square rigged ship to the nazis. by the way, if you're driving to new york city or you're there already, that ship is docked at pier 90 in new york city.

nay told a family member and others that he had, quote, done a bad thing and killed a child in new york. >> back in april, police spent several days searching a basement along the route the child would have walked to catch his bus. >> i believe it was the focus that -- given this case in april that sort of brought forth the knowledge that this person had about the statements that hernandez had made in the past. >> the disappearance of etan patz ushered in an era of awareness about missing children. now with an arrest and perhaps a chance to solve a 33-year mystery. >> the executive responsible for 2010's now infamous spending spree at a general services administration convention in las vegas is no longer with the agency. jeffrey neely planned the lavish employee conference that cost

the government more than $800,000. he's been on leave since april after a report found rampant waste at the event. a statement from gsa makes it unclear whether neely was fired or resigned. the scandal also led to the resignation of the head of the gsa. the firing of two top aides and nine others being put on administrative leave. after five days of deliberations, the jury in north carolina's john edwards trial will be back today to try and reach a verdict before the start of the holiday weekend. thursday, the jury asked for more exhibits to re-examine. the judge ultimately sent them all 503 pieces of trial evidence so they have everything they might need to take a look at. edwards faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of using campaign donations to hide an extramarital affair. while the jury was deliberate, the former senator and presidential candidate and his daughter cate walked just a few blocks from the courthouse and took in a few innings of a

north carolina college baseball game. summer is technically weeks away. the official start of summer travel season is here. it's going to be a busy one. according to aaa's annual survey, more than 34 million people will travel 50 miles or more this memorial day weekend. that is up more than 1% over last year. the increase could be due to falling gas prices which are also impacting airfares. aaa says airline ticket prices are expected to be 7% lower than last year. so a little bit of good news there for you. here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. in florida, police say a physician went completely berserk inside the back of the squad car. you can see him going berserk. he repeatedly banged his head and kicked and screamed then spat blood at a police officer all after he was arrested for drunk driving. in georgia, scary moments

for a driver who crashed into a community swimming pool after suffering a seizure. three men dove in, pushed the car into the shallow end so they could free the victim who was unconscious but later revived. and colorado, a bear fell out of a tree but is doing just fine. the animal wandered into a neighborhood and was tranquilized while up in the tree. the firefighter had just attached a rope to the big guy hoping to low ter down but the rope snapped. fortunately, there were crews holding a tarp to break the bear's rough landing. in florida, they're having a ball. actually lots of balls. a new theme park set a world record for the most beach balls tossed in the air at once. they easily shattered the old record of 400. the new unofficial number to beat, 1,355. you guys can get on that this memorial day weekend. and for the forecast --

>> i think you're going to have to wait. the other concerns now and then i'll help you plan your weekend in about 15 minutes from now. a hurricane is going to make landfall later today. that gets everyone's attention. this one is going to be mexico's problem as we go throughout this evening. this actually became a major hurricane late last night. the earliest forming major hurricane in the pacific basin. this is just incredible. this early in the year. and it's heading right for areas around manzanita, maybe puerto vallarta. right now you can see the eye of the storm. impressive. it's going over cooler waters. still expecting to be a hurricane at landfall. here's the forecast path. you can see it be a category 1 at landfall later on this evening. then it will run into the mountains here and then significantly weaken. may even decouple and drift back off.

that will be mexico's problem. do expect some devastation from that later this evening. a couple of tornadoes. one in central wisconsin. another one back here in wisconsin. hail around kansas city nepwinds went through wisconsin pretty nasty last night. also philadelphia had some very strong winds with thunderstorms yesterday. it's a very quiet morning finally. but areas around new york city, still a lot of drizzle and fog. and with that humid air mass, downpours possible at any time during the day today. just like yesterday. we're dry in florida today. we're watching this area off the southeast coastline. that could bring us some tropical trouble. so here's the weather pattern set-up. warm air is surging right now into areas like st. louis, indianapolis, through kentucky and tennessee. it's going to be a hot next couple of days in memphis and nashville and little rock. some of that warm air will try to spill into d.c. and the mid-atlantic. here's the forecast for your friday. the warm air expands. atlanta jumps up to 90 today.

