with rebel leaders. what the appearance could mean for u.s. policy as the civil war shows no signs of stopping. and staying put. rutgers new athletic director is also facing character questions after allegations of verbal abuse comes to light. why she's not even considering resigning. hey, wake up, it's "way too early." that's about as much verbal abuse as i can muster here on a tuesday. it's may 28th. it's always tough to get back to work after a weekend. i can't even talk. we're an optimistic group or at least slightly sarcastic. we want to know the best part about return iing to the job. post your answers using #backtowork. we'll put the best ones on later in the program.

we begin with quite a bit of news off the weekend. starting with john mccain becoming the highest ranking member of the u.s. government to appear in syria since the beginning of that country's civil war more than two years ago. "the daily beast" reporting he met with leaders of the free syrian army and other rebel leaders. according to reports, they asked for more american assistance including heavy weapons and a no-fly zone. a split among the european union's foreign ministers have ended a weapons embargo. let's go to domestic politics for you on this tuesday. republicans and the kras are preparing for the midterm elections. former senator bob dole gave a rare interview where he weighed in on the current state of the republican party. >> what do you think of your party, of the republicans today? >> i think they ought to put a sign on the national committee

doors that says closed for repairs until new year's day next year and spend that time going over ideas and positive agendas. >> you describe the gop of your generation as eisenhower republicans, moderate republicans. could people like bob dole, even ronald reagan, could you make it in today's republican party? >> i doubt it, and reagan couldn't have made it it. >> dole called the gridlock in congress unreal, but was also critical of president obama saying he's very articulate but lacks communication skills with members of both parties. president obama speaking of him yesterday traveling to arlington national cemetery where he thanked members of the armed forces for their service.

the president laid a breathe at the tomb of the unknowns. using his remarks to highlight the sacrifices u.s. troops have made in afghanistan. >> that's why on this day we remember our sacred obligation for those who laid down our lives so we could live ours, to finish the job by keeping our promise to those who wear america's uniform to give our troops the resources they need to keep faith with our veterans and their families now and always. it's never stopped searching for those who have gone missing or who are held as prisoners of war. but on a more basic level, every american can do something simpler. as we go about our daily lives, we must remember that our countrymen are still serving, still fighting, still putting their lives on the line for all

of us. >> meanwhile the white house is taking an aggressive strategy to appoint new federal judges. the "new york times" reports president obama will nominate three judges to fill vacancies on the d.c. circuit federal court of appeals. they overturned the president's agenda through the first term. right now the court is eeply split with four the democratic appointe appointees. the names of the president's nominees have not been released yet, but we could get some insight at some point this week. let's go overseas where as many as ten suspects have been arrested in connection with that gruesome murder of a british soldier. two men hit lee rigby with a vehicle and attacked him with meat cleavers. one of the suspects did it it because they were killing muslims in muslim lands. british authorities had known

about one of the prime suspects for some time. he was even arrested in kenya in 2010 allegedly trying to cross the border into somali to join militants there. attorneys for a group that provides lobbying for suspected terrorists say the same man's family contacted them six months ago complaining of harassment from british intelligence. there are new reports that chinese hackers may have gained access to sensitive american military weapon systems. the "washington post" is citing a pentagon report that says cyber spies accessed two dozen major weapons systems pertaining to combat aircraft and ships. among them army and navy ballistic defenses and the fighter jet, the black hawk helicopter and the joint strike fighter. analysts are concerned the breaches will help china close the gab with the united states in terms of technology. scary moments aboard a royal

caribbean cruise ship bringing back memories from a few months ago. a fire broke out on the third deck of the royal caribbean ship grander of the seas. it took crews two hours to put out the flames and video showed the the captain ordering 2,000 passengers to their emergency stations. although no one was evacuated. the ntsb and coast guard along with officials from the bahamas are investigating the fire. i'm not going on a cruise any time soon. but that's fine. no one was hurt. the incident was not as serious as the carnival ship triumph. they lost most of their power and plumbing for several days. passengers expect to return to the home port of baltimore later today. an update on the bizarre story north of the border. the mayor of toronto firing back

at the media after he was caught on video smoking crack. the they have been allowed to see video purportedly of mayor rob ford and drug dealers were shopping the video around. on friday the mayor had ugly words for the press. >> there's been a serious accusation from the star that i use crack cocaine. i do not use crack cocaine. >> there's a lot of nasty there. 80% of them are nasty son of a guns. >> some city officials continue to call for him to step down and his chief of staff was fired and his press secretary and deputy press secretary quit. he launched an online fundraising effort dubbed crack starter.

