congratulations is just in order. this is why new jersey is used as an adjective, not just as a proper noun. this is very, very new jersey. breaking news on "first look." devastation in texas. a half dozen residents left after tornadoes left scores injured and damage. >> the house started shaking. we were in the closet. it sounded like train. >> the houses are no more. >> destruction one to ten, it's probably a ten. >> we'll have complete coverage coming up. the acting head of the irs is out as the white house tries to get out in front of this scandal and we've got new details vaunding the ap and benghazi controversies. plus, convicted murderer jodi arias is eligible for the death penalty.

the power jackpot climbs to over $400 million and a deer plows through the window of a bus. we begin with vie lept weather in texas where a tornado outbreak turned deadly. dozens of homes were destroyed and numerous trees uproaded. this morning six people are confirmed dead and dozens injured with officials expecting the number of casualties to rise. the storms cut through austin up through dallas-ft. worth to the oklahoma border. the city of granbury, 70 miles southwest of the dallas border, bore the brunt of the damage. the tornado roared through like a train. >> it is rough. very rough. everything is demolished. >> what was it like when it hit? >> hell. >> the houses are no more. they're all leveled from the

destruction from one to ten, it's probably about a ten. >> i mean there's nothing left over there hardly. >> the granbury storm is one of three confirmed twisters in the area according to the national weather service. we'll have the national forecast in just a few minutes. the severe weather also brought some texas sized hail. there were reports of hail as large as grapefruit in the mineral wells area causing damage to vehicles and windows. nbc's bill karins is here for more on all this. bill, are there other parts of the country that are the arisk this morning? >> no, thankfully the severe threat is minimized and snou just strong storms heading for east texas. let me take you through what happened. the big question is how much lead time did these people in granbury have? did they have any chance of escaping this deadly tornado. at 8:04, the storm was approaching granbury. of course, they're central time. the tornado warning was issued at 7:40 local time here in granbury.

the storm unfortunately formed almost right over the top of granbury. one pastor is quoted as income a bible study in his church and then there was hail and then stuff started being picked up. the tornado was forming over the top of his church. and then it went and touched down a little further into town. from here the storm then began to trek and move out of town. again, approximately right around 8:00 local time. it probably went through in five to six minutes. that's all it took. then i had headed for the claiborne area of texas. can you see this hook. that is a signature of a large tornado. there is night time video from storm chasers. it shows it was a mile wide tornado at this point when it went just south of the cleburne area. this was a powerful storm. the ones that form over the top of these towns, dhoent get a lot of lead time. they probably barely heard any tornado sirens before it hit. >> certainly in our thoughts this morning. thanks so much, bill. >> now to washington. the irs scandal cost the man at

the top his job. steve miller was acting commissioner for six months. he was made aware last year that some inspectors were putting extra scrutiny on conservative nonprofits. while the ouster satisfied some republicans, some critics say this is far from over. >> my question isn't about who's going to resign. my question is who's going to jail over this scandal? >> last night president obama announced the resignation and expressed his own irritation with these allegations. >> i've reviewed the treasury department watchdog's report and the misconduct that had been covered is inexcusable. it's inexcusable. and americans are right to be angry about it. and i'm angry about it. >> the department of justice says it's now looking into whether the irs violated any civil rights. newly released white house e-mails provide a glimpse into how the obama administration handled the talking points right after the benghazi terror

attack. the 99 pages of e-mails between the white house, state department and cia detail the preparation of those points, the same ones susan rice used the following sunday on multiple morning news shows. an e-mail from then cia director david petraeus reveals some of thinks hesitations. petraeus writes, "no mention of the cable to cairo either? frankly, i just as asoon not use this then." the concern after the deputies scratched out mentions in initial talking points memo about al qaeda, the experience of fighters in libya, a warning to the embassy on the eve of the attack and more. u.s. officials say a person who played a central role in the benghazi attack has been identified. federal criminal charges against that person will soon be made public. attorney general eric holder says it wasn't his him but his number two who made the call to subpoena phone records from the associated press. grilled on kpild yesterday, holder said james cole made the

