that's the best new thing in the world today. there is a link to the fake letter and a video from the whole prank from animal new york at animal.com right now. at maddow.com right now. "first look" is up next. good wednesday morning, here's what's coming up on "first look." the mother of the supposed boston marathon bomber speaks out while evidence mounts and tsarnaev's medical condition improves. billions of dollars instantly changed hands when the associated press twitter account was hacked but that's just the beginning. air traffic controller furloughs resulting in growing delays are causing major headaches across the country. plus bullet proof white boards for the classroom. did billionaire bill gates cause an international incident. and who hurt the rock? good morning, i'm mara schiavocampo.

parts of boston will re-open today for the first time since the bombing as investigators learn more. we'll have the very latest on that story in a minute. first it was the tweet read around the world and it came from one of the most respected news agencies in the business. tuesday afternoon the associated press tweeted about explosions at the white house and injuries to president obama. thankfully that wasn't true. the twitter account had been hacked by a group called the syrian electronic army. they also took credit for taking over cbs's "60 minutes" news website over the weekend. but that fake news alert sent jitters around the world where the dow plummeted 143 points in just three minutes. >> human beings weren't making these trades, these were computers, algorithms designed to scan the headlines, find negative words and then make profits. >> the white house later reassured the public that the president was fine and noted the secret service is investigating. s.e.c. officials are looking

into who profited and lost from the stock market bumps. elsewhere in the world of cyber crime, australian police say they arrested one of the most dangerous internet hackers on the web. the name of the 24-year-old i.t. professional is not being released, but he's been brought in on charges of breaking into and defacing an australian government website. officials said lulzsec is responsible for cyber attacks on the cia, sony pictures, 20th century fox and nintendo. if convicted the mastermind faces up to 12 years of jail time. now back to the investigation into the boston terror attacks. suspe suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev reportedly told investigators that he and his brother acted alone. law enforcement officials believe the two were persuaded by their own extremist beliefs. pete williams has the latest on this case.

>> reporter: as dzhokhar tsarnaev lies under guard at a boston hospital, now upgraded to fair condition, federal officials say he's told interrogators he and his older brother came up with the marathon bomb plot entirely on their own, because they believed the u.s. wars in iraq and afghanistan were an attack on islam. officials said he claims the instructions for making a bomb came from al qaeda's online magazine "inspire" which contained a formula similar to the one that the fbi says was similar to the bombs in boston. an employee at a fireworks company shows tamerlan tsarnaev bought four dozen large fireworks at a store in new hampshire in february. >> it was a little disturbing that i had an interaction with him. he was just an every-day customer. i dealt with him the same way i would deal with anybody off the street. >> reporter: several online instructions including the one in "inspire" recommended using the contents of fireworks as a component. 5,000 miles away, fbi agents

were in the russian province of dagestan to interview the parents of the bombing suspects. the mother insists her sons could not be terrorists. >> what's happened is a terrible thing but i know that my kids have nothing to do with this. i know it. i'm mother. >> that was nbc's pete williams reporting. charges against the mississippi man accused of sending ricin-laced letters to president obama and senator wicker has been dropped. investigators are looking at the home of a new suspect. tracie potts has the latest. >> reporter: good morning. dropped apparently for lack of evidence. they searched the suspect's home and found no traces, no evidence at all of ricin, this after paul kevin curtis spent one week behind bars. the mississippi man accused of sending those letters to senator wicker, to president obama and to a mississippi judge. but after being released he spoke with his attorney and said

that he's looking forward to getting back to normal. here's more of what he said. >> i respect president obama, i love my country and would never do anything to pose a threat to him or any other u.s. official. >> reporter: now authorities are looking at the home of another mississippi man, another man from tupelo who says he's also innocent. he doesn't even know how to make ricin, but they're looking into his home. interestingly the two suspects have had an ongoing feud for years. mara? >> tracie, thank you very much for that. >> well, it's the sound of a bullet proof white board and it's on its way to one minnesota school. the high school is no stranger to school violence. a decade ago a student shot and killed two classmates. now it's the first in the state to get bullet proof white boards. teachers and students can write on them like normal, but they

are also made of some of the lightest body armor in the world and they can be used as weapons, too. >> imagine the gun sticking in the window of a classroom. and you knock the gun out of the hand. it is empowerment. it's a tool. it's something that the teachers finally will have. >> the white board inventor said he made it in response to the shootings in newtown, connecticut. now, here's your "first look" at scrambled politics. senator rand paul is breaking ranks with fellow republicans and his tea party base. he said the white house made the right decision in not trying the surviving boston suspect as an enemy combatant. >> i see no reason why our constitution is not strong enough to convict this young man with a jury trial, with the bill of rights. we do it to horrible people all the time. rapists and murderers get lawyers, trials with juries. we seem to do a good job of justice. arizona senator jeff flake

