thank you for being with us. want to till you our interview with elizabeth warren will be posted later tonight at maddowblog.com. good wednesday morning. right now on first look, comforter in chief. the president gets up close and personal, supporting the families and workers at washington's devastating mudslide. military buildup. today the pentagon is sending 600 u.s. soldiers to poland and baltic nations as a show of force against the russian troops along ukraine. irs foul? the folks at the tax service handed out almost $3 million in bonuses to employees who failed to pay their own taxes. plus, georgia's governor will sign a wide-ranging gun law that has critics, including police, very upset. why this kick in the let could result in big bucks in advertising for the victim. and the jokes fly when old meets new. thanks for being with us.

good morning. we begin with president obama's long anticipated trip to asia. just hours from now, the president will arrive in japan. it is the first stop of his father-nation tour. later this week, he will visit south korea, malaysia, and the philippines. the hope is to reassure these allies of america's support. the president's last three scheduled trips to asia were cancelled because of domestic issues here at home, including the government shutdown. nbc's tracie potts is in washington, d.c. tracie, good morning. how would the president go about reassuring u.s. allies during the trip? >> reporter: he really wants to get that transpacific partnership, that trade going. a team is already in place before the president's arrival to try to do that. but the beginning of his trip, after he left washington, was an emotional visit to washington state. president obama met first responders and families and toured damage in oso, washington, the site of last month's deadly mudslide.

>> we're going to make sure that we're there every step of the way. this morning, he's headed to tokyo for an eight-day visit to japan, south korea, malaysia, and the philippines. the u.s. trade team is already there, working on the transpacific partnership, a deal that would erase trade barriers between a dozen countries. >> resolution of that agreement will mean real job growth, real economic prosperity. >> reporter: it may not happen before president obama meets japan's president this morning. his message from the u.s., we've got your back. >> we do need to reassure our allies in asia that america's commitments are rock solid and that we are going to not allow a situation where a bigger nation can push around a smaller nation in a territorial dispute. >> reporter: note the president is not visiting china, a growing economic power, but not part of the asian trade deal. and experts are split, but the u.s. is watching to see if north korea will try its fourth nuclear test during the

president's visit. now, the situation in ukraine and russia's influence over ukraine is likely to come up on the agenda today. japan's been trying to warm up to russia on some energy issues, but the u.s. has been pushing for tougher sanctions against russia. francis? >> all right, tracie potts reporting for us. in a powerful response to russia's actions in ukraine, the united states is sending around 600 soldiers to several baltic nations for training and exercises. around 150 soldiers from the 173rd airborne brigade are arriving in poland today. a pentagon spokesperson says that since russia's aggression in ukraine began, the u.s. has constantly been looking at ways to reassure its allies. it is a big boost to opponents of affirmative action. the u.s. supreme court ruled that michigan did not violate the constitution when it banned race from being used as a factor in college admissions. civil rights groups say this could encourage other states to do the same. more from nbc news justice

correspondent pete williams. >> reporter: it's a big victory for the state of michigan, which had affirmative action in student admissions until 2006, when 58% of state voters voted to ban it. civil rights groups sued, saying the ban amounted o'discrimination, making it harder for minority students to push for favorable admission policies, voting 6-2 the court upheld the right of michigan voters to pass the ban. justice anthony kennedy wrote that while the debate on the issue may be emotional, it should not be beyond the reach of voters. michigan's attorney general said the ruling favors political fairness. >> it's a victory for the citizens of michigan, who overwhelmingly voted in 2006 to require equal treatment in admission to our outstanding colleges and universities. >> reporter: but justice sonya sotomayor often often says affirmative action changed her life, said it rigged the system

against minorities. while the constitution does not guarantee minority groups victory, it does guarantee them meaningful and equal access to that process. >> that was nbc's pete williams reporting. the irs is getting backlash this morning after a new report says the agency handed out bonuses to thousands of employees who didn't pay their taxes. according to a government investigator, the irs has shelled out a million dollars to employees who owed back taxes. between 2010 and 2012, more than $2.8 million in bonuses was paid to employees with conduct issues. the investigator says this doesn't violate any federal regulations, but it doesn't quite reflect the irs mission to enforce tax laws. georgia governor nathan deal is scheduled to sign a controversial gun bill into law today. it would allow licensed gun owners to carry their weapons into more public places than ever before.

