tuesday with 12 states voting. plus a major assist from an anonymous shopping cart guy. we'll have that story and much more as we kick off a busy week ahead. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm danielle serino. the award goes to -- last night the stars gathered in hollywood for the 88th academy awards. "spotlight" won best picture while "mad max" and "the revenant" also won. nbc's jennifer bjorkman has more from hollywood. >> "spotlight." >> the title grabbed the moment. a surprised oscar winner for best picture. >> this film gave a voice to survivors, and this oscar amplifies that voice.

revenant" won big. alejandro irrito for the second year in a row. >> i thank you for this a amaze ago ward. let's not take this planet for granted. i do not take this award for granted. >> brie larson won for best actress. best supporting actress went to aly alysia candor. "mad max fury" won six categories overall, all technical categories. before the show, demonstrators blocked the way, protested the academy's lack of diversity. >> otherwise known as the white

>> a subject also on host chris rock's mind tonight when the spotlight was on the movie industry's best. jennifer bjorkland. tomorrow they'recandidates are making a final pitch to voters before super tuesday tomorrow. it was a schoolyard brawl between marco rubio and donald trump. >> that man was attacking me for putting on makeup. >> you're a jokeerr asknd you're a liar. >> donald trump likes to sue people. he should sue whoever did that to his face. >> it's rubio. >> have you seen his hands? they're like this. and you know what they say about men with small hands. you can't trust 'em. >> ted cruz meanwhile attacked trump on his tax returns. >> there have been multiple

business dealings with the mafia. maybe his taxes show those business dealings are a lot more extensive than being reported. >> cruz released his for a number of years. rubio released his dating back to 2010 over the weekend. his endorsement by chris christie was highly criticized by meg whitman. she said, quote, chris christie's endorsement of donald trump is an astonishing display of political opportunism. she wants voters to reject christie and trump. donald trump refused to condemn former ku klux klan member david duke on cnn, and that may have hurt the donald. while he did reject duke back in

seemed to stumble over the weekend. >> i disavow, okay? give me a list of groups and i'll let you know. >> i'm just talking about david duke and the ku klux klan here. >> honestly, i don't know david duke. >> as you can imagine, the other candidates quickly pounced. >> we cannot be a party that nominates someone who refuses to condemn white supremacists and the ku klux klan. we cannot be a party that does that. >> we don't have anyplace for white supremacists in the united states of america. it just doesn't make any sense to me. >> and trump was again on the defensive with nbc's chuck todd after a retweet quoting italian dictator benito musemussolini. we'll find out how tomorrow's voters feel in the slew of

nearly 600 delegates are up for grabs. trump is at 40%, cruz and rubio are tied. the senator manages to flip the numbers to 39% to trump's 36. will that turn into a surge of support in tomorrow's showdown? on the democratic side, bernie sanders didn't mince words on results. >> you lost south carolina 84 to 16, worse than any poll had shown. senator, what happened? >> well, we got decimated, that's what happened. among older african-americans it perspective. >> the vermont senator lost to hillary clinton by a near 3-1 margin, giving clinton 112 total delegates to sanders' 66. that makes tomorrow's super

in colorado, sanders tried out a new campaign analogy last night. >> and you run on a platform calling for a full loaf. at worst you're going to get a half a loaf. crumbs! the american people today do not want, do not need crumbs. they need the whole loaf! >> clinton meanwhile looked past sanders during a speech in nashville. >> because ultimately we are all in this together. no matter what some people running for president might say as they insult one group of us or another group of us. i believe that america is great right now. what we need is to be whole. we need to be whole where all of us have a place. >> but she could face more questions as the state department plans to release a

now, despite his setback in south carolina, sanders vowed to continue fighting through super tuesday, picking up the support of former dnc vice chair tolcy gilbert. hillary clinton leads by 26 points, and in texas, clinton is also ahead more than 20 points, 59 to 38. a shocking scene at a sunday church service in dayton, ohio. a baptist pastor was allegedly shot and killed by his brother. it happened right in front of the congregation while the choir was singing. witnesses say the 70-year-old victim, reverend b. schooler, had just walked to the pulpit when the shooting happened. people say police say his brother, daniel schooler, is in custody.

