good monday morning to you. right now on "first look," breaking news overnight. a commercial jet liner is hijacked by its own co-pilot. how the suspected hijacker took the plane. olympic organizers facing problems in sochi. fog. how it's affecting today's events. plus, why gas prices may be falling soon. it's east versus west in the nba all-star game. the much anticipated new season of "house of cards." just how realistic is it. breaking news, an international flight hijacked by its own co-pilot hours ago. it was headed to rome when the plane's pilot went to the bathroom, the co-pilot locked

the cockpit door, says officials. he then flew the boeing 767 with passengers and crew to geneva. after landing police say the suspected hijacker climbed out of the cockpit window, shimmied down a rope and then surrendered to authorities. the geneva airport executives say the hijacker who was ethiopian and in his 30s wanted asylum. they say all passengers and crew are safe. we'll keep an eye on that one. climate change compared to a weapon of mass destruction. that stark analogy from secretary of state john kerry in indonesia. nbc's danielle leigh is in washington with the latest on that, danielle, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, richard. we're not seeing the weather extremes in the u.s. but also around the world. not everybody is willing to attribute that to climate

change. >> reporter: most of the snow packed east is looking forward to warmer temperatures as communities are digging out from the latest round of warm weather. so bad is the drought that president obama paid california a visit. around the country they're seeing similar extremes. record snowfall in japan, record flooding in southern england. scientists are blaming climate change. they're warning it's time the world seriously cut back on pollution often coming from power plants. >> this is not good. you don't need a ph.d. in climate science to understand what's going on, that things that we have overwhelming evidence that the climate is changing. >> reporter: speaking in indones indonesia, secretary of state john kerry compared the threat of climate change to weapons of mass destruction. >> all challenges that know no borders, the reality is that climate change ranks right up there with every single one of them. >> but on capitol hill new laws demanding reductions in greenhouse gas emissions could

be tough. >> what we have to look at is the fact that you don't make good laws, sustainable laws when you're making them on hypotheses or theories or unproven science. >> reporter: some lawmakers are still reluctant to call the recent weather evidence of global warming. the u.s. and china are the two biggest contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. secretary of state john kerry says china is looking at cutting back on the pollution with u.s. >> danielle leigh in washington. bill karins. president's day, how are you feeling? >> i want some of what denver has and texas. >> i will take two to go please. >> i think everyone will. another little mini snowstorm heading across the country. what else is new? very cold temperatures on this president's day. detroit at 3, 2 in buffalo. very chilly all the way to indianapolis, albany to boston. the cold air is in place, here

comes the snow. winter weather advisory is in effect. all the way to pittsburgh. it will be extended later today across the areas of new jersey and into new england. winter storm warning pretty much from minneapolis to chicago. this could be enough snow to be more than just a little inconvenient, maybe shoveling and plowing later on this evening. the snow is moving towards minneapolis. if you're driving there this morning, you will get into it. also around chicago, worse will be in the early afternoon to evening as far as the heavy snow goes. as far as the snow predictions go, the white is three to six, the pink is as much as six to 12. in this case more close to the 6 inches. you'll see that strike goes down to chicago. it will be a little bit lighter near new york city and philadelphia. interior new england could get a little bit of snow out of this tuesday afternoon. winter still holds on from the northern plains to the northeast but take a look at phoenix, denver, dallas, new orleans, atlanta, florida, it is looking very mild. >> san antonio, 83. >> a little taste of that.

>> yeah. >> just a little. >> all we can do is just look at it on the map. >> all we can do. the oven. sit over the toasters. more information in the bridgegate scandal involving new jersey's governor chris christie. a port authority police officer with personal ties to christie was at the george washington bridge lane closures. police lieutenant thomas chip michaels grew up in christie's hometown. he reports that mike kalchaels monitoring the lanes of traffic. he drove david wilestein around the area while traffic was at a stand still. those documents also show that michael sent text messages to wildstein about the traffic closures. governor christie denice having any involvement. a celebration of black

history this weekend when the tuskeegee airmen attended a celebration. it was the air man's alabama training grounds, hanger two, is being used to honor them. it shows the important role the pilots played in the war effort and afterward. taking us back a little. let's get the latest in sports from veronica de la cruz. >> good morning, richard. we have a lot of action on the basketball court to tell you about starting with a big ten upset. unranked nebraska stuns number 9 michigan state. adrian payne misses the shot. nebraska gets the rebound and pettyway gets the lay-up. cornhuskers take it 60-51. wichita state is still perfect.

