dr. maya angelou passes away, but her words are eternal. and a couple of incredible finishes in the nba and the nhl playoffs. the last-second drama that kept two teams alive to fight another day. this is "way too early"! hi there, everybody, good morning, i'm thomas roberts. it is thursday, may 29th. welcome to "way too early," the show that is not going to complain about the length of the playoffs anymore even though they totally drag on forever. forever. so we're going to talk more about that in sports. but we want to start out with what's taking place as voices grow louder in d.c. we've got the v.a. watchdog is out with its initial report on the phoenix v.a. facility. and the news is not good. investigators found data was manipulated and reports were concealed in an attempt to hide prolonged wait times. the report says 1,700 individuals were not placed on

wait lists at the center in phoenix. and the ones who were had to wait, on average, 115 days for treatment. that's five times as long as administrators initially reported. and while the report does criticize the bureaucracy of the v.a., it does not directly address the allegations that vets died while waiting for care. previously investigators found 17 of the 40 alleged cases showed no evidence that the deaths were linked to the delays. and while the v.a. secretary, eric shinseki, finds the findings reprehensible, democrat senators mark udall, john walsh and kay hagen have called on president obama to replace shinseki, joining several prominent republicans. the white house called the report, quote, extremely troubling. at west point, president obama used his commencement address there to lay out his vision for america's role in the world going fort. and obama defended his foreign policy saying critics' stance were engaging in partisan politics.

the president also spoke about america's new number one threat, decentralized extremists abroad. >> military that you have joined is and always will be the backbone of that leadership. u.s. military action cannot be the only or even primary component of our leadership in every instance. just because we have the best hammer does not mean that every problem is a nail. for the foreseeable future, the most direct threat to america at home and abroad remains terrorism. but a strategy that involves invading every country that harbors terrorist networks is naive and unsustainable. today's principal threat no longer comes from a centralized al qaeda leadership. instead it comes from decentralized al qaeda affiliates and extremists. many with agendas focused in

countries where they operate. so we have to develop a strategy that matches this diffuse threat, one that expands our reach without sending forces that stretch our military too thin. >> president obama then called on congress to finance a new $5 billion counterterrorism fund to build partnerships with the governments of countries where some of these extremist groups thrive. edward snowden says there is no evidence that his leaks of classified information have damaged national security. in an exclusive interview with nbc's brian williams, the computer specialist and self-proclaimed american spy challenged the u.s. government to prove his actions put the country at risk. the hour-long conversation was held in moscow where the 29-year-old is living under temporary asylum. snowden described the nsa's surveillance tools, claiming analysts can watch americans as they draft e-mails, essentially monitoring their thoughts while the former contractor claimed some government programs are useful, he says others are downright dangerous and

therefore needed to be exposed. >> in your mind, though, are you blameless? have you done, as you look at this, just a good thing? have you performed, as you see it, a public service? >> i think it can be both. i think the most important idea is to remember that there have been times throughout american history where what is right is not the same as what is legal. sometimes to do the right thing, you have to break a law. >> from north carolina and while i, after this interview, am free to fly back to the united states, you can't. does that hurt you? >> i may have lost my ability to travel, but i've ingained the ability to go to sleep at night and put my head on the pillow and feel comfortable that i've done the right thing, even when it was the hard thing, and i'm

comfortable with that. >> the obama administration is outraged by snowden's revelations, with secretary of state john kerry calling on him to, quote, man up and face the espionage charges against him. >> what he's done is expose, for terrorists, a lot of mechanisms which now affect operational security of those terrorists and make it harder for the united states to break up plots, harder to protect our nation. if this man is a patriot, he should stay in the united states and make his case. patriots don't go to russia. they don't seek asylum in cuba. they don't seek asylum in venezuela. they fight their cause here. there are many a patriot. you can go back to the pentagon papers, dan elsberg and others who stood and went to the court system of america and made their case. edward snowden is a coward. he is a traitor, and he has betrayed his country. and if he wants to come home tomorrow to face the music, he can do so. >> strong statements there from secretary kerry.

