good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. and we are going to begin with a day to remember. it has been exactly one year since one of the deadliest tornados in u.s. history forever scarred the community of joplin, missouri, 161 people were killed, more than 900 injured and some 7,000 homes completely swept away. president obama was in joplin last night to mark the anniversary. nbc's jinah kim reports. >> the president of the united states of america, barack obama. >> reporter: speaking to thousands gathered for the joplin high school graduation, president obama said it was the people of joplin who deserved applause. >> as i look out at this class and across the city, what's

clear is that you're the source of inspiration today. >> reporter: it was shortly after the same graduation ceremony last year that an ef-5 strength tornado tore through joplin taking 161 lives and shredding nearly 10,000 homes and buildings. surveillance cameras captured joplin high school getting ripped apart. one year later the school is still a pile of rubble while students study at a converted department store nearby. >> we can choose to carry on, we can choose to make a difference in the world. >> reporter: with $2.8 billion in damage, joplin is the costliest single tornado in u.s. history. fourth generation resident jeanie george says her community will never be the same. but it's made her appreciate what she still has. >> i'm thankful for every day.

i feel so blessed. every thing we've gone through has taught us thing, made us appreciate life even more including this tornado. >> reporter: jinah kim, nbc news, joplin, missouri. earlier in the day president obama found himself defending his campaign focus on mitt romney's record at bain capital. during a news conference wrapping up the nato summit in chicago. nbc's tracie potts has more on that. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. the nato summit was successful for president obama, the 28 nations agreed to wrap up the war in afghanistan by the end of 2014, but questions remain about whether or not the taliban may take over yet again and whether the afghan forces are strong enough to resist them but meantime at that press conference as you mentioned president obama found himself defending those ads attacking mitt romney's record at boehner capital. boehner capital is the investment firm they started and headed. romney has been running on his job record at bain capital. the president said for that

reason boehner capital is fair game but an obama supporter, newark moy yore cory booker, who was a supporter of president obama said yesterday on "meet the press" that he actually felt uncomfortable with these attacks in talking about some of the back and forth. he called it nauseating. he later retracked saying he stood with the president but the romney team was very quick to put out a web ad highlighting booker's comments. he said he needed to clarify what was trying to say on sunday's "meet the press." >> obviously i did in the interview that did not land the points i was trying to make and in some ways i conflated frustrating ily the attacks the republicans were making with jeremiah wright with some of the attacks on the left. and those can't even be equated. the noxious nature of some of at taxes going on where you even

poll many in the gop who still believe he is a secret muslim, it's gotten so ridiculous you can't equate the negativity on the right by what's happening with some sectors on the left. at this point i'm grateful for the president who said kind words to me. many more cynical folks probably wanted the president to go on the attack. god bless him. i think the team heard me defend the president on "meet the press" on health care, on doing tax reform that helped people in my community in newark, new jersey. and it's a partnership i'm going to continue to have no matter what role they want me to play. i play it proactively, not reactively to him. >> don't miss out on "the rachel maddow show" right here on msnbc, the place for politics. here's your "first look" at some of the other news making

headlines in america. for the second time was a charm for spacex rocket lifting off from cape canaveral this morning. it was a gorgeous launch. saturday's launch was halted at the last second due to a faulty valve. it could become the first commercially owned rocket to bring supplies to the international space station. pretty cool there. in washington state an incredible rescue. a 13-year-old boy, you can see him right there on the right, he was saved after nearly plunging down a waterfall about 250 feet high. the boy had been hiking with his father and friends when he slipped and fell into a rushing river. he was able to swim out of the current but then got stuck on the rocks very close to the edge of that waterfall. in southern california, a small plane crashed into a residential neighborhood last night. amazingly the pooilt managed to avoid hitting homes and jumped only minor injuries. he tried to make it to the airport after engine trouble.

nfrjts south carolina, a group of kidding playing soccer found someone else wanting to play. an alligator. he managed to sink his teeth into the game ball after it landed in a nearby lagoon. it took two days to get the ball back but it was recovered with some bite marks. i would imagine they'll keep that for posterity. >> good morning, bill with your forecast. i think i would say leave it, let's let the gator have it. >> later alligator. >> ooh, yeah, okay, after a while crocodile. >> don't get e-mails about people saying the difference between crocodiles and alligators. good morning, yesterday was a rainy kind of just a really just tropical almost day throughout areas in new york city that picked up almost 2 inches of rain. now this morning it's a light drizzly rain, dreary tuesday in many areas in the northeast all the way through the mid-atlantic. light rain showing up in the green, the blue is kind of a

drizzle type rain and that's right along i-95 heading up 84 and all through periods of connecticut, rhode island and now the southern half of massachusetts. a couple other rainy spots. in south florida i think you'll have more rain today than you typically would have. showers popping up on a boundary near miami. on and off rain through the day. not the best of beach days and the other wet spot much of the state of montana from great falls this morning to glosgow. the east coast is humid right now. you feel it the second you walk out the door from new england southwards down to florida. that's going to spark showers and storms this afternoon. so we have the rain i just showed you and then later i'm expecting the southeast will get thunderstorms this afternoon with some large hail, damaging winds from columbia to charlotte just south of knoxville, macon to montgomery.

