casey hunt from louisville. join me tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m., for hardball. right on this. good wednesday morning, everybody. nfl under fire from the bears jim mcman to hundreds of former players, america's most powerful professional sport is under pressure for painkillers and narcotics. pet danger. dog and cat treats that can hurt or even kill your family members are being taken off store shelves. voter nation. tuesday's results are in and we have the winners and losers. plus, 20 million bees on the loose in one place. this season's winner of "the voice" and a $60 million mistake. thank you for joining us, everybody. the votes in and several states are looking to november. here are some primary results

for you n kentucky, senate republican leader mitch mcconnell will take on grimes who locked up the nomination. mcconnell got close to 60% of the vote to defeat his tea party challenger. in the georgia republican senate primary, it is going to a runoff. no candidate came near to 50% in the seven candidate primary field. right now it looks like congressman jack kingston will face per dmu july. in idaho, high stakes primary congressman mike simpson an ally of john boehner has 63% of the vote over brian smith with almost all of the precincts reporting. and just because the clintons are stumping for you doesn't mean that victory is a sure thing. in pennsylvania, the woman whose son is married to chelsea clinton lost her seat to brenda boil. the planned execution of a missouri inmate is put on hold.

a u.s. supreme court justice issued the order overnight to suspend the execution of russell bucklu. there is a little more than an hour to spare before his scheduled lethal injection. several protests took place across the state urging officials to stop executing convicted felons. this would have been the first lethal injection since the botched execution of an oklahoma inmate last month. it was stayed because of a raur medical condition. a federal judge has struck down pennsylvania's ban on gay marriage that, means same-sex unions are now legal in that state and throughout the entire northeast for that matter. pennsylvania's attorney general previously called the ban unconstitutional and refused to defend it. nbc's tracie potts is live if washington with much more on this. good morning to you, traci. so is this the end of road for the state's ban? >> probably not. right now pennsylvania's republican governor is opposed same-sex marriage there so we're

waiting this morning to see if he might appeal the ruling. >> reporter: there were rallies around the state after a federal judge ruled that the 18--year-old ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. >> an injustice has been done for a long time. and we're going to stop it today. >> philadelphia's mayor calls it a historic day county office there's stay open late last night to handle applications. the state's attorney general voiced her support. >> i think that where there's inequality in one group of people or one class of people, then there is enequality amongst all of us. >> 11 couples sued plus a widow, one couple's teenage daughters and the aclu. governor tom corbin hasn't said if he'll appeal. there is a flurry of activity this week. on monday, a judge struck done oregon's same sex marriage ban. a federal judge ordered utah to recognize 1,000 couples who married before the u.s. supreme court stepped in there. yesterday, a federal court put

marriages in idaho on hold pending an appeal. nearly half the nation's residen residence, 44%, now live in a state where same sex couples can marry. back live now. so here's where we are right now. there are 25 states, half of the states in this country that recognize or allow same-sex marriage. but, this is a big but, some of those are tied up in the courts, only 19 of those states where same sex couples can actually get married right now. some of them are on hold. >> all right. tracie potts, thank you for that report. now to explosive new allegations being leveled against the nfl. a lawsuit filed by a group of retired players who claim the league placed its profits above their health. the players say the nfl supplied them with drugs illegally to conceal injuries and that allegedly led to long term medical and substance abuse problems. nbc's ron not has more. >> reporter: the lawsuit agos

that the nfl game players drugs to mask some serious injuries they were not told about all in an effort to keep them on the field and the money rolling in. baltimore attorney steve silverman filed the suit in u.s. district court in san francisco. >> so what you have in the envelope sn envelonfl is a bunch of anest sized gladiators out there going out there every wook and the nfl is putting profit before players. >> eight former players including jim mcman of the chicago bears are named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. nearly 600 ex-players signed on in support. mcmahon says in the lawsuit he played with the broken neck and ankle during his career without being told by team doctors and trainers. instead, getting painkillers and sent back into games later becoming adigted. the lawsuit said the drugs were administered to players without prescriptions. >> roger, do you have any

