but we will be back on june 1st. if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." good monday morning. coming up on "early today," on alert. first report of mers right here in the u.s. after exposure to an infected patient. the cdc is scrambling. big biz monday. pfizer rejected, while at&t pushes forward. a lot to tell you about. michael jackson, the king of pop, ruled at the billboard music awards. plus, godzilla's monster debut weekend. fancy way to get around. will this be reality? and california chrome done before he can go for the triple crown? it is monday, may 19th. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm frances rivera. it is the first time it has ever

happened in the united states. a mysterious middle east virus has passed from one person to another and now there are three cases. the latest infection of the deadly mers virus hits an illinois man. he met and shook hands with a health care worker who traveled to saudi arabia for business. nbc's melissa molet is in washington. we want to be careful here. we don't want to cause too much alarm, but how much concern is there about this spreading? >> reporter: well, of course, rightfully so. a lot of people worried about this new information about this virus spreading. a lot of people kind of taking a look at things and wondering what the symptoms are. the contact in this case came stateside during a business meeting, just 40 minutes and a brief handshake between an infected man from indiana who had been working in saudi arabia and an illinois man picked up the infection. >> it looks like this will be the first case in the u.s. of contraction or transmission of mers. so that makes it very concerning

at this point. >> reporter: the illinois man only showed symptoms through a mild cold. e he's no longer sick and was asked to isolate himself. the man who had been in middle east spent several weeks in the hospital and is better. the case is raising new questions about how the virus is transmitted. >> we have to be very careful about just giving people this false sense of security, but right now we also have to state that the problem is largely limited to the middle east. >> reporter: warnings now in airports for those traveling overseas. the virus is tricky as symptoms range from none to a severe cold and respiratory problems. >> about two years ago, persons having close contact with camels, either in caring for the camels or in particular consuming camel products began to develop this infection. >> reporter: the virus started in saudi arabia in 2012. there is no vaccine or cure, and only symptoms can be treated. now, the virus has now spread to 15 countries, 600 people have

been sickened. nearly one-third of them have died. melissa molet, nbc news, washington. >> melissa, thank you very much. 5,000 family and friends didn't get to celebrate the graduation they planned to. two bomb threats stalled them and the 425 quinnipiac university students at the ceremony. 22-year-old danielle shay told police she phoned in the threats. shay says she didn't want her parents to realize her name was not going to be read at graduation. school officials moved the ceremony to another campus. >> overall, the school handled it really well and got us up here and got the graduation going so we were all happy once we started the ceremony. >> shay told police her mother paid thousands of dollars this year for her education, but shay said she didn't attend any classes the last school year. the country's biggest satellite tv provider is being bought for $48.5 billion. at&t says it will buy directv becoming the nation's second

largest provider of television subscribers. the merger allow at&t to expand mobile, video and broadband services to tens of millions of u.s. customers. this includes some 26 million video subscribers, plus broadband networks that would cover 70 million customer locations. the move is seen as an attempt to compete against comcast and time warner cable. that merger, if approved, would become the largest paid tv provider. comcast is the parent company of nbc. republican national committee chairman rice priebus says questions about hillary clinton's health and age are valid questions if she decides to run for president. here's what he had to say on sunday when asked about karl rove's recent comments, suggesting hillary clinton had a brain injury. >> look, i think that health and age is fair game, fair game for ronald reagan, fair game for john mccain. i'm not a doctor. what i do know is the issue is going to come up as it does for any person running for

president. >> priebus added hillary clinton might rethink a possible run for president if, as he put s it, has another month like the one she just had. california chrome is one race away from winning the triple crown, but there may be a new obstacle in the way. in his last six victory, california chrome has worn a nasal strip. horses can wear them in most states, but new york is a rare exception. this means the colt may not be allowed to wear one cure during the belmont stakes. racing officials would not allow i'll have another during the 2012 race. like california chrome, the horse had already won the first two legs of the triple crown. affirmed is last horse to win the granddaddy of racing. audiences were stunned last night at the billboard music awards when the king of pop made a surprise appearance. a hologram of the late singer, michael jackson, performed an elaborate routine to the song "slave to the rhythm" off his album "xscape." the crowd went wild. some even moved to tears.

