it's memorial day right now on "first look." history and cat trosk flooding hitting parts of oklahoma hard. including one river from rose 30 feet in. then to a war of words over america's strategy to battle isis with the defense secretary saying the iraqis don't have the will to fight. a warning on some beaches for swimmers. great white sharks are back just on time for summer plus the annual rolling thunder ride to freedom for thousands of motorcyclists honoring our veterans missing in action. "first look" starts right now. >> good morning. breaking news epic floods.

record rainfall in oklahoma and texas proving deadly and dangerous and it's not over. the south in the bulls eye for more extreme weather today. right now the images just unbelievable. >> oh my god. stop. stop. he needs to get out. here we go. here we go. >> in texas, a close call. rages waters just too much for an suv there. the man inside escaping just on time. in san marcos the blanco river cresting at nearly 42 fees. forcing hundreds of rescues. more than 1,000 structures damaged or destroyed. in wimberley nearly 400 homes lost and 8 people missing, several of them children. in houston and dwlarks tornadoes. an apartment complex's roof ripped off. traffic lights and garages left twisted. . >> a lot of street lamps bent down. >> in oklahoma a double threat.

first the flooding. two people have died nature firefighter drowned and a woman in a car accident. the other threat? reports of several twisters. this morning 44 counties are under a state of emergency. bill karins is here now. >> what a weekend. >> are these people going to get any relief? >> a little but not a lot. texas is not going to get the relief they need. oklahoma looks a little bit better today. flash flood watches for both of those areas and the rain this morning is coming down hard in mississippi. the tornado threat has ended throughout the overnight. a big tornado in kansas. it was in open areas. about a half mile wide and a nasty one. that area is around dodge city and kansas. new showers and storms starting to develop in west texas. that's what we'll watch today as it treks across the state. flash flood watches from oklahoma city and memphis and little rock areas. 1 to 3 inches of rain likely. up to 5 inches possible as we go

throughout the day. that would be the max amount. as far as our future radar, this is telling us what we think is going to happen. at 1:00 p.m. today a complex of pretty strong thunderstorms between san antonio and the dallas area. damaging winds possible and maybe even isolated tornadoes and of course the torrential rains with the super saturated soil when this goes through areas like dallas and waco we could see significant flash flooding. there's nowhere for the water to go. it quickly runs off. our computers are estimates between 3 to 2 inches in san antonio and dallas. that is bad news. oklahoma city looks a lot better. we get another 2 to 3 inches of rain on top of the pictures you just saw, that water is not gone. it's still there. and everyone on the eastern seaboard is looking fantastic. >> scary stuff. those people have been battered so far. zblit took a bomb squad to deal with a scary situation in washington d.c. police found an unattended vehicle and after a closer look

they found a pressure cooker and the odor of gasoline. a perimeter was set and the bomb squad came in to detonate what they called items of concern in the car. a followup search did not detect anything hazards by police found the driver and arrested him. a pressure cooker was used at the boston marathon. on this memorial day americans everywhere paying tribute to soldiers who sacrificed for our country but isis is on a roll in iraq and syria. tracie potts is live for us in washington. there is a spirited debate in washington right now. >> there is. and here in washington on this memorial day not everyone agrees whether or not that needs to happen. we just found out this afternoon 15 new air strikes by the southeastern air force against the islamic state but some lawmakers argue the air strikes are not working. >> reporter: as rolling thunder

veterans mark another memorial day in the nation's capitol, washington is debating how to defeat the islamic state. >> we need to have a strategy. there is no strategy. >> senator john mccain insists air strikes are not enough. we need boots on the ground. defense secretary ash ton arter disagrees. he says the problem is iraqis don't want to fight. >> we can give them training. we can give them equipment. we obviously can't give them the will to fight. >> reporter: the iraqis have gained ground since isis took ramadi a week ago but the islamic in syria is now the size of a small european country. >> we are losing. >> reporter: even democrats worry air strikes alone aren't working. >> clearly isis has gained momentum. >> reporter: some worry isis could get a nuclear weapon. >> we don't wait until they get it before we take action. >> reporter: but some lawmakers say it's not just a question of military strength.

