that does it for our hour. see you again tomorrow night. "first look" is up next. good wednesday morning. right now on "first look," a mississippi veteran delivers a knockout punch to a tea party favorite while a 22-term congressman fights to the end. bill clinton defends their wealth in an nbc exclusive. plus, can house speakers sue the president for not following the law? bob dylan's "like a rolling stone" sells for millions. and is this creepy or very cool? the latest androids we'll have that for you. i'm richard lui. it was a wild primary day starting with the republican party and the battle many characterize as the establishment versus tea party.

mississippi six-term incumbent thad cochran has won the republican senate primary over tea party challenger chris mcdaniel. it was downright nasty at times, and with a big blow for tea party activists, with 99% of the precincts counted, cochran narrowly defeating mcdaniel with about 51% of that vote. democrats also face an old versus new guard battle, 22-term new york congressman charlie rangel declared victory hours ago. this despite no major observing agency including the associated press declaring a winner as of yet there. with 99% of the votes counted, rangel leads with 47% compared to senate senator espaillat. in oklahoma, a runoff was avoided. he had over 50% of the vote there. former president clinton came to his wife's defense.

it all began when hillary clinton said she and bill came out of the white house dead broke. though today business insider ranks bill and hillary clinton as the wealthiest of the living first couples at over $30 million. in an exclusive interview with "meet the press" moderator david gregory, mr. clinton said it's true, they were several million dollars in debt at that time. >> do you understand as a political matter that that could strike people as being out of touch? >> yeah, but she's not out of touch, and she advocates and worked as a senator for things that were good for ordinary people. and before that, all her life, i remember she was working on trying to -- believing in paid leave for pregnant mothers in the 1970s. >> the entire exclusive interview with former president bill clinton airs this sunday only on "meet the press." so support for u.s. involvement in the iraq crisis, it continues to wane. the latest nbc news/"wall street

journal" polls finds nearly three-quarters of americans surveyed believe the war in iraq was not worth it. 22% believe it was. half believe the u.s. is not obligated to help the iraqi government. more than 40% say the u.s. should intervene. meanwhile, the first wave of u.s. troops have arrived in baghdad. iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki is reportedly ready to concede large parts of the country to the islamic insurgents who continue to gain ground there. our richard engel reports from iraq for us. >> reporter: iraqi troops retook a village from extremists in western iraq. but capturing one small town won't change the tide here. isis now moves in whole convoys of u.s.-made humvees. flying their black flag, carrying weapons abandoned by the iraqi army and gaining recruits along the way. some of them just children.

"if there's anyone who can stand up to the isis advance, it may be major general ahmed, commander of iraq's 17th army division. we rode with him south of baghdad to an area u.s. troops once called the triangle of death. "the militants consider this a strategic place," he said. "they want to take these roads to cut baghdad off from the rest of the country." at 41, he's iraq's youngest two-star general. his father is shiite. his mother, sunni. he does not want a religious war. he does want american airstrikes to confront the terrorists, he says. most of his 15,000 troops are u.s. trained, but they don't have u.s.-grade firepower. no tanks, no air support. in his ornate office, he says u.s. troops should have stayed to finish equipping us, to make us 100% ready.

now the general and his men are all that stand between a violent insurgency and the iraqi capital. >> nbc's richard engel in iraq for us on that story. house speaker john boehner could be readying a massive lawsuit against the president of the united states. the speaker has accused the administration of picking and choosing which laws it would enforce, often using executive orders to bypass congress. at issue, did the president exceed his constitutional authority. for instance, president obama used executive orders to raise minimum wages and extend benefits to same-sex couples under federal contracts. an announcement on a potential lawsuit could come from the speaker this week. 2 million bucks. it may seem a bit excessive to pay for a few pieces of paper with scribbled words and doodles, but not when they are the original handwritten lyrics -- yes -- for bob dylan's iconic stone "like a rolling stone." the 1960s draft is in pencil on four sheets of stationery from a washington hotel. the sotheby's sale shatters a