feeling like summer. blasting the ac definitely necessary. 85 in washington, d.c. and much to lynn's chagrin, 78 on and off thunderstorms in new york city. looks like just another day of -- >> lovely hair day. >> soup, yes. >> we always complain about that. coming up, usairways flies. pandora pings. and is siri keeping private all those things you say to her? your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. number 450 for albert pujols. snoop dogg honors tim tebow and the heat is on. miami advances to the eastern conference finals. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ female announcer ] the best way to predict the future...

...is to create it. [ female announcer ] now create a new future for your skin. only aveeno positively radiant has total soy, for a whole new level of radiance. it's clinically proven to visibly reduce blotchiness, brown spots, and other past damage, while broad spectrum spf 30 helps prevent future damage. healthier, more radiant skin. it's in your future now. [ female announcer ] positively radiant. and for brighter skin, try skin brightening daily scrub. only from aveeno.

welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. the senate has rejected competing bills from democrats and republicans on how to pay for a program to keep interest rates on federal college loans

from doubling on july 1st. if lawmakers don't agree, more than 7 million students would have to pay the higher rate. in new zealand, a magnitude 4.7 earthquake shook the city of christchurch but caused no damage or injuries. you remember in february 2011, a quake destroyed most of downtown christchurch and killed 185 people. in california, a judge has overturned a rape conviction that had sent brian banks, a former high school football star, to prison for more than five years. the woman involved later admitted she lied, but she didn't want to return $1.5 million awarded to her in a lawsuit against the school. unbelievable. nasa's opportunity rover on the planet mars playfully snapped a photograph of its own shadow. the rover was perched on a rock outcrop on the rim of a massive crater. a brawl in the parliament in ukraine has a debate turned into

fighting. they were arguing about a controversial bill to allow the official use of the russian language instead of ukrainian in parts of the country. and soldiers at arlington national cemetery carried out the solemn task of planting more than 220,000 u.s. flags. one for every tombstone, every service member who gave their lives for this country. the soldiers will stand watch over the flags throughout this memorial day weekend. former presidential republican candidate newt gingrich will make his first joint campaign appearance with the presumptive gop nominee at a fund-raiser next tuesday in las vegas. last night on "hardball," gingrich spoke about mitt romney's potential as president and told host chris matthews what he thought was the toughest battle of their primaries for romney. >> he was in a situation where everything he had ever done was going to disappear if i beat him in florida. and so he said, look. i've got two choices. i can throw the kitchen sink at

gingrich or be a nice guy and not be the nominee. >> he has assem bailed very smart group of people. and he listens to them well. and he asked them tough questions and he's approaching this as methodically as anybody. back in the 1950s, sam well abell was one of the great political scientists. was at election night with academics who were shocked eisenhower won over stevenson and walked around the room. not a single person in the room had voted for eisenhower. he said, this is a sign of how big the gap is in america. >> i understand that. >> okay, mitt romney is a lot like eisenhower. he is a very good organizer. he is a very methodical person. he is prepared to systematically do what he thinks is right for the country. >> each night, chris matthews plays "hardball" with some of the nation's most prominent politicians. newsmakers and leaders. be sure to watch "hardball" with chris matthews weekdays at 5:00 and 7:00 eastern on msnbc, the place for politics. now here's your first look

at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,529 after adding 33 points yesterday. the s&p was up a point. the nasdaq was down ten. looking at overseas trading. in tokyo, the nikkei added 17 points. in hong kong, the hang seng was up 47. for the second straight day, the dow and the s&p bounced back from earlier losses in the final hour of trade but a key weak report tripped up the nasdaq. the tech heavy nasdaq was weighed down by netapp. it blamed on an increasingly uncertain global economy. meanwhile, investors welcomed news of massive cost-cutting layoffs at hewlett-packard sending hp up 3%. jpmorgan's price target hike on several airline carriers sent usairways soaring. and delta and southwest higher. internet radio site pandora surged 12% on big jumps in ad