a seven-term republican senator is making a bold prediction about the push for marriage equality. senator orrin hatch of utah says while he's opposed to same-sex marriage, it's becoming clear that it will soon become legal across the country. >> sooner or later, gay marriage is probably going to be approved by the supreme court of the united states, and certainly as the people in this country move towards it, especially young people. you know, i don't think that's the right way to go. on the other hand, i do accept whatever the courts say. >> marriage equality currently exists in 19 states plus washington, d.c. a new study out reveals an alateraling rise in obesity around the world. researchers say that 30% of the world's population is now overweight or considered obese. and that works out to 2.1 billion people. a 145% increase from 1980. the u.s. topping the list with

87 million americans considered obese. about 13% of the world's total. let's shift gears and talk about business today. we had investors hoping for a better day, at least out of the gate as you look at what we see on the indices. yesterday red arrows across the board. now, yesterday ended a four-day record-setting win streak. the ten-year treasury yield also hit its lowest point since last summer. jeff cutmore is live in london. this was anticipated because it can only go on so long before it takes a knock. >> yeah, absolutely. we're starting to sedat that which is a bit indifferent, and that's got traders sitting on her hands. and i think you'll see the same again today early on because we get a revision of the first quarter gdp number, and we're looking at a minus 0.7. that's a 0.7% contraction here. we'll also get some jobless claims numbers as well. so that number is expected to be better. but a lot of people in the market hoping growth is improving for the second

quarter. and very quickly, that dr. dre deal has been done by apple. $3 billion to buy beats which will give them access to the streaming music service and apple, of course, will be able to sell the headphones in its stores. so if you're into dr. dre and beats, then you can now get them online at apple. >> all right. that was such a big deal. other thing, i know we talk a lot about pharma news, but we have this interesting story about cialis, the company wanting to make the pill available over the counter. what's the likelihood that the prescription for that's going to go away? >> well, i think they've got a pretty good case to make here. you know, they're saying this $2 billion drug is going to come off payton over the next few years here, and eli lilly saying look, there is an unmet demand. we think a lot of men with self-diagnosis.

we think they should be able to get cialis over the counter. and if they with persuade the regulator on this, then i think there's a reasonable chance this erectile dysfunction pill could start to be sold over the counter rather than forcing men to go through what can at times, i'm sure, be a very embarrassing diagnosis process through the doctors. so i think eli lilly have got a pretty good chance of getting this one through. back to you. >> okay, jeff, thank you, sir. much appreciated. there was perhaps no more poetic icon in america today than maya angelou. she is being remembered for a breathtaking body of work and a life that is renowned in its eloquence and pow irto endure her words. in 1950s as a dancer and a singer and she went on to conduct streetcars in san francisco. she was the first african-american female streetcar driver. later working alongside leaders of the civil rights movement, her seminal book "i know why the caged bird sings," told of life in the jim crow south, sexually assaulted by her mother's

boyfriend at the age of 7. she didn't speak for five years. but she would eventually find her voice. and in 1993 her words lifted her to the heights of power, sharing the podium with newly elected president bill clinton at his inauguration. >> for a number of years, i was a moute, and my grandmother used to braid my hair. and she'd say, sister, mama don't care what these people say about you not talking, that you're an idiot or you're a moron. mama don't care. mama know when you and the good lord get ready, sister. you're going to be a preacher. and she could see me stand on a platform with the president of the united states, speaking to all america, my grandma. what do you say? >> there is a true yearning to respond to the singing river and the wise rock, so say the asian,

the hispanic, the jew, the african, the native american, the sioux, the muslim, the french, the greek, the irish, the rabbi, the priest, the sheikh, the gay, the straight, the preacher, the privileged, the homeless, the teacher, they all hear the speaking of the tree. >> amazing, just think of the ripple effects of her words. and just as we look back at her life, angelo appeared in the hit tv series "roots," and her list of accolades grew from there. she received a medal of freedom from president obama as well as winning grammys and emmys. she died at her home in winst winston-sal winston-salem, north carolina, where she taught at wake forest since 1982. angelou was 86 years old. let's talk about women a little more and talk about the most powerful women in the world. "forbes" annual list is out, and some of the top names may not surprise you. imf managing director christine

