straight shooter? ted nugent at the nra convention. sudden impact, horrifying moments as a car smashes right in a florida grocery store. i'm lynn berry. good morning, everyone. those stories and more straight ahead. this is "1st look" on msnbc. today we begin with a growing sex scandal. u.s. government investigators are in columbia trying to piece together exactly what happened there when 20 alleged prostitutes were signed into the hotel rooms of president obama's secret service and advance military teams. nbc's tracie potts has the latest. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. those investigators are looking

into the backgrounds of these women, they're interviewing them and also doing steextensive bac underchecks to see if they had any ties with drug cartels or porn intelligence, perhaps terrorist groups. we now know in addition to the 11 secret service agents involved, the military included 5 soldiers, 2 sailors, 2 marines and 1 airmen, a couple found with women in their rooms, turned out the embassy was called after one of the women complained she was not paid. here on capitol hill, lawmakers want to know has this happened before. some saying the number of agents involved, 11 to 12, raises red flags, others want to be careful not to indict the entire agency. mark sullivan was here on the hill yesterday, he is promising a full, thorough and fair investigation. lynn? tracie potts for us in

washington, thank you. president obama says oil speculators are driving up the price of gasoline and he wants congress to approve a new plan to crack down. the president wants lawmakers to give more power to government regulators to stop price manipulation by oil market speculators. and nbc's steve handeslman has more. >> reporter: election year move by president obama to take the side of the nation's suffering drivers. fuel prices are dropping a bit but still average close to $4. and republicans are still blaming the president. >> no matter how obama spins it, gas costs too much. >> reporter: the president blamed illegal pricing. >> speculators artificially manipulate markets by buying up oil, creating the perception of a shortage, driving prices higher for a quick profit. >> reporter: he wants more cops on the beat and track fuel prices and demanded congress go along.

>> the motion is not agreed to. >> reporter: since three weeks ago, republicans refused to cut taxpayer subsidies to big oil companies. >> here is a chance to make amends. >> reporter: john boehner accused the president of looking for a scapegoat. boehner endorsed mitt romney. >> i think mitt romney has a set of economic policies that can put americans back to work. >> reporter: in a backyard in pennsylvania, romney said new obama environmental rules drive down domestic energy production. >> he wants oil, gas, coal, nuclear, wind, solar, yet as you point out he makes it harder and harder to take advantage of the resources that are actually below the ground. >> reporter: the president says he wants to make it harder for speculators to take advantage of u.s. drivers. i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. there was more reaction to president obama's request.

last night on the ed show, massachusetts congressman barney frank told ed that government agencies need to be able to stop price manipulation. >> tld it was only when we passed the financial reform bill over the virtual unanimous opposition of the republicans that we gave the commodities future commission and security exchange commission the power to act here. one of the things that the cftc did was to limit the amount of oil that you can buy. we're talking about people who buy oil who don't touch it, who don't come near it, they buy it for the sole purpose of market manipulation. they buy to keep it off the market until the price goes up and then they can sell it again. these are people who wouldn't know a can of oil from a can of beans. what we said was you've got to stop buying up this oil and driving up the price. unfortunately, the securities industry to its great discredit went to court and is trying to get that thrown out. >> be sure to watch the ed show

week nights at 8:00 eastern only on msnbc, the place for politics. the u.s. secret service is investigating rocker ted nugent after a violent rant against president obama. he called the president and his advisors evil, and urged members of the national rifle association to "chop their heads off in november." he said "if barack obama becomes the president in november again, i will either be dead or in jail by this time next year." nugent endorsed mitt romney whose spokesperson referred to the rant as "offensive." now a look at other news going on around america. disturbing video out of florida shows the moment when a woman plowed her car right in a supermarket full of shoppers. amazingly, though, no one was killed. look at that, a stroller right there you can see the vehicle

making a direct hit on customers including that baby stroller. other cameras show the car going right past the check-out line before coming to a stop. two people were seriously hurt. the 76-year-old at the wheel has been cited for careless driving. in new york, dangerous new game is being played in the subway system. not bright, you guys. teenagers are jumping off the platform on the train tracks in what is being called subway chicken. in some of the cases they are making it out of harm's way with seconds to spare, transit officials say those involved should not only be arrested, they should "have their heads examined." in new jersey, a four alarm fire led to flames and fireworks. power lines could be seen sparking after a three-story house burned. the embers touched off fires in neighboring buildings. finally, seattle's space needle is getting spruced up. the family of a man who helped build the iconic tower 50 years

