statistically insignificant but essentially the same as last month. that's despite this most recent controversy with the irs targeting conservative groups those polls were asked is the president personally responsible. 32% just under a third said that the president is, but the vast majority said that he is not. so this does not seem to be sticking to him personally. now, the big issue prior to all of these controversies, irs, benghazi, the journalist phone records, prior to all that, of course, was the economy. poll recipients were asked is president obama doing a good job handling the economy. 46% just under half now approve of the way that he's been doing that. here's a really interesting result from this poll. republican governor chris christie of new jersey pretty high favorability ratings among both democrats and republicans.

40% among republicans, 43% among democrats and 41% among independents. thanks. a big new controversy in major league baseball over player suspension because of performance-enhancing drugs. alex rodriguez is one of the players who faces up to 100 game suspension, according to espn's "outside the lines." the brewers ryan braun could also face 100 game ban. tony bosch founder of biogenesis is expected to testify in major league baseball's investigation. all together 20 players are involved because of links to the clinic including milky cabrera, bartolo colon, nelson cruz.

>> people have evacuated along the mississippi river has floodwaters move towards a small town. a levee breached on tuesday and waters came two miles inland threatening homes. the mississippi crested tuesday at more than 34 feet, 4 thousand bags and 320-foot jersey barrier flood walls are up to keep the waters at bay. these latest developments are bringing back bad memories. this same town was swept away bay flood 20 years ago. poignant words from john mccain on military sexual assault. at a senate armed forces hearing on tuesday the arizona senator says we've been talking about tissue for years with no solution and then a startling revelation. >> a woman came to me and said her daughter wanted to join the military and could i give my unqualified support for her

doing so. i could not. >> a top military brass called the assaults quote like a cancer. another acknowledging a breach of sacred trust with the troops. >> we failed to address these crimes in a compassionate, just and comprehensive way. >> but senators were relentless in their pursuit of answers. >> we need to know how many women and men are being raped and sexually assaulted on an annual basis and we have no idea right now. >> not every single commander can distinguish between a slap on the ass and a rape. >> at the heart of the debate how the military governs criminal complaints. top brass oppose congressional efforts to strip commanders of handing sexual assault cases. luxury hotels, expensive drinks at the expense of you the

taxpayer at a conference. a new inspector general's report on travel expenses found the agency spe $49 million on 225 employee conferences between 2010 and last year. this report made public the same day we heard emotional testimony from the leaders of six conservative groups. they say they endured abuse from irsing agents for years while trying to qualify for tax exempt status. last week's deadly tornado in el reno, oklahoma is the widest ever recorded. friday's tornado was a record 2.6 miles wide. the island of manhattan is 2.3 miles at its widest point. the twister has been cup graded to the maximum rating of ef-5 with winds reaching 295 miles per hour. 19 deaths are being blamed on the storm including those of three storm chasers. for more on the forecast we're joined by nbc's bill karins. we saw the ef-5 tornado in

moore, oklahoma now another one. why are these so common. >> so close together it's very rare. this one was rated ef-5 not based on damage found on the ground but based on doppler radar. there's a little bit of controversy calling it an ef-5 based on just that. so that's kind of inside baseball in the meteorology world. as far as what we're dealing with this morning all eyes are on the gulf of mexico. a lot of rain is heading up through the florida peninsula. it may develop into a subtropical depression. the first named storm would be andrea. by the time we get to thursday the low is off somewhere the south carolina coast and racing up the eastern seaboard and bring locally heavy rain with

it, possibility of two to three inches widespread up the east coast but locally four to five. friday the heaviest rains up there around new england and exits by the time we get to saturday. that's good news. in and out in a hurry in almost all locations and total rainfall again no more than four or five inches. not major that's a look at your national forecast. now here's a look at the weather outside your window. as far as severe weather goes today we do have strong storms rolling through areas of oklahoma, kansas at this time. those will continue until sunrise and then die off. a new round of storms out there in north texas, oklahoma and arkansas later today. so for the eastern seaboard if it's not raining where you are today enjoy it because pretty soon it will be. >> thanks so much, bill. just ahead the white house admits to having secret e-mail accounts with deadly sirin gas used against syrian rebels.

chrysler says no to a recall. life and death rules for organ recipients. details in two minutes.

stories in the news this morning, the white house is defending reports that some of president obama's appointees are using secret e-mail for messages. jay carney said this is common practice. it's a way to filter unwanted messages. he also noted that he only has one e-mail address. more unrest across turkey today as protesters continue demonstrations against the country's prime minister. the u.s. state department says it's investigating allegations turkish authorities are using excessive force on activists. the french government says it has confirmed the use of nerve gas inside syria. officials say lab tests offer evidence of multiple uses of sirin gas in a localized way

most likely by pro government forces. health and human services secretary kathleen sebelius says she won't intervene in the case of a young girl in need of a lung transplant. relatives of the girl are trying to change current health policies, rules only allow patients 1 and older to join a transplant list but sara's doctors say she's medical eligible for an adult lung. turning to business, asian shares hit 2013 lows over fears the federal reserve will dial back their program. chrysler says no to a mandatory recall. the auditorium is rebuffing the fed's request to recall 1993 to 2007 cherokees and 2002 to 2007 liberties. the fuel tanks are prone to catching fire in rear end collisions. chrysler says the jeeps are safe but the entire thing could end up in court.

