raging flood waters as she drove home from prom on sunday. >> this can't be happening right now. she was a good person. she was always competitive. >> she was at prom with her date and laughing and dancing next to her. >> she did the right things. she called 9-1-1 and her father. it was too much and too quick. >> officials in texas say at least 72 structured were washed away and more than 100 damaged after the blanco river rose to 34 feet in three hours. the governor described the storms as manage a tsunami like power that proved too much for the most experienced first responders at times. >> do you need us to get the other boat to you right now? >> yeah. >> okay. we're going to do that. i can't walk any further. >> there is also a scare for beach goers along the florida coast. hundreds had to be rescued over

the weekend. mark potter has more on that story. >> reporter: on a cloudy and windy day, a crowd was excited to see a rare sight, a water spout formed in the atlantic actually coming ashore right in front of them. >> it's a tornado. underwater tornado. >> reporter: at first there was laughter as the spinning winds chased a canopy down the winds but quickly it all turned serious as the winds flipped over and then lifted up two inflatable bounce houses. one with three children inside. police say the children were as high as 15 to 20 feet in the air when they were ejected onto the sand. >> the bounce house continued to travel through the median an onto the road. >> it was like a movie that was happening in front of my face. it was horrible. >> reporter: two of the children

have been released from the hospital. one is being held for observation. this woman's daughter and stepson were in the bounce house. >> i was crying. and i was like oh my god. oh my god. i can't believe this. and they say she's going to be okay. >> reporter: also all along florida east east coast more than 150 swimmers had to be rescued after being caught in powerful rip currents. at least five have been killed since the weekend. it's all making for dangerous holiday conditions for the florida beaches. >> the fbi investigating a series of phoned in threats against passenger flights over the holiday weekend. officials say the calls were a hoax but while telephone threats to air plans are common this one was unusual. it involves multiple flights. nbc news pete williams reports.

>> reporter: two u.s. military fighter jets escorted flight 22 into kennedy airport after an anonymous caller said some kind of chemical weapon was on board. nothing hazards was found. >> it's over and we're safe and the plane is safe. >> reporter: it was one of ten flights that were the subject of telephone threats. the fbi says the calls apparently came from the same person who phoned them in. the calls were made to local police in maryland, oregon and new york each conveying the same thing. a delta flight from paris to boston, american airlines from england to the u.s. and delta from london and emirates from canada to due buy. the threats were not considered credible but they were passed along to the airlines to be extra cautious. >> they told us to get off the plane, pick out our luggage.

they took it. officials say fighters wereescorted a flight. >> the penalty for making hoax threats can be up to eight years in prison. out of cleveland where a settlement could come as early as today over institutional discrimination by police there. the new york sometimes reports they've reached a settlement over what federal authorities say was a pattern of unconstitutional policing and excessive use of force. the question was opened after 137 shots were fired into a car after a chase in november of 2012. a justice department report released in december documented a pattern of abuse but was compiled too early to cover one of a little boy who was playing

with a toy gun in a park. details are not clear but similar cases are required cities to have independent monitors oversea police reforms. there were protests after a judge acquitted an officer in a fatal shooting. nbc news correspondent kevin tibls reports. >> reporter: a tense weekend in cleveland as police in rye not gear confronted protesters angered over the acquittal of an officer charged in the shooting deaths of two unarmed black motorists. while demonstrations for the most part remained peaceful more than 70 arrests were made. >> this initial decision to use force was constitutionally reasonable. >> he was among 13 officers who opened fire on two people flows

a high speed chase in 2012. more than 100 officers and 60 vehicles were involved in the incident. timothy russell's sister says justice was not served. >> he wasn't right in terms of flying the police but that does not warrant a death penalty. >> reporter: many were charged. others released after having spent the weekend in jail. >> we don't want no violence. >> reporter: others in the city agreed with the verdict. >> i truly believe in his heart he felt he was protecting the community and himself. >> reporter: the officer remains on unpaid leave from the force pending the results of an internal police investigation. >> our thanks for that report. now@road to 2016. a crowded republican field set

