"first look" is up next. burden of proof. the white house waves releasing the death photos of al qaeda master mind, osama bin laden. a daring river rescue in missouri as record flooding grips the midwest. windy city bandits. raccoons go on a rampage through chicago's lake front. good morning everyone. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin this morning with that final photo. as we get more details about the military operation that killed osama bin laden, the obama administration is facing a very

tough question, whether or not to release the final images showing the terror leader's body. >> reporter: cia director leon panetta gave lawmakers a briefing about the bin laden raid. they gave him advice about the death photos. >> it was important for the united states to release the picture of his body to confirm that he is dead. >> reporter: pinetta agreed. >> we got bin laden and i think we have to reveal to the rest of the world the fact that we were able to get him. >> reporter: it's not the cia director's call. it's president obama's. he doesn't want to spoil his big success by rushing out what the white house calls gruesome shots. >> i'll be candid that there are sensitivities here in terms of the appropriateness of releasing photographs of osama bin laden. >> reporter: more arguments against release. the dna match was reported perfect, better proof than a picture. the streets in the muslim world

are quiet. why insight trouble? in pakistan, the government insisted again no authority knew this was bin laden's mansion. the white house signaled no punishment. >> back stan is a strong counterterrorism partner. >> reporter: new be tails about the s.e.a.l. team assault. bin laden was unarmed when he was shot. >> there were many other people armed in the compound. there was a fire fight. >> reporter: bin laden could have put up his hands and surrendered, said a senior official, but he didn't. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. the pakistani government yesterday criticized the raid as a, quote, unauthorized unilateral action and warned the u.s. against launching similar operations in the future. the pakistani town where baub and his family were discovered has found itself at the center of a controversy that threatens to cripple the long-time alliance between two

countries. nbc's that seam ahmed reports. >> reporter: an upper middle class tourist destination surrounded by three mountains, pakistanis come here to escape the heat during the summer months. people here say they had no idea that saudi arabia had come here, too. it's a house set in an area still under development surrounded by empty plots and half-built houses. there's no indication that behind these high concrete walls was one of the world's most notorious fugitives, living right in the heart of a garrison townhome to pakistan's retired as well as active army generals. >> i don't believe that osama bin laden can live here. it's all a restricted area by army. >> reporter: soldiers on the streets in vehicles and at checkpoints. then there's the elite military academy. some call it pakistan's west point, a stone's throw from the compound where osama bin laden was living. one family lived just opposite the bin laden compound for the last five years. they told us they knew very little about their neighbors.

local residents are still trying to make sense of what happened here. >> i feel disgraced. >> we are very disappointed with our army, with our intelligence. >> reporter: despite all the attention now focused on them, for most of the people of abbottabad, life still goes on as normal. people are coming here to take their pictures taken. children are collecting souvenirs from what for now will be the last hideout of the world's most wanted man. as the controversy continues over whether that so-called proof of death photo should be released, the president's deputy national security adviser dennis mcdonough was on "the lart word" with lawrence o'donnell last night talking about some of the evidence of osama bin laden's death that has been released. >> over the last 36 hours we've made available a range of information, dna analysis facial recognition analysis and a lot of the intelligence some of which you've referred to here

now. the question is whether we ought to insert into that already very row boast bit of information, yet more information that can be misused, and our concern would be the ramifications of that misuse to include potential threats against our military personnel, our diplomats, our intelligence personnel and even to private american citizens who are traveling overseas, for example. >> don't miss "the last word with lawrence o'donnell" 8:00 p.m. eastern only on msnbc, the place for politician. floodwaters continue to threaten the homes of livelihood of residents up and down the swollen mississippi river. blasting a hole through one levee appears to have spared one illinois town. several states downstream are still in dangerous territory. nbc's kurt gregory has our report. >> reporter: massive flooding continues across six states. in parts of western tennessee, water as far as the eye and

helicopter can see. the state's governor has requested $10 million in federal emergency funding. >> we are prepared to respond as quickly as possible. >> reporter: the mississippi river has already breached its banks. this is memphis where riding floodwaters are threatening neighborhoods. on the other side of mississippi, large parts of arkansas are under water, including dozens of highways and roads. experts are trying to minimize damage. the army corps of engineers blew up this levee near caro, illinois, sacrificing 130,000 acres of land and 100 homes to save the community. concerns continue to rise downstream. city officials in vicksburg, mississippi warning residents. >> this flood is going to be historic based on the predictions of the national weather service. >> reporter: casinos in tunica aren't gambling with mother nature's destructive power. money taken away for safe