comment on the lawsuit filed in baltimore today about painkillers? >> i don't, barry. i was only made aware of it briefly. i don't believe of our attorneys had an opportunity to look at it and i've been in meetings all day. >> the nfl is america's most popular sport. last year the league settled a lawsuit with former players for $765 million but a federal judge rejected the agreement saying the amount is insufficient. >> that was ron mot reporting. investigation is underway after an accident caused millions of bees to swarm a delaware highway. delaware state police say a tractor-trailer was carrying 20 million bees from florida to maine when it overturned. many of those bees were able to escape from their boxes after the accident. the driver and two passengers were actually stung 5 50 0 to 1 times each. bee handlers had to be called

into the scene to calm the insects down. i'm not sure how you calm down a bee. but here is the latest what is buzzing around the sports world. >> good morning you to, betty. we're going to start with the nba eastern conference finals. watch this. >> he does it! he does it! they count the basket. >> he does it. 0.1 seconds left in the half there. indiana gets a lucky tap before the first half. paul journgeorge scores 14 poin. miami's defense steps up. lebron james steals right here. dwyane wade following up. he gets the beauty of a dunk. they win 87-83. series tied one game all. they had a 1.7% chance of winning. the cleveland cavaliers get the number one nba draft pick again. that's three in the last four years. it was the daughter of the bucks co-owner who stole the show.

that woman represented at the draft. her twitter following ballooned from 250 to 24,000 after being on tv. too bad the bucs which have a 20% chance of getting number one got number two. >> super bowl 52 and 2018 will be played in minnesota. congratulations. >> vikings new $1 billion stadium will host the 2018 big game which can means tens of thousands in tax dollars. 19921 the last time they got it. the stadium scheduled to finnish 2016. lots of glass there. future super bowl cities, glendale, arizona, san francisco and houston, texas. in baseball's minor league, two teammates they brawl. heated words on the field lead to a dugout scuffle. one apparently bites off some of the other's ear. >> no! >> yes. he goes tyson on him. plastic surgery in the mix. and i've heard maybe a bit of

the ear fell on the dugout floor. i don't know. >> maybe it can be reattached. >> that's right. good news from hall of famer jim kelly, buffalo bill great is done with chemo treatment. that doesn't mean the battle with cancer is over. he is just saying, hey, man, i am still fighting. a lot of people rooting for him. a massive sink hole opens near the end zone at tennessee university. 40 feet wide and 40 feet deep. hopefully it stops growing here. they're going to fill it with rock and concrete. that is a lot of rock and concrete. i want to be that dguy though. >> thank you, richard. noes secret that the world is seeing record heat levels and learning about this latest month's average global temperature. it's above the charts here. >> it really sim pressive. we have two organization that's give us the temperatures every month when you have satellite estimates and one says it's the second warmest april ever. the other said it is warmest

april ever. not humanity or on the earth, the records go back to the '70s. >> okay. so not that long. >> yes. >> got you. >> still impressive. we've had one month after another that keeps fwgetting warmer. how about this golf balls to baseball sized hail from naperville, illinois yesterday. it was widespread, too. across northern illinois and also portions of indiana. big thunderstorms rolled through chicago yesterday also with these storms. so let's get to the maps and show where you the storm reports were. 136 reports of large hail from california and especially iowa, northern illinois. we still have storms out there. even at this hour. but they are finally weakening. you'll get wet weather there around the quad cities and into chicago. we also have wet weather there around detroit and toledo and in cleveland also expecting wet weather this morning. and some thunderstorms and downpours in western new york now heading to central pennsylvania. some of that could head to philadelphia or baltimore for your morning commute. later this afternoon we'll do it

again, betty. areas like yesterday and also we'll have d.c. area, virginia, kentucky, some strong thunderstorms. not tornadoes, but more hail and wind damage. >> okay. be careful out there. thank you, bill. netflix expands and listen to this. the fbi is struggling to hire hackers who don't smoke pot. can you believe it? plus that pet treat danger warning over snacks for your dogs and cats. (mother vo) when i was pregnant... i got more advice than i knew what to do with. what i needed was information i could trust on how to take care of me and my baby.