to be larger. rick santorum is expected to announce a second white house bid tomorrow and former new york governor is expected to officially throw his name into the ring on thursday. their bids come as senator lindsey graham and rick perry expect to announce next week and john kasich is sounding more and more like he will become a 2016 hopeful as well. >> i am very pleased with what we have seen over the course of the last month. i've been very pleased what w what i found out on the ground in new hampshire, south carolina, michigan. i'm in the process of accumulating resources. i hope people will help me if they like my voice in this thing. i'm the most experienced in the field being an executive and running a state like ohio and being in congress and balancing the budget. i was the chairman and also

serving on the defense committee for 18 years. i'm pretty qualified for this kind of a job. >> scott walker john kasich in a primary. fascinating. ben carson is hoping he has new momentum. he received 25% of a vote flowed by walker and cruz. others received little support despite being from the south but huckabee is generating headlines for saying a president should not be required to follow a supreme court ruling. >> the notion that the supreme court comes up with a ruling then a subjects the other branches to following it defies everything there is about the three equal branches of government. the supreme court is not the supreme branch and for god's sake, it isn't the supreme being. it is the supreme court. >> we are sworn to upheld the

constitution and the law. and it has to be agreed upon with three branches of government. one can't overrule the other two. we learned that in ninth grade civics but many must have forgotten that basic civics lesson along the way. >> on the democratic side independent bernie sanders will launch his bid in a few hours in vermont. he is appealing to the elizabeth warren wing of the party. the founders of ben and jerry will be there. there will be free ice cream. go for the free cream. let's turn to business in a huge story in the world of television. cnbc's geoff cutmore joins us live. reports flooding in that charter communications is expected to acquire time warner cable. that would be a huge deal. what are the details.

>> $55 billion. that's what we're talking about in terms of this acquisition, and the interesting part of this story, i guess, is charter is smaller but they are going to acquire the larger business here and this company has been on the block for a while. come cast has had a run at it but anti-trust reasons meant that that deal failed. al tees a french tell come company also had a good look but those negotiations fell by the wayside. it looks like chafrter communications will seal the deal and this is another story about consolidation in the u.s. television cable and broad brand sector. at the moment nobody is raising any anti-trust issues around this, but you'll have to watch it closely, because as we know as this industry is consolidating, it means the likes of time warner cable and charter and come cast will

ultimately have a significant grip on both broad band provision and cable content delivery and maybe the feds will take a look and see if they're comfortable with the levels. one other story i want to tell you about this morning which is interesting, i think, for those who have des moinesgm stock. maybe the doj is looking at criminal charges against this company and it all relates to what individuals knew about the ignition switch problems and why they didn't come forward earlier. so we think there will be criminal charges forthcoming, and it potentially means that they will be fined well in excess of the $1.2 billion that toyota paid when it settled its problems problems over accelerates. keep your eye on that story. they've had a tough time at gm with recalls and of course this

issue of potential criminal charges now. back to you. >> yes, they have. jeff, in other news quick look what's going to be moving the markets we have this holiday weekend here in the united states? what are investors going to be looking at to move the markets upon their return today? >> yeah. to be honest it looks like a soft start to the u.s. trading day. there's a bit of a hangover from janet yellen's comments on friday, the fed chief talked about the need for an interest rate hike at least some point this year. the economists are moving out to september but some feel it may not happen in 2015 at all. that doesn't fit in with what yellen has said. that's caused a downer for some. a couple of things to point out. we come to the end of earnings season. there are a few more companies

to report. the markets will be keeping an eye on those numbers and friday we will get another look at the gdp number and it's likely to be reduced because it's thought the contraction in growth in the first quarter of year was bigger than the original gdp print we first saw suggested. that could be revised down. and the perverse thing about the markets, if it's a bad number it could be good if it stays in the feds hand. good at least for those who are still bullish this market. >> indeed. gdp friday. still ahead on "way too early," steph curry takes one scary looking tumble. yikes. as the warriors try to eliminate the rockets. we have your playoff action and we're following the deadly storms that have nearly 50 million people at risk today. will texas and oklahoma finally get a break from all this weather bill karins has the forecast coming up next.

