they killed four americans. we're going to preview the president's big speech on counter-terrorism set for later today. on the rise, population growth in most major u.s. cities outpacing the rest of the country. but there's one group in particular leading the trend ich. i'll give you a hint. classic in game one final in ot. it is a thursday. i'm feeling it. this is "way too early." yes, i am feeling it on this thursday. good morning, everyone. it is thursday, may 23rd. we're going to update the tornado cleanup in moore, oklahoma. of course, i just got back from. and with all the stories of heroism from teachers to first responders to average citizens, i want you -- i want everyone in here, too, i want you to name your personal hero and why. tweet me using the hashta

hashtags #waytooheroic a and #waytooearly. >> a deadly attack on a busy street in broad daylight. honestly, it's unlike anything you've seen before. british soldier was the target. it is now being investigated as a terrorist attack. some of the pictures you're going to see are graphic. nbc's michelle was kaczynski reports. >> reporter: in the middle of the day if a working class neighborhood near an elementary school, a scene of such raw violence few could believe it. >> look, the guy is dead now. >> reporter: people here say a young man who nbc news confirm was an active british soldier wearing a help for heroes t-shirt was walking along the sidewalk when two men in a car apparently drove into him then got out and started stabbing him with multiple large knives.

>> they were hacking at the poor guy. >> reporter: some eyewitnesses say the victim was decapitated in the attack. and that the two suspects then approached people in the horrified crowd. >> telling people to video record them. >> reporter: one made a long political statement. weapons in his blood covered hands. >> we swear by it. we'll never stop fighting you until you leave us alone. >> reporter: when police arrived, witnesses say the men charged officers who opened fire. both were hit and now in hospitals. >> that was michelle kaczynski reporting. the two suspects are under arrest this morning. the uk prime minister says there are strong indications it was a terrorist attack. >> here at home, president obama expected to lay out a broad vision for american foreign policy in a speech later today including a shift in the way the u.s. uses unmanned drone strikes. according to "the new york times," president obama signed a new classified guideline limiting strikes in pakistan, yemen and somalia, place that's

are not active war zones. the move follows revelations that the u.s. has killed four americans in drone strikes outside the field of battle including eye radical muslim cleric. he was one of the only ones who was specifically targeted. last month up intoes reported that the obama administration targeted and killed hundreds of low level afghan and pakistani militants, many of whom had no apparent al qaeda affiliation at all. let's bring in chief white house correspondent for "politico" mike allen. i'm assuming this move is calculated. what is your sense of the response here? >> brian, we often talk about how remarkable this speech is. the president talked very little about drone policy at all. the most the president has ever said about drones was, believe it or not, on jon stewart's daily show. he asked him a question about it. and the president answered it.

he said very little. and he hasn't talked about his thinking about the detention at guantanamo for a year. so part of this is the president turning the page on the war. this is part of the president reminding people that the iraq war has wound down. the afghanistan war will end soon. and so he's transitioning america to a national security policy that will outlast him and outlast the war. two remarkable things. >> you're looking at this as a real right turn in policy. this is going to be a major shift that we'll look back on in his presidency. this will be a major turn? >> yeah, brian. we'll see two big changes today. first you mentioned which is raising the standard for when we use drone strikes, making it harder to use them, less likely to use them in places that aren't war zones but places that we worried about breeding grounds for takerrorists, for

instance, yemen. the president is going to lower requirements for moving people out of gitmo. he's not giving up on moving people out of guantanamo. we talk to advisors and they say the reason the president is giving this is he thinks the american people need to understand these policies in order to support them. there's been a lot of criticism of both of these issues. and the law professor in him wants to be a little more transparent. the politician in him wants to explain it, put a period on the war ends and declare victory a little bit, talk about how the terrorist threats are different than they were than when he took office. >> mike allen, thanks for being up "way too early" with us on this thursday morning. the investigation into the targeting of conservative groups by the irs ran into an obstacle on capitol hill when lois learner, the woman at the center the scandal, declined to testify. >> i have not done anything wrong. i have not broken any laws.

i have not violated any irs rules or regulations and i have not provided false information to this or any other congressional committee. and while i would very much like to answer the committee's questions today, i've been advised by my counsel to assert my constitutional right not to testify or answer questions related to the subject matter of this hearing. >> i didn't do anything wrong and that's all i'm going to say about that. lernor's statement and refusal to provide details absolutely enraged several house committee members. she was quickly dismissed from the hearing throwing outrage from congressmen. >> she just testified. she just waived her fifth amendment right to privilege. you don't get to tell your side of the story and then not be subjected to cross-examination. that's not the way it works. she waived her right to fifth amendment privilege by issuing an opening statement. she ought to stand here and answer our questions. >> chairman of the committee says he is exploring his options to bring lerner back to compel

her to testify. in florida, a chechen man linked to one of the boston marathon bombers was shot and killed after a confrontation with the fbi. a former boston rez densident a professional fighter was questioned by fbi agents about a triple murder in massachusetts back in 2011. law enforcement officials say the 27-year-old came to the u.s. in 2006 was preparing to implicate himself and the two bombing suspects in the killing of the three men after a drug ripoff went bad. but that's when he attacked the agent with a knife. he was not, i must point out, suspected of playing a role in the april 15th bombing. a house panel took steps on wednesday to deal with the troubling number of sexual assaults in the military. the question really is, though, is it going to work? the bill would impose harsher penalties on members of the military convicted of sexual misconduct including mandatory dismissal or dishonorable discharge.

