>> the president may look a little disconnected focusing on the ncaa. >> he is so disconnected. how dare he. basketball is terrible. the american people hate basketball. he is so disconnected. the republican party right now is going through a period of reflection, especially about the issue of its own connection with the american people. why is it people see this president and his party as being more in touch than, say, the stuffy old men of the republican party, which is the term their party chairman used to describe the image of his party this week. on monday, the chairman of the republican party, reince priebus, tried to head off members of his party and the conservative movement from attacking the president on the basketball thing again this year. he told politico that they have divorced from the future. they complained about the president quote talking hoops for a half hour on espn. he said it is time for republicans to get smarter about these things. quote, i think we've got to get with it. okay.

so right. so the president does something normal and human relatable to most people in the country, try not to attack him for that one thing. take on the president on policy, if you're going to beat him, do it on substance. reince priebus is getting with it. the rest of the republican party is not getting with this. soon after the president appeared this year on espn, it was like clock work. the chair of the republican study committee issued a statement saying president obama's ncaa bracket is a shocking failure of leadership. house republican conference put this video on youtube, echoing the same complaint. how dare he. all kinds of congressional republicans, including house speaker john boehner went on twitter insisting obama should stop this outrage of liking sports. get off my lawn! it is march madness, republican style.

the first day of spring, the annual opportunity for house republicans to turn over an old leaf they know they shouldn't turn over any more but they can't stop themselves. also clearly it is going to be gonzaga.

peter alexander is traveling with peter, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. the new attacks emphasize the importance of reaching a peace deal between the israelis and palestinians. and on that very topic, even as we speak right now live in the west bank city of ramallah, the president within the last five minutes touching down there by marine one, the u.s. helicopter. he is visiting with the palestinian authority president mahmoud abbas. this is the president's first visit with abbas. their conversation, of course, will focus on the potential for peace plan between the two sides. the president, however,

yesterday indicated that he is really here to listen. administration officials have noted that their priority on this trip is to listen. they are not coming with any new plan and any effort to relaunch peace talks. secretary of state john kerry will revisit with prime minister of israel benjamin netanyahu a couple days from now as they try to begin that new conversation in earnest. just a short time ago on this his second day here in israel, the president did a little of cultural stops, going to israel museum where he saw what are referred to as the dead sea scrolls. these are ancient hebrew text that sort of highlight the connection between the jewish people and this land here. the state of israel. but during the conversation with reporters yesterday, the president once again showed that he has israel's back. that's the exact language that he used on the topic of iran. he said that he will do whatever is necessary to prevent iran from getting its hands on

nuclear weapons. he referred to them as the world's worst weapons. >> all right, peter alexander, thank you. all day long, stay with nbc for complete coverage of president obama's historic trip to the middle east. a new report this morning is sounding the alarm on the intelligence community. this morning's "washington post" claims u.s. spy agencies are dropping the ball when it comes to key national security hot spots. the findings came out of a 2012 panel of white house advisors including now defense secretary chuck hagel. agencies like the cia are ignoring places like china and the middle east to instead focus on current military operations and drone strikes. advisors say operations have been side lined by more than a decade of conflict dating back to just after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. the white house has not commented publicly on the report but recent remarks from some top officials suggest they share the panel's concerns. north korea issues a new threat to the united states. the country says they will waste

no time attacking american military bases in japan and on the island nation of guam if they're provoked. those threats come a day after the leader ran a mock drone strike on south korea and prepped for a possible air raid. pyongyang stepped up the rhetoric in recent days over hostile on going military drills between south korea and the u.s. although north korea is believed to lack the technology to carry out such an attack, washington is deploying more arsenal to counteract the threat. colorado police search for the cold blooded killer of the head of the state's department of corrections. 58-year-old tom clemens was shot at his front door in monument north of colorado springs. investigators say the position is executive director of the corrections department, there could be any number of people who may have had motive to target him. state police have few leads. they are looking for a vehicle that according to a neighbor was left running just outside the home minutes before the murder.

>> that's being described as something similar to a late '80s, early' 9 o's lincoln. it's a boxy style vehicle, if you will. it's a two door. it's dark in color. it's either black or some other dark color. it is described as shiny. >> just yesterday colorado governor john hickey signed into law the toughest gun legislation in the country. and now here's your first look at this morning's dish of cram scrambled politics. >> they issued a bill to stop the nfl team from using redskins as a federal trade mark. washington has been using the name redskins since 1933 and officially registered redskins in 1967. texas senator ted cruz continues to make waves. recently he objected to a routine senate resolution commemorating multiple sclerosis awareness week.

his office said cruz had less than 48 hours to review it and wanted more time to read the document which was a whopping 500 words. president obama came to israel bearing gifts for the prime minister and his family. mrs. netanyahu received stationary by designer charles maxwell and a sterling silver orchid broach. the prime minister's daughter got custom candle sticks and both of his sons received custom bronze goblets. at the press conference earlier today, both the president and prime minister had opening statements. but the event was limited to two questions from israeli journalists and two from americans. so when our own chuck todd asked a multipart question, he got called out on it. >> another question i have for you. >> clubbing, you say you get one question and then you add. you see how the young lady from channel 1, she had one question.

