the s.a.f.e. california act and we are told that it will be on the ballot in november, giving california voters the option to repeal that state's death penalty. member is under investigation as the secret service prostitution scandal grows. charged up. an underground electrical explosion sends two california firefighters to the hospital. and dangerous ground. some frantic moments as a sidewalk in china just gives way. good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we are going to begin this morning with that widening

investigation. white house and pentagon officials are scrambling to answer more questions about this growing prostitution scandal involving dozens of secret service and military members who traveled to colombia to protect the president. tracie potts joins us with more from washington. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. we hear polygraphs may have cleared one secret service member, there's now word that more members of the military may have been involved. >> reporter: a 12th member of the military has been relieved of his duties while officials get to the bottom of who hired prostitu prostitutes. in colombia, leon panetta says accused service members have been stripped of their security clearances. >> this these investigators find there have been violations, violations of the code of military justice by relation to the standards we just talked about, those individuals will be held accountability.

>> reporter: the latest member was assigned to the white house communications agency, providing secure communication for the president. white house attorneys did their own investigation last weekend to see if any white house staffers were involved. >> that review was conducted, and it produced no indication of any misconduct. >> reporter: the top republican on the senate judiciary committee wants details. in a letter to the white house, senator chuck grassley is asking, who was involved? how long did it take? was the pentagon involved? were hotel records reviewed? and he wants those answers by this thursday. and a source close to the secret service investigation says those drug tests taken by secret service personnel wer n were ne george zimmerman, the man charged in the shooting death of unarmed teenager trayvon martin is now in hiding for his own safety after his release yesterday from a flor jiel. meanwhile, the city of sanford florida has rejected the

resignation of its police chief bill lee nbc's jay gray has more. >> where in this process did chief lee make a mistake that the commission voted to no longer have confidence in? >> reporter: sanford police chief bill lee who temporarily stepped away from his post offered his permanent reputation. >> one of the finest police officers in florida. >> reporter: but after a heated debate, city commissioners did not accept that offer to step aside. >> approved to deny the memorandum at this time. >> amen! >> reporter: so vocal and public before zimmerman's arrest, trayvon martin's parents have been silent since last week's bond hearing. >> the family is emotional. it's one of the things they would rather the killer of their child still be in jail but they

accept the rule of law. >> reporter: zimmerman left the jail with a brown paper bag and according to deputies a gps monitoring bracelet which provides immediate realtime information on where he is, something his legal team will continue to so keep a secret as they deal with questions about his safety. >> i think there's still a lot of emotion wrapped around the case. we're worried some of those emotions are still negative and that may play out against george. >> reporter: as zimmerman walks out of jail but back into hiding now. jay gray, nbc news, sanford, florida. social security could run out of money three years sooner than previously expected. a report to congress by the trustees that oversee that program claims less funds than anticipated are coming in, due to the poor economy and higher energy costs. they say the trust fund will run dry in the year 2033. they urged congress to address the long running financial challenges facing social security and medicare sooner rather than later. this 2012 election campaign has been dramatically affected

by that supreme court decision that prohibited the government from restricting independent political spending by corporations and unions. well, last night on "the rachel mad dow show" frank rich of new york magazine talked about how individual billionaires are donating money to candidates without the checks and balances public companies go through. >> these sugar dad itdies as i l them, most of them republicans, don't have any of those obligations that someone running a fortune 500 company would. they can do whatever they want and because of decisions and rulings by the fec, they can just give unlimited amounts of money and sometimes they can do it anonymously, as you know, through things like a rove organization called crossroads gps that is vaguely distinguishable from the ones where they do have to name their naimz. so they can go to town, and one thing that i found in this piece

is, at the time we came out and i think we're now adding more, there were 25 sugar daddiy ies defined as people who have already in this cycle given over $1 million each. that's just in primary season. >> lean forward with rachel maddow's unique take on politics and today's stories. the show airs weeknights 9:00 p.m. eastern here on msnbc. now here is your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. incredible video out of california where an underground electrical volt exploded three times. now, you can see there police and fire crews are very close to the spot each time it blew. two firefighters did suffer minor burns from the blasts. also in california, a grim and unusual sight over the pacific ocean. a salvage helicopter carried the wreckage of a yacht back to shore after a deadly accident earlier this month.

one person was killed and four others are missing and presumed dead after the yacht was hit by large waves and then crashed into the rocks off the farallon islands near san francisco. the northeast is now digging out after a clash of seasons of sorts. in rochester, new york, snow came to rest on cherry fwlbloss. the snow record in ithaca, new york was broken and a tie at buffalo, new york. one part of pennsylvania report the nearly two feet of snowfall. where else but the florida keys would you find a giant key lime pie? it's seven feet wide. it used more than 1,000 key limes, 360 eggs, 20 pounds of dough. it was made in honor of the 30th anniversary of the so-called conk republican, a tong in cheek effort to secede from the u.s.