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we take care of our own in washington. time for sports in nfl news. the chicago bears have released ray mcdonald following an arrest early monday morning on charges of domestic violence and child endangerment. he was arrested in california after officer were told he physically assaulted the victim while she was holding a baby. according to one witness there was no physical contact and it was hard to understand why charges were being pursued. chicago signed him many march knowing he had a history of legal issues while a member of the 49ers. now to the nba playoffs, the western conference finals. the rockets put up 45 points in the first quarter. and then a scary moment in the second has steph curry tumbled

over the shoulders of someone. he laid on the court for several minutes before walking off under his own power. he'd return to the game in third quarter and become one of three warriors to finish with more than 20 points. apparently did not have a concussion but they did not overcome. the rockets take the victory cutting golden state's series lead 3 to 1. the series now goes back to oakland. the ducks hosting the black hawks in game five. a pair of goals netted in the final minutes to even the store and send it to ot. that extra period is short-lived. beleskey scores a game winner. the ducks win it 5-4. i say it all the time the uniforms are awful. now for major league baseball.

the pirates at bat against the marlins. take a look. >> leaps and he makes the catch. wow. >> the $325 million man with an impressive catch hanging onto the ball and crashing into the right field wall. pittsburgh won 4-2. he won the highlight. they won the game. let's go to bill karins. these storms quite intense. i hear people at the rockets game in houston were asked to stay inside the arena last night because of the weather. >> last report i just saw an hour ago, there's still about 200 people in the arena because they have nowhere else to go and there's so much flooding. up to 11 inches of rain in houston last night. they're under a flash flood emergency. they're saying this is the first time ever they have declared

that because of all the rain and the problems. schools are delayed for at least the first two hours, possibility they could get cancelled throughout the rest of the day. about 70,000 people don't have power in the houston area. and the pictures of cars just in the water, it's just ridiculous. they're saying this is a 500 year flood event. the odds of this would be once every 500 years but it's happening right now. this is the flash flood warnings and the emergencies over the houston area. also still from beaumont to lake charles, the rain is finally beginning to end. these thunderstorms were on and off last night. still heavy downpours and showers but the nasty stuff is exiting. they'll try out today. here's estimates for the rainfall. most of it is from houston on the south side of town. that's nine inches. 6 to 8 inches of rain in the last 12 hours on top of soil that was pretty saturated anyway. the radar, the other area of

concern continues to be in new orleans. that should be weakening as it approaches other areas. as far as today, isolated storms. oklahoma and texas not as bad but good storms in the ohio valley and great lakes with gusty winds but tornado threats low today. what happened in houston last night and is happening right now, epic stuff. >> 500 year flooding event. that's remarkable. >> we'll keep on eye on a that all week. >> thanks so much. honoring a star on the stage in the big screen who also happened to be the my tree arc of a funny family. how anne meara is being remembered this morning. that when we come back.

love story, the two of you. is that fair to say? >> grow up. >> no but i want to go. i want to go back to -- >> how long were you married, kid? >> a couple years. >> 58. >> my parents also, 58. >> 58 years. i'm 82. he's 84. i say 58 and 38 of those years in therapy.

>> that was actress and comedian anne meara who passed away. she was the wife of jerry stiller. she was the matriarch of up of the great american comedy families and half of the 60s duo stiller and meira. she earned many awards. her son tweeted yesterday thank you so much for all the kind wards about ann. all of us in our family felt so lucky to have her our lives. it's been 45 years since simon and garfunkel split up. and garfunkel can't understand why. in an interview he called the break up were strange. saying it was nothing he would have done, pretending to address spaul simon, he says how can

you walk away from this lucky place on top of the world. what's going on with you, you idiot? how could you get that go, jerk. he said he befriended simon in school. nonetheless, a simon and garfunkel reunion is still possible he says. hm. have to know who makes the hits and pope francis confessed he hasn't watched television in over 25 years. it's not for me he told a newspaper, explaining his tv watching days ended in 1990 when he made a vow. he says a member of the swiss guard delivers soccer game scores every week and the only newspaper is reads is in italy which he leaves through at 10 minutes at a time.

ignorance is bliss for him. interesting enough. that does it for me and "way too early." let's bring in mika for a preview of what's coming on on "morning joe." >> seven people killed. this hour eight missing. and ten threats entens international flights heading into the u.s. fighter jets scrambled to escort a plane to safety. the question now is who is behind it all. and we'll be joined by the secretary of the navy. what? no. stop doing this to me. >> i'm not going anything? >> it gets in my head. the obama administration -- everyone hearsays it's good. >> they take heat from republicans who say there's no strategy in the fight against isis. we'll ask him what's working and what's not. that and much more coming up next on "morning joe."

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