From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

 

　　The White House says the president's counsel  Kathryn Ruemmler alerted some senior staff members after she learned in late April. The inspector general of the Internal Revenue Service was looking into special scrutiny of conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status. But NPR's Craig Windham says Ruemmler decided not to tell President Obama about the audit before a final report was released.

 

　　White House Press Secretary Jay Carney says Ruemmler had only very general information about the then incomplete audit which she passed on to the White House Chief of Staff and some other senior staffers.

 

　　She also made clear that it was her view and another shared this view that there was not a need in a situation like this with an ongoing investigation or audit that the president should be notified.

 

　　Carney says it would have been improper for Obama to act until the audit was finished because the preliminary findings of such probes are subjected to change.

 

　　There was nothing we could have or should have done about it.

 

　　Carney says Obama did act quickly once the audit was released. Several congressional panels have begun their own investigations of the IRS actions. Craig Windham, NPR News, Washington.

 

　　For a second day, the National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for a large portion of Oklahoma. Kurt Gwartney with member station KGOU reports authorities are concerned about the increased danger with schools in session and people at work.

 

　　Sunday's fatal tornados hit at a time when many Oklahomans were home, monitoring the weather and seeking close to storm shelters. Rick Smith with the National Weather Service says the current situation is different.

 

　　We are on a Monday and we do have schools in session and people driving home from work and that is a big big concern for us.

 

　　Smith says conditions across Oklahoma may even be more volatile against bonding life threatening tornados. Forecasters say the storm system will push east, bringing an increased risk of tornados Tuesday to parts of Texas Arkansas and Louisiana. For NPR News, I'm Kurt Gwartney, in Oklahoma City.

 

　　And now there is a signing of tornado near Newcastle, Oklahoma.

 

　　Secretary of State John Kerry is returning to the Middle East this week to press his case for peace talks between Syria's Assad regime and the opposition. This is U.S. efforts to end Syrian conflict are further complicated by Russia's decision to give Syria advanced anti-ship cruise missiles. Earlier, Kerry addressed State Department trainees about beefing up security for diplomats. He pledged the administration would spare no expense to protect its people overseas.

 

　　We are bringing on more security personnel, we are enhancing our training, we are putting more marines at our high threat diplomatic posts.

 

　　Kerry also said he was committed to implementing and expanding on the proposals of an independent review board that investigated last September's deadly attack on a U.S. mission in Benghazi, Libya.

 

　　Yahoo is acquiring online blogging forum Tumblr for just over $1 billion cash. It's been widely described as a bold move by CEO Marissa Mayer to breathe new life into the struggling Internet giant.

 

　　Before the closing bell, Dow was down 19 at 15,335.

 

　　This is NPR.

 

　　Gay rights advocates in New York have organized a march and rally tonight. They're responding to an attack in Manhattan over the weekend that police are calling a hate crime. NPR's Joel Rose has more.

 

　　Police say  Elliot Morales yelled homophobic slurs at a gay man on the street before shooting him once in the head. The victim, 32-year-old Mark Carson was walking with a companion in  Greenwich Village on Saturday night. The shooting took place just blocks from the Stonewall Inn, a site of riots in 1969 that helped give rise to the movement for gay rights. Morales is charged with murder as a hate crime and several other counts. Police say the shooting follows a spate of other recent attacks gay man in New York. But none of those were deadly. Joel Rose, NPR News, in New York.

 

　　Russia's Counter Terrorism Agency says it has foiled a terrorism plot in Moscow. The national anti-terrorism committee says special forces killed two militants and detainees and detained rather a third person during a raid in a town on the outskirts of Moscow.

 

　　United Airlines is flying its 787s again four months after the planes were grounded because of smoldering batteries. Similar problems on other 787s forced other airlines to ground their aircraft as well. United says it plans to its 787 international flights June 10th.

 

　　At last check on Wall Street, Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 19 points at 15,335; NASDAQ off three at 3,495; and the S&P 500 down slightly 1,668.

 

　　This is NPR News.