high stakes race. gop presidential hopefuls compete in two surprisingly tight primaries in the deep south. travelers choice. which of the nation's beaches made the cut for the best sand and sun? and feeding frenzy, a school of sharks spotted uncomfortably close to an australian shore. hello and good morning. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. and today we begin with the south having its say. folks are going to head to the polls today in mississippi and

alabama where republican presidential candidates have been campaigning hard to convince conservative voters they share their southern values. caucuses will be held today in hawaii. tracie potts joins us from washington with the details. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: the polls are tight in alabama and mississippi with newt gingrich leading many of those polls, but mitt romney within striking distance. and all the candidates trying their best to appeal to southern voters. >> looking forward to going hunting with you sometime. >> i peel relatively at home here. in fact this morning when i had grits, it was a very normal thing to do. >> reporter: but southern voters say today's primaries are about more than just grits and gravy. >> when they talk about grits, they're talking up to us. >> i don't think nip is going to vote because they actually are hunters or they like cheese grits or they -- i don't think that really matters to most voters in the south. >> we need someone not to just

say, you know, i came down here, i ate grits, i know what you need. >> reporter: like cheaper gas, gingrich and santorum both talked about gas prices monday. >> if we developed our energy xals h. capacity to the the degree we could, that would bring down the price of gasoline. >> reporter: while santorum's conservative message plays well in the south, heed a mitts it's been tough. >> we're sucking hard on that swizzle stick trying to gets a much air as we can into keep ourselves alive. >> reporter: gingrich needs to win the south to keep his campaign alive. santorum has the edge with evangelicals. in the last election, that's how three out of four voters identified themselves. but this year, republicans want to win. >> we're doing really well in mississippi. >> reporter: for many that means going with the candidate whose polls show has the best chance in november. speaking of november, president obama's popularity had surged in recent weeks, but now it's taken a hit between 41% and 46% depending on which poll you look at, some analysts say that has

to do with gas prices. lynn. >> hathanks so much. a video surfaced of president obama when he was a student at harvard law school. supporting professor bell who was protesting harvard's failure to hire more minority faculty. some conservatives have tried to portray profession arrest bell as a radical. and last night, ed schultz spoke with bell's widow about the charges. >> i >> it's just part of the right wing media's pattern of distortion and misinformation. but you know, i'm smiling because i want to lift up the memory of derrick bell. he left a great legacy, not just to me and our family, but my husband was -- if he were here today, he would be standing up for sandra flock.

gloria steinem once named him an honorary woman. he's a man of courage, of conviction, and he was always standing up for justice. it didn't matter who it was and he accepted people as they were. my husband was a war veteran and he was a patriot and what he tried to do is make this country stand up to the ideals that he believed in with his whole heart. derrick thought the ideas fair play, equality, opportunity, those are things that should be shared. everybody should get a shot at the american dream. >> each night veteran talk host ed schultz and his guests debate and discuss the most important issues affecting americans. watch week nights at 8:00 eastern only on ms fb schls nbc place for politics. the american soldier accused of killing 16 afghan civilians could face execution if convicted. he will be tried under the u.s.

military legal code. that code does allow for the death penalty in some cases. the soldier's name has not been released. we know he is a 38-year-old staff sergeant who was serving in afghanistan after three prior tours of duty in iraq. he was trained as a sniper and suffered a head injury in a vehicle accident in iraq. in washington state, the soldier's wife and two children have been moved on to a military base to keep them safe from possible retribution attacks. a special united nations meeting so far failed to find a way to stop the violence in syria. secretary of state hillary clinton met with russia's foreign minister and other diplomats yesterday to talk about a potential cease-fire. russia, syria's most powerful ally, would have condemned the crackdown in syria. mrs. clinton said the security council cannot, quote, stand silent while governments attack their own people. government soldiers rounded up

civilians in the city of homs and killed dozens yesterday. the u.n. says more than 7,500 people have died in the fighting in syria over the last year. here's your first look at some other news going on around america. it was kind of a frightening scene in pennsylvania where a school playground just went up in flames. surveillance video shows the fire being fueled by the rubber mulch the playground stood on. no word for the cause but three teenagers were seen in the area before. miserable and dangerous conditions for drivers in parts of washington state. a dust storm caused blinding conditions that led to a 20-car pileup outside yakima, injuring one person. parts of interstate 97 had to be shut down due to all the blowing debris there. finally, an unusual and sort

of controversial way to get online access at the south by southwest event going on in texas. more than a dozen homeless people are earning money by walking around wearing mobile wi-fi devices that create 4g hot spots. an english advertising company came up with this idea and are calling it a charitable experiment. but paying homeless people $20 a day is exploitation. now for a look at your national weather, we turn to bill karins. good morning to you, bill. we just put a gps chip in you and monitor where you go. that's a little less invasive. >> make sure i'm not coming straight from the bar? >> we're still on the fence about that one. >> i live above the bar, so you really can't tell. >> that's true. funny how that works. >> well, good morning, everyone. beautiful weather conditions over so much of the country, but if you're joining us late at

