By a Police Officer at a school in texas. And the outlaw hero. The tributes are pouring in for country legend merle haggard, the mark he left on music during his complicated life. Today april 7, 2016. This is today with matt lauer and savannah guthrie. Welcome to today on a thursday morning. When you say country legend you have to think merle haggard. One of the originals and there arent that many of them left. We will talk more about Merle Haggards life and career. The president ial candidates are in a new york state of mind. The next big Battle Ground in the race and are ratcheting up the rhetoric. Lets start with democrats. Andrea mitchell has her eye on the race. With both democrats needing to win the New York Primary on april 19th verbal sparring has escalated. The angriest exchanges of this year long campaign. Bernie sanders unleashing a blistering attack against Hillary Clinton. He said she started it. She has been saying lately that she thinks that i am quote, unquote, not qualified to be president. Well, let me just say in response to secretary clinton. I dont believe that she is qualified. I dont think that you are qualified if you get 15 million from wall street through your super pacs. I dont think you are qualified if you have voted for the disastrous war in iraq. Reporter clinton has seized on a damming daily news front page slamming sanders for saying sandy hook families shouldnt be able to sue the gun manufacturer. When pressed on morning joe about whether sanders is ready to be president clinton replied i dont think he has done his homework and has been talking about doing things that he obviously hasnt really studied or understood and that does raise a lot of questions. Do you think he is qualified . Let me put it this way, i think what he has been saying about the core issue in his whole campaign doesnt seem to be rooted in an understanding of either the law or the practical ways you get something done. Reporter she said she would leave it to the voters to decide whether sanders is qualified. Later this remark. If im asking you to vote for me you should know what i want to do and not just lots of arm waving and hot rhetoric. I think you should know what i want to do. Clintons spokesman called sanders inturperation of her remarks absurd. He has shown no reluctance to say she is the one not qualified to the highest office in the land. This continued into the night. The clinton spokesperson saying there should be a retraction from Bernie Sanders. Take back your words about Hillary Clinton. Right. And the response was to issue a press release doubling down on it and blaming her for a trade deal that was supported by the president and she as the secretary of state, a panama trade deal which he claims was partly responsible for helping rich people evade taxes. He is just slamming her and doing it again after being told to take it all back. This is going on. Welcome to new york. Thank you so much. We should mention Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will be our guests tomorrow on today. Lets take a look at the republican side. Donald trump and ted cruz held events in new york. They had really different feels. Peter alexander has more on that. Good morning. After showing signs of weakness in wisconsin, donald trump is now enjoying the Home Court Advantage here. Looking to rebound with a raucous rally trump seems reenergized by what was an overwhelming reception. Like a night at Madison Square garden donald trump basking in the new york spot light. It is great to be home. Reporter in front of 10,000 supporters the republican front rner interrupted more often by cheering fans than protesters. Taunting his rival. Lying ted cruz came today. He couldnt draw 100 people. You remember during the debate when he started lecturing me on new york values like we are no good. Reporter earlier ted cruz trying to clarify those comments. The people of new york know exactly what those values are, the values of liberal democratic politicians like andrew cuomo, anthony weiner. Reporter firing back for accusing cruz of trying to steal the nomination. Donald can always be counted on to take the high road. Reporter bronx protester told cruz to hit the road at a campaign stop. Get out of the bronx. Reporter despite his wisconsin loss the empire state is embracing trump. 52 of republicans behind him. Trumps path to the nomination is hardly a sure thing. To reach the magic number of delegates needed trump must win 58 of 822 remaining delegates. The billionaire getting a boost from his most dependable advocate. I will tell you it was not easy to leave him for so much as a minute to be here. It was important to me that i did. Quite a night. A bruising next 12 days as the candidates get the new york tabloid treatment. The pulse of the city right out of the gates from this mornings daily news takes the train as you can see colorfully. And a hit with our crew. The goal right now for ted cruz and john kasich, if you will, is not about winning states but holding the delegate count down for donald trump. It is tougher for donald trump today than before wisconsin but two weeks from now after new york it could get a whole lot easier. In a single night trump could win almost two and a half times as much as cruz. They dont have to beat trump, they just have to