>> we still have a lot of work to keep the prsh on the iraqi government to bealpeel is sunni describe away from isis. >> tracie potts in washington. thank you. a tour bus explodes into flames. it happened saturday on i-395. in just minutes the back of the bus was fully engulfed by the fire. check it out on your screen but somehow everyone made it out safely. no word on what caused the fire. today a famous family is mourning the loss of a mother. >> arthur. what a pleasant surprise. >> yes. veronica. >> that's anne meara appearing on the king of queens aside her real life husband. he learned yesterday she passed away. she was half of the comedy team stiller and meara. she went on to have roles on

shows like six in the city. her son says her memory lives on in the hearts of her family and the millions she entertained. and noble prize winner john nash. the 85-year-old and his wife were killed in new jersey turnpike on saturday. if you don't know his name, you probably know his story. >> gentleman, the great john nash. >> his struggle played out in the oscar winning film a beautiful mind. russell russell crow yesterday tweeted out about john and his wife. on this memorial day weekend many beaches are opening for the season and in some places that means sharing the water with

some creatures that may get a little bit closer than you like. sharks have part of southern california on alert. we have that story for you now. >> reporter: the sharks may not be big enough to warrant jaws music but they've prompted warnings at a couple of california beaches. >> you heard about the sharks? >> yeah? >> reporter: more than a dozen great whites have been spotted swimming an feeting about 50 feet from shore in hunting ton beach. >> i am i'm going to stay out of the water. >> reporter: they're juveniles. most about five to steven feet long just like this man. >> i'm six feet. >> reporter: it's you sized. >> but with bigger teeth. >> reporter: so far they're not aggressive and not scaring away some brave borders. >> i'll play it by ear. >> reporter: while the sightings might keep some out of the water, this is good news to researchers. a sign the once struggling great

white population is growing. >> shark populations around the world are in trouble. this is a potential bright spot. >> reporter: sightings are happening in some unlikely places. one has become a social media sensation. allowing her 69,000 followers to track her pings and have a little fun. she's like the great white kardashian of the ocean, tweeted a fan. nbc news. >> in sports chris wood at the bmw champion in england. par 3. 188 yards. >> once again, he's posing. oh come on. unbelievable. >> that's easy right? hole in one to move him to four under par. he got the keys to that new bmwi 8 value.

that 150,000. lebron james missed his first ten shots but still finished with 37 points and 13 assists breaking news that he's got. the calves take game three in overtime 114-111. cleveland one win away from a sweep and a trip to the nbc finals. when it comes to selfies, 7-time grand slam champ frederer is not a champ. a young fan approached him asking to take a selfie with him. aside from look annoyed, he looked upset that the fan made it past security. he said it wasn't a nice situation to be in. juan pablo monotoy watoya won the indy 500. it was his first since back in 2000.

the winner usually appears on the late show with david letterman. dave had a surprise waiting for him. the number 32 car sported the late show logo. letterman retired and is co-owner of that car and his plans for the summer, of course indycar races with his son, harry. >> this might be one of the best catches of the weekend. a home run, fan not only leans over the railing to make a great catch but captures the moment with his video camera. he did that exact same thing on may 2nd. give him a glove and uniform. sign him up. just ahead u2 sellcelebrates a major political decision. and two or three cups of coffee a day could help you in the bedroom.

time upon a once people approached problems the way same. always start at the starting. and questions the same asking. but that only resulted in improvements small. so we've got some ideas new. garbage can create energy. light can talk. countries can run on jet engine technology. when you look at problems in ways different you new solutions find. ♪ ♪ you wouldn't buy a car without taking it for a spin and it's...well...just a car. test-drive our full lineup only at your local john deere dealer.

this is good, mom. "good"? (chuckles) it's delicious! and this new kibble blend is so healthy. thank you. no, nancy, thank you. kibbles 'n bits. because every bit matters. can a business have a mind? a subconscious. a knack for predicting the future.

