A pastor shot in a rally outside of the white house. He was arrested by the secret service. How was a wanted man able to get on a plane and fly to washington . Raining debris. Twisters rip across texas. Whoa whoa tornado. Yeah. Yes, thats a tornado. Major flooding forcing evacuations in louisiana. 18 Million People facing the threat of more Severe Weather today. And the man behind the mania. George martin, known as the fifth beatle, the legendary producer who signed the fab four and guided them into Music History has died. Paul mccartney says the world has lost a truly great man today, wednesday, march 9th, 2016. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning, everyone. Welcome to today on a wednesday morning. I know you werent even born, but boy, George Martin, what a legendary figure in music. Responsible for a lot of the music we came to love from the beatles. They dont call everyone the fifth beatle. No question about it. Well have a tribute to sir george in a little while. This morning, once again, the president ial race is our top story. Lets get right to the results. The republicans, donald trump took the biggest prizes of yesterday. Michigan, mississippi and he added hawaii to his list of victories overnight. While ted cruz won by a large margin in idaho, nearly 20 points. Lets look at how the delegates break down. Trump leading with 456. Cruz in second with 363. Marco rubio, who had three threeplace finishes and won four yesterday has 153. Sanders pulled off a rather in michigan, but she scored a decisive victory in mississippi by more than 65 points. That pushed clinton over the halfway mark in the race for delegates needed to lock up that nomination. We have complete coverage this morning. Well talk to donald trump live in a moment. Let us begin with nbc National Correspondent peter alexander. Good morning to you. Matt, good morning. Another strong showing overnight for donald trump. Hes padded his delegate lead, reclaimed momentum in the race and now has shown his ability to clinch the republican nomination will hinge heavily on how well he can do in next weeks super tuesday, when its winner take off. Only one person did well tonight, donald trump. I will tell you. Reporter donald trump celebrating another step toward the republican nomination with what, at times, felt more like a late night infomercial. The magazine is great, take one. By the way, if you want to take what, 50 no, i wont. Reporter the billionaire who polarized his party is now calling for unity. What i say to the republicans is embrace it. We will win the election easily. Reporter trump dismissing his sparring partner, marco rubio, Whose Campaign suffered a dismal night. Hostility works for some people. Doesnt work for everybody. Reporter a slinging defeat for the wellfunded, antitrump movement, but its ad airing in florida targets trump for using vulgar language. I know words. I have the best words. Listen, [ bleep ]. He gets the nomination, theyll sue his [ bleep ]. Hes a [ bleep ]. Well beat the [ bleep ]. Hes not president ial. Are you embarrassed by that . Than any ad ive taken by myself. More president ial than anybody, other than the great abe he was very president ial, right . Reporter with trump widening if you want to defeat donald trump, our campaign is the only one who can reporter marco rubios last resort is his home state. I believe with all my heart the winner of the florida primary next tuesday will be the republican party. Reporter despite tallying zero wins through 23 states, john kasich, battling for second in michigan, could have been mistaken for a victory speech. We are going to win the state of ohio. The big prizes on super show. First, donald trump with a wide state. Cruz in third. Competitive. Trump holding on to the lead at john kasich at 35 . Cruz way behind. I spoke to one of the heads of the antitrump movement and they say they didnt compete in any theyre setting their sights on super tuesday. Peter, thank you very much. Donald trump is on the phone with us now live. Mr. Trump, good d morning. Let me completely reverse my line of questioning from yesterday. I said, is it possible the attacks coming at you from other republicans have slowed your momentum. You won three of the four contests yesterday. Is it possible the weight of theually helping you . I think so. I mean, you see the numbers i got. In mississippi, i love the and happened. The numbers were astronomical. Im surprised at it, matt. Ill be honest, ive never seen ads. I mean, they came at me. I heard what you said about, somebody said, what are you going to start now . Last week, they million on negative ads. The more they call you a con man and a fraud, the more your thats one of the what i did last night. I brought out a magazine which i have. Mitt romney got up last week and talked about the stakes. Ve a great stake division. We have a great magazine. We have a great all of the things he talked about, you he went through a list of things. I dont want to even do that, but what he said was a lie. It was fraudulent, and he. I understand where hes coming from. He had a very horrible loss, and he hasnt recovered from it. Youre making me hungry. I know. , the truth is, you had a loss and he hasnt recovered. We have to recover as a party. This Tremendous Positive energy in the party. Ng to the polls. 