$6 billion with operations based in costa rica, cyprus, morocco spain, australia, and other places. place in our heart for a heist story, but this is a new technological level of heist. "first look" is up next. good wednesday morning. right now on "first look," caught on camera, a train collision causes a major explosion in maryland. we've got the latest. breaking news, minnesota congresswoman and former republican presidential candidate michele bachmann is calling it quits. home prices rising, consumer confidence in five-year highs in stocks hit another all-time record as the economy fights back. tornado watch, our bill karins joins us with the very latest forecast. plus, myrtle beach's newest attraction has local officials scrambling. a flash mob of a very unusual group. and if you're going to climb to

the top of the world on everest, why not just jump off too? good morning. how about this to start off your wednesday. good news on the economy and not just some, but a lot from the housing market to consumer confidence in auto sales. new reports led to a surge on wall street, but economists say the recovery still has a long way to go. nbc's tracie potts is in washington with all the latest on this. good morning. >> reporter: isn't it good to hear some good news for now? and that's what we got on wall street. take a look at what happened to the dow. at one point it soared 200 points, ending up 106, the nasdaq up 28. the s&p up 10, all of this after the conference board reported that consumer confidence is up at a five-year high. people feeling more confident about the economy overall and more confident about jobs. we also got some good news on the housing front. and this was the third straight month of gains when it came to

housing last month, house prices, home prices made their biggest jump in seven years. and that was especially true for cities that had been hardest hit in the recession like phoenix, like las vegas, san francisco. right now, we've got a lot of people wanting to buy and not a lot of homes for sale. so that's keeping prices high. car sales are up, as well, in fact, so much so that it looks like automakers may have to cancel their summer breaks, keep those workers on the job to keep up with demand. all of that's good news, but we'll be waiting for two things, mara, first of all, to see what happens at opening bell today and see what happens when the new unemployment numbers come out next week. >> we'll be keeping an eye on all of it. thanks so much, tracie. and a train explosion caught on camera. >> back up. >> oh, my god.

>> that blast took place just north of baltimore tuesday. happened when a csx freight train smashed into a garbage truck. the explosion sent a plume of smoke billowing into the air and rattled homes at least 1/2 mile away. the truck's driver was in serious condition late tuesday, but two crew members aboard the train were not hurt. at least one of the cars was carrying hazardous materials, but officials say there's nothing toxic at the scene. that crash is being investigated. some scary moments at the happiest place on earth late tuesday. a small explosion at disneyland prompted an evacuation of toon town. a witness says he never heard the music stop playing but did describe hearing what sounded like a gun shot. officials say dry ice in a plastic bottle is to blame. no one was hurt, and visitors were allowed to return within hours. police are looking into that incident. now to syria as we learn

more about senator john mccain's secret visit. his meetings with rebel leaders came as concerns were growing. richard engel reports from beirut. >> reporter: senator john mccain is still in the region after his quick trip that the syrian rebels simply loved. this is what they've been hoping for from the united states a senior official meeting them, krozing the border and showing solidarity. the problem for the rebels is, he's not the president. and although mccain is pushing for a no-fly zone, there's been no new movement on that. but there is a growing realization and a concern that something must be done. because this is what's happening without action. at least 80,000 dead in syria so far, more than 1 million refugees, iraq is going back to a civil war. lebanon is heading for an internal conflict, as well. almost every day, there are

funerals for hezbollah fighters who crossed into syria. the rebel free syrian army gave hezbollah 24 hours to leave syria or it would declare war on the lebanese group. the u.s. is pushing for diplomacy. it wants a conference in geneva next month. but that hit a snag too. the syrian opposition meeting in istanbul can't agree on who to send. richard engel, nbc news, beirut. federal officials say they've busted a multibillion dollar money laundering scheme. u.s. attorneys announced charges tuesday against digital currency company liberty reserve saying it could be the largest online money laundering prosecution in history. authorities believe liberty facilitated criminal activity through 55 million illegal transactions for 1 million users totaling $6 billion in proceeds over seven years. well, this morning, liberty's website has been shut down by the feds. arrests have been made in spain, costa rica and new york.