keeping. many casino operators expect to be shut down for at least three weeks. kurt gregory, nbc news. here is a look at other stories making news around america today. the dramatic rescue of a 93-year-old woman who made the mistake of trying to cross a flooded highway was recorded by a sheriff assisting from shore. using a safety line and cable, two missouri national guardsmen battled raging water to pull her ultimately to safety. no injuries were reported. chicago's lake front has become the new hangout for raccoons. the spike in population has been a problem since last summer, leading to the capture of approximately 120 of the scavengers. officials have classified the situation as an infestation and caution residents not to leave any trash around because that is a steady source of food for the animals. finally, america has its own polar bear survival story to tell. a female cub was recently

rescued from an alaskan oil field. it was spotted weeks ago with its mother, but it may have been orphaned. zoo officials are caring for the cub and they hope to find a new home for it soon. now for a look at your national and regional weather, we check in with nbc meteorologist bill karins with your weather channel forecast. good morning. >> pictures, we're getting more and more images of mississippi. we or moving from one weather story to another. that's how it's been this spring. we went from the horrible tornadoes and now dealing with all the flooding. actually from the same storm systems, all that water too this long to collect. now it's all moving down the ohio and mississippi rivers. we're not raining anymore. it's going to be sunny and dry probably for the next week. that's how long it's going to take for many of these rivers to crest. right now the high water marks are right along the ohio river coming downey the paducah area that will crest sometime tomorrow. then it will take another week for the water to crest in memphis. this water is not moving fast,

it's a slow buildup. in the meantime we have record flooding. there's homes the water is halfway up through the live rooms, just incredible. some areas have never seen water this high. the only saving grace is that at least we're not going to add to the problems. now we've got to wait and see after all the water cleblths how high the mississippi river gets. on the eefrnt seaboard, if you're waking up with us this morning, today is your rainy day. this is the same system that brought the rain to the flood system. now it's moving through charlotte and richmond. as we go into the afternoon areas, it will arrive in new jersey and new york city. right now it's raining lightly in d.c. philly, it's knocking on the door for you during your morning rush hour. i'm sure you'll see raindrops. an umbrella day from areas of new england right down through the mid atlantic. in d.c., i have think most of the rain will be early today. this afternoon it should clear on out. it will be chilly with temperatures in some cases only in the 50s. the middle of the country,

you're drying out. a little cool later. we'll warm it up, 79 in dallas, 81 in san antonio. in florida, no problems at all. the northern plains, today we're okay. there's a weak storm system that will slide your way on thursday. tomorrow we'll have a chance of storms in chicago. in general, lynn, we're finally out of this horrific weather pattern where we've seen one big storm after another. no severe weather to come. this is may so this is the peak tornado month. we'll take it. oil prices fall, bp pays for its spills and the website for those who find breaking up is hard to do. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, the celtics show their age. the thunder even things up and the first no-hitter of the season. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. how can expedia save me even more on my hotel?

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry.

here are some of the top stories making news this morning. texas has carried out its first execution using a sedative often used to euthanize animals due to a shortage of another sedative usually used. kerry kerr who was put to death of the sexual assault and strangling of a woman in 2001 maintained his innocence in his final words. "daily mail" claims the honeymoon of william and katherine duchess of cambridge may have been delayed by the osama bin laden mission. the paper says the delay had more to do with the couple's safety rather than the prince's wish to rush back to work. a palace spokesperson said the delay was a personal decision made weeks ago. the newlyweds will honeymoon later this month. prince william's father, prince charles, made a trip to washington, d.c. yesterday. last night he met with war veterans at a reception following a visit to the supreme court earlier in the day. in new york, a rather wooden skrul tour by paul gauguin sold

for $11 million. the piece was last seen by the public in 1961. a first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opinions at 12,807 after graining a fraction yesterday. the s&p shed four points. the nasdaq lost 22. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo the nikkei was close for a holiday. but in hong kong the hang seng dropped 318. a disappointing report from the world's largest drugmaker. pfizer fell short before the bell followed by weak results by clorox, homes and shears. energy shares slumped. today the government is expected to report a jump in u.s. supplies. metro pcs was one of the day's few bright spots.

the discount phone carrier rose 10% after ringing up a record number of subscribers last quarter. general motors climbed 2%, thanks in part to higher gas prices which are now driving sales of fuel-efficient autos. deutsche bank is in hot water where the u.s. government for home loans issued by a mortgage company it bought back in 2007. in a suit filed yesterday the u.s. demanded deutsche pay back hundreds of millions in defaulted loans. bp has agreed to pay $25 million in civil fines stemming from two alaskan oil spills back in 2006, the largest per-barrel fine for any oil company in a spill-related case. portugal is the latest european company to agree to an international bailout, reportedly about $115 billion. keem an eye on comcast today. the parent company of this network weighed in with better-than-expected earnings after the bell. after hours, cbs doubled its

shareholder dividend thanks to a healthy first quarter report. finally, do you ever wish you could pay somebody else to end a relationship for you? well, one website is offering to do the dirty work for you for as little as ten bucks. that's some tough love right there. coming up, the nba's top rookie, yet another overtime stanley cup contest and the american league's worst pitcher in april throws a no-hitter in man. lebron james and the heat try to spin past the celtics. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. hey, did you ever finish last month's invoices?

