it is monday, may 23rd. coming up on "early today," a massive offensive by as many as 35,000 soldiers to retake the isis controlled city of fallujah is under way in iraq. this is on the heels of a drone strike that killed a major taliban leader. the president calls it an important milestone. breaking overnight, the u.s. fully lifted the long standing arms embargo with vietnam. plus, the polls tighten between hiktd and donald trump. the search for egyptair flight 804 may go almost two miles beneath the sea. and the billboard music awards lit up las vegas. "early today" starts right now. good morning, everybody. i'm betty nguyen. iraqi forces have begun a massive offensive to retake fallujah from isis. a

nbc news over 20,000 iraqi federal police soldiers have been called into action with an additional 15,000 troops expected. on twitter, iraqi prime minister says he announced the offensive posting zero hour for the liberation of fallujah has arrived. a moment of victory has drawn near and daesh has no choice but to flee. taliban leader has been killed. the pentagon confirmed it launched an air strike in pakistan targeting the taliban's top commander. with the death, the taliban is thrown into its second leadership crisis within a year. the white house said the attack marked an important milestone in our long standing effort to bring peace and prosperity to afghanistan. it was carried out saturday by multiple unmanned military drones as mansour and another taliban fighter drove in a

afghanistan/pakistan border. it's believed to be the first american drone strike in the taliban headquarters. breaking news overnight, president obama announces that the u.s. is lifting the long-held arms thembargo with vietnam. the news that came during a press conference just hours ago. the president arrived in vietnam overnight for his first day in a three-day visit before he heads to japan for his historic trip to hiroshima. nbc's tracie potts is in washington this morning. how big of a deal is the u.s. lifting this rms embargo with vietnam? >> reporter: it's a huge deal, as the president said this morning as we were watching. this is an arms embargo that's been in place for almost 50 years. it erases one of the last elements of the cold war, but it does not necessarily mean these two countries are on the same page. despite lingering concerns about human rights, this morning president

long arms embargo against vietnam. >> this change will ensure that vietnam has access to the equipment it needs to defend itself. >> reporter: against china, claiming disputed islands in the south china sea, and it eases vietnam's reliance on russia. the president also announced new u.s. investment in vietnam. 100 planes from boeing, engines, and electricity from general electric totaling it $16 billion, and the white house says 60,000 new jobs. >> new companies and new jobs being created constantly. so the united states wants to be a part of that. >> reporter: there are still concerns about human rights abuses in vietnam, which the country's president says will be addressed. >> translator: we need to work closely together, expand our dialogue together, and by so doing we can narrow the gap. >> reporter: historic agreements announced today, expanding america's rea

fastest growing regions of the world. the president also talked about the tpp, that transpacific partnership, the trade deal that's been stalled here on capitol hill, betty. he said that he does believe it will eventually be confirmed that it'll be approved here on capitol hill, but that it could be a tough one during an election year. >> indeed. all right. thank you so much, tracie. we appreciate it. hillary clinton is beating donald trump in the 2016 presidential race, but just barely. in a new nbc news/"wall street journal" poll, clinton edges trump by just three points nationally. a statistical dead heat. back in april, clinton held an 11-point advantage over the billionaire businessman. in an exclusive interview on "meet the press", clinton hit trump on everything from his business acumen to his taxes. >> i do not want americans and, you know, good-thinking republicans as well as democrats and independents to start to believe that this is a normal candidacy. we are going to demonstrate he has no

there's no evidence he has any ideas about making america great. as we go through this campaign, we're going to be demonstrating the hollowness of his rhetoric and the danger of a lot of what he has said. >> so a hypothetical matchup between bernie sanders and trump reveals a very different result. that same poll has sanders beating trump by 15 points, 54% sanders, 39% trump. in an interview yesterday, sanders made some news while arguing why he would do better than clinton in november. >> we need a campaign, an election coming up which does not have two candidates who are really very, very strongly disliked. i don't want to see the american people voting for the lesser of two evils. >> is that how you would describe hillary clinton against donald trump, the lesser of two evils? >> well, if you look -- no, i wouldn't describe it, but that's what the american people are saying. >> sanders is also continuing his war with the democratic

