say? stay right here with "mad money," i am jamim cramer, see u tomorrow! breaking overnight, a deadly blast rocks kabul's diplomatic quarter, killing and injuries hundre dozens of civilian. the russia investigation reaches closer to home for the trumphite house. comedian kathy griffin begs for forgiveness after a trump photo shoot goes wrong. circumstances behind tiger woods' dui arrest. a kiss worth being banned from a championship, and how one word broke the internet overnig overnight. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm frances rivera.

we begin with overnight breaking news after a massive explosion went off in the afghan capital of kabul injuring and killing scores of civilians. the explosion sent clouds of smoke in the sky. it happened in the city of the center, the diplomatic quarter there. look at the devastation at the scene of the blast. it may be very well the deadliest bombing in kabul this year the casualty number continuing to climb. the afghan health ministry say up to 80 people have been killed in the attack and over 300 wounded. no group has taken responsibility. however, the taliban denied any role in the attack. we'll provide you with updates as we get them here at nbc news. back in the united states the russia-trump investigation getting closer to the president's inner circle.

we get word it now includes two more associates, attorney michael cohen and press aide boris epstein. after saying he would not respond to house and senate requests, cohen said he would testify before congress if a subpoena comes his way. epstein's lawyer confirms he has been contacted by the intel committee. new reporting on michael flynn. a source close to flynn confirming he will provide some personal documents to the senate intelligence committee after a subpoena to do so. it's the revelations regarding president trump's son-in-law jared kushner that white house on edge. nbc's peter alexander has more. >> reporter: the white house struggling to fend off questions about son-in-law jared kushner's contacts with russia during the transition after a wave of headlines that blind-sided west wing staff. >> i'm not going to get into it but your question presupposes facts not confirmed. >> reporter: sean spicer did not deny "washington post" report

that during kushner's meeting in december with michael flynn and russian ambassador kislyak, the 36-year-old proposed back channel communications with russia using facilities for the talks. >> i think that it assumes a lot. i would say mr. kushner's attorney said that mr. kushner volunteered to share what he knows. >> it's not inappropriate for transition officials to begin to speak with foreign counterparts. what is unusual is for there to be the preparation for a back channel outside the bounds of u.s. intelligence or diplomatic channels. >> reporter: also under scrutiny whether kushner was looking for a direct line to vladimir putin as reported by "the new york times." the search that connected him with sergei gorokhov, a russian banker with ties to putin. the president defending his trusted adviser saying jared is doing a great job for the country. i have total confidence in him. the white house saying kushner was acting as a transition official. mr. trump again venting on

twitter. russian officials must be laughing at the u.s. and how a lame excuse for why the democrats has lost the election has taken over the fake news. that explanation echoed by putin in a new interview, calling the allegations of interference fiction invented by trump's political opponents to explain their loss. peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. talk of a possible west wing staff shakeup has been percolating for weeks. now it seems one of the first major administration players is out. communications director mike dubke resigned. his last day has yet to be determined. the president has managed to shift the conversation away from the resignation via twitter as he often has done, only this time it may have not gone as planned. mr. trump tweeted his tweet overnight saying quote despite the constant negative press kof kof covfefe.

and the president made a joke about it, saying who can get the true meaning of. enjoy. the u.s. conducted a missile defense test launching a ground-based interceptor missile from california's vandenberg air force base. it hit and destroyed an incoming mock warhead fired from out in the pacific. it was a simulation of a potential attack from north korea. and marked an important milestone for u.s. defense. nbc's chief foreign correspondent richard engel has details. >> reporter: u.s. military practiced defending the united states from a north korean attack, firing a missile killing intercepter. this is it, speeding over the pacific on its way to the target. another missile, the u.s. launch from the marshall islands and aimed at the waters off san diego. if a north korean missile really was inbound, this had better hit it.

the test comes two days after the latest north korean missile launch supervised by a smiling kim jong-un. he has already conducted nine missile tests this year and was quoted as saying, the u.s. has a bigger gift package coming. the u.s. is now trying to show it can deal with that threat. but firing the so-called ground-based mid course defense system has risks. it has what can generously be described as a mixed record, successful in nine of its last 17 attempts. and today, was the first time it tried to shoot down an actual intercontinental ballistic missile traveling three to four times the speed of sound. >> our tests will underline our seriousness about stopping their program but i don't think it will actually stop their program. they will see it as yet another challenge to overcome. >> missile defense systems aren't only about defense. having one shows an enemy you can attack it first and not have to worry too much about retaliation.

