it was a big weekend for moms and families as millions were reunited to celebrate mother's day and the white house continues a big push for vaccinations amid a downward trend in shots given the new head of nasa slams the way china handled their runaway rocket where do chinese officials think it crash landed and how this scenario is all but certain to repeat over and over again thousands of missiles and assault weapons seized by the u.s. navy from a ship at sea where was it headed, and who sent it? america's infrastructure in danger the cyberattack on one of our

nation's most important gas pipelines. price rises at the pump might just be the start of the situation. and derby drug debacle medina spirit fails a drug test. hall of fame trainer bob baffert indefinitely suspended from churchill downs. what about the bettors, and is the preakness all but over a busy monday ahead. "early today" starts right now good monday morning, everyone i'm kendis gibson. >> glad you're with us i'm frances rivera for millions of newly vaccinated americans, mother's day meant more than ever this year the weekend was filled with family reunions and long overdue hugs but challenges still lie ahead as the biden administration turns its focus on giving a shot of confidence to the vaccine hesitant nbc's susan mcinnis joins us with the latest from d.c susan, it could be an uphill battle to president biden's summer vaccination goal. >> reporter: that's right. the president wants 70% of americans to have at least one vaccine by the fourth of july, hoping that that holiday will

mark a turning point for the pandemic you saw those emotional mother's day reunions, signs of normal lifere-emerging. ballparks filling up more in-person graduations happening. despite lots of creative options for people to get their vax, walk-in places now where you don't need an appointment and you have a ticket to the a ball game, sometimes they'll give you a shot right there demand is falling. that's leading some states to say no thanks to the federal government for the doses that they have been getting it's all because lots of americans are still uneasy about getting their shot, and it has health officials working harder to reassure them >> we're 58% today, so we've got a path ahead of us which will involve getting people even easier access to the vaccine people making sure that people build their confidence. >> if we get 70% of the people vaccinated by the fourth of july, namely one single dose, and even more thereafter, you may see blips.

but if we handle them well, it is unlikely that you'll see the kind of surge that we saw in the late fall and the early winter >> another hopeful sign. pfizer has started the process of getting full fda authorization for its vaccine. remember, the authorization it has was emergency use only that could allow it to market directly to consumers. you could end up getting your shot right at your doctor's office. >> changing the landscape even more so. susan, thank you. investigators are zeroing in on the hackers behind the biggest cyberattack yet on the nation's infrastructure. two sources familiar with the matter tell nbc news the russian criminal group darkside may be responsible for the ransomware attack on colonial pipeline. the biden administration says a response is an all hands on deck effort colonial pipeline says its four main lines are still out of service, but smaller parts of the system are working again gas prices are rising in the wake of this fuel prices jumped overnight in trading, and a prolonged outage

could lead to an even bigger spike. a gallon costs $3.02 on average right now, up nearly six cents from two weeks ago. a lot of people had their eyes on the skies this weekend watching and waiting to see where an out of control 20-ton chinese rocket would finally come crashing down and it's finally down, and we may know where it ended up here's nbc's sarah harman. >> reporter: the world dodged a rocket after launching the main module of china's new space station, the nine-story, 20-ton body was captured streaking across the night sky. filmed in jordan, oman, and saudi arabia as it re-entered earth's atmosphere china claims most of the out-of-control rocket burned up on re-entry, and the rest of the debris landed in the indian ocean off the coast of the maldives pure luck, experts say how close did we come here >> if the rocket had come down just a few minutes earlier, it

was exactly on track for riyadh, saudi arabia >> wow. >> and so you could have seen in downtown riyadh shards of metal flying through the air at hundreds of miles an hour crashing into buildings. >> reporter: the practice of uncontrolled re-entry is controversial. china's actions prompting criticism. nasa administrator bill nelson saying, it's clear that china is failing to meet responsible standards regarding their space debris the country has a long history of letting rocket debris fall where it may, including last year in the ivory coast and earlier in rural chinese villages is china acting responsibly here >> i don't think it is. >> reporter: the rocket's chaotic and captivating fall to earth unlikely to be the last. with a growing number ofing thes on the stars and china planning to send more large pieces of its space station into orbit by the end of next year u.s. space command has not confirmed china's claims that