65 up. Millions of millions of people, some people have never voted before, and theyre votingp. Theyre voting in the party. Thats a good way to get to the next question. On the Election Nights youve i can unify the party. Yet, you do have thisent of the party, orthodox conservative, traditional republicans, who are terrified at the prospect of youry. To the extent it is on you to do so, how can you unify . How can you get them over to your side . Okay, something going on thats the biggest political story all over the world, and its whats happening with the republican party. You see it better than anybody. Where millions of people are voting in the primaries, millions more than four years ago. 65 more. Ocrats are down 30 and 35 . No spirit behind hillary and there never will be. Theres nothing to be spirited t. What happens is we have something that if we could embrace it, were going to have a massive victory in november. Instead of all of thisf, i was at the tournament and i turn on the television and every time there is a was a negative ad in florida about me. A horrible and false ad. These are false ads. These are disgusting, false adstten by people that are absolutely haters. If this party came together, matt, nobody could beat it. Thats one of the things i paul ryan called me, such a smart call, such a wonderful call. Mr. Trump, as always, thanks we appreciate it. Thank you very much, matt. Wif the e have the wines, steaks in there, lot of things. Branding has been accomplished. As we mentioned, the upset of the night wept nt to sanders stunning Hillary Clinton in. Will it reshape the democratic race and the delegate race . Kristen welker has more on that. Good morning to you. Secretary clinton wakes up with more delegates this morning, but it is senator sanders who has upset in michigan. In is significant because it shows he can be competitive in these larger, more diverse states. A lot of folks asking thisly what happened. There are indications this morning that clintons ground game in michigan may have been lacking. Sanders message resonated. He hammered clinton forng nafta, unpopular in michigan and throughout the midwest. Even sanders seemed surprised by the win, speaking to in a hastily arranged press gathering after the results came . What we have done is created the kind of moe mentum that we need to win. N, this has been a fantastic night in michigan. We are very grateful. Were getting new poll numbers out this ts take a look at florida. Secretary clinton firmly in the lead. She topped senator sanders, 62 to 32 . In ohio, shes leading 52 to this democratic race just got a everywhere. Kristen, thank you so much. Chuck todd, moderator of meet the press, and steve kornacki. Fellas, good morning to you. s start with the democrats. The michigan victory for sanders, did it seem a surprise . T to sanders and his team. What does it mean for momentum and the delegate mass . The delegate mass, it didnt do anything. Got more delegates because of her dominance in mississippi. He actually lost ground. But it does mean something in momentum. Reminder to Hillary Clinton, she has work to do to gain trust of sort of the spectacle part of the democratic comes to trade deals, this or that. The bitter she etter she learns this now, after her on the same issues. Sanders won in michigan, he can win in ohio. There are northern tierhe can do well in. Lets switch to the republicans. Donald trump had a big night. Marco rubio had a bad day with a couple of third and fourth place. If florida wasnt on the calendar next tuesday, is there any way he could stay in the race . The performance was so bad for rubio. Mal circumstances, a candidate in that situation might think about, do i even want to contest my home state . This is the problem ford why it was a big win for trump last night. Early voting is already underway in florida. Tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands ofe books in florida. If marco rubio were to say, im going to get out of the race, let the party unite around ted cruz, even if it united fromnt forward around cruz, wouldnt be enough to stop trump in florida. You get 99 delegates if you trump is in a good spot right now. How is the effort, the t to take away florida, take away ohio, how is that looking this morning . He has a better shot at ohio than florida. John kasich is a sittingvernor. You get the sense that Florida Republicans arent comfortable rallying around rubio. But the Ohio Republicans are comfortable to rally around ut its still not looking good. Kasich finished third, not second in michigan. No extra bump. Of course, what we described withkasich nor rubio got momentum out of last night going into their home states. Its trump with the momentum. Do we look at pollingoing forward, since there seemed to be bumps in the road . We are under sampling, i are doing it, under ump ill give a pass in michigan. First Democratic State in 24 years. He said hes pulling in traditional voters. Were not correctly polling the trump pollsters. The weekend shooting of an the day after he led a prayer at a ted cruz rally. The suspect more than 2,000 miles away from the shooting at the white house. Pete williams has the latest. The secret service says this man was arrested after throwing Hazardous Materials over the white house fence. Then officers discovered he was wanted in idaho. Police say the man has written that the president more to resist space aliens. Reporter the secret service says Kyle Andrew Odom was seen outside the white night throwing documents and a computer flashdrive over the fence. The scene around the white house the 30yearold was immediatelynto custody, putting an end to a threeday man hunt. I think everyone can of relief that this part of the case has come to a conclusion conclusion. Reporter the case started in idaho where a man shot a pastor on sunday, just a day pastor tim has delivered the opening prayer for ted cruz at a campaign rally. You get all the glory, all the honor and all the praise for it, lord. Reporter walking out of his church to his car when he was shot six times, critically wounded. Odom was identified as the after video from the Church Parking lot showed a silver 2004 honda accord linked to the former marine. They believe odom flewe, idaho, to washington, but theyre baffled at how he boarded the plane in the first odom, who had a history of mental problems, revealed his plan in a letter sent to his parents and news media. There is a numberat were listed in the manifesto. There is a number of u. S. Senators and house of representatives people,government officials. It was extensive and disturbing to us. Authorities in idaho say the pastor who was shot in the head and back is recovering, awake and man who was arrested, members of his family say theyre grateful he was safely apprehended and nobody else was ete williams for us on this story, thank you. This morning, were learning more about the american who was killed in a stabbing rampage in el. Joe