previous sale for rock music lyrics set in 20120 wh0 when jo lennon's" day in the life" sold. mike tyson's spirit taking a bite into the world cup. watch uruguay's luis suarez. does he do it again? his opponent pulls down his shirt saying hey, man, get a hamburger. this is the third biting incident for suarez over the last four years. after fifa investigates, they could give suarez up to a two-year suspension. evander holyfield tweeting this on the story. i guess any part of the body is up for eating. a part of his ear was bitten off in the ring by tyson in 1997. uruguay in the end definitely having an appetite to win. eliminating italy 1-0 and advancing to the round of 16. something the ivory coast could not do, tied with greece in stoppage time, minutes from a draw, advancing. ivory coast draws a penalty. greece converts the penalty kick

for the win. scoreless in the last two games. the unlikely greeks advance now. ivory coast now has to spectate. the u.s. men's soccer team, they've got a 77% chance of moving into the round of 16 says bloomberg sports. here's how the coach wants to do it. >> we want to beat germany. we want to be first in our group. we're not thinking about a tie. >> u.s. coach jurgen klinsmann there. here's how the u.s. can get to the round of 16. scenario one. we beat second-ranked germany. scenario two. we tie germany. scenario three, a little more complicated, portugal and ghana draw or we lose. but win a tiebreaker based on goals scores. i'll go with the first option. the games are at noon eastern tomorrow. nobody's going to be working. oh, the nba off-season rumor mill. will free agent lebron james have another epic quote decision and leave miami as he did cleveland? why not? >> that first one was a disaster. >> we'd have something to talk

about, bill. spot tracker estimating there are only six teams that can put the cash on the barrel head. they all have the cap space to pay the maximum $23.7 million per year. that's a pittance, isn't it? nothing. >> that's if he takes max. >> that's if he takes max, because he doesn't want the max. wild weather wreaking havoc in the midwest. a tornado in illinois. thunderstorms ripping through central parts of the state leaving more than 2500 without power. large parts of southern minnesota remain submerged as well. rising floodwaters devastating communities, destroying crops and closing major highways. as you know, bill karins, nbc meteorologis meteorologist, is here with us. that's headed our way. the northeast, right? >> we have flash flood watches up for western new york, western pennsylvania. and that indiana tornado, we had a very low tornado risk yesterday. there wasn't much evidence that we were going to get a tornado like that. ist just proof that sometimes

the elements come together just right. there was only four tornadoes. it was all associated with the one you just saw, and that was it. as far as today goes, heavy rain that is continuing now eastern ohio, now pushing into western pennsylvania and right along the lake erie and lake ontario. just a soaking rain. interior new england and northern new england, it's a rainy, gloomy day for you. thunderstorms will move to the big cities late. significant airport delays from d.c. to new york all the way up to hartford. it will be this evening into the overnight hours. the daylight hours should be okay and dry on i-95. a threat of thunderstorms, richard, widespread. there's not many cities on the map that don't have a chance of rain in the east. >> you know what's good about that stuff, bill? it cleans the streets the natural way. >> waters the grass. we need it every now and then. >> especially in the northeast. it gets a little dirty, shall we say. a "playboy" interview gets an actor in trouble. plus the obama administration quietly okays u.s. oil exports. and shocking new revelations from a v.a. whistleblower.

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all righty. let's get down to business with cnbc's courtney reagan. good morning to you, courtney. >> good morning to you. the obama administration has opened the door to the first major exports of u.s. oil in more than four decades. "the wall street journal" says the government has told companies they can legally ship a type of unrefined oil that's become plentiful due to shale formations. the u.s.en baed o ebanned oil es in the '70s. amazon plans to use drones to deliver pack ams has been grounded for now. an faa document cites an example what's barred allowing use of drones for recreational purposes. and the fda may soften its stance on weed. it's reviewing medical evidence on the safety and effectiveness of marijuana that could lead the fda to downgrade the drug from its most dangerous list. richard? back to you. >> courtney, it's been a year of weed headlines, no doubt, so

