sam brock joins us. and sam, the driver of the pickup truck is under arrest tonight. >> reporter: lester, good evening. that's right. the driver of the truck, you see in the ditch over my shoulder that is right now about to be towed, faces eight counts of dui manslaughter after police say it veered in the path of the bus and sent it careening into the field over my shoulder. this morning in florida, a deadly crash on a country road. >> obviously we're here because of a tragedy. we've got eight dead people. >> reporter: just after 6:30 in the morning, a retired school bus carrying more than 50 migrant workers to a marion county watermelon farm sideswiped by a pickup truck. >> the school bus traveled off the roadway onto the grass shoulder, where it went through a fence, first responders dispatched in force. more tha struck a tree and overturned. >> reporter: first responders dispatched in force. more than 30 ambulances rushing 38 people to area hospitals. at least eight of them died at the scene, several m

sam brock, ocala, florida. >>> antony blinken is still in ukraine on day two of his unannounced visit. president zelenskyy expressed gratitude for the support. blinken assuring the president that assistance is on the way. he found time to rock with the locals covering neil young's "keep on rockin' in the free world." ♪ keep on rockin' in the free world ♪ >> later today, blinken will hold a meeting with ukrainian foreign minister. president biden is accusing china of cheating when it comes to trade. the president announcing major new tariffs on about $18 billion worth of products from china, including electric cars. gabe gutierrez has the latest from the white house. >> reporter: with china revving up to sell government-subsidized electric vehicles for as low as $10,000, the biden administration is slapping higher tariffs on evs and other chinese goods to fight what it calls unfair trade practices. >> it's not competition. it's cheating. >> reporter: the price to imfor the electric vehicles from china will now quadruple from a 25% tax to 100%. the president is also announcing hikes on

sam brock is there. with the unfolding dangerous weather situation. >> reporter: barnsdall oklahoma isn't a sight that will easily be forgotten. homes twirled in speckles of wood and mangled metal after a vicious tornado tore through the city of 1,400. >> we need a lot of prayers. >> reporter: claiming one life and prompting hours of search for a missing person. yet the sheer force of mother nature -- how did you survive? >> i guess the good lord. >> reporter: countered by the resolve of residents like carl killey, who used his body to shield his 80-year-old mother. how long were you covering your mother? >> however long it was, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, i don't know. >> reporter: time stops? >> it stopped for me. >> are you okay? >> reporter: barnsdall authorities say they rescued around 25 people. one of the stunning aspects of this storm is that the tornado could be so violent that it would here is the side off of a home, snap a tree in half, take an entire home and life possessions and stack them like t

sam brock reports, and a warning, the video is disturbing. >> reporter: in the moments before senior airman roger fortson is fatally shot by police, an okaloosa sheriff's deputy knocks on his apartment door. >> sheriff's office, open the door! >> reporter: identifying himself twice. sheriff's office, open the door! >> reporter: fortson opens the door with a gun by his side, but not visibly raised. and a split second later, six shots are fired, killing the 23-year-old. officials say the deputy reacted in self-defense after he encountered a 23-year-old man armed with a gun, and after the deputy had identified himself as law enforcement. >> he shot him, our baby was shot up. >> he was shot six times. >> reporter: officers say they were responding to a disturbance call reported in apartment 1401, which is fortson's unit. >> are they fighting or something? >> saying it happens frequently. >> reporter: a woman seen on camera when a deputy first arrived said she also heard disturbances weeks earlier, but couldn't confirm from where. >> like you stupid b word, and sounded like i heard a slap

sam brock is there. >> reporter: in the aftermath of bullets flying and officers running into the line of fire, there is a cavernous hole in charlotte tonight. with the death toll now up to four, deputy u.s. marshal thomas weeks, department of correction veterans sam poloche and alden elliott, and officer of the month joshua eyer. >> he was out getting illegal guns off the street. he is going to be sorely missed. >> reporter: this tragedy now the deadliest for police from gunfire in almost a decade. >> it's just been very tough. and -- knowing that you have families that are hurting right now. >> reporter: law enforcement says this man, terry hughes jr., with a lengthy the yard out house. investigators recovered an ar-15, a handgun, and more than 100 shell criminal record, gunned down the officers as they approached serving a warrant before he was shot in the yard out this house. investigators recovered an ar-15, a handgun, and more than 100 shell casings after a furious confrontation. how does a convicted felon acquire a high-powered assault rifle? >> you know, i think you can ask any

