ing. good tuesday morning. coming up on "early today," primary tuesday, key races across the country will set the tone for the nation's midterms. martial law. thailand's military tries to restore peace and stability. cyberespionage. china fires back at the u.s. over charges that members of the chinese military are stealing corporate secrets. plus -- >> what's going on, people? >> obama goes little league. also, a cop is lucky to be alive after this brush with death. and a big night for maya rudolph. it is tuesday, may 20th. "early today" starts right now. good morning to you.

i'm frances rivera. happy super tuesday, 2014. the polls are open this morning in six states from coast to coast. the key races to watch are in kentucky, idaho, and georgia. the primaries there will highlight the republican establishment versus tea party battle. in kentucky, state republican leader mitch mcconnell is up against tea party challenger matt bevan. mcconnell leads him by 20 points in the latest bluegrass poll from the career journal. a win for senator mcconnell today would set the stage for one of november's top senate races against democrat allison lund lundergan grimes. in georgia today, a crowded seven way senate primary field will be narrowed down to two with a runoff to be held on july 22nd. recent polling suggests david purdue and jack kingston are most likely to face off then. and finally in idaho, matt

sincen is poised to defeat brian smith. today, primaries will shape the ballots for critical contests this november. new this morning, in a surprise move, thailand's army has declared martial law nationwide. the army insists a coup is not under way and urging people in thailand to carry on with their daily activities as usual. the military says the action is meant to restore order after six months of street protests and unrest has nearly paralyzed the government. the army chief cited a 1914 law that gives the authority to intervene during times of crisis. charges of cyberspying are putting a strain on relation s between china and the united states. justice department charged five chinese military officers with hacking into the computers of several u.s. companies to steal trade secrets. it is the first ever criminal charges against officials of a foreign government for stealing u.s. economic secrets by

computer. >> cybertheft impacts real people in real and painful ways. the life blood of any organization is the people who work, strive and sweat for it. >> china says the charges are based on fabricated facts. with the resurgence of polio in pakistan, the white house is promising the cia will never again use immunization programs as the cover for spying operations. the news comes three years after the agency staged a fake vaccination program in the hunt for osama bin laden. the pakistani doctor who helped the cia run the fake vaccination campaign has been jailed for 33 years. the lawyer representing him recently quit the case because of death threats. safety officials are looking into whether a switch in kitty litters may be to blame for a radiation leak in new mexico earlier this year. in february, 57 barrels of nuclear waste were packed with nitrate salts and organic kitty litter at the los alamos

national laboratory. the combination is thought to have caused a heat reaction and radiation release. the lab says it has taken a series of precautionary measures to make sure the barrels pose no significant risk to the public. the u.n. is rallying support for an international aid operation to bosnia and serbia. those areas are experiencing the worst flooding since record keeping began more than 100 years ago. at least 47 people have died and tens of thousands are homeless. days of rainfall have submerged entire villages and triggered landslides across the region. bosnia says more than a quarter of the 4 million people have been affected. and from too much to not enough, drought conditions in texas are getting dire. state officials say there are 34 communities that have left the 90 days of water left in their supply. municipalities west of the dallas/ft. worth area are reporting they could go dry in 45 days or less. one state climatologist says the

current drought is among the fifth worst in the past 500 years. so -- >> that's bad. >> bottom line it, bill karins is here with the tuesday forecast and hopefully that includes some rain along there. moisture. >> west texas and north texas and also western oklahoma have been almost as dry as some places in california. so it has been just one of those patterns the last four to five years. want to show you these pictures. we love this rain from thunderstorms like this in areas in texas and oklahoma. super cell thunderstorm, time lapse video with lightning flashes in the pack ground. very beautiful picture there. that's how we like to see the storms, nice and safely out there in the middle of the open field, large hail with that storm too, about two inches. as far as the rain and snow goes, i did say snow, we have snow at the highest elevations of the -- just south of the lake tahoe area, looks like. not quite getting in there driving up around 80, rain, especially the border from california to nevada.