♪ ♪ dance to the night and fear of the light ♪ ♪ dance to the beat of the drum ♪ >> spectacular. fascinating and kind of chilling too. to floodwaters here that began to recede in parts of the balkans. the region has seen some of the worst flooding since records began 120 years ago. the floods triggered more than 3,000 landslides in bosnia and serbia and forced tens of thousands from their homes. so far at least two dozen people have died. time to check in with nbc's bill karins here. you have that situation and then you think here at home, especially with wildfires out west, it is just so -- >> so extreme. one thing worried about here is because of the civil war not long ago, there were active land

mines, areas that were fenced in, had areas that were flooded. and now they're concerned that the land mines may have moved in mudslides. scary stuff. let's talk about what we're dealing with in the west. went into the weekend worried about the wildfires and the weather. we knew the temperatures would go down and they did cooperate over the weekend. but the humidity went up a little bit. didn't get any wet weather, of course. don't expect that for a long time. so as far as today goes, another decent day. 67 degrees in san diego. temperatures are down once again. that helps. but we're still just incredibly dry. last week the drought monitor brought us up to 100% of california into the severe drought category. 77% extreme and 25% exceptional. those numbers are pretty much unprecedented since we have been keeping track, all began in the year 2000. as far as the wet weather goes today, there say weak system coming into the northwest. we had some light rain overnight in portland and salem areas and that continues this morning.

that still will bring us very light amounts of rain and will not move at all into areas of southern california for your monday. >> temperatures are down, but for how long is the question. >> i know. okay. you of all people will know. we'll check back with you later on. a first for same sex military benefits. one of the coolest ways to get around is one step closer to reality. and a traffic cop takes on a reckless driver head on. more of that video when we come back with details as "early today" continues.

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still running in the morning? yeah. getting your vegetables every day? when i can. [ bop ] [ male announcer ] could've had a v8. two full servings of vegetables for only 50 delicious calories. welcome back. wildfire evacuations in southern

california have been lifted. crew s are now focus ed on four remaining fires in san diego county. the california governor jerry brown warned the severe drought makes it seem like only a matter of time before the next battle begins. >> if washington can change the drought, i'd ask them. but, you know, we live in a world that is not just government or not just business. we're going to deal with nature as best we can, but humanity is on a collision course with nature. and the meantime, all we can do is fight all these fires. history for same sex military couples. the gay widow of an army soldier killed in afghanistan will receive full benefits. it is reportedly the first same sex military couple to suffer casualty since the repeal of don't ask, don't tell. singer jerry veil has died. the 1950s crooner recorded more than 50 albums. he also made appearances in movies like goodfellas and casino. he was 83. and here's what not to do to get pulled over for a ticket. see there this driver in china.

he tries to speed away except for one little detail here. the police officer latches himself on the hood of the car, somehow hanging on for more than half a mile and sustaining no injuries from all of this. the driver was arrested for dangerous and reckless driving. three, two, one. >> blast off! a man flew around washington, d.c.'s ronald reagan building here using a hydrogen and nitrogen powered jet pack. the demonstration was part of the smithsonian magazine's second annual the future is here festival. it does appear that the future is here. george jetson would be so proud. time to get down to business with cnbc's sima modi. good morning. >> frances, facebook is reportedly developing its own video chat app to rival snap chat. the financial times says the app would allow users to send short video messages using a touch screen. google is reportedly striking a deal to buy the gaming site twitch for more than