under the law, gun owners would be able to take their weapon into bars, churches, could also decide whether their congregations could carry firearms. schools would get to vote on whether certain staff members could be armed. gun owners would also be allowed to bring their weapon into airport common areas and unsecured government buildings. the law wouldn't go into effect until july 1st. now to the ferry disaster unfolding off the southern coast of south korea. at least 150 people have been confirmed dead, and around 100 are still missing. more than a week after the ferry sank with mostly high school students onboard. divers searching for victims have to feel for bodies with their hands because the water is just so dark. the cause of the disaster is still under investigation. he got millions of views after being kicked in the head by a train conductor, and now a selfie taking student could be making big bucks. video of jared frank getting kicked has gone viral on

youtube, and now at least one licensing company is offering him a deal. the canadian broadcasting corporation estimates that frank could earn between 30,000 to $250,000 for letting companies advertise on the video's youtube page. frank says he'd like to use that money to go to film school. seems that's how you get to be a celebrity these days. you make a viral video, or in this case, you can be albert pujols, right? >> that's correct. we'll get to him. but he should spend the money so he's aware of where trains are. >> good idea. >> let's talk about mr. pujols. got to start with this special night for the l.a. angel. take a look. >> is this another throwover? no, that's high pitch. and there it goes to left center. and that's number 500. >> yes. that is a beautiful 500th home run by our man there, albert pujols. the 26th player to ever do it. a nationals fan returned the ball without asking for a single cent, as well he should have.

major league baseball suspending four players involved in sunday's bench-clearing brawl between milwaukee and pittsburgh. you might remember this. milwaukee's carlos gomez gets it for three games. martin maldonado out for five. pittsburgh's travis snider sits for two. russell martin for one. three of them are appeal. to the nba playoffs. minutes from tying the series, chicago collapsing against washington. down ten, washington rallies to send the game into overtime. they never looked back from there. washington takes a 2-0 series lead with that 101-91 win. toronto shaking off playoff jitters early in game two against brooklyn. dimarco derozan led the surge with 30 points. toronto holds on 100-95. the series tied 1-1. that's right. the nhl's most storied franchise is the first to head to the second round of the playoffs. montreal's quest for their 25th stanley cup continues. they beat tampa 4-3 for a

four-game sweep. so the seattle seahawks traded for oakland's starting quarterback terrelle pryor. he'll play second fiddle, though, to the super bowl winning russell wilson. but when it comes to paychecks, wilson will play third fiddle. the other two qbs make more than wilson's shall i say paltry $600,000 salary. that will change in time. watch the double-juking kid receiver here. he pull down the pass from none other than the future hall of famer peyton manning. that denver kid's now got a story, doesn't he? >> get off me. you ain't going to do nothing but fight a bum. >> that was boxer shannon briggs. he disrupted a press conference for wladimir klitschko. briggs's brother lost to him. reminds you of what when you see that? rocky 3's kluber doing the same

thing to rocky balboa. >> politics, man. wants to keep me down. don't want a man like know have a puppy because of the fool up there. >> you know, you got a big mouth, you know? >> come on! >> you know bill's over there going, i pity the fool, right? >> either that, or some adrien! pity the fool or adrien. >> can't keep them down. >> you can't win. >> all right, how we doing with our forecast? >> we cleared off the rain last night, but watching the problem areas in the midwest. that's where we're going to see the potential for a few tornados later today, not this morning. just got some cold rain up in north dakota, south dakota, also there in kansas. later today is the big storm that's now in the rockies. we'll shift that into the rains, and when it reaches the plains, that's when we'll see a chance of tornados. chances most likely will be between amarillo, abilene and oklahoma city. doesn't look like it will be too big an outbreak, but that will

be the concern. all indications that we'll have a more significant tornado outbreak sometime late this weekend into next week. you know, that's really the big-time that i'm watching. >> we'll be watching it closely. thank you very much. a woman busted for selling heroin from her intensive care hospital bed. we kid you not. plus, with unrest escalating in ukraine and criticism mounting against russia's putin, guess what his approval rating is. details in just two minutes. woman: how did we do it last time? man: i don't know...i forget. scott: hello, neighbors. man: hey, scott... perfect timing. scott: feeding your lawn need not be so difficult.

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welcome back. some stories making news this morning. we're learning more about that 15-year-old who hitched a ride in the wheel well of a plane. security footage reportedly shows the boy spent seven hours in the aircraft before it took off. he may have been trying to get to relatives in africa. back in russia amid the ukraine land grab, president vladimir putin's land ratings continue to soar in the 80th percenti percentile, and just 18%

disapproving. a 38-year-old woman has been accused of selling heroin from her hospital bed in the intensive care unit. police found 3,800 worth worth of visitors in the hospital. the corvette museum in the massive sinkhole is now open to visitors again. they did get an eyeful when a shocking sinkhole formed right in the middle of the national museum. >> and nasa unveiled three designs for space suits. >> chris christie attacks colorado's pot laws. that and much more next in sc m "scrambled politics." [bell rings]

