them falling in line? it's going to be fascinating to watch. stay tuned. that does it for us tonight. we will see you again tomorrow night. now it's time for "the last word tornado terror. ravaging storms wreak havoc across parts of texas. game over? mitt romney sails to victory in three gop primaries. and medieval myth some new clues raise the question who was the real king arthur? good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more straight ahead. this is first look on msnbc. today we begin with path of destruction. cleanup and what will likely be

a long recovery begin for folks in dallas ft. worth. this after yesterday's terrifying tornado outbreak spawned scenes of chaos few have ever witnessed. nbc's jay gray reports from lancaster, texas. >> reporter: texas under attack. >> hey, guys, it's throwing 18-wheelers. >> reporter: the raw power of a massive tornado playing out on live television across north texas, tractor-trailers, more than 50 feet long and 60,000 pounds, tossed hundreds of feet in the air. >> this is something i have never seen before. >> reporter: this section of tornado alley is no stranger to twisters but few have seen anything like this. multiple tornadoes tearing through the dallas ft. worth area, tossing everything in their path. >> to see it on television, you know, we saw it, you know, in the midwest and it's another thing when it comes and hits you personally. >> reporter: hours after the storms it's still hard to believe, the tractor-trailers twisted and tossed to the side, neighborhoods tattered and torn, survivors who clung to life during the storm now clinging to

each other. >> oh, my god, look at these cars, inside of this house. >> the wood from the back fence was going that way. i pulled back in, i heard a thump, turned around and here was this truck. >> reporter: many say early warnings and the graphic pictures likely saved their lives. >> after seeing on the news that the tornado was on the ground, it's been on the ground for ten minutes, i went to cover. >> reporter: this nursing home lost an entire wing but somehow not a single life. at dfw airport hundreds of flights were canceled and more than 110 planes damaged by hail. a vicious round of storms, an ominous warning as tornado season now moves into what traditionally are its most violent months. jay gray, nbc news, lancaster, texas. mitt romney took a big step closer to the general election last night, easily beating rivals ron paul and newt gingrich in the districts of

columbia where rick santorum was not on the ballot. in maryland, romney sailed to victory with a double digit lead over all three contenders. in wisconsin it was a much closer race but ultimately a clean romney sweep. tracie potts joins us with more. >> reporter: good morning, every. even the obama campaign is focusing more on romney. we will likely see more of that after last night's triple victories. >> and thank you to wisconsin, maryland and washington, d.c. >> reporter: it's a clean sweep for mitt romney, clear victorieses in all three primaries, including wisconsin, where he beat rick santorum by seven points. but romney's no longer focused on his p republican k3e it tigs. >> years of flying around in air force one surrounded by adoring staff of true believers telling you that you're great, it's enough to make you think that you might become a little out of touch. >> with a 16 point lead in the

latest gallup poll, today he courts news pain erd it tors. connecticut, delaware, new york, rhode island and pennsylvania. >> the clock starts tonight. we've got three weeks to go out here in pennsylvania. and win this state and after winning this state, the field looks a little different in may. >> reporter: santorum who goes bowling again today isn't so sure this is over. but romney's delegates are mounting. he has 561, 203 for santorum and 137 for gingrich. gingrich released a statement last night despite the delegate count, he still says he's in this all the way to the republican convention. what about ron paul? he's still campaigning. he has 16 events scheduled in the next month and a half, many of them at college campuses. >> tracie potts for us in washington. president obama had harsh

words yesterday for the republican's latest budget plan. the president denounced the gop budget passed by the house as, quote, thinly veiled social darwinism. and a trojan horse disguised as a deficit reduction plan. the plan would cut $5.3 trillion over ten years through deep cuts in spending and entitlement programs. there is no chance the democratically controlled senate will past it. last night high school campaign manager defended his harsh criticism. stephanie cutter explained to rachel why the critique is accurate. >> its ee's the trickle down th that didn't work. we've had the lowest job growth in half a century. we saw the middle class squeezed and the wealthiest get

wealthier. that's now how you build a competitive economy with a strong middle class. so that's what the president was talking about in terms of social darwinism. let the top, the wealthiest americans, continue to get ahead, while the middle class get squeezed. look at the impact of the ryan budget. not just from the obama administration or this campaign, by independent sxefrpts. it would tens of thousands, hundreds of peoples off of head start. it's the largest cut in history on medicaid, which means people would be kicked out of nursing homes. so that's what we mean by social darwinism. it's not a balanced approach to reducing our testify sit and it's not an approach that the american people support. >> rachel maddow's unique take on politics and all the day's top stories, that's the rachel maddow show week nights at 9:00 right here on msnbc, the place for politics.

