>> all right, kerry sanders tonight. kerry, thanks. >>> some of us who were here in new orleans during the early days of the katrina disaster openly wondered whether we'd ever see this, tourists filling the streets, businesses roaring back. the successes of the last ten years are abundant to see. at the same time you don't have to look very far from where i am to see the rebirth of this city has been uneven. yet there remains here a deep reservoir of hope and determination. the tale of two cities is a familiar one to much of urban america. the haves and have nots. it's just that in new orleans it seemed to be mostly the latter who we remember were left desperate and abandoned in a drowning city. >> help! help! >> we couldn't get out. no transportation. just was no way. >> reporter: you were left behind? >> we was left behind. >> reporter: today some wonder if the contrast isn't more glaring. 15 minutes from the iconic tourist mecca sits the hard-hit lower 9th ward, dotted with the overgrown scars of katrina. who would hav

our kerry sanders is on the story for us. kerry, what's the latest? >> reporter: well, lester, sources tell nbc news after an extensive manhunt 29-year-old wilbourn is now in custody with the u.s. marshals. witnesses had identified him as the trigger man, who as you said shot and killed memphis police officer sean bolton. >> call an ambulance. call an ambulance! >> reporter: killed saturday night, memphis police officer sean bolton as he approached a car during a traffic stop. the driver jumped out and ran, but the passenger stayed behind and police say opened fire on officer bolton. >> ambulance is already en route. >> reporter: as officer bolton lay dying in the street saturday, an alert bystander grabbed his police radio and pleaded for help. >> please, please hurry up. >> reporter: the driver who'd taken off running says he heard gunshots. >> while my client's running, he hears six to eight gunshots. >> reporter: that driver whose identity is being shielded is not charged with any crime. he turned himself in, helped police identify the suspect as

we have more tonight from kerry sanders. >> reporter: the brother of cecil the iconic lion killed by american dentist walter palmer is also now feared dead. cecil left behind several cubs. and it was believed that his so-called brother jericho had been looking after them. the two lions in this photo befriended each other on a protected wildlife refuge in zimbabwe. both fitted with radio tracking collars. tonight there are unconfirmed reports that jericho has been shot and kill by poachers. volunteers nell nbc news they were notified by phone that jericho had been killed. but they say they have yet to see evidence that's true. in a statement they said, it is with huge disgust and sadness we have just been informed that jericho, cecil's brother, has been killed at 4:00 p.m. today. we are absolutely heartbroken. what's confusing, say researchers at another local wildlife or, is that jericho's collar remains active, sending a gps signal and movements suggest he's still alive. all of this unfolding as officials in zimbabwe push to extradite american dr. palmer. >> i understand already the

kerry sanders, nbc news. >>> turning to politics, the results of our new nbc news wall street journal poll are out tonight. four days before the first prime time debate among the republicans. only ten of the 17 gop candidates will take the stage in prime time in ohio, not surprisingly, donald trump makes the cut. our political director and moderator "meet the press" chuck todd has been looking at the numbers. chuck? >> erica, there is a lot of new stories in our new poll. let's look at the republican results. two things jump out at he, number one obviously is donald trump rocketing to the top of the polls. the last time we had him in the poll before he announced was at 1% and leads at 19% and by the way, for those of you that think the trump candidacy is about tea parties or angry white guys, it's not about that. his support is across the board across the spectrum. this really is, he's consolidating the anti political establishment vote which doesn't really have an ideology center. who is in and who is out? who finished in the top ten? guess what? we have three people who tied for nin

kerry sanders, nbc news, oahu. >>> that will do it for us on this wednesday night. i'm lester holt.or all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. thatreang ws theasba weu >>> our break news in the east bay. you see the flames and snow. we first saw the pictures an hour ago and no sign that the flames are slowing down. >> it is black and it is smokey, and it can be seen for miles. we're talking about this brush fire that's in the livermore area and now moving towards tracy. it broke out around 3:00 this afternoon and it's burning on both sides and near cole hollow road east of livermore near tracy and then east and just south of 580. that's the direction that the wind is moving from here as well. now it's burned 500 acres and it is moving fast. the fire now burning near some structures that we've been able to show you from our live nbc bay area chopper. right now we're hearing from cal fire that the carnegie motorcycle party and motor mart in tracy has been evacuated as a precaution. that's a popular dirt bike park where people go to use their motorcycles. that area