ago is helping to turn the roof back to the original color, galaxy gold. the space needle debuted at the 1962 world's fair. now for a look at your national weather, bill karins is tracking some rain which normally would be a bummer, but it's much needed. >> like seattle style. have you ever been to the seattle space needle? >> i haven't actually. no. i've always wanted to. people say it's a great town. >> i want to do a road trip there. loc whole area is gorgeous. as far as lynn is mentioning, light rain out this there. in the atlanta area, a little bit of a soaking this morning which is needed by the way. atlanta has been extremely dry. some of the rain sneak northward. south carolina will see showers and also from the roanoke area of virginia all the way down near hickory and asheville. some of the showers and storms crossing into southern virginia

will try to hold together and approach d.c. as we go throughout your morning rush hour. so you'll need to leave extra early and carry the umbrella. other area of light rain coming from duluth to international falls. minneapolis, light rain to the south side of town and also down towards rochester. if you're in wisconsin, have the umbrella, light rain for you you. otherwise it's pretty quiet out there. nothing too dramatic. we won't see severe weather today or any tornado outbreaks. cool weather for the northeast today especially compared to the warm weather you've had recently, but the warmth has returned, new mexico, colorado, oklahoma city to dallas, you'll be very mild. and as far as the jackets go today, you probably need them from about kansas city northward and new york city northwards. if you're in the southeast or deep south, leave the jacket at home. it will warm up in a hurry. we're already in the 50s and 60s out there. a little cold air from denver to billings. probably where you need a little heavier coat. so here is your forecast for this wednesday. in boston, a little cooler for you especially near the water.

morning city to hartford, partly cloudy, definitely chillier. temperatures in the low 60s in some cases. d.c., only low 60s with some of the rain showers today. a peek at tomorrow's forecast does show dry weather for the east coast. all eyes are on this next storm. it will start to be out here in the middle of the country on thursday. it could be a very wet and soaking weekend for the eastern seaboard. we need the rain, but for your weekend plans, a little iffy. >> all right, bill. thanks so much. coming up, earnings season heats up, investors give executive pay a thumbs down, and one man's dirt is another man's spoil. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, ozzie guillen returns, a vicious hit on the ice and i canky gives new meaning to one and done. you're watching "1st look" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] what's the beat that moves your heart?

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welcome back to "1st look."

here are some of the top stories making news this morning. congress heard more testimony yesterday about excessive spending at the general services administration. lavish parties at a las vegas convention, new information shows a gsa executive took expensive trips to california, hawaii and the south pacific. north korea is threatening to retaliate if the united states does not stick to a plan to send food aid. the u.s. decided to cancel the food agreement because north korea broke it by going ahead with a rocket launch that failed last week. in syria, both sides are accusing the other of breaking the cease fire. opposition forces say that syrian troops shelled two cities yesterday while the government says they were responding to provocations designed to sabotage the truce. police in texas have a person of interest in custody after a woman was shot outside a houston area hospital, and her three-day old baby boy was abducted. the infant was found and is unharmed.

scientists discovered a new species in a cave in new mexico. a shrimp-like creature is blind, half inch long and almost transparent, one expert says the species may have been down there for millions of years. now a look at how wall street will kick off the day. dow opens at 13,115 after rising 194 points yesterday. the s & p rose 21 points, nasdaq climbed 54. taking a look at overseas trading the nikkei surged 202 points while in hong kong the hang seng nudged up 218. upbeat earnings and signs spain's debt crisis may be easing helped stocks tuesday. encouraging sale of the two year bonds drove the country's borrowing costs out of bailout territory.

shares of coke shot up 2%. earnings after the bill were mixed. hardware sales weighed down first quarter revenue. after the bell, warren buffett revealed he's battling stage one prostate cancer. however, the berkshire hathaway ceo says his prognosis is positive and he feels great. multimillion-dollar pay packages were voted down. a new report based on census data shows on average, u.s. women earned 77% of what men took home in 2010. finally, one lucky bidder hit pay dirt, literally. soil from the spot where gandhi was assassinated in 1948 sold at

auction yesterday for $16,000. coming up, the knicks topped the celtics, marlins slugged the cubs. coyotes best the blackhawks in game three of the stanley cup playoff series. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "1st look" on msnbc. d on the simple belief that bringing you better technology helps make you a better investor. with our revolutionary new e-trade 360 dashboard you see exactly where your money is and what it's doing live. our e-trade pro platform offers powerful functionality that's still so usable you'll actually use it. and our mobile apps are the ultimate in wherever whenever investing. no matter what kind of investor you are, you'll find the technology to help you become a better one at e-trade. is to take you from where you are... to where you need to be. and we're not just talking about points on a map. with a more intuitive delta website and mobile app... and the most wifi equipped planes.

