thank you for joining us on this monday. i'm betty nguyen. we want to begin with severe weather across country. mu multiple tornados have been reported from nebraska to iowa and the threat does continue. there is serious damage reported in several towns in nebraska. and harrowing stories emerging from the wreckage. >> the winds really picked up. as i looked kind of south towards where this thing was coming from, you could just see a wall of water coming down the street. >> i'm up two blocks from here. and i got in my basement like most people should have. >> the storm is packing winds upwards of 80 miles per hour, knocking down power lines and leaving thousands in the dark. these striking images were taken just south of omaha on a flight that managed to take off during that storm. meanwhile, though, snow blanketed parts of colorado and wyoming on sunday. making for a memorable mother's day. some people posting these photos saying they were staying inside with the kids while others, well, they made snow men outside. that spring storm is dropping more than a foot of snow in some places and so far more than 24 inches have fallen near encampment, wyoming. bill karins will tell us what is ahead for today in a few minutes. another region of ukraine voted to secede. pro russian insurgents say preliminary results show more than 90% of voters in eastern ukraine want independence, but with no international monitors in place, those figures are impossible to verify. the votes were cast in chaos with large crowds and had heavily armed men keeping watch. ukrainian national guardsman fire shots into a crowd and reportedly killed one person. you're looking at youtube video claiming to show the incident. nbc news has not been able to verify this video. the insurgents are declaring victory, but the united states will not recognize the results of the referendum. now, russian president vladimir putin distanced himself from the referendum last week saying they should be delayed. meanwhile, the russian military has not moved away from the ukrainian border. nearly two weeks after being banned for life from the nba, donald sterling is apologizing. in an cnn's anderson cooper, he said the comments he made were a terrible mistake. he says, am i entitled to one mistake, am i after 35 years? i mean, i love my league. i love my partners. am i entitled to one mistake? it's a terrible mistake and i'll never do it again. meanwhile, shelly sterling, well, she's also commenting on the situation. she sat down for an exclusive interview with barbara walters saying she plans to divorce donald and at one point suggested that he is suffering from dementia. she believes that could explain the offensive comments he made. sterling also told walters she is going to fight to keep her share of the clippers. well, the nba has responded to all of this, saying that if the controlling owners' interest is terminated by a three-fourths vote, all other team owners' interest are terminated as well. rallies are being staged across the world for hundreds of school girls kidnapped in nigeria. in an effort to deflect criticism, the government says troops are moving north to the same region where boko haram kidnapped those girls nearly a month ago. more experts are expected to head into nigeria to help rescue the girls including u.s. hostage negotiators. at least one of the teens who escaped from the islamic extremist says the kidnapping was too terrifying for words and now she's scared to go back to school. more on the severe weather. nbc's bill karins is here for us this morning. not when you expected in may. snow? >> yeah. the temperatures are just frigid. areas like colorado, i mean, as cold as it gets for this time of year. we showed you the pictures of the severe weather, 35 tornadoes, amazing we made it through without any injuries or fatalities over the weekend. that's great. let me take you through when we're dealing with out there. we got changes coming for you in the west. it has been chilly behind this storm. still a very cold morning. look at denver at 31. boise at 40. salt lake city at 40. we're a little bit warmer up in the pacific northwest. and the theme is going to be warmth. warmth turning to hot. we already have excessive heat watches in effect in areas around san francisco. the storm moved to west. that big blue a, what we call a ridge of high pressure, just going to build over the west, no storms are on the way. temperatures are going to get warmer and warmer as we go throughout the week. we're about 82 at the airport there in l.a. downtown a little warmer than that. we're pretty mild up there around medford and portland. little sneak preview, even as we go to tuesday, the warmth starts to build further. 90 in l.a. 76, san francisco. again, much warmer interior california. 90s to 100. even by the time we get to wednesday, you see the gist of it, each and every day, wednesday looks to be the warmest day throughout much of the west, especially interior sections of california. fire danger very high. that's your national forecast. not only is it hot and the low humidity values, it increases the fire danger, especially if it is windy. hopefully we'll get through it. >> we're going to have to, right? thank you, bill. as barbara walters prepared for her final week as co-host of "the view" this past weekend the folks at "snl" paid tribute in their own special way. >> good evening and welcome. i'm barbara wa-wa. >> i was in a hot tub with henry kissinger and juliet. we speculated about our nation's future, listened to harry chapin and made sweet love until the morning sun. >> thank you, sicily, for that tribute. anyway, what an honor it was to see my groundbreaking career in journalism reduced to a cartoon character with a ridiculous voice. >> i'm sorry, you know, we're huge fans. and you always have been a personal