the legislation would also bar commanding officers from changing or dismissing convictions in cases involving sexual abuse. a report from earlier this month estimated as many as 26,000 servicemen and women may have faced sexual assault in the last year alone. there is a series of high profile arrests including those of military officials overseeing sexual assault prevention. now to the latest in oklahoma where the damage estimate from the storm tops $2 billion. again, joplin, missouri, was $2.8 billion. we'll see what the final number is. 13,000 homes damaged or destroyed. but it's the front page of the oklahoman that really sums it up. it lists the names of the 24 people killed along with many of their photographs. the youngest victim, 4 months old. this 9-year-old is one of the seven students who died at plaza towers elementary. >> i was just hoping maybe, you

know, she might have just been unconscious or, you know, i was hoping she was alive. >> i don't even know how he can talk. on wednesday the school was open to cameras for the first time and what wasn't destroyed was simply no longer there. >> this goes into the cafeteria. this is their lunch room. the storm came from this way. so the actual tornado came through this way which those are all brick houses back there. this is the gym area. these are more classrooms. there were portables out there that are just gone. >> meanwhile, more incredible stories of survival are emerging including that of 22 people who rode out the storm in a credit union. take a look at the building before on your left. and that's after on your right. and now take a look at what they

survived in. that is the bank vault that saved their lives. >> even through the closed door you could hear the disintegration of what we're standing in now. there was to doubt i think in any of our minds that the building was gone on the outside. >> that's just amazing. i saw it for myself. it was just incredible to see what mother nature did to moore, oklahoma. let's get to business stories now. u.s. stocks down nearly 1% yesterday. sparking a bit of a global selloff. all of it based on a split within the u.s. federal reserve on when to pull back on stimulus. i want to check in with cnbc steve sedgwick with the word on the street. crazy. even japan, unbelievable selloff. >> yeah. bernanke got before congress and prepared statement and q&a and saying, yeah, we'll take stimulus off the table when economy improves.

it was the pace of tailing the cool aid out of the market that really hurt people. people got very concerned when they heard that in the fomc minutes, some members wanted those tapering actions to take place from june on wards. the japanese stock market with blue chips fell 7.3%. the nikkei is up 39% after that move today. it is up 65% over the last 12 months. due to give back a little bit as well. that aside, the news out of the united states is very good. we had really good home sales d data. the best data in 3 1/2 years. we saw numbers out of toll brothers and others. nissan, very interesting. 841,000 vehicles worldwide are being recalled because of apparently there is a loose steering wheel on some of the models. nissan, though, pains to say no one has died, there has been no

injuries or accidents as result of the loose nuts on the steering wheel. >> i don't know what you have, we have these things called 401(k)s. supposedly they're up. so maybe i can'go to work tomorrow. is that it? >> not quite. depends how much money you want for your retirement. we have black hole officials here for our pension schemes as well. none of us can retire until we're 75. for you americans that are happy to retire on $100,000, very good news. if you're working towards that. on average, they're up 75%, your 401(k)s since early 1989. but if you're over 55, it gets even better. you're up by around 50% or double actually to around a quarter of a million u.s. dollars, $250,000. i'm not entirely sure that's enough to keep new the manner you're accustomed to. >> my lavish lifestyle. i need to work until i'm 75, too. >> getting up at 1:00 in the morning. >> yeah, such a romantic world i live in. thanks awe lot, steve sedgwick. we have new data from the census

bureau finds americans youth flocking to the biggest cities. 48 of the 50 most popular cities have shown growth since 2010 including new york, houston, phoenix, san diego, and dallas. and it outpaces the nation's 1.7% growth rate. now they dire to live in u.s. cities is a major contributing factor. they also drive the "way too early" and "morning joe" staff as well. detroit and cleveland lost population between 2010 and 2012. all right. i'm looking for good stories. we have them by the way. a bunch of them. your heroes. it could be a veteran, police officer, or even your mother. i will tell that you i think any adult who dealt with me in high school is a hero. i think i was pretty obnoxious. tweet us your personal hero with the hashtag #waytooheroic. the reason we're discussing this is because of the heroism we saw from the marathon bombings all

the way through what i witnessed yesterday in moore, oklahoma, including the police department which worked so hard to give these residents dignity as the world media just ascended right literally in their driveways. still ahead on "way too early," paul george came up for the pacers last night. not sure where ringo and john were. was it big enough to beat the heat? and we're revealing part of the anthony weiner video that you didn't get to see. that's coming up when we hit the cooler. that story and a check on weather when "way too early" comes right back. >> so this is interesting, tom. we've never seen you behave this way before. >> i know. >> you have ever felt this way before? >> you know katie once told "17 magazine" --

