switching to a more limited military effort. president obama, in an exclusive interview with hard ball's chris matthews warned that the united states will do whatever necessary to prevent iranian weapons from reaching the rebels. >> mr. president we're all watching what's going on with the iranian navy. how do we -- it seems like the old cuban missile crisis where we're trying to send signals back and forth. what signal are you sending as commander in chief to the iranians? >> we've been very straightforward with them. right now, their ships are in international waters. there's a reason why we keep some of our ships in the persian gulf waters. if there are weapons delivered to factions within yemen that could threaten navigation that's a problem. and we're not sending them obscure messages. we send them very direct messages about it. >> let's go now to jim at the pent done with more on the

looming military showdown between the u.s. and iran. >> craig the u.s. military brought in their big guns for this one and they're close on the tails of the iranians. the usair craft carrier theodore rows vilt in the north arabian sea stalking is warships, but at a time at a distance. a convery of five friggots and two freighters. the cargo ship res loaded with weapons for iranian-backed rebels locked in a civil war in yemen. but the iranian convoy is under constant surveillance by u.s. navy war planes and would have to break through a naval blockade of sawyudi and egyptian warships. the u.s. has sent iran a stern warning. >> what we've said to them is if there are weapons delivered to

factions that could threaten navigation that's a problem. and we're not sending them obscure messages. we send them very direct mess aenls about it. >> for now the iranians show no signs of ignoring the blockade. inching along just outside yemen's territorial waters to avoid any military confrontation with u.s. or coalition forces. officials here are convinced the iranians have a plan. they just don't know what it is. and according to one senior official, the iranians are not playing cat and mouse, they're playing chess, which could give them the advantage. after all, the official points out, iranians invented chess. >> thank you. president obama is trying to tune-up support in his own party fort the bipartisan trans-pacific partnership. that plan would create trade partners with 11 other nations. but many democrats are skeptical

especially in the wake of nafta. elizabeth warren says it will impact domestic jobs, benefit large corporations and help the rich get richer. and she's not alone. >> i have never, ever in my 33 years in congress ever supported a trade agreement. i'm not going to start now. they're not good for the american people. they're not good for working men and women and puts us at a disadvantage. so the answer is not only no, but hell no. i'm not going to be doing any single handed trying to defeat it. i've told everybody how i feel and that's the way it is. >> president obama once again in that exclusive interview with chris matthews maintained the deal is a must for international trade and has been done in broad daylight. >> they're throwing the kitchen sink at this trade agreement, which will involve 11 nations and ourselves on the pacific rim. why are they saying these things? >> i guess they don't want it to happen. and i love elizabeth.

we're allies on a whole host of issues. but she's wrong on this. >> now, understandably folks in labor and some progressives are suspicious generally because of the experiences they saw in the past. i understand the anxieties that people feel and some of that has to do with globalization. a lot more of it actually has to do with automation and shifts in the economy away from manufacturing towards services. we're not going to be able to compete for low wage manufacturing jobs any more. that ship has sailed. what we can do is compete for the high end where we're adding value. >> to baltimore now where the justice department has launched a civil rights investigation into the death of 25-year-old freddie gray. hundreds marched in baltimore yesterday demanding justice for the man who died from a spinal cord jooul injury while in police custody. and while it remains unclear precisely how that injury happened, the gray family is asking why police pursued him in

the first place. here is more. >> the justice department announced it's opening its own investigation into how freddie gray suffered a spinal cord injury while in police custody. demonstrators have been peaceful. >> i want a son and i would never want this to happen to my son. the gray family attorney wants to know why freddie gray was arrested in the first place. >> he was allegedly rested for felony running. >> judgment and allegations of civil rights violations goes back decades. jane miller has covered the city for 30 years. >> these folks believe immunities where there's higher crime, depopulation and there's blight, they are dealing with

this kind of interaction with police all the time. >> the police commissioner was meeting with residents in this same neighborhood. >> we have a long way ahead of us. there's a lot of frustration in the community. we're aware of that. with the eyes of the country now on battle pore the police department insists its investigation will be transparent, thorough and complete. craig, back to you. >> tom costello in baltimore thank you. police say they expect to finish their investigation by next friday. the case will then go to the baltimore state's attorney who will decide whether to file charges. less than a month after the justice department report that drug enforcement agents participated in prostitutes overseas. she is stepping down. holder expressed appreciation for her 35 years of service, writing that she is, with quote a trailblazer for equality and led this distinguished agency with honor. but her eight-year tenure during

the on the top job is ending during a rocky period. 13 democrats and 9 democrats on the house oversight committee giving her a vote of no confidence carrying out her duties. she opposes state moves to legalize use of marijuana and even as president obama said the state should be allowed to go forward. leonhart is expected to leave her post sometime next month. and it took more than five months, but it appears the senate will finally vote on loretta lynch's nomination to replace eric holder as attorney general. she will be the nation's first black attorney general. democrats filibustered legislation because it contained abortion restrictions. mcconnell said lynch's vote would only happen after the human trafficking bill was addressed.

