good morning. it's friday. here's what's coming up on "early today." a new twist. the official who oversaw the irs targeting of tea party groups now runs the obamacare office. president obama gets serious about putting an end to sexual assaults in the military. shocking testimony during the penalty phase of the jodi arias case stuns jurors. plus controversial advice on adultery from pat robertson. a murder convict shine the blink of an eye. and a medical survey you want to hear about before diving into that swimming pool. "early today" starts right now. >> announcer: this is "early today" for friday, may 17th. very good day to you. i'm richard lui. the forecast today from washington is partly cloudy but when it comes to the political climate is white house is

learning when it rains it pours. president obama came out swinging thursday while republicans hammer away at a trifecta of controversies. nbc's danielle leigh is in washington. good morning. >> reporter: richard, good morning. first up today, lawmakers are sure to express their outrage with steven miller, the former tax commissioner forced to resign, now on capitol hill today. in just a couple hours he's going to be testifying about what happened and how. senior white house budget official daniel wuerffel is taking over as the irs chief. he was appointed by president obama. >> it is just simply unacceptable for there to even be a hint of partisanship for ideology when it comes to the application of our tax laws. >> reporter: the former agency boss forced to resign testifies before a house committee today. meanwhile, a manager for the irs branch accused of improperly targeting conservative political groups now says he's retiring. >> nothing dissolves the bonds between the people and their government like the arrogance of

power here in washington. that's what the american people are seeing today from the obama administration. remarkable arrogance. >> reporter: president obama is trying to quiet lawmaker attacks in response to a number of controversies and avoid what some call the curse of the second term. >> when you're under siege, when your whole legislative agenda and your legacy are in danger of being swallowed up by conspiracy theorists, that's when you have to be more direct and more aggressive. >> reporter: the president tried to shift the focus. >> i've directed the defense department to ensure that our military can respond lightning quick in times of crisis. >> reporter: he's also making no apologies for the justice department and its unprecedented subpoena of associateded press phone records as part of an investigation. president obama heads to baltimore today. he'll be pushing his middle-class jobs initiative, but these things are sure to pop back up.

richard? >> danielle, thank you so much. a military sex abuse response chief has been arrested after a domestic dispute. the fort campbell lieutenant was removed from supervising the base's sex assault program after violating an order of protection and stalking of his wife. his ex-wife. he and his ex-wife, by the way, both have orders of protection against each other. meanwhile, president obama summoning top pentagon leaders to the white house thursday. he called sexual assault cases shameful and disgraceful and a danger to national security. now a bipartisan group of lawmakers is proposing major changes to the way the many i will tear handles those cases. >> when any single victim of sexual assault is forced to salute her attacker, clearly our system is broken. >> sexual violence is illegal and completely unacceptable, and yet appears to be continuing unabated. >> the bill would prevent

military commanders from handling cases of subordinates. it would also outlaw them from set ago side guilty verdicts. they lost their beacon of hope. that's what the family of jodi arias's dead boyfriend said thursday. they grapple with whether to give arias the death penalty. travis alexander's brother says he'll never get the answers to most of the questions about his brother's death. >> questions like how much did he suffer? how much did he scream? what was he saying? what was the last thing he saw before his eyes closed? >> a jury convicted arias for the 2008 murder of alexander. a massive cleanup begins in north texas. a seven-hour barrage of more than a dozen tornadoes tearing through homes there on wednesday. six people died. now rescuers are searching for seven missing people. nbc's jay gray is in granbury,

texas, the rural town that suffered the brunt of the damage. >> reporter: hundreds of families across north texas are still working through the scattered remnants of their lives and the shock of what's happened to their community. >> it was bad. it was the scariest thing i've ever been in. >> reporter: the national weather service said at least 13 tornadoes touched down during the storm, the most violent an e ef-4 with sustained winds of up to 200 miles an hour. evidence of that power litters the strike zone. >> it's like a freight train going through your house. >> reporter: the rancho community suffered the biggest hit. six people dead. close to 100 homes were damaged many completely wiped away. a majority of those splintered houses were built by the owners less than five years ago with help from volunteers from habitat for humanity. >> when you can put a name and a face that you worked beside the people that built that house and you know how much that home

means to that family, it's very devastating. >> reporter: devastation that stretches for miles. >> i've seen some bad ones in my day. i knew this was going to be one of the worst i've ever seen, and it was. >> reporter: so bad it left survivors clinging tight to one another. and now struggling as they begin what will be a painful and very difficult recovery. jay gray, nbc news, granbury, texas. >> bill karins here with us now. you were speaking with one of the residents down that way, too. >> it doesn't matter how many times you see this stuff. the power, you can't fathom it. it's like me stepping on my kids' legos, disintegrates. this is why it was called an ef-4. this used to be where a house was located. that house just removed. that usually happens with at least ef-4 or ef-5. estimated winds up to 200 miles per hour. path length was almost three miles long and about half a mile

wide. incredible stuff. now, afar as the west goes, a weak storm moved through yesterday. temperatures have cooled off dramatically in many areas of central california. we're still rather cool in the northwe northwest. we've even got clouds down around san diego. there is light rain this morning. a lot of it's avoiding the cities. i-5, you'll be in and out of showers today. not horrible. temperatures cooler. even l.a. only right around 70 expecting severe weather. bakersfield and yuma, the two warmest spots on the map. unfortunately, not a lot of changes over the weekend. i'll bring you those details. >> all right. i'd say it looks good enough. >> it doesn't look more bible. >> so far. thanks, bill. this message is for chad ochocinco johnson.