nbc's kerry sanders in florida with more. >> reporter: good morning. the reason there are no official searches doesn't mean there are no searches. there are planes over the atlantic this morning looking for the two missing boys, but not from the u.s. coast guard. they are volunteers who have taken to the skies as well as boats to see if they can find the missing children. these two 14-year-old boys. their efforts are funded by a go fund me site that has in excess of $368,000. on day eight of an all-out search for 14-year-old friends perry cohen and austin stephanos. the coast guard said at sunset friday night, the search ended. >> this is particularly painful. >> reporter: for the boys parents who have not given up hope they are still alive, the effort to find them remains active. only now with volunteers in boats and planes. >> we continue to appreciate everybody's support in this critical time. we know there is a window here. we will do everything we can to bring these boys hope. >> reporter: the two best friends set out a week ago from jupiter, flor

kerry sanders, nbc news, oahu. >> that will do it for us on this wednesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. >> sandra bullock's mystery boyfriend. >> breaking news on her hook up and a surprise now on "extra". >>> sandra bullock quietly dating again. >> who she reportedly brought to jen and justin's wedding. >> plus megan fox and bryan austin green. >> are you ready to be a first lady? >> we're at home with mrs. trump her sky high penthouse. five things you didn't know. >> subway jared's secret double life exposed today. his wife filing for divorce. >> matt dorn is here with the latest. >> we're there as jared is in federal court and what happened? >> looking for jared. >> rosie o'donnell on her missing daughter's safe return home. >> i'm glad she has been found. >> how a massive manhunt was finally solved through her cell phone. >> plus our favorite martian, matt damon. his mars and venus life at home. >> that's a good deal. >> now on extra from universal studios hollywood, the entertainment capital of la. >> everyone, welco

kerry sanders, nbc news, oahu. >>> that will do it for us on this wednesday night. i'm lester holt.or all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. i was about to head to thecheck. bank, but out of nowhere it just started to rain. like really rain. [clap of thunder] i did not want to go out. [clap of thunder] but then i was like duh, just use your phone. mobile-deposit-techno-thingy to the rescue. i'm rayna. and i bank human at td bank. >>> jared fogle expects to go to prison. >> i'm jared the subway guy. >> an alarming fall from grace. jared gets set to plead guilt tow child sex charges. i'm

kerry sanders, nbc news, little havana. >> our thanks to kerry sanders for that. >>> coming up, updatem havana. as you can see the podium is set. they're all ready for the flag raising as they begin to set the stage for the arrival of secretary kerry tomorrow. he will participate as the flag is raised for the first time over the embassy since 1961. we will be there live for a very special edition tomorrow of "andrea mitchell reports." >>> but first, football fans of all stripes agree on this, these courtroom sketches of tom brady at a hearing on deflategate in federal court do not flatter the star quarterback. the sketches of brady quickly went viral using some very clever comparisons to drive home the point. see for yourself. here he is, a dead ringer for e. te and photo shopped so the famous michael jackson video "thriller." separated at birth, tom brady and lurch adams. the sketch artist, jane rosenberg, has apologized to the super bowl mvp. >> when i'm under such pressure i tend to just grab on to certain lines and i don't flatter people. so i have to apologize to tom brady and all

nbc's kerry sanders giving us an inside exclusive look of a car torture chamber. those and we have it when we come back. you do all this research on the perfect car. gas mileage, horsepower torque ratios. three spreadsheets later you finally bring home the one. then smash it into a tree. your insurance company's all too happy to raise your rates. maybe you should've done a little more research on them. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. no student's ever been the king of the campus on day one. but you're armed with a roomy new jansport backpack, a powerful new dell 2-in-1 laptop, and durable new stellar notebooks, so you're walking the halls with varsity level swagger. that's what we call that new gear feeling. you left this on the bus... get it at the place with the experts to get you the right gear. office depot officemax. gear up for school. gear up for great. more and more people with type 2 diabetes are learning about long-ac