lagarde at number five, the president of brazil is fourth while melinda gates sits at number three. janet yellen is second on this list. and at number one, german chancellor angela merkel. the list made us wonder who do you think should sit at number one? tweet us your most creative answers using #waytooearly. we look forward to hearing from you. still ahead on "way too early," lebron james has what may have been his worst game, but the heat were still in a position to close out the pacers. did miami's supporting cast come through in the clutch? and strapped in and ready to fly. this base-jumping dog is pretty cool, but it's not the only animal ride we have planned for the cooler. that and a check on weather when "way too early" comes right back. a thursday edition. and look. maybe i'll button my coat when you come back, or not. jen doesn't like it buttoned. anyway, we'll be back after this.

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the heat and the pacers in game five of the eastern conference finals. lebron james and some serious foul trouble, limited to less than 25 minutes. he scored just seven points. that's a career playoff low for him. we jump to the fourth. james manages to knock down that three-pointer to tie things at 81-81. but this game belongs to paul george who scored 21 of the 37 points in the fourth. here's a big three that gives the pacers a late four-point lead. now, the heat get a chance for the win, trailing by two with ten seconds to play. but chris bosh hits from the rim. indiana lives to play another day, 93-90 victory. miami still leads the series 3-2. tonight the thunder and the spurs each looking to take an edge in game five in san antonio. to the stanley cup playoffs. the blackhawks on the brink of elimination against the kings in game five. we jump to the third period in that one. kings with a 4-3 lead when ben smith nets the equalizer after a scoreless overtime to double o.t. we go.

>> now kane. he scores! >> michael handzus with the game-winning goal there, keeping chicago alive. blackhawks get the 5-4 win but still trail in the series, 3-2. and tonight the rangers head back to the garden for another shot to close things out against the canadiens. >> it's going to be a late night tonight. good basketball, good hockey. >> how are you going to do it all? >> a nap. >> nap? all right. we'll see how you fare tomorrow morning. now, we have bad news for golf fans out there. tiger will not be on the prowl at the u.s. open this year. woods will miss his second major championship in a row as he recovers from back surgery. woods last played at the wgc cadillac championship in march. and he had surgery to eliminate that pinched nerve. later that month it caused him to miss the masters for the first time in his career. despite the time off, tiger remains the third ranked golfer on the pga tour. so we wish him a speedy recovery. easy for me to say. i want to go back to the heat and the pacers in game

five. and now lance stephenson engages in trash talking in that series with stephenson admittedly trying to get into lebron's head. stephenson stepped it up, a little bit of a notch last night. the pacers' guard leans over, blows into the ear of james. check out lebron, his reaction. he can't believe it. it looks like it worked pretty well last night. >> lebron's reaction is the best part. >> yeah. >> because he tries no the to react. and he has to. let's get a check on weather. >> like what's up with this dude is pretty much what he was saying. >> hey, look, you've got a windy forecast. look at all of your arrows. >> you could say that. a little breezy. down along the gulf is where we by far so seen the worst weather. yesterday in louisiana you got drenched. a lot of localized flooding. now more flooding. so from new orleans to mobile, driving i-10, by far the worst weather in the country right now. and we could see an additional localized three to five inches, especially right there near mobile bay. so that's the biggest problem.

later today we could have some minor airport trouble with your typical afternoon storms there in atlanta and florida. and look at the temperatures this morning. we had the a.c. on in most of connecticut two days ago. it was mid to upper 80s. it is 41 this morning at hartford. some of the suburbs are in the 30s. so it's a chilly new england morning. we're about 10 to 15 degrees cooler right now than yesterday. and we will see a few showers, too. even d.c. is much cooler. they were 92 a few days ago. now 66 for a high with showers. >> it really is amazing for this late in may. thank you, sir. appreciate it. coming up at the top of the hour on "morning joe," brian williams' exclusive interview with edward snowden. why snowden said he considers himself a patriot, not a traitor, and why secretary kerry says he should come back to the u.s. and prove it once and for all. then we're going to huddle around the water cooler. why one direction's controversial video may put their american tour in jeopardy. jen, have you heard about this? their american tour could be in