the rocket debris entered the indian ocean off the coast of the maldives u.s. space command is saying that the object entered over the arabian peninsula and that it's unknown whether the debris impacted land or water frances, kendis. >> sarah, thank you. authorities in colorado are investigating a shooting at a birthday party that left seven people dead, including the suspected gunman police say the boyfriend of a female victim arrived and started shooting before taking his own life our dan scheneman has the latest >> reporter: police received the call about a shooting at a mobile home park >> officers arrived on-scene and have located multiple deceased parties. >> reporter: in all, six people were found dead. the suspected gunman was among them >> preliminary information indicates at this point in time, we believe that the individual, the suspect responsible for the shooting is also on-scene an also deceased. >> reporter: a seventh person, who was injured, later died at a hospital investigators believe a birthday

party was going on when the gunman opened fire the suspected gunman is believed to be the boyfriend of one victim children inside the mobile home were not hurt. dan scheneman, nbc news. the u.s. navy has made a major weapons bust at sea. officials say the uss monterey intercepted a ship in the arabian sea that was carrying nearly 3,000 assault rifles, hundreds of heavy machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket propelled grenade launchers and more now an investigation has been launched nbc's courtney kube has more >> reporter: this video released by the u.s. navy shows the moment sailors from the uss monterey and the u.s. coast guard intercepted a ship in the north arabian sea. seizing an arms shipment of staggering scale almost 3,000 assault rifles, hundreds of heavy machine guns, sniper rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and dozens of russian-made anti-tank guided missiles

u.s. officials now investigating whether the weapons haul was bound for iranian-backed houthi rebels fighting for control of yemen. >> the boat was transiting from roughly iranian water space toward the region in which the houthis would receive these weapons. >> reporter: the cache similar to other weapons seized in the past. >> every small boat you catch, you have a feeling there's another two or three or ten. >> reporter: the incident comes as the u.s. and others try to end the conflict in yemen, which has seen more than 130,000 casualties since 2014. >> the war in yemen is still raging, and it is unlikely to end anytime soon. >> reporter: courtney kube, nbc news, washington. now to a country plagued by grief and violence families in afghanistan in mourning after explosions killed more than 50 people and injured more than 100. the series of bombs exploding outside a school near kabul. many of those victims teenage girls. joining us live is claudio la

bango. do we know who's responsible >> reporter: good morning, frances. the president of afghanistan, ashraf ghani, initially blamed the taliban for the attack he also wrote in a tweet that once again they showed their unwillingness to resolve the crisis peacefully by escalating what he called this illegitimate war. but the taliban on social media denied any responsibility in the attack they even condemned it, and they claimed instead it was the islamic state which has carried out attacks in that shiite majority neighborhood before who carried out that attack. we don't know yet who's responsible for this latest bombing. this is only the latest in a series of attacks this rocked this country in the last few weeks, raising even more concerns that if the u.s. troops will really pull out of afghanistan by september 11 as pledged by president biden, then the country may slip into civil war. if that happens, it will be, as we've seen in the latest attack on schoolgirls, it will be

children, even more girls who under taliban rule before the war didn't even have the right to an education, who will pay the ultimate price, frances. >> it's awful to think that it may be more common in the future. catholic priests across germany will publicly bless same-sex couples today they're acting in defiance of the vatity can's decree saying that the catholic church can't bless same-sex unions. there will be services at close to 100 churches and venues and some will be livestreamed. a german priest told "the wall street journal" these ceremonies have been somewhat of a secret and this is the first time they're doing them publicly in society. let's bring in nbc meteorologist janessa webb with a look at our weather. janessa, good morning. >> good morning, frances good morning, everyone we are starting off this monday with some wet conditions it's making its way into the carolinas right now. also the northeast we're watching but i think the biggest story is