if you're watching, the police would like a word for you. lottery fever sweeps the nation with almost $800 million up for grabs. and televangelist pat robertson's bizarre advice for a woman whose husband cheated on her.

stories making news this morning. officials say surviving boston suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev wrote a note while hiding in a boat. sources tell nbc news he wrote the note for retaliation of u.s. actions against muslims. an ohio man has been convicted of murder. by the blink of an eye, victim david chandler blinked three times when police showed a photo of his attacker. pat robertson has some choice words for a woman who called in to get some advice. the televangelist said recognize males have a tendency to wander and encouraged her to make a home where he doesn't want to cheat. an arrest warrant is out for

football bad boy chad ochocinco. he skipped out of his probation and court-ordered domestic violence counseling. the former miami dolphins wide receiver was arrested last year after he allegedly head butted his wife. and a man who became an internet sensation has been arrested for the murder of a new jersey lawyer. he was picked up thursday in philadelphia after a multistate manhunt. he's being held on $3 million bail without his hatchet. swimmers take the plunge at your own risk. a new report from the cdc shows nearly 60% of public pools are contaminated with e. coli, an indicator of fecal matter in the water. researchers say the chlorine in pools do not kill germs right away and bacteria could be dangerous to swimmers. they urge you to rinse before and after swimming and of course never swallow that pool water. >> announcer: "early today" health is brought to you by

vagisil. bring yourself back. now for today's business headlines. cnbc. >> it was one year ago facebook went public. the company says they're serious about making money, but the stock remains stuck. and it might be longer than expected for you to enjoy those golden years. according to reports, the average retirement age has climbed to 61. that's up from 57 just two decades ago. and new evidence suggests consumers are still struggling. some major retailers out with weaker than expected earnings reports this week. analysts are blaming higher payroll taxes, a stubborn jobs scene and cooler than usual weather. richard? back to you. >> thank you, hampton. have a good friday. futures trading, slightly higher after thursday's late stock selloff. today we get reports on consumer sentiment and leading indicators as well. after years of criticism, amtrak is upgrading its cellular wi-fi with broadband technology

to improve speed, reliability and of course rider satisfaction. a huge weekend ahead with almost $800 million at stake in two major lotteries. mega millions kicks it off with a jackpot of 190 cool million. and powerball is expected to grow beyond the current $550 million. good luck to all of you. in his first major speech on finance, pope francis blasting what he called the cult of money. he says it's tyrannyizing the poor and turning humans into expendable consumer goods. and the name e. robert kinney may not ring a bell, but the former general mills ceo is credited with creating some of the best seafood dishes ever. like fish sticks. kinney died at the age of 96. thank you so much. love fish sticks. your "early today" sports is next. international soccer star david beckham's career changed, but it won't stop his $40 million paycheck. we'll be right back.

leading the news on this friday in "the new york times," steve jobs' widow debuts on philanthropic stage. she's dipping her toe into the public spotlight and shedding more light on education and gun control. two girls abducted in albuquerque in a week. police to question person of interest.

the episode owneded when the mother of the 4-year-old victim chased the kidnapper with her car in a high-speed chase. well done. 9-year-old alayna adams had just watched a video of her father on the big screen before throwing the first pitch at yesterday's rays game. little did his family know lieu tenant colonel adams was home from afghanistan and was dressed in full gear as the catcher, crouching behind home plate. when he caught the ball, he lifted his mask. yeah. alayna ran full speed toward him and launched herself into his arms. welcome home, sir. all right. take you to sports and the nba playoffs. nothing mellow about carmelo anthony. that knick racked up 28 points, 2 right there. new york stays alive, beating the pacers 85-75. indiana leads 3-2, game six on saturday. experience gives youth their walking papers, shall we say.

the san antonio spurs outshoots the golden state warriors. the spurs head to the western conference finals with their 94-82 win. ladies, you're going to get less david beckham. the soccer player hangs up his headband after the season. the retiring 38-year-old has raised 19 trophies, 10 of them league titles, and is the only english player to win championship titles in four different countries, but he says now is the time to quit. >> it's a difficult decision because i still feel that i can play at the top level and still have done for the last six months. but i always, you know, secretly said to myself i want to go out at the top. >> well, he'll still make $40 million a year this and next. chapter 3, verse 1, sergio garcia upset with tiger woods saturday. garcia said woods caused distracting crowd noise because he prepared too early. later one pga marshal said he

did not tell woods to go ahead. now a second marshal says the opposite. quote, i was the one tiger heard say that sergio had hit. all right. and a mamma mia meltdown in rome. complaining about a disputed call. he even dragged the tv camera over to prove his point. well, it didn't work. he lost the challenge and the match as well. just ahead, have you heard about the wager between steven spielberg and george lucas? well, the winner is still reaping millions of dollars even today. that story when "early today" returns.