kerry sanders. nbc news. >> lot of people are talking about that story. we'll continue to follow it and brip you any updates. hopefully we have good news. to track down an alligator. it's nicknamed jaws. apparently, it's 3 feet long and a jogger spotted him. i don't know if it's a girl ar a boy. this thing was fund in flushing meadows early yesterday but not been seen since. >> seen it a couple times recently. get them as pets, they think they're cute. then they get to 3 feet, 4 feet. maybe we got to take a trip to the park. >> hopefully he or she is found. >>> coming up, a big day in new jersey. lot of animal stories. this is for american pharoah and all of his fans. harry cicma will have a preview. >>> first, wildfires spreading like wildfires out west. nearly 2 dozen reported in northern california alone. >>> it could be one of our best weekends of the summer so far. comfortable temperatures out there. we'll take a look at the the spinning pinwheel of death. the disappearing wi-fi icon. the frozen download bar. you don't need a magician to fix these th

for "today," kerry sanders, nbc news. >>> quite the sight to behold in new york city. check this out. incredible images of wild animals put up on the empire state building last night. frances rivera is here to explain what that was about. >> craig, good morning to you. the new york city skyline is stunning already. but even more so with these images. this was done by a couple of filmmakers trying to make a difference in the world helping to raise awareness of endangered animals. for years, the empire state building here in new york has helped honor certain occasions and holidays by lighting up the spire with various themed colors. from the fourth of july red, white and blue to the red and green of christmas and even the colors of the rainbow for gay pride week. last night the landmark building was showing these images to draw attention to mass extinction of endangered species. from a snow leopard to a bald eagle, a menagerie of animals. the exhibit, first of its kind using moving images was created by travis and louie. >> we're trying to start something and get people

kerry sanders, nbc news. >>> well, next week we should learn whether a piece of debris found on an island is from missing malaysian airlines flight 370. the wing flap was found on reunion island wednesday. that's near madagascar in the indian ocean. it is now at a military unit in france for analysis. experts think the debris is from flight mh-370 which vanished from radar last year. and if it is, it could narrow the search for the rest of that plane. >> we're at the stage that we're getting more and more confident that it is. >> it may influence some of the area that we are covering, but that's yet to be determined. >> a suitcase found nearby will be examined for traces of dna that might match one of the 239 people who were on mh-370. >>> still ahead here on news 4 new york, state of emergency. the battle against wildfires in the west turns deadly with dozens of new fires and thousands now fighting them as a dangerous heat wave sends temperatures there soaring. >> and weather wise, july was warmer than average. and today, another warm one. do we finely cool things down? >>> also ahead, a

>> thanks very much to kerry sanders in memphis, up next planned parenthood.he next political battle. our exclusive interview with the group's president cecile richards after the break. you pay your auto insurance premium every month on the dot. you're like the poster child for paying on time. and then one day you tap the bumper of a station wagon. no big deal... until your insurance company jacks up your rates. you freak out. what good is having insurance if you get punished for using it? hey insurance companies, news flash. nobody's perfect. for drivers with accident forgiveness, liberty mutual won't raise your rates due to your first accident. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. doers. they don't worry if something's possible. they just do it. at sears optical, we're committed to bringing them eyewear that works as hard as they do. right now, buy one pair and get another free. quality eyewear for doers. sears optical ♪ i built my business with passion. but i keep it growing by making every dollar count. that's why i have the sp

nbc's kerry sanders has the latest for us. >> reporter: a monster mudslide in southern utah. billions of gallons of water and debris moving an estimated 35 miles an hour. set off by heavy rains this weekend. 60-mile-an-hour winds in the pacific northwest led to unusually large waves in lake washington. in seattle those winds are blamed for two deaths, including a 10-year-old girl crushed by a falling tree branch. from the plains to the northeast what could be the season's last heat wave is coming. temperatures across the region will hit upwards of 90 degrees this week. meantime, unusually warm waters in the pacific are fueling three hurricanes near hawaii. none expected to make landfall. and in the soutst the problem isn't heat. it's rain. tropical storm erika left a trail of wreckage in the caribbean. 20 confirmed dead in dominica. reports confirm dozens are still unaccounted for. in florida sandbagging operations under way. >> it's going to be coming for a couple weeks straight now. so we'd better be prepared. >> reporter: the tampa bay region is already saturated with 27 1

