and over. filmmaker daniel brace's daughter, olivia, best new thing in the world today. thank you, guys. that does it for us. we'll see you again tomorrow night. until then, you can check out my work at wonkblog.com. wet and wild -- extreme heat, heavy flooding and fire continue to wreak havoc on large portions of the u.s. back this time -- disturbing new numbers show just how the great recession has shrunk american wealth. and -- crowning glory. the l.a. kings beat the new jersey devils to clinch their first-ever stanley cup championship. good morning, everyone, i'm lynn berry, those stories and more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. and this morning, we're

going to begin with fire and rain. dangerous conditions are growing from wildfires in the far west to heavy rain and flooding on the gulf and east coasts. and even though the official start to summer is a week away, hot temperatures are baking parts of the country. nbc's jay gray has more. >> reporter: from flooding -- to wildfires across the country, extreme conditions are making it a difficult and very dangerous start to the summer season. >> it's a very aggressive far, it's fuel-driven, wind-driven, and so the conditions are not been favorable. >> we have good reason to believe there are 100-plus structures within that area, that are damaged or destroyed. >> reporter: this massive, 20,000-acre blaze in the colorado mountains is consuming everything in its path. >> my house is gone. and now i'm not going to have a home. and -- i have no place to go. >> reporter: hundreds fear for their homes in new mexico as well. >> it's real scary.

it's heart-breaking. >> reporter: the little bear wildfire stretches across another 10,000 acres and continues to grow. one of more than a dozen large fires burning across the u.s. right now. putting a strain on crews and equipment. >> we're definitely competing for resources, whether that's new mexico or other locations. it is difficult to get resources at this point. >> reporter: it's relief that's difficult to find along the gulf coast. driving rain a foot and a half in pensacola, soaked and in many areas shut down the city. while in alabama, two inches of rain an hour washed away roads and forced thousands to scramble to higher ground. and even as the water slowly begins to recede now, it's clear the damage here just like in the fire zones, is widespread and devastating. while from the east coast through the midwest, extreme heat is the concern. the forecast calls for the hottest day of the year so far in dallas. while in philadelphia, schools closed at noon because of the dangerous conditions there.

jay gray, nbc news. elsewhere, day one in the child sex abuse trial against former penn state assistant football coach, jerry sandusky began with traffic testimony from one of his accusers. he's charged with 52 counts of sexual abuse. all of which he denies. nbc's brian mooar reports. >> reporter: in opening statements of the jerry sandusky sex abuse trial, two diverging profiles. he was described by the prosecution as a serial predator and by his defense as a father figure who is being victimized. the first witness was 1 when he met sandusky and described a relationship that began with showers and escalated into physical acts. publicly, the witness said sandusky would act like his father bumt when they were alone, basically like i was his girlfriend in graphic detail, he described an inappropriate

physical relationship and so-called love letters. but he also recalled lavish gifts, trips and inside access to penn state's legendary football team. all of which he said made him afraid he would lose everything if he spurned sandusky. he said that and shame kept him from telling anyone. >> he said during cross-examination he regretted not coming forward earlier because he felt guilty that maybe he was responsible for these other victims having been molested. >> reporter: defense attorney said his client admits to showering with young boys, but said it was simply part of the football culture. not a crime. he pointed out that at least six of the accusers have their own civil attorneys and a financial interest in the outcome of this case. brian mooar, nbc, pennsylvania. anticipation is building over an upcoming decision by the supreme court on the health care reform law. last night on "politics nation" jim mcdermott told al sharpton while the gop has no alternative

program, the party is determined to see the law repealed. >> what would you have if they did repeal it? they never put a plan on the table. they said, well we want to do something about malpractice or something or other. nothing about covering 30 million people like the president put on the table. nothing about controlling costs. like the president put on the table in terms of various provisions in the bill. none of that. they simply want to repeal it and go back to the silly system we have now. where it depends on what kind of plastic you have in your pocket. >> lean forward with the reverend al sharpton in "politics nation" on msnbc, the place for politics. what many are calling the most exciting stanley cup playoffs in recent memory came to a conclusion last night with professional sports most hallowed trophy going to a first-time winner. here's nbc's mario solis.

good morning from the stanley cup final in los angeles where the kings have been crowned. game six at the staple center, the kings dominating from start to finish. scouring three power play goals in the first period and never looking back. they beat the devils 6-1, the kings are hockey royalty. they win their first-ever stanley cup final. we'll have more from los angeles plus post-game reaction coming up in sports, for now, let's go back to you. >> thanks so much. here's your "first look" at other news going on around america today. a florida woman is fighting for her life after she was set on fire by the father of her child. surveillance cameras captured the horrific scuffle after she attempted to flee after being doused with gasoline. the woman was able to pat out the fire, but suffered severe burns. her attacker was later arrested by police. frustrated by a string of locker room thefts? a washington d.c. gym manager set up the perfect ruse to annoy