inspiration to me as a news an s anchor. sis. >> sicily, i'm a serious person. i'm not like some fake anchor like you or colin. >> but you're a co-host on "the view." >> well, that's a fair point, yeah. >> barbara wa-wa. hate to see her go. she's a pioneer. the fda approved a new robotic arm, plus, was it an act of god that stopped this rolling boulder from crushing this church? and born holding hands, the incredible story behind these twins when "early today" returns in two minutes. it has been almost three years since the washington monument had to close because of daniel from a rare earthquake. today, it will finally reopen. the monument's whitemar marble mortar were cracked due to a quake in 2011. and now that damage has been repaired. let's bring if tracie potts in washington. good morning, tracie. what is taking the repairs so long? >> reporter: well, it took them over two and a half years because as you said, there was so much damage, there were pieces that fell on the inside, the elevator was damaged, pieces that fell on the outside, there were cracks, betty that were so big, you could see light coming through them. so they wanted to make sure, number one, that it was repaired and also that it was earthquake proof for the future. so there are dozens and dozens of steel plates holding together the marble and the granite, more than 2 1/2 miles of mortar sealant between them. and now they also have gone in and redone the exhibits. they figured while people were going to be coming in, they would give them a whole fresh new look at history here and they have redone the exhibits, fully accessible and now tickets are to be given out for today's tours. they'll start the tours this afternoon. i had a chance to talk to the first people in line, college students who got here at 1:30 in the morning. they were hiding around the back of the building, couldn't see them. here at 1:30 in the morning to get the tickets to get a chance to get the first look from the monument today. >> that is dedication. tracie, thank you. other stories we're following for you today, iran says it has successfully copied a u.s. reconned drone it captured in 2011. it says the aircraft will soon be ready for a test flight. american authorities earlier confirmed the drone was originally being used to monitor iran's military and nuclear facilities. arkansas is the newest state to allow gay marriage. but the attorney general there has announced he will appeal. the county clerk's office says 15 marriage licenses were issued for same sex couples in carol county on saturday. the fda has approved a new robotic arm for amputees, a major advancement over the metal hook currently in use. it allows users to perform complex movements. they call it the luke arm after the scene from star wrarz luke skywalker gets a robotic hand as his own. people are calling this next one divine intervention. look at how close this boulder got to a church in massachusetts, just inches. a construction blast next door sent this huge rock roll toward the building. look at this amazing photo showing two newborn twins actually holding hands right out of the womb. little jillian and jenna were born with a rare condition. they shared the same amniotic sack and placentia. it occurs in about one in every 10,000 pregnancies. time to get down to business. cnbc's jackie deangelis is here. good morning, jackie. >> good morning, betty. the markets are coming off a mixed week. the dow notching its second record close of the year on friday. but the nasdaq suffering its worst week in a month. look for reports this week on retail sales, inflation and also housing. meantime, expect a little more cash in your paycheck this year. usa today survey finds a majority of economists think that wages will climb, helping fuel a more rapid recovery. wages have risen about 2% annually since the recession ended in 2009, but are flat when adjusted for inflation. this morning, the anti-oreo, making a comeback. hydrox cookies could be back soon. leaf brands brought the rights to hydrox which was discontinued by kellogg in 2008. sales of packaged cookies are expected to top $17 billion by 2017. betty, back to you. >> thank you. in sports just ahead, an nfl player suspended after he reacted negatively to this michael sam moment. and the rest of your weekend highlights next. this morning on "today," cnbc host suze orman begins a special two day series, take control of your money. today, she will be taking questions about financial security from visitors out on the plaza. all right, in sports, on the heels of the michael sam historic nfl draft, we have our first -- for insensitive remarks. he sobbed, smiled and kissed his companion when he got the call from the st. louis rams, a watershed moment for the nfl as sam became the first openly gay athlete to be drafted, but miami dolphins don jones tweeted, omg, and horrible after sam's kiss hit airwaves. the tweets led to a fine and temporary suspension. jones has apologized and must complete sensitivity training before returning to the dolphins. now, to the nba playoffs, down by 17 at the half, indiana clawed back, led by paul george's 39 points. the pacers go up by three late in the fourth and hold on 95-92. indiana leads the series 3-1. los angeles tied their series at 2 with an epic comeback. the clippers trailed oklahoma city until the final 90 seconds. they close the gap with defense and three-pointers and get the lead. the thunder go for the win at the buzzer, but can't close the deal. l.a. wins 101-99. watch this. oops. >> oh, no. >> oops. >> at the top of it. >> yeah. and if you think that was bad, hang on. and harder to get up in the air and whoa. >> oh, no. >> come on. >> oh, horrible. like me on the golf course. well, richard h. lee makes the cut for first time at the players championship, but that gaffe on the 17th hole ruined