this led to widespread criticism. but mcconnell said he is pleased with the outcome. >> are you happy with the way that strategy worked out? >> yeah, i'm happy with it. >> do you think that was the only way to get it done? >> we needed to finish the trafficking bill. it was hung up on the history that everybody understood initially. you followed all this for an endless period of time. i said from the beginning to the end that we would take up the attorney general nomination just as soon as we finished trapping it. >> be very careful that you don't destroyed the human trafficking legislation. that is so important. my senators are not going to sit back and let this go further without responding in a fashion that will cause difficult votes for my republican colleagues. so let's get rid of this

quickly. let's get loretta lynch confirmed quickly and move on to other matters. >> at least five republicans are expected to vote in favor of loretta lynch. the same federal jury that convicted dzhokhar tsarnaev for the bombing of the 2013 boston marathon must now decide his fate, life in prison or death by lethal injection. the trial penalty phase opened tuesday with survivors discussing blood curdling screams in the chaos. quick warning to our viewers now, these images are graphic but central to the prosecution's case. >> victims who were seriously injured by the bombs recounted the terrors the chaos and the excruciating case. for les corcoran who lost both legs said it hurt so much she thought she might die.

a somber courtroom heard the sounds captured by a video recording just after the bombing. >> unless you were there, unless you saw those pictures, i don't think anybody can begin to imagine. you can't begin to imagine the horror of that day. >> her husband, kevin, said last week during a court recess that dzhokhar sartsarnaev should get the death penalty. the father said when he rushed to the hospital, he thought she was a patient in surgery. when he walked into the room and found out it wasn't her he said he passed out on the floor. asked what he misses the most he said i still miss my hug every day. she never left the house without giving me a hug. this phase of the trial began with the prosecution urging the jury to give the sentence of death saying those killed by the bombs had time to feel pain but no time to say good-bye. tsarnaev, the government said, all that matters is what he

believed and what he did. and the jury was shown a photo of tsarnaev taken in a holding cell at the courthouse before a hearing making an offensive gesture through months after the shooting. his gesture said he was unconcerned, unrepentant, uncaring and untouched by the grief he thought. it was she said, his message to america. the defense lawyers decided to save their opening statements until next week when they begin presenting their case arguing why dzhokhar tsarnaev should not get the death penalty. >> pete thank you. let's turn to business on this wednesday morning. a mixed day for u.s. stocks upon the release of earnings reports the s&p and dow both down. nasdaq rose ever so slightly. "the wall street journal" reports google is expected town veil a new wireless service today. steve, what's this new google service all about? >> it's what google is, craig,

and it's a disrupter. this may not be targeting vast number ofs of clients to start off with. there is one estimate that people consumers on average waste $28 per month. what google is apparently going to offer is you basically pay for what data you use. that is going to disrupt the model. they're going to run it on sprint and t-mobile networks, as well. google could be the most significant. elsewhere, a lot of consumer reportings of earnings. chipotle, sales up 10.1% in the first quarter and they've got over a billion bucks of overall sales in the most recent quart he. but the big problem has been the shortage of pork. the shortage of pork may well still continue, as well, but

they're saying the rolling blackout has caused confusion among customers and where and when they're out of canitas. >> companies like amazon will be here. the u.s. postal service, as well. what can you tell me about that? >> it's almost an auction on who can provide the new electric car for us the new vehicle which is going to take us deep into the 21st century. a.m. chrysler the likes of ford, but one company which is called workhorse group, they said, look we really want to push this a little bit further and they've got something called a dronal top, which they say they will put on a top of an electrical vehicle. nothing is going to happen very soon, but we're going to get packages a long way off.

they're going to have a decision on which vehicle they use january 2017 and perhaps the vehicles will start hitting the road a year after that. but yeah, in terms of drones it seems amazon and now the u.s. postal service moves forward. still ahead on "way too early." a real grand slam last night. three in a single game. you don't want to miss these highlights. tornado season in full swing, 22 million people are at risk of seeing severe weather today. bill karins is here with a first look at the forecast, right after this. richard nixon serbed in congress, is in the senate, as vice president and finally as president. he was an elder statesman and an

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look at that sunrise in new york city. we'll get you some weather in a minute. right now, let's get you to some sports. round one of the nba playoffs continue. to houston, the rockets -- >> the round ball. >> thank you. thank you, pickle man. >> dwight howard put up 28 points helping houston to a 2-0 series lead after that. that's a 1111-99 win. let's go to my team here. the wizards. >> jumping all over them now, aren't you? >> john wall put up a double-double. >> all of a say they're hearing those. this series to cleveland.