$1 billion. the report from variety said the all cash deal would be announced imminently. and good news at the pump. the average price of a gallon of regular gasoline in the u.s. has dropped 3.5 cents over the past two weeks, this according to the latest lundberg survey. frances? >> sima, thank you very much. drug giant pfizer raised their offer to buy british rival astrazeneca. but just this morning astrazeneca's board rejected the offer. pfizer said they would walk away from the deal if it is not accepted. in switzerland, voters said no to a national minimum wage of $25 per hour. prices for disney land single day park pass are rising almost 10% to $150. ticket prices for a single park rode 3.3% to $96. and that watch that belonged to babe ruth has sold at auction for a whopping $650,000.

still ahead, the world's most famous action adventure heroes all in one place. plus, an all-star cast on the season finale of "saturday night live." we'll have all your weekend sports highlights when "early today" returns. milk and cereal cereal and milk milk and cereal cereal and milk k - e - double - l - o - uble goodd milk protein to help you rebuild like you should great tasting grains to help you recharge put a spring in your step so you keep livin' large milk and cereal cereal cereal add a little sunshine to your morning with delicious kellogg's® cereal and milk. it has protein to help you rebuild, and grains to help you recharge for the day ahead. shouldn't breakfast always be k-e-double-l-o-double good? sfx: car unlock beep. vo: david's heart attack didn't come with a warning. today his doctor has him on a bayer aspirin regimen to help reduce the risk of another one. if you've had a heart attack be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen.

remember this video that went viral a few weeks ago showing a dad pushing his young son down a skateboard ramp? this morning on "today" for the first time the boy's parents speak out about that shocking

video. time to get you up it date in sports. we tip off with the nba's latest rivalry in the eastern conference finals. miami's lebron james flushes an pierre and dwyane wade hits an acrobatic layup to keep the game close. from there, all indiana. six pacers score in double digits. indiana wins 107-96. it is their first game one win in this year's playoffs. winning saturday's preakness stakes made california the most popular horse of the day. but he shared the spotlight with ray lewis, michael phelps and mike tyson, tom brady. they were all there. and what happens when they all get together? you got to do the obligatory selfie. that's pretty good, huh? baseball diamond, colorado turns historic play. the first base runner here initially, what do you think? ruled safe. but then he is called out after a san diego base runner obstructs the second baseman's throw. look back in history, 1905

is the last time an interference call led to a triple play. but, you know what, that's not all. >> this ball to center field, jumping up, and it leaves the ballpark. >> game over. justin morneau's walkoff two-run homer wins it, 8-6. check out this young fan who appears to score some major coolness points with this. gives the ball to the girl in the stands. maybe got a crush. she thinks he gave her the foul ball. but instead she gets a dud. he keeps the real supernear. hide your daughters from this one, dad. little suave, little play action there from him. watch this. scary moment on the georgia racetrack with drag racer anton brown slams into the wall erupting into that fireball. the car is totaled. it is destroyed. but luckily brown, he walks away from the fiery wreck unscathed.

that's a little unfortunate for the spaniard. clearly doesn't understand english. the commentator saying no, no, no. >> that premature celebration was costly. with still one whole lap to go, the pack quickly kachdz u lly c pushing him back to a later spot. still ahead, godzilla stomps the competition at the movies. "saturday night live's" epic finale. plus, these guys certainly know how to make an entrance. you're watching "early today." [ jennifer garner ] why can't powerful sunscreen feel great on your skin? actually it can. neutrogena® ultra sheer. nothing outperforms it. nothing feels cleaner. its helioplex formula provides unbeatable uva uvb protection to help prevent early skin aging and skin cancer. all with the cleanest feel. you won't believe you're wearing such powerful sun protection. it's the best for your skin.