far. >> i know. thanks. talking about dozens of whistleblower accounts on the v.a. scandal right now, one from the phoenix v.a. saying she was forced to hide records of long wait times. the whistleblower also saying here records of patients who died waiting for care were recently altered. nbc's tracie potts is in washington. tracie, good morning to you. and how far and wide do these whistleblower accounts go? >> reporter: well, it's certainly a first-person account of some of what we've heard already. good morning, richard. pauline dewinters says that she was forced to keep those names secret, but she decided to go public after a particularly disturbing case. >> i felt horrible for what i've done, and i cannot erase my role. >> reporter: pauline dewinters says a manager forced her to keep a secreting waiting list with more than 1,000 veterans. >> she came out and she did say, if you do not do it my way, i personally will buy you a bus pass to the seventh street bus. >> reporter: dewinter alleges

it's still happening that her notes about seven patients who died waiting to see doctors were recently altered or erased. sally eliano believes her father-in-law's case forced dewinter to come forward. thomas breen died after waiting two months for an appointment. >> i cursed at her, screaming, crying that he was dead already. >> reporter: in a statement, the v.a. says the allegations are, quote, completely unacceptable and must be investigated. the office of special counsel is reviewing 50 cases where patients claim waiting made them sicker. >> we think it probably is just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the number of complaints that may be out there because this is -- these are just the complaints we know about. >> reporter: senator tom coburn claims 1,000 vets may have lost their lives waiting. >> when i hear about we need more providers or more money, i just go nuts. >> this is ludicrous. >> reporter: lawmakers fear it could cost $50 billion to allow veterans to see private doctors.

but they're concerned if they don't allow veterans to see private doctors when the v.a. is backed up, then the situation will just get worse. richard? >> nbc's tracie potts in washington for us, thank you. some other stories we'rele toing, backtrack after gary oldman apologizing after controversial comments in a playboy interview on mel gibson's 2006 anti-semitic remarks saying gibson is a town that's run by jews and he said the wrong thing because he's actually bitten the hand that bit him. yesterday oldman initialized saying, quote, upon reading my comments in print, i see how insensitive they may be and how they may contribute to the furtherance of a stereotype. a girl allegedly asked to leave a kfc because of facial scars insisting it's not a hoax. her grandma sticking by the

story. two androids were introduced at the museum of science and innovation. made with silicon skin and artificial muscles, one will act as a news reader for young visitors and the other will be museum communicator. dick cheney's dire prediction. joe biden, his favorite pop star. and what happened during a white house press briefing? because what we all really want... ...is more. there's a reason it's called an "all you can eat" buffet. and not a "have just a little buffet". that's the idea behind the more everything plan. it's more of everything you want. for less. plus, get the droid maxx by motorola for 0 down. get more with our best plans on the best network. for best results, use verizon. what's your favorite kind of cheerios? honey nut. but... chocolate is my other favorite... oh yeah, and frosted!

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well, it's time to start your first look at the midweek "scrambled politics" with this. ♪ how often do you see house speaker john boehner and senate majority leader harry reid arm in arm? lawmakers taking a break from their daily dysfunction to sing a bipartisan rendition of "we shall overcome." it was meant to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the civil rights act of 1964. lieutenant governor anthony brown has taken a big step toward becoming maryland's next governor. he won his democratic primary. if brown wins in november, he would become maryland's first african-american governor. dick cheney is predicting a dire attack on the united states opinion the next decade. during an interview on a radio show, cheney said, quote, i think there will be another attack, and next time i think it's likely to be far deadlier than the last one. >> this time, over the course of the 5 1/2 years of the

administration. oh, goodness. >> well, that woman that fainted is a white house intern. and it was her first day. the white house briefing ended rather abruptly after that happened. first, hillary clinton at a book signing, and now vice president joe biden. katy perry, her instagram tour of democratic bigwigs continues. the singer was in d.c. for her prismatic world tour when the veep reportedly invited her to the white house. and who apparently also made her call her grandmother to thank her for her baby blue eyes. that's important. president obama got together with his favorite golf partner, tiger woods, yesterday. the president was joined by vp joe biden and speaker john boehner to honor the 2013 presidents cup golfers. mr. obama who has played over 170 rounds of golf while in office played with woods in florida last year. now alex wagner continues a special series this week covering issues affecting the growing u.s. immigrant community. take a listen.