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the red wings were nearly perfect at home during the regular season. playoffs were a different story. tied at one in the third, martin erat pulled three defenders toward him, passed to a wide open kevin klein. nashville won 3-1, they can eliminate detroit with a win on friday. blackhawks and coyotes, marian hossa leveled, no call in the hit, when you look at it again, torres left his feet, hossa knocked unconscious. taken to a hospital, thankfully he will be okay. every game in the series has gone to overtime, michael boedker found the net. they win 3-2. brian campbell had a goal and assist, florida leads 2-1 after a victory. college hoops, one and done, two weeks after winning it all, kentucky's entire starting line-up has declared for the nba

draft. anthony davis expected to go first overall. the knicks don't want any part of the lottery, they are trying to make the playoffs. the win last night, carmelo anthony filled up the stats 35 points. knicks won it 118-110. ozzie guillen returned after a five game suspension. hanley ramirez and the marlins beat the cubs 5-3. dodgers tried to start the season 10-1 since 1955 but was not meant to be. two runs scored off a walk off double, they lost 5-4. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred roggin. and now for another look at the weather, here is bill karins with your weather channel forecast. lots of stuff doing on. >> it's weird. we haven'ted had like a big rain ept. this is going to be the first one in a while. it's not really for today.

doesn't really start even until saturday down here in louisiana. it's kind of a four day very slow moving soaker that is exactly what the the east coast needs. for the for your weekend plans, but as far as the drought conditions go because we have a horrible drought down here in georgia and all the way up into new england, things have been very cry. if you're an allergy sufferer, you know you need the rain cleared out for the rain because allergies have been off the charts in many areas. i think on saturday we get away with a pretty decent day, mid-atlantic, saturday plans should be just fine. but by sunday, the rain should encompass all of the seeeastern seaboard. on monday, we could wake up to heavy rain in the up 95 corridor up in new england and that storm lingers especially into tuesday. so we're fine today out there, but all eyes are on the big heavy rain for the weekend. coming up, why did mickey any imagine delete her twitter

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welcome back. the countdown is under way to the start of the summer olympics in london. and today, we hit a milestone. the final preparations. frances coe reports. >> reporter: almost four years ago, beijing wowed the world with one of the most spectacular olympics. soon it will be time for london to shine. today marks 100 days to the

start of the summer olympics in the british capital and u.s. athletes have been getting ready. allison felix is an owe him tick veteran and three time world 200 meter champion. but sothing has alluded her, an olympic gold in an individual event. as she prepares for trials, she says previous failures are only motivating her. >> i don't think a day goes by that i'm not thinking about it and i'm striving to come away with that gold medal. >> reporter: michael phelps was the star of the 2008 olympics where he brought home a record eight gold medals. he says he's ready to do his part again for team usa. though he hasn't announced how many events he will compete in. >> i'm in a lot better spot the how than what i was any i'm over the last three years. physically, i'm in better shape, mentally in better shape. really since beijing. >> reporter: with 100 days to go, nearly all of the permanent

venues and infrastructure are complete. as the excitement mounts. now we wait for one of the biggest shows on earth. frances coe, nbc news. someti time for entertainment news. reports an alleged fling proved costly for simon cowell. he had a laptop and wallet stolen in october. police used security footage to track down the woman who handed over the laptop and wallet minus the cash. police in southern california say they arrested a security guard and recovered five vintage guitars stolen from tom petty and the heart breakers. a break in the case came when one of the instruments was pawned in hollywood. nicki minaj has given 11 million fans a digital time-out.

>> very upset about will this this. >> you don't entweet. she deactivated her twitter account after a fan site leaked unreleased song clips to her followers. finally, could kim kardashian be setting her sights on a political career? i can't say that with a straight face. in a new clip from e's "khloe and lamar," she plans to run for mayor of glendale, california, in five years because it's like armenian town. >> good to have long term goals. >> what do you see yourself doing in five years, like the classic interview question? i'll be the mayor of glendale. i'm lynn berry. day tuned, "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. hit romney is on the road in charlotte offering a pre-bulgts

to president obama's democratic convention speech which will be delivered there five months from now. new polling shows romney has about 30 points worth of work to do to catch the president in at least one important area. the question is, how does ted nugent figure in to all of this? secret service checking out new gept after comments he made about president obama, but that organization may have bigger fish to fry as the story into agents hanging out with hookers in colombia continues to grow and get more embarrassing. the question is, did it will really all blow up after a couple agents stiffed one of the pros after about 40 bucks? come on, guys. and ozzie guillen returns to the marlins after serving a five game suspension it for publicly praising fidel castro in south florida. the question is, where does ozzie stand on paul pott? it's way too early for it this. this is the show that