one else was injured. a man who shot a rookie policeman with her first day on the job is in prison today. he faces first-degree murder and assault charges. he's accused of killing prince william county police officer ashley windham and injuring two other officers who were responding to a domestic disturbance. after he surrendered, police found his wife dead in their home. >> i just want to be clear. do we have officers involved in a shooting? >> we have three officers who have been shot. >> prince william county police department is in deep mourning over the loss of officer ashley gwindon. >> she was sworn into the police force just this past friday. thank you, anonymous shopping cart guy. that's what police in portland, oregon are saying after an unidentified grocery store

suspect in his tracks two weeks ago. officers tackled cody lindsay after he was knocked to the ground. he went into the store trying to get away from police. he was wanted for disorderly conduct and a parole violation. which can out the shopper afterwards. he just picked up hisis things and continued to shop. let's go now to nbc meteorologist bill carans who has our leap day forecast. >> i like when people are saying, one extra day to pay your bills. >> oh, great. >> exactly, huh? as far as the west goes, we have a little bit of rain beginning of this week, then at the end of next week, we could get into a very stormy weather pattern. here we are going through the day today. some of this rain will arrive in the northwest later on today, especially the oregon coastline. not a lot, just a little bit of white stuff. then as we go throughout tomorrow, we try to get the cold front a little closer to the

moderate rain coming in. this looks like the start of an active weather pattern. a more significant storm will come into the end of this week and the weekend. these are the potential for five-day rainfall totals, focused mainly san francisco northward, but even that may change beginning of next week. for now it still looks like the northwest is going to get soaked here, some of the mountainous areas getting as much as 3 to 5 inches of rain. beautiful weather continues l.a. into phoenix. san francisco a little bit of fog. this afternoon will be all right. severe weather in the middle of the country in oklahoma, and then tuesday that will head into the southeast. that's your national weather. now here's a closer look at your day ahead. well, as far as the rain goes, the morning commute is dry. later this afternoon we'll have a little bit there in the northwest, especially the i-95 corridor toward the coast. none of that rainfall expected in santa rosa southward down through california. coming up, we'll tell you about some big leap day deals

one senator is doing to make our next flight a more comfortable experience. you're watching "early today." you can help prevent blindness in undernourished children all over the world. when you get your vitamins at walgreens, you help give life-changing vitamins to kids across the globe. get vitamins here. change lives everywhere. walgreens. at the corner of happy and healthy. our clothes can stretch out in the wash, ruining them forever. protect your clothes from stretching, fading, and fuzz. ...with downy fabric conditioner... it helps protect clothes from the damage of the wash. so your favorite clothes stay your favorite clothes. downy fabric conditioner. wash in the wow. announcement: this storm promises to be the biggest of the decade. with total accumulation of up to three feet. roads will be shut down indefinitely. and schools are closed.

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to keep it pumping. to our top stories now, an off-duty nypd officer was killed in an early morning hit and run sunday. 25-year-old officer vin sentcent harrison was standing on the shoulder of the new jersey turnpike after he was involved in a minor accident with another car. police say another driver then accidentally hit harrison, killing him. that driver initially stopped, then drove off. police later found the driver and are determining appropriate charges. senator chuck schumer is leading the fight against the shrinking airline seats. average leg room has dropped from 35 inches in the 1970s to just more than 16 today and

he wants the faa to follow guidelines and issue a referendum. a bill is expected in march. now let's go to landon. they are issuing less prices for their theme parks. people now pay on a peek day $124. it's going to stop selling tickets because too many people were in the park. meanwhile, mark your calendar. apple is expected to unveil a new smaller iphone on march 21st. it reportedly has a 4-inch screen and a larger chip. restaurants are rolling out discounts and freebies for leap day. if you were born on february 29, hard rock cafe will give you a

krispy kreme is offering a dozen donuts for $2.29 when you get a dozen at regular price, danielle. back to you. >> got to love free, landon. just ahead, talk about a competent golfer. gary was going to lose his pants to save par. sports is next. [music] no, no, no, no, people are both soft and strong... yey! which is why our products are too.

