attempted crossings at the southern border as texas governor sends migrants to washington, d.c. plus, a showdown repealing a trump era law that will let tons of thousands more in nbc exclusive, the general overseeing u.s. operations in latin america. the threat she now sees from russia and china. >> how concerned are you about that possibility? >> i'm always concerned. mortgage rates hit their highest point in years, now topping 5 percent. the monthly cost for a new home now going way up harry and meghan speak. the former royals back in europe and back in the spotlight as we learn more about their secret meeting with the queen. and washington zoo celebrates 50 years of pandas in the u.s. we were there for the panda-versary. ♪ this is "nbc nightly news" with jose diaz-balart good evening the details are still coming in atthis hour a mass shooting at a mall in columbia, south carolina it happened on this holiday weekend, parents and kids there to get their picture taken with the easter bunny when gunfire broke out. there was then chaos at the mall. customers and employees scrambling for safety, many evacuating, others seeking shelter in stores which then went into lockdown mode at least ten people were shot, two others injured in mayhem that followed, and more than one person was detained in connection to the shooting. jesse kirsch leads us off tonight with late-breaking developments. >> reporter: tonight police say three armed persons of interest are in custody after a mass shooting at this columbia, south carolina mall left 12 people injured authorities say ten were shot, two more victims were hurt during a stampede according to police, who say no one cwas killed >> i need a medical call. >> reporter: police say the first 911 call came in just after 2:00 p.m., someone hearing gunfire at a gap in columbiana ball >> at least three were seen with guns inside the mall and at least one fired a weapon it could change. we don't believe it was random there was some type of conflict that occurred resulting in gunfire. >> reporter: this mother and daughter say they heard shots ringing out in the food cart. >> i actually hit under the tables and rachel turned around to see i wasn't with her and she immediately screamed for me to get up >> i said we got to get up, we got to get out. we didn't stop running until we got to my car. >> reporter: shopping in a store, jennifer newsome said everyone scrambled to get out >> i saw children fleeing, i saw teenagers, i saw an old elderly lady with her walking trying to get out. >> reporter: she also said she saw the bloody aftermath >> i ran through the food court and i saw people shot. i saw blood. >> reporter: this snapchat video appears to show a shattered window police say they spent hours clearing every store. >> i'm still -- i mean i'm still shaking. it was very traumatic. >> reporter: jesse, what more are we learning about the victims? >> reporter: jose, tonight police tell us everyone who was injured was hospitalized the youngest person shot, 15 the oldest, 73 jose >> jesse kirsch, thank you. overseas now to ukraine where today russia launched new attacks, possible pay back after its own vessel was sunk in the black sea. matt bradley is in ukraine with more, plus some small but hopeful signs of recovery in kyiv >> reporter: tonight russia threatening even more punishment for ukraine. after firing 16 high-precision missiles at kyiv and the southern city of mykolaiv overnight russian defense ministry spokesman warning missile strikes on kyiv will increase in response to attacks on russian territory. russia said this morning's airstrikes targeted military production facilities, retaliation it said for ukrainial which ukraine denied >> we always have the threat of russians coming back and trying to seize our capital, but we are well and ready. >> reporter: and today russian airstrikes pounded the eastern cities of kharkiv and lashank. the attacks came a day after ukrainian forces sank the "moskva," russia's flag ship vessel in the black sea. new individeo appears to show the surviving crew meeting with the head of the russian navy russia previously claimed all on board were rescued the renewed assault on kyiv follows a two-week reprieve after russian soldiers mostly withdrew, leaving behind the bodies of at least 900 civilians in the capital region according to ukrainian police today in central kyiv life appeared almost normal people brunched at cafes and families strolled through the parks. even in kyiv's devastated suburbs, sightings of a slow recovery the ukrainians destroyed this bridge in irpin to try to halt the russian advance, and for weeks the world watched as civilians struggled over the debris, trying to escape but now as this region lurches back to life, they've built a new bridge, a temporary replacement. russia now preparing its forces for a more focused assault on ukraine's war-torn east president zelenskyy issuing this dire report today we understand the enemy's troops, namely the russian federation, are six times the number and the equipment ten times the amount of ukraine's. >> matt joins us now from kyiv. matt, when do they believe this new russian ground assault will actually begin? >> reporter: yeah, jose, u.s. officials are saying that russia could move its troops back into eastern ukraine as early as this weekend or early next week, but president zelenskyy has an even more dire warning. he is saying that russia could use chemical or even nuclear weapons. jose >> matt bradley in kyiv thank you. the number of migrants attempting to cross into the u.s. from the southern border has hit a 22-year high now the governor of texas has a controversial new plan, bussing migrants all the way to washington, d.c. we were there when one of the buses arrived kelly o'donnell has more. >> reporter: today a long bus ride ended in washington, d.c. passengers met with cameras and curiosity. now four bus loads of migrants have been sent here by the governor of texas with pending immigration cases. in what has become a red state showdown with the white house >> joe biden is not securing the border. the state of texas is having to step up. >> reporter: the white house called the bus trips a publicity stunt. >> it is nice the state of texas is helping them get to their final destination as they await their outcome of their immigration proceeding. >> reporter: attempted crossings at the southern border hit a 22-year high in march. homeland security found more than 221,000 noncitizens trying to enter. under a trump era public health rule to limit covid spread called title 42, more than 123,000 of those migrants were barred from the u.s., but that rule ends in may. >> the cdc scientists determined on title 42 that it was an appropriate time from a public health point of view to lift the title 42 restrictions. >> reporter: fuelling concern about a wave at the border. senator marco rubio on twitter claimed that mere speculation about biden ending title 42, and it is about to get much