and to catch the culprit. after opening a booby-trapped locker, the suspect is doused with flour. doesn't the surveillance camera help with identifying the suspect. police are currently searching for him. a new wave of yoga classes is creating a unique way to get fit for the summer. a popularity of paddleboard yoga is growing at a big rate. students say it's challenging. and now for a look at your national weather, we're turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins, he has your weather channel forecast. >> paddleboarding, with yoga. >> with somebody that does yoga. it is difficult by itself. stick me on a paddleboard and do it? not so easy. >> i'll lay on a raft next to you and you can do whatever you want. >> feet up, i bet. >> good morning, yesterday we talked about the amazing storms lynn was showing you earlier in the show about thunderstorms and

also the flooding. yesterday, these storms rolled from missouri all way down to the gulf coast. usually thunderstorms only last about four to six hours and then they die off at night. these started yesterday morning early in the morning. then they made this down through memphis, mississippi and portions of northeastern and northwestern alabama. these are the wind damage reports from that line of storms. 301 wind damage reports. it wasn't a lot of tornadoes, it wasn't any, actually. just thunderstorms moving quickly and they produced significant wind problems. a lot of clean-up today. this morning, this isn't a pretty picture. now we're looking at 36,000 lightning strikes here over the last hour. that's all the little white dots here. these thunderstorms, with a love of active lightning around texarkana, shreveport and greenville, mississippi, some thunderstorms now drifting down on top of you. so the big picture around the country, we have that thunderstorm complex here. there's some light rain moving through the east. this cold front is pushing to a

very humid air mass in the eastern half of the country. that's why we're going to get some afternoon showers and storms popping up from the mid-atlantic region, even up into new england. the forecast for today, eventually the rain will move into areas like new york city late today, d.c. this afternoon and everywhere in the southeast, with all the high humidity, thunderstorms are possible. bill, i'll just take it and i'll toss to commercial. does that sound good, let's do that. euro jitters repeat. apple gets a whole problem from investors and what's in a name? just wait until we tell you. >> you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] what's in your energy drink?

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welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry, here's some stories making news this morning. commerce secretary john bryson is taking a medical leave of absence. he'll he'll have tests after suffering a seizure in

connection with series of traffic accidents in the los angeles area. the federal reserve reports that the wealth of american families plunged 40% in three years due to the recession and house whoing crisis, dropping from 126,000 in 2007 to only $77,000 in 2010. according to the fbi for the fifth year in row, violent crime fell in the u.s. last year. all violent crime dropped 4% and murders dropped to the lowest number in 40 years. and be careful what you say, in middleboro, massachusetts. that's because to cut down on profanity, residents there have voted to impose fines for swearing in public. so using a four-letter word could cost you $20. watch out. now here's your first look at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. former florida governor, jeb bush, lowered the boom on his own party monday.

saying both ronald reagan and his father, george h.w. bush would have had a tough time nominating today, because both believed in finding common ground and compromise. he calls today's bitter partisan climate disturbing. five-term republican mckotter's stunning dropout in michigan last week. the state is investigating why more than 80% of signatures on mckotter's nominating petitions were bogus. the "denver post" reports that looper's campaign manager sent out a an email praising her vote against colorado's vote despite having a gay son. a klu klux klan chapter wants to adopt a federal stretch of highway in georgia which has some call for an end to the program rather than seeing a battle with the group. obama supporter and "vogue"

editor, anna wintour could be named as u.s. ambassador to london this year. country star carrie underwood says she supports same-sex marriage, saying people should have a right to publicly love the people they love. betty white who endorsed president obama a few weeks ago met with him on monday. and joan rivers tells politico, she hates politics and explains why she's in favor of a monarchy. they're there, they look good and they always have good gift shops when you leave the palace. that's this morning's dish of scrambled politics. here's your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,411, after plunging 142 points yesterday. the s&p sank 16 and the nasdaq tumbled 48. in overseas trading, in tokyo, the nikkei skidded 88 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng fell 41. stocks surged early on news

spain had agreed to the $125 billion bank rescue fund. within hours, worries resurfaced about italy, greece and whether the loan terms would cripple spain's struggling economy. asian markets followed suit, reversing most of yesterday's gains. news of slowing steel demand in china added to global economic fears. dragging steel makers here at home sharply lower. oil prices retreated, settling down 65 cents, near $83 a barrel. apple dipped after execs showed off new laptops. google slid 2% on news its maps will no longer be built in to most iphones and i-pads. of the. "the wall street journal" reports higher-ups at jpmorgan chase were aware of risky

practices two years before the $2 billion trading loss. humana and aetna have joined united health in plans to keep reform benefits even if the supreme court strikes down the health care law. warren buffett net jets is buying new business jets for just under $10 billion. in big deal news, conservative talk show host glenn beck has signed a $100 million deal to continue his morning radio show. and so much for dinner discounts. groupon is apparently now offering to sell you a so-called exclusive baby name. and it is offering to sell it to you for $1,000. unbelievable. the name is clembough. you have to pay them for that name. and someone bought it. it confuses me. coming up, an 18-hour delay after a washout at the french open only postponed what seemed like the inevitable outcome. more on hockey's first-time

champions. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. i needed a coach. our doctor was great, but with so many tough decisions i felt lost. unitedhealthcare offered us a specially trained rn who helped us weigh and understand all our options. for me cancer was as scary as a fastball is to some of these kids. but my coach had hit that pitch before. turning data into useful answers. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. i was 18 years old before i had my first fresh bun. the invention that i came up with is the hot dog ez bun steamer. steam is the key to a great hot dog. i knew it was going to be a success. the invention was so simple that i knew i needed to protect it. my name is chris schutte and i got my patent, trademark and llc on legalzoom. [ shapiro ] we created legalzoom to help people start their business and launch their dreams. go to legalzoom today and make your business dream a reality. at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side.