decisions in the leak investigation into yemeni based plot to bomb a usair liner. >> i'm not familiar with the reasons why the -- why the subpoena was constructed and the way that it was. i'm simply not a part of the case. >> the ap called the department of justice's action a serious interference with their right to gather and report the news. well now might be the time to start playing the lottery. no one won last night's powerball drawing. so the jackpot is now soared to $475 million. it's the third highest in its history. mega millions is also expected to surge past the current $190 million prize. the powerball drawing is saturday. mega millions picks its lucky numbers tomorrow. the phoenix jury that convicted jodi arias of first-degree murder now says she is eligible for the death penalty. yesterday the jury unanimously determined that arias killed her lover, travis alexander, in an

especially cruel manner, confirming death penalty status. today jurors will begin hearing from alexander's friends and family as they decide whether arias should die or get life in prison. attorneys for aerial castro, the cleveland man accused of imprisoning three women in his home for more than a decade, say he'll plead not guilty. 52-year-old castro is facing kidnapping and rape charges and is being held on $8 million bail. on thursday, castro's attorney says i had client is demonized in the media and concerned about his ability to receive a fair trial. and now it's time for your first look at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. wednesday's congressional hearing with eric holder has been described with words like contentious, heated, and adorable? congressman mel watt brought his 1-year-old grandson to the hearing after his daughter put him on babysitting duty. >> mr. watt, you're only supposed to do that at your confirmation hearing.

that's when you rollout the kids. >> i'm just trying to get my line of questioning. i've been in the back listening. >> minnesota congresswoman michelle bachmann managed to get her hand on some google glass. they tweeted this women of her sporting the new specs. >> mark sanford is back to being a congressman. the south carolina republican was sworn in wednesday with his new fiancee and his sons in attendance. trying to capitalize on the fourth season of arrested development, house republicans are putting out their own version. they call it arrested economic development. it hits the president on his fiscal policies and congressional allies. senator jeff flake caught flack from both sides offer his opposition to recent gun control legislation. now the group mayors against illegal guns is targeting the arizona republican again and he seems to be okay it with. he just tweeted, just heard mayor bloomberg is running more ads against me.

if the mayor of nyc doesn't like my votes, i guess i'm on the right track. the department of veterans affairs is kicking it into overdrive to eliminate the backlog of disability claims. a va spokesman says 10,000 employees will work a minimum of 0 overtime hours of the month through the end of the fiscal year. and mitt romney was not able to add the white house to his collection of real estate but it's not all bad. "the salt lake tribune" says he's building a new home in utah and it's zoned for equestrian use. and that's your morning's dish of scrambled politics. late night arrest in the new orleans mother's day shooting. plus, an amazing lightning strike caught on tape. and this passenger tried to get on the bus without paying. oh, deer. we're back in three. changing the world is exhausting business.

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some stories making news this morning. o.j. simpson took the stand

wednesday in his bid for his trial. he told the court he had no idea friends were carrying weapons when they wept to a hotel room to retrieve memorabilia. new orleans police have arrested a 19-year-old man in connection with sunday's shooting at the mother's day parade. akin scott was named a suspect earlier this week. the shooting injured 19 people including children. some spectacular lightning lit up the skies over st. petersburg rush yachlt take a look at what it struck, a tv tower. we're told service was knocked off line for a few minutes. one of nasa's eyes in the sky has parentally gone blind. the space agency says the $600 million telescope lost its ability to aim. it was launched in 2009 to discover and document planets around distant stars. take a look at. this we know the phrase deer in headlights. but deer in a windshield? a bus driver in pennsylvania was heading down the road when the animal came crashing through the front window. one passenger and the driver