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is the diamond store. welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. if any team knows how to win the nba play-offs, it's the boston celtics. they eat need to call on all that experience and more after falling behind two games to none in their match-up with the miami heat. here is nbc's fred roggin. >> good morning. in haem two miami's big three looked young and energetic while boston's big three just looked old. dwyane wade one-on-one with garnett, blew by him. lebron james had the best game of the play-offs, off the fast break, lost lay john rondo in the spin cycle. he had 35. the heat won 100-91 to take a 2-0 lead. thunder evened things up with the grizzlies and cruised to a

111-102 win. as expected the clippers' blake griffin will be named rookie of the year. he had one of the best rookie seasons in nba history, averaging 23 points and 12 boards. to the nhl t lightning on the verge of knocking off another. caps scored a pair of girls in the third. stamkos, top shelf, the net was nice. second goal wasn't pretty at all. the lightning will take it. bounced off ryan malone's foot. tampa won 4-3. the canucks and predators needed over time. vancouver on the power play. samuelson threw the puck on net. canucks win with a 3-2 over time win t. twins, francisco liriano pitched the first no-hitter. carlos quentin, a chopper to third. danny valencia made the stop. a dart to first base. a gold gov-type play.

adam dunn, a line drive to short. matt tolbert for final out. francisco liriano walked six, struck out three and had plenty of help from his teammates for the first no-hitter of the year. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred roggin. now for another quick look at the weather, we check in with nbc meteorologist bill karins. hello again, bill. >> if you don't have to work, you'll be taking a nice long nap this afternoon. one of the days on the eastern seaboard that will be cloudy and rainy. for everyone else going to school and work, you'll have to deal with wet weather. the green on the map is an area of light rain. it will take a while, with most areas, big cities as we go throughout the day. it's raining lightly now in baltimore, washington, d.c. philadelphia it's just beginning to arrive from you and up through albany, new york, a cool, chilly day, more like the beginning of april than the beginning of may. you can see this is the newark, new york city area, you're dry

for now. probably another two or three rs hours before the rain moves. in philadelphia, the rain will start over the next hour or so. the forecast, everybody has a chance of wet weather. i think the worst of it late today is going to push up into areas of northern new england. could see actually heavy enough rain that you get minor flooding concerns. in boston, new york city, maybe even hartford, possibility of a couple of areas of embedded thunderstorms along with the light rain. by the time we get to tomorrow, it does improve. we should still see wet weather in northern new england. at least it's going to be drier but on the cool side in areas like new york to d.c. the only trouble weather, just some light rain. we can deal with that. >> yeah. i heard you say nap. that is music to my ears. which reality tv star ditched a baseball game after being given the honor of throwing out the first pitch. believe it or not, once again lindsay lohan may have found a way to stay out of jail.

your first look at entertainment is next. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. time for your first look at entertainment news. according to one report, as a punishment for stealing a necklace, lindsay lohan may be getting a bracelet. tmz reports lohan will plead no contest to misdemeanor theft. in return, the judge will not increase her 120-day probation violence sentence. the website goes on to say it is possible given routine procedure by the l.a. county sheriff's department that as a nonviolent misdemeanor offender, lohan may be able to serve her sentence at home provided she wears an

electronic monitoring device. most anyone honored by getting to throw out the first pitch at a major league baseball game would normally stick around for the game, right? not celebrity shaef gordon ramsey who tossed out the opener for the dodgers monday night. he immediately left the stadium and went to the nba laker play-off game. taking up a front row seat next to pal david beckham who celebrated his 36th birthday along with courtside friends justin timberlake, will ferrell, eld difficult murphy. >> he should have at least kest on the doernlg jersey. >> are lakers fans actually lakers fans or are they just -- >> celebrity fans. >> just a little sight of david beckham there. i'm lynn berry and this is "first look" on msnbc. but stay tuned. "way too early with willie

geist" starts right now. the show the photo or not to show the photo? the obama administration debates the value of releasing the the public a gory image of osama bin laden's dead body as the cia director makes the case for putting it on display. the question s does the proof of death outweigh the iconic image release would give to bin laden supporters. questions about whether or not harsh interrogation methods known by many