that the fbi did have prior information about the older brother, tamerlan, that the russian intelligence service had had asked the fbi to investigate him in 2011 saying he was a follower of radical islam. the fbi says they interviewed tamerlan. they questioned members of his family, looked into public databases, and concluded they had no evidence of no hard evidence of islamic activity. now what s interesting radical islamic activity or anything cripple nal. now what s interesting in january of 2012 he gets a visa, flies to russia for six months, stays there. then he comes back to the united states and within a month he opens up this youtube account that s filled with islamic jihadi postings and radical prophecies that clearly would indicate sympathies for the jihad cause. did the fbi even notice that
aren t left around. really they say it s to make sure everyone feels safe and confident and enjoys the marathon as they have done every year. and having just come back from there, i think so far they have succeeded. and something to note considering how video cameras played such an important role in the investigation with the boston marathon, they added a few there in london and those are something that certainly would be looked at should anything go awry. duncan golestani, many thanks as always. from there to the weather. the midwest is experiencing major flooding as dozens of rivers overflow after a few days of heavy rain, and that includes the mississippi, which rose nearly ten feet in just 36 hours. these are some pictures. and look, it s not pretty at all there in indiana and also la grange, missouri. good morning to you. that s a cleanup mess. wow. and you know what, unfortunately in some areas in the midwest it s only going to get worse. the missouri rivers aren t expected
casualty figures, are slow it to come out and do seem certain to rise, alex. it is an incredible rescue operation at this point as we saw dramatic pictures of people trapped in their homes. nbc s ian williams live in beijing. thank you for this update. we ll stay on top of this story here at msnbc. some residents are returning to their homes near a texas town rocked by a fertilizer explosion. cars formed a long line outside west, texas. residents and insurance agents were allowed in about a mile from the blast site. many of the homes were marked with a large red x indicating they were damaged beyond repair. i m sitting like, i get to go home. yay. what am i going to go home to? how many other people do i know can t go home and they re not going to have anything, and am i going to have anything? and if i do, how am i going to feel if i have something others don t? is. 14 people killed, many houses destroyed in wednesday s
the father hasn t been seen in about a day but we ve been talking to some of the neighbors who say they re really surprised by everything that s happened. they have a hard time believing that the boston marathon bombings could have anything to do with this man, the father of the suspects. they describe him as a very good person, a good neighbor always ready with advice. the neighbors say they ve never met the son including tamerlan. now dagestan is a small russian republic. it s in the north caucasus and it has had a tubled history especially in recent years where chechen militants have come across a porous border and brought their separatist attacks here. back to you, alex. adrienne mong, thank you for that. ongoing meetings to review the latest in the boston marathon investigation. and joining me now is nbc news white house correspondent peter alexander.