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so your body can heal as you rest. advil pm. for a healing night's sleep. welcome back on this monday morning. hope you had a fantastic weekend. we saw pretty decent weather conditions. we are watching a weak storm moving through, though. had light rain overnight, portland and salem, that continues today. not a lot of sunshine for you in seattle. some of this moisture is going to try to work south. just not a really big storm. just kind of weak and just kind of spinning there. there will be some showers eventually that will move over northern california. by tuesday, it looks like we start to clear out pretty much everywhere. not anticipating a lot of big rain really, even in the northwest this week. maybe towards the end of the week and towards the end of the weekend, another system. but for most part, we're going to keep it dry right where it's been dry. >> sounds good. bill, thank you very much. godzilla blew away expectations this weekend. the radioactive lizard's $93 million haul was the year's second biggest opening weekend.

neighbors fell to second place with $26 million. "the amazing spider-man 2" at number three was shy of $17 million. justin timberlake won big at last night's billboard music awards. he took home seven awards including top artist, top album and top male artist. rock band imagine dragons gave timberlake a run for his money pulling in five awards. and jennifer lopez became the first woman to get the coveted icon award. salma hayek staged a mini protest on the cannes red carpet. she called for the return of over 200 girls held captive in niger nigeria. she said she knew protests weren't allowed on the red carpet but promoted the cause anyway. and look at the crowd there in that armored personnel carrier. the tank-like vehicle was packed with action legends like sylvester stallone, arnold schwarzenegger, and harrison ford. i don't know if they pulled the selfie thing. you know when the celebs get

together -- >> i want to hear the stories on the set. >> what do they talk about? host andy sandberg collaborated with pharrell williams with a little diddy about hugs on the "snl" season finale. ♪ i give more hugs my head on your shoulder ♪ ♪ hugs just a big game like a lasso ♪ ♪ you can't hug a rolling stone ♪ >> awesome. a whole new level. i'm frances rivera. this is "early today." we hope it is your first stop of the day here on nbc.

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leading the news on this monday in the new york times, south korea to disband coast guard, leader vows. the coast guard failed in its rescue operation from last month's ferry disaster that left 300 people dead or missing. in the washington times, former first dog miss beasley dies of cancer. she arrived at the white house in 2005 and became an instant hit in the bush's annual christmas videos. former president bush released a statement saying in part, she was a close companion to her blood relative barney. and even though he received all the attention, beasley never held a grudge against him. she was a guardian to our cats, bob and bernadette, who, like laura and i, will miss her. graduation season is here. this weekend full commencement addresses to graduating students and advice meant for people of all ages.

>> you are graduating today as the most diverse class in yale's long history. or as they call it in the nba, donald sterling's worst nightmare. >> we're in the depths of the most serious environmental crisis in human history. and in that i include the most recent ice age, because things are happening faster than ever before. but i believe you all can help us avoid disaster, but i'm also hoping you can help us avoid another disco era. >> for all the hype about millennials being an entitled me, me, me generation, in fact, yours is a generation determined to make a difference. >> i don't see anything wrong with disco. maybe that's just me. on sunday, red bulls air force sent wings suits flyers soaring above new york city. they jumped over the manhattan skyline, sporting the most

modern wing suits. they were 7,500 feet above ground. look how spectacular that is. they flew in two minutes with parachutes. they safely landed on a barge floating in the hudson river. a gorgeous day. if you're along there and seeing that -- >> you and i don't know the difference. there is regular falling from the sky in a parachute and then wing chutes, the wings on it. but we don't know the difference. >> as far as i'm concerned, you're still plummeting down below from the sky. >> maneuver more, i guess. it looks cooler. >> looks cooler, prettier. time for a look ahead. the supreme court could release decisions this week on some big cases. among them, the justices could rule on the president's recess appointment powers and the objections to the affordable care act. and happy birthday to kevin garnett, 38 years old. pete townsend of the who turns 69. and pbs newscaster jim lehrer is 80. i'm frances rivera.

thank you for watching "early today.

well, happy monday morning to you. it's 4:30 in the morning, i'm scott mcgrew. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. let's first say good monday morning to christina. >> good morning to you scott, laura, everybody at home. kicking off the workweek with pretty comfortable temperatures out there. mostly mid to upper 50s and interesting changes coming your way including some thunderstorms. brought in that forecast in just a minute and right now check your drive back to work monday. >> we have to warn folks. we have some wind out there and that makes the view of our bay bridge so clear. the san mateo bridge. the wind advisory issue for