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time to get down to business. netflix will expand into germany, france and others reaching nearly 50 countries aren't globe. the internet video service has about 48 million subscribers including 13 million outside the u.s. billionaire investor warren buffett met with a group of young entrepreneurs called the tycoons of tomorrow. i love that name. the oracle of omaha served as a judge among kids 9-14 who were part of a group of finalists in a national grow your own business competition. listen up pet lovers.

petco will stop selling dog and cat treats made by china by the end of the year. the fda reports nearly 5,000 pet illnesses and 1,000 dog deaths are reportedly caused by eating jerky treats made in china. general motors added store recalls yesterday covering 2.4 million cars and trucks. that makes 29 recalls totaling almost 14 million vehicles in the u.s. this year alone. gm hired 35 new safety investigators and says more recalls are likely in the future. some other stories we're following, at least 118 people are dead in nigeria after two car bombs exploded in a city. the terrorist group is believed to be responsible and you know this is that same group that kidnapped 276 girls more than a month ago. new rules at newark's airport following that near miss last month. one plane was cleared to land as

another was cleared to take off on runway that's int-- runways t intersecreta stekts each other. the planes will no longer use that procedure. the fbi having a tough time hiring hackers. here's why, applicants are disqualified from applying if they have smoked weed in the past three years. well, now fbi director is saying the agency might have to re-evaluate those rules. what would have thought? it cost $60 million complete with an hd video board and a chick filet? but cracks in the concrete of a texas high school football stadium canceled all games there next season. now to find out who will foot the bill for all those repairs. republicans, they prepare to be upset by president obama today. also pat say jack lashes out at climate alarmists and you could

be the newest actor on netflix's "house of cards"?

my dad has aor afib.brillation, he has the most common kind... ...it's not caused by a heart valve problem. dad, it says your afib puts you at 5 times greater risk of a stroke. that's why i take my warfarin every day. but it looks like maybe we should ask your doctor about pradaxa. in a clinical trial, pradaxa® (dabigatran etexilate mesylate)... ...was proven superior to warfarin at reducing the risk of stroke. and unlike warfarin, with no regular blood tests or dietary restrictions. hey thanks for calling my doctor. sure. pradaxa is not for people with artificial heart valves. don't stop taking pradaxa without talking to your doctor. stopping increases your risk of stroke. ask your doctor if you need to stop pradaxa before surgery or a medical or dental procedure. pradaxa can cause serious, sometimes fatal, bleeding.

don't take pradaxa if you have abnormal bleeding or have had a heart valve replaced. seek immediate medical care for unexpected signs of bleeding, like unusual bruising. pradaxa may increase your bleeding risk if you're 75 or older, have a bleeding condition or stomach ulcer, take aspirin, nsaids, or blood thinners... ...or if you have kidney problems, especially if you take certain medicines. tell your doctors about all medicines you take. pradaxa side effects include indigestion, stomach pain, upset, or burning. if you or someone you love has afib not caused by a heart valve problem... ...ask your doctor about reducing the risk of stroke with pradaxa. here's your look at "scrambled politics." the white house was abuzz for students around the nation for a talent show. the turn around arts program welcomed singers, musicians, dancers, even a few celebrities including sarah jessica parker the first lady and president

himself, of course. "the washington post" points out that wheel of fortune host pat say jack had this puzzling tweet complete with vowels and all saying, i now believe global warming alarmists are unpatriotic racists knowingly misleading for their own good ends. good night. well, good luck with that one, pat. and the net flicks hit "house of cards" is looking for an actor to play the head of the national security agency. sounds like an edward snowden plot line may be developing. republicans are going to freak out today. the reason president obama plans to designate his 11th new national monument this one is in new mexico's oregon mountains. but the house gop passed a bill in march curbing the president's ability to protect national lands. they also claim there are border issues with that. so what will obama care be called in five years? at a fund-raiser president obama said it will be a program that

is working and he jokes that it could be renamed reagancare as the crowd began laughing. finally, the department of the interior has spoken and marijuana krocrops are not allo to be irrigated with federal water. all right. so joining me now from our d.c. bureau, "washington post" reporter ed o'keefe. always good to see you. good morning. >> good morning, betty. >> let's talk about today's crucial procedural vote on david baron's nomination'u.s. circuit court after pales. you know, it comes a day after the obama administration released a memo arguing that targeting an american in counter-terrorism operations is constitutional. now as you know, baron has drawn a lot of criticism for authoring documents justifying the use of drones to kill americans overseas. how will this affect the vote? >> well, it looks like that he's going to survive. he'll get through this procedural vote at confirmation.

