life? oh, right, willie's doing all right with himself. i'm bill karins. this is "way too early." thanks for being up with us. we have a lot of news to talk about, including an update on the health of former south african president, nelson mandela. we'll tell you what doctors are saying about his position. and president obama doubles down on his push for new gun laws in the wake of the newtown massacre. but the legislation faces a tough climb in congress. and senator marco rubio joins a group of republicans threatening a filibuster. let's get to the rest of the news live here at 5:30 a.m. at 30 rock in new york city. we'll begin with north korea, which is rapidly stepping up its rhetoric and posture against the united states. the country has put rocket units on standby, saying they are willing to fire in the south pacific. kim jong-un says the north is ready to settle accounts with the u.s. imperialists. the announcements came after the u.s. flew a pair of nuclear-capable stealth bombers over south korean air space.

deployed from a base in missouri, they practiced dropping bombs on a south korean range, nearly 6,500 miles away. defense secretary chuck hagel says the pentagon has not taken the regime's threats lightly. >> is north korea more dangerous today? i think they're very provocative actions and belligerent tone has ratcheted up the danger. and we have to understand that reality. >> on tuesday, kim jong-un threatened to fire on guam, hawaii, and the u.s. mainland. and has recently put ground troops and artillery on standby. and pyongyang even released a propaganda video earlier this month showing the u.s. capitol and white house under attack. the situation in syria grows worse by the day. mortar shells fell on the ca

cafeteria at damascus university killing at least 15 students and wounding at least 20 more. so far, it's unclear which side is responsible for the attack, but fighting has only intensified in the capital, as residents try to force president assad from office. meanwhile, a former u.s. soldier was charged here at home for conspiring to use a rocket-propelled grenade while fighting in syria. eric harroun is accused of fighting alongside a group commonly known as al qaeda in iraq. he even posted videos on youtube and facebook, videos that were cited in fbi affidavits. >> bashar al assad, your days are numbered. you're going down in flames. you should just quit now while you can and leave. you're going to die, no matter what. >> harroun's father said his son is a patriot. former south african president nelson mandela has had health problems in the past, but his latest hospitalization was unplanned and that sparked real concern about his condition. officials are monitoring the

94-year-old who's suffering from a lung infection. it's a reoccurring ailment linked with tuberculosis he contracted during his more than two decades in prison. nbc's rohi catra reports from south africa. >> nelson mandela is said is responding to treatment. >> nelson mandela's health -- >> pray for mandela. >> reporter: the news quickly spread around the world, nelson mandela rushed to the hospital, the third hospitalization in four months, but this time officials were not calling it scheduled or routine. >> former president nelson mandela is responding positively to the treatment he's receiving for a recurring lung infection. >> reporter: photographed with his great grandson last month, mandela looked healthy, but he's 94 now, increasingly frail, and rarely seen in public. south africa's current president, jacob zuma, spoke about the health of his famous predecessor, the man known as madiva, saying we appeal to the

people of south africa and the world to pray for our beloved m madiva and keep him in their thoughts. and many did pray. the system of apartheid that mandela spent 27 years in prison for resisting before he finally prevailed. >> we have to ask in god to let him live longer. >> i wish him a speedy recovery and we love him so much. >> president obama meeting with african leaders at the white house, express concern for mandela's health. >> he's a hero, i think, to all of us. i'm sure that i spoke for the other leaders here. and, you know, we will be keeping him in our thoughts and prayers and his entire family. >> reporter: south africa is a young country and most people here have no memory of mandela's years in captivity the so-called born free generation. but he remains an iconic,

towering figure. >> nbc reporting. back here at home, democrats and gun control advocates are making a tough stand in the fight for stricter gun laws. on a day where more than 100 rallies and other events were held throughout the country, president obama made an impassioned plea for the nation's lawmakers to remember the tragedy in newtown, connecticut. >> the notion that two months or three months after something as horrific as what happened in newtown happens, and we've moved on to other things, that's not who we are. less than a hundred days ago that happened. and the entire country was shocked. the entire country pledged we would do something about it and this time would be different. shame on us if we've forgotten. >> the president also spoke about the rhetoric surrounding the debate, saying anyone who wants to see stronger gun control laws has to make sure