the company's founder has been taken into custody. and now, here's your first look at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. breaking this morning, minnesota congresswoman michele bachmann says she will not run for reelection in 2014. >> the law limits anyone from serving as president of the united states for more than eight years. and in my opinion, well, eight years is also long enough for an individual to serve as a representative for a specific congressional district. be assured my decision was not in any way influenced by any concerns about my being reelected to congress. >> bachmann is now facing a federal investigation into finances from her failed bid for the 2012 gop presidential nomination. she's been a favorite of the tea party and a staunch adversary of president obama including one of the leading forces behind attempts to repeal the

president's health care law. former congressman anthony weiner attended his first new york mayoral debate last night. and a new poll shows him gaining traction among fellow democrats for the fall primary. now just four points behind the front runner, christine quinn. president obama walked into an event in the east room of the white house last night with some noticeable lipstick on his collar. uh-oh. well, to keep him out of the dog house, he wants to make it clear it came from a woman who greeted him at the reception. >> where's jessica sanchez. jessica -- it wasn't jessica, it was her aunt. where is she? auntie, right there. look at this. look at this. i want everybody to witness. so i do not want to be in trouble with michelle, that's why i'm calling you out. >> yeah, you've got to clear that up right away. former epa head lisa jackson is

headed to apple as the top environmental adviser. and rob lowe has been in the news for his recent drastic transformation to play the role of liberace's plastic surgeon. he'll play president john f. kennedy in the upcoming national geographic film "killing kennedy." and that's your morning's dish of scrambled politics. well, tornado alley is seeing more twisters this week. a city in kansas had such a strong tornado in their town that it actually stayed in place. two homes were damaged along with a local business and downed power lines. that twister stayed on the ground for more than an hour but left residents unharmed. and we're joined by bill karins. is it unusual for them to stay put like that? >> usually they move a little bit. they can stall out for a long period of time is very unusual. and yesterday we had another big one. that was a large one, seems like a significant one that went through the good rich area of

michigan. but thankfully, i haven't heard of any serious injuries or fatalities from the 18 tornadoes yesterday. so that is great. but today, i don't think we're going to be quite as lucky. it's a very dangerous day in the central plains, one of the days where they're telling the residents of kansas, oklahoma, and texas, make sure you have your tornado plans in place. review them with your family, you have to get underground, know to get your family to safety. if you have friends or family in the area, this is a moderate risk of severe weather, this is where we could experience those big, strong tornadoes that happen a couple of times every year. hopefully they'll be in rural areas, but if they're not, we have to be prepared. and this does include the population centers once again of wichita, oklahoma city, the moore area, and also wichita falls. that's the concern for today. major flooding on the mississippi river. and we've got literally a heat wave for the east coast for the first time this summer. >> thanks so much, bill. well, moms are bringing home

the bacon like never before. we'll tell you how much. plus, the unintended controversial image seen in jc penney's newest tea kettles. >> now i see it. >> first look is back in three. many people are struggling with issues related to mental health.

by earning a degree in the field of counseling or psychology from capella university, you'll have the knowledge to make a difference in the lives of others. 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. whoa! hey, we got a weather alert for this location... golf-ball sized hail and damaging winds are on the way... kids... eh, don't worry. it's tornado-proof. anyway, i'd put the car in the garage and secure these things. they could become flying debris. kids! watch this. [ beep ] [ children screaming ]

[ car alarm chirps ] awesome. [ male announcer ] mobile weather alerts from your home insurance? that's allstate home insurance. great protection plus helpful tools to make life better. talk to an allstate agent... [ doorbell rings ]

welcome back. here's some stories making news this morning. the first passengers from that crippled cruise ship are back in the united states. they arrived on flights into baltimore from the bahamas after royal caribbean's grandeur of the seas caught fire earlier this week. newly released court documents show rutgers incoming athletic director was named in a lawsuit at the university of tennessee. dismissed in the wake of the tim rice video. she's also under scrutiny for her time at tennessee. six new laws on the books in colorado seeking to regulate

marijuana and keep it away from children. among them, tough punishments for driving while high and restrictions limiting the sale of the drug to those who are at least 21 years old. a florida judge has ruled against george zimmerman's defense team. deborah nelson barred zimmerman's lawyers from bringing up trayvon martin's school suspension, prior marijuana use and text messages. recognition 50 years later. in mississippi, an historic marker was unveiled honoring those who took part in a sit-in at the luncheon counter back on may 28th, 1963 where a group of racially mixed activists were attacked by a white mob for sitting at a whites only lunch counter. and taking people to new heights. jet packs using a high-powered stream of up to 1,000 gallons of ocean water are letting people go some 30 feet in the air off myrtle beach. but the thrill isn't cheap, a