elsewhere, a federal judge has lashed out to president obama's warning to the supreme court not to overturn health care reform. the judge interpreted the president's remarks about unelected judges undoing laws passed by congress through, quote, judicial activism as denying the court's right to find acts of congress unconstitutional. the judge, a reagan appointee, is involved in a separate challenge to the health care law and ordered the justices to weigh in on the matter in a three-page single spaced specific response. hear's your first look at some of the other news going on around america. in california, dozens of protesters were pepper sprayed last night at santa monica college. students could be seen rubbing their eyes from the spray. they had been trying to force their way into a meeting of the board of trustees attempting to get past campus police officers. the students were angry about proposed tuition hikes. in connecticut, frightening video as an suv plows right into a convenience store, narrowly missing that customer right there. then, as the woman who barely

escaped just hopped up on to the counter, the driver threw it in reverse and just took off. police later caught up with the man behind the wheel. they arrested him and say he admitted driving drunk. and finally, who knew the easter bunny could swim? someone dressed up as the furry holiday creature threw on scuba gear and dove into the waters off of florida keys. the rabbit's mission, leaving easter eggs on the sea floor near the national marine underwater adventurers will go hunting for the eggs on sunday. now for a look at your national weather, let's check in with bill karins who obviously has a lot more on that tornado outbreak. >> i think ich se've seen the pictures 30 times now of it going through the trucking yard and picking up the 18 wheelers and tossing them in the air. one person estimated about 150 feet is how high the tornado threw it. and again, this wasn't even

really a very powerful tornado. that's why we're not talking about a ton and ton of fatalities like we did with tuscaloosa and joplin. these were strong tornadoes, most likely probably going to be about ef-2 or so. winds probably between 100 and 150, but not the 200-mile-per-hour winds that we saw go through joplin and that's why we don't have extreme devastation. it's bad enough. the area that it hit was just south of dallas/ft. worth and then the tornado reports continued into northeast texas. but that's where the swathe was. we saw the pictures when it was going through the dallas area. overnight, we did see strong storms with hail and winds in northern louisiana and even at this hour, we still have a few strong storms here in southern louisiana. there's a possibility of damaging winds, but the tornado let is over with. we haven't had any tornadoes if a while. here is a closer view. looks like baton rouge had a g.

storm blow through. new orleans, we had storms earlier. so we'll see a couple rounds of storms today in this region. you'll probably get another big one later this afternoon. so today, we do have a potential for more severe weather, just isolated tornadoes. yesterday it wasn't even what we would consider a tornado outbreak. it was isolated into northeast texas. today we'll probably see pain two, three, four. but yesterday was proof it doesn't take strong tornadoes to be a big deal. just depends about they happen in populated areas or not and of course dallas/ft. worth hugely populated region. so the severe risk dwa is if areas of the yellow here. mostly talking about mississippi valley down to the southeast. but again, i don't position we'll see anything like what we saw yesterday. >> that's good news. bill, thanks so much. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, a new look for the seahawks. heat clinch a playoff spot and

perfect ending for the baylor lady bears. you're watching "1st look" on msnbc. [ barking ] i'm your dog, holding down the fort while you're out catching a movie. [ growls ] lucky for me,

your friends showed up with this awesome bone. hey! you guys are great. and if you got your home insurance where you got your cut rate car insurance, it might not replace all this. [ electricity crackling ] [ gasping ] so get allstate. you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. [ dennis ] dollar for dollar, nobody protects you from mayhem like allstate. that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

welcome back. here's some of the top stories making news this morning. police say one goh, the suspect in the shooting spree at an oakland, california religious school had been expelled in january for anger problems. he told police he had been teased about his poor english skills at the college. jetblue captain clayton osbon, the pilot whose meltdown triggered an emergency landing last week made his first appearance in federal court. he says he understands the charges against him for disrupting a las vegas-bound flight. a syrian government official says troops have started pulling out of some cities and headed back to their bases. syria is facing an april 10th deadline to begin a cease-fire under an international plan approved by syrian president bashar al assad. and was king arthur really a roman?