competing for the most beautiful dog, they earned titles like mr. congeniality and best dressed. judges were looking for qualities like drooping mouth and laziness, if only that got you most beautiful. in the end a pooch named tyson took top honors, becoming the mascot for drake university's track and field meet. >> now for a look at your national weather, we turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning to you. >> i've never been a bulldog owner, but i have friends that have them. that's the way it should be kept. >> i am always a bulldog fan. >> yes. they are difficult, difficult dogs. they're stubborn and lazy. >> but they're cute. >> people love them for that. >> just like bill. >> that's right. >> stubborn, lazy and cute. >> send the hate mail to lynn. good morning. continuing to watch that big storm from yesterday pushing out into canada. it's still lingering, a very chilly, raw day, the third day in a row in new england, day three people start to get

annoyed. the sun tries to peek out today more than yesterday. tomorrow will be even better. we're slowly going to improve the weather conditions here. we still have the rain and snow out there. looks like we'll get the clear skies down in the carolinas. when you get to late april, as long as you get the sun out there, it will be warm. where it's going to stay cloudy in new england, that's where it's also going to be chilly, too. as far as the snow goes, there's not a lot left. just a little in western new york. you can see the snow showers by buffalo, niagara falls, jamestown, new york. we really didn't get the heavy snow amounts in buffalo, pittsburgh, erie or youngstown. it was more or less the mountainous areas, tell vegass about 2,000 feet picked up 6 to 12 inches. we got the snow, but because the big cities didn't get hit that hard, we didn't see the widespread power outages, which is great. today, heading out this morning, d.c., philly, new york, all the big cities thshgs isthis will be the coldest morning of the week and the coldest

temperatures you'll experience until next winter. you'll neat ted the heater in t car and warm jacket one more day. the warm weather is out west, 80s in denver to montana. still cool around chicago, 60s, some of that warm air will head into new england today. with a little bit of sunshine, we should see highs in the low 60s in ds.c. that will feel a lot better than yesterday. in the southeast, it's getting to the time where atlanta you can enjoy 68 because you know the holt weather is on its way. coming up, kellogg's crunches, netflix clinches and barb barbie's royal friends make their debut across the pond. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. come chg up, the rangers force a game seven, the do coyo make history. and a new low for the new orleans saints. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

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welcome back to "first

look." i'm lynn berry. here's some of the top stories making news this morning. according to a new report, after four decades, mexican immigration to the united states has reversed, with more people heading south of the border. the reasons given include the weaker u.s. economy and increased border enforcement. at the trial of former presidential candidate john edwards, a former aide testified about an alleged 2008 plot to use illegal payments to hide an pa fair. the judge said the aide may have violated federal law by recently contactsing other witnesses. singer and actress jennifer hudson took the stand in the trial of the man accused of killing her mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. hudson said the family had been against her sister marrying the defendant. a new company is man r planning to find near-earth asteroids which can be mined for precious metals with robotic probes. the company's backers include james cameron and google co-founder larry page.

and in china newly released surveillance video shows a girl falling through the sidewalk that just gave way underneath her. a cabdriver did stop to help. he climbed into the 20-foot-deep hole, then firefighters were able to get them both out safely. thankfully. now here is your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,927 after losing 102 points yesterday. the s&p lost 11, the nasdaq fell 30. taking a look overseas, in tokyo, the nikkei down 74 points but in hong kong the hang seng was up 52. despite recent drastic budget cuts, europe's debt crisis appears to be deepening. yesterd making matters worse, the dutch government collapsed monday, a day after nicolas sarkozy lost the first round of france's presidential election. concerns over europe pushed down

the price of crude by 77 cents a barrel to settle just above $103 a barrel. kellogg's slashed its full-year profit forecast sending shares down 6%. walmart stores sank nearly 5%, the biggest drag on the dow in the wake of an alleged corruption scandal in mexico. hasbro tumbled also, an uptick in mortgage and commercial lending at sun trust bank cricketed to its better than expected earnings report. elsewhere, facebook's first quarterly revenue slide in at least two years has experts buzzing about what a slowdown in growth might mean for its upcoming ipo. today investors will be watching apple, the company weighs in with earnings after the bell. and keep an eye on netflix. after yesterday's close, shares plunged 13% after a rare earnings miss. and finally in honor of prince william and duchess

kate's first royal wedding anniversary this month, a special commemorative set of dolls from mattel is hid hiting shelves at one store in england. the limited he gigs digs figures have already sold out in the u.s. at 160 bucks a set. the yanks romp over the rangers. more trouble for the saints. and the nets say good-bye to new jersey. plus, the nfl's top-seeded rangers are sent to a decisive game seven. your look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. this at&t 4g network is fast.