but only if it works. >> nbc's richard engel reporting. the man accused of a deadly stabbing spree in portland appeared in court and was defiant from the time he walked in. >> free speech or die portland. you got no safe place. this is america. get out if you don't like spree speech. >> jeremy christian allegedly stabbed two men to death and injured a third on a train last friday. he went on a hateful tirade zbens two young women, one wearing a hijab. some called his actions terrorism but christian calls it something else. >> you call it terrorism, i call it patriotism. you hear me. die. >> christian did not enter a plea. he is due back in court next week. begging for forgiveness. a plea from kathy griffin this morning after a photo shoot she

posed for went viral for all the wrong reasons. the shoot showed her holding a bloody donald trump mask. the image was obtained by tmz. griffin was condemned for the image across party lines and professions from anderson cooper her frequent co-host to chelsea clinton and donald trump jr. she issued this on-camera apology following the backlash. >> i sincerely apologize. i'm just now seeing the reaction of these images, i'm a comic, i crossed the line, i moved the line, then i crossed it. i went way too far. the image is too disturbing. i understand how it offends people. it wasn't funny, i get it. i made a lot of mistakes in my career. i will continue. i ask your forgiveness taking down the image. going to ask the photographer to take down the image. i beg for your fof r forgiveness. i made a mistake and i was wrong.

>> a warming trend continuing across much of the nation. will karins joining us. good morning. >> a nice warm spell is what we've had for much of the month. the jet stream kind of controls our weather in the spring time. lately all the way up here even north of seattle and into areas of canada. that's allowed the warm air through montana, just about everywhere else in the west. the high temperature about 85, vegas at 96. the cool air allowed to flow down from the great lakes. tomorrow we're seeing warm conditions everywhere. the jet stream dips to the northwest and that will keep you a little cooler. there's severe weather in the east. that's the only problems we'llh. the northwest has cooled down to near average temperatures.

>> this is what we bring you every year, a traditional english favorite. races tumble down coopers hill. there's the cheese to the right. it's whoever can get the cheese first. they have to roll down the hill. first records go back to 1826. it's believed this tradition goes back even further. chris anderson this year tied the all-time mark for the most cheeses won. >> they really want that cheese. you throw in a bottle wine rolling with that cheese and then i'll join. bill, thank you. just ahead, we're bringing you details on tiger woods' dui arrest. plus, caught on camera, a massive underground explosion. you're watching "early today."

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flowed down the street. fortunately no one was hurt and the cause is under investigation. leading the news, the cleveland police officer who shot tamir rice in 2014 has been fired though not for his role in the 12-year-old's death. officials say that the officer timothy loehmann violated the rules by giving false information on his job application. according to nbc loehmann allegedly did not disclose he was fired from his last police job and did not explain the circumstances. tamir rice's mother is relieved but wishes he was fired for killing his son instead of lying on his application. new details what led to tiger woods's' arrest over the weekend. the report give as dramatic account of the moment police came across the famous golfer behind the wheel but allegedly in no condition to drive. nbc's kerry sanders has the story. >> reporter: according to the affidavit, florida police say when they approached woods

mercedes monday 9 miles from his home woods was asleep at the wheel, and the vehicle was running. a fully cooperative tiger woods first told officers that he was coming back from golfing in california, but according to police he changed his story and stated he did not know where he was. although his speech was slow, sluggish and very slurred, he registered .000 on two breath tests. and police say woods identified four medications he used including vicodin, that could support his claim in a statement that alcohol was not involved. what happened was an unexpected reaction to prescribed medications. tiger woods' recent health problems including multiple surgeries are no secret. his public image took a hit when he wrecked his suv in 2009. the subsequent revelation of extramarital affairs led to a high-profile divorce. >> i feel bad for tiger. tiger is a friend.

he has been great for the game of golf and i think he needs all our help and we wish him well. >> reporter: tiger woods is set to be arraigned on the dui charges in july. kerry sanders, nbc news, jupiter, florida. just ahead, a major milestone for the world's largest online retailer, plus a new warning for home buyers, the growing scam cyber thieves are using to steal your money just as you're ready to close. 'saved money on motorcycle insurance with geico! goin' up the country. love mom and dad' i'm takin' a nap. dude, you just woke up! ♪ ♪ i'm goin' up the country, baby don't you wanna go? ♪ ♪ i'm goin' up the country, baby don't you wanna go? ♪ geico motorcycle, great rates for great rides.