were onboard. no one was hurt. looks like the deer wasn't hurt either though. almost certainly terrified. turning to health news, angelina joe lee's medical journey might not be over. according to a report from "people" magazine, the actress who recently opted to have a preventative double mastectomy is now planning to undergo surgery to remove her ovaries as well. her decision came after learning that she had a high risk of developing breast or ovarian cancer. her mother died from ovarian cancer in 2007. and now for your first look at today's business headlines, it's for that we're turning to cnbc's jackie deangelos. boeing and ge are alerting airlines to a potential problem on the jumbo jet that caused them to shut down twice this year. both planes were still able to fly safely. the issue affects gearboxes on 26 jets in service. meantime, the house agriculture committee approving a $500 billion farm bill that includes the biggest cuts to

food stamps in a generation. the bill now goes to a full debate in the house. expected later this summer. finally this morning, nbc universal says it sold about 75 to 80% of the ads for the winter olympics in russia. that is despite the decision of two of the big advertisers anheuser-busch and hilton hotels to pass on the game. back to you. >> good news for our parent company. thanks so much. the bulls continue to trample records on wall street. the dow and s&p 500 reached new highs as the nasdaq also charges ahead. gentleman, the bar has been raised for impressing that special someone. check out this $27 million colorless diamond. the largest ever offered at auction and weighs in a cool 101.73 carats. the buyer, harry winston, of course. the world's highest paid athletes, topping the list, boxers, floyd mayweather, manny

pacquiao at $6 # million and then tiger woods at $59 million and lebron james at $53 million and roger federer at $52.7 million. >> this waitress is in her highest category. she got a $446 tip on a bill of under $6. the generous tipper is one of cici's regulars who happened to sign her bill and walk out the door. that's a great customer. more on the storm of scandals plaguing the white house. plus, your sports highlights are straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. i did? when visa signature asked everybody what upgraded experiences really mattered... you suggested luxury car service instead of "strength training with patrick willis." come on todd! flap them chicken wings. [ grunts ] well, i travel a lot and umm... [ male announcer ] at visa signature, every upgraded experience comes from listening to our cardholders. visa signature.

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at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side. time for the latest sports. my colleague is here with. that richard, good morning. >> good thursday. two teams are out of the nba playoffs. actor will smith and son peering on in the first elimination. miami ousting chicago. >> cole, passed on the three. wade on the follow! what a finish for dwyane wade! >> wade was on fire. he had 18 in that win. in the west, mark gasol gives the grizzlies a lead over oklahoma city. kevin dur apt misses the shot. they make franchise history and going to their first western conference final. kentucky derby winner orb in practice mode. he's the favorite to win saturday's preakness in pimlico.

he drawing the rail position for the nine horse race is the favorite at even money at the moment. in baseball, san francisco giants pitcher gets overpaid half a million dollars. do you keep it? well, it was a clerical error here. he could have kept the cash, decided to return it. he says he wouldn't be able to sleep at night. i'm guessing he would sleep fine. >> i would sleep like a baby. >> we showed you a baseball bat flying into the stands. remember this one? that toronto fan making that amazing catch. take two. a second fan doing the very same thing. this sun believable here. catching a flying bat and again, nobody getting hurt. time for more pine tar here, mara, to keep the slippery fingers on the bat. then to pittsburgh, a pretty boring night. he puts a gum bubble. >> are these guy 5 years old? >> maybe 5 or 6. what you are doing? get away from me. >> you don't see anything. >> interesting fact for you.

for baseballers, this is the ultimate dugout frank. they try to put the bubble gum ball on the top of their hat. the other one is -- >> i guess you learn something new every day. >> thanks so much, richard. >> now it's time to dig a little deeper into our top political stories. joining me now for this morning's first look at politics, syndicated columnist bob franken. >> good morning. >> we can spin the sports report here. >> the next time you're here, i'll put gum on your head. >> what will we talk about? >> with all of the scandals in washington, when it comes to all the problems plaguing the white house right now, conservative columnist charles is getting some flack for saying be quiet and suppose the risk. is there a chance the republicans will overplay this? >> republicans overplay something? come on. i don't think we'll see any nuances here including in the column of charles cuthammer who probably could be described as being to the right of gangous