a little weak system continues to slide on through. otherwise, we're just looking at warm conditions in the desert southwest, still clouds in the northwest, but i think we'll be on the dry side. pretty mild forecast, medford, portland, seattle, looking nice. phoenix, hotter spot at 96 degrees. >> storm moves out. we dry out a little bit. should be a warmup for many people coming. >> summer is around the corner officially. >> and memorial day weekend. >> thank you very much. check out this story, though. a police officer in missouri city, texas, was standing on the passenger side of this car while his partner spoke to the driver. an alleged drunk driver slammed into the officer's cruise, sending him off the bridge and down a 30 foot drop.

that's officer lewis. he's out of a job for three months, recovering in memorial herman hospital. the driver was charged with intoxication assault. jill abramson speaks out. plus, u.s. navy academy in a very slippery tradition. details in two minutes. low prices, we can afford to take more trips this year. -hit the beach in florida. -and a reunion in seattle. [man] when hotels have unsold rooms, they use hotwire to fill them. [woman] so we got our 4-star hotels...

for half price. ♪ h-o-t-w-i-r-e ♪ hotwire.com ♪ ♪ all the goodness of milk, all the deliciousness of hershey's syrup. pass the wet skin challenge? neutrogena wet skin with helioplex does. on wet skin, ordinary sunscreen mixes with water and drips.

neutrogena wet skin sprays on and stays on. forms a broad spectrum uva/uvb barrier. in and out of the water, for non-stop fun. get the best protection made for kids' wet skin. ♪ hey, hey wet skin kids. neutrogena. number-one dermatologist recommended suncare. ♪ hey welcome back. if california the epicenter of climate change. the state's governor thinks so. jerry brown took time at a conference to discuss global warming and green initiatives. in addition to intense wildfires and rising sea levels, all of california is in a serious drought or worse. it was certainly a college graduation with a back story. in her first public appearance since her unceremonious dismissal from "the new york times," jill abramson addressed the wake forest graduates. she said she was like a new grad herself.

>> you know this thing of losing or not getting something you badly want. when that happens, show what you are made of. sure, losing a job you love hurts. but the work i revere, journalism, powerful institutions, is what makes our democracy so resilient. what's next for me? i don't know. so i'm in exactly the same boat as many of you. a different and more slippery event happened at the u.s. naval academy. freshmen took part in a decades old tradition on monday. the mission, climb to the top of the 21 foot tall monument and place a hat. the monument is covered in 50 pounds of vegetable shortening, so you slide right on down. it took over two hours. today marks one year since a

deadly tornado swept through moore, oklahoma. 24 people were killed including 7 students inside a school that didn't have a shelter. hundreds of others were injured and thousands of buildings were reduced to rubble after the tornado touched down. let's bring in sarah dahloff in moore this morning. can you tell us how the city is recovering. >> reporter: it has been a difficult and painful 12 months. but people here are making good on their promise not only to come back, but to come back stronger. a year later, the memories in moore, oklahoma, are as fresh -- >> stepped out of the house and seen the tornado about half a mile away. >> reporter: -- as the day the ef-5 tornado tore a 17-mile long path through the metropolitan area. >> i wouldn't wish it on my absolute worst enemy in the whole world. >> reporter: 25 were killed and more than a thousand homes destroyed, including kim and marty schwab's place. they vowed to rebuild and now

are weeks away from finishing their new home. the sound of construction, the sound of strength for moore city manager. he remembers the first residents to move back just months after the twister. >> saw that happen the very first one, i think some of us just about cried because we were so happy. >> reporter: perhaps one of the most emotionally difficult rebuilds, that of plaza towers elementary. 9-year-old christopher legg and six other students were killed there. like 50% of oklahoma schools, plaza towers did not have a tornado shelter. the new building will, but christoph christopher's mom won't stop, she says, until there is one in every school in the state. >> it is a matter of when it is going to happen. >> reporter: preparing for the future with painful lessons learned the past year. storm shelter permits have increased dramatically. 8600 issued in the last year compared to just a couple