30-minute ride will cost you $170. and now for your first look at business, we turn to cnbc's bertha coombs. >> apple ceo tim cook not talking about jet packs, but says he expects the iphone and ipad will be responsible for several more game-changing innovations. speaking at a tech conference tuesday night, cook didn't drop any hints about any new products like an apple tv but says wearable devices could be the next big thing. meantime, stock futures are lower this morning after wall street's rally yesterday. investors are reacting to better than expected data on home prices and consumer confidence. the dow posting its record 20th straight gain on a tuesday. don't know why tuesdays are lucky, but they have been. moms, meantime, are making more money. a new study shows mothers are the primary breadwinner in 40% of u.s. households, up from 11% in 1960. while most are single mothers, a

growing number of them are married bringing in more income than their husbands. yep. leave it to mom. back to you. >> all right. thanks so much, bertha. here's more business headlines for you. nike cutting ties with livestrong as the foundation's largest corporate sponsor. together, they have raised more than $100 million to help people with cancer and also distribut d ed 87 million wristbands. walmart has agreed to pay $110 million for violating federal and state pollution laws for the way employees disposed of pesticides returned by customers. next, to a jc penney tea kettle that some say resembles adolf hitler. saying unintended, if we designed it to look like something, we would've gone with

a snowman. certainly friendlier. how about a tall, cool shaq to quench that massive thirst? the arizona beverage company is out with a variety of cream flavored drinks they're calling soda shaq. we hope he's getting a check for that. coming up, sports highlights include a top college prospect who wraps his way into michigan's heart. and country music superstar blake shelton is warming up for one of the biggest events to hit the midwest and he's bringing a whole bunch of his friends with him. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. but i'll tell you what impresses me. a talking train. this ge locomotive can tell you exactly where it is, what it's carrying, while using less fuel. delivering whatever the world needs, when it needs it. ♪ after all, what's the point of talking if you don't have something important to say? ♪ if you don't have something important to say? i've always kept my eye on her... but with so much health care noise,

i didn't always watch out for myself. with unitedhealthcare, i get personalized information and rewards for addressing my health risks. but she's still going to give me a heart attack. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. 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. your idea of what a card should be. visa signature. ♪ (announcer) wake them up with breakfast-favorite flavors like salmon, egg, cheese, and whole grain oats. friskies. now serving breakfast.

little things anyone can do. it steals your memories. your independence. ensures support, a breakthrough. and sooner than you'd like. sooner than you'd think. you die from alzheimer's disease. we cure alzheimer's disease. every little click, call or donation adds up to something big.

it's time to dig a little deeper in to our top political stories. and joining me now is boris epstein. good morning. >> good morning, mara, how are you? >> i'm good. let's talk about this friendship between christie and obama. tuesday we saw president obama and chris christie get chummy on the jersey shore. it's no the the first time they've done that. what do you think each of them gained from this public love fest? >> well, there's a lot of fun to be had on the jersey shore. that's for sure. president obama, the number one thing, is an opportunity to get out of washington, d.c. he leaves behind a cesspool of scandal between irs, benghazi, doj, targeting fox news, et cetera, et cetera. it's an opportunity to switch the headlines. for chris christie, it's opportunity to be number one in the headlines. right now across the web, across all the news media outlets, you

see his face. there's benefit there. and also, it has rebounded. a lot of political benefit in both of them as well as for the jersey shore. >> when it comes to christie, couldn't this come back to haunt him if he runs for president in 2016? you don't really want the republican nominee being that close to his predecessor, would you? >> the comeback to that is at that point i was the governor of new jersey and i was doing anything and everything needed for the people of new jersey. when i'm president, i'll do the same thing for the people of the united states. i do not think that will hurt him in 2016. >> now, as you mentioned, it gives the president an opportunity to get out of washington. we saw him at the jersey shore. we also saw him in oklahoma. we heard a lot of good news about the economy recently. does all of this signal a shift away from those recent controversies you mentioned? >> reporter: well, it's an attempted shift by the white house and the communications team. but nevertheless, it's going to be at least four investigations into the irs scandal alone.