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in sforts last night, record saves by the coyotes' net minder helped them blank the blackhawks, advancing them to round two of the stanley cup playoffs. here's nbc's fred roggin. >> good morning. it took 16 years, but the phoenix coyotes have finally won a playoff series. how's this for company? nhl legends along with michael jord jordan, unfortunately for chicago, all the 0 fensz was in the stands. mike smith spectacular between the pipes, a 39-save shutout. coyotes blew the game wide open with three goals in the third, went on to eliminate the blackhawks with a 4-0 win. they take on nashville next. new york's big free agent signing brad richard came through.

rangers won 3-2, game seven is thursday. football just when you thought it couldn't get any worse for the new orleans saints it has. according to reports, saints gm mickey loomis had an electronic device that allowed him to eavesdrop on visiting teams from 2002-2004. if this is true, it's not only an floofl violation, it could be a criminal violation. the nets will move to brooklyn. they lost today. baseball, ivan rodriguez put his ceremonial spin on the fist pitch. he ran from home to second. a-rod with a three-run bomb in the fifth, that's the difference. yankees win 7-4. how about a walk-off under the lights at wrigley. two abored for joe mather.

single up the middle, in came the tying run, in came the winning run. cubs walked off with a two-run win pf. >> now for a look at the weather, we check back in with nbc meteorologist bill karins. good morning once again. little chilly. maybe a lot. >> i dmoent why i'm wearing short sleeves. i'm trying to channel spring. >> someone was angry because they had to turn on the heat in the car. >> taking it out on you? >> i deserve that. >> i know nothing of that. >> we're watching cold air in the northeast, snow is pretty much over with, just snow showers. the accumulating snow is done it. we're happy to report in buffalo we only got about inch, rochester, two or three, pittsburgh saw nothing. we turned out better than we thought. no complaints about that. i think we're happy with that. also some rain up in maine, that's about it. we'll probably be mostly cloudy throughout the day. the air mass is so cold, even if

the warm april sun warms up the ground, it will form more clouds. appreciate any sunshine you see from d.c. all the way back up to southern new england because you won't see a lot of it. most showers are to the north. as far as the rainfall, not a lot gotion on. remember, this is late april now, this is the peak of our tornado season. we haven't talked tornado in about a week now. there's really no tornado outbreaks in the near future. just a little bit of light rain late tonight in kentucky and tennessee. we have a west coast storm going throughout wednesday into thursday. overall, it's a quiet weather pattern now for the rest of this week and a slow warm-up for the east coast. i think we deserve it and we'll just take it and appreciate it while we get a little break here from extreme weather. florida is looking nice today, cool but 70s. enjoy that. and it looks like as we go towards tomorrow, a few storms in the mourn plains. but remember this is tornado season. this is the time of year we dealt with the tuscaloosa and bir birmingham and horrible weather last year. coming up, an ugly divorce

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welcome back to "first look." time now for a little entertainment news. rumors for months, lifetime made it official monday, lindsay lohan's big comeback role will be elizabeth taylor. it will focus on her up-and-down relationship with richard burton. no word on who will play burton. actress susan sarandon says

she was denied security clearance for a white house visit and charges the government is tapping her phone. demi lovato tells "people" she's on the road to recovery after suffering from bulimia and drug. ryan seacrest, "american idol's" host since the show debuted has signed a two-year extension. he will reportedly continue to earn $15 million a year to host. >> they upped the age. you and i can try out. >> go to "american idol". >> we can try out now. >> what? i had no idea! oh, my gosh, this changes everything!

whew! i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early with willie geist" starts right now. mitt romney will rack up a bunch more delegates today with primaries in five northeast rnl states including pennsylvania where marco rubio got an audition yesterday as romney's wingman. the question is, what advice did romney get from one richard b. cheney about his veep pick? walmart this morning scrambling to stop the bleeding from a story published sunday in the "new york times" about a bribery scandal and cover-up with its stores in mexico. after losing nearly 5% on monday, the question is, will walmart continue to fall today? and in a story that interests only a handful of suckers like me who grew up watching the nets. the team played its last game in new jersey last night before it heads to brooklyn. the question is, what was governor chris christie's left than sendmental