sam brock now with the unfolding dangerous weather situation. >> we need to go to the basement. grab the dogs. >> reporter: tonight, the spate of severe weather sprawling across the country has expanded to the midwest, with michigan in the midst of a tornado emergency. >> this is right where they came through. >> reporter: damage already seen, as the state faces several possible twisters. barnsdall, oklahoma, tonight is a sight that won't easily be forgotten. homes twirled in to speckles of wood and mangled metal after a vicious tornado tore through the city of 1,400. >> we need a lot of prayers. >> reporter: claiming one life and prompting hours of search for a missing person. yet the sheer force of mother nature -- how did you survive? >> i guess the good lord. >> reporter: countered by the resolve of residents like carl killey, who used his body to shield his 80-year-old mother. how long were you covering your mom for? >> however long it was, 5 seconds, 10 seconds, a minute, i don't know. >> reporter: time stops? >> it stopped for me. >> are you okay? >> reporter: barnsdall a

sure there was not going to be another example of this flag coming down again. >> rehema ellis, sam brock and liz kreutz, thank you very much. >>> joining us now is jessica schwab, a junior at columbia university, jessica, thank you for being with us this morning. you were there and you actually filmed when protesters broke into hamilton hall. you were there last night. take us back to, well, that first series and then what you saw last night. >> yes, so i arrived at hamilton hall not really knowing what to expect until i saw a crowd accumulate and then i saw students who were already inside hamilton hall, they seemed to have, like, sleeping bags, bags that made it seem as though they were going to be staying inside hamilton hall. and then i saw a student bash the windows in with a hammer and then proceed to put a bike lock around the outdoor door handles and then zip tie the other door handles of the second door at hamilton hall and then students were shoving furniture up inside to barricade the inside, and then shoving tables, very heavy metal tables with groups of pro-palestinian prote

joining us from ocala near the crash site is sam brock. what is the very latest here?ed about an hour and a half, two hours ago. the eight charges of dui manslaughter. he will not be receiving bond. there was an argument that there is no example in his 20 or so previous convictions on his record of not following instruction, but the judge did deny bond. i will say we are getting all kinds of information this morning from the arrest warrant we just received. it does spell out, we mentioned the dui aspect of the charge, that mr. howard had consumed medical medical oil from a friend on a medical marijuana card and also had taken klonopin and two other drugs that treat anything from anxiety disorder to lowering blood pressure to muscle pain. he had all of those in his system and that was between 11:30 and 12:00 midnight. and then five or six hours later, he was on the road and according to police moved into the middle lane heading the opposite direction of the bus, side swiped it and caused it to crash. and his eyes were blood shot and watery, his speech was thick and slur

sam brock is on that story for us. hey, sam. >> reporter: hi, guys. craig, good morning.bumped off his board by a shark. guys, now at the east coast, a warning at the moment from the new england aquarium about white sharks. why now? that story coming up next. introducing allison's plaque psoriasis. she thinks her flaky gray patches are all people see. otezla is the #1 prescribed pill to treat plaque psoriasis. allison! over here! otezla can help you get clearer skin and reduce itching and flaking. with no routine blood tests required. doctors have been prescribing otezla for over a decade. otezla is also approved to treat psoriatic arthritis. don't use otezla if you're allergic to it. serious allergic reactions can happen. otezla may cause severe diarrhea, nausea, or vomiting. some people taking otezla had depression, suicidal thoughts or weight loss. upper respiratory tract infection and headache may occur. ♪♪ [announcer] with clearer skin girls' day out is a good day out. live in the moment. ask your doctor about otezla. looking for a smarter way to mop? try the swiffer

nbc news correspondent sam brock is following this case for us. sam, good to see you. happened at today's hearing, why is it postponed now? >> we know there was a lot of buildup going into today, kate, certainly because of what brian's sentence might mean for the other americans who are detained, four in total, and the communication has been a little bit spotify from turks and caicos. this morning, the defense presented its case and the prosecution did the same thing. the expectation was the judge would rule today. those with the people facing charges. the decision could come down either today or within a 14-day window. we found out on may 29th, 3 1/2 weeks away, there is a scheduled sentencing to find out what the fate of this man will be. the mandatory minimum for this law is 12 years behind bars, there are plenty of examples of cases that did not lead to that outcome, but the country of to the best of your recollection turks and caicos is trying to cut down on violence. but they were hoping this law would accomplish that. there's a number of american tourists not re

nbc's sam brock is on campus at unc chapel hill. also with us, eugene robinson, and nbc's tom winter who has been following the protests at columbia. sam, get us up to speed, what's the situation looking like where you are? >> reporter: what a contrast from 24 hours ago. unc's campus and the quad i'm standing is a portrait in peacefulnessment looking around -- peacefulness, looking around at students in caps. it's much more than what you described in terms of throwing water bottles, but physical confrontations between pro palestinian demonstrators and law enforcement here that involved tussles, students being physically thrown to the ground. one video appears to show an officer tugging one woman by her hair. a whole assembly of things going on here. as far as today, what's happening today, police have tightened up some of their presence. we have seen a lot more in the last couple of hours. again, there's no signs of a protest imminent. unc students for justice in palestine say they are in standing in solidarity with those in gaza who