welcome back on this friday morning. what a difference a couple days make. am, it was just 102 to 103 in areas from phoenix to vegas. today vegas, only 85. that's almost a little cool to be out by the cool. temperatures also cool in the northwest with the showers. that's going to continue. another storm system coming in saturday with an additional chance of rain. notice it's only 66 in portland. 72 in l.a. you've got a pair of cool days. by the time we get to sunday, that's when we'll start to warm up a little bit in the desert. back up to 90s for vegas. phoenix, almost mid to upper 90s. starting to get pretty nice, san francisco, 71 and sunny on sunday. a nice day. probably napa about ten degrees warmer. >> lots of weather to be grilling. we can do that, too, here finally. "star trek" teleporting into theaters this week. back for the big-budget sequel

expected to make close to $90 million this weekend. that looks like a good one. kim kardashian's baby shower invites apparently the invitations apparently have been arriving in music boxes. >> kim singing when you open them up? >> i don't know. when opened feature a dancing ballerina. >> actually classy. >> getting there. in an exclusive interview with "today," wade robson doubled down on the claims that michael jackson was a pedophile. >> he forced me to perform sexual acts on him. >> how old were you when it started? >> 7. >> how old were you when it stopped? >> 14. ben affleck hosts "snl's" season finale which also marks bill hader's final episode. we're actually at the end of the season. >> it goes quick. >> i did not make it to one of those nor did i get in that lottery. finally, this goes back to the '70s. spielberg making a bet with longtime friend george lucas,

1976. it is still making him millions of dollars. you're probably asking what is this bet? in an interview spielberg explained that lucas was so nervous about "star wars" being a flop, what he did is he traded 2.5% of that film for 2.5% of spielberg's current film, "close encounters of the third kind." >> that was a huge hit itself. >> i know it was. >> at the time that's not a risky bet because what knew? >> who came out on top? >> lucas can always one-up him, but spielberg's probably got a bigger quality of work. >> the rest is history. it was not a flop. steven spielberg gets about $46 million a year because of that stuff. not bad. >> not a bad bet. >> i want to be spielberg. i'm richard lui instead. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today, bill karins lucas on your nbc station.

from edible insects to prince harry's royal charm, my colleague mara schiavocampo looks at the week that was. >> reporter: this week was dominated by scandals involving the benghazi attack, irs corruption and media spying. women applauded angelina jolie for revealing a voluntary double mastectomy and laughed at this viral video of two men on simulators feeling the pain of childbirth. a u.s. embassy employee was nabbed for allegedly being involved in russian espionage. and he wasn't the only one. >> the cia spent millions of dollars training a cat to spy on enemies back in the 1960s. this is true. when they released the cat, it got hit by a car. it's true. at which point the russian

driving the car was, like, "he's done." >> reporter: in australia, an implosion gone bad. but with an extra push, the building finally came down. this is billionaire richard branson paying up on a bet he lost. hmm, takes some guts. and holy replica, batman. a florida shop created a street-legal version of the batmobile. a new report suggests insects are actually healthy sources of protein and fiber. >> according to the u.n., all you new yorkers with bedbugs are technically ranchers. >> reporter: in baseball, a bat on the loose. luckily this toronto fan had it cover. prince harry took to the field, too. his visit to the u.s. was a home run, charming crowds everywhere he went. >> is that one direction? >> no, it's not one direction, jon. the dashing soldier prince who makes people react to him like this. >> frankly, a very attractive

young man. >> bill karins, your statement on that? yeah? >> i mean, prince harry can't do wrong. we all know he's second for the throne, probably never going to get it, but yet he's a great, fun guy. >> and that was not a bad swing. >> it wasn't great. >> not bad is what i'm saying. >> good contact. it wasn't cricket. >> and looking at the professionals, he held on to the bat all the way through. here's what's coming up on "today" for you. as president obama deflects nixon comparisons, details on how the administration is responding. and savannah goes one on one with amanda knox's former boyfriend in an exclusive interview. hear his candid comments about knox, the trial and the aftermath. keep it on this channel for news, weather, sports and more. i'm richard lui. thanks for watching "early today" just your first stop of the day today on this nbc station. have a good one.

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. . breaking news out of oakland where two people were killed following a freeway shooting on interstate 880. it shut down the freeway for hours. i'm christie smith. we'll have the latest on the investigation coming up. plus, why one local hospital is canceling dozens of surgeries days before people are scheduled to go in. poaching our workers. the country that's trying to lure away some of our best tech workers and what it's promising that america cannot deliver on. >> right now, we deliver a live shot in the city by the bay. that is your bay bridge out there. get your engines started. it is friday, may 17th. this is "today in the bay." >> from nbc bay