you have a chance of strong storms today. i think we'll get another round today after yesterday. we're getting the typical summer weather. east coast, a lot of us will need umbrellas, chicago, kansas city, st. louis, another beautiful day for you. the hotter air is heading your way so just enjoy it while it lasts. already, lynn, looking at 93 in denver and 93 in dallas. summer heat is beginning to expand. >> bill, thanks. apple regains. facebook falls face first, and the woman who claims she was fired for being too hot. your "first look" at this morning's business headlines straight ahead. lightning strikes twice for one lucky fan. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. people with a machine.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. a suicide bombing in yemen killed 100 people, most of them soldiers. al qaeda in the arabian peninsula has claimed responsibility. roman catholic schools, chimps and other administrations are suing the obama administration over a health care mandate that most employers provide birth control coverage. they claim it violates religious freedom. former rutgers university student davin ravi was sentenced to 30 days in jail and 3 years on probation for use iing a webcam to spy on his gay roommate who later committed suicide. the prosecutor plans to appeal joined by gay advocates in complaining the sentence is too light. the supreme court has ruled a child conceived by in vitro fertilization is not entitled to survivor social security benefits. a rare outtake photo similar

to the icon ic album of "abbey road" will be auctioned today. they are walking in the opposite direction and mccartney is wearing sandals. not in his bare feet. the photo could bring more than $30,000. now here's a "first look" at how wall street will kick off. the dow jumps 135.10 and the nasdaq zoomed up 68. overseas trading, in tokyo the nikkei rose 94. hang seng judged up 116. investor investors are looking for the market to rally even higher. nasdaq had a very good monday with its biggest one day percentage gain since 2011. that was thanks to apple which rose by 5%. that was tempered however by facebook falling 11%.

some analysts now say friday's $38 ipo price was too ambitious. also losing ground, lowe's fell after the home improvement chain lowered expectations. jpmorgan chase is suspending its share buybacks but maintaining its dividend after its multibillion dollar deri derivatives loss with the senate holding a hearing later today on that bungle. a federal judge ruled pom used deceptive advertising when it claimed its juice to prevent illnesses. april's existing home sales data will be released today, expected to show some improvement. in the first-ever direct u.s. relationship with a foreign government, the treasury is now selling bonds directly to the people's bank of china. it is going to cost more to visit disney lapd as ticket prices jump for the second time in a year with a regular one-day

ticket up 9% to $87. and a 29-year-old woman is suing a lingerie warehouse saying she was fired from her temporary job because her form fitting clothes were too hot. the company, native intimates, had no comment. men should not be routinely screened using the psa test for positive state cancer and say the risk outweigh the benefits. opponents say the controversial decision could affect millions of men who have the test usually starting at age 50. for more on this and other health stories you can check out the health page at msnbc.com. all right, coming up, the devils torch the rangers, the sixers reach the brink and a scoreboard busting grand slam. plus one very lucky fan takes home two souvenirs.

he's just as shocked as we are. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. demarcus.what's up guys. now i know you don't need one, but would you try these on for charity and prove just how great the fit is? seriously? no way for charity? let's do it! yup... they're doin it. the best protection now looks, fits and feels just like underwear. let's go drive, use the legs... nice teamwork! they tried on the new depend real fit. get a free sample so you can too. dave, i've downloaded a virus. yeah. ♪ dave, where are we on the new laptop? it's so slow! i'm calling dave. [ telephone rings ] [ male announcer ] in a small business, technology is all you. that's why you've got us. at the staples pc savings event,

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[ grunting ] huh? [ male announcer ] should've used roundup. america's number one weed killer. it kills weeds to the root, so they don't come back. guaranteed. weeds won't play dead, they'll stay dead. roundup. no root. no weed. no problem. ♪ power surge, let it blow your mind. [ male announcer ] for fruits, veggies and natural green tea energy... new v8 v-fusion plus energy. could've had a v8. welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. in sports for the second night in a row, a los angeles team was knocked out of the nba playoffs. here's nbc's fred roggin. good morning. the oklahoma city thunder are headed to the western conference finals, game five in okc. kobe bryant went down swinging.