the severe weather that is just starting to lift across the deep south. just an hour ago, we did have severe thunderstorm warnings in place. that has expired, but flash flooding is going to be an issue throughout your afternoon as this band continues to track to the east but the severe weather threat, it will be a slight risk for the carolinas into southern texas. the biggest threat today will be damaging winds and the large hail that we'll be able to see and well to the north, though, we have this colder conditions that are making their way in from the great lakes to northeast ohio some of our overnight lows there are going to be tting siiny into florida. upper 80s to lower 90s up.

>> we're still notdone janessa, thank you 30 couples in russia took their i do's way above the all tar, getting married on moving cable cars high above moscow they were all married at the same time as part of a guinness world record attempt guinness still needs to verify and confirm the record but the brides and grooms say they will never, ever forget it. still to come, a california man accused of stealing millions in covid relief for an epic spending spree. and the winner of the kentuckyer r dbyeined in over drug allegations the drug scandal sending shock waves through the race world faster. even better, dawn antibacterial removes 99% of bacteria from your hands. we're cleaning now more than ever. and that's why we trust dawn.

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time ♪ one of the best ones when it comes to classics. tawny kitaen, who rose to fame in music videos, died at her california home on friday. whitesnake front man and former husband david coverdale offered his condolences to the family and her fans as he woke up to the news over the weekend. kitaen was known for her roles on the big screen, playing opposite tom hanks in bachelor party. she was 59 years old now to a major cheating scandal in the professional horse racing community after one of its biggest events. the horse that won this year's kentucky derby, medina spirit, has failed a drug test, and its hall of fame trainer has been suspended. trainer bob baffert is calling the incident a complete injustice. nbc's guad venegas has more. >> reporter: a shocking announcement rocking the world of horse racing. >> bob baffert does it again medina spirit has wonthe

kentucky derby >> reporter: kentucky derby winner medina spirit failed a post-race drug test, putting his victory and bob baffert's legacy in serious jeopardy. >> we did not give it -- my veterinarian, nobody here. medina spirit has never been treated with betamethasone. >> reporter: the substance found, betamethasone, a steroid that helps with joint pain in horses churchill downs has suspended baffert from the racetrack and said if the tests are confirmed, second place mandaloun would be declared the winner. >> this is a black eye for the sport to happen in america's greatest race. and basically its biggest star bob baffert's the face of horse racing. >> reporter: but the seven-time derby winner has been riled by doping scandals in the past, though consistently denying any wrongdoing >> this is his 30th time a horse in his care has tested positive for something. he's had five within the last year now. >> what can you say about these other allegations in the past

with substances found in the horses you've trained? >> i've had this issue before last year, and unfortunately the science isn't there yet. at that level, it has no effect on the horse at all. >> reporter: despite the controversy, baffert's quest for the triple crown continues >> yes, i'm going to run two horses. >> reporter: but the preakness stakes says medina spirit's eligibility to race is under review one thing for certain, those that placed bets during the kentucky derby are not winning or losing any money. those results are final. guad venegas, nbc news next on "early today," jason statham unleashes the wrath of nan on the box office to kick off the mmsuer movie scene. and rory mcilroy roars back on the pga tour in charlotte uh - uh, lisa, maybe less heartbroken? geico lets you file a claim online, over the phone or with their app. ♪ that makes me wanna say... ♪