the benghazi mess is still going on. and the department of justice getting those phone records and targeting fox news is going to be a real problem for the white house. so right now, the past couple of days, absolutely, but as congress comes back and looks into these scandals, there's going to be a big, big problem for this president. he needs to handle it in a smart way, not the whack-a-mole approach. >> thanks, boris. >> absolutely. have a great day. >> you too. turning now to sports. first up, the nhl playoffs. in game seven, scored twice for the kings as they beat the san jose sharks, 2-1. and the defending stanley cup champ kings advanced to the finals. in the nba playoffs, roy hibbert was too much for miami as he scored 23 points. the pacers beat the heat 99-92. and the eastern conference finals are all even at two games

apiece. in baseball, the cross town inner league rivals the new york mets honored mariano rivera before last night's game with rivera throwing out the first pitch. but ironically in the ninth inning, rivera gave up a single, his first blown save of the season for a 2-1 mets win. well, a german soccer team's trip to london took a turn for the worse. the players were at the airport waiting to leave for home when a dancing flash mob sent by their sponsor puma started performing for them. as you can see, the players were definitely not in the mood for that surprise peppy upbeat dance routine. and russian extreme sports star set a record by jumping off mt. everest. set the record for the highest base jump ever at the altitude of more than 22,000 feet above sea level reaching speeds of over 120 miles per hour. not for the faint of heart. well, up next, bill karins will be back for first buzz and

we'll tell you what caught our eye this morning. vo: traveling you definitely end up meeting a lot more people but a friend under water is something 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.

vietnam in 1972. [ all ] fort benning, georgia in 1999. [ male announcer ] usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection and because usaa's commitment to serve military members, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. it's the most powerful thing on the planet. love holds us in the beginning. comforts us as we grow old. love is the reason you care. for all the things in your life... that make life worth living. ♪ ♪ sweet love of mine

well, tonight, oklahoma native blake shelton headlines healing in the heartland. it's a concert to benefit the victims of last week's devastating tornado. he'll be joined by miranda lambert, vince gil, reba mcintyre, and usher will also be at the benefit. you can watch 9:00/8:00 right here on your nba station. it's time for first buzz, i'm joined by bill karins. richard lui is out.

>> so a fan at a show in copenhagen slammed beyonce on the backside. >> there's video of it? >> she handled it well. she joked she was going to have him escorted out. i think she should've had him escorted out. >> she called him out? >> they think these celebrities belong to them. they grab their hair, their clothes. >> looks like she handled it well. the security guards would've jumped on him in a hurry. >> they should have. they need to set the precedent that is not okay. >> i want to help keep you up on the summer trend. the drink that's got all the buzz, something called a shandy. apparently you can mix anything with lemonade because it's a beer lemonade mixture popular over in europe. and they're trying to get them out to the shelves as fast as possible. therest the buzz about getting the .08 for the dwi, get it lowered. so they're becoming more popular. and in britain a long time ago, they would get this to teenagers and kids to help get them used

to the taste of beer. >> maybe we can send some over to kathie lee and hoda to see what they think of it. >> they probably already know about it. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned, "way too early" starts right now. today we announce charges in what may be the largest international money laundering case ever brought by the united states. specifically, we unsealed charges against liberty reserve and seven of the principals and employees who have for years operated one of the world's most widely used digital currencies. as alleged, the only liberty that liberty reserve gave many of the users was the freedom to commit crimes. >> shut down. the feds expose what they're calling the financial hub of the cyber crime world. how criminals allegedly use the network to move $6 billion all around the world. changes on the way, the

justice department's new strategy to deal with leaks and how it hopes to mend fences with the media. gaining momentum, disgraced former congressman anthony weiner making headway in his run for mayor of new york city. the new numbers that have him headed in the right direction, and yes, the puns will continue. it is "way too early." you know, we write the scripts for anthony weiner not trying to put puns in there and they end up there anyway. i'm brian shactman, wednesday, may 29th, and we begin with a story that broke overnight. congresswoman and former presidential candidate, maybe this story will make barnicle happy. michele bachmann has announced she'll not seek reelection in 2014. it would have been her fifth term in a