hundred the year before. frances, back to you. >> from moore, oklahoma. time to get down to business with sima modi. sima, good morning. >> credit suisse pled guilty to helping wealthy americans to avoid paying taxes. they will pay $2.6 billion to the u.s. government and regulators, the largest penalty the u.s. justice department has imposed in any criminal tax case. in other news, chipotle is asking customers not bring firearms into the restaurants. this after it says gun rights advocates brought military style assault rifles in one of the restaurants this weekend. chipotle says it has complied with local laws regarding open and concealed firearms. can you guess most popular free game on itunes now? in case you missed it. it is weed firm, which allows you to grow and sell virtual marijuana. back to you. >> never heard of that one, sima. thank you very much. just ahead, california chrome is back. and president obama goes little league.

sports is next.

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this morning on "today," just in time for memorial day weekend, a new survey has a warning about the swimming skills of americans. those startling numbers ahead on "today." time to bring you sports headline, we begin with the nba and thunder versus spurs. san antonio going into the game winless against oklahoma city. tim duncan hits down low scoring

two of the first 66 points in the paint on the night. tony parker also did his part with that layup, driving layup from him. five spurs score in the double digits, oklahoma city's russell westbrook and kevin durant pushed back combining for 53 points. it is not enough, though. 122-105 spurs win the series opener. and on to the never-ending donald sterling saga. the league will seek to terminate sterling's ownership rights at a june 3rd hearing. racist remarks led to a lifetime ban and in 75% of the league's owners vote against him, he'll be forced to sell the l.a. clippers. sterling's attorney asked for a three-month delay. the hunt for the stanley cup. the canadiens score first but new york scores. the rangers take a 2-0 lead. back to madison square garden for game three on thursday. let's turn to the triple crown. the new york racing commission will, after all, allow

california chrome to wear nasal strips at the belmont stakes, allowing his pursuit of racing's olympics triple crown. the drive, right field line. gone! and the indians win it. >> it is gone thanks to cleveland's michael brantley. first career game winner into the stands. the indians beat detroit 5-4 with that tenth inning solo shot. prior to those heroics, one cleveland fan made a huge gaffe. >> cabrera fires it into the stands. watch the young man go for the ball. as he cuts in front of everyone. right in the kisser. >> oh, my god! oh, my god! >> that would have been an easy one for the washington, d.c. little leaguers. president obama met players and parents. he was on his way to a fund-raiser but made a detour so press secretary jay carney could make it in time for his daughter's game. he ended up chatting with the

players and coaches and even threw out first pitch before leaving. "early today" is brought to you by just for men auto stop, the foolproof way to get rid of gray. just ahead, steve cearell's serious side and mj is still the king. and jimmy shows off his new and interesting talent with a guest. all of that next. you can hide uneven skin tone from here. and here. but what about here? [ female announcer ] neutrogena® visibly even daily moisturizer with a clinically proven soy complex. it diminishes the look of dark spots in 4 short weeks. and just like that your skin will look radiant

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time now to bring you entertainment news. on "the voice," the final three sang their hearts out for last night's competition. christina grimmie, josh kaufman and josh worthington performed songs that were old and new. congrats to maya rudolph for the launch of her new variety show. kristen bell, shawn hayes and fred armisen and andy sandberg led a hand for the opening night festivities. for first time since the infamous elevator assault caught on video, the knowles sisters and jay z in one big happy family. they have appeared together in a photo. so looks like the cause of the brawl is ancient history. at least according to this picture. >> who is going to leak it first? >> we'll see. fans are going wild over the new trailer for marvel's guardians of the galaxy. it is the first departure from the avengers universe. film stars very buff chris craft of parks and rec and strange

