baseball team. >> turning now to entertainment katy perry and john mayer's on again, off again relationship seems to be off yet again. the two called it quits seven months after rekindling their relationship. jennifer love hewitt, jennifer aniston, taylor swift and likely many more that we don't know about. girard butler participated in an ama tuesday and talked about the pain of doing his own stunts. the 43-year-old said he was hit in the eye by a bullet casing. he lost a fingernail and sustained bruises the size of melons and hit by exploding debris. sofia vergara is revealing she hopes to have more children and is freezing her eggs. and a princess die than gown

sold for $362,000. it set the bar high around the world. >> that's 300,000. how much would a wedding dress go for. >> historic gowns of jackie o, that kind of thing fetch a pretty penny. stay tuned. way too early starts right now. louie anderson nailing it. splash. i don't know what to say. another in a long line of great reality television. you have to stick around to see

kareem abdul jabbar. from 300 plus, i don't know what he is, to seven feet tall. sources tell us bill karins tried to jump to try out for that career. we care about him to scuttle that career. if you weren't up, you're out now. march 20th. we have a lot more serious things to cover including the results of the republican primary race in south carolina where former governor mark sanford matched up against a field of 18 other republicans, including ted turner. those results straight ahead. bill clinton getting involved in a kentucky senate race. not good news for ashley judd. democra "30 rock" in new york city. we begin overseas. air force one will touchdown in tel aviv for president obama's first trip since he was a

candidate back in 2008. a source of controversy of course. the president embarked on the trip yesterday evening has a packed schedule, including meetings with the israeli president and joint tpheus conference with prime minister benjamin netanyahu. a stalled peace process with the palestinians, there's a lot to talk about. peter alexander live in tel aviv. peter, what are we expecting today? >> reporter: well, he's got a busy trip, though it's not a very long one. we're in the city of jerusalem. bill, you can see on this gorgeous day, the old city of jerusalem, holy city. a senior administration official giving advice on the issue said this provides the opportunity for a reset between the relationship that the u.s. has with israel. in many ways this trip will be more about symbolism, though, than it is about substance. here they are billing as the unbreakable alliance. a little bit later today the president will meet with prime minister netanyahu.

the will focus on the iran's pursuit of nuclear weapons. they set low expectations in terms of any new progress in terms of the peace process between the israelis and palestinians. consider this a charm offensive of its own. listen to some of the statistics. a poll in israel recently showed, brian, 40% of israelis view the president's view of israel as hostile. just 10% of them have a favorable view of the president of the united states. that's something he's going to hope to change in the course of the time he is here. it's a busy trip, as we noted. tomorrow he will be on the west bank visiting mahmoud abbas. and the heading to jordan as well. >> people are upset he hasn't been there in five years. live in israel. let's get back to politics here in the u.s. the first leg of mark sanford's shot at political redemption is now complete. the former governor of south carolina easily clinched a spot in the run-off in the charleston

area congressional seat. what is still unclear who his opponent will be. a recount between curtis bostic and larry grooms, separated by less than 1%. sanford will try to cobble support for those who voted for other fields. the importance of putting the country's financial house in order. >> at the end of the day what we're all fighting for as fellow south carolinaians and americans is this larger notion about doing something on the tipping point that our civilization now finds itself. we have 40% of every dollar borrowed to sustain government. we have a fed that buys 75% of what the treasury spends every year. where we have a congressional budget office that says in just 12 years we will only have enough to pay for interest and entitled and nothing else.

>> now, if you watch way too early you know that already. elizabeth colbert-bush. the sister of stephen colbert. she stressed the importance of building up the workforce. >> we're going to continue with workforce development, continue with continuing education and we're going to make sure we have research technology and innovation that's going to make our next generation prepare for their intellectual move forward into the 21st century jobs. now to kentucky. new reporting suggests a number of big-time democrats not particularly thrilled with the idea of ashley judd challenging mitch mccouple in that state. some party leaders, including former president bill clinton, are trying to court another candidate, another female, allison lundergan grimes.

ms. judd will make her announcement later this spring, a claim she has denied. her sister said of course i'd vote for her. i don't agree with anything she says half the time. we're so different. but i love my sister. president obama's initiative to reduce violence in this country has been severely weakened. democratic majority leader harry reid said a ban on assault weapons. >> right now her amendment using the most optimistic numbers has less than 40 votes. that's not 60. i have no get something on the floor so we can have votes on that issue and the other issues that i talked about. and that's what i'm going to try to do. i'm not going to try to put something on the floor that won't succeed.