their voices are heard. >> there are some powerful voices on the other side that are interested in running up a clock or changing the subject or drowning out the majority of the american people to prevent any of these reforms from happening at all. they're doing everything they can to make all of our progress collapse under the weight of fear and frustration or their assumption is that people will just forget about it. if you think that checking someone's criminal record before you can check out a gun show is common sense, you've got to make yourself heard. tears aren't enough, expressions of sympathy aren't enough. speeches aren't enough. now's the time to turn that heartbreak into something real. >> the nra was quick to criticize the white house event, tweeting, the economy is weak, national debt is mounting, too many americans are out of work. but obama campaigns against guns to please the french. meanwhile, republican marco rubio joined a handful of other senators, threatening to filibuster majority leader harry reid's vote on new gun laws. senator rubio wrote in a statement on his web page, "we

intend to oppose any legislation that would infringe on the american people's constitutional right to bear arms or on their ability to exercise this right without being subjected to government surveillance." "the washington post" reports two top democrat donors say they will refuse to raise a single cent for any lawmakers who oppose expanded background checks. and for the first time, we have a look inside. the disturbing stockpile of weapons assembled by the newtown shooter, 20-year-old adam lanza. according to search warrants released thursday, more than 165 items were recovered from his connecticut home. those items include more than 1,700 rounds of ammunition, two rifles and a pistol. also, 11 knives and three samurai swords. police found a certificate from the national rifle association among other training manuals for a variety of firearms. the nra denies having any membership relationships with lanza or his mother. a look at polling from our

first read political team shows a dramatic change in attitude about gay marriage. and not just from younger americans and liberals. some of the biggest shifts in support come from surprising demographics. african-americans have shifted 19% and blue-collar workers, 18% in just the last three years. we've been telling you about the rolling list of senators over the past month or so who have changed their stance to support same-sex marriage. now republican lisa murkowski of alaska tells a local paper that her views are, quote, evolving. echoing language president obama used during his first term, if you remember. now for some business headlines. the s&p set a new record yesterday, recovering all of its losses from the financial crisis. while the dow logged its strongest quarter in 15 years. however, the big story on wall street, netflix, which was the s&p's best performing stock. up more than 104% on the year. overseas, banks in cyprus have reopened, but with new restrictions limiting financial transactions. officials say the rules will

remain in place for at least the next month. and both blackberry and facebook are betting their futures on the smartphone market. blackberry reported a surprise fourth quarter profit. how'd they do that? and revealed it sold 1 million of its new z10 smartphones. facebook, meanwhile, is teasing a, quote, new home for android coming april 4th. suggesting a facebook phone may be on the way. a lot of money, a lot of players. and finally, pope francis has angered some conservatives in the catholic church by including women in a holy week ritual previously reserved for men. in his latest departure from vatican protocol, pope francis became the first pope in history to wash the feet of women on holy thursday. the pope visited a juvenile detention center and allowed two female inmates to join ten males in a ceremony where he washed, dried, and then kissed their feet. a vatican spokesman responded to the criticism, writing in an

e-mail, quote, here the right was for a small, unique community, made up also of women. seclu excluding the girls would have been inopportune in a light of the simple aim of communicating a message of love to all. let us now why you're awake. wehle read the best responses a little bit later in the show. still ahead on "way too early," syracuse faces top seed indiana for a top spot in the elite eight. plus, a preview of tonight's games including cinderella, florida gulf coast university. also ahead, willie trades early mornings for late-night. we'll show you what he and kim kardashian had to chat about last night on leno. don't miss it. that story and a check on your holiday forecast when "way too early" comes right back.