>> this is not a kosher question but don't hog it. >> chuck, mine, you're incorrigib incorrigible. a bakery owner is selling a special bagel in honor of the president obama visit. he baked a cheese filled obama bagel in 2008. this time around, his bagel is empty in the middle. the baker says that's because expectations and enthusiasm for mr. obama changed and the economic situation is worse. to promote the white house easter egg roll april 1st, new video is released of beau the dog searching eggs on his easter aeg hunt of his own. he did pretty well. and actress and comedian tina fey was on inside the actor's studio and she got to answer questions in her sarah palin's voice including one about people buying guns. >> i believe that if everybody

had guns, then there would be fewer guns in the stores. >> and that's your morning's dish of scrambled politics. and now for your morning look at the weather, here's bill karins. good morning. >> yeah. >> you missed that. >> i know. she does it just enough. you want more. exactly. the way to do it. >> much unlike the weather. we don't want any more of that. >> i probably can show you snow, but we're going to show you impressive hail instead. this is a storm that rolled through the houston area. just shredded awnings. it's not like the hail was large. it wasn't the baseball sized hail. it was just very intense. it sounded -- it kacame down in buckets and broke windows in the area, too. we're not going to see anything like that today. let's talk cold. we're much colder right now this time of year than we were last year. last year at this point we didn't have any snow on the ground. only 20% of the country was snow covered last time.

now we have 30% snow coverage. look at new england and the great plains. when you have the snow on the ground and the cold air coming down from canada, it doesn't warm up as much as we would like. that's what keeps it cold and chilly. yesterday the highs were in the 20s in the great lakes and the wind chills were in the teens and single digits all day long. so until we melt this snow, it's going to stay very cold. it's another very cold morning. we have snow pack over the great lakes. look at the wind chill in chicago, green bay and detroit. we don't have a lot of bad weather out there today with snow and stuff like that. it is going to be very chilly once again even with partial sunshine in the northern half of the country. a little bit of light snow for our friends in southern new england this morning. again, nothing horrible. we just have to start melting the snow. >> yeah, we want spring to show up. >> thanks, bill. >> two huge rocket engines from apollo moon missions have been recovered from the depths of the atlantic ocean. after more than 40 years, the rusted f-1 engines have been brought up from the ocean floor by a private expedition paid for

by jeff bezos. they fell back to earth once the fuel is spent. they're 19 feet tall, 12 feet wide and they weight over 18,000 pounds. so far they can't identify which mission the rockets were from. nasa called it a historic find and bezos says it was an incredible adventure. a major company wants workers to step on the scale or face fat fines. guantanamo bay prison isn't closing any time season. there is new information about a $150 million plan to overhaul gitmo. plus, who would crash a $250,000 car and just walk away? you're watching "first look" on msnbc. i'm the world's worst cleaning lady.

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the senate has passed a spending bill. it passed with bipartisan support and now heads to the house for consideration. a $150 million plan by the pentagon to overhaul guantanamo

bay is drawing criticism. the proposed makeover will include a new dining hall, hospital, and barracks for guards. it comes as protests from detainees are on the rise with hunger strikes tripling in the last two weeks. south korea believes china is behind a recent cyber attack after officials there say the breech originated from a chinese ip address. the attack wednesday brought down network servers of tv stations as well as compute irsoftware of two major banks. photos released this morning of the seven marines killed this week when a mortar exploded during a training exercise in nevada. the men range in age from 19 to 26. one had enlisted less than a year ago and six were veterans of the war in afghanistan. the american academy of pediatrics is throwing support behind same-sex marriage and the right of the couples to adopt children. leaders say marriage helps to guarantee benefits and long term security for children. currently 18 states and the district of columbia allow same-sex couples to participate in joint adoption. and the vegas strip came to

a stand still wednesday and nearly 100 people were arrested while protesting against the he could mow poll tan casino. union workers have been negotiating a contract with the casino's owner since it opened two years ago. so just where is the economy headed? according to ben bernanke, the economy is improving, however, interest rates will stay low for now and until unemployment falls below 6.5%. more economic clues today from nike after the bell investors will be looking at the global retailer's future orders. china trends and gross margins for a read on consumer demand in china and here at home. expectations are climbing for this morning's february existing home sales numbers which are seen coming in higher than january. and cash strapped cyprus, banks are still closed and late night meetings broke up with no new plan b to fund the island's much needed bailout. closer to home, cvs is weighing in on the policy requiring employees to record

their weight and body fat or face a health insurance premium. all data collected during health screenings is private. fans of starbucks will be happy to know that beginning in may they can also rack up rewards points with packaged coffee purchases at grocery and drug stores. meanwhile, walmart is expanding its scan and go program allowing customers to use their smart phones before breezing through a self checkout. the pilot program will pop-up in 200 stores nationwide. mcdonald's in china has a new gut busting hamburger. the sausage double beef hamburger is just that, two patties, two sausage links and mustard on a bun. finally, thanks to all those cute pug pubies in the bathtub, youtube is celebrating a new milestone averaging one million users. are the miami heat unbeatable? they just locked in their 24th win in a row. plus, it could be considered