keep him below 50 to start picking away delegates. Thank you. Turn to the weather now. Severe storms causing major problems. In montgomery county, alaska a possible tornado left a path of destruction. No injuries were reported. Another possible tornado reported to touchdown in georgia. A state of emergency being expanded for parts of oklahoma affected by the devastating wild fires. Tens of thousands of acres have been burned. Hundreds of people forced to evacuate Miguel Almaguer is there. Reporter the largest wildfire burning here in oklahoma. At 20 contained crews say it is on the move. At first light these teams will roll out hoping to slow the fires progress before the day heats up. We have a lot of cedar trees. Reporter the wild fires burning in oklahoma and kansas are fuelled by powerful winds and are feeding on a crippling drought. The winds have been troublesome. Reporter the condition so explosive here more than 50,000 acres are up in smoke. Seems like they get one spot down and another spot flairs up. I want to cry but i know that our firefighters know what they are doing. Reporter near freedom, oklahoma, a state of emergency. Crews racing to stay ahead of this blaze having tallied the damage left behind. It is really the boots on the ground that are putting these fires out. Being able to get closer to the fire, that is what is reducing that smoke. Reporter with 50 Miles Per Hour fanning the flames this week Storm Chasers rescued a man trapped on a tractor. Hurry up. Reporter with no time to spare their car is hit by a wall of flames. A breath taking escape. In neighboring kansas the governor declaring a disaster. This building damaged but an entire neighborhood is safe. The start of a mean fire season just weeks after winter. This morning there is better news in both kansas and here in oklahoma. Those fires have laid down overnight. Crews continue to make steady progress. The next 24 hours will be critical. Thank you. Now to an exploding air bag claiming yet another life. Officials confirming that a 17yearold girl was killed near houston, texas last week when a driver side air bag inflater ruptured. It is the tenth known death in the u. S. From a takata inflater. Honda says it mailed multiple recall notice to the owner but the repairs were never made. On capitol hill growing concerns about security at the nations airport. Deadly attacks on everyones minds. The agency is highly focussed on securing and protecting our transportation systems. He said the tsa has tightened the vetting process and established ongoing background checks of airport workers who could pose insider threats. Now to an alarming incident. This happened in texas. Cell phone video showing a sixth grade girl being slammed to the ground by a school Police Officer. Tamron is here with more. Good morning. That incident happened last week. It is now under investigation. The officer involved is on paid leave and the student is speaking out. It happened in an instant. A 12yearold girl body slammed to the ground by a school Police Officer in san antonio. You can hear sixth grader janissa valdezs body hit the concrete and then she lay there motionless. Friends concerned and others nervously laughing. What could have led up to such a response by the officer. I couldnt believe it happened. Reporter talk on campus brewing. I was going to say lets go somewhere else to talk. Reporter the cell phone video going viral. You can hear when she hits the ground. Reporter after her mom went to a local blogger. She gave today these photos showing they show her eye bruised and scratched. In a statement the San Antonio Independent School district telling today the video is very disturbing and we have launched a formal investigation being conducted by District Police and administration. Excessive force will not be tolerated. The officer, joshua kehm has been placed on paid leave. He did not respond to repeated requests for comment. I wasnt going to do anything. I dont want that done to another student. Valdez was checked out by doctors and a bump to the head. We are told she is okay. Cell phone video showed a limo driver grabbing what appeared to be a tire iron, walk to the car behind him and take a swing at the window. Police say both drivers are blaming the other for a minor crash that happened moments before. The worlds best golfers tee off today in the first major of the year as the masters get underway at augusta national. Wednesday biggest names had fun participating in the par 3 contest, a favorite tradition at augusta. There were nine holes in one including this one from gary player on the seventh hole. The kids stole the show. Check out the putt and the happy gilmore like celebration. Another youngster who would rather be on a soccer field than the golf greens. So first we have march madness. Now we have the masters. Life is good. This is awesome. So cute. We have mr. Roker on the road at the white house specifically at the Kitchen Garden. Reporter we are going to be spending the day with the first lady. But we are going to be talking with the first lady about gardening and all of those healthy initiatives. We want to talk about this Severe Weather going on. We are watching the same storm system that brought tornadoes down to alabama. That is pushing its way east. You can see heavy showers