ours. mucinex 12 hour. we knew that the tornado was on top of us. we knew it was going straight over us. >> the tornado outbreak now at 13 straight days of devastation with more twisters up d erers tn across the heartland to the northeast. the hardest-hit spots overnight as millions brace for the next round of powerful storms. the abortion debate arrives at the steps of the supreme court. the land mark new ruling coming ahead of wednesday's attempt to ban abortion clinics entirely. descent into madness. as the death toll climbs at mt. everest, nepal is defending the overcrowded conditions. the country's response to calls for more safety precautions. >>. >> months after divorcing the

founder of amazon, mackenzie bezos is primed to give millions away to charity. more on that charity pledge. "early today" starts right now. breaking news this morning, a nearly two week long outbreak of violent weather has reached the northeast. multiple warnings were triggered overnight, including one for staten island and some new jersey counties surrounding new york city. a possible tornado touched down in stanhope, new jersey, where a high school there was damaged. trees uprooted and power lines fell during the storm. as this fast-moving storm swept through pennsylvania, it brought with it powerful wind gusts, heavy rain, and golf well-sized hail in some areas. the national weather service confirming a tornado touched down in morgantown. this video showing debris raining down from the sky afterwards. >> hours earlier one of the largest tornados of this outbreak was spotted in lawrence, kansas. stunning video shows the twister estimated to be about one mile wide. around 30 homes were destroyed

with many others damaged. so far there haven't been reports of serious injuries. meanwhile areas of arkansas and oklahoma are experiencing some of the most severe flooding they have ever seen. with officials there preparing for the possibility that the situation will get much worse. nbc meteorologist bill karins is following all these serious weather threats this morning. >> incredible evening. tracking the storms through new york city with tornado warnings and then the tornado that was on the ground, that huge one we just showed you, in areas of kansas, that was like an hour's worth of waiting to see where everything went. it barely missed lawrence, kansas. there's other populated areas it missed too. it did hit a lot of areas were rural. we have dozens of homes that were destroyed, off their foundations, gone. today with 84 million people at risk, this should be the end of our really big outbreak day day. tornados, mostly wind damage areas of pittsburgo threat there. then we have a breaking tornado threat today areas froml the wa portsmouth, arkansas. watch that area carefully. and of course more river flooding, more flash flooding

too. >> that's a big area. west texas up to new york, my goodness, thanks, bill. the gloves are coming off in the race for 2020. democratic front runner joe biden is hitting back at president trump for once again siding with north korean leader kim jong-un. this time agreeing with the dictator that the former vice-president is a, quote, low i.q. individual. nbc peter alexander has more on the response from biden's campaign. >> mr. president, why are you so concerned about joe biden, sir? >> reporter: joe biden's campaign blasting president trump deliberately waiting till the president landed back in the u.s. according to his aides before responding to the president's weekend attacks. calling them beneath the dignity of the office. the president in japan sided with north korea's brutal dictator kim jong-un, while lashing out at the former vice-president. >> kim jong-un made a statement that joe biden is a i.wi him on that.st. >> reporter: biden's campaign arguing, to be on foreign soil

repeatedly with a murderous dictator against a fellow american and former vice-president speaks for itself. it is part of a pattern of embracing autocrats at the expense of our institutions. most every republican silent. but pete king calling the president's criticism wrong, tweeting, politics stops at water's edge. the president also fueling controversy by brushing off north korea's recent short-range missile test. by saying they don't personally bother him. nbc's kristen welker is in tokyo. >> those tests do bother the japanese, but while here, president trump broke with his host and his national security advisor john bolton who see the tests as violations of u.n. resolutions. >> reporter: late tuesday back here at the white house, president trump on twitter defended his insult of biden, claiming he was ste fonger vice only paraphrasing kim jong-un's words. phillip? >> okay, peter, thank you.