kerry sanders has that story. >> reporter: flying a drone one of america's fastest growing hobbies.s shooting them down. in one kentucky neighborhood a neighbor with a drone and the other with a gun are now in a fight that goes beyond the neighborly quarrel. david captured this video of his neighbor 47-year-old willie mar meredith. meredith arrested charged with public endangerment for downing the drone with a shotgun. meredith claims nobody was in danger when he did it. the drone was hovering just over his 6 foot fence. the camera allegedlied aimed at his duodaughters in the backyard. >> we don't know if files. >> the pilot said if that were the case by all means shoot it down. >> if somebody was flying in my backyard playing peekaboo around a canape i would shoot it down too. the problem with willie is he's not telling the truth. >> reporter: this recording of the flight path proves that he was flying above 200 feet but neighbor willie said there was more than one flight that day. >> it's an invasion of privacy. we were in our backyard. had he never stopped over my house we wouldn

nbc's kerry sanders at the ft.orida inside the world's largest cold weather test chamber. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. i'm in florida. i know that's confusing. it is c-c-cold. it's 22 degrees below zero right now this morning. to give you an idea or remind you of how cold that is -- let's take a hot cup of water here this morning and, boom, look at that. instantly turns to steam. this facility is at eglund air force base. they use it to test cold weather on jets, tanks and this morning it's the ford motor company testing the cold weather on their new car models. in the searing florida sun behind super insulated walls a hangar as large as a football stadium. so cold here it's snowing. it takes ten minutes, four layers of military grade protection before anyone can enter the ice chamber. ready. the car's been sitting -- >> since 3:00 yesterday afternoon. >> reporter: it's the perfect . . ] >> what's the computer telling you? >> the engine speed came up. >> reporter: if somebody gets a truck and it doesn't

kerry sanders gives us a look inside a testing chamber where the temperature dips to 80 below to make sure you aren't stranded in dangerous situations. he looks cold. >> plus we wrap up our look at plastic surgery. dr. amy wexler is in the orange room taking your questions. we may have a surprise or two coming up. >> and from the rossen reports team, step in or step off. with hidden cameras rolling, jeff is putting people in really uncomfortable situations to see how they are going to react. for example, would you discipline an out of control child in a restaurant? or if you saw someone drunk in a bar who tries to drive home would you get involved to stop him or her? the results might surprise you. that's all next week here on "today." >> let's begin with republican presidential front it is runner donald trump joining us by phone. mr. trump, good morning. thanks for waking up early for us. >> good morning, savannah. >> we have a poll that has you winning this debate. a time magazine poll says you won the debate. here is not good news. a fox focus group after the debate, likely republi

nbc kerry sanders has the latest. >> reporter: this morning in memphis, a manhunt is under way. sunday night friends and colleagues in tears brought flowers to the street where he was gunned down. >> when you look at this individual, you're looking at a coward. >> memphis police and u.s. marshals are combing the city looking for trimain will born who say shot 9 officer at a traffic stop apparently they say after he interrupted a drug deal. >> to show you how senseless this is, it's less than 2 grams of the marijuana. >> a bystander grabbed his police radio. >> please please hurry up. >> reporter: taking the desperate measure because neighbors say the 911 lines were buggy, shot several times. >> call an ambulance. >> the ambulance is already en route. >> officer bolden was rushed to the hospital. a bulletproof vest he was wearing unable to save him. sunday police recovered a gun in a nearby field which they believe could be the weapon. >> we must come together and remember that all lives matter. not just black lives, not just white lives, but all lives matter. >> a second america

let's go to nbc's kerry sanders who's in florida. kerry?> there are aircraft once again over the atlantic searching for the missing boys but they're not from the u.s. coast guard, rather, they're volunteers in planes and boats looking for two boys. the expenses of this new effort being funded by a go fund me site that has raised so far more than 368,000. on day eight of an allout search for 14-year-old friends perry cohen and austanus aaustin stephanos, a gut-wrenching decision. the search ended? >> this one was particularly painful because a lot of people out there searching have kids about the same age. >> reporter: for the boy parents who have not given up hope the effort to find them remains active only now with volunteers and boats and planes. >> we continue to appreciate everybody's support in this critical time. we know there's a window and we think there's an opportunity to do everything we can to bring the boys home shortly. >> reporter: the two best friends set out a week ago friday from jupiter, florida. without parental permissi

