zimmerman winding down. what can we expect as the defense gets set to present its closing arguments? going nuclear? the leaders of the senate in a war of words over the use of the filibuster. and the movie that's sweeping the nation. we're talking about "sharknado" and the twitter response that has sharks all over the world planning their 15 minutes of fame. this is "way too early." hi, everybody. so we'll get wet and wild with "sharknado" in a moment. i'm thomas roberts in for brian shactman. we want to start off with something serious. later this morning, 24 days after the murder trial of george zimmerman began, the defense will deliver its closing argument. yesterday in its closing argument, the prosecution portraying george zimmerman as a, quote, want-to-be cop who profiled the teen. the neighborhood watchman is

charged with second-degree murder. he pleaded not guilty saying it was self-defense. the judge did not allow jurors to consider a charge of third-degree murder by child abuse, a charge the defense team called outrageous. >> just when i thought this case couldn't get anymore bizarre, the state is seeking third-degree murder based on child abuse? is the court going to give this any serious contention or consideration? if so, we have a lot of talking to do. we can start with this was dumped on us sometime around 7:30 this morning. there was an e-mail -- oh, by the way, we've changed our lesser included request from aggravated assault to third-degree murder based on child abuse? >> joining us now live from sanford, florida, reporter sara

daloff. explain what we can expect from the defense today. they have three hours of time to use, correct? >> reporter: that's what they've indicated to the judge they'll use for their closing arguments. those arguments are expected to kick off at 8:30 this morning. legal analysts thinking they're not going to fill that entire time. they think that the jury didn't respond well to their lengthy opening arguments. but they have to go back and answer some of the prosecution's points from yesterday, address some of the inconsistencies the state pointed out with the defense's case, including that george zimmerman got out of the car even though he viewed trayvon martin as a threat. and zimmerman's claims trayvon martin saw his gun. they're also going to bring in those 911 calls.

you remember the screams and the parade of witnesses the defense brought in to testify those were george zimmerman's screams. we expect to hear more of that as well. >> sara, also, the prosecution gets to come back for the final hour of their closing. also, this is the opportunity where they're going to have to press down on these charges, especially the option of the manslaughter charge. >> reporter: yeah, that manslaughter charge introduced new yesterday. now the jury can consider second-degree murder and they can consider that manslaughter charge. this is -- this is really their final hour, their final plea to jurors and their final appeal in the prosecution's word for justice for trayvon martin. >> we'll all be watching. as you say, kicking off at 8:30 a.m. today. sara, thanks so much. we switch gears to talk about the federal investigation and the investigators being in the process of cutting up the fuselage of asiana flight 214 to clear the runway and move president investigation offsite. investigators have yet to find evidence of a mechanical failure, putting the focus

squarely on the cockpit crew. >> the engines and the flight control surfaces appear to be responding as expected to control inputs. there is no anomalous behavior of the auto pilot, of the flight director, and of the auto throttles based on the fdr data reviewed to date. >> the ntsb also revealing the crew asked to abort landing twice in the last three seconds before the crash. one of the pilots said he saw a white flash during the landing. neither of the other pilots did. he said it happened 500 feet out and didn't impair his ability to see instruments on the panel. the house has finally passed a farm bill with one glaring omission. food stamps. for the first time in 40 years, the bill does not include the social safety program. the bill passed narrowly without a single democratic vote.

>> you tell me how in the world we can have a farm bill and separate food and nutrition out from it. >> i would say it's one of the worst things you've done, but there's such stiff competition for that honor that i can't really fully say that. >> you are attempting to defund food stumps. yes, you are. and place poor people, which includes children and the elderly and the veterans, in a position that none of you would want want to be in. >> this is a shame! mitt romney was right. you all do not care about the 47%. shame on you! >> so for decades, the inclusion of food stamps bridged urban and rural interests in congress, but both sides have sparred over the provisions. the bill now heads back to the senate, where members are going to try to reconcile the two chambers' plans. president obama has vowed to veto any bill that does not cover the food stamp provision.

>> senator harry reid is moving forward with a plan. these new rules would require a simple majority to change senate rules as opposed to the 67 currently needed. and a filibuster would be broken with just 51 votes. just 51 instead of the current 60. the maneuver set up a war of words between the two top senate leaders. >> no majority leader wants written on his tombstone that he presided over the end of the senate. wel well, if this majority leader caves to the fringes and lets this happen, i'm afraid that's exactly what they'll write. >> these are dark days in the mystery of the senate. i hate that we have come to this point. we've witnessed the majority leader break his word to the united states senate. >> no matter how often my friend

rudely talks about me not breaking my word, i'm not going to respond talking about how many times he's broken his word. >> elliott spitzer needed nearly 4,000 signatures to make a run for comptroller. get this, he got 27,000 of those signatures. it's possible his top competition, scott stringer, who's the manhattan bureau president, could challenge their validity. spitzer made a surprise entry into this race earlier this week. already at least one poll shows him with the lead. so money. if money was the determining factor, hillary clinton might think twice about returning to public office because according to "the new york times," the former first lady and former secretary of state, potential 2016 candidate, is raking in about $200,000 per appearance on the paid speaking circuit. $200,000. that's about as much as her husband, former president bill clinton, makes for domestic speeches. aside from the clintons, who's worth that kind of cash? that's what we want to know from you. if you had just $200,000 lying