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you ready? >> ready >> new thriller wrath of man starring jason statham is leading box office charts with an $8.1 million debut over the weekend. it is still being considered a very slow start in summer box office standards media analysts anticipate it won't rebound until cruella and a quiet place 2 debut on may 28th rory mcilroy started the final round of the pga wells fargo championship with something to prove he hadn't won on the tour since 2019, and he began the day a couple of shots behind keith mitchell for the lead. mcilroy shot a 68, working his

way out of danger and winning the tournament, his first in 18 months and from the links to the track. the day at darlington belonged to martin truex jr truex swept the first two stages of the race and won the goodyear 400. it's his third win of the season and 30th of his career. when we return, janessa will have your forecast for the week ahead and the face of change thgrndeangome oubrki wen set to be featured on new quarters. ♪ this is a cold call! ♪ hello, my name is ice t. can you spare a few seconds to learn about cold water washing with tide? hi my name is steve. did you know washing in cold can save you $100 a year on your energy bill. why wouldn't you turn to cold? it helps the environment.us,. ♪ this was a cold call! ♪ ♪♪

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and now every conversation with people you haven't seen since quarantine started >> quarantine was good, though. >> no. >> great >> but recently i have been going to dinner again. did i just say i've been going to dinner again? should i give him more details, or should i die? >> i went to one dinner outdoors and one dinner indoors do i have brain damage i think i might have permanent brain damage >> how's your wife >> really good we've been working from home, so we're really productive, and we get to see each other more we're getting divorced, and i'm losing my job. >> elon mufsk didn't disappoint on "snl. he revealed he has asperger's syndrome, which is on the autism speck spectrum. let check in with janessa. >> across the west coast, we have some snow for the rockies today into the plains. so i do think some areas of denver could see this.

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in today's top stories, new details emerging about an internal review of the death of breonna taylor the courier journal, which obtained the documents, is reporting an investigator found the louisville police should not have fired a single shot in taylor's home. a sergeant wrote that officers had an obligation to only use deadly force against the person who presented a threat, and they could not safely do that because of the layout of the apartment according to the newspaper, this preliminary finding was overruled by police leadership after last week's ruling to delay the public release of body cam footage in andrew brown jr.'s shooting, the judge has

now filed an order to release more of the video to his family. it's expected to be viewed tuesday. brown was fatally shot by sheriff's deputies in elizabeth city, north carolina, on april 21st during an attempt to serve an arrest warrant. only his immediate family and one lawyer will be permitted to see about 90 minutes of the nearly two hours of combined video collected by authorities a california man is now facing money laundering, bank fraud, and wire fraud charges after authorities say he fraudulently obtained $5 million in covid relief loans from the paycheck protection program. authorities say 38-year-old mustafa khadirry, who surrendered himself to authorities on friday, obtained the money after claiming to own four businesses, none of which are currently operating. according to a federal indictment, he used the money on vacations, personal expenses, and to buy three luxury sports cars, including a ferrari, bentley, and a lamborghini a new study from the gay and lesbian alliance against defamation has found major

social media sites aren't a safe place for the lgbtq community. the organization's inaugural social media index has found the leading social media sites like facebook, twitter, instagram, tiktok, and youtube are all categorically unsafe for lgbtq people the findings follow a several-month effort by glaad and a team of outside experts. they looked at each of the sites, their policies, and track record of enforcing those policies well, they forged a path in american history, and now you'll be able to own a piece of it historical figures maya angelou and sally ride will be featured on a new series of quarters. the heads side of the coin will feature a new design of george washington while the tails side will feature either a poet or astronaut. it's part of a new u.s. mint program honoring american women. now to a small whale that seemed stranded in london's river thames hundreds of onlookers gathered along the richmond lock where an

animal believed to be a minke whale was stuck. according to the bbc, after about four hours, it was moved to a safe location to assess injuries and determine if it could be released. hopefully we can frethate

right now at 4:30, a dangerous combination, dry conditions, gusty winds across the bay area, sparking new fire fears. kari is tracking if there's any relief in sight. plus outlining pandemic recovery plans. the key issue governor newsom is set to address in a matter of hours. and ready to go? what you need to know before booking that summer getaway. we go one on one with the bay area doctor about covid and your safety as "today in the bay" starts right now. a very good monday morning to you. hope you had a great weekend. i'm