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in business quick hits a milestone for amazon. shares of stock briefly crossed the 1,000 mark tuesday for the first time ever. the company's reportedly worth double its rival walmart. uber's board will get a look at a report by former attorney general eric holder investigating an alleged culture of sexual harassment at the company. and more trouble for united airlines, the faa proposing a half million dollar fine for not inspecting a fuel pump switch on one of its 787 dreamliners after it was repaired. the faa says the plane was flown 23 times before the inspection was complete. >> a growing scam during the american dream of owning a home into a nightmare. cyber thieves targeting buyers by intercepting e-mails and stealing payments.

what to look out for. >> reporter: from the fbi office in minneapolis, a new warning for home buyers about con artists out to steal payments. >> someone could lose their life savings. >> reporter: reports of these scams increased 480% nation wide, costing would-be home buyers hundreds of thousands. >> they are watching everything that someone is doing and they are deciding the right time, the right place, that they are going to strike. >> reporter: here is how it works when buying a home the e-mail of the title company or broker is hacked, cyber criminals intercept messages and at the right moment insert fraudulent account information that looks official. buyers unknowingly wire money for a payment to an account under the hacker's control. it happened to steve and claudia who moved to minnesota to help care for their six grandchildren. >> how much did you lose in this transaction? >> the exact amount was $205,742. >> gone. >> yes. >> to protect yourself cyber

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they have a new "guardians of the galaxy" ride. this guy is from our abc affiliate in fresno. his name is cory james. i'm not sure if this is a good review or a bad one. >> now the doors are closing. if sean spicer gets the boot that's the guy trump should look at. >> love it. who would have thought his job in fresno, california, that he'd make it big in the network. >> would have been better if he had on the glowing wig. this 8-year-old boy is new to his neighborhood who thought he would be celebrating his birthday alone. when the police department found out no one showed up, officers showed up with lights and sirens flashing. it was extra special because

graham said he wants to be a police officer. not too many friends, but after this party, he'll be the popular kid on the block. >> how are you going to top it for 9? maybe he'll be a police officer some day and return the favor. after 20 years locked in the warner brothers tower, a popular cartoon may be making a comeback. ♪ animaniacs >> warner brothers and executive producer steven spielberg are looking to reboot the hit animaniacs. >> they used to have all the warner brothers stores, for more cashingers for our kids to be obsessed with. >> the incident on live tv that got a player benched or actually banned from the french open. you're watching "early today." we can't stay here! why?

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we're almost there, into june. here is the june outlook. temperature outlook remains to be above average. maybe a little cooler in areas of wyoming. as far as the precipitation forecast, usually when it's cooler you'd expect a better chance of clouds an rain. these are probabilities but doesn't look like anything too dramatic. the summer outlook is similar to june with heat on the coastal areas in the middle of the country near normal. francis, if you like the heat in the west, looks like you may get more than you bargained for. >> federal court has ruled that transgender 17-year-old ashton whitaker who identifies as male can use the boys bathroom at his wisconsin high school. administrators insisted he use the girls or gender neutral restroom arguing they were

protecting student privacy. the court decided that was illegal sex discrimination. while he's graduating this week, he says he is thrilled by the decision. ariana grande is returning to manchester for a benefit concert. she will be joined by justin bieber, cold play, and others for her one love manchester concert this sunday. olivia newton john is postponing a tour date as she face as second battle with breast cancer. the 68-year-old confirmed the news on her facebook page adding she will complete radiation and natural therapies. she is confident she will be back later in the year better than ever. she was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 1992 and after undergoing treatment was declared cancer free. time to fast forward into

wednesday. the 96th scripps national spelling bee in washington, d.c. with preliminary rounds today. nasa is set to announce details on their mission to touch the sun, attempt to fly a probe through the sun's atmosphere. finally, in france, a tennis player banned from the french open after repeatedly trying to kiss the reporter there. you can see it, as she was giving that live interview, he has been banished from the grounds following his first round loss. he has since apologized for the reporter said quote if i had not been live on the air i would have punched him. the way he's looking his arm around the neck, never mind if she was live on the air, she could have punched him. a lot of people may have been sympathetic as well. >> so strange. >> you've been out there with a lot of rowdy people to come in to photo bomb or video bomb. a little too much. violation of personal space. i'm frances rivera.

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good wednesday morning. you'll feel a little humidity and mist out there when you wake up this morning. spotty showers right now in several parts of the bay area as we take a live look right now at the few brave souls who are on the road at 4:30 in the morning. today in the bay starts right now. good morning. thank you for joining us. i'm sam brock. >> i'm laura garcia-cannon. i thought there was a lot of traffic out there and i was surprised alt all the rain. >> seeing spotty showers moving through parts of the south bay. this will be with us for the next 30 to 40 minutes and then clearing out. we can see it over the tri-valley, south bay, and even the south county right now. as we head out the door elsewhere across the bay area, it's mostly cloudy with some milder temperatures. it was justno