khan. >> a second term president has 18 months before becoming a lame duck. what is happening here now keep obama from accomplishing any of thinks legislative agenda? how long will this distraction linger? >> the distraction is going to linger forever because republicans are going to make sure that it does. we're going to have, of course, all the hearings this week. we're going to have the question come up whether some of the witnesses because of the threat of prosecution are saying that they're not going to answer questions and perhaps a few of them will say i'm not going to answer questions because it might make me look like a dodo. >> whether it comes to the doj phone records issue, just to play devil's advocate, didn't congress ask the white house to thoroughly investigate national security leaks? why are they so outraged about it now? >> that has come up. but i suspect it will be analogous to having someone complaining about speeding and the response is to blow up the street. i think that the question is whether or not the department of

justice has overreacted here, has gone beyond its constitutional rights. as a matter of fact, some people are saying that maybe this isn't so bad because at least they haven't been water boarder journalists so far. >> not yet, right? all right. bob franken in washington, thanks so much for that. >> thank you. this next story is especially gut wrenching for me as a mom. a 14-month-old girl is recovering after her stroller rolled toward the track and toppled on to the outer rail at a philly train station. the bomb with the baby jumps on to the tracks, lifts her back on to the platform. thankfully the child suffered only a cut on her forehead and is expected to be okay. we'll be right back. ...amelia... neil and buzz: for teaching us that you can't create the future... by clinging to the past. and with that: you're history. instead of looking behind... delta is looking beyond. 80 thousand of us investing billions... in everything from the best experiences below...

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child's play in congress. quick change traffic lights and big brother google is watching. it's time now for first buzz, the stories that we're all talking about. i want to start with this child in congress. democratic congressman mel watts. >> there are a lot of children in congress. >> the older one or younger one? >> the little one. a real child. he brings his 1-year-old son to this hearing. the child is ridiculously adorable, ridiculously well b behaved. is this appropriate? it's a really serious issue and i don't know that it's appropriate. >> we have bring our kids to workday, right? >> it would be like me bringing a child on the set as opposed to just bringing them in the newsroom. you have two kids. >> yeah. i wouldn't do it in this setting. but he thought it was right. i don't know. >> the kid was well behaved. at least he didn't throw a tan trem or act crazy. >> he was cute. this story is so cute. great report out of florida.

so yellow lights. guess how long they get you to stop at 30 miles an hour? three seconds. they're shaving it down, evidently, by a quarter of a secretary. it yields millions more dollar in revenue and a lot more tickets. >> that's so wrong. >> it's supposed to be about safety, not about money. >> right. >> so now they're putting people's safety at risk to raise money, essentially. >> what they're saying is we have this big formula we use and it's based on how fast people react. they're saying that people can react that fast. >> do you react fast enough, you get a ticket. >> hey, people can't react that fast. supporters say this is the law. this is not our objective. just interesting. justquarter of a second. >> creepy or not creepy? google maps revealed a lot of new features, one can track where you've been. if you like italian restaurants where you live if, you go to a new city, it will tell where you the italian restaurants are. >> i don't like being tracked. >> a little too much? >> a little too much? >> your phones will know more

about you than your spouse. >> it will be sending me to the dive bars so that will be good. >> over the edge there. >> this is what we're talking about today. stay tuned. "way too early" starts right now. >> too far. we went out on hollywood boulevard today and asked people the following question, do you support president obama's decision to direct the irs to send the department of justice to benghazi to spy on solyndra? do you support president's decision to direct the irs to send the department of justice to benghazi to spy on solyndra? >> i don't, because i think the government's already spending too much money on programs that need to be cut and i think

benghazi situation, they're trying to do a cover-up with it. >> what he said. >> out of a job. the head of the irs steps down as the fallout continues from the agency targeting conservative groups. the question, is will this be enough to quiet the critics and help the white house get back on track? up for grabs, nobody at the jackpot last night's $360 million powerball jackpot. so the question is how much money will i be winning on saturday night? it could be most surprising high priced auction ever. how much this painting of bea arthur sold for and why letterman said it's worth every single cent. it's thursday, may 16th and, yes, it's "way too early." i think the painting is a little for revealing than what we showed as well. good morning, everybod