fundraising for dnc chair debbie wasserman-schultz's primary opponent. here's what sanders said yesterday on his feud with schultz. >> clearly i favor her opponent. his views are much closer to mine than is wasserman-schultz's. let me also say this. in all due respect to the current chairperson, if elected president, she would not be reappointed to be chair of the dnc. >> meanwhile, shortly after the nra endorsed donald trump, a new nbc news report shows trump could still use campaign donations to pay himself back for his primary run. after a long back and forth on the issue, trump has said he would convert all the funds he lent his campaign into contributions. however, he's made no steps to do so. and the invitation to his first joint rnc fundraising event this week specifies the first 2700 raised would go to paying trump back for his primary

trump has until august to convert his loans into contributions. the search for the black boxes of the downed egyptair a-320 that crashed last week is on. the egyptian president says he has deployed a submarine to aid in the search for flight 804. the robot submarine is believed to be among under water equipment normally used by egypt's offshore oil industry. the black box locator beacons are just on the edge of the detectable range. over the weekend, the egyptian military released images of debris recovered from the plane. officials warn it could take weeks to identify the remains of victims. 66 people were on board when it crashed. french investigators say the plane sent a signal that smoke was detected in the bathroom just minutes before it crashed, but still no definitive word on what brought down the aircraft. the egyptian president stresses all scenarios are possible. egyptian authorities have previoai

more likely reason for the crash compared to a technical issue. at last night's billboard music awards, britney spears kicked off the night with a medley of her greatest hits, but it was pink's acrobating performance that stunned as he spun above the crowd on a rope. her song was written for the upcoming movie "alice through the looking glass." and people at home could not help but notice demi lovato's t-shirt. it suggested her support in the political bathroom debate. kesha was again given permission to sing at the awards. she sang a tribute to bob dylan with ben folds and received a standing ovation. celine dion gave a powerful performance before being awarded the billboard icon award. she broke down as her son presented her with the award. she of course thanked her late husband. >> i didn't expect -- i don't want to cry in front of you. hone t

the show must go on. >> and to close out the night, madonna was joined by stevie wonder to sing "purple rain. "what a show that was. here's a show of a different kind. severe storms brought heavy rain, hail, and two confirmed tornadoes to texas and the panhandle. this massive tornado was spotted in south perryton. meanwhile, this massive tornado touched down in northern south dakota. fortunately, no reports of injuries or damage there as well. nbc meteorologist bill karins is here with the latest on what seems to be an active week already. >> it will be, yeah. 27 tornadoes reported yesterday. a lot of those were up close and personal. a lot of them were in rural areas. that's where the storm chasers and everyone likes them. we didn't have any significant damage whatsoever. we made it through yesterday, but we still have three or four more days this week we could see tornadoes doing damage in more populated areas. for today, as we start the early morning hours here, wichita falls has a really nasty thunderstorm that's kind of s

moving right over the top of it. we could see flash flooding problems there. also, this line, as it heads towards interstate 35 towards sulfur springs, that's where we could be watching wind damage. that's this cluster down here. there's another cluster moving through areas of south dakota, nebraska overnight that no longer looks severe. we could still see a lot of lightning strikes in the next couple hours. we're going to redo this all over again. this storm will be a slow moving one this week. oklahoma, texas, and kansas later today. this is an enhanced risk of severe storms. slight risk goes all the way to minneapolis. we could see more tornadoes, especially in the enhanced risk area. maybe one or two of those could be on the strong side later this afternoon towards this evening. that's the bad weather we'll expect late tonight and move to the i-35 corridor. i think most of the tornado threat should be more rural areas of western oklahoma and texas. that's your national weathe now here's a closer look at your day ahead. you can see the warm air will be in place, especially if we get that sunshine today. we'll get those strong storms popping up later this afternoon. how about the miserable weather

