>> that's all for this edition of "dateline" friday. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, good night. this morning on "early today," billion dollar blunder. heads begin to roll at jpmorgan chase in the wake of a massive trading loss. a massive twister bears down on a small new mexico town. and family affair. england's young royals turn out for a charity polo match. captions paid for by nbc-universal television rtd. >r >> hellop >>. they're to pay the ultimate price for mistaken that sent

shock waves throughout the financial world. the bank's chief investment officer is among the reported resignations. nbc's brian mooar reports. >> reporter: from the ceo of jpmorgan chase, an unambiguous explanation on a stun 2g billion trading loss. >> we made a terrible egregious mistake. there's almost no excuse for it. >> reporter: jamie dimon shrugged off mounting concerns last month that something was terribly wrong with a $100 million hedge investment that now he describes as a bad bet. >> we know it was sloppy. it was a bad judgment. >> reporter: it is a nightmarish reminder of the wall street blunder that upended the economy four years ago. americans paid a steep price for the bailouts and the economy is still crawling toward a recovery. this time around, jpmorgan's reputation and its stock price is taking a hit but the company still expects to turn a profit.

for democrats this is a warning sign. >> we're not trying to stop banks from trying to lose money but stop them in causing damage to the rest of the country. >> reporter: barney frank was co-author of the dodge frank lauchlt but they say it's stifling investment. >> you have so much regulation coming in you can't see the forest from the trees. >> reporter: a fight over regulation that now has a new focus. jp missouri began craze. well, lawyers for former presidential candidate john edwards will begin his defense today at his trial in north carolina. he's accused of campaign violations to cover up an affair and it's a conviction that could send him to prison. nbc's frances kuo as more. >> reporter: after three weeks of at times gut-wrenching emotional testimony, today the john edwards defense team will get their first chance to present their case to the jury. last thursday the prosecution

rested after bringing dozens of witnesses to the stand. they tried to shred the credibility of the former presidential candidate including presenting edwards' 2008 interview in which he denied factoring a child with mistress rielle hunter. analysts say that video puts pressure on edwards to testify. >> i think the heat is really on john edwards to take the stand. >> reporter: the government alleges that funds used to cover up the affair with hunter were actually illegal campaign contributions, a charge edwards denies. >> it's going be up to him to be able to look the skrur in the eye and convince them that he did not violate the campaign finance laws. >> reporter: whether hunter or edwards takes the stand remains to seen. >> the more likely it is we'll see john edwards and rielle hunter and it's rielle hunter who can bring that negative focus back on andrew young, and i think that edwards' defense team may feel like they need that now.

>> reporter: a focus the defense hopes will convince the jury of edwards' innocence. frances kuo, nbc news. and now here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. in denver, a bizarre scene after a driver lost control and smashed into a home. police found a dog in the back seat. the canine appeared frightened but officers were able to recover him and he didn't appear to suffer any injuries. in new mexico frightening moments as a tornado bore down on a neighborhood sunday afternoon. look at that. the twister was likely a category 1 with speeds of up to 100 miles an hour. neighbors had to run for cover, but no one was hurt. locals say it's the first tornado in the area in more than 50 years. in nashville, a 72-year-old atoned for a crime he committed more than half a century ago. now, he planted new flowers in a city park after stealing some from the same place back in 1954. he took the hydrangeas to give

always a mother's day present because he was too poor to buy his own. the new ones came from the same root system he planted on his mother's farm. and finally a college graduate got more than a diploma this weekend. she got a marriage proposal from her boyfriend. very smooth. the student and her fiance met during their first week of college. their families urged them to wait until they were done with school to take the next big step. they did, if only by a few seconds. just couldn't wait there. and now for a look at your national and regional weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. >> these ooh called stealing the show. >> no kidding. >> how was your weekend. >> great weekend. how about you? it was beautiful weather. >> you treated your mom? >> absolutely. >> she doesn't need me to step in? >> no, that's all we need to know. good morning, everyone. we are looking at active weather on the eastern seaboard. we got away with nice weekend in new england but now the rain is

heading your way and it's actually exiting a lot of areas in the deep south. a lot of heavy rain this morning coming up through the appalachians in the mountains of north carolina just outside of nashville and the tennessee side we're getting good rain. right up interstate 81 as we go through areas of roanoke. this is heading through areas of pennsylvania. it's an umbrella area in many areas. this is how much rain we're expecting in the next 48 hours. notice it's in the interior sections of the northeast and mid-atlantic. this areas in yellow and orange, possibly two inches of rain. it's a very slow-moving system. the only other wh concerns this morning thunderstorms diving down through new mexico and down through west texas. you could get thunderstorms here. the last update on these storms still headed a little bit away from del rio. so your forecast today, eastern seaboard, be prepared for a period of remain for at least the next two days. that's a look at the weather.