experts are studying the tomb of a roman general in croatia who took soldiers to england in the 2nd century a.d. they think his exploits served as the basis for the king arthur stories. here's a look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 13,199 after losing 64 points yesterday, the s&p lost 5 points, the nasdaq down 6. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei sank 230 points and in hong kong, the hang seng dropped 268. all eyes will be on the latest jobs data today with reports out on private sector payroll and layoffs. the release of minutes from the fed pushed markets lower yesterday after indications the central bank is less inclined to provide more economic stimulus. troubled internet search firm yahoo! is expected to announce about 2,000 layoffs today. and facebook has filed a countersuit against yahoo!

claiming it violates several facebook patents, including photo sharing, the news feed and tagging. james murdoch stepped down as chairman of british sky broadcasting, giving up one of the biggest jobs in the murdoch media empire amidst the deepening phone hacking scandal. "the wall street journal" reports u.s. airways trying to force a merger with american airlines has been seeking support from american's creditors. the apartment vacancy rate in the first quarter fell to its lowest level in more than a decade and rents took their biggest jump in more than four years as more americans held off on buying homes. auto sales zoomed higher in march in part because of the rising cost of gas as consumers look for fuel efficient vehicles. burger king is going public again. the hamburger chain will relist its shares within three months. and after a viral campaign, mattel will create a friend of barbie's who is bald. it's all to help kids dealing with hair loss.

the company will donate dolls to children's hospitals around the world. coming up, the sharks chomp the stars, the heat burn the sixers and the teams of the nfl get a makeover. plus, the women at baylor celebrate a perfect season with an ncaa title. your first look at sports is straight ahead. we always hear about jobs leaving america. here's a chance to create jobs in america. oil sands projects, like kearl, and the keystone pipeline will provide secure and reliable energy to the united states. over the coming years, projects like these could create more than half a million jobs in the us alone. from the canadian border, through the mid west, to the gulf coast. benefiting hundreds of thousands of families throughout the country.

this is just what our economy needs right now. beth! hi! looking good. you've lost some weight. thanks. you noticed. these clothes are too big, so i'm donating them. how'd you do it? eating right -- whole grain. [ female announcer ] people who choose more whole grain tend to weigh less than those who don't. multi-grain cheerios -- 5 whole grains, 110 calories. creamy, dreamy peanut butter taste in a tempting new cereal. mmm! [ female announcer ] new multi-grain cheerios peanut butter.

time out. sweet. [ female announcer ] with charmin ultra soft, you can get that cushiony feeling while still using less. designed with extra cushions that are soft and more absorbent and you can use four times less. charmin ultra soft. [ clang ] my house is where plants came to die. ♪ but, it turns out all i was missing was miracle-gro potting mix. it's got what a plant needs. even plant food that feeds them for up to 6 months. you get bigger, more beautiful plants. guaranteed. who's got two green thumbs thanks to miracle-gro? uh, this gal. boom! everyone grows with miracle-gro. welcome back to "1st look". in sports last night, the buffalo sabres kept their playoff hopes alive with a

thrilling come-from-behind victory in overtime. here's fred roggin. good morning. we are down to the final days of the nhl season and playoff spots are going quickly. the buffalo sabres need wins. they got one last night. here we go. things didn't start well for the sabres. maple leafs jumped out to a three-goal lead and then the sabres kicked it into high gear, rallying to tie the game with less than two minutes to play. somehow, some way, jordan leopold found the puck and jammed in the puck to force overtime. derek roy came back in o.t. the sabres are alive and kicking. they won 6-5, they're now tied with the caps for the final spot in the east. here we go to the west, the sharks picked up a much-needed win. logan scored the go-ahead goal in the second. san jose beat dallas, 5-2. they moved into seventh place. the stars are now on life support. sidney crosby and the penguins are ready for the postseason. crosby scored a pair against the bruins. he now has 22 points in 12 games