a great run. not the case for martin camer. he sinks this 20 foot putt on the way to winning the tournament, first pga win since 2012. finally close to 12,000 people competed in what's billed as the world's largest obstacle course. check it out. it is scattered over 13 miles of german terrain. they raced through obstacles as they battled through the elements and muddy landscape. the two winners finished in 1 hour, 44 minutes. probably took them that long to get clean. kanye's mother's day gift for baby mama kim kardashian. and i'm pretty sure no one else got this gift. plus, the neighbors take down the webbed one at the movies this weekend. you're watching "early today." welcome back. look at these pictures coming from castle rock, colorado. unbelievable. it is almost the middle of may and it happens in colorado, this isn't record shattering, but for the rest of us around the country, it is kind of shocking to see this time of year, especially when a lot of them turned our air conditioners on. the forecast in the west, speaking of air conditioners, a little break and now right back into the heat. we're pretty nice today. nothing that is too extreme. as we go throughout, it look like tuesday into wednesday especially, even into thursday, look at downtown l.a., near 100 degrees in some cases. >> what? >> 100 already. >> yes, it is -- this is a full blown heat wave for the west. >> all right. thank you, bill. >> now for some entertainment news, neighbors open up to a staggering $51 million at the box office. the r-rated comedy outmaneuvered the "amazing spider-man 2" which saw a big drop from the opening weekend, pulling in $37 million. "the other woman" rounded out the top three with $9 million. kanye west surprised kim kardashian with a massive wall of roses. check this out for mother's day. you get a sense of just how big the wall is. with baby north sitting in front of it. besides flowers, though, kardashian spent mother's day getting one on one time with her daughter. that is a gorgeous picture. on mother's day, stars including jimmy kimmel and mario lopez appeared in a psa for the nor reason frazier foundation. the humorous address urges mothers to get regular cancer screenings. hugh jackman is pushing the public to get cancer screenings after having a cancerous growth removed from his nose. this is the second time he's had a growth removed. michele tweet heart felt tweet. it real reads, the biggest heart and most beautiful smile in all of our hearts we love you so. happy birthday. ex-wife of tiger woods elin nordegren alluded to her very public divorce while giving a speech as the outstanding graduating senior at her commencement from rollins college. >> it was right after taking communication and the media i was unexpectedly thrust into the media limelight. and i probably should have taken more notes in my class. >> i'm betty nguyen. this is "early today." we hope it is your first stop of the day on nbc. leading the news in the tech times, acid spewing beetle inspires hot foam spewing atms to deter thieves. this is real. researchers in switzerland have come up with an atm that can send off crooks by releasing hot foam aimed at them. this revelation in scouting magazine, new jersey scouts help rescue nbc journalist ann curry. she broke her ankle on a hike. the boys helped her out without even knowing who she was. some other stories we're keeping an eye on for you. state police in virginia say they have found the third and final body that -- from that awful hot air balloon accident on friday. with of the victims were members of the university of richmond women's basketball program. the school held a moment of silence at sunday's graduation and wore red ribbons in honor of those victims. a somber procession this weekend as unidentified remains of those killed on 9/11 returned to the site of attack. some of the families of the victims protested the move saying the remains should be stored at an above ground memorial instead. and the coast guard off loaded more than 1300 pounds of cocaine in this -- in miami this weekend. they seized it in a raid near the dominican republic last month. officials say its street value is $20 million. hong kong's red bull flew gutag was held at victoria harbor. there were 33 flying machines. these aircrafts looked like planes, looked like food, even games. over 10,000 people gathered to watch the machines take flight before falling into the harbor. there she goes. the first asian city to host red bull's flutag. it means flight day in german, though they didn't stay in flight for very long. >> it is fun to make things and destroy them. it goes back to, like, childhood, maybe 4 to 6 years old. >> true. but just for a few seconds you can enjoy it and then it is all gone. time for a look back on this day in 1937, britain's king george vi was crowned after king edward viii abdicated to marry an american socialite. >> the eyes of the world were focused on london to crown the king of england. all the colorful panoply brought to theater streams a spectacle rarely seen more than once or twice in a lifetime. happy birthday to tony hawk, he's 46. british rocker steve winwood, 66, and baseball legend yogi gr berra is 89. keep it here for more news, weather and sports. i'm betty nguyen. thank you for watchi the smell of a massive fire at a south bay landfill lingers in the air. what firefighters are now telling us, coming up. making after thieves take off with a number of items. how the 49ers could be the one thing standing in the way of joe montana building a massive entertainment complex right across the street from levi's stadium. it is monday, may 12th, this is "today in the bay." well, good morning, everyone. happy monday. 4:30 in the morning. i'm scott mcgrew. >> lots to get to this morning, i'm l

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