i want something that will succeed. senator dianne feinstein who sponsored the ban was irritated. she said, obviously i'm disappointed. i tried my best, but my best, i guess, was not good enough. you'd think the congress would listen, but they clearly listen to the national rifle association. the ban would have outlawed 160 semiautomatic weapons and limited the size of magazines to 10 rounds. leaders are now debating which proposals will be included under consideration, a measure that would make it a felony to purchase a gun for someone else, a grant program for school security, and expansion of background checks to private gun sales. that push for background checks which shows most americans support may not be included after negotiations with schumer and colbert installed earlier in the year. a bill is expected next month. the two-year-old conflict in

syria is entering a critical stage. they are accusing each other of using chemical weapons. the syrian state news agency reports at least 25 people were killed yesterday. american officials said they are looking into allegations while white house press secretary issued a warning to the assad regime. >> we have no evidence to substantiate the charge that the opposition has used chemical weapons. warn the regime against making these kind of charges as any kind of pretext or cover for its use of chemical weapons. >> neither side has provided any documentation that chemical agents have been used. but following intelligence briefings the chairs of both the house and senate intelligence committees say they believe president assad has crossed the so-called red line in the civil war. >> i think the days are becoming more desperate, the regime is

more desperate. we know where the chemical weapons are. it's not a secret that they're there. and i think the probabilities are very high that we're going into some very dark times. and i think the white house needs to be prepared. >> i have a high probability to believe that chemical weapons were used. we need the final verification. given everything we know over the last year and a half, i would come to the conclusion that they are either positioned for use and ready to do that or in fact, have been used. both of those scenarios i think we need to step up in the community to prevent a humanitarian disaster we haven't seen since 25 years ago in iraq. lindsey graham also spoke saying the, we need to come up with a plan to secure these

weapons sites, either in con skwrupgz with our partners or if anything else by ourselves. if the choice is to send in troops to secure the weapons sites i vote to cut this off before it becomes a problem. world health organization would not verify if patients were seeing treatment for chemical weapons. well, it's been just one week since pope francis was elected. already it's establishing a message of humility and compassion resonating quite well with catholics all over the world. as anne thompson reports, those themes were on full display during yesterday's inauguration. pope francis preached with actions as well as words. out of his open air jeep to bless a disabled man, stopping to kiss children, and urging the 200,000 people in st. peter's square to be protected of the

poor, the weak, and of the environment. >> i think he will challenge all of us to live a deeper life of faith. >> eager crowds raced into the square. ♪ >> they saw francis receive the symbols of power. a lamb's wool stoll symbolizing shepherd of the flock. during mass to an audience that included several world leaders -- francis said authentic power is service. and the pope, too must serve. >> he seems like a humble man and someone the people can reach out and identify with. >> in buenos aries, jubilation. they stayed up all night to watch the early morning mass and were rewarded by a phone call from the pontiff who asked them to take care of one another and

pray for him. francis's first job is to clean up the vatican bureaucracy. >> he can restore pizzazz, transparency. >> after mass, he shared a moment with vice president joe biden. a man with a gentle, approachable demeanor charged with restoring the faith of so many shattered by scandal. >> the church is not a one-man show. he's not going to do it all. but if he can conspire 1.2 billion catholics to be missionaries, then the church has a bright future around the world. >> seems like a good guy. that was anne thompson reporting. there's word this morning president obama sent a private message to the new pontiff. now to the fiscal crisis in europe where cyprus's future in the eurozone is in doubt after the small island nation's parliament rejected the bailout deal. it included a highly unpopular

tax on private savings accounts failed to collect a single yes vote. for more, let's check in with with my cube mate in cyprus. michelle, you made it. >> reporter: yeah, we made it finally after lots of delays. now it's mission critical and a search for plan b. last night the parliament roundly said we don't want to attach the deposits of the banking system here. but the situation is they still have to come up with nearly 6 billion euros. remember what the end game here. this country has gone to other european countries and said we need a total of 17 billion euro toss bail out our banks and keep our government afloat. and they said we'll give you 10 billion. you have to contribute something yourself. you know where all the money is in this country? it's in the banking system. it's a huge banking system, eight times the size of their economy. consider this, brian, if the us banking system was as big

relative to the u.s. economy as cyprus is, we would have 45 more banks the size of jpmorgan in the united states. that's how big it is. that's why there's a need to tax deposits. that's where the money is. that's the only way this country will be able to come up with it. that's the struggle. now they're off to russia. minister of finances hope they get money out of that country. it's not clear that's going to happen, at least not in time to save the banking system. of course here as always we want to know why are you awake? shoot us an e-mail or tweet me @billschactman. they have espn and air force one will show you which teams the basketball fan picked. that's next in sports >> leave it to reality tv.

we have more great diving. highlights from the new celebrity diving show "splash" which i did watch a few minutes of. check it out when way too early comes back. >> someone released poison gas inside the tokyo subway system. military nerve gas. some of the passengers on five separate trains were killed in stpapbtly. instantly. most people think that after an accident,

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once-a-day xarelto®. xarelto® is the first and only once-a-day prescription blood thinner for patients with afib not caused by a heart valve problem, that doesn't require routine blood monitoring. like warfarin, xarelto® is proven effective to reduce the risk of an afib-related stroke. there is limited data on how these drugs compare when warfarin is well managed. no routine blood monitoring means bob can spend his extra time however he likes. new zealand! xarelto® is just one pill a day, taken with the evening meal. and with no dietary restrictions, bob can eat the healthy foods he likes. do not stop taking xarelto® rivaroxaban without talking to the doctor who prescribes it for you. stopping may increase your risk of having a stroke. get medical help right away if you develop any signs or symptoms of bleeding, like unusual bruising or tingling. you may have a higher risk of bleeding if you take xarelto® with aspirin products, nsaids or blood thinners. talk to your doctor before taking xarelto® if you currently have abnormal bleeding.