i thought it was clever. they wanted to raise the money to buy the video. they apantly raised more than $200,000. i haven't had clarification if that was canadian or american $200,000. now to a business where one of the largest corporations in america investing billions of dollars into oil and gas drilling. for the rest of the headlines in the business world, jeff is line in london with the word on the street. >> good morning, brian. i guess we're going from cracking to fracking on this story, right? so ge says they are going to open up a new laboratory facility in oklahoma because they think there's money to be made in their oil wells. this time we're talking fracking rather than the traditional methods of drilling. so it's the shale oil and gas that they are after here. they put about $15 billion into this industry over recent years. a senior v.p. said we have

practically nothing in this space ten years ago. now we're in for about $15 billion. let me move on. canada figures again in this story. a farmer giving clarity of vision over to bausch and loem. they are in the contact lenses space. they have had a few difficult years. this deal obviously settles the finances for them. and moving you on here. other state governments getting smarter. you have to ask the question. they are going to pump more money back into education after years of cuts here. state governments have said it's time to start raising the amount of cash that we put into universities. let me role call this. indiana up 14.6%. new hampshire, a 37% jump in funding. florida, an 8.3% rise in the money. the reason they can do this is

they are starting to see an improvement in tax revenues. >> hopefully it won't be $100,000 to send my kids there. have you seen "fast and furious"? >> i've seen a few. >> it wins the u.s. box office. i don't know what it says about our culture. what do we have for the numbers? >> it's fascinating. it was a tremendous memorial day weekend. all of the movies did particularly well. but "fast and furious 6" stood out there. if i look at the worldwide number, $317 million on the four-day holiday. $120 million in the u.s. the amazing thing about this story and let's just focus on this film. there are a lot of other good ones out there. but "fast and furious", 49% of those who went to see it were

women. this is a movie about car chases, brian. and yet 49% of the demographic were women who put money into the box office tills there. i don't know what that tells us about the modern day movie-going experience. >> there are some handsome men in the film. jeff in london, thank you very much. after the holiday weekend, we want to know the best part of getting back to work. we have a few good ones. all that memorial day parade candy i have to work off. tweet us your answers. we'll put most memorable ones on the air. still ahead on "way too early," we'll catch you up on what you may have missed in the sports world including tony parker and the spurs looking to put the return back to the finals. they played game four. and amanda bynes back with more bizarre behavior. now she has new career plans. jay-z better watch out.

that's when "way too early" comes right back. ♪ >> what appears to be the frozen remains of vast blue sea at the red planet's south pole. scientists report there's enough water in there to fill lake michigan to the rim, not once, but twice. the verizon share everything plan for small business lets you connect up to 25 devices

on one easy to manage plan. that means your smartphone, her blackberry, his laptop, mark's smartphone but i'm still on vacation. still on the plan. nice! so is his tablet, that guy's hotspot, the intern's tablet-- the intern gets a tablet? everyone's devices. his, hers-- oh, sorry. all easier to manage on the share everything plan for small business. connecting more so you can do more. that's powerful. verizon. get the blackberry z10 for $199.99. 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. and be good for your face? [ female announcer ] now there's new neutrogena® naturals acne cleanser. acne medicine from the wintergreen leaf treats breakouts. no parabens or harsh sulfates. for naturally clear skin. [ female announcer ] neutrogena® naturals. yeah? then how'd i get this... [ voice of dennis ] ...safe driving bonus check? every six months without an accident, allstate sends a check. silence. are you in good hands? vo: ta friend under water is end usomething completely different. i met a turtle friend today so, you don't get that very often. it seemed like it was more than happy to have us in his home.

