i don't know what they're going to do. i just want to be ready when they go back down again. i like to say there is always a bull market somewhere. i promise to try to find it just for you. i'm jim cramer. see you tomorrow! this morning on "early today", one year later president obama praises high school fwradss in joplin, missouri, for their remarkable rebuilding spirit. new frontier for the very first time a commercially built rocket heads to the international space station. and double take. an iconic beatles photo takes a and double take. an iconic beatles photo takes a new direction at auction. captions paid for by nbc-universal television >p > hello and good. welcowelcome to oup welcw tp the nation, including t pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. it's been one year since one of

the deadliest tornadoes in the u.s. history forever scarred the community of joplin, missouri. 161 people were killed, more than 900 were injured and some 7,000 homes completely swept away. president obama was in joplin last night to mark the anniversary. nbc's jinah kim reports. >> the president of the united states of america, barack obama. >> reporter: speaking to thousands gathered for the joplin high school graduation, president obama said it was the people of joplin who deserved applause. >> as i look out at this class and across the city, what's clear is that you're the source of inspiration today. >> reporter: it was shortly after the same graduation ceremony last year that an ef-5 strength tornado tore through joplin taking 161 lives and shredding nearly 10,000 homes and buildings.

surveillance cameras captured joplin high school getting ripped apart. one year later the school is still a pile of rubble while students study at a converted department store nearby. >> we can choose to carry on, we can choose to make a difference in the world. >> reporter: $2.8 billion in damage joplin is the costliest single tornado in u.s. history. fourth generation resident says her community will never be the same. but it's made her appreciate what she still has. >> i'm thankful for every day. i feel so blessed every thing we've gone through has taught us things, made us appreciate life even more, including this tornado. jinah kim, nbc news, joplin, missouri. earlier in the day president obama found himself defending his campaign focus on mitt romney's record at bain capital. during a news conference wrapping up the nato summit in chicago, nbc's tracie potts

joins us more on that. >> reporter: good morning. the nato summit fairly success for the president, 28 nations there during the two-day meeting, agreed to wind down this war in afghanistan, an inreversible course they called it to end the war by 2014 but questions about whether there could be a resurgence of the taliban and the afghans can resist that. at that briefing at the end of the nato meeting, president obama was also forced to address these ads he's been running against mitt romney about his investment firm bain captain when romney headed that firm, some jobs were lost, and now some democrats, including newark, new jersey, mayor cory booker, said on "meet the press" sunday that he's uncomfortable with these types of ads. booker later backtracked saying his comments were taken out of context and he backs the president. >> tracie potts for us in washington, thank you. now here's a look at some other stories making news "early today" in america. the second time was a charm for the spacex rocket lifting up

from cape ka nav val this morning. saturday's launch was halted due to a faulty valve. it could become the first commercial owned rocket to bring supplies to the international space station. in washington state an incredible rescue. a 13-year-old boy, you can see him on the right, was saved after nearly plunging down a waterfall about 250 feet high. the buy had been hiking with his father and friends when he slipped and fell into a rushing river. he was able to swim out of the current, but then got stuck on the rocks close to the edge of the waterfall. in southern california a small plane crashed into a residential neighborhood last night in california. amazingly the pilot managed to avoid hitting any homes and suffered only minor injuries. he was trying to make it to the airport after reporting engine trouble. in south carolina a group of kids playing soccer found someone else wanting to play. an alligator.

he managed to sink his teeth into the game ball after it landed in a nearby lagoon. it took two days to get the ball back from the gator but it was recovered with a few bite marks there. and now for a look at your national and regional weather here's nbc meteorologist bill karins, he has your weather channel forecast. >> good morning. >> that's a way to wake up, right? >> yeah. >> a little soccer ball. why are you playing soccer so close to the gator? >> that's in south carolina too. >> i know. florida. it happens. >> you stay on land, they stay in the water. good morning, everyone. yesterday was another incredibly hot day in the desert southwest. temperatures soared to 108 degrees. 104 in vegas. i mean this is mid-summer-like heat in may and that's why we still have this excessive heat warnings throughout for phoenix into areas into southern california and desert. heat advisory towards tucson. so we're going to do it all over again today. the weather pattern hasn't

changed. the jet stream far to the north, a very strong jet stream for this time of year is coming into oregon state, going to do that the next two or three days. one week system go by, another one behind that, so we're going to be keeping it cloudy and showery and cooler in the northwest while we bake in the heat from salt lake city back through the intermountain west and down into the desert southwest. so temperatures right now at this hour, 80 in phoenix still, holding on to 85 in vegas, start your among, that's amazing. 50 in seattle. you see the temperature contrast from north to south. as far as what we're dealing with rain wise not a lot out there. just showers continuing out here from bellingham southward, a few showers in the cascades. look off the coast there's additional showers coming onshore, that's that next little impulse as we go throughout the morning. we'll keep the umbrella weather going throughout the morning hours. the rest of california you look just fine and dry. that's a look at your national