nbc's sam brock has more, and a warning, the video we are about to show you is disturbing. >> reporter an okaloosa sheriff's deputy knox on his apartment door. >> sheriff's office, opened the door. >> reporter: identifying himself twice. fortson opens the door with a gun to his side but not visibly raised and a split-second later -- six shots are fired, killing the 23-year-old. officials say the deputy reacted in self-defense after he encountered a 23-year-old man armed with a gun and that the deputy had identified himself as law enforcement. >> he shot him. my baby was shot. >> he was shot six times. >> reporter: officers say they were responding to a disturbance call reported in apartment 1401, which is fortson's unit. >> are they fighting or something? >> reporter: a woman seen on camera when a deputy first arrived said she also heard disturbances weeks earlier but couldn't confirm from where. fortson's mother, whom we spoke to before body camera was released, said deputies went to the wrong apartment. >> roger was the only person in his apartment. they said it was a disturbance. he

nbc's sam brock joins us this morning. sam, good morning. >> reporter: guys, good morning. family who will be paying close attention to what happens in court today, but his sentence will shed some light on what will happen with several other detained americans who have very similar stories about accidentally carrying ammunition into the country and facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 12 years behind bars. for months, american bryan hagerich has waited to find his fate after he accidentally brought 20 rounds of ammunition to turks and caicos. >> i would never, ever knowingly come to any country with any type of ammunition, but i did recognize that it was ammunition that i had used for deer hunting back in pennsylvania. >> reporter: that mistake could cost him and his family dearly as the former professional baseball player hopes the judge will be swayed by circumstance and his character. >> i have been nothing but cooperative throughout the whole time here. honesty, integrity. that's me as a father, as a participant. >> reporter: turks and caicos already adjudicated two c

but let us get started with nbc's sam brock who made his way to oklahoma overnight. hey, sam.g. >> reporter: hoda, savannah, good morning. that's right, the southern plains took a direct hit overnight, as did barnsdal, where i'm standing right now. there's 30 to 40 properties just like that are damaged, if not devastated by this tornado. many families, like this one, sifting through their belongings and trying to process what happened. we were here as law enforcement was calling out, trying to figure out, are you okay? this morning, fears of a violent tornado outbreak across the plains turned into a devastating reality. with the thousand-person town of barnsdall, oklahoma still reeling from a tornado just one month ago, overrun by an incredibly dangerous and powerful twister overnight. the local sheriff says one person confirmed dead and multiple injured. though it's not clear how many. >> i got you. i got you. >> reporter: there were rescues, too, including at this nursing home. the center says all residents are okay. >> we saw some wrecked cars and saw this house completely

sam brock looking into it, speaking with family and the police.morning. >> reporter: savannah, good morning. roger fortson was shot by police in the complex behind me. this morning we still don't know what the disturbance was they were responding to or who even called it in. new body camera footage does show a deputy identify himself opening up the door. the next few moments after that are under immense scrutiny. when a deputy pulled into this florida apartment complex, it took about three minutes for him to enter an office. >> what's going on? >> i'm not sure. >> reporter: and connect with an unidentified woman about an alleged disturbance. >> are they fighting or something? >> reporter: she eventually took him to the unit 1401 where she believes the fighting originated. that's where this senior airman was alone, face-timing with his girlfriend. >> sheriff's office. open the door! >> reporter: after the deputy identifies himself twice, fortson opens up the door with a gun visible by his side but not raised. a split second later -- >> step out. >>

sam brock joins us from north of houston this morning. good morning. >> reporter: yeah, savannah. good morning. at one point the number of customers with no power in the state of texas topped a million. that's now being restored. we're just outside of houston. officials hearsay a straight line storm, savannah, swept through the region, caused this whole area to collapse. except for one 16-year-old. at this point right now, just the latest tragedy for our nation and many communities that are storm ravaged and trying to collect themselves. overnight, colorado slammed with a vicious hailstorm. while on tuesday, it was texas taking the brunt of the damage. from trees threatening homes in houston to a 120-year-old church going up in flames, the result of an apparent lightening strike. to this home under construction in magnolia, texas collapsing as workers escaped except for a 16-year-old worker stuck inside. >> the loss of life is heavy on all of us. >> reporter: wind gusts topping 70 miles an hour, forcing houston's airport to order a ground stop. while powerful winds pushed this ame