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[ male announcer ] a funny thing happens when you shoot for the moon. ahh, that's affirmative. [ male announcer ] you get there. you're a go for landing, over. [ male announcer ] the all new cadillac cts, the 2014 motor trend car of the year. now here's your first look at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. senator warren will introduce a bill to deal with $1.2 trillion in student debt. she explained it to rachel maddow. >> the united states government can invest -- it can invest in billionaires by saying keep those big tax loopholes, or it can invest in people who are trying to get an education. and so what i propose is that we link those two things to each other. every dollar we pull in by closing the tax loopholes so we

have the buffett rule in place goes directly in to reducing the interest rate on student loans. >> former president bill clinton is endorsing charlie wrangle for reelection to a 23rd term saying the congressman is, quote, what his district and our country need right now. and a debate on whose state has the better business climate, new york or texas? new jersey governor chris christie talked about why he doesn't support legalizing marijuana by taking a jab at colorado. >> see if you want to live where there's head shops on every corner and people flying into your airport just to get high. to me it's not the quality of life we want here in new jersey and no tax revenue is worth

that. >> and governor of colorado said whether it's hiking season or snow we invite governor cristie to experience our state any time. >> and antonin scalia made an analo analogy. and mark it on your caliber, new york city mayor bill de blasio is proclaiming may 16th as barbara walters day. that's the day the television legend is set to retire.

he gave walters an official city proclamation. >> ed o'keefe joins me from our d.c. bureau to bring us his perspective this morning. good morning. >> good morning. >> the governor signs the safe carry protection act into law. your take, is this an historic victory to the second amendment or throw back to the wild, wild west here? >> i think people would say both. georgia is one of several states now that has these types of laws on the books. they've been in the works for years. there was a lot of focus on this after the newtown shooting after groups tried to bat down these laws. south dakota and alabama have similar laws. the argument is if the guns are there and if somebody shows up trying to cause trouble, that those that are legally carrying

the weapons might be able to deter or stop them. gun control groups turn around and say no way. by allowing people to have those guns in places like bars or in limited quantities or locations in airports, it might bring more violence. >> everybody is all about this open letter thing, it's the thing to do. this is an open letter in the "new york post" to chelsea clinton's unborn baby. one she said what makes you so special is that you're going to live your whole life in make believe. they label this child a an asset for hillary pant suit. and it goes on and on bashing this unborn baby and the clintons. >> to some extent some would say that what this letter is doing it perhaps describing what many

people think about this whole situation. others would say it's totally unfair and uncalled for but it the "new york post" and they have an on again/off again relationship with the clinton and this won't help them. this baby, as the article suggests, it's very possible one day this could be become the third or fourth clinton to, as they put it, rule the kingdom. >> we'll see if that baby makes an appearance on the campaign in 2016. >> you better believe it will. >> bill karins back here. swimming in new york's east river. would you swim in the river? next. her options. her valuable assets were staying. and selling her car wouldn't fly. we helped sydney manage her debt and prioritize her goals,

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i'm going to do whatever you have done. >> oh, no, no, no, no. >> i'm going to do whatever you have done here. >> you don't want to do that. >> really? it seems to have done pretty well, dave. >> it's gone on. >> can you see those two sharing the same stage? my favorite part of the morning. i'm sharing this desk with you guys here. we are talking about the asian-american vote and it's leaning one way. >> the discussion about that group, virginia, ohio, florida, a lot of people saying they helped to swing those states. a new report came out this morning on them saying they've gone left. immigration reform in the last four years, doubling their support for a path to

citizenship. when you look for taxes, taxing the rich to pay down the deficit, 46% agree with that. >> they're always on the sidelines cheering, big smiles on their faces. >> this is shocking. five former buffalo bill cheerleaders are suing because they're saying they were exploited and only paid less than $8 an hour for their work and they're asked to volunteer. some said they have to pay for their own uniforms. some are asked to do jiggle tests. >> to see which parts jiggle. >> i had no idea the nfl cheerleaders are treated this way. i thought they got an entertainment wage. they're getting paid the same amount as the guy giving out the

beer. >> effectively $5 an hour. >> you want to take a dip in the hudson river, east river? >> cramer style. >> no. >> this is a deal that filters the water. we'll see if it gets approved. >> i'm frances rivera. this is "first look" on nbc. >> if this was 1914, woodrow wilson would be the 28th president of the united states. the chicago cubs would start playing here in 1916 and the chicago bears would join in 1921. it is wrigley field and today it turns 100. so grab a chicago dog because this is "way too early." >> beautiful wrigley field, the home of the chicago cubs.

♪ >> hey, everybody, good morning. i'm thomas roberts. it is wednesday, april 23rd. welcome to "way too early," a show not intimidated to ivy in the outfield. mike barnicle is with us, making us look at what it like to be here in 1914. he's not wandering through the field confused at all. >> we begin overseas where the united states and ukraine are sending very strong signals to russia about the regional price there is. the u.s. is deploying hundreds troops. more than 400 troops will be deployed to estonia, latvia and