a major drug company is on trial now facing accusations of targeting children and the elderly in the opioid crisis which has ravaged so many communities. oklahoma's attorney general said johnson & johnson acted as a drug kingpin, profiting at every stage of the epidemic. the landmark trial could set a precedent for those holding companies accountable for their alleged role. here's stephanie gosk. >> you will now make opening statements. >> reporter: a first in an oklahoma civil court, an opioid maker on trial, accused of fueling an epidemic. >> this crisis is a drug company-made crisis. one of the causes sitting right here to my right. >> reporter: in a civil suit, oklahoma's attorney general accuses johnson & johnson of am m misleading doctors by downplaying the risks of opioids while touting the benefits for years. arguing its product made up a small percentage of the opioid market and were sold according to fda guidelines. >> we talk about opioids as if they're all the same. and i assure you they are not.

>> reporter: in court emily walden, her son died of an overdose in 2012. she is now a leading activist in the fight against opioid addiction and drugmakers. >> they need to pay billions of dollars for the damage that they've done in every single state. and then we need criminal charges. we need prison time for these executives. >> reporter: the lawsuit named multiple companies, but in march purdue, the makers contin, settled,$270 million while denying any wrongdoing. diva pharmaceuticals did the same just days ago, paying $85 million. this is one of a mountain of pending claims, around 2,000, across the country, suing drugmakers and distributors. what happens in oklahoma could set a critical precedent, which is why walden, who is from kentucky, felt she needed to be here. >> a mom in oklahoma or a mom in kentucky, we've lost our kids. we've lost loved ones.

and we feel the same pain. >> that was stephanie gosk reporting. the fight over state abortion restrictions has trickled up to the supreme court after a compromise was made on indiana's abortion law with the court invalidating bans on abortions based on sex, race, or disability. but allowing fetuses to be buried or cremated. meanwhile in another state, women seeking an abortion may have to leave to get one. nbc's ann thompson has more. >> reporter: missouri could become the first state in the nation with no abortion clinic. this planned parenthood facility in st. louis going to court to stay open beyond friday, unable to reach an agreement with missouri's health department to renew its license. two years ago, jenny bach said this is where she went to have an abon. >> know that we made the best choice for her. >> reporter: but with no clinic and the new law the governor signed friday after banning abortions for eight weeks, she and her husband would no longer have top they ended her pregnancy at 15

weeks after learning their daughter had a genetic disorder and would die soon after birth. now they are expecting another child. >> i believe my greatest act of love as her mother was to suffer myself instead. >> reporter: louisiana is expected to enact an even stricter law, banning abortion once a fetal heartbeat is detected, as early as 6 weeks into a pregnancy. >> we should look at when a heart starts beating to determine when life starts. >> this law is blatantly unconstitutional. >> reporter: a judge said of mississippi's law "it threatens meet accurate rights." mississippi is appealing. law.hose looking for signs from the justice is letting stand the lower court's decision blocking the law banning abortions on gender, race or disability. but upholding the requirement fetal remains be buried or cremated. >> it's becoming sort of increasingly clear and perhaps

likely that there are several justices who aren't ready to wade into the issue of abortion yet if they can possibly help it. >> reporter: something several states are not afraid to do. anne thompson, nbc news, chicago. meanwhile, georgia's billion-dollar film industry could face a major blow after streaming giant netflix announced it would reconsider its entire investment if the fetal heartbeat bill goes into effect. netflix currently has five projects filming in the state including shows like "stranger things" and "ozark." last year georgia made nearly $10 billion in revenue from the film industry. georgia became the fourth state this year to prohibit abortions once the doctor can detect the first fetal heartbeat. >> some disturbing dashcam video out of new york. authorities are searching for a passenger who attacked a lyft driver during a ride. >> excuse me, ma'am, if you're going to be disrespectful, i'll pull over right now. >> yeah. that happened last week. the driver says that he was