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in southern india, an elephant went on a rampage

there's the elephant pushing a truck, just tossing it into the air as two people rode on its back. it reportedly took hours to bring this big guy under control. luckily no one was hurt during the celebration which featured parades of ornately decorated elephants. let's catch up on sports with my friend dara brown. good morning, dara. >> gary woodland with his ball in the muck and not wanting to get his white pants dirty, the golfer hits a solid shot out of the water and into a green side bunker. he went on to very confidently par the hole. but it was adam scott who took the tournament by a single shot over his good friend surge yoergio garcia. next to atlanta motor speedway. >> this will be the race! here they come.

seventh career win in history, and dale earnhardt jr. finished second. the pirates got off to a fast start, including a 45-26 score at the half. they never let up, though, scoring 55 in the second half. the pirates victorious here, though, 94 to 91. the buckeyes managed to hold off the hawk eyes 68-64. finally, pittsburgh at home against duke. the 15th ranked blue devils fighting to catch the red hot home team, but the panthers gave their ncaa tournament by spanking duke 76-72. danielle, back to you. just ahead, who looked best on the oscars red carpet?

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i think we should've taken a left at the river. tarzan know where tarzan go! tarzan does not know where tarzan go. hey, excuse me, do you know where the waterfall is? waterfall? no, me tarzan, king of jungle. why don't you want to just ask somebody? if you're a couple, you fight over directions. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. oh ohhhhh it's what you do. ohhhhhh! do you have to do that right in my ear? now to the oscars red carpet moments. the stars were dressed to the nines for movies' biggest night. many of the ladies made daring fashion choices. among the more popular looks for the evening were bold colors, plunging necklines, sequins and plenty of thigh high splits. but fashion wasn't the only hot topic of the evening.

dash's somewhat awkward appearance. >> please welcome miss stacy dash. >> i cannot wait to help my people out. happy black history month. thank you. >> but enough about black people. >> dash later responded on her blog, explaining she was asked to be there to show increased diversity in hollywood. one of the more touching posts to go viral was this one of kate winslet. the actress welled up as she watched her good friend, leonardo dicaprio, accept his long-a long-awaited award. >> what's the favorite part of coming to the oscars? is it seeing your fellow actors? what is your favorite part?

i really like the hamburgers here. >> i'm danielle serino, and this is "early today." you wanna see something intense? new pantene expert gives you the most beautiful hair ever, with our strongest pro-v formula ever.

a bill being considered in the iowa state senate would allow children under the age of 14 to shoot handguns. while it brings the law up to date with other states, it puts a danger to toddlers. >> for the hood family in central iowa, shooting is a way of life. >> it's just a fun sport to do.

just go down and release some stress. >> dad brian is co-host of the local scholastic shooters. but while 16-year-old grace competes using a handgun, the law says 13-year-old emma isn't allowed. >> when i learned i couldn't do it until i was 14, it kind of got me irritated because i wanted to do it now. >> so the family now supports iowa lawmakers moving toward a new law that would allow children of all ages to handle handguns. >> this is not about giving our children the combo to the gun safe. this is about allowing them in a supervised scenario learn a great sport. >> last week the iowa house approved the measure but debate was fierce. >> it turns the power back to where it fully belongs, back in the hands of the parents. >> we passed laws for those parents who lack the parenting skills needed to protect their own children. state senate. but opponents are quick to point

hands on a gun with tragic results. this idaho mom, killed last year when her two-year-old got ahold of her concealed handgun while they were shopping at walmart. most states don't specifically restrict handgun use by children. in iowa, kids under 14 are allowed to use rifles or shotguns. and federal law still makes it illegal for minors to purchase guns. but for the brady campaign to prevent gun violence, this debate takes away from what they see as the more serious issue. >> it represents the gun lobby vision which is selling as many guns as they possibly can that every mother, father, child in america is armed to the tee rather than focusing on things we really can do through policy. >> the question for lawmakers in iowa now, are guns safe in these hands? kristin dahlgren, nbc news, new york.

a member of seal team six is receiving the nation's highest military award medal of honor. it's for helping to rescue a doctor in afghanistan in 2012.

recipient since the last3 3 (studio)>> the family health fair provides free health services to the community... where it's happening coming up... 3 (samantha)>> plus... new developments this weekend.. in the case of two boaters.. missing in donner lake when their canoe capsized...... what we know so far ... 3 (bill)>> and... it was hollywood's biggest night.. a wrap up of some of this year's big winner's at the 88th annual academy awards. these stories and more.. coming up on this monday, february 29, 2016.

news 4 today on your side in high definition.)) 3 (bill)3 >> good morning and thank you for choosing us to start your day. i'm bill frankmore.(sam)