since coming back from a concussion. the pens win 5-3. basketball, the heat clinched a playoff spot. if lebron keeps playing like this, they'll be hoisting a championship trophy. lebron james had 14 straight points in the fourth and finishing with a season high 41. heat beat the sixers 99-93. college hoops, if you think kentucky had a good year, you've not been watching the baylor bears. they won the national title. brittany kreiner led the way with 16 points and 13 boards. baylor, the first team, men or women, to finish the season a perfect 40-0. finally they say it's not what you wear but how you wear it. for the nfl slim is in. nike and the nfl unveiled their new uniforms. it's a slim and trim jersey that form fits the equipment. most of the unis remain the same except for the seahawks. they added an indian-inspired wing pattern with hints of neon green, because nothing says football like neon green artwork. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred roggin. now for another look at the

weather, here is bill karins. good morning once again. >> i have to show you the video once again. even if you've seen it before, you probably want to see it depend of a tornado up close from a helicopter view tossing 18 wheelers. the cabs of them at least. these are 1600 pounds. that's how much they weigh. estimated to go up about 100 to 200 feet. incredible stuff there out of arlington, texas. again, about 400 homes were damaged. about 17 injuries. amazingly no fatalities from those tornadoes last night. now, today we have a chance at more severe storms. areas in yellow. we're talking pretty much louisiana, mississippi, alabama, all the way up through much of tennessee, including the memphis area. but we won't see many tornadoes. winds are not twisting in the at loss fe atmosphere like they were yesterday. also eastern north carolina up to virginia beach, maybe richmond, could see a strong storm or too.

northeast mid-atlantic, you look beautiful. no problems in the great lakes. dallas, your recovery gay and the cleanup day for everyone there looks fine. houston also looks pretty good. if you're watching us out west, not a bad day phoenix to l.a. but it's april. these happen. it was pretty isolated. but just proved it only takes one. luckily no fatalities. thanks so much. oots number one for ma dwchlt ge and who turned down a personal white house invitation? your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. ♪ [ male announcer ] for our families... our neighbors... and our communities... america's beverage companies have created a wide range of new choices. developing smaller portion sizes and more low- & no-calorie beverages... adding clear calorie labels

so you know exactly what you're choosing... and in schools, replacing full-calorie soft drinks with lower-calorie options. with more choices and fewer calories, america's beverage companies are delivering. sorry. sore knee. blast of cold feels nice. why don't you use bengay zero degrees? it's the one you store in the freezer. gives that instant cold sensation. that's chilly. same medicated pain reliever used by physical therapists. and it lasts for hours. [ sigh of relief ] [ short breath ] [ longer breath ] [ short breath ] [ male announcer ] new bengay zero degrees. freeze and move on. it's this... the etrade pro platform. finds top performing stocks -- in three clicks. quickly scans the market for new trading ideas. got it? get it. good. introducing new etrade pro elite.

welcome book. time for your first look at entertainment news. although she is now the material mom, madonna shows no signs of slowing down. the debut of her latest album, "mdna" notched her number one on the charts and biggest album debut of the year. 15 years later, the 3-d version of "the titanic" opens in theaters today. british boy band one direction is saying no to the white house. first lady michelle obama invited them to appear at monday's easter egg roll over the weekend but the band declined due to prior commitments. david letterman signed up to keep doing the hate show through

2014 which should see him break the mark for longest running late night talk host passing johnny carson's record of a few months less than 30 years at nbc's tonight show. and finally, he may have lost out on "people's" sexiest man alive but ryan gosling is a real-life super hero. the new york observer reports last week the actor saved a woman from stepping in front of a speeding new york city taxi. apparently this is 6th avenue and i would like to go on record and say, no, i did not throw myself in front of a taxi if hopes that ryan gosling would save me. >> i want to talk to the the lady that did this. i garn it tee cease 25 and like oops. help me, ryan. >> how ironic. >> if you want to take your shirt off, too, that's fine. >> i think this is like his second time that he's come to the rescue of somebody in new york city. >> and obviously he doesn't

watch the show because we have a stalking problem. >> i'm lynn berry. "way too early" is next. thank you to wisconsin, maryland and washington, d.c. we won them all! this really has been quite a night. we've won a great victory tonight in our campaign to restore the promise of america. and here in the heartland, you won't find americans with bigger hearts than the people of wisconsin. >> a clean sweep for mitt romney. the frontrunner takes wisconsin, maryland and the district of columbia as rick santorum camped out in pennsylvania, says we are only at halftime of this republican nominating process. the question though, is what are the odds now that