kerry sanders is in arlington, texas. good morning. >> good morning, jose.g this investigation. the arlington police chief here says he recognizes this comes alt a time where there is a national debate over social injustice or social justice, and also police misconduct. that is why he is promising this investigation will be thorough, fair, and transparent. >> a burglary in the 550s, at the classic arlington dealership. >> this morning, arlington, texas, is looking for answers. >> suspect breaking into a vehicle. >> wanting to know how a burglary call answered by brad miller just five months out of the academy, and his training officer, led to the death of 19-year-old christian taylor. an unarmed college student. >> we got shots fired. >> a security company working for the dealership released edited surveillance video, which appears to show taylor roaming through the lot. at one point, smashing a wind sheal, then apparently crashing his car through a plate glass window. police say that's when a confrontation took place. out of sight of the cameras, officer mi

kerry sanders has the latest. >> reporter: in an instant saturday night, a routine traffic stop turned deadly for memphis police officer bolton. >> heard bang bang, bang. >> reporter: the 33-year-old officer was shot repeatedly and despite a bullet proof vest, later pronounced dead at the hospital. the first call for help came on his own police radio from a bystander. >> please please hurry up. >> they actually picked up the police radio and spoke into it and got the police to come out because all of the neighbors on that side were trying to call 911 but they couldn't get through. >> reporter: the first cop on scene franticly called for help. >> officer down. >> the officer is down or the suspect? >> call an ambulance. >> ambulance is in route. >> reporter: witness reports the gunman may have been in the front passenger seat. >> the only description we have two males black, last seen running westbound. >> reporter: detectives say the trigger man remains at large. this is the second police officer in tennessee killed in the line of duty just in year. nationwide 70 officers have been kil

. >> kerry sanders, another kid having a good time. do appreciate your reporting. >>> coming up.nt crisis. hungary stretches 100 miles of raiser wire to stem emigration from countries. >>> and a surfer narrowly escapes a shark attack off the coast of southern california. but her surf board noz as lucky. >>> and move over miley and kanye. we've got the air guitar world championships. yeah. what's popping? straight ahead. ya know, viagra helps guys with erectile dysfunction get and keep an erection. talk to your doctor about viagra. ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough for sex. do not take viagra if you take nitrates for chest pain; it may cause an unsafe drop in blood pressure. side effects include headache, flushing, upset stomach and abnormal vision. to avoid long-term injury, seek immediate medical help for an erection lasting more than four hours. stop taking viagra and call your doctor right away if you experience a sudden decrease or loss in vision or hearing. ask your doctor about viagra. ♪ [ female announcer ] everything kids touch at school sticks with them. ma

kerry sanders is in memphis. you have new details on what led to this shooting? >> i do.very disturbing. authorities say that officer sean bolton was shot and killed by a man who has been convicted of armed robbery. and that he should be considered very dangerous. now, the details of what they believe happened are really quite troubling because no shooting of an officer, of course, is acceptable but when you consider what may have spurred this it just seems so incredibly trivial. the authorities believe that the officer came up on the car that he had pulled over for a traffic stop and as he approached the suspect allegedly shot the cop because he feared that he had less than two grams of marijuana. that's about two or three marijuana cigarettes joints. this morning in memphis, a man hnlt is under way for the killer of officer sean bolton. sunday night, friends and colleagues in tears brought flowers to the street where he was gunned down. >> when you look at this individual, you're looking at a coward. >> memphis police and u.s. marshals are combing the city looking for t

elementary schools to investigate their kids, opponents of this law are promising a fight, and nbc's kerry sanders in birmingham for us tonight. good evening. >> good evening, brian. the state immigration law is now on the books here. but those will have to enforce it are yet to figure out how they will do that. today police in alabama have new power, teachers have new responsibilities. to check people's birth certificates, and enforce what until now was federal immigration law. 39-year-old amanda says she left el salvador and illegally entered the u.s. four years ago. in alabama she cleans houses and baby sits. >> i'm afraid i'll go to work and i don't know if i'm going to ever return to my house. >> that's the goal, in part, say alabama lawmakers, to scare undocumented immigrants like amanda so she effectively deports herself. >> that's what it's really about, trying to get the illegal work force to move out and let alabamians plug into those jobs. >> alabama was like nothing done before in modern politics, made kids afraid to go to school. overnight thousands of latino kids disappeared from ala