mid-atlantic states. we can't buy a sunny, warm day in the mid-atlantic. at least not yet. and yesterday in washington, d.c., it was another rainy day. temperatures in the 50s. but there is hope. >> is there? >> there is. >> all right. we'll have to wait on that. you're going to tease us. thank you, bill. we have some alarming news about how soon zika may be directly affecting americans. plus, a graduation day surprise that floored the crowd. and some major car trouble. you're watching "early today." e*trade is all about seizing opportunity. and i'd like to... cut. thank you, we'll call you. evening, film noir, smoke, atmosphere... bob... you're a young farmhand and e*trade is your cow. milk it. e*trade is all about seizing opportunity. sign up at etrade.com and get up to six hundred dollars.

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no, no, no, no, [music] people are both soft and strong... yey! which is why our products are too. angel soft. listen up, folks. mosquitos carrying the zika virus could start infecting people in the u.s. in the next month or so. that is a quote, and it's according to a doctor of the national institutes of health. he's urging a robust response. >> we need to be prepared for that and make sure that those local outbreaks don't become sustained. we need to have a very, very

before that happens. the international olympic committee said it will distribute about 450,000 condoms at the rio games. that's three times more than the 2012 london games. part of the increase is 100,000 female condoms offered for the first time. the ioc has not yet answered if the increase is due in part to zika. the mosquito-bourn virus can also be transmitted sexually. the suspect in a massachusetts police officer's fatal shooting was shot and killed in a gunfight with police on sunday. officer ronald tarantino was shot during a traffic stop earlier in the day. a police search for the suspect ended in a gun battle at an apartment complex. the suspect was killed. one officer hit but is expected to recover. we do have some startling video out of china. look at this. look at that sink hole settling, swallowing up parked cars on a city street. the 16-foot wide hole gobbled up four cars. firefighters used a crane to free the vehicles. no injuries were reported. boy, those are some

went from typical to this. [ cheers and applause ] look at that. graduating senior micah mcday was born withwith cerebral pals but that didn't stop him from walking across the stage to receive his diploma. his determined efforts got him a standing ovation. well done. just ahead, sergio goes for his first win in four years. and the thunder rain on the warriors' parade. sports is up next. ♪ ♪ it's time to get seriously silly, people. ♪ join red nose day to do some serious good to help fight kids' poverty.

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this morning on "today kwtsds, two lions are killed to save the life of a man who jumped into their zoo enclosure. now there's growing outrage over taking the lives of animals some say did nothing wrong. now to sports. the golden state warriors are charging into oklahoma city. midway through the second, and draymond green catches steven adams below the belt. it proved to be the spark the thunder needed. they stormed on to a 24-5 run. they were up 25 at halftime and had a 41-point lead at one point. in the end, the thunder rolled to a 133-105 win and a 2-1 series

jones has been suspended for game four after catching raptor booe yum bow with a low blow. it happened in the closing seconds of game three. you can see him in obvious pain. jones has only played 11 minutes in the serious. to golf now and sergio garcia. he won the at&t byron nelson championship. it is sergio's ninth pga tour victory and his first since 2012. ♪ and the home of the brave [ cheers and applause ] how's that for a rendition? 89-year-old holocaust survivor singing the national anthem in detroit on saturday. hirsch has been a tigers fan since coming to america after being imprisoned in several concentration camps during world war ii. sounds fantastic. all right. just ahead, the hottest look

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the millions of people in the east are wondering, when is it finally going to wake up? you're waking up to rainy, miserable weather for like the 23rd day in a row in areas of the mid-atlantic. that's the

change it. we're going to take the jet stream, shove it up to the north. all the warm air to the south is going to spread just in time this week as we head toward the holiday weekend. widespread warmth, what a lot of people have been waiting for. d.c. will hit 80 degrees many times this week. >> rain, rain, go away. thank you. now to entertainment news. the stars did not disappoint on yesterday's pink carpet for the billboard music awards. there were some glamorous looks and of course a few unique choices that grabbed a whole lot of attention. famed deejay calvin harris, who is also taylor swift's boyfriend, he canceled some upcoming appearances after getting into a car accident friday night. harris was a passenger in a vehicle that was hit head on by another car. thankfully, no critical injuries have been reported so far. we do want to say congratulations to eva longoria. she got married over the weekend. doesn't she look gorgeous? >> always. >> the actress wed jose antonio gaston in a private ceremony in mexico. this is longoria's t