so beautiful. avo: more travel. more options. more personal. whatever you're looking for expedia has more ways to help you find yours. i need a new recruit! dawn? you won't last. [ female announcer ] a drop of dawn has active suds that stay stronger longer, so you can clean 2x more greasy dishes. dawn does more. [ sponge ] so it's not a chore. sports with bill karins. rutgers university. once again dealing with controversy. >> who is in charge? >> that's a great question. this is two months after the video that surfaced of coach mike rice. we have seen it all, physically and verbally abusing his players. athletic director tim pernetti resigned. rutgers replaced him with julie

herman. >> she must be squeaky clean. >> louisville is the most profitable athletic department in the country. now she's facing her own allegations of abuse. >> no. >> a group of female volleyball players from the university of tennessee allege that herman verbally abused them while she coached the team calling them alcohols and learning disabled. >> that's not possible, right? i'm sure rutgers must have done their homework. >> the president has a lot to answer for. the university of tennessee also lost $150,000 discrimination lawsuit to one of herman's assistant coaches who alleged herman discouraged her from getting pregnant and eventually fired her. she says she fired her for performance issues. however, a wedding video appears to show herman teasing her about having a child. >> i'm very excited about today.

i'm hoping it's good tonight because i know you've been waiting awhile. but i hope it's not too good because i don't want you to come back in february with any surprises. it's hard to have a baby in there. have a great honeymoon. love you, hope it went well. see you soon. >> the rut guest president stands by julie herman. they are going to talk about this later on "morning joe." >> what's the governor going to say? let's go to the nba. memphis on the brink hosting the san antonio spurs who are giving boldman hope the best is yet to come. it was the tony parker show scoring 37 points. the spurs win their fifth western conference title sweeping the grizzlies. they now await either miami or

indiana. game one isn't scheduled until june 6th. >> that's a week and a half. >> who knows what's going to happen in the miami and indiana. >> now it's downhill for miami. during saturday's outing in milwaukee, one sideline reporter plays it cool after losing her grip. >> they -- do i get kudos for that defensive play? >> are you wounded? >> i'm totally fine. >> it was a straight ball that knocks a microphone right out of her hand. she got right back up and finished it it up. >> not bad. that could have been the side of the head. >> that picture of that girl with the baseball right behind her head. i remember that. >> i swear that was fake. >> i don't believe that one either. what a gorgeous sunrise. >> unfortunately, you can see the clouds moving in. we have a lot of weather story

this is week. hopefully we're not going to see anything too violent out there, but the potential is there. one of the top stories is going to be tornadoes this week. the other one is going to be flood i flooding. we have had so much rain over the holiday weekend. in iowa and missouri, we have major flooding expected on the mississippi river. that's not until saturday north of davenport and st. louis of monday of next week. it's still raining in this area. it's the potential that those floods could get even worse. not record flooding expected, but a major flood on the mississippi river. something that seems to happen way too often lately. here's the set up. washington, d.c., if you don't have the the a.c. ready to blast, do it today. it's going to be in the 90s. the middle of the country is ghoing to be stormy. severe weather kpped. we have a wind damage potential

today. but it's really i think wednesday that will be the best chance of getting tornadoes. a little mini tornado outbreak is possible. we have the major flooding. we don't need that. we went from drought last year and now the farmers are struggling with too much water. and then tornadoes later this week. >> thanks, bill. at the top of the hour, questions about the rollout of obama care. who will be impacted the most when the law goes into effect? lewis in the house. a little water cooler action with the national spelling bee hours away from getting started. this year will be different. the rule change that has legions of fans talking. i frankly think it's unfair. we'll talk about it next. [ male announcer ] ok, here's the way the system works.

let's say you pay your guy around 2% to manage your money. that's not much you think. except it's 2% every year. does that make a difference? search "cost of financial advisors" ouch. over time it really adds up. then go to e-trade and find out how much our advice costs. spoiler alert: it's low. really? yes, really. e-trade offers investment advice and guidance from dedicated, professional financial consultants. it's guidance on your terms, not ours. that's how our system works. e-trade. less for us. more for you.