nbc's kerry sanders in birmingham, alabama, for us tonight. kerry, good evening. >> reporter: good evening, brian. the state immigration law is now on the books here. but those who will have to enforce it are yet to figure out just how they will do that. today police in alabama have new power, teacher the have now responsibilities to check birth certificates and to enforce what was federal immigration law. 39-year-old amanda said she left el salvador and entered the u.s. four years ago. she cleans houses and baby-sits in alabama. >> i'm afraidly go to work and i don't know if i am going to return to my house ever. >> reporter: that's the goal n part, say alabama lawmakers to scare undocumented immigrants, like amanda, so she effectively deports herself. >> that's what it is about, trying to get illegal work force to move out and let alabamaens plug in to those jobs. >> alabama law was like nothing that had been done before in pod modern politics. it made kids afraid to go to school. overnight thousands of latino kids disappeared from schools,

>> it's a sting ray. >> reporter: for "today" kerry sanders nbc news. >>> wow.so you one of your favorite guys back. >> we have john cena. there's something that is going to happen in the next hour -- just get ready! >> better than spaghetti pie? >> it's a different feeling. it will hit your heart. this is hitting my tummy in a good way. >> good thursday morning. i'm tracy davidson. let's get your first alert forecast from bill henley. >> tracy, cloud are quickly moving in. we bought the sunshine in the city. showers are not far away from parts of delaware. in chester county, rain is starting to come down. you see breaks in the clouds. there is blue skies surrounding the comcast center in center city. here comes the rain. chester county getting late rainfall. she's getting ready to move into new castle county in delaware. the temperatures will climb into the '80s. we are already into 81 degrees now, 85 with showers at 1:00. storms possible later this afternoon. >> r. >>> new from overnight, investigators are trying to figure out exactly how a man died in montgom

>> it's a sting ray. >> reporter: for "today" kerry sanders nbc news. >>> wow. if you would like to take a virtual underwater tour, grab your smartphone and go today.com. >> all right. >>> so you one of your favorite guys back. >> we have john cena. there's something that is going to happen in the next hour -- just get ready! >> better than spaghetti pie? >> it's a different feeling. it will hit your heart. this is hitting my tummy in a good way. >>> good morning. 8:56 on this thursday morning. new information about this morning's accident involving a car and an nj transit train. we learned one man was k led when he drove his car on to the tracks, was hit by the train near the westwood station inner er emerson. he was in his 80s. his name not released. nj transit buses and private carrier bus are cross-honoring tickets. >>> weather, muggy, some sun. a chance of showers here and there. 84 the high. tonight, humid. 74, spotty shower. saturday, clouds and sun way slight chance for a shower. 82 the high. more of the same sunday. 84 degrees. >>> just ahead on the "to

nbc's kerry sanders is in arlington. kerry, good morning. >> reporter: well, good morning, natalie.in the investigation. the arlington police chief said he recognizes this comes amid a national debate over social injustice and police misconduct and he's promising a thorough, fair and transparent investigation. >> a burglary in the 550s at the arlington dealership. >> reporter: this morning arlington is looking for answers wanting to know how a burglary call answered by a trainee five months out of the police academy led to the death of christian taylor, an unarmed man. the surveillance video shows taylor roaming through the lot. at one point, smashing a windshield. then apparently crashing his car through a plate glass window. police say that's when a confrontation took place. out of sight of cameras, officer miller fired four times. killing taylor. >> christian was not a bad guy. he just made a bad decision. >> reporter: in a sad added twist, taylor had texted extensively, criticizing the justice system and expressing fear of police. writing recently, i don't want to die too young.