unfortunately for him nobody else had his back. kobe finished with a game high 42. things were close until the fourth. thunder started the quarter on a 10-0 and the lakers never recovered. kevin durant and russell westbrook simply too fast, too athletic and down the stretch. thunder won it 106-90. next up is the san antonio spurs. now we go to boston the celtics have three future hall of famers and an all-star point guard. game five belonged to bass, scored 18 of his career high 27 in the third quarter. celtics had everybody going. they won it 101-85. they could eliminate the sixers with another victory tomorrow. dwight howard wanted him out. and yesterday he got his wish. they fired stan van gundy and the gm. they're both down in orlando. hockey eastern conference finals are so intense, even the coach is getting into it. if you're going to talk the talk you got to walk the walk. devils did just that. the captain led by example. parise with two

goals and an assist, the devils evened the series with 4-1 over the rangers, game five tomorrow on the nbc sports network. baseball, the marlins are breaking in a new stadium and stanton is flat out breaking things. ripped a grand slam off the left field scoreboard. dented and broke some lights. this is why we can't have nice things. the marlins beat the rockies 7-4. finally, maybe if this guy was in the stands that scoreboard would still be working. a reds fan caught not one but two home run balls. moments later he got a lucky bounce and went right around and grabbed another one. two home runs, two catches. i guess that's why he's got two hands. the reds beat the braves 4-1. that's your "first look" at sports. i'm fred roggin. now for another look at the weather here's meteorologist bill karins. he needs to play the lottery. >> have you ever caught a foul ball? >> never. have you. >> my uncle did. it's just a fun moment.

you can get into it. good morning, everyone. we are watching heavy rain moving in and out of areas of new england once again, what else is new? this is like i think four weeks in a row that during the week we've had rain and then we end up with beautiful weekends. there's a good chance we'll do that. i guess it makes the grass green, we were dry early this spring but making up for that in a hurry, light rain, boston, providence and areas of coastal jersey. not bad d.c. to baltimore but clouds to deal with and sunshine late in the day. so humid, if you do get the sunshine during the day the clouds will quickly fill in and get showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. with the humid air mass like this you really just can't win. extended forecast, here's the good news into memorial day weekend, hot and humid and then hot, mid to upper 80s into saturday. that's a little piece of good news. make your weekend plans now, somewhere near the water to stay

cool. southeast today, storms and the middle of the country, we mentioned the heat is on, phoenix today, once again, 108. >> ouch. bill, thanks so much. coming up who is splitting, who's dating and who tim tebow will not be seen with. plus, who finished first on this year's maxim hot 100 list. your "first look" at entertainment is straight ahead. there's another way to help erase litter box odor. purina tidy cats. only tidy cats has new odor erasers... making it easy to keep things at home... just the way you want them. new tidy cats with odor erasers. [ gasps ] think again. try charmin ultra strong for a clean with fewer pieces left behind.

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as scientists, they're testing a robotic lifeguard that can wait with the swimmer until help arrives. you know, so you can slowly be

electrocuted while you drown. very smart. mark zuckerberg got married. the reception was annoying. right when everyone got used to the seating, mark zuckerberg changed the layout. didn't make it easier. no reason at all. >> wow. >> get this, a new study found the -- most members of congress can only speak at a tenth grade level. in response, congress issued a statement saying that is totes redonkulos. >> he has the afghan wigs tonight. "late night with jimmy fallon," 11:35 central time on your local nbc station. time for entertainment news. "people" magazine may say beyonce is the most beautiful women. what do guys think?

we go to bill darns -- no, bill doesn't know what he's talking about. this year's top spot goes to bar refaeli. rounding out the top five olivia munn who bill didn't know, milo kunis and katy perry. >> j. lo is on the list and she's not. >> katy perry is back on the market weeks after taking florence and the machine guit guitarist off. erin is dating crawford. tmz reports an actress in the production of "rock of ages" was asked to remove a twitter photo featuring tebow and some of the performers because they apparently weren't wearing enough clothes.

you have that problem all the time. >> those are the ones i retweet. >> girls want to stand next to me. not so much for tim tebow. doesn't work with the wholesome image he's going for, does it? you on the other hand work what you got. i'm lynn berry. msnbc. keep it quiet. "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. with yet another new national poll showing president obama and mitt romney in a dead heat in the race for the white house, the president uses the cory booker moment and the international nato venue to go after again romney's record at boehner capital. the question is what did an agitated mayor have to say in an exclusive interview last night? we'll show you. this facebook ipo hasn't rolled out the way mark

zuckerberg hoped it would with the stock falling 11% after a shaky friday debut. what's going on with the most anticipated stock offering in recent history and when will it turn around. kobe bryant hangs 42 points on oklahoma city with his lakers' season on the brink. was that enough to keep l.a.'s season alive. it's "way too early" for this. good morning, i'm willie geist and this is "way too early," the show bullish on this myface business. i'm flat you're watching on msnbc or listening. you can e-mail a waytooearly@msnbc.com or tweet me @will @williegeist,