around, who would you like to see? you can tweet us your picks use can go #waytooearly. we'll put the most creative answers on coming up later. you can get me for a lot cheaper. all right. to the latest on celebrity chef pau lla deen, who has fired her lawyers. she hired a new phigh-profile team to deal with her case. the markets opening way up this morning. it comes after this giant rally yesterday on reasursurance the d is going to keep pumping stimulus into the economy. that's a sigh of relief over what ben bernanke will do next. it helped push the dow into record territory. how do you think we'll close out the week? >> we've seen record numbers out there. certainly been a strong week for the markets. let me point you to a couple big stories on the business arena today. one is about swiss bank accounts, which may not be all

that secret if the justice department has its way. basically, u.s. tax authorities have been trying to pull a veil of secrecy back on these accounts. the swiss cabinet last week came up with a proposal that helps the u.s. follow the money trail, so some banks can provide information to the u.s. on potential clients who have transferred money elsewhere just as the u.s. was trying to crack down on tax evaders so the likes of some of the banks expected to participate in exchange toll escape criminal prosecution. this is a bit of a compromise by the swiss parliament. another story going around are the wars in the telecommunications arena. sprint trying to maintain its market share against the likes of verizon and at&t. its come up with a new marketing pitch to offer unlimited talk, text, and data.

currently it's been offering just unlimited datan to a monthly plan. with many corporate changes out there, the likes of the japanese player softbank taking over sprint and sprint in turn taking over clear wire, there have been concerns about what this means for the company's business model. the ceo has said this is the new offering. he's hoping to put a stamp on the market to guarantee the fact they're still committed to unlimited data. along with it, talk and text. you must ask what this means for the profitability in the industry. if you have data providers changing the way that they cost now, this means it could have potential implications of profitability and margins. it's got to be a win for the content providers. back to you. >> yeah, unlimited data for life and free nsa surveillance that goes with it. really a good deal. karen, thanks so much. still ahead on "way too early," derek jeter returns to the yankees lineup. why his return may be short lived. then we get a bear sighting in rhode island. has the local media there kept the public informed on this?

you don't want to miss how one reporter wants to keep you safe at home. that story and a check on the weather when "way too early" comes right back. today i'm delighted to announce that i will ask the democratic convention to nominate geraldine ferrara to run with me for the white house.

all right. so it's now time for a quick check on sports. all-star voting is closed. braves first baseman, freddy freeman, beat out the rookie phenom for the spot. 19 rbi in just 35 games. it's possible the dodger outfielder could still be added to the rosters as an injury

replacement. speaking of injuries derek jeter returning to the yankees lineup for the first time this season after injuring his ankle. ♪ people got up. they're excited to see him. jeter getting that standing ovation. sparse crowd, but they were on their feet. in his first time at bat, he swings. the dribbler going up the left side. look at that. third baseman felt sorry for him, gave him some slippery fingers there. jeter hustles down the line as everyone holds their breath. he looks fine on that repaired ankle. later in the game, he hits another grounder. he comes up slow to first base. joe girardi would take him out with complaints of tightness in his quad. he's scheduled to be an mri this morning. wrigley field is one of two truly historic ball fields left

in major league baseball. change is a coming. the team will build a jumbotron. the team needed city permission because wrigley's considered to be a landmark. this proposed screen is going to be 95 feet wide, although it still needs approval from city council. all right. so no one has accused me or being a sports snub, but even i noticed harry reid talking baseball yesterday. >> davy johnson is the manager of the national mets, the team we're so happy to have here in washington. >> a couple of hours later, senator reed took to twitter to clarify. that's a picture of him with washington's national manager davey johnson. i'm going to go rogue here. there are snobs about the orioles. they won last night against the texas rangers. they split the series. so, yeah. take that, eric schultz, in the control room. time to get a check on the

weather. don't stand over there laughing at me. >> i just want to rewind and go back and watch that last minute or two. >> it was that good for you? >> it was. >> i felt very confident about that. look, i think there are oriole snobs in this building. they sit around that table. they only talk about boston and new york. >> yes. >> give no love to the o's. >> that's the rule if you want to be part of "morning joe." you have to be a red sox fan. i've been on the out since day one. >> who's on your map? >> washington, d.c. >> no, baltimore. >> oh. >> yeah. >> they're up there too. see? >> yeah, snob. >> last night in d.c., especially to the west of town, a horrible flooding event. there were water rescues in homes. it's starting to improve for it the peak of the morning rush hour. still standing water out there. some areas got as much as six inches of rain. flash flood warnings still remain up for the downtown d.c. area to annapolis. the rainfall today will be on

and off all through the mid-atlantic. we're dry from about philadelphia northward. you'll be okay. but it's still wet weather for the eastern carolina and south carolina. if you're planning on one of those beach fridays, the beautiful beaches of the outer banks through myrtle beach and south carolina and georgia, not a great day. lots of clouds. as we go through the weekend, we go to more of a typical summertime pattern. still hot in texas into saturday. storms sill in georgia as we go throughout saturday and possibly sunday. they're your typical storms, the ones that pop up and die off. as we go through the weekend, it looks better tan what we dealt with yesterday on the east coast and today. >> all right. that's good news. thanks, my friend. coming up at the top of the hour, elliott spitzer a lot closer to being on the ballot. the steps he needs to take if he's going to rehabilitate his public image. when we come back, we're going to huddle around the water cooler and dive into the phenom known as "sharknado." you know all about it. twitter was blowing up. more "way too early" coming up