was in favor of gun background checks before he was against them. in a letter flake wants they both have common interests including strengthening background checks. that's a nice gesture except the republican was one of 46 against expanding those checks last week. secretary of state john kerry is helping democrats keep control of the chamber. records show he gave $100,000 last month to the democratic senatorial campaign committee. a 21-year-old former intern for the romney/ryan campaign has been charged with extortion and cyberstalking. the fbi says adam paul vader sent aanonymous text messages to women. five months after an affair ended his career at the cia, general david petraeus has a new job as a professor at the city

university of new york. former obama strategist david axlerod will join mitt romney at a retreat this summer. axle record will talk about trying to find a cure for epilep epilepsy. and george w. bush's approval rating just hit a high. 47% say they approve how he handled himself in office. we'll have extensive live coverage of the bush library dedication tomorrow on msnbc. that's your morning dish of scrambled politicians. it's a tale of two different weather patterns. all eyes have been on the flooding in the midwest where they're hoping the rain will let up. but there's a stark contrast in western kansas where they desperately need rain. the drought is so severe, it's reduced cattle pastures, forcing

some ranchers to sell their herd early, driving cattle levels to the lowest in 14 years and driving up the cost of corn. for more on the weather, bill karins is here. >> and president bush gets the grandpa boost. i want to congratulate you and everyone else in the northeast -- >> because spring is here? >> spring is here. this is our reward weather and reward week. i have seven, maybe eight days in a row of warm, mild spring conditions, cool nights and warm days. so much deserved. yesterday was just a mastity day from new york city up through southern new england. today's forecast, 74 in philly. 72 in hartford. chances of thunderstorms in pittsburgh and d.c. will be much later today. the warm weather comes up the east coast. we are not ready to get rid of winter. its firm grip is in the middle of the country. the temperature this morning in

dallas is 40 degrees. 33 in kansas city. 27 in denver. the windchills are down in the teens in some areas. we have windchill values in texas in the 20s. still cold in the midwest that cold front that separates the warm air on the east coast and west coast does bring wet weather today. bring the umbrellas with you today, louisiana northwards. as i said it will finally break. even the midwest, we're cold today by the weekend, even minneapolis could be mid 70s. i really think this is it. i've been saying that for, like, three weeks. it's bad. >> you're finally doing your job. thanks, bill. bringing us good weather news. major airport delays have transportation secretary ray lahoud calling the sequester a dumb idea. plus how the rich got richer and marilyn monroe as you have never seen her before. [ female announcer ] what makes you walk a little taller?

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welcome back. here's some stories making news

this morning. microsoft founder bill gates appears to be in the middle of an international faux pas. he greeted the leader of south korea with a hand shake leaving his other hand in his pocket which is a big cultural no-no. local media immediately labeled gates rude pointing out a two-handed handshake is the proper protocol. dartmouth college cancelled colleges and will hold a day of discussion and debate after a wide ranging student protest. students expressed anger over the school's response to instances of sexual assault, racism and homophobia. officials are warning the flying public that ground delays could become the norm around american airports because automatic budget cuts are forcing the furlough of 10% of air traffic controllers. ray lahood calls the sequester a dumb idea. >> it's a dumb idea. it's not a way that any person would do their own budget, it's a meat axe approach and should be changed.

all 20 female members of the senate, that's 16 democrats and 4 republicans, accepted an invitation from president obama for a private meeting to discuss ways of reaching a broad bipartisan deal on the federal budget. also on the menu alaskan halibut and peach pie. yummy. now for your "first look" at what's moving your money today, we go to courtney reagan. good morning. good morning to you. u.s. regulators plan to crack down on short-term pay day loans offered by banks because they can trap consumers in a cycle of debt. the home of the whopper is coming to your home. burger king is expanding home delivery service to chicago, san francisco and l.a. you can order by phone or online. burger king already delivers in the washington, new york, houston and miami. you have to wait to get a new pair of google glasses. the google chairman says the device won't be available to most consumers until next year.

google glasses are a wearable smartphone allowing people to surf the web, take photos and video chat. though if your hand is mara, you might get your hands on them earlier. >> i don't want to gloat, but i may be getting a pair in a few weeks. earnings from boeing, ford and procter & gamble are on deck today on the individual earnings front. the wealth of americans shot up two more than $3 million between 2009 and 2011, while the rest of the nation dropped 4%. at big market driver, apple beating earnings estimates, but delivering a disappointing sales forecast. the silver lining, over the next two years apple is funneling more than $100 billion back to share holders through stock buybacks and higher dividends. in new york city today, the launch of the samsung experience

shop which will pop up in some 1,400 best buy stores. warner brothers will sell the only tickets to june's superman's film, man of steel. and speaking of comic book heroes, the story life and death of marilyn monroe is the subject of a new bluewater comic book. it will sell for 3.99 in stores or 1.99 online a north carolina woman picked up the holy grail of video game finds for $8 at a goodwill store. it's a nintendo game called family fun fitness, stadium events. it's one of 200 that were ever released. it could be worth tens of thousands of dollars. and finally after evian's worldly popular baby on roller skates ad went viral in 2009, they are tapping the fountain of youth again for millions of bankable clicks. this time dancing adults are ecstatic to see themselves as