xarelto® can cause bleeding, which can be serious, and rarely may lead to death. you are likely to bruise more easily on xarelto®, and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. tell your doctors you are taking xarelto® before any planned medical or dental procedures. before starting xarelto®, tell your doctor about any conditions, such as kidney, liver or bleeding problems. ready to change your routine? ask your doctor about once-a-day xarelto®. for more information including cost support options, call 1-888-xarelto or visit goxarelto.com. 5:47 a.m. eastern time. i always love that view of washington, d.c. and of course, bill, i just came off vacation. i was at 80 degrees and i came home to this? >> eek.

>> spring is now, right? >> 1:15. old man winter, bye-bye. >> and more storms coming? >> i put my request in that he shuts the door to canada. that's cold. i'm blaming canada for all the cold air. the snowstorm very impressive. 6 to 12 inches in much of new england, especially northern new england. that is leaving us. it's cold enough we're dealing with lake-effect snow. these windchills bitterly cold in the midwest. now they have made it to the east coast. windchills from new york city to boston in the 20s. d.c. not bad, 32. buffalo to albany in the teens. that's nothing compared to the northern plains. windchills brutal. green bay, negative 2. chicago, 9. if you're in the northern half of the country it's a struggle. even with sunshine it will be very chilly. we stay in this winter pattern at least the next week. only the southern half of the country will be a little more mild. it's going to be rainy on and

off especially in the southeast. we have been talking about the potential for more additional snow. this is our extended range computer. it shows as we go through the weekend it looks like colorado, kansas, to possible missouri will be the targets for the next round of snow. the east coast, still looking okay. the storm for monday of next week will be a close call. it looks like it should be mostly rain. >> thanks, bill. appreciate it. we turn to sports and the opening round of the ncaa tournament. north carolina and liberty facing off. jump to the end of the south half. aggies lead by three. sanders with a great look to the inside. that's a nice cut. hits the layup. it's a one-point game. missed foul shot. sanders rebounds. liberty has one final try for the win. goes the length of the floor. and no dice. north carolina, a and t survive. they face louisville on

thursday. no number 16th seed has ever beaten a number one. second half. holt opening up a 13-point lead with a jumper behind the arc. cruises 67-54. they play 6 seed memphis. on the schedule tonight, round 1 with boise state/lasalle. and in the east, liu brooklyn will face james madison. the winner advance toss play top seeded indiana. president barack obama made his tournament predictions filling out his bracket in his annual espn interview. the president's final four. no big upset. indiana/ohio state. ohio state an overachiever. louisville/florida. kentucky isn't even in the tournament this year. his full bracket later today >> the dominican republic

dominated the world baseball classic beating puerto rico. reyes, ramirez. and canoe took home mvp honors. big time the u.s. did not do well. at the top of the hour, "morning joe", president obama set to touchdown in israel in a few minutes. jane harman joins the crew to break down the significance of this visit and what it means for u.s. foreign policy moving forward. when we come back, the water cooler watching democracy at its finest. another political brawl in the ukrainian parliament. we have diving and fighting in the parliament. more details when "way too early" comes back. max and penny kept our bookstore

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all right. time for the water cooler. democracy in action. ukrainian style. check it out in the parliament yesterday. where is it going to start? always looking for where it's going to start. push, push, push. just a melee breaks out. fistacuffs. somebody obviously spoke russian

and they want to speak ukrainian. there was nearly an identical brawl back in december when the members clashed over voting for a new speaker. no blood, no foul i guess. heavyweight champion klitschko did not throw any punches. they have officially run out of ideas. abc debuted another reality show of celebrities that you forgot existed last night. it is" splash." that's kareem abdul jabbar. how did the nba's all time leading scorer seven footer, how did he do? that's a good outfit, by the way. just take a look at the clip.

he got applause for that one. they should put him on the higher one. he can't even get a rotation from that height. he scored a 7.25 out of 10. no word what the russian judge gave. the bar pretty low when your athletic competition is the likes of comedian louis anderson. reminding me of one of those old mtv spring break shows, right? believe it or not, kareem and louis got the exact same score.

still ahead on "way too early," why are you awake? next on "morning joe", of course just a few moments away, dan. ♪ ♪ no two people have the same financial goals. pnc works with you to understand yours and help plan for your retirement. visit a branch or call now for your personal retirement review. [ bop ] [ bop ] [ bop ] you can do that all you want, i don't like v8 juice. [ male announcer ] how about v8 v-fusion. a full serving of vegetables, a full serving of fruit. but what you taste is the fruit. so even you... could've had a v8.