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other side effects include dry mouth and constipation. nothing can reverse copd. spiriva helps me breathe better. (blowing sound) ask your doctor about spiriva. i thought i made a really good argument to show the syracuse highlights before weather, but they are making me do weather first. washington, d.c., which was the site of those games last night, looking for a pretty good start to your holiday travel weekend. sunday, not so much. let's talk about that forecast. we're starting to warm up. it's a very slow process, but we're heading still in the right direction. not as cold this morning in the southeast, we're in the 40s, at least, in atlanta, instead of the 30s. still have to grab the jacket as you're heading out this morning for any of your travels. a little bit of light rain in missouri, heading through the areas in kentucky, nashville, memphis, little rock. you do need the umbrella today.

as far as the rain goes on this friday, today's probably the best day of travel if you're going to be in the air across the country. i really don't expect any significant travel delays at all. just a few areas of rain there, especially from oklahoma into arkansas, and a few showers in new england. but that's a very nice good friday forecast. as we head through the weekend, that storm intensifies in the middle of the country. a larger area of rain breaks out. if we have possible airport delays on saturday, we're talking stlug. louis, up to chicago, maybe minneapolis. it's not snow or ice, so it shouldn't be horrible. but if you're drive organize y flying through the ohio valley or northern plains. and then east sunday, all of that mess has to head to the east coast. it looks like it's going to be a rainy, glammy, soggy easter sunday from washington, d.c., through virginia, into portions of pennsylvania. i think in new england, from new york city northwards, i think you get sunday morning dry, but as you go towards easter dinner, there will be rain moving through almost all of the region. do prepare for that. also if you're joining us late tonight on the west coast, you

will also have to deal with a little bit of rain as we go throughout your easter sunday. that shouldn't wash out anyone's plans. now it's time for the good stuff. to sports where we're going to make everyone from indiana furious. these teams punched their tickets to the elite eight. number four syracuse taking on indiana for the first time since indiana stole that game back in 87. call me bitter bill. early in the first half, brandon trish finishes the breakaway dunk. the turnover haunted the hoos r hoosiehoosie hoosiers all night. and he sinks the three to cut to deficit to six. the game's close. this is a big shot. michael carter williams is hitting threes from the outside, syracuse has a good chance of winning and they pull away in this one. they go on for the easy win, 61-50. the lowest number of points that indiana scored all season. syracuse 2-3 zone really coming up big in the first three games of the tournament. kind of a disappointing season for indiana. pre-season number one team, they're going home to

bloomington. syracuse will be the winner of this one. number three seed marquette versus the little darlings from miami, acc tournament champion and regular season champion, vander blue tries to fadeaway. he goes down right before the buzzer. they take a 13-point lead into halftime. second half, more from marquette. jahmell wilson hits from beyond the arc. golden eagles up by over 18. over 11 minutes left, chris o'toole sinks the shot. the golden eagles win 71-61. this game was never close either. miami was extremely cold from the outside. so we've got an all big east elite eight matchup in the east with syracuse taking on marquette. marquette did win the regular season matchup there at a marquette home game. so it should be close. but also, i'll warn everyone, will be very ugly and low scoring. in the west, in what turned out to be the game of the night, number two seed ohio state taking on number six seed, arizona. pick it up with over a minute left. mark lions hits tough lay yaup.

arizona cuts the deficit to three. less than 30 seconds to play the wildcats, gives it to lions again. he gets the bucket and the foul. arizona ties it with a three-point play. we have drama. tied at 70, the deep three, ross for the lead! only two seconds to play. any miracle? arizona heaves it up, ah, it's tipped, it's deflected. that's the ball game. it was a thriller at the end, but ohio state wins, 73-70. it's their second game-winning three pointer of the tournament. the buckeyes are living dangerously, but they're headed back to the elite eight. to who's ohio state have to play on saturday? well, this is the bracket buster of all buster bracket busters, 13 seed lasalle facing number 19 witchta state for the right to play ohio state in the lead eight. this one, all shocker. armstead feeds hall for the layup and witchta state leads by 12 in the early going. more from witchta state. they get the turnover here and pushes it down the court.