time for lewis and the cooler. were you any good at spelling? >> i was always first one out. >> really? >> yeah. >> cat. >> kat, i'm out of here. it's a big week for the spelling bee. thank god for spell check. scripts annual spelling bee begins today. the new rule this year contestants will be asked not only to spell the word, but also

define it. >> they have to define the word? >> i don't think this is fair. the spelling director told the "boston globe" our purpose is not only to help students improve spelling but to increase vocabulary and help develop them. >> you have to know what it kind of means. then it's all subjective. >> i don't even know what that means. you're way over my head. if you watch the bee on tv, you may not notice because they will be asked off camera so what fun is that. >> i don't get it. we'll see what goes on. we need a bynes update. >> let's make the transition to a spelling bee to a much more highbrow story. it keeps gets wog for amanda bynes. she appeared in court in a messy blond wig. she was arrested for smoking

marijuana and throwing a bong out of her apartment window. in a rambling tweet this weekend the former star vowed to sue the nypd for unlawful arrest. >> we don't want to mock anyone who has troubles. she has to stay out of social media. >> bynes also used her time on twitter to bash rihanna allegedly tweeting that chris brown beat her because she wasn't pretty. the tweet quickly disappeared from her account. that's a feud she doesn't want to start. now let's turn to snooki. >> she might be my favorite character on that show. >> hasn't always been the best of friends. christie says the show and the the cast members do nothing but perpetuate misperceptions.

he bumped into snooki while filming separate appearances for "the today show." why you standing so close she asked? >> i wanted to meet you. >> i appreciate it. we do our best. good to meet you. >> thanks. >> he just doesn't like us. >> she's gutsy. >> seems like the rivalry is still on. snooki instagramed this photo. getting told why we are bad for jersey. amazing. why are you happy to be back at work? for lewis it was allergies. he woke up with puffy eyes. >> i'm happy to be back because i want. to see joe and mika. >> joe is so sharp. i hope he's got it today. we'll be right back. [ female announcer ] the best thing about this bar

it's not a candy bar. 130 calories 7 grams of protein the new fiber one caramel nut protein bar. there was this and this. she got a parking ticket... ♪ and she forgot to pay her credit card bill on time. good thing she's got the citi simplicity card. it doesn't charge late fees or a penalty rate. ever. as in never ever. now about that parking ticket. [ grunting ] [ male announcer ] the citi simplicity card is the only card that never has late fees, a penalty rate, or an annual fee, ever. go to citi.com/simplicity to apply. by earning a degree from capella more iuniversity, ever. you'll have the knowledge to make an impact in your company and take your career to an even greater place. let's get started at capella.edu.

then you'll love lactose-free lactaid® it's 100% real milk that's easy to digest so you can fully enjoy the dairy you love. lactaid®. for 25 years, easy to digest. easy to love. [ agent smith ] i've found software that intrigues me. it appears it's an agent of good. ♪ [ agent smith ] ge software connects patients to nurses to the right machines

while dramatically reducing waiting time. [ telephone ringing ] now a waiting room is just a room. [ static warbles ] for every year you don't have a claim, you'll get money off your home insurance policy. put it towards... [ glass shatters ] [ girl ] dad! [ girl screams ] noise canceling headphones? [ male announcer ] get allstate home insurance with claim free rewards. talk to an allstate agent... [ doorbell rings ] and let the good life in. what's the best part of returning to work after a long weekend? not sure what is. john tower has some good answers.

>> people love the four-day workweek. knowing payday is two days away. only four days to get to update my facebook instead of the usual five. best part is being a day closer to the weekend showdown between >> this weekend, yankees stadium, i'll be there saturday night. i'll be up in the nosebleeds when joe and willie are getting table service. maybe they'll let me come visit them. "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ >> what do you think of your party? of the republicans today? >> i think they ought to put a sign on the national committee doors that says closed for repairs. until new year's day next year. >> you described the gop of your generation as eisenhower republicans, moderate