sales and subscriptions over last year. tiffany and company tumbled 7% after slashing its 2012 outlook. as protesters rallied outside amazon's annual shareholders meeting in seattle, the online retailer told investors it planned to improve conditions at its warehouses after employees were reportedly forced to work in temperatures above 100 degrees last summer. a federal judge says auto dealers who use consumers' bad credit histories to charge higher interest on loans must now inform buyers about their negative credit data. starting this fall, one of the nation's oldest newspapers, the "new orleans times-picayune" will just print three editions a week. and has ibm reached a new level of corporate paranoia? apparently big blue has banned employees from using the iphone's digital assistant on its networks because everything you say to siri is saved in a

data center in north carolina. a rookie slams the braves. a major league milestone. and a hip-hop icon busts a bold move in chicago. plus, d. wade and lebron bust a few moves of their own trying to get past the pacers. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. everything can cost upwards of...[ whistles ] i did not want to think about that. relax, relax, relax. look at me, look at me. three words, dad -- e-trade financial consultants. so i can just go talk to 'em? just walk right in and talk to 'em. dude, those guys are pros. they'll hook you up with a solid plan. they'll -- wa-- wa-- wait a minute. bobby? bobby! what are you doing, man? i'm speed dating! [ male announcer ] get investing advice for your family at e-trade. thought they were dead. [ laughter ] [ grunting ] huh?

[ male announcer ] should've used roundup. america's number one weed killer. it kills weeds to the root, so they don't come back. guaranteed. weeds won't play dead, they'll stay dead. roundup. no root. no weed. no problem.

♪ power surge, let it blow your mind. [ male announcer ] for fruits, veggies and natural green tea energy... new v8 v-fusion plus energy. could've had a v8. welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. in sports, with injuries and suspensions leaving the miami heat season teetering on the

edge, the team's big two stepped up big time. here's nbc's mario solis. >> good morning to you. just a week ago, we all wrote off the heat and cheered on the pacers. now miami is headed to the eastern conference finals. game six in indiana. the second quarter, danny granger capping off a 10-0 run with a dunk. indy up two at the half. but the heat follow that run with a run of their own finishing the third with nine straight points. mario chalmers knocks down the triple. lebron james and dwyane wade were not going to let the pacers back in the game. wade, who was a no-show in game three, had arguably the best playoff game of his career. 43 points plus 10 points. heat advance with the win. so who will miami play in the eastern conference finals? we shall find out tomorrow. game seven between the boston celtics and philadelphia 76ers tips off at 8:00 eastern on saturday. baseball usually when you pitch a complete game you walk off with a win, right?

wrong. justin verlander allowed just two runs striking out seven over eight, but the tigers forgot their offense in detroit. jim leyland can't be too happy about that. indians sweep the tigers with a 2-1 win. albert pujols is starting to heat up. after playing the first 27 games without a home run, he belted his fourth in the last nine games last night. he's the fourth youngest player to hit 450 homers. angels beat the mariners, 3-0. from 450 to number one, reds' rookie with his first career grand slam. reds double up the braves, 6-3. finally, who let the dog out? that's snoop dogg throwing out the first pitch in chicago. so did snoop get it over the plate? now watch him as he walks off the field. a tribute to the fastest man alive, hussein bolt and the most talked about man alive, tim tebow. bringing tebow mania to chi town. that's your first look at sports. i'm mario solis. >> so you endured the 15 minutes