worse very soon governor abbott is trying another tactic, ordering state spgs state inspections of vehicles at ports of entry, looking for smuggled people and drugs but slowing commerce >> texas will not tolerate the illegal stream of immigrants crossing the border and will increase border security. >> kelly joins me now. t it is said that it is just a stunt. >> reporter: the head of border inspections responded to the texas governor and he said by moving migrants across the country on buses he failed to coordinate with the federal government and this agency responsible for dealing with these individuals with dates to return to immigration court. jose >> kelley o'donnell at the white house. now for an nbc exclusive, the first television interview with one of the nation's only female four star generals, laura richardson she is the first one to lead the u.s. southern command, overseeing the mission in latin america and the caribbean. i spoke with her at their headquarters in south florida about her new role and what she views as a growing threat in the region from china and russia. inside this u.s. joint operation center dozens of experts are monitoring an uptick of aggressive behavior what is that >> illegal fishing >> they're tracking russian and chinese activity >> all of the red dots are chinese vessels. >> this map of central america, south america and the caribbean, this is china's activity in the area >> correct >> general laura richardson, one of the three four female officers currently serving, lead south com, responsible for latin america and the caribbean from headquarters outside of miami she is warning russia and china may increase presence there >> the russian deputy foreign minister said he could neither affirm or ex clues russia would send military assets to cuba a cuba and venezuela >> how concerned are you about the possibility? >> that is right here in our neighborhood at our back door, and certainly i'm very concerned about it >> as of right now there are no signs pointing to a replay of the cuban missile crisis >> a series of offensive missile sites in now in preparation on the imprisoned island. >> the 162 standoff after russia moved nuclear missiles into cuba just 90 miles from florida >> we have not seen any indication of a buildup or any equipment coming to that region. >> but the connections between russia and countries like cuba and venezuela still run deep today's weapons, however, are more economic and psychological. >> that's what the russians do. they try to destabilize and undermine the united states and our interests. >> are they doing it in latin america >> they're trying. they're trying very hard >> trying, she says, by spreading disinformation through the region through social media and government-run news channels >> that could help sway elections one way or another or keep dictatorships in power. >> absolutely. >> the larger threat, she believes, is china, which is pumping hundreds of billions of dollars into the region to build desperately needed infrastructure like dams, ports and cellphone networks but -- >> there's always strings attached >> those strings mean china and the regimes they prop up can now track the activity of their populations. >> what would that information give them? >> it allows them to possibly use health care for example, if you didn't vote a certain way, then you don't get health care, you don't get food >> and in their most ambitious move yet, china is building 29 new ports in 17 different countries. >> absolutely alarming i worry about duel use of all of the projects that they are putting in place most of these companies from china are state-owned enterprises controlled by the government, and so can easily be converted or transitioned into a military use if necessary. >> a conversion like that would mean that china suddenly went from zero military bases in latin america to dozens. >> are we paying in the united states enough attention to latin america, caribbean, south and central america? >> i call it our neighborhood, and i think we could pay a little bit more attention to it. >> general richardson believes the u.s. doesn't need to outspend russia or china, but we need to continue to build our relationships, so she travels to the region once a week to meet with leaders still ahead tonight, buying a home just got a lot harder. we'll tell you how much the new higher mortgage rates could cost you a month also, the mystery behind meghan and harry's secret visit to see the queen meghan's secret visit to see the queen we eat healthy. we exercise. i noticed i wasn't as sharp as i used to be. my wife introduced me to prevagen and so i said "yeah, i'" i noticed that i felt sharper, i felt like i was able to respond to things quicker. and i thought, yeah, it works for me. prevagen. healthier brain. better life. welcome to allstate. where everyone saves when they bundle their home and auto 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rates now higher than they've been in years, and it could mean paying hundreds of dollars more a month that's if you can even get a house in today's red hot market catie beck reports >> reporter: logan and lawyer hayford are desperately searching for a new home >> if you are not able to see it within the first couple of hours they have already had 30 showings. >> reporter: after multiple offers, some as high as $40,000 over ask price they've been outbid over and over >> it is a gut punch -- >> yeah. >> -- to hear someone else has got that house that you kind of envision it raising babies in. >> reporter: now this week more bad news the average rate of a 30-year mortgage reaching 5% for the first time in a decade >> what can buyers make of that 5% sounds pretty scary. >> we were expecting rates to rise. they did go a little bit faster, i think, than a lot of people predicted they would. >> reporter: in february of 2021, the median sales price for a home was roughly $310,000 with a then 3% rate, a monthly payment was about $1,300 one year later, the median price is about $357,000, and now with 5% being the rate, the monthly payment goes up to $1,800 while demand has been growing, inventory of affordable housing has been shrinking, making home buyers' fight even more competitive. >> i just want you to take a look at all of the people who are lined up to see this property >> reporter: this video taken about a real estate agent in raleigh, north carolina, showing what it looks like when supply can't match demand >> we have prices rising we have purchasing power going down as rates are going up because there's some little housing available. >> reporter: expert's best advice for buyers in this market is to keep expectations flexible >> look in other places where you may not have looked before pay off some debt to kind of makea little bit more room because rates are going to keep rising. >> reporter: adjusting minds and budgets for the newest hurdle in home buying. catie 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