bide anne ed de arrives there for key talks with leaders. Kelly cobiella is following this for us. Good d morning. West point grad with a brilliant future. The texas native and veteran of iraq and afghanistan was visiting israel, out for a walk by the sea, when he was stabbed. R a blood bath on the seafront. Tourists were out, commuters one when the attack started. Ten wounded, the sidewalk stained red. The man with a knife was caught on cell phone video running down the seaside street, stab drivers stuck in traffic. It took 20 minutes to stop him. Witnesses tried to help. There was a man on the floor,ounds here and on his back. I took off my jacket and i put it on his eye. Reporter american taylort the hospital. The 29yearold veteran of iraq and afghanistan was studying business at vanderbilt. In telaviv on a school trip insights and knowledge with startups in israel, the university said. Hopeful life, who exemplifiedrit of learning and service. The stabbing spree was one of three attacks by palestiniansael over an hour and a half on tuesday. The worst day of violence in weeks. Vice President Joe Biden meeting with benjamin was a mile from the stabbing where force was killed. My wife and my two grandchildren and were having dinner on the beach, not very far from where that happened. It can happen anywhere at any time. Ident also saying this morning that the u. S. Stands firmly behind israels right to defend itself, along with passing hiso the victims families. This morning, israeli media is reporting wife was also stabbed and is in critical condition. Nbc news hasnt been able to independently confirm that. Matt and savannah . Awful story. Thank you. Nine firefighters taken to the hospital after a massive explosion leveled several buildings. At the scene, responding to reports of a gas leak. Some residents several miles away say the sound of the blast woke them up. The firefighters are listed intisfactory condition with injuries ranging from burns to abrasions. Investigation now underway into that thousands of people are expected in simi valley, california, to pay their respects to nancy reagan. Shell lie in repose at the president ial library today and tomorrow. She died sunday morning of congestive Heart Failure at the age of 94. Mrs. Reagans held on friday, and she will be buried at the library next to her husband. We turn to al. You are watching storms in the we have wild weather going on right now. Look what we saw yesterday. This is just outside of ft. You can see, transformersg there, as a tornado moves through. I mean, really amazing stuff. As this pushes through, were startingwn downpour downpours. You can see the damage. As this moved to the east, we go to louisiana, outside of this is video in this morning from overnight flooding. Its going to continue today. Look at the radar right now. It is lighting up from san antonio, dallas, little rock and northern louisiana. 22 Million People under some sort of flooding risk. 2 Million People under a flood warning. For texas on into louisiana. We watch this rain pushing in. Severe storms, possibility of tornadoes continuing. More flooding today and tomorrow. The rain moves to the northeast. Look at the rainfall amounts. Some places couldr 16 inches of rain from central louisiana on into arkansas. Well get to your local you can help prevent blindness in undernourished children all over the world. Vitamins at walgreens, you help give lifechanging vitamins to kids across the globe. Here. Change lives everywhere. Walgreens. At the corner of hats your latest weather. We were talking about recordsetting temperatures coming up in a bit. Let us now get ready for a coming up, will voters who arent supporting donald trump now vote for him in november if he is the nominee . Were learning from our exit polls. The mastermind behind the music. Well celebrate the life of the socalled fifth beatle, george he died overnight and is being remembered by paul mccar thee ccarney, ringo starr and many more. Just ahead, why clothes look you in the store. On a new rossen reports, the skimmy my ny mirror that some kay o spend more. Carbs just without the lactose. So you can drink all you want. With no discomfort . E. Mmm, it is real milk. See . Delicious. Hoof bump re girl, boom lactaid. 100 real milk. No discomfort and for a creamy and delicious 7 30 now on this wednesday morning. March 9th, re playing our song. Coldplay. Big crowd on the plaza. You aint seen nothing yet. On monday, coldplay will be theyre going to hit our concert stage. Its going to be epic. Cannot wait. Its the coldplay they mingle with your spring breakers, youll have to get here look at the stories making headlines. Secret Service Agents arrested a man overnight for allegedly throwing objects over the fence at the white house. Out to be the weekend shooting of a pastor out in ohio. The victim of the shootingable condition. Donald trump increased his lead in the president ial race, winning michigan, mississippi and uz captured hid low ed d idaho. Bernie sanders pulled the upset in michigan, edging out Hillary Clinton in a state shes been a heavy the Political Revolution were talking about is strong in every part of the country. Frankly, we believe that our strongest areas happen. Michigan was the good news for sanders. Clinton easily won mississippi. The only other democraticctually increased count. Politic it is the big story. For more on last nights results on the races moving forward, lets go back to peter alexander. Good morning. Good morning to you. We want to break down theou briefly. Lets begin on the republican side. The key groups that supported donald trump. He dominated among vsay they were looking for a candidate who tells it like it is. 2 3 of voters supporting trump. He was strong among those looking for someone outsideal establishment. Winning with working class voters and the voters who were looking for a change candidate, as well. Big divisions within the party right now. Its revealed by the numbers here. When asked if they would be satisfied with donald trump as nominee, only 28 of ted cruz supporters said yes. The majority said no. For kasich, the number was barely 1