upper 80s will be in the low to mid 80s. funny, my dad lives in phoenix and always calls me and rubs it in when the weather is so gorgeous and nice, haven't heard from him lately. >> radio silence. i would imagine that makes sense. send our condolences. thanks. apple regains, facebook falls face first, and the woman who claims she was fired for being too hot. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. bill has that problem all the time. speaking of hot, who finished first on this year's maximmagazine hot 100 list. coming up, the devils get even, the thunder roll in the western conference finals and lightning strikes twice for one lucky fan. you're watching "early today."

good morning. welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry and here are some of your top headlines. a suicide bombing in yemen killed almost 100 people yesterday, most of them soldiers. al qaeda in the arabian peninsula has claimed responsibility. roman catholic schools, clutches and other institutions are suing the obama administration over a health care mandate that most employers provide birth control coverage. the suit charges the requirement violates religious freedom. former rutgers university student dharun ravi was sentenced to 30 days in jail and three years in probation for using a webcam to spy on his gay roommate who later committed suicide. the prosecutor plans to appeal joined by gay advocates in complaining the sentence is too light. the supreme court has ruled that a child conceived by in

vitro fertilization after the death of the father is not entitled to survivors social security benefits. a rare outtake photo similar and yet different from the iconic one used for the cover of the beatles album "abby road" will be auctioned in london. in the photo the fab four are walking in the opposite direction of the famous album cover and paul mccartney is wearing sandals, not in bare feet. the photo could bring more than $30,000. now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. a panel of medical experts says men should not be routinely screened for prostate cancer using the psa test. they say the risks of population wide screening outweigh the benefits due to the danger of false positive results. opponents however say the controversial decision could affect millions of men who have the tests usually starting at age 50. for more information on this and other health stories check out the health page at msnbc.

-- msnbc.com. here's a look at how wall street kicks off the day. the dow opens at 12,504 after jumping 135 points yesterday, the s&p up 20 points, the nasdaq zoomed 68. taking a look at overseas trading, in tokyo the nikkei rose 95 points while in hong kong the hang seng edged up 116. today investors will be looking for the market to rally even higher. the nasdaq had a very good monday with its biggest one day percentage gain since 2011. that was thanks largely to a resurgent apple stock which rose more than 5%, tempered by facebook falling 11%p some analysts now say friday's $38 ipo price was too ambitious. after losing ground lowe's fell after the home improvement chain lowered expectations. for the year. jpmorgan chase is suspending its share buybacks but maintaining

its dividend after its multibillion dollar derivatives loss with the senate holding a hearing later today on that bungle. a federal judge ruled pom wonderful used deceptive advertising when claiming its juice could treat or prevent heart disease, prostate cancer or other illnesses. april's existing home sales data will be released today, expected to show improvement. in the first-ever direct u.s. relationship with a foreign government, the treasury is now selling bonds directly to the people's bank of china. it is going to cost more to visit disneyland as ticket prices jump for the second time in a year with regular one-day tickets up 9% to $87. a 29-year-old woman is suing a lingerie warehouse saying she was fired from her temporary job because her form fitting clothes were, quote, too hot. the company native intimates had no comment. coming up, the devils torch

the rangers, the sixers reach the brink and a scoreboard busting grand slam. plus one very lucky fan takes home two souvenirs. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. >> nice hands, buddy. >> your forecast on the eastern seaboard remain damp and wet not just today but also tomorrow. your forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up this is "early today." in sports for the second night in a row a los angeles team was knocked out of the nba playoffs. here's nbc's fred roggin with an early look at all your sports headlines. >> good morning, the oklahoma city thunder are heading to the western conference finals, game five in okc. kobe bryant went down swinging. unfortunately for him nobody else had his back. kobe finished with a game high 42. things were close until the fourth. thunder started the quarter on a 10-0 and the lakers never recovered. kevin durant and russell westbrook too fast, too athletic and too good down the stretch, thunder won it 106-90. next up the san antonio spurs. now we go to boston the celtics have three future hall of famers and all-star point guard. game five belonged to bass, scored 18 of his playoff career

high 27 in the third quarter. celtics win 101-85, they can eliminate the sixers with another victory tomorrow. the magic fired coach stan van gundy, and otis smith. they're both done in orlando. is. if you're going to talk the talk, walk the walk. devils did that. led by example, zach pa rissy with a goal and assist, game five tomorrow on the nbc sports network. baseball the marlins are breaking in a new stadium and gm carlos statin is breaking things. ripped a grand slam off the left field scoreboard. dent it and broke some lights. this is why we can't have nice things. the marlins beat the rockies 7-4. finally maybe this guy was in the stands that score board would still be working. a red's fan caught not one but two home run balls, came on back-to-back homers.