taking those two people to a hospital in queens. when that shirtless guy in the back just started violently punching him because he wouldn't drive faster. lyft says that passenger has since been banned. as for the driver, he said he wasn't seriously injured, but he is now considering finding a new line of work. >> man. good the way he handled it. he was driving for a little bit while he was still getting punched. let's get a check with bill kari karins. flash flooding continues in northern missouri, also illinois. flash flood watches from pennsylvania to new jersey, then from dallas all the way over into southern portions of missouri. once again, this is where all those storms are going to play out later today. the area of greatest concern is where we already have all the tremendous amount of water in the arkansas river. that goes from tulsa to ft. smith to severe as

they race from pittsburgh right along through pennsylvania and areas around d.c. and baltimore later today. so another violent day, hopefully quieter tomorrow. in today's "quick hits," no big winners in last night's mega millions drawing. friday night's jackpot has grown to $444, the eighth largest in the game's history. tonight's powerball jack pot is $325 million. twitter is hiring a tweeter in chief who will run the xtremely plugged into twitter culture. no word what that job pays. it that is time of year again. manhattan hinge, when the sunset lines up with the manhattan street grid. the phenomenon happen through saturday, weather grid, it happens every s the evening through saturday weather permitting can be expensive, and sometimes ineffective.

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before the show's ending harrington who is best known for his role as jon snow is using this break in his schedule to work on some personal issues the 32-year-old went from a relative unknown to an international star when "game of thrones" took off. he told reporters earlier this year that he finds fame hard to deal with. >> a lot of fans found the finale hard to deal with the irony people needing therapy after that, too. all right. leading the news this morning after a very deadly season and highest peak, officials in nepal are defending the number of permits issuedb mt. everest. it led to outrage ov over overcrowding. it calls for tougher restrictions after an american climber became the 11th person there to die this seas nbc's sarah harman joining us now from london. sarah, good morning. this is a $300 million industry for this country >> reporter: phil, that's exactly right. they charge $11,000 for each one of these permits and that's just the permit

the sherpa, the gear, the oxygen tanks, they all cost extra and it brings in a whole lot of money to an impoverished nation like nepal it's not just the permitting the weather and inexperienced climbers contributed to the traffic jamb we see at the top a lawyer from colorado just became the 11th person to die this season, shortly after he reached the world's highest peak, his dream. others who climbed this week described the scene as a zoo with climbers standing chest to chest to get to the top and in some cases, even climbing over dead bodies to reach the summit. overcrowding is especially dangerous because at that elevation, once you pass about 26,000 feet and get into what they call the death zone, evffe death. the actress mandy moore just reached base camp on her own trek to everest. it's less intense than going all the way to the top, but it's a huge accomplishment.

despite the danger, these expeditions are getting more and more popular and the nepalese government has no plans to limit the number of permits. phillip, frances >> no worse place in the world to be waiting in a line than on top mt. everest. sarah, thank you >> still ahead, making it look yeezy. kanye west gives david letterman the make over. plus the backlash after actor rob lowe called prince william going bald a traumatic experience lizzie gets purina dog chow ever read the ingredients? could you read a few? sure. of course. deboned chicken whole grain corn chicken meal meat & bone meal brown rice corn gluten meal barley animal fat oatmeal soybean meal while both foods provide complete and balanced nutrition. 9 out of 10 dog chow feeders prefer the ingredients in blue buffalo. and get your dogs delicious blue treats. the tasty treat you'll feel good about giving. the best way to hit the beach? with neutrogena® beach defense® sunscreen.

