyer alex van der zwaan was sentenced to 30 days in prison for lying to federal agents in their investigation into former trump campaign chairman paul manafort. president trump plans to deploy the military to the u.s.-mexico border in order to confront what his administration calls a growing threat of illegal immigrants, drugs and crime spewing into the u.s. from central america. the announcement came on the president's third straight day of complaining about weak border security and as he met with leaders of three baltic nations. chris pollone in washington.

good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning. the president has been promising to build a border wall for 33 months now, but he has largely been stymied at that. congress refusing to pay for it. mexico as well. the president has been painting a very dire picture of the border over the last few days. you mentioned how he has been talking tough on immigration this past week, and yesterday, he offered his own solution to the problem. >> the mexican border is very unprotected by our laws. we have horrible, horrible and very unsafe laws in the united states. and we're going to be able to do something about that hopefully soon. hopefully congress will get their act together and get in and create some very powerful laws. so we are preparing for the military to secure our border. between mexico and the united states. >> i have been speaking with general mattis. we're going to be doing things militarily. until we can have a wall and proper security, we're going to be guarding our border with the

military. >> despite the president's claims, border patrol statistics from last year show that they had the lowest number of people trying to enter the u.s. illegally since 1971. the president is seizing on the idea that there is a group of migrants that's been traveling from honduras through mexico, asylum seeker, looking to come to the u.s. he even claimed credit for putting that caravan to an end. live in washington, i'm chris pollo pollone. >> thank you so much. today marks 50 years since the assassination of dr. martin luther king jr. thousands are expected to descend on memphis, tennessee in commemoration of king's life and legacy. it was there that king delivered his now famous mountaintop speech inside a crowded church, saying he had been to the promised land and wasn't concerned about longevity. the next day he was shot and killed while standing on his balcony at the lorraine motel, now part of the national civil rights museum. nbc's lester holt sat down with one woman who was at the lorraine that fateful day, and

had been silent until now. >> right above middle of that parking lot, dr. king comes out his room. and he starts chatting to everybody down below. happy as a lark, laughing about stuff. >> just kind of an informal interaction with the crowd? >> yes, yes. >> reporter: clara ester was a college junior at the time. she and friends had come to the lorraine motel for a catfish dinner, aware that king was staying there. >> i'm standing there looking up at this great giant in my life, and what sounded like a truck backfiring. but i never took my eyes off of him. i heard somebody said get down, get down. but i saw him being lifted up and thrown back. lester, i can't tell you how my

little feet got up to that balcony, but i remember stepping over his body to where the wound was. i checked for a pulse, which was just literally no beat at all. >> reporter: clara's presence is noted in the fbi's report. the still photos of that evening capture only partial images of her. one she discovered only recently at the civil rights museum. >> it shows me on the balcony, a clear shot of my back. >> reporter: but the most searing images of that night are in her memories. >> he had the most pleasant expression on his face. his eyes were open. and, you know, the night before, he had seen the mountaintop. >> and i've seen the promised land. i mean, i get that with you.

but i want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land. >> and that was all playing over in my head. i mean, i get there with you. i mean i get there with you. our king had been taken away, but amazingly, and we talk about that dream, his dream is our dream. >> and lester will have more on dr. king's legacy on tonight's "nightly news" live from memphis. and coming up on "today," tom brokaw share his experiences reporting on dr. king. crews are battling a massive wildfire in two texas counties scorching 11,000 acres and 50% contained. the fire has damaged several structures but does not pose any threat to nearby towns at this time. in midland, odessa area, time

lapse capturing this massive dust storm rolling in propelled by powerful winds. sand and dust engulfed homes and businesses. dangerously reducing visibility there. >> a lot going on around the country this morning. let's go to nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning, bill. >> good morning. all because of our powerful spring storm including eight tornado reports. looks like one in illinois did significant damages to homes. the storms have weakened, but look at the swath of damage as they went through areas of the ohio valley and the deep south. for today we have about 3.5 million people and a slight risk of severe storms. as the cold front reaches the areas, it may spark a few storms with damaging winds. tornado threat very low today. a high wind warning includes much of central pennsylvania, western new york, upstate new york. we could get power outages and downed trees out of this. some

any squalls and thunderstorms move on through. of course with storms like this, you get these crazy temperature swings too. and we'll talk about that coming up. >> it's been a volatile spring, beginning to it. thanks, bill. fast forwarding into wednesday. england's prince philip is scheduled to undergo hip surgery in london today. he missed easter services reportedly due to his hip troubles. there is concern among republicans of john mccain's senate seat and the possibility of having to defend two arizona vacancies in this year's election. senator mccain has been battling brain cancer, and his health has been shrouded in secrecy. and a public funeral will be held for police officer philip meacham. he was shot and killed offduty last week when he was pulled over by a man pretending to be an officer. we'll be right back. i'm all-business when i travel... even when i travel... for leisure.

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you know what's interesting about a magnolia tree? >> what. >> one of mama and i's first dates, i climbed up a magnolia tree and pulled her off a magnolia bloom, and i gave it to her. >> that was chip from hgtv's home hit series "fixer upper slow sharing a sweet moment with his children. they have closed the door on their final renovations after five seasons to focus on their growing family. on twitter chip told fans they could always find them in waco. >> and joanna thanked fans. >> have you ever watched? they are funny. it's like harry met sally. they stand next to each other, making fun of each other. >> they're growing on me. >> they're great. >> that's mine. >> i wanted to tell you that. go ahead, man.

>> drone transporting parcels for russia's postal service never got to its destination. the drone took off for its first delivery in the siberian city of oulon ude. it crashes into a nearby building tumbling into pieces. they blamed the manufacturer but the company clapped back saying it had never experienced any failures in the 5,000 hours of flying time that one went down. >> that was worth 1.2 million rubles. >> is that right? >> about 20 grand. but still that's a lot of money. more embarrassing than anything. the creators of netflix "stranger things" may be in hot water. matt and ross duffer are being sued for allegedly stealing the idea for the hit series. they're being sued by charlie kessler claiming he pitched the concept to the brothers at the 2014 tribeca film festival. the suit comes on the heels of the big salary negotiations that each of the cast members are

going to get heading into their third season. netflix and the duffers have declined to comment on the complaint, but that is not the last we will hear of this. >> all righty. and who says the '90s are gone? a monopoly edition based on the tv series "friends" now is in the house. players have the opportunity to make moves that will have them reminiscing over memories from the show with a board that allows you to be one of the six main characters. it includes game pieces such as joey's pizza, ross's dinosaur, and monica's chef's hat. the game is only available for purchase in the uk on the website the works. it's going to make it back to the u.s., though. i know it's going the happen here. people are going to if you're coming back to the u.s., can you grab one from london for me? >> they're going to smuggle it in. with the resurgence of the shows from the '90s coming back, the popularity is going to pick up little bit. you never know. we might see another friends. >> why not? >> roseanne, friends is next. >> i'm. in all right. thanks for waking up with us on this day. i'm richard lui.

>> i'm phillip mena. a sign that spring has sprung in the nation's capital with the arrival of the beautiful cherry youssoms.

for joining us. i )m marcus washington. good morning on this wednesday morning, 4:30 for you as we take a live look at san francisco. hump day. half way through the workweek. good morning and thanks for joining us. i'm marcus washington, and i'm kris sanchez in for laura today. a look at the forecast. we know there has been a trend. talking about it all week and want to say, rain is coming for sure. >> it is. you're going to notice it more today. especially because an increase of clk coud cover. don't worry. the rain doesn't make it in tomorrow morning. temperatures in 40s and 50s. 52 in hayward also in san francisco. really, it's been k