pizza wars ahead. first up pizza hut's newest low cost large pizza sells for $5.55 from june 5th to 15th to celebrate their 55th anniversary. dominos may be taking pizza to a new level. the dominocopter traveled with pizzas. tests have been a success. right now there aren't any plans to implement the drones for delivery. a class trip be aware. high schoolers traveling from new york to atlanta were booted from an air trans flight after the student won't sit still. talk about a morale issue where you don't want one. emails obtained by the ap shows some military officers in charge of the air force's most powerful

nuclear weapons are complaining about their jobs. complaints about poor leadership and being stuck in dead end careers. nuclear weapons as well as the call for more experienced missile officers. federer goes down early as the king fights back and a major leaguer gets tossed from the game after it's over. but john travolta crashes a wedding in t-shirts and jean. "early today" returns. stay with us.

the suspect in last year's shooting massacre at a movie theater in aurora, colorado has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity. on tuesday the judge accepted that plea from james holmes. an insanity plea is widely seen as homes' best chance of avoiding execution. he'll undergo a mental evaluation at a state hospital. the judge hopes to start the trial in february. time now for sports and for all the latest headlines we're joined by betty nguyen. good morning. >> let's get right to it. the defending nhl champ did a crucial playoff win at home. the king of the los angeles kings scored into an empty net to steal a 3-1 victory over chicago. the blackhawks leads the series. gordon gee is retiring as

president of ohio state university after the controversy over comments he made last year. while speaking to the university's athletic council in december about expanding the big ten conference. he joked about other schools including notre dame. he said you just can't trust thosele damn catholics. oh, my. he went on to say the goal was to quote make certain that we have institutions of like-minded academic integrity so you won't see us adding louisville. in foreign policy tennis federer was knocked out. women's top seed serena williams advances to the semi-finals. oklahoma sooners got a strikeout to beat tennessee in 4-0 and oklahoma captured the women's college world series. in baseball cleveland's mike aviles argued with the umpire about a strike and slide out. a 4-0 to the yankees. but the argument continued and

the umpire actually ejected the player from the game after it was already over. how is that possible? you got to move on. game is over. on the judge judy tv show, jim harbaugh and his father was laughing it up with the judge. afterwards harbaugh said he invited judge judy to a 49ers practice. in england a traditional competition in kicking shins. this is a game. even with pads it's pretty rough. very painful one as competitors struggle to score points. opposite "early today" sports is brought to you for just for men auto stop. gray is over. >> you can't sign me up for a sport like that. just ahead, michael jackson's mother is accused of an elaborate shakedown. but sophie a times three. she says gracias for her two

girls. and taking on ron burgundy. you're watching "early today."

. mother nature just won't leave oklahoma alone and this time kansas either. thunderstorms with thousands of lightning strikes right now approaching i-35, from central kansas down through wichita and approaching areas around oklahoma city. a lot of people unfortunately will be woke up here in the middle of the night and won't like it. as far as later on today we have

a chance of more severe weather, oklahoma city, amarillo, isolated tornadoes most likely here in west texas and for everyone on the eastern seaboard we'll see thunderstorms developing in florida today but the real moisture from our tropical system won't arrive until tomorrow. who knows when i mentioned earlier it could be andrea by the time it reaches north florida. >> we hope those communities get a break. >> after this next cold front goes through they will. turning now to entertainment. the ceo of aeg live told the jury this week he believes the lawsuit filed by michael jackson's mother was a shakedown attempt. the suit claims aeg failed to properly investigate jackson's doctor but the company says there's no responsibility for the singer's 2009 teeth. a baby boom, kitt winslow

and hewlett announced they are expecting. >> john travolta crash ad wedding. he posed for pictures with the newlywed. >> would you welcome him into yours? >> yes. a little underdressed. sofia vergara had everybody seeing triple when she topped by mad madam trusseau. just in case you need another excuse to channel your inner ron bur gunnedy there's a new anchorman exhibit featuring costumes and memorabilia. stay classy indeed. >> at the newseum. >> yego to d.c. i'm mara schiavocampo and this is "early today" just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station.

>> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> good morning. it is a beautiful start on this wednesday morning. the temperatures are in the 50's right now. in frederick. 58 degrees in chestertown. partly to mostly sunny skies. high temperatures in the upper 70's and low 80's.

>> 4:57. 55 degrees at the airport. the state attorney general has a warning about insurance premiums. >> an accident on the chesapeake bay bridge snarls traffic for hours. on theravens will be road making a special visit to the fan in chief. details on the white house visit. >> we will

captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- >> you're watching wbal-tv 11. live, local, late-breaking. this is 11 news today at 5:00 a.m. >> they are taking the affordable care act and saying we think the rates at my co-opio up. to say doug gansler has to insurers and the consumers. cannot living your own house without somebody breaking in.

it is crazy. robbedman is beaten and inside her own home. aftermatheo shows the of a dangerous attack at oriole park that left a fan in critical condition. >> good morning. i'm mindy basara. >> and i'm stan stovall. :01. time for traffic and weather together on the 1's. yesterday was a picture-perfect. >> today it will be very close. dew points in the 50's. 54 at the airport. ame people might want to take light jacket this morning. it is a little on the cool side.