it's thursday, may 12th. coming up on "early today," capitol hill showdown for the leaders of the republican party and their new standard bearer, donald j. trump, who says he will not release his tax returns before election day. three years later, this massive explosion that killed 15 and injured 200 was no accident. new details ahead. one step closer to humans traveling in something to a pneumatic tube at the speed of sound. one step closer to civil unions in italy. an elephant with a bath tooth. and pitching with pay back. "early today" starts right now. good morning, everyone. we begin with breaking news this morning after a marathon session, the brazilian senate has voted to impeach the

president, rousseff. she has been stripped of her duty for at least six months, and to put her on trial for allegedly breaking budget laws. rousseff, the first female president will have to step aside as she defends herself. the vice-president, michelle temmer, will assume the duties during the impeachment process. the country has been plagued with problem, and the olympics are set to get underway there in just three months. here at home, a crucial face-to-face. paul ryan and congressional republicans will have their highly anticipated meeting later today. after announcing the endorsement of seven house chairman of the - on the eve of today's sit down, trump brushed off his critics saying if we make a deal that will be great. if we don't, we'll trudge forward and winning like we've

been doing. i asked ryan if there was a situation if he wouldn't endorse trump. >> there is plenty of room for disputes in the party. we come from different wings of the party. the goal is to unify the various wings of the party around common principles so we can unify. >> a host of issues in the past 24 hours, calling his muslim ban, just a suggestion, planning fund-raisers, instead of self-funding and reservings course on his own tax returns, suggesting he will not release them if an irs audit hasn't finished by november. he said there is nothing there. here is an exchange he had with fox's news on that specific issue. >> you said you don't intend to release your tax returns -- >> no, i didn't say that. i'm being audited. >> what about the returns that aren't being audited. >> but it goes way back. >> have you far back are you being audited? >> i don't know. i have to ask.

long enough it would matter. so the answers are hopefully before the election, i'll release them. >> meanwhile, former massachusetts governor and 2012 mitt romney came out with a strongly worded facebook post against trump, that says in part, quote, it's disqualifying for a modern day presidential nominee to refuse to release tax returns to the voters, especially one not public scrutiny or public service. there is only one logical explanation for his refuse al, a bombshell. the irs says will is nothing preventing them from sharing their own taxes. on the democratic side, sanders campaign stumbles with his state director just weeks before the week's crucial primary. the sanders camp has since replayed the aide but not before widespread speculation that the campaign may be in free fall. chris hayes spoke to sanders last night. >> if we do really well, an again, i know it's an uphill

fight, but we've been fighting an uphill fight from the day i got into the campaign, but if we do really well like we did in west virginia, we have a chance to go into the convention with more pledged, ie, real delegates, by the people, than hillary clinton. >> as for hillary clinton, fbi director jamie comey says he feels pressured to complete the investigation into her private e-mail server, quote, competently and quickly. comey said the issue is similar to other cases, and he said he wanted does it well and i feel pressure to do those things. he indicated the presidential race is not impacting the speed it. three years after a catastrophic explosion at a fertilizer plant in west texas that killed 15 and injured over 200 and leveled nearby homes and businesses, stunning news it was

a criminal act, caused by a fire that was intentionally set. officials have concluded now investigators are trying to figure out who did it. nbc janet chhas the details. >> showing the moment of explosion -- are you okay? >> yeah. >> in the small town of west texas, massive blast at the fertilizer plant. >> firefighters down, again, there has been an explosion. >> 15 people killed, including a dozen first responders. >> we need every ambulance we can get. >> 200 hurt, hundreds of buildings ripped apart, schools, nursing homes. more than three years later, officials say the fire ahead of the blast was intentionally set. a preventible criminal act. >> we came to the conclusion after we rule out our reasonable natural causes. >> one of the largest

investigations in at if. history, three years and 400 interviews at the cost of more than $2 million. it's ongoing. a $50,000 reward thrties hope will lead to an arrest. faulted the company for failing to prevent the fire and regulatory groups for not identifying the hazards. community of 2,800 was almost unrecognizable, a crater, 12 feet deep. it was no accident, heart break for those trying rebuild their lives. nbc news, houston. picture this. passenger travel at nearly the speed of sound. hyper loop 1 tested the propulsion of the hyper loop system, sending a sled down one hundred yard rail, using magnetic levitation technology, it raised down the traf going from 0 to 60 in a stunning 1.1 seconds before being stopped by

a patch of sand. the goal is to get to 400 miles per hour in only 2 seconds. the final top speed, believe it or not, is expected to be 750 miles per hour. now, the company's founder says the test shows the technology already in use by high speed mag trains can be used more cheaply. their goal is to have a full test of the sled in a tube by the end of the year, and passengers by 2021. three separate car bombs killed 93 people in baghdad on wednesday. isis has claimed responsibility for all three of those attacks. this marks the deadliest day for the capital this year. the largest attack came in a crowded outdoor market, where 63 people were killed, including multiple brides to be who were getting ready for their weddings. blaming it on political bickering. it comes after a month shiite parliament building, the u.s.