>> translator: at night it is dark. yes, we need public lighting. >> reporter: and you've been here for how long? ten years, no lights. >> no. >> reporter: maria does not live in a developing country. this is south texas about five miles from the mexican border. >> translator: all the water comes here. >> reporter: maria lives in the shadows of america, quite literally the dark corners that most people don't even know exist. >> be sure to catch "the invisible us" all week on "now with alex wagner." and that's your morning dish of "scrambled politics." i'm joined now by "washington post" reporter ed o'keefe. the thad cochran race strategy there, and we've been talking a lot about it over the last week, going after the democratic votes. and it appears like he did, and it worked out. you know, now, we don't have the information yet, but will mcdaniel hold any water as he's

questioning that strategy? >> yeah, we heard it in his fiery concession speech or at least his speech last night suggesting that perhaps they have to go back and potentially legally challenge the results. look, the rules are that you don't have to be registered. you can show up, and cochran played by the rules essentially by drawing out people who had participated in the last primary and got them to vote last night. he had had run up his democratic margins. he got turnout to increase over a primary that never happens in a run-up, and he defeated the guy that had bested him in the primary. so he went 3 for 3 in the improbabilities category and prevailed and likely will hold on in november. and should republicans take control of the senate in november, he will become the appropriations committee chairman and help bring more federal money back to his state which was one of the arguments he was making here in the last three weeks. >> as you know, the devil's in the details here. he won with that 51% margin. not a huge one. >> no. >> as the numbers come in and we

get a sense of how many democrats had voted for him, this might show in reality that the tea party is still doing fine. >> yeah, it might because, you know, absent those democratic voters, mcdaniel probably would have prevailed. and i think that's the point he's making is that this was a gop runoff. only republicans should be allowed to vote. but if the senator brought in democrats, it would suggest that perhaps his republican support remains soft. >> quickly on this one. as we were reporting a little earlier in this show, house speaker john boehner could be suing the president of the united states for basically, as he's saying, bypassing his constitutional powers through the use of executive orders. does this lawsuit have legs? >> not really. frankly, this happens all the time. there are republicans right now suing the administration over the affordable care act. elements of it or they're joining other lawsuits that are challenging parts of the law. this is just one way to sort of keep it going and try to show base voters they're doing everything they can to fight the president. >> ed o'keefe, thank you for stopping by, my friend. >> take care.

just ahead, billy joel to the rescue of a damsel in distress. details after these messages. s! are like music to your nose. ♪ your love keeps lifting me ♪ ♪ ♪ higher and higher [ male announcer ] more gain scent plus oxi boost and febreze for three big things in one gain fling! it's our best gain ever. for three big things in one gain fling! 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.

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straight to entertainment news. "piano man" and good samaritan, billy joel was tooling around when he saw a woman fall in the street. he pulled her off the road and waited until the ambulance showed up. and eli wallach has died. his career spanned more than 60 years with roles in everything from the 1960s "the misfits" to "the godfather iii." wall la

wallach saying his role as mr. freeze generated the most fan mail. he was 98. i'm richard lu, i and this is "first look." "way too early" starts right now. we all have a right to be proud of our state tonight. thank you very much. thank you for this wonderful honor and wonderful challenge that lies ahead. >> before this race ends, we have to be absolutely certain that the republican primary was won by republican voters. there is something a bit unusual about a republican primary that's decided by liberal democrats. >> mississippi voters give longtime senator thad cochran a narrow victory over his tea party challenger, but chris mcdaniel isn't about to throw in the towel. plus, as u.s. forces begin

their work in iraq, there are reports that iraqi prime minister nuri al maliki is ready to concede much of the country to the insurgents in a bid to protect his capital. and strike three for the world's top soccer player who once again is accused of biting. that's a no-no in my son's preschool. the question now, how long will he be out? this is "way too early." good morning, i'm bill karins in for the great thomas roberts. enjoy your time off, thomas. we miss you here. as far as "way too early" goes, a lot happened last night. the nasty republican primary in mississippi finally over. but the losing candidate isn't conceding just yet. last night thad cochran narrowly edged out tea party challenger chris mcdaniel. just three weeks ago, mcdaniel got more votes but failed to