that we set you up for and you, as promised your memorial day weekend forecast. >> on the edge of your seat. >> it better be amazing, bill. >> not that good. good morning. we still have a chance of downpours today. some showers and storms out there from trenton heading northwards. we'll move into southern new england. definitely a day like yesterday. on and off downpours. warm in d.c. the heat standing into the southeast today. that will be the story throughout the holiday weekend. here's how it shapes up. we have to watch the southeast coastline carefully. not so much saturday but sunday and monday. possibility of something tropical developing. won't be anything strong but could bring gusty winds and rough surf and rain there. also montana will not be pretty. northern rockies will get snow tonight into tomorrow. very cold. not nice around yellowstone national park. thunderstorms likely late in the afternoon and evening hours from michigan down into areas of new york state and possibly even new england. and that will continue into

sunday. more isolated storms. i don't think anything is too bad on sunday. for your parade forecast on monday, strong storms heading for chicago, possibly st. louis, would be late in the day. most parades tend to be nearly the morning. a lot of us are looking at a nice forecast and a warm one. >> bill, thanks so much. coming up, britney bails and the former president in the photo that has everybody talking. plus -- time for the avengers to make way at the box office as a former number one franchise makes its return. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

with these new depend real fit briefs,untry and today we are surprising pro football all stars. there's wes, clay and demarcus.what's up guys. now i know you don't need one, but would you try these on for charity and prove just how great the fit is? seriously? no way for charity? let's do it! yup... they're doin it. the best protection now looks, fits and feels just like underwear. let's go drive, use the legs... nice teamwork! they tried on the new depend real fit. get a free sample so you can too. in here, great food demands a great presentation. so at&t showed corporate caterers how to better collaborate by using a mobile solution, in a whole new way. using real-time photo sharing abilities, they can create and maintain high standards, from kitchen to table. this technology allows us to collaborate with our drivers to make a better experience for our customers. [ male announcer ] it's a network of possibilities -- helping you do what you do... even better.

♪ holding down the fort while you're out catching a movie. [ growls ] lucky for me, your friends showed up with this awesome bone. hey! you guys are great. and if you got your home insurance where you got your cut rate car insurance, it might not replace all this. [ electricity crackling ] [ gasping ] so get allstate. you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. [ dennis ] dollar for dollar, nobody protects you from mayhem like allstate.

i was just reading about this. a disney cruise employee is

being investigated for stealing a passenger's iphone. yeah. if he's found guilty, he's given a really tough punishment. eight more years working on that disney cruise. happy birthday to bob dylan. turns 71 years old today. bobby d. it was weird. when he made his wish, god was like, no clue what he just said. i couldn't understand. >> tonight, jimmy welcomes bill hader, basketball legend kareem abdul-jabbar, and musical guest lambchop. >> love them. >> big fan. late night with jimmy fallon, 12:35, 11:35 central time on your local nbc station. let's wrap this up with some entertainment news. this weekend the avengers will finally move aside at the box office. bill has been waiting for three weeks for this. >> a month. >> yeah. a new blockbuster that will take center stage. that would be "men in black

iii." it's expected to take the top spot with around $80 million over the holiday weekend, despite being a decade since the last "men in black." and four years since will smith's last film. experts say it's drawing wide interest. both young and old. and that's good news for the studio since the budget to make this one blew up way over $200 million. >> you said four years since his last film? >> yes. he's been hanging out spending all his money. "the avengers" should take in nearly $40 million this weekend. the fourth highest grossing film of all time. what do you think hillary had to say about this? porn star brooklyn lee tweeted this from a gala event in monaco wednesday night. don't say anything, bill. posing with former president bill clinton and fellow porn actress tasha rain. we'll leave it there, bill. don't say it. finally, tmz reports britney spears walked out on her first day as a judge on the x factor

after contestants mangled one of her song. >> i can't believe you just muted me. >> i'm cutting his mike. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look." "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. president obama ramping up the attacks in iowa last night telling his supporters that mitt romney, despite his claims of business success doesn't have a single idea about how to fix the economy. romney says the president is attacking capitalism itself. the question is, in the end, will the american people decide romney's time at bain capital makes him better suited to solve the economic problems of the country? about a month after the excavation of a new york city basement returned the name etan patz to the national mind. some 33 years after his disappearance. a man is arrest and confesses to killing the child in 1979. the question is,