now here's a look at the weather outside your window. >> on the east coast, wet weather. here, beautiful conditions. warm air all the way up to maeps, 88 degrees. sunny, look at utah. 82 degrees. a beautiful set of weather coming up. it looks like we're going to be dealing with the rain on the eastern seaboard. eats the third week we've had the rain. >> but it's on the weekend. coming up yahoo!'s ceo tumbles, avon will make the call, and world records guaranteed to make you shake your head and say really. your early morning business headlines are straight ahead. juror plus they keep shattering record after record at the box office. tlird time for the clipper, air pa of walk-off grand slams and a pair for the kings of the road do it again. you're watching "early today."

good morning and welcome back to "early today." i'm lynn berry, and here are some of your top headlines this morning.p in >> ar pand gruesome acand mexicop mexico'r mexico'meg mexicop mexico'r mexico'm mutilatp mutilatp dumpeddu ovr over p over aover textexas border yesterday. tthe deap the dead athe d victir victims of an >> negotiatp negotiator wnegot on his way on his wayp. it was just a week before a key nato summit meeting in chicago where afghanistan will be major topic. in southern yemen, 42 people have been killed between the fighting in the militants. it killed at least 30 militants. in denmark, more than 127

pounds of explosives were used in the implosion of two apartment buildings in copenhagen as a large crowd watched. the towers were built in the '50s and cobbed as no longer safe to live in. and in england prince william and his brother harry played in a royal match for charity supported by the royals and william's wife kate was on hand to award the prizes which included kisses for the prince. and now here's an early look at one of your top health headlines on msnbc.com. a new study finds the more you exercise the lower your risk of diabetes. for the first time this research found that people who work out three to five times a week have the greatest improvement in their insulin activity. that leads to your body handling it more intefnsivntensively. and for more information on this and other health stories, you can check out the health page at msnbc.com.

>> announcer: "early today" health is brought to you by vagisil. bring yourself back. and now here's an early look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,820 after losing 30 points on frizz. the s&p was down 4 points. the nasdaq was up a fraction. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo the nikkei was up 20 points, but in hong kong the hang seng fell 229. well shake-ups at one big company will have traders in tension today. ads we told you earlier shares of jpmorgan chase could come under more pressure as the blunder is expect to claim the jobs of three top investors. accord togs wall street judge before scott resigned as yahoo!'s ceo. he told them he's been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. thompson stepped down after it was discovered he apparently never received a computer

science degree listed on his official resume. in deal news avon says it will respond within a week to cote's sweetened $10 million takeover bit. looking ahead, investors will keep an eye on greece this week as failed talks to force the coalition government closer to a possible exit from the eurozone. retail stores will also be in focus with first quarter results from jc penney, walmart, and home depot. wall street will find out if there's been any improvement in the housing industry with reports on housing starts and building permits. >> today is mark zuckerberg's 28th birthday but the real celebration could be friday when facebook is expected to debut on the nasdaq. in ohio, a man kept his arm up for 17 hours straight, hoping to score a guinness world record for the longest continuous fist pump. he prefers the so-called jersey style where you use your elbow

to roll your fist. bill will show you how to do it yet. no official word on the record. coming up the heat beat the pacers, the kings top the coyotes, and whose turn was it to win this weekend at golf's player championship. plus, a cincinnati slugger goes yard three times, including walk-off grand slams. your early morning sports headlines are straight ahead. and if you're on the east coast,y u're going to be dealing with a lot of rain in the next two days. the middle of the country is just about perfect. your regional forecast is coming up. you're watching "early today."