theish sue whether or not the obama administration whatever publicly release the memo that's he helped write justifying such drone strikes. both a band of liberal democratic senators and a few conservative senators that said first of all they want to be able to see it. they were able to see it last week. and then they said the public deserves to be able to see it. and so now due to a court case that had basically been pushing for the same thing, the administration will release at least some of the documents he helped write and that should make enough -- make it sufficient, at least, for the senators this that concerns. >> some democrats had resisted baron's nomination wanting to see the documents. so just because they're being released, would that alone be enough to sway the vote for baron? you know, senate majority leader harry reid says he has enough democratic votes. >> he thinks everything is going to be okay. that is enough. the argument is that they have been pushing the administration for the past few years to be transparent about this issue.

they feel that the american public deserves to see the legal justification for why this type of thing should ab loud to happen. it looks now that at least the democrats who were concerned about this will, you know, drop their opposition or their concern and vote them in. >> all right. ed, thanks so much for your insight. we appreciate it. >> take care. >> coming up, first buzz is next including a hero cat and another who can't stand the music. you have to see this. all over the world know us, but they don't yet know we're a family. we're right where you need us. at the next job, next adventure or at the next exit helping you explore super destinations and do everything under the sun. 12 brands. more hotels than anyone else in the world. so wherever you want to be, whatever you want to do, chances are we're already there. save up to 25% and earn bonus points when you book at wyndhamrewards.com. still running in the morning? yeah.

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the winner of "the invoice"

is josh kaufman wins it for team usher. >> the winner of "the voice" was crown last night. team usher's josh kaufman got a deal with universal republic records and $100,000. nice. usher is the first coach not named adam or blake to come out on top. >> that's right. congratulations to him. >> hold on a second. he had a good run. >> hey, first win for i guess not first win, first pitch for -- >> first buzz. all these firsts. first pitch wasn't exactly what i thought it would be. >> we were promised that the hero cat that saved the 4-year-old boy from the dog would be flowing out the first pitch and he would throw it out. this is hero cat. and so we went to bakersfield for the baseball game and the first pitch. and here's how it kind of went down. yeah. >> that was it? >> was that it? >> that was kind of it.

>> the rescue was way more dramatic than the first pitch. they had the baseball on a wire. it was supposed to go down the wire. someone tripped on the wire. the wire got tangled. the whole thing wassen epic fail. >> we have to put it on the tail and make it a catapult. >> that's what we do for dm commercial breaks. check thought cat. a lot of us love this song but tired of the song, "let it go" from frozen. it's a wonderful rendition. everyone is singing it including this person. well, the cat has had enough. shut off the lights on the performance. ♪ now they know let it go let it go ♪ >> the cat is saying no. no. >> okay. there is a list out there that i don't think any of us will ever be on. >> you'll be on it. the most beautiful list coming

out soon. they get fun submissions now. i was reading a couple submissions. this one says she's from new york, just call her the italian stallion. late night tv needs fallon. all sorts of rhyming cup lets. >> all these people in capitol hill. get your votes in. "way too early" starts right now. >> we all know that senator mcconnell has been in washington a little bit too long. so out of touch that he can't tell the difference between a duke jersey and the university of kentucky. let me set the record straight for our senior citizen who is out of touch with the commonwealth of kentucky. we all know washington is broken. it's not working for kentucky and after 30 years, it is mitch mcconnell at the center of the gridlock, obstruction and extreme partisanship that we

seek. >> mitch mcconnell survives the tea party but it is his democratic challenger who questions his kentucky wild cat decreed k. he claw back to keep his senate seat? drone justice, classified material will become public record on how the white house takes out american tariffs overseas. and tara the tackler, remember that cat? it was a hero. now she's honored on the pitcher's mound. the video you must see to believe. this is "way too early"! >> hey sh everybody. good morning, everybody. it is wednesday, may 21st. welcome to "way too early." a show that was a dog person kind of show until we met tara the cat. and jen is not keeping an eye on my pocket square today. it was a little banged up in the open. pocket square. hash tag. all right. so let's get to our top story today. the stage i