night in areas of washington state, oregon, that's where the worst of the weather has been. strong winds going through yesterday. east coast, it you're about to leave the house right now, areas of connecticut, down to the cape, coastal areas of jersey all the way done through maryland, that's where we're watching this light rain moving throu through. so bring the umbrella. it will be in and out of here probably about an hour or two from now, so at the peak rush hour, no problems on the roads. but if you're leaving right now, just the area of light rain. a little batch in will buffalo, too. slowly falling apart. so as far as the forecast further to the south, same for you in richmond, norfolk, light rain over the next hour or two. that will linger longer there in eastern north carolina. so now let's talk about the temperatures. this has been the story pretty much since winter began. and how that winter is officially about to end, it just figures it would be like this.

84 in sabt. louis. 71 record high in boston yesterday. and no surprise the cherry blossoms down in washington, d.c. on the mall are going to be about 10 to 14 days early this year because these warm temperatures, the peak actually expected about march 24th. typically it's about april 2nd. so today very warm conditions already in the east. the only chilly air is up here around minneapolis through the dakotas. and by their standards, it's not even chilly. this is an interesting map, it shows you where we should be typically and where we'll be today. the white number is the highs today. 70 in new york, 69 chicago, 81 in dallas. the little red mums next to it is what the average highs typically should be this time of year. in minneapolis, we should only be 39. we're going to be 52. 70 should be the typical high -- or 70 is the average high right now today in new york. we only should be about 48. so the bottom line, it feels like may. >> the bottom line is it's

amazing. >> it is. >> get your shorts. go to the park. >> the magnolias are blooming. >> it's heaven. coming up, low volume on the street. yahoo! does battle with facebook. and what a latte has in common with a tulip. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, a milestone on the ice, randy moss signs a deal, and linsanity is no match for the mvp. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

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welcome back to "first look." here are some of the top stories making news this morning. a cease-fire appears to be taking hold today along the border between israel and gaza. after four days of palestinian strikes, egypt claims to have brokered the cease-fire agreement. 18 people were killed today when a ferry packed with about 200 people capsized in a river in southern bangladesh after

colliding with another boat. 35 were rescued but another 150 other passengers are still missing. yesterday wisconsin's voter identification law was struck down as unconstitutional and the justice department blocked a voter i.d. law in texas saying it could disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of his pan he can voters. the best beach in the u.s. is in st. petersburg, florida. this according to a new website survey. the st. pete beach was praised for its sugary white sand. the new list includes five in florida, two in hawaii and surprisingly only one in california. speaking of beaches, on the coast near perth, australia, one beach has been closed due to a massive shark feeding frenzy. video from a helicopter shows 50 sharks attacking a large school of tuna very close to shore.

>> and now here's a first look at how wall street will kick off the day. dow opens at 12,959. nasdaq lost 4. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei added 9 points. in hong kong, the hang seng rose 205. as investors look ahead to today's fed meeting, a lot of them sat on the sidelines yesterday. it was the lightest trading day on the year on the new york stock exchange and the nasdaq. energy, utility, and consumer staple stocks pushed blue chips higher. jpmorgan chase was among banks that suffered ahead of a possible fed decision on the soundness of the nation's largest lenders. youku shot up 27% after announcing plans to buy rival tudo in an all stock deal valued at more than a billion dollars. shares skyrocketed more than 150%. yahoo! filed a lawsuit against facebook in a california court over 10 alleged patent

infringements. $25 billion settlement over alleged foreclosure abuses by five of the largest mortgage lenders has been inked in federal court. pacific gas and electric will pay san bruno $70 million in restitution for a pipeline explosion that killed eight people and destroyed 38 homes back in 2010. federal safety regulators are investigating sticky accelerators in as many as 1.9 million ford taurus and mercury sable sedans. world trade organization upheld its ruling that boeing received unlawful subsidies which hurt europe's airbus' bottom line. and a 24-year-old barista from hong kong scooped up the title and 2,500 bucks at the latte art championship in new york.

judges said his multilayered tulip pattern put his cup over the top. in health news, two new reports say eating red meat and drining soda does increase the risk of heart attack and death. one study found eating red meat every day appears to increase a person's chance of dying by 12% and the second study found that men who drink one 12 how long sugar sweetened drink a day had a 20% higher risk of heart attack. for more information on this and other health stories, check out the health page at msnbc.com. well, coming up, sabres win in overtime, another shot for randy moss in nfl, and a land mark night for the anaheim duck. plus, the bulls slam the knicks with a sixth straight loss. your first look at sports is straight ahead. [ female announcer ] you have plans, moments you're looking forward to.