good morning. if you're just waking up, this is "early today." and in sports, yesterday in the nba playoffs for the second day in a row the los angeles team won the showdown. here's nbc's mario solis with an early look at all your sports headlines. hi, there. good morning. third time's a charm for the l.a. clippers. after squandering a 3-1 serious lead the clippers finally got it right in game seven against the griz less. the bench getting it done in the fourth quarter scoring 25 of their final 27 points. nick young draining 13. they send them toerly hibernation with an 89-79 win. to miami lebron james getting his mvp award. score 3g 2 points against

indiana. in fact, lebron and dwyane wade outscore the entire pacers team by four points in the second half. heat take in game one. to the western conference finals, kings and coyotes. dustin brown with another huge goal. seems like every game the captain steps up in a big way. kings are a perfect 6-0 on the road. they win, 4-2. golf, the tpc at sawgrass was pretty in pink for moe's day and so was match kutcher. donning the pink hat for par on 3, draino. then a tap-in on the win. he takes the players championship by two strokes. >> to the diamonds, earlier this year the marlins mike stanton changed his name to giancarlos stanton. marlins score sixing in the ninth to win, 8-4. if you like that, you'll love this, unless, of course, you're a nationals fan. the reds' joe yes votto hits not

one, not two but three home runs in cinci. votto makes the natsz see red. they win 9-6 in dramatic fashion. and that's your look at sports on "early today." i'm mario solis. well, which film was totally overshadowed this weekend at the box office? your early morning entertainment headlines are straight ahead. plus, it is diploma time at the nation's colleges and universities and we'll bring you the inspiring story of one man who wouldn't let anything stop him from earning his degree. you're watching "early today."

welcome back on this monday morning. hope you had a wonderful weekend. today the gorgeous weather continues all through the intermountain west through the middle of the country. it's the earn seaboard that has to deal with the showers and the thunderstorms. the worst of it definitely going to be heading up to the appalachians from the mountainous areas up into pennsylvania today. as we look toward tomorrow not a lot changes. we continue with the wet weather especially up in new england. grow're watching us on mctv action news 5, memphis tv, see native artifacts that tell the story of the native buffalo at the buy son american icon at the pink palace family of museums. after that go get some barbecue. that's your early event of today. and now here's an early look at this morning's headlines in entertainment. now whelp it comes to the

avengers the box office hit keeps falling. they took in $163 million this weekend. it easily held onto the top spot. it also became the first film to make more than $100 million in its second weekend of release. it also became the fastest movie to reach both $300 million and $350 million in earnings. and the movie was the highest ever eight-day, nine-day, and ten-day grosses including worldwide earnings, disney announced that as of last night it expected the movie to break the $1 billion mark in just its 19th day of international release. that would make it the 11th highest earning movie ever in just 19 days. >> you saw it. >> hold on one second. you have to wait for it. a distant second was the dark shadows, the remake of the popular vampire tv soap opera with a new dash of comedy from director tim burton and star johnny depp. it took in a disappointing

$128.8 million. well below expectations and the avengers did not disappoint. >> you liked it? >> it was very long. i missed maybe the first half hour. maybe i dozed off a little bit but i have a tough schedule, bill. it takes me a little while to get used to it. and this comes to us from wnbc news 4 new york where the newest ivy league graduate truly worked his way to a diploma. a 52-year-old janitor at columbia university was among the proud graduates from that very same school sunday. the yugoslavian immigrant fled his war-torn home 20 years ago hchl e took the custodian job because it meant free tuition. cleaning the campus and night, going to class in the morning. he plans to keep his job and now hones to go if his masters. good for him. i'm lynn berry, and this is "early today," just your first stop of the day, today on your nbc station. [ male announcer ] are you paying more and more for cable

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good morning. hope you enjoyed a beautiful weekend because monday could get messy. the radar is all lit up already, and we are in for a wet, ugly day. tom's forecast is just ahead. first, good morning, i'm aaron gilchrist. >> i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today" for this monday, may 14, 2012. just days after president obama publicly endorsed same-sex marriage, today the fwlagay and lesbian community will support him in new york. a group is co-hosting one of two fundraisers tonight. the event comes as "newsweek"

features the president with a rainbow halo titled "the first gay president." his republican rival, mitt romney, touched on the hot-button issue when he gave the commencement address at liberty university, an influential christian college in lynchburg, virginia. >> so it is today with the enduring institution of marriage, marriage is a relationship between one man and one woman. [ applause ] >> both campaigns will try to shift issues toward the economy after same-sex marriage dominated conversations last week. this afternoon, president obama will deliver the commencement address at barnard college in new york. he will also receive the barnard medal of distinction, the highest honor from that all womens college. the school had initially invited "new york times" executive editor jill abramson to speak, she agreed to step aside in february when the white house called. it is back to work for lawmakers in maryland.