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welcome back, everybody. it is that time. we want to check in with lewis, who's been hanging around the water cooler all morning. i think i know where you're going to start. >> thank you, thomas. we begin with the weather event that took the nation by storm last night. of course, i'm speaking about

the one, the only "sharknado." >> come on, come on. shoot it! >> that's what you get for trying to eat me. >> that's amazing stuff. the website io9.com asked the screen writer of the film if there was any scientific basis to which he replied, yes. there are numerous reports of fish flying from the sky. a university of florida expert refuted the claims saying the entire premise of the film is, quote, complete bs. the film was trending big time on the internet. "sharknado" drew in tweets at about one quarter of super bowl levels. now let's turn to jimmy kimmel. he thinks kids today need to know how washington works and has a strategy to make that happen. >> most of what i know about

congress and about how a bill becomes a law i know from the old "schoolhouse" rock cartoons. they're like 40 years old. we made a new one to help this generation of young people. enjoy. ♪ i'm screwed, all us kids are all screwed ♪ ♪ our congress is dysfunctional, gridlock is ensued ♪ ♪ solutions getting stone walled, filibustered and sequestered ♪ ♪ i'm screwed ♪ your screwed ♪ our problems are bad and not getting better ♪ ♪ infrastructure is crumbing, the schools are a joke ♪ ♪ i'll spend my life paying for mistakes of the old folk ♪ ♪ i don't mean to be rude, but you're hosed ♪ ♪ i'm [ bleep ] ♪ you're screwed

>> unbelievable. well, it's the best time of the year to be an ice cream man, of course. for one veteran of the freezer, he's looking for a new line of work. phil hollister, aka mr. ding-a-ling, is facing dwi charges. now the popular ice cream man explains why it happened. >> stupidity. >> you're a stupid idiot? >> basically, yeah. i probably let down a lot of children because, you know, children that didn't have money, i would give them free ice cream. >> ding-a-ling supporters. >> very much so. >> and you've betrayed their trust. >> every one of them. >> oh, that's tough. i got to give the guy a break. now, one of the main purposes of local news is to inform the public. with a bear on the loose in rhode island, one reporter wants them to be prepared. >> we here at nbc 10 figured, we should put together a few tips from the experts to help protect yourself should you come across

a curious bear. according to experts, you should avoid direct eye contact with the bear. don't run away. instead, back off slowly. wave your arms to let the animal know you're human. don't yell. stay quiet, unless the bear attacks. then scream and throw things at the bear. if the bear attacks, curl up into a ball on your side or lay flat on your stomach. above all, stay calm. >> my god. let's go to mika with a look at what's coming up next on "morning joe." beware of bears, especially in new york. >> who's that reporter? she's fantastic. >> she's unbelievable. >> that's called putting yourself out there and trying different things to tell stories. wow. >> yeah, i don't know if it worked or not though. >> i kind of liked her, lewis. thank you very much. all right. almost as bad as "sharknado" is grown men on capitol hill bickering like fourth graders. you actually have to see this because you would not believe it happened. also, elliott spitzer needed

4,000 signatures to run for city comptroller here in new york city. he turned in 27,000. is that a sign that new yorkers are ready to forgive? donny deutsch has not weighed in yet. he will now. he's here today. hillary clinton rakes in the dough with "the new york times" reporting a huge speaking fee. for the former secretary of state, could the money keep her from running in 2016? and later, this is what you came to washington to do. senator elizabeth warren joins us on the issue that is really, truly what her fingerprints are on this country, her blueprint on how to prevent the next financial crisis. she joins us on "morning joe." also joining the conversation, howard dean, stephen craig, and chuck todd. >> what was the craziest stand-up you did? >> oh, my lord. there are many, actually. >> many?

>> the back of -- oh, what are those things you ride in the water? i did that live. >> nothing like julie? nothing like her bear? >> i could compete with that. >> you could? >> yeah. >> all right. i want to see this. >> i definitely could compete. >> on the commercial break. >> i liked her a lot. >> she's pretty good. look at those wild eyes. no bears coming after her. >> come on now. this is someone who doesn't take herself that seriously. she put herself out there. she's hilarious. >> all right. still to come on "way too early," your best, most creative tweets. if you had $200,000 to spend on a speech, who would you like to see? and "morning joe" just moments away. stick around. mine was earned in djibouti, africa. 2004. 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,

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all right. so earlier in the show we asked if you had $200,000 sitting around and wanted to spend that on a speech who would you like to see? eric? >> we got a bunch of good responses. one of the best is ed who says he would like to see dennis rodman rapping with kim jong-un. natalie writes a stl