creatures, all kinds of random -- >> everything is blowing up and exploding. a great movie. >> that's the point. blow it up, explode in 3-d, that's all you need. the film community is mourning the loss of ed gordon willis. he'll be remembered for his groundbreaking work on such films as the godfather and annie hall. the michael jackson hologram paid off. the billboard music awards received its highest ratings in 13 years on sunday. 11.5 million viewers tuned in to see the king of pop take to the stage once more. and there is oscar buzz brewing for steve carell's performance on the -- >> yeah. >> the film premiered at cannes which shows a much more serious side of the office actor. resident buff guy terry cruz, did you see it last night? he stopped by the "tonight show" to sing a duet with jimmy fallon. never mind the camo suit. watch what happened. ♪ ebony and ivory

♪ live together in perfect harmony ♪ ♪ side by side on my piano keyboard why don't we ♪ >> that's so troubling in so many ways. >> exactly. it is cool and creepy. >> i didn't know where to look. i was trying to -- >> look at the neck. look at -- there, he's getting disconnected right there. jimmy fallon's neck, a little hint, not jimmy. >> that's not jimmy. >> you didn't guess under "the tonight show" suit. i'm frances rivera. this is "early today." we hope it is your first stop of the day here on nbc. ♪ [ male announcer ] if you can clear a table [ sneezes ] without lifting a finger,

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leading the news in the chicago tribune this morning, aviation last major source of toxic lead in u.s. aircraft which take off from airports large and small in every state still run on leaded aviation fuel. each year they emit nearly 500 tons of the fuel made with brain damaging additive. in politico, joe biden says no to prom invite. he had to turn down the invite from a connecticut teen, but he did send her a corsage and handwritten invitation to meet him at the white house. maybe that's even better. other stories we're keeping an eye on, after a local and national criticism over racist comments about the president, a new hampshire commissioner is stepping down. 82-year-old robert copeland has resigned.

people including mitt romney were calling for his resignation after he publicly admitted to usualing racial slurs while publicly talking about the president. and could these be the bones of the largest creature to ever walk the earth? scientists in argentina think they discovered the bones of a 90 million year old titanosaur. you see this guy nexting to h t that's the thigh bone. it was a vegetarian as my 3-year-old taught me as she's obsessed. they're called herbivores because they only eat vegetables and plants. from jurassic park to the gladiator, prince harry visited rome's coliseum on monday. it is the second day of his two-day trip to italy. a harrowing week for a stray dog with a pipe stuck on its head. this pooch was nicknamed piper after a week of trying to catch up with the illusive pup, they freed him on monday and since then piper has been vetted and adopted. his new family is just waiting to bring him home.

>> he looks like trouble. >> doesn't he? watch out for that guy. and watch out for this one too. greenville, north carolina's ugliest dog is going for the gold. pean peanut's owner is entering him in the ugliest dog competition. they're doing this to raise money for animal abuse. he was rescued from an abusive owner. the hairless dogs, those ones are -- now for a look ahead and a look back. hero cat who saved her owner from a vicious dog attack will face another challenge. the spokesperson says sounds crazy, but they have a trick up their sleeves in bakersfield. on this day in 1927, charles lindbergh took off from long island, new york, aboard the spirit of st. louis on his storic flight to france. buster rimes is 42. cher, 68 and she is still is rocking it. thank you for being with us. i'm francis

well, good morning, everyone. it's 4:30, i'm scott mcgrew. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. taking a live look outside. while many of you are sleeping, rain actually fell in parts of the bay area. thunderstorms are possible throughout the day. for more on that, let's bring in meteorologist christina loren. >> yeah, good morning to you. a lot of thunderstorm activity along the spine of the sierra nevada right now. for us in the bay area, we have that humidity and it feels muggy out there and moisture coming down around the western-facing slopes. as we get into your day today, temperatures will be comfortable and we'll keep the wind going and the chance for thunderstorms going, as well.