lloyd snagged one out of midair, and then got a lucky bounce and he grabbed another one. two home runs two catches. i guess that's why you've got two hands. the reds beat the braves 4-1. that's your early look at sports on early today. i'm fred roggin. early today sports brought to you by touch of gray, get rid of some gray, never all. >> who is splitting, who is dating and who tebow will not be seen with. your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. the latest boy band sensation from across the pond and you won't believe the length some fathers in connecticut went to get their daughters tickets to one of their concerts. you're watching "early today."

welcome back ba on this tuesday. here's what you need to know before you leave the house this morning. the northwest just showers, not as much rain as yesterday, still a little damp here and there. desert southwest, excessive heat warning for the phoenix area, areas around yuma, tucson under a heat advisory. even into tomorrow we slowly cool it off in vegas and phoenix, at least we're heading in the right direction. watching us on kgw news channel 8 in portland, oregon, see sculptures that showcase the master work of ancient chinese art at cornerstones of great civilization at the portland art

museum. that's your event of the day. >> thanks so much. >> here's an early look at morning headlines in entertainment. peop"people" magazine may say beyonce is the most beautiful woman but what do guys think? i'm paying attention. >> this year goes to bar raphaelly. rounding out the top five, owe live y mun, mila kunis, katy perry and oliva wild. beyonce, not even on the list. >> not right. >> speaking of katy perry, back on the market, weeks after taking her relationship with rob aykroyd public, the two have already split. reportedly over fears the busy schedules would make things too difficult. "us weekly" reports sideline reporter erin andrews is dating gossip girl actor chase crawford. >> know who that is? >> i do. >> you know that tony romo's wife's brother. fun fact. finally how image conscious is

tim tebow? tmz reports an actress in the broadway production of "rock of ages" was asked to remove a twitter photo and some of the performers who apparently weren't wearing enough clothing. this from wvit, in connecticut in west haven, a group of dads prove they will do just about anything for their little girls. the fathers dress up in women's clothing, high heels and wigs and ran in drag around a track all with the goal of scoring tickets to see the english boy band senvation one direction in concert. >> i would do it. >> most dads would. five men competed. only one could win. this lucky guy, they'll never forget that. the others won the respect of their daughters. i'm lynn berry, this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station.

in japan the world's tallest tower opened its doors to the public. the tokyo sky tree stands over 2,000 feet tall and houses hundreds of shops and restaurants, an aquarium and a planetarium. the tower which hosted nearly 8,000 visitors on its opening day will soon transmit television and radio for the country's largest network. small creations in china boast big brain power. 96 teams from universities across the country competed in china's national micro mouse robot competition. automatic robots inserted with microchips and sensors competed to complete a maze in the shortest time. it will go on to compete in the international contest. finally an elephant in

poland is tipping more than just the scales. after predicting chelsea's upset win in soccer champions league, fans around europe have placed their trust in her taste buds. the elephant is given a choice of two apples, both representing an opposing team. next she will make predictions for this summer's all-important european championship. do you buy these thing is. >> i don't. the octopus was cool, it was 7 for 7. we had two different animals in the show eating soccer balls, an elephant and alligator. >> that goes into the history books. >> time for an early look at some of the stories we'll follow throughout the day on msnbc. in washington the senate banking house and urban affairs committee will hold a hearing on reducing risk and improving oversight in the financial markets. among those testifying is security and exchange person mary shapiro answering questions from jpmorgan chase and the derivative trades. that resulted in the bank's

staggering multibillion dollar loss. "dateline" celebrates 20 years on the air. with an anniversary special featuring some of the show's greatest moments. that's tonight right here on your nbc station. and white house press secretary jay carney turns 47. all day long you can stay on top of the latest developments on those stories and others as they break on msnbc. tonight be sure to watch brian williams with "nbc nightly news." finally here's a look at what's coming up later this morning on the "today" show. former secretary of state colin powell will be live to talk about his new book "it works for me." and the up and coming indy rock band young the giant will perform live. now keep it on this channel for continuing local news, weather, sports and more. i'm lynn berry. thanks for watching "early today," just your first stop of the day, today, on your nbc station. have a good one.