reflexes faster than the speed of thought. can a business have a spirit? can a business have a soul? can a business be...alive? ortho bug b gon gives you season-long control of all these types of bugs. spectracide gives you season-long control... of just ants. their label says so. bugged by more than ants? get ortho bug b gon. the label tells the story. ortho home defense gives you year long control of all these household bugs - roaches, ants, and spiders. spectracide gives you year long control... of just roaches. their label says so. got more than roaches moving in? get home defense. the label tells the story. welcome back. near atlanta video of a deadly

plane crash from earlier this month. check this out. police car dash cam caught it on board four people headed to mississippi. the piper went downright after takeoff. here's how the officer responded. >> radio send everything. get back. get back. get back. everyone get the hell away from it. no one on board survived including the family dog. the cause of the crash is still under investigation. and george clooney's "tomorrowland" and pitch perfect two is second and "poltergeist" is third. good news for men who like coffee. it may help in the bedroom. men who drank up to three cups of regular coffee for less likely to suffer erectile dysfunction. he's your memorial day edition of scrambled politics. today president obama will place

a are wreath at the tomb of the unknown. the president says this memorial day day is especially meaningful. >> it's the first memorial day since our war ended in afghanistan. >> the president plans to pay tribute to all our fallen heros includeing the servicemen and women who gave their lives in afghanistan. hillary clinton will be in new york to participant in a parade. they have owned a home in the area for more than 15 years. thousands of motorcyclists made their way through the nation's capitol yesterday. the rolling thunder ride to freedom honors military veterans and soldiers missing in action. it's been a year since the sandal involving the phoenix v.a. medical center. thousands of veterans waited months. now robert mcdonald says there's been a huge change in personnel. >> since i've been secretary, we have terminated over 1,000

employees. we have 80 employees right now or over 80 around 80 that we're seeking disfully nation action against. >> yesterday gloria steinem and other women attempted to march across the demilitarized zone in south north korea. >> and from bitten's the mirror bono hails ireland gay marriage vote as triumph for love. they played a song for the ruling. bono told the crowd millions turned out to vote yesterday to say love is the highest law in the land. they celebrated after the concert posting this picture with the hash tag vote yes. and that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. let's go to washington now and

bring in jonathan. a good morning to you. on this memorial day, a day when we honor those who lost their lives in fighting for our country, ash carter called out iraqi forces before not having the will to fight. what does this mean for american congress to put american boots on the ground there? >> still murky, i'd say. this is an issue where we haven't seen a lot of agreement among republicans and democrats. and it's been on the back burner a little bit in terms of the fights on trade and the patriot about taking over a little bit. but there are some folks on the republican side obviously, armed services chairman john mccain who would like to see more action and ground troops and we're seeing it play out in the election with some calling for ground troops but there doesn't seem to be much consensus on capitol hill and it's a tough vote on military force. >> a real tough vote. switching to decision 2016 ben

carson won the straw poll on saturday. bush and rubio close to the bottom. do these results matter at all? >> they matter a tiny bit but not very much and in some ways it's really a comment on the state of the 2016 race and the future of straw polls in general. we've seen very few top tier candidates like bush and rubio put forth any resources to compete in straw polls. they say it's mostly downside in terms of the outcomes there. a nice win for ben carson who's trying to get some attention there and has a lot of support from conservative activists but in terms of what it means for bush and rubio, not as much. it says more about the state of the race and how the landscape is really changing in this current presidential election. >> and obviously this was the southern straw poll but

obviously calls into question the importance of the iowa straw poll which is considered a big one for years. a big year for rand paul. a filibuster on the patriot about. how does this week affect his stock, 2016 stock? >> it's pretty fascinating. in some ways you know his filibuster is a little out of step with where his party is particularly are the rise of isil. some folks are saying that his stance on intelligence is a lot less and government surveillance is a lot less potent than it was a couple of years, but it's going to be a huge republican field. as many as 15 maybe more candidates in there and a really interesting way to distinguish yourself is by taking -- stepping out on a limb in this issue. it's been a champion on this issue for a long time and there are a lot of libertarian activists that he is going to have to win some who support his