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rethink possible. [ male announcer ] we began with the rx. ♪ then we turned the page, creating the rx hybrid. ♪ now we've turned the page again with the all-new rx f sport. ♪ this is the next chapter for the rx. this is the next chapter for lexus. this is the pursuit of perfection. welcome back to "first look," i'm lynn berry, in sports as we mentioned earlier, the stanley cup has gone hollywood. here's nbc's mario solis. >> hi there, good morning again from los angeles where the kings have made hockey history. beating the devil does capture their first-ever stanley cup championship. game six at staple center pick it up about ten minutes into the first period. steven bruinier, absolutely

crushing rob scuderi behind the net. scuderi remained down for several minutes, bloody and kazed, he left the ice under his patterson. burnier was given a five-minute misconduct. kings took advantage of the power play. drew doudy's shot tipped in by dustin brown. 1-0 l.a. brown again takes the shot. deflected past brodeur. in the blink of an eye the kings were up 2-. the trevor lewis caps off an amazing power play. pokes in the rebound, the staple center was rocking. kings up 3-0, thnks to three power play goals, the cup was within reach. finishing their remarkable run with a 6-1 win, nobody saw this coming when they entered the playoffs as an eight-seed. the los angeles kings are crowned stanley cup champion force the first time in franchise history. >> it's unbelievable. this is where it should be. we worked hard. we worked hard to get here and it's just an unbelievable

feeling. >> seeing them so happy, the work that you go through. and you know the first thing you think about as a coach? these guys are all young enough, they can try it again. >> from the kings of the ice to the king of clay, rafael nadal won his seventh french open. djokovic's serve is long. nadal avoids losing to djokovic for the third consecutive time with an historic run at roland garros, that's a "first look" at sports, i'm mario solis. now with another look at the weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. were you excited about nadal? >> i watched it, it was on yesterday at 7:00 a.m. east coast time. it was weird to see it ways rootsing for djokovic. sorry. >> interesting. >> nadal is so dumb -- oh well. we'll talk tennis later. as far as the rain goes today, areas from syracuse to rochester, light rain moving in,

moving through. binghamton you're next and areas of central p.a. in the northeast, most of you are starting dry from boston to d.c. but rain is in the forecast this afternoon and the worst of it by far, lynn, this morning, our friends in arkansas and louisiana, a lot of big thunderstorms for them. >> coming up, nude photos leaked of former boyfriend blackmailed and the simmering pop diva feud. was she or wasn't she. reports say lindsay lohan may have been behind the wheel in the big truck crash after all. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering.

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mitt romney just released a new campaign ad about the

economy featuring out of work americans. it's weird at the end, when he says, i'm mitt romney and i fired all of these people. in a recent speech, obama said he wants to build an economy where hard work pays off. it explains why his approval just went down by three kardashians. >> today jimmy welcomes show host andy cohen. at 12:35, 11:35 central on your local nbc station. there's lots of entertainment news. lindsay lohan is apparently once again is in very hot legal water. we knew this was coming. tmz reports -- >> we all make mistakes. >> tmz reports after a friday crash with an 18-wheeler, lohan told police her assistant was drying. but the assistant told police lohan was drying and the truck driver says people who arrived on the scene offered him cash not to report the accident and wanted to take lohan away before

police arrived. so if lohan lied to police, her probation could be revoked and she could face new charges and we will continue to have plenty to talk about. bill will continue to stand by her side. will he stand by this guy's side, tmz reports kris humphries' lawyer has handed over evidence to the fbi alleging that his former girlfriend blackmailed him. when will they learn -- never. really, self-taken nude photos of "jersey shore's" snooki have been leaked online. >> i'm not searching. >> lady gaga said she won't get into it with madonna over criticism of the hit "born this way." and finally is the biebs going madonna on us? in london over the weekend he did an entire radio interview using an english accent. try it --

>> he didn't take the bait, that's unfortunate. i'm lynn berry, this is "first look" on msnbc, a special edition of "way too early," from chicago starts right now. welcome to a special edition of "way too early," live this morning, from chicago where it's 4:29 in the morning for heaven's sakes. we're set up today along the main stem of the chicago river which winds through the city from lake michigan, the river they dye green for st. patrick's day every year. good morning from chicago, we're here today in the city where president obama's political career was born and where his team is now headquartered, working around the clock to win him a second term. we'll be talking politics all morning. against the colorful chicago variety and the presidential kind. we'll do it at the top