>> it's a sting ray. >> reporter: for "today" kerry sanders nbc news. >>> wow.>>> so you one of your favorite guys back. >> we have john cena. there's something that is going to happen in the next hour -- just get ready! >> better than spaghetti pie? >> it's a different feeling. it will hit your heart. this is hitting my tummy in a good way. i'm . =opv= t lo >>> good thursday morning. it's 8:56. i'm sam brock. with a long road to a suicide barrier on the golden gate bridge is about to get a little shorter. last year board district members approved a new barrier. a meeting is planned for today and tomorrow. the board is expected to approve the first real funding for this project to hire a project consultant. construction likely will not start before next spring. >>> also happening today, it is time it hit the books once again for thousands of students. fall semester starts at san jose state university today. that means the first day of school for some 3500 freshmen and about 2,000 new graduate students as well. there's also a new interim president, susan martin.

nbc's kerry sanders is in arlington. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, natalie.ion. the arlington police chief recognize this is comes amid a national debate over social injustice and police misconduct. he's promising a thorough, fair and transparent investigation. >> a burglary in the 550. >> reporter: this morning, arlington, texas, is looking for answers. >> the suspect is breaking into the location. >> reporter: wanting to know how a burglary call answered by a trainee five months out of the academy, and his training officer led to the death of 19-year-old, christian taylor, an unarmed college student. >> shots fired. >> reporter: a security company working for the dealership released edited video which appears to show taylor roaming through the lot, at one point smashing a windshield and crashing his car through a plate fwlasz win tow. a confrontation took place. out of sight of the camera offer taylor fired four times, killing taylor. >> christian wasn't a bad guy. he made a bad technician. >> reporter: taylor had criticized the justice system and expressin

let's get more from nbc's kerry sanders in memphis. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. police say that officer sean bolton was shot and killed by a man who is a convicted bank robber. why did he allegedly shoot the officer? well, that is unclear. but detectives believe that the officer was approaching a car where the suspect had less than two grams of marijuana. of that's about enough to make three joints. this morning in memphis, a manhunt is under way for the killer of officer sean bolton. sunday night, friends and colleagues in tears brought flowers to the street where he was gunned down. >> when you look at this individual, you're looking at a coward. >> reporter: memphis police and u.s. marshals are combing the city, looking for this man, tremaine will bourn who they say shot officer bolton at a traffic stop saturday night, apparently, police say, after he interrupted a drug deal. >> to show how senseless this is, we're talking about less than two grams of marijuana. >> reporter: as the officer lay more totally wounded, a bystander grabbed his police radio. >> plea

nbc's kerry sanders has the latest. >> reporter: in but an instant saturday night, a routine traffic stop turned deadly for memphis police officer shawn bolton. >> i heard it. bang bang bang. >> reporter: the 33-year-old officer was shot repeatedly and despite a bullet-proof vest later pronounced dead at the hospital. the first call for help came on patrolman bolton own police radio from a bystander. >> please please hurry up. >> they picked up the police radio and spoke into it. and they got the police to come out. all of the neighbors on that side were trying to call 911 but they couldn't get through. >> reporter: the first cop on scene frantically called for help. >> there was a traffic stop and he was armed. >> you're advicing an officer is down or the suspect? >> the officer! >> the ambulance is already in route. >> reporter: there may have been more than one person in the car, the gunman may have been in the front passenger seat. >> the only description we have on suspect, two male blacks. last seen running westbound on summer view. >> reporter: memphis police broke down the do

kerry sanders, thank you. >>> let's turn to natalie. she has the top stories of the morning. >> good morning. good morning, everyone. investigators in new mexico say explosions at two churches on sunday morning were deliberate and meant to harm. a male box at a baptist church in new mexico exploded just after 8:00 a.m. on sunday. 20 minutes later, another explosion went off in a trash can about three miles away near a catholic church. no one was injured. authorities say they're now following up on several leads. they cannot link the attacks to any one group at this time. >>> this morning a kansas community is remembering a 9-year-old boy who died overnight. he was descentally struck in the head by a baseball bat during a weekend game. >> their bat boi, 9-year-old kaiser carlisle passed away after being struck in the head during the game saturday. witnesses say kaiser who was wearing a helmet ran on to the field to retrieve a bat when he was accidentally hit by a player taking practice swings. >> he was swinging and it hit him in the hel