has condemned the attacks. meanwhile, james comey says fewer americans joining isis, that, the power of the extremist group has diminished in the united states. a new twist in the case involving the deadly attack on a planned parenthood facility in colorado that killed three and injured nine. the killer may never face trial. robert dear has had several outbursts in the courtroom, and declaring he was guilty. now, a judge has ruled that he is not mentally component enough to stand trial in court. in court documents, attorneys revealed a psychiatric evaluation for dear showed he was incompetent and delusional. charged with 179 counts, he'll now be sent to a mental institution for treatment, and the case will be put on hold. his mental status will be reviewed again later in august. hail and strong winds are the big weather threat of the day, as another round of severe thunderstorms is pounding parts of the midwest and south. last night, hail and heavy rain

fell in marion, illinois, flooding roadways. this was the ominous scene in troy, missouri, where lightening struck for a fifth straight day. in omaha, nebraska, they needed to clear a path for vehicles on the street. bill karins has a look. >> the sheet lightening is so beautiful. that's pretty neat stuff. no tornado videos none yesterday of any significance. that's fantastic. overnight, we had large hail reported in texas, and pouring rain into little rock. today will be a case of a lot -- not a lot of severe wet. watch some additional storms, isolated severe, some hail, damaging winds, but nothing too devastating. areas much alabama, mississippi back up to the ohio valley. let's dig into the forecast today. unseasonably warm, boise, 85, seattle, 08 today.

san francisco, a little more marine influence, that's you're only 65, interior areas will be mild. how does the weekend look? we only get two more of these early summer like days in areas of the west. notice 89 on friday in portland. 84 in seattle, and then, you know, it's beautiful during the week and then as you head towards the weekend, the upper level low moves in. showery type weather, dropping 10 to 20 degrees. pretty nice in most areas of california. on sunday, we continue in the northwest with some showers. that's your nationallly warm st portland, washington state. warm in california. >> weekend plans, it's beautiful during the week and then the weekend is not so nice.

>> well, you can still enjoy weekends at home. >> sounds like you have some plans. >> always relaxing and sleeping in. the government redefining food, what's really healthy and what's not. plus italy is the last to say i do. we'll explain that later. if you have allergy congestion, muddling through your morning is nothing new. .your nose is the only ing on your mind... ...and to get relief, anything is fair game. introducing rhinocort® allergy spray from the makers of zyrtec®. powerful relief from your most frustrating nasal allergy symptom* ,all day and all night. hasn't your nose been through enough already? try new rhinocort® allergy spray. muddle no more® i wake up and i just feel like i sleepsticky.ely hot. have the windows open, the ac on- i'd close it in the middle of the night. he'd open it in the middle of the night. it was a nightmare. my new tempur-breeze stays cool to the touch. not cold but cool. it naturally adapts to your body and somehow creates

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hello new coppertone sport. it's reformulated to feel lighter on your skin, but still protects and stays on strong. new coppertone sport. hello sunshine. celebrations across rome, after they recognize civil union for same sex couples. same rights and pro text given to married couples, including the ability to share the same last name and inheritance rights. asian elephant in england cured of a mammoth tooth a ache, removing one of the giant molars, and by giant, we me big. the 38 year elephant is now

eating well. cnbc's landon dowdy. >> good morning, the markets may tread water today, after they sank on wednesday. wall street giving back all of tuesday's gains. dow having its worst day in three months. nasdaq snapping a three-day winning streak from disney and macy's. unemployment and import prices. meanwhile, apple is denying reports it's planning to phase out itunes, been in steady decline, going to $3.2 billion last year. apple has plenty of reasons to sell them. drake sold millions of copies when it was only solid on itunes. google working on its own stand alone virtual assistance, amazon's echo, chirp google, surrounding your home could debut later this year.

joe biden with prince harry, plus a 20 strike out beauty against his former teach. ouch! sports next. sports next. the decision to ride on and save money. he decided to save money by switching his motorcycle insurance to geico. there's no shame in saving money. ride on, ride proud. geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides. to you, they're more than just a pet. so protect them with k9 advantix ii. it kills fleas, ticks and mosquitoes. k9 advantix ii. for the love of dog.