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that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8. but when she got asthma, all i could do was worry ! specialists, lots of doctors, lots of advice... and my hands were full. i couldn't sort through it all. with unitedhealthcare, it's different. we have access to great specialists, and our pediatrician gets all the information. everyone works as a team. and i only need to talk to one person about her care. we're more than 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare. chocolate lemonade ? susie's lemonade... the movie. or... we make it pink ! with these 4g lte tablets, you can do business at lightning-fast speeds. we'll take all the strawberries, dave. you got it, kid. we have a winner. we're definitely gonna need another one.

small businesses that want to grow use 4g lte technology from verizon. i wonder how she does it. that's why she's the boss. because the small business with the best technology rules. contact the verizon center for customers with disabilities at 1-800-974-6006. in sports, surging just weeks ago, suddenly the chance of the knicks making the playoffs look in jeopardy. here's fred roggin. good morning. it's hard to believe that less than a month ago jeremy lin was the talk of the nation as he revitalized the knicks. times have changed. new york lost six in a row and linsanity has become a distant memory. knicks were running with the bulls in the first half.

lin to amare. derrick rose took the game over. mvp knocked down the three for the lead. a dunk on the night elevated from the one-handed jam. worth another look. rose can fly with the best of them. he finished with 32. bulls beat the knicks, 104-99. not exactly a marquis matchup. new orleans down two, five seconds to play. trevor ariza in the basket. rejected ariza to end the game. bobcats won their sixth of the year, 73-71. football randy moss worked out for the 49ers yesterday they signed him on the spot. he inked a one-year deal for san francisco. hockey, emphatic finish in buffalo. montreal down one. david was left wide open and tied the game with four seconds left and forced overtime.

but it was all for not. two minutes in the o.t., buffalo on the attack. tyler rifled home the game winner. finally, another milestone on his hall of fame resume. 19th place all time scoring list. however, the celebration was short-lived. gabriel into the game at o.t. with a rocket past hiller. 3-2 win, avalanche. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred roggin. and now another look at the weather, here is bill karins. >> i haven't had any hate mail lately. >> wait until friday. >> that's true. early in the week still. we have rain showers this morning. if you're heading outside and jumping in the carney time soon in connecticut, providence area,s about ton down to the cape jersey shore, this area of light rain will move in and out

here in the hurry. most of the day will be dry. once we get the rain showers out of here, uncredible warmth, low to mid-70s for areas of southern new england down through d.c. today. it will be so warm around d.c., we may get pop up afternoon showers or storms like in the medal of summer. that's how unusually warm we are. probably the worst weather in the entire country, the ones who probably are containing are in the west. this is where all the cold air is, this is where the snow levels are low. avalanche warnings in the cascades. from portland to seattle, it will be a raw chilly day. northern california, a good chunk of heavy rain around your weekend. an eventually san francisco will get wet weather, too.middle of the country where we had the storms yesterday, what a beautiful day today. 81 in kansas city. chicago at 66. and we do it all over again tomorrow. your friends in chicago tomorrow could hit 80 degrees. >> many of them out there. all right, bill, thanks so much. coming up, what may be next for

meryl streep. and what's definitely ahead for the real star of the artist. plus katy perry's dad talks about his daughter's split from russell brand. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. get together, you came to the right place. because here at hotels.com, we're only about hotels. finding you the perfect place is all we do. welcome to hotels.com.

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time for a little entertainment news. to hear katy perry's dad tell it, there's no anger or bad feelings behind his daughter's break up with russell brand. he says that at us weekly magazine.com, the reason for the

split simple. her career took off and it left them very little time to spend together. he call it is just one of those things and he insists that even he's still in touch with brand. elsewhere, fresh off her oscar for playing england's iron lady, meryl streep introduced hillary clinton at a women's summit in new york. it prompted the "post" to ask if streep should play clinton next. finally, the first big celebrity known to be attending next month's white house correspondents dinner, yes, that's it. uggy, the dog from "the artist," he'll be a guest of the washington "times." >> is it rude of me to say i'm done with that dog? >> we never really were -- >> embracing him in the first place? >> we haven't been on board with the artist just from the beginning. >> we're in the majority still

though. >> i'm with you. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. protesters are in the streets in afghanistan this morning two days after a 38-year-old american staff sergeant allegedly walked off his base and killed 16 afghan civilians. the question is, what kind of pressure has this incident put on president obama to speed up the withdrawal from the country? we'll have a live report. three states up for grabs today in the race for the republican nomination, including alabama and mississippi, where polls show a tight three-way race. the question is, if romney continues his losing streak in the south, do we still call him the frontrunner tomorrow morning. and derrick rose puts an official end to the linsanity. as the bulls hand the knicks their sixth consecutive loss. the question is, did you keep the receipt on that jeremy lin jersey you bought a couple