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it's a very beautiful name, i know. i mean, i like it. i was born with the name mayuri johnson. >> all right. so at the top of the show, we talked about the loss of poet and activist maya angelou. if you want to sound smart today, tell your friends that maya's given name was marguerite johnson, but her brother could

not pronounce it, so he gave her the nickname maya, although her first marriage ended in divorce, she kept her husband's last name, angelo. a lot of people want to say angelou, but it's low. that's really how you want to sound smart. let's talk to our man louis. yesterday you were filling us in on the feuds between cats and dogs. cats are up by one. >> that's right. working the dog story. let's start with what may be the first base-jumping dog ever, thomas. whisper is a 4-year-old miniature australian dalgcattle. owners strapped him onto his back and jumped off the side of eiger mountain in switzerland, that's more than 13,000 feet in the air. the question is, did he have a choice? look at that. he's got his goggles on. he looks like he's having a good time. and if you needed to see another animal strapped to the back of its owner, check out this video of a goat going piggyback style on a bicycle. we're not sure where this video

came from, but we're just going to let you look at it and enjoy it. >> holy smokes. >> that is definitely funny. and random. now let's get to some serious news involving my former band, one direction. a top u.s. immigration expert says a video reportedly showing them smoking marijuana could deem them inadmissible to the united states. the news couldn't come at a worse time for my former bandmates, scheduled to begin a 39-day tour across the country in august. the video was taken in peru. the expert says if they were convicted of a crime, they may be denied entry when they try and cross the border. now, if kept from entering the country, will be denied hearing one of the best songs ever. ♪ we danced all night sthoe ♪ to the best song ever ♪ we knew every line ♪ now i can't remember how it goes ♪ ♪ but i know that i won't forget her ♪ ♪ because we danced all night to

the best song ever ♪ >> that is the best song, ever, thomas. >> why did you leave that group? you had better hair. >> i know. better pay. better hair. i didn't have to wake up early. >> they kicked you out because of that hair, didn't they? >> they did. they did. >> what's last? >> finally, something magical happened yesterday in amarillo, texas. specifically at the big texan steak ranch restaurant where true to its name, the owner advertises a free 72-ounce steak that's 4 1/2 pounds of beef. the catch, you have to finish that along with a baked potato, shrimp salad and roll in an hour. for you, yesterday this woman, she's 5'7", she weighs 125 pounds. her name is molly skyler took to this challenge, and she didn't just eat one of those meals in an hour, she ate two of them, thomas, in 15 minutes. it should be noted this is an unassuming-looking woman, but she's actually a professional eater. she finished the first steak in less than five minutes. the previous record of eight minutes in 52 seconds was held

by eating champ joey chestnuts. >> fred flintstone on that. >> she's just crushing that. >> that is amazing. >> i didn't think that was humanly possible. you think you could do that, thomas? >> i could not do that, no. >> we should go try. >> mika just walked in on that good story. thank you, sir. earlier in the show, we asked you who should be considered the most powerful woman in the world. our producer has some of the responses. ju justine? >> good morning, thomas. michael says he would like to see malala yusefzaya. >> i think malala is a great one. we appreciate the responses. stick around, everybody. "morning joe" is just moments away. mine was earned in korea in 1953. afghanistan, in 2009. orbiting the moon in 1971.

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captain: and here's a tip. bellman: thanks, captain obvious. when you save money on hotel rooms, it's just like saving money on anything else that costs money. like shoes, textiles, foreign investments, spatulas, bounty hunters, javelins... welcome back. let's get a check on the day ahead. the government is expected to release the gdp estimate for the first quarter today. the report is supposed to show that the u.s. economy shrank for the first time in three years. and the president will host a day-long summit at the white

house. today to bring attention to the danger of sports-related concussions. the focus will center specifically around injuries among children and other young athletes. and finally, 46 focus on children. of the scripps national spelling bee. we wish all of the contenders the best of luck. "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ . i wrote a poem called "phenomenal woman." and i wrote it for black women. and i wrote it for white women. i wrote it for short and tall and very fat women. the kind who say there's a skinny woman trying to get out. and i wrote it for very thin women. those who deserve all our sympathy. i wrotet