after nba player tony parker and "general hospital" actor tony christopher. and on the season finale of "saturday night live," hillary clinton and bernie sanders did set aside their differences and danced it out, but not before a little pushback. >> all right! i think i'm going to head home. don't you work too late now. >> i won't, mrs. clinton. i'm actually closing up the bar right now, so everybody's got to go. that means you too, sir. >> no freaking way! i'm not going anywhere! i can stay here as long as i want. >> senator sanders, i'm sorry, but the night is over. >> no, no, it's not over. it's not over until i say it's over. >> i'm betty nguyen and thiis "early today." pe. for those who've gone to extremes to escape their unrelenting nasal allergy symptoms...

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breaking news, a home side investigation in prince george's county. 4:26 now. i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm eun yang. angie xof goff is at the live d. >> breaking news out of prince george's county, good morning to you, at this point investigators are still there on the ground scouring the scene as they arrived as we look at the map to find a man shot in the 4400 block of 23rd parkway in temple hills. we know that man was taken to the hospital and that is where he died. still at this point no word on a suspect or motive, but kristin wright on the way to the scene, so more to do.

4:26 on a monday hofrmorning. thickest fog frederick county, maryland. not as much of a struggle visibility wise here inside the city. weather headlines then, guess what, another day with rain thorainy days and mondays. but ready or not, it will feel like summer and i mean soon. for now though, there is all the rain pretty much in a circle right over the tmv moving in to parts of central virginia, these rain drops are moving southwest bound. so more rain coming into the metro, grab your umbrella early this morning. last day to run in the raindrops. temperatures 50s now, 60s by lunch, pushing 70 today. this will be the coolest day of the week. >> sounds good to me. taking a look indian head highway at 228, we have a crash here. you will have to stay left to get by here this

going to work on melissa's microphone for you. first we turn to the trial of a baltimore police officer where we expect the judge to hand down a verdict it for edward nero. prosecutors say near row arrested freddie gray without probable cause and was negligent when he didn't buckle gray properly in the rans port van. near row's lawyers say he did not arrest gray and buck link in the prison is the responsibility of the van driver. officials are calling on people to remain peaceful when that decision is announced. chris gordon will be in the courtroom. be sure to follow him on twit r twitter @chrisgordonnews to be the first to learn the verdict. in the air and at sea right now multiple countries are searching for the black boxes from egypt air flight 804. it crashed into the mediterranean sea last week, it is still not clear what caused

the u.s. navy sent a special plane to search the water. a french ship and an egyptian submarine are also there. and saying good by to the other story of this crash, 66 people were on board, they all died. there was a funeral service in cairo last night for two of the people. officials say they found the remains of some of the victims and they are working to identify them. university of maryland police promised to review and release body cam video and the 911 call that led to studentsing pepper sprayed. video shows the dchaotic scene. police were called to break up a large party early saturday morning and now police are being criticized because they used pepper spray twice. >> what i see causes me concern in some cases on both sides. students who just should have left and perhaps we could have performed better in a couple instances. >> two p

multiple charges. chief mitchell promises a thorough review to determine if his officers use proper force. right now a charles county than is missing and police are asking for the dhupity's help. robert carter iii was last seen saturday afternoon at the st. charles town center. he's 6'4", wears glasses and has plaque hair and a mustache and beard. carter is under a doctor's care and relatives tell us he needs medication. breaking news, president obama has lifted the u.s. arms ban on vietnam. so it means that the ban that has been in place for decades regarding the sale of military equipment to that country has been lifted. the president defending the decision despite vietnam's report of dismal human rights. president obama saying the sales would be looked at on a case by case basis. this is the president's first visit to this country. next he