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we missed last night's game. great game. >> i dvr'd it and watched it, not true. heat, pacer. fourth quarter. miami up by three. it looks like it's over. paul george launches it. >>, no he didn't. >> yes, he did. >> all right. this one is going to ot. now heat up by two late in ot. george misses the three. right? but he's fouled. and in the nba that means gets free free throws. on the bench, how do you lose a game on a lay-up? >> how do you let lebron beat you? double-team him. let anyone else shoot it. >> 103-102 in the first. >> you have to wonder if indiana blew the opportunity. >> kevin durant, of course, plays for the oklahoma city thunder. he donated $1 million to the tornado relief effort. he also got his hands dirty

meeting people who were first responders. that's russell westbrook actually. there is durant there. visiting the scene, of course, that we were at for the last couple days. and he has a great reputation of both him and russell westbrook there with the crutches of being the nba's good guys and certainly for that outpouring. >> that community loves their basketball team there. and to give a little bit back, thumbs up to those guys. let's go to the game four on the ice. penguins and senators. the penguins, they go on a scoring bifrpg. scoring twice in a 40-second stint. then let's add four more goals. who is the goalie? >> you're calling it. you're saying pittsburgh-bruins. >> pittsburgh-bruins. you can't come back from. that it's going to be very tough, too. could be looking at some good eastern conference finals. >> i'll take it. >> now this is something that is like krifrpg fest. a vendor at monday's

astros-royals game, those are snow cones, people. those are on the ground. he dnts buy them. he is selling them. >> he's taking a little break. >> he did push them up against the wall. i'm sure there are no germs located on that section of the stall. yeah. he is out of a job. and no word on who wrote this. what flavor snow cone is that? >> i always tell my kids in the winter time. can you eat the snow but don't eat the yellow snow. it's rule number one of parenting in a cold weather environment. >> yes. and those are the only colors that we'll talk b. no snow in the u.s. today, right? >> we're going to see a lot of storms today, brian. can you feel it in the air. brian, of course, was out there yesterday and a lot of stories and everyone has been out. there usually with tornadoes, there is one or two images that you take out of it that you always remember. for me this is probably it. this tank empty weighs ten tons. yesterday they found out where

it came, from a half mile away. this ten ton tank flew in the air for ten miles. can you imagine that? that's just an example of one of a million examples of what storm did. there is also some rain out there this morning. thankfully the storms are just dodging in and around moore. they're not right through the center of town. so that's good. later on today, more strong storms, maybe even isolated tornadoes. it looks to be west of moore. amarillo and lubbock and abilene. we may see some storms in pennsylvania and washington, d.c. >> at the top of the hour, "morning joe." the president is planning a major speech today on national security. why he thinks he can move forward and finally close the prison at guantanamo bay. when we come back here, we'll huddle around the cooler. paris hilton has a new album -- yes! what you can expect when it comes out.

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of course as we gather tonight to present this award, our thoughts and prayers remain with the wonderful people of oklahoma. they have suffered mightily this

week. and while the road ahead will be long, their country will be with them every single step of the way. eventually life will go on. and new memories will be made and new laughter will come, new songs will be sung. >> and music does heal the soul. that was the president last night at the white house reflecting on the lives lost in the tragic oklahoma tornado. it was during a night dedicated to music legend carol king. president obama honored king with the prize for popular songs for her five decades as an award winning singer/songwriter. billy joel, gloria estefan who sang "it's too late" and james taylor sang "up on the roof." the entertainment was so good no one wanted the president to interrupt. >> i have to say that as the podium came out which meant that was my cue, my mother-in-law said, oh, shoot.

>> king is the first woman to receive this prize, an honor held by paul mccartney, stevie wonder and paul simon. let's transition a little about it to anthony weiner. there is no segue for that. he is announcing candidacy for mayor of new york city. yesterday they imagined a different kind of campaign ad for him. >> this was my neighborhood growing up, a middle class kid in brooklyn. i thought we had it all. playing stick ball late into the night. look, i made big mistakes. i also learned some tough lessons. i hope i get a second chance to work for you. thank you for watching. >> he kept his socks on. all right. just when you thought there was no good music. we have something for you. paris hilton, she has a new album coming out. ♪ what we did last night

>> you have an album coming out? do you know what the subtitle to that song is? you should go look it up. it will make you even more encouraged about the youth of america. paris says the album will primarily be house music. her first album is successful. topped tracks and sold 550,000 down loads. still ahead, i'll reveal some of your personal heroes. you can check them out by using the hashtag #waytooearly. irtualy all your important legal matters in just minutes. protect your family... and launch your dreams. at legalzoom.com we put the law on your side.

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aveeno® positively radiant. naturally beautiful results. .. we asked for your heroes from the serious to the humorous. >> boston pd and fbi are my heroes. teachers who believed i could learn with learning disabilities inspired me to go into special ed. bill karins and brian shactman because they are three