a crime if you yell bingo in a crowded seniors center and don't really have five in a row. that story coming up next. many cereals say they're good for your heart, but did you know there's a cereal that's recommended by doctors? it's post shredded wheat. recommended by nine out of ten doctors to help reduce the risk of heart disease. post shredded wheat is made with only one ingredient: one hundred percent whole grain wheat, with no added sugar or salt. try adding fruit for more health benefits and more taste in your bowl. it's the ideal way to start your heart healthy day. try post shredded wheat. this has been medifacts for post shredded wheat. and you'll dump your old duster. but don't worry, he'll find someone else. ♪ who's that lady?

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does not replace fast-acting inhalers for sudden symptoms. tell your doctor if you have kidney problems, glaucoma, trouble urinating, or an enlarged prostate. these may worsen with spiriva. discuss all medicines you take, even eye drops. stop taking spiriva and seek immediate medical help if your breathing suddenly worsens, your throat or tongue swells, you get hives, vision changes or eye pain, or problems passing urine. other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. (blowing sound) ask your doctor about spiriva. newly released video from september shows a bus driver kicking and autistic 8-year-old off the bus causing her to fall and break her ankle. the driver says the girl slapped and pushed her when told to take turns getting off the bus. the driver has since been fired and faces multiple child abuse

charges. rnlg turning to texas, a teenager is lucky to be alive after his car plunged off the top deck of a five story parking garage. the teen was racing another car whether he drove off and that he would likely have been killed if he was not wearing a seat belt. now back to florida where a robbery suspect head butted a police officer as being handcuffed. the man was immediately pushed to the ground, had his ankled tied and lifted into the back of a police cruiser. in california, this one is a head scratcher. two people fled the scene after crashing a lamborghini they purchased that same day. the $250,000 sportscar was left in the middle of the street. dealer plates and all. and in kentucky, you can't yell fire at a crowded theater but can you yell bingo in a crowded bingo hall? 18-year-old oscar waily learned the hard way after he what was cited for shouting the word last month. he is banned from using the word bingo for the next six months and he even had to change the dog walking route to avoid the

bingo hall. shame on him. turning to our top stories, i'm joined by bob franken. good morning. >> good morning. can't say bingo? >> not if you don't have five in a row you better not. listen, we have a fascinating story about the republican party being in the hands of marco rubio and rand paul, two very different types. are they really the future of the party or are they just the flavor of the week while the party tries to get itself together? >> i think they're the flavor of the week. quite frankly, if i were rand paul and marco rubio, i'd be worried for peaking way too soon. chances are that there are going to be people that come out november where. as a matter of fact, there's one who's already starting to make noise, a neurosurgeon with no experience in politics named ben carson. he's the kind of person that normally ends up being the nominee of the party. you don't have to look any further back than to the democrats. remember when barack obama was somebody nobody knew? >> right. doesn't seem like that languaon.

now let's switch to the president's trip to the middle east. how effective have obama and bb been in warming up the relationship? >> all of a sudden, they've become bffs which is strange considering where they came from. but they're making an effort to try and look like they're marching in lock step which is probably a serious value when it comes to iran. iran, of course, has to make sure that it doesn't underestimate the resolve the two countries. the bigger problem for obama and netanyahu, of course, is dealing with the palestinians with israel locked into the expansion of settlements at the very time that the palestinians are saying there is nothing to talk about and israel continues to posture. >> all right, bob franken, thank you for your time. we appreciate it. thank you. >> turning to sports, an amazing nba come back. a homecoming in cleveland for lebron james who had a triple-double as miami overcame a 27 point deficit and the heat squeaked by the cavs 98-95 and

in the process upped their 24th straight win. in the first round of the ncaa tournament, two number 16 seeds and james madison university beat liu brooklyn 68-55 to advance to the second round which starts tomorrow with 16 games. they'll play top seed indiana friday. and then two number 13 seeds, will he sal debeated boise state. they advance to face kansas state. president obama filled out his ncaa brackets. he predicted number one seed louisville will make it to the final fourment he also chose ohio state, florida gators and indiana, his choice to win it all, indiana. indiana and the chicago bears could not agree on the new contract for brian urlacher so he becomes a free agent after 13 years and nine time pro bowl safety ed reed left the baltimore ravens after 11 seasons and signed with the houston texans. golfer tiger woods says he and lindsey vaughn went public

with their relationship so that paparazzi couldn't make as much money from any pictures they took of the couple. >> well, it's very simple. you know, we're very happy. but also we want to limit the paparazzi and all the sleazy web sites that are out there. >> woods says he's had situations that were dangerous for his kids because of celebrity photographers. just ahead, a big story concerning mad men's john hand and the blogosphere is buzzing about it. [ male announcer ] i've seen incredible things.

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did you see this today? president obama filled out his ncaa