ron barker gets it from the outside, that's the transition three. shockers go on to win in the route, 72-58. they're headed to the elite eight for the first time in 32 years. the witchta state shockers will face the buckeyes saturday in the west regional final. who had the witchta state team in the final four? and tonight, the rest of the elite eight will be decided in the midwest. overall, number one seed louisville will take on very hot number 12 seed oregon followed by the game of the night. this could be a final four game or championship game. michigan state taking on number two seed, duke. and in the south, number one seed kansas faces a red hot number four seed michigan team. later on, if you like cinderella stories and you want to root for an upset, this is the game of the night. tournament darlings, florida gulf coast will take on number three seed, florida, in the night cap. well, coming up in the top of the hour on "morning joe," president obama, who, by the way, also lost indiana last

night in his championship game, warns members of congress not to shame themselves for missing the opportunity to clamp down on gun violence in america. the "morning joe" crew will discuss the hurdles in congress ahead. and when we come back here, we'll huddle around the water cooler where our own willie geist offers some parenting advice to kim kardashian. looking good, willie. [ lane ] do you ever feel like you're growing old waiting for your wrinkle cream to work? clinically proven neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. it targets fine lines and wrinkles with the fastest retinol formula available. you'll see younger looking skin in just one week. one week? that's just my speed. rapid wrinkle repair. and for dark spots rapid tone repair. from neutrogena®.

enough with the real news. let's gather around the water cooler to watch where this little "way too early" hosting gig can take you. did you catch my phone yet and see if leno called request. >> he's in the green room, waiting for you. >> i should go? >> do this first. >> last night we found willie geist hanging out with kim kardashian in l.a. they were guests on "the tonight show" with jay leno. willie gives the pregnant kim some of the best tips he's learned as a father of two. >> any parenting tips that you? >> um, parenting tips. yeah, i would say a couple of things. kanye is going to have to decide early on whether or not he's a baby bjorn guy. because the minute you take on that baby bjorn, there's no turning back. it's like buying a minivan. you lose a little bit of yourself. >> maybe something black,

leather. >> yeah. >> we use local law enforcement to help in the discipline of our children. >> how does that work? >> and the cops know us by now. so when we come in, one of nice officers comes out from behind, and i say, officer, i hate to bring this up, i know you're busy and have bigger fish to fry, but george didn't eat his vegetables tonight. and the new york police, god bless them, they play long, and george, who idolizes the police, like any little kid does, looks up at him with these eyes, the police say, george, you've got to eat the vegetables, come on. george, you can't hit your sister, do you understand, george. they've got the uniform, the gun, and the badge and he backpedals out of there and it keeps him good for a week. >> let's go to the russian judge, mike barnicle, what kind of score are we giving him? >> i'm giving him a 10 on 10 on that, the cops, the kids, you cannot miss with cops and kids. you cannot miss. i gave him that. >> you gave him that? you're the writer now. >> i was just about to ask that question. >> you knew what the answer was going to be.

>> if he bombed, you were going to take credit too, right? >> no, no. i've got nothing to do with that guy. is that seacrest? >> who is that. >> abc's "the view" co-host joy behar will be gone at the end of the season and there are still rumors swirling about elizabesa hasselbe hasselbeck's future on the show and some are saying barbara walters may be retiring. walters is co-executive and co-creative director of the view. she was absent from the show for six weeks recently with a concussion and the chicken pox. and who knew the underappreciated cheese variety could have such value. yes, muenster cheese has its own black market. new jersey police arrested this guy, driving a truck with 21 tomes of cheese, he allegedly

stole it from wisconsin? are you punking me? he was on his way to texas to sell it oen the black market. those 21 tons of cheese, we're told, are now headed to a charity. that's a lot of grilled muenster cheese. i don't believe that story for a second and you shouldn't either. still ahead on "way too early," why are you awake? your texts, tweets, and e-mails are next. it's friday. "morning joe" now just moments away. [ female announcer ] made just a little sweeter...

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earning loads of points. we'll leave that there. you got a weather balloon, with points? yes i did. [ man ] points i could use for just about anything. go. ♪ keep on going in this direction. take this bridge over here. there it is! [ man ] so i used mine to get a whole new perspective. [ laughter ]

[ male announcer ] earn points with the citi thankyou card and redeem them for just about anything. visit citi.com/thankyoucards to apply. at the top of the show, we asked you why you're awake. the wonderful dan north with your answers. dan? >> debbie tweets in, if you dream big, sometimes you'll be giving parenting advice to a kardashian just like willie. >> kardashians, please stop doing your show. my wife steals the remote and it's