father who are very much in favor of his stance on this issue. he's been fund raceising off of it. it's a good attention grabber for him. >> he did not make any friends with his follow kentucky senate members. >> just ahead how some veterans are going the extra mile to make sure the fallen are not forgotten but first motorcycle engines roared in the capitol sunday. organizers say hundreds of thousands of people came out to watch the event which began back in 1988. it honors military members and members of the military missing in action. ♪

attendant: welcome back. man: thank you. it's not home. but with every well considered detail . . . it becomes one step closer. no wonder more people. . . choose delta than any other airline.

on this memorial day weekend, we pay tribute to each and every serviceman an woman who made a sacrifice for our freedom. and we have a story on a walk. we have more. >> reporter: it's a day meant to honor all those who made the ultimate sacrifice. >> i get asked all the time. what am i thinking about on memorial day and it's not what everybody else thinks. parties are fine and getting together with friends is fine but i think every day what i think on memorial day and that's all the people i left behind.

>> i think our greatest fear when we're fighting is that no one will know if we fall like we'll be forgotten. >> reporter: this man's mission is to change all that. >> when i came home after losing friends, i saw the nation not remembering them well on the one weekend we were supposed to. i wasn't okay with it. i started walking on memorial day a few years ago, and an older gentleman walked up and said who are you carrying. >> reporter: bruce, a former navy s.e.a.l. wanted to remind people of the true meaning of the day. >> i'm carrying the load for my grandpa who served in the vietnam war. >> i spent five years in the military to i'm carrying my wife. >> i'm carrying the load for my dad, my uncle and my great uncle. >> reporter: the national relay began last month at west point. >> i'm doing this for friends and family.

>> reporter: people of all ages walking miles at a time. >> i'm walking for my comrades in desert storm. >> i am carrying 75 pounds representing all the fallen soldiers. >> reporter: even the water in annapolis didn't stand in their may. the nonstop relay spans some 2000 miles passing through 200 cities and towns and wraps in in dallas on sunday. more than 15,000 people participated. >> it's an opportunity to reconcile a nation and an opportunity to walk alongside you and say what you did mattered. >> reporter: carry the load reminds us of lincoln's sermon. it is for us the living to be dedicated to the unfinished work of the fallen. colonel jack jacobs west point,

new york. >> it's remarkable what these men and women go through in the battle field and then to come back and honor their fallen and brothers. >> it's a different day for them. >> this is "first look" on nbc. 40% of the streetlights in detroit, at one point, did not work. you had some blocks and you had major

thoroughfares and corridors that were just totally pitch black. those things had to change. we wanted to restore our lighting system in the city. you can have the greatest dreams in the world, but unless you can finance those dreams, it doesn't happen. at the time that the bankruptcy filing was done, the public lighting authority had a hard time of finding a bank. citi did not run away from the table like some other bankers did. citi had the strength to help us go to the credit markets and raise the money. it's a brighter day in detroit. people can see better when they're out doing their tasks, young people are moving back in town the kids are feeling safer while they walk to school. and folks are making investments and the community is moving forward. 40% of the lights were out, but they're not out for long.they're coming back.

>>who... is this?! >>hi, i am heinz new mustard. hi na na na na >>she's just jealous because you have

better taste. whatever. >>hey. keep your chin up. for years, heinz ketchup has been with the wrong mustard. well, not anymore. introducing heinz new better tasting yellow mustard. mmm! due to mature subject matter viewer discretion is advised. msnbc takes you behind the walls of america's most notorious prisons into a world of chaos and danger. now the scenes you've never seen, "lockup: raw." >> on the ground. >> we're going to run military style. strict. >> before any inmate sees the inside of a prison, he's most like lie -- likely first seen the inside a jail.