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this morning on "today," the acting on tv series continues, as jeff rosesen puts them to the test.

road trip woes or a headache oon the highway. sports news, washington nationa nationals, the 20 strikeout tying mlb record held by three other pitchers, threw an astonishing 96 strikes on 119 pitches. the least amount of pitches and least amount of balls in a 20 strikeout game. now, after the game, which his team won 3-2, strikeouts are sexy and to punch out 20, well, it's sexy. now to the nba, steph curry awarded the trophy before last night's game adam silver, with just seconds to go in the third quarter, he takes the lead. in the fourth under 30 seconds to go up two, who do you think would get the ball. no brainer, folks. >> meanwhile, curry behind the back, three-point and duck! oh, curry!

>> anything he throws up, just ridiculous, goes in. shaquille o'neal called him the greatest shooter. the warriors eliminate the trail blazers. joe biden attended the invictus games yesterday, thanking them for their sacrifice. tim payne hit the trifecta, winning gold, silver and bronze medal. he was cheered on by the man who saved his life, retired sergeant, mike merit, elizabeth marks won four medals of the day. here, she accepts fourth gold medal and she asks him to keep the medal for her a a appreciation for him creating the games. lucas films making it easier to keep up on "star wars." justin timberlake tearing up the internet, you don't want to miss this.

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clean versus sonicare diamondclean. my mouth feels super clean! oral-b. know you're getting a superior clean. i'm never going back to a manual brush. all right, entertainment news, under the eye of security, the cannes film festival, showcase opening. they shared the spotlight with colorful characters, like the angry birds and even trolls. attendees were treated to a rendition of true colors, by troll stars, justin timberlake and anna kendrick.

♪ i see your true colors shining ♪ ♪ true colors >> 64th annual pop awards, gave the first of award to taylor swift. second time the award has been named for an artist, following the michael jackson award in 1990. recognizing her reatetiv talent and influence on music. e! reporting that herby hancock and taf va smiley listed among the guests. purple beret and purple kobe's for prince's memorial. as. youtube show all about the space saga, weekly episodes keeping fans in the loop on "star wars" news, featuring

interviews on the epic from across pop culture. late show host stephen colbert found an even better candidate to run against donald trump. check it out. >> i think steph curry should be on next president. think about it. he plays for the warriors, that's military experience. he is a job creator, because it takes three people to cover him. he is ready to debate donald trump, because he already has plenty of experience, slamming round orange objects. >> so what do you think? do you think he would make a good president? >> he went to davidson. that's a good college. he has the educational background, he has the smile. >> answered represents both coasts, from north carolina, went to school there, but also lives in san francisco. >> he makes about a couple of hundred million more now. >> yeah, then he would. all right, this is "early today." today." i will change you. change your goals to get you home earlier every day.

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leading the news in the "washington post," brazil's president impeached, and will be suspended from office. vote of 55-22, impeaching her and she'll be suspended. the chances of her returning to the presidency are low, as the vote also exceeded the two thirds majority needed to remove her from office after the trial concludes. nbc new york, man hits lotto twice. that's right, folks. bruce magistro won for a second time yesterday. he first hit the jackpot in

2012, he plans to keep playing, and is crossing his fingers for a third win. and on nbc los angeles, caught on camera, riverside man pulse driver from fiery roll over street, racing crash. they filmed the scene, but then decide today take action with the video still rolling, he pulled the driver from the vehicle, and he has nonlife threatening injuries. police are investigating the incident. massachusetts state police are investigating a beating caught on camera. it happened after a high speed chase that started in massachusetts and ended in new hampshire. the pick-up truck stopped after blowing two tires, but then the driver gets out, dropping to his hands and knees, and officers begin punching him. he was wanted on assault and larsenny charges. t investigating whether the level of force was appropriate. a woman meets her family after 65 years. she only met her father once as

a child. she didn't no anything about his side of the family. thanks to ancestry.com, she found her sister, joanne. >> i'm really happy. because i think now that my life is complete. a mother goose in ohio knew who to go to for help when her babe boo he was in trouble. she pecked at the door of a police cruiser, until the officers followed her. her baby was tangled from a mother's day balloon and they waddled away. actress kim fields and vin reigns turns 57. billy squire is 66. thanks for watching "early today," have a terrific thursday, everyone. a sprawling crime scene in los

gatos is still shrouded in mystery. we're following two deaths--- and two crimes scenes--- after a a sprewelling crime scene still shrouded in mystery. two deaths and two crime scenes after a violent afternoon on wednesday. the personal responsible for shooting and killing a pregnant mother in her car in pittsburgh. the latest in highway shootings leaving a family in tears. >> curry behind the back. three points and it's up. >> oh, yeah. the maestro whips up another top performance. steph curry and the warriors rolling on to the western conference final. what a game what a night. "today in the bay" starts right