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how do i look? do i look okay or do i look -- oh, my god, what's he up to? >> looks like an artist. >> buddy like when i used to work with the gap. >> that's a clip of david letterman getting a yeezy style make over from rapper kanye west he is set to appear on letterman's netflix show this friday during the episode of my next guest needs to introduction, west opens up about being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the journey he's been on the past few yearse this starting again with yeezy. i think letterman grilled him about whether he's ever voted, too. >> i want to know more about yeezy working at the gap we'll find out i love that show, though it's a great show, great interviews last season looking forward to this season now let's talk about rob lowe he's making quite a splash across the pond and not in a good way by poking fun at prince

william's hairline asking if he's less vain than the english man. he lost his hair, so i set a low bar. watching the duke of cambridge lose his hair was one of the great traumatic experiences of his life, pointing out there is a pill to stop hair loss he may have been clearly joking here, but the actor did face some backlash on social media for that low blow. come on, if you're blessed to have hair like that and, you know, look as young, that's bad karma to be talking smack about someone else who is not as fortunate. >> maybe he needs to wait a few more years >> when he's 80? he's been waiting. >> he's been waiting all right, in honor of the late queen of soul aretha franklin, jennifer hudson made a surprise performance at tuesday's pulitzer prize luncheon she brought the ceremony to

church with her poul ♪ ♪ >> franklin was posthumously awarded the award making her the first individual woman to earn the prize since it was percent presented in 1930. and after -- month after month we're hearing something about aretha franklin being honored again posthumously >> she killed it don lemon liked it you saw him in the front row clapping away. still ahead, mackenzie bezos is doing someinthg husband jeff bezos has yet to do. we'll tell you what that is next don't give it up ♪

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senate majority leader mitch mcconnell is reversing course on the supreme court. despite blocking president obama's nominated judge merrick garland in 2006, mcconnell now says republicans would fill a vacancy on the bench if one opens up during the lead up to the 2020 election. he answered this hypothetical question during the luncheon in kentucky and, of course, democrats quickly pounced on those comments with sena minority leader chuck schumer calling him a hypocrite. >> now to the pulitzer prize ceremony packed with the nation's most celebrated reporters this year, the student journalist from parkland were honored for their coverage of the fallen classmates and school staff. nbc's savannah guthrie has the story. >> reporter: eight days after a gunman opened fire at marjory stoneman douglas high school, the staff of the school newspaper, the eagle eye, gathered to start work on a special memorial issue to honor the victims. >> i had to relive that day over and over again to report on the shooting and tell the stories of the lives that were lost in our

community. >> reporter: hannah and rebecca are the paper's coed torres in chief. >> it's definitely a way of copeling for many of our staff members. we didn't forget what happened, it gave us a sense of control. >> reporter: the student journalists wrote personal tre died, balancing personal grief with journalistic responsibility >> i we might be 17 or 16 or 15, but our words still have an impact >> reporter: some of the most accomplished journalists in the country gather today honor ty ra standing ovation >> i just want other students and other young people knoll that their words matter and if you have a story, it's your right to tell it don't let anyone else tell it for you. >> hannah and rebecca are both off to college in the fall where they hope to continue telling those stories that matter. >> great do hear that. mackenzie bezos, ex-wife of amazon founder jeff bezos made a pledge to give more than half of her $35 billion fortunate from her divorce to charity in a letter announcing her

pledge, she stated, quote, i have a disproportionate amount of money to share. bezos made her a promise by signing the giving pledge as an initiative that encourages wealthy ben factors to donate more than half of their assets jeff bezos welcomed the news with a tweet saying he's proud of her >> what an example for all the other multi-millionaire billionaires out there the eiffel tower has been transformed into a thrill ride hundreds of online to win a the 874 foot trip offered a once zip line off the monument. in watching. i'm frances rivera >> and i'm phillip mena. the news continues right here on nbc. have a great day we'll see you tomorrow everyone could use a little romance... even your feet.. the (new) amopé pedi perfect with diamond crystals gives you smooth results in just seconds that you'll fall in love with instantly. . .

welcome to wednesday morning. may 29th. take a look outside. the bay bridge there a little foggy. hoping for clearing later today. and another spring -- almost summer-like day. good morning to you. thank you for joining us. garci.

>> i'm marcus washington. vianey has the forecast for us. starting off cool. >> yeah. we will get a continuation of that. san francisco, hazy out there. 53 degrees. it is cool to start. we wilta