babies in a reflection. the ad has already wracked up more than $2 28 million views. coming up a tale of puppy love bringing happiness to families no matter how many miles it takes. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ♪ before tori was taking her kids to lunch in her new volkswagen... before her passat had passed 30 different inspection tests, and before several thousand tennesseans discovered new jobs on volkswagen drive,

their cfo and our banker met for lunch. together, we worked with a team that helped finance construction of the world's first leed platinum auto manufacturing plant. that's the impact of global connections. that's bank of america. i did? when visa signature asked everybody what upgraded experiences really mattered... you suggested luxury car service instead of "strength training with patrick willis." come on todd! flap them chicken wings.

[ grunts ] well, i travel a lot and umm... [ male announcer ] at visa signature, every upgraded experience comes from listening to our cardholders. visa signature. your idea of what a card should be. the act of soaring across an ocean in a three-hundred-ton rocket doesn't raise as much as an eyebrow for these veterans of the sky. however, seeing this little beauty over international waters is enough to bring a traveler to tears. we're putting the wonder back into air travel, one innovation at a time. the new american is arriving. now for a look at stories creating the biggest washington buzz, i'm joined by boris

epstein. let's start with the travel delays due to the sequester. the public is finally starting to feel the pain, and people are paying with their time. is this the issue that will finally force lawmakers to the table and come up with a deal? >> probably not. they will come up with a deal on this specific issue. they will find a way to get the air traffic controllers back up in the towers. there's no way there's a grand bargain that comes out of this because there's not enough political points for the white house or the congress. they will come together on this and probably designate the air traffic controllers as essential personnel and get them up there and get people flying again. getting to the boston marathon bombing suspect, he's being tried in a civilian court and not as an enemy combatant. >> if you look at the civilian statutes, there's enough to try him as a citizen of the united states or someone who permanently resides here. there's not a reason to try him as an enemy combatant.

would have a constitutional issue if you did try to do so, it could make it to the supreme court and delay the process of trying him, hopefully giving the death sentence. yesterday president obama hosted the ladies of the senate. women tend to be more in tune with compromise, harmony, all those things. do you think it's smart for him to make the appeal for bipartisanship with women? >> susan collins came out and slammed president obama, so it could be a smart political move but not smart as far as coming together on this main issue of the faa and getting people flying and delays out of the way. >> these are 20 special women. i understand there's a special woman in your life. >> there is mom, happy birthday. i love you very much. have a great day. thank you very much. >> that was just for you. >> no one else is getting that. it's early in the morning, i'm here, i get a little something. ibility and you had your coffee. thank you very much.

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because life starts with your feet. it's a special delivery from some extraordinary volunteers. operation roger finds permanent loving homes for rescue dogs. nbc's mark potter has the rest of the story. >> reporter: amid the rugged beauty of alaska an important long distance delivery is about to be made as an anxious family awaits. >> hi, guys? here's shelby. >> look at him.

>> here you go. >> he's cute. >> reporter: shelby's journey took nine days. thanks to a kind hearted trucker named david and an animal rescue program known as operation roger. operation roger was born from hurricane katrina after trucker sue weiss began to pray for all the pets who lost their owners. >> i said, lord what can i do? i'm just a truck driver? >> what she did was organize volunteer truckers to transport lost and abused animals to loving homes around the country. shelby a 5-year-old pekinese was rescued from an abusive home in oklahoma. when an alaska family offered to adopt him, operation roger called david who loves dogs and helping people. >> shelby, come on. >> it's a good way that truck drivers in america can give back to society. we're not home a lot. >> reporter: and well worth the cross-country effort. >> say cheese. >> reporter: to bring shelby home. mark potter, nbc news. >> lucky dog. it looks like sy was not a

one-hit wonder. i lost that bet. his new music video is shattering records on the internet. will will.i.am has admitted to using music without permission. and wayne "the rock" johnson missed the premier of his new film because of a hernia operation. he tweeted a picture of himself from the hospital to show he was just fine. >> why does he have the shower cap on? to be funny? >> it goes with the hospital --

>> you have to wear a shower cap in the hospital? >> yeah, so the hair doesn't get in the wounds. i'm mara schiavocampo, stay tuned, "way too early" starts right now. what happened is a terrible thing. but i know that my kids have nothing to do with this. i know it. i'm mother. i have -- you know, i know my kids. i know my kids. i really -- my kids would never get involved into anything like that. >> the boston bombing suspect's mother speaking out, but she is delivering some mixed messages. we'll have more on that as well as updates on the investigation and the latest information from the surviving brother. good morning. i'm brian schactman this is "way too early." thanks for being up w