they force 18 turnovers against evansville beating them 80-68. they extended their school record to 27 straight wins. the beasts of the east. some of the nba's best battled it out in the all-star game last night. new york's carmelo anthony made an all-star record eight three-pointers as the east beat the west, 163-155. >> what a score. wow. >> cleveland's kyrie irving scoring 31 points. he was named the mvp right there. some highlights now from the dunk contest. indiana pacer puts the ball through his legs while doing a 360 spin. how about that? >> love it. >> and the sacramento king, he dunks it. shaq as he sits on his thrown. washington's john wall leaping over someone's shoulder, pump reverse. it is in. >> i can watch that all day, veronica. >> mizu was showing some respect

for michael sand during halfway of the missouri/tennessee basketball game. more interesting, students ban together forming a human wall to block members of the baptist church who were protesting outside of the arena because of sands announcement. check this out, richard, it zips, but became. >> what is that? >> it doesn't really fit. >> what is this? >> this is canadian bobsledder who tweeted his uniform and trouble. he writes get this #powerbelly. i think it should have been #one too many moll sons. >> broken zipper. bellybutton front and center, right? >> crazy. >> i'm glad you didn't talk about the michigan/wisconsin game. >> stayed away from that. just ahead, we'll tell you who the big winners why at last night's british version of oscars and where we pay the highest rent. here's a hint, not new york, not l.a. ...so you say men are superior drivers?

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day ten of the winter olympic games in sochi. seven olympics are up. men's and women's biathlons and men's snowboard cross. in the latest nbc medal count the netherlands lead with 17, the u.s. is third after russia with 16. germany dominates with the most gold medals, 7. kevin tibbles is live. tibs, we hear there's fuzzy stuff in the air. >> there is. they've canceled the biathlon you have been talking about. they've been talking about postponing the snowboard cross until this afternoon. the good news aside from the fact that the canadian hockey team won and they could actually wind up meeting the u.s. men's hockey team as they get further on into the semi-finals, but the sun is starting to come out in

sochi. if it moves towards the mountains, then i'm hoping and i'm not working for the weather channel here, don't call me al roker, but i'm hoping that the sun will come off the mountains in time to get the snowboard cross race off, the men's snowboard cross. yesterday a number of spectacular falls in the women's event including one of the u.s. women's athletes knocking herself unconscious, but today it looks like they may be able to get this thing off if the weather blows off, richard. in terms of the other events, there's the ice dance which the american pair are leading at this point and that is really great news. there's also women's hockey today. i've got to tell you, the russians are streaming into this park. it seems to me that the attendance is picking up every day. happy russians except at the hockey rink where the u.s.a. beat them. richard? >> that's true. our proud canadian. i was waiting for you to bring that in. did so well. did well in curling over the u.s.

congratulations. >> curling. they'll pick it up. >> we have time. tibs, thank you very much. u.s. markets closed for president's day today. analysts at bank of america and merrill lynch predicting gasoline prices will fall because of too much supply and falling demand thanks in part to fuel efficient vehicles. kick starter says hackers got some of its customer data including e-mail addresses, phone numbers, passwords, not credit card information. surprisingly, williston, north dakota, has the most expensive rent in the country, about $2400 a month on average for a 700 square foot one bedroom. it's because of an oil boom going on there with thousands flocking there to, you know, looking for places to sleep. they sleep in their trucks in some cases because of lack of housing. lego movie taking the top spot in its second weekend with an estimated $48.8 million in ticket sales.

workers in l.a. set a new guinness world record for the largest continuous concrete pour. 2100 truckloads and 18 1/2 hours while laying the foundation for the tallest building west of the mississippi. lots of concrete. some other stories making news for you, president obama warning uganda's president sunday that passing a bill to criminalize homosexuality would, quote, complicate our valued relationship. it would be a step backwards for all ugandans and their human rights. people convicted under the proposed measure could face a 14 year prison sentence. in the first of three planned televised planned interviews this week, george zimmerman tells univision he's homeless and suffering from ptsd. he says he is $2 million in debt because of the trial. and gravity and "12 years a

sla slave" were big winners at the bafta awards. it won best film, best leading actor. what does your taste in music say about your political party and who historians say is the best first lady? a binge on "house of cards" this weekend like me? scrambled politics is next. ♪ ♪ if you have a business idea, we have a personalized legal solution that's right for you. with easy step-by-step guidance, we're here to help you turn your dream into a reality.

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scrambles politics on this monday. mitt romney, could it be, coming to the defense of hillary clinton. he was on "meet the press." the question, should hillary be judged on husband bill's record, like his relationship with monica lewinsky? >> well, i don't think bill clinton is as relevant as hillary clinton if hillary clinton decides to run for president, and in her case i think people will look at her record as the secretary of state, and i think her record is what will be judged upon, not the record of her husband. ad revenue based on your political affiliation. it's reportedly coming to pandora as early as this week. candidates could target users based on political affiliation. how you ask? well, "the wall street journal" reports they're matching election results with your zip code and labels users based