lebron james. you remember him. >> are you on his bandwagon, too? >> he is begin to go show the celtics the way to the door. kyrie irving added another 26. the cavs beat boston 99-91. to the ice, pred to happen tors and blackhawks overtime the action comes to a halt after the natural goalie loses the puck. this goes on for several minutes. oh, there it is. it's in my pants leg. and it took chicago three extra periods to fend off the predators last night. steve brook netting the game winner. >> triple overtime. >> that game ended after 12:00 a.m. >> you saw it. >> it was like 2:19 am. this is nicholas back strom. look at that. gets the opening.

the deciding goal there. that series is tied up at 2-2. calgary faces elimination after a 3-1 victory. detroit taking a 2-1 series lead. let's go to major league baseball now. the cards, the nats, tied until the nation's capital wral. you know escobar, two outside. what happens next. >> high and deep to left field. back goes holiday and good night. >> walk off homer. that would end it right after midnight, too. mets win it 2-1. and the reds and brewers match a major league record with a combined three grand slams in that game. the reds win it 16-10. not a lot of people last night there. and the nfl released its entire

2015 schedule last month. @of folks, though, complaining about the thanksgiving day schedule. >> why? >> the league is fortsing us to watch the packers and bears that night. what's wrong with the bearings? >> when both teams are good which hasn't been the case -- and if it's at soldier field it could be a game. >> happy earth day to you. >> haech earth day to you. are you going to do anything for the environment today? >> i was thinking about going to buy a smoothie and turn off some lights. >> come down to the river and let's pick up some trash. all right. severe storms. a cold, chilly rain for you this morning in cincinnati and owner ohio. isolated strong storms in d.c., philly. but this area of yellow is a slight risk. inside from the dallas area northward, that's an enhanced risk of severe weather.

if we're going to have any widespread damage, this is where it would occur. it's the north side of the dallas/ft. worth metroplex. the timing of that will be about 4:00 p.m. until about midnight will be the worst of it. severe weather will continue into thursday and even into friday. we're keeping it in the middle of the country. we're going to go from texas to louisiana. so your forecast for today, a good start to the day from new england down through the mid-atlantic. we will see a few afternoon storms. and it's called. chicago, detroit, wisconsin, highs in the low 50s. snow showers in the great lakes. so pick your poison. if you're in the great lakes you're cold and it feels like winter. unfortunately, we're dealing with severe storms out there too. >> all right. we'll keep an eye on it. thank you. >> have fun with that smoothie. ben affleck finally talks

about that. we'll talk about that after the break, what he's saying about the revelation he hoped would never see the light of day. when account lead craig wilson books at laquinta.com. he gets a ready for you alert the second his room is ready. so he knows exactly when he can settle in and practice his big pitch. and when craig gets his pitch down pat, do you know what he becomes? great proposal! let's talk more over golf! great. better yet, how about over tennis? even better. a game changer! your 2 0'clock is here. oops, hold your horses. no problem. la quinta inns & suites is ready for you, so you'll be ready for business. the ready for you alert, only at laquinta.com. laquinta!

let's get a check of the morning's other headlines now. hey there, sir. >> how are you doing? happy earthdy craig. >> happy earth day, as well. >> let's go to ben affleck who says he regrets asking pbs to

forget mentioning his ancestor owned a slave. last week, he explained in a facebook post late tuesday writing, quote, i didn't want any television show about my family to include a guy who owned slaves. the very thought left a bad taste in my mouth. he announces i regret my initial thoughts that the issue of slavery not be included in the story. that's pbs and wnet announced they would conduct an internal review of the segment. nine people in kentucky tuesday were charged with stealing more thandz 100,000 worth of bourbon whiskey. prosecutors say the scheme relied on employees at two distilleries who had been stealing for at least seven years. the plot to sell bottoms of bourbon was covered after about

$5,000 worth of stolen bourbon. now to the new york daily news at they put it the sales force could be strong with this one. one jn line entrepreneur is selling star wars t-shirts. chewbacca solo, 2016. i think it's very cler. >> thaurchk lewis. do appreciate that. hey, mika. >> thank you very much. a lot to cover this morning. a lot of politics including chris matthews exclusive interview with president obama. what the president says he's prepared to do to prevent weapons from getting to rebels in yemen. then there's the proposed trans-pacific trade deal. which side is hillary clinton on? and we can't forget about

the rights for the coke cash $11 million. who is going to get it? we'll talk to the top gop 2012 vice presidential nominee congressman paul ryan and grammy award singer tim mcgraw joins us off last night's time 100 galla. that and much more ahead on ""morning joe." picture is perfect. i got mine at verizon. i... didn't. it's buffering right out of the box he was impressed. i couldn't be happier. couldn't see him but i could hear him making fun of me. vo: you waited this long for the s6 so why settle for anything less than verizon. wish your skin could bounce back like it used to? new neutrogena hydro boost water gel. with hyaluronic acid it plumps skin cells with intense hydration and locks it in. for supple, hydrated skin. hydro boost. from neutrogena.

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