and thunderstorms ahead of this front. We look for gusty winds, strong down bursts and behind it look for light snow as colder air gets dragged in through the great lakes. We will see a few inches of snow there. Also heavy rain from new york city north into new england. We could look for flash flooding. We have flood watches in effect through thursday into saturday with more heavy rain possible over the next 24 hours. This is my sister, gracie. Shes a planner. This is my sister, annie. She goes with the flow. Gracies always trying to get me to eat green things. Annies always trying to get me to try new things. Weve both been on weight watchers. And now theyve totally changed it up. I like that this new plan encourages me to eat healthier. I like that it lets me eat my Favorite Foods. Smartpoints has really helped me. Im now down 37 pounds. Its helped me too im down 40 pounds. Just sayin. All new smartpoints. Join for free by april 18th and get a free starter kit. Good morning. Im meteorologist bill henley. Grab your umbrella. Rain is on the way. A thunderstorm chance later this afternoon. Temperatures stay mild through it out thanks to winds out of the south at 20 miles an hour. 54 the high. Well likely stay dry for the parade. Theres a slight chance of a shower on friday. A better chance of rain and snow showers on saturday with accumulation in the north. Chilly start but a warmup due next week. Have great day. Thats your latest weather. Next half hour we are talking awfully chilly weather for this weekend here in the east. Out west a totally different story. Now to another huge loss in the world of music. Merle haggard died of pneumonia. Merle haggards career spanned more than six decades. He recorded his first song in 1962. He became known as Country Musics outlaw hero. And im proud he was called the poet of the common man. Merle haggards lyrics reflecting a rebellious life that included three years at san quinton where haggard said a johnny cash concert changed the course of his life. I saw him capture that entire audience and gave me a lesson that i will never forget. Reporter after prison he went on to have 38 hits on the Country Music chart. Haggard told jenna bush haguer that despite Numerous Health issues he would never stop making music. When a man quits work he never gives up on anything. Reporter his long time friend Willie Nelson posted a simple black and white photo calling him, quote, my brother, my friend. Dolly parton said his heart was as tender as his love ballad. Lu Luke Justin Timberlake tweeted out this picture. Timberlake said his grand father was also a huge fan and haggard took the audience to church during that show. He kept writing. A friend called him two weeks before he passed and he said buddy, i got another song. Up until the end he was writing. You said something. You hear from Young Country stars mourning the death of merle haggard, Country Music stars really get their history. If you look at the list, carrie underwood, they are all tweeting. They know from where they came. Thank you. Still ahead on a thursday morning, the parents who bought a massive billboard to try to reach out to their kids who are members of the church of scientology. They are going to share their story. Would you be less likely to eat certain foods if you anyhow how long to exercise to burn the calories . The new push to change food labels. Coming up, if you want to clean uphe Number One Network in america. 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Dont need a coat. Its 56 degrees in philadelphia. Well wa well actually warm up. Rain showers moving in this afternoon. Thank you, bill. Lets get a look at traffic with nbc 10s jessica boyington. Jessica, what are you looking at . Theres an accident scene. You can see its on the righthand corner. Slow go by the scene right now. Theres a slow approach to the scene. Southbound toward center city is doing great. Thats a surprise on this morning. Watch out here northbound. Today its Bernie Sanders turn. Hell speak at the pennsylvania aflcio convention in center city that follows this rally of more than 10,000 supporters at Temple University last night. And former president bill clinton will be campaigning for his wife. Well have an update for you in 25 minutes. Of course, you can get updates on the nbc 10 news app. Well get you back to the today show and well see you back in a half hour. 7 30 on a thursday morning, the 7th of april, 2016. Giving a little face time to people braving chilly temperatures here in new york. Lets get a check of headlines. Powerful storms across the south. Tornadoes reported in alabama, georgia damaging several homes there. No major injuries reported. Donald trump held his First Campaign rally in new york last night with his home state primary about two weeks away. You remember during the debate when he started all lectg me on new york values like we are no good. For his part ted cruz was also in new york on wednesday and received a mix reaction from voters in the bronx. And the attacks are heating up on the democratic race with Hillary Clinton challenging Bernie Sanders preparedness to be president. Sanders firing back with a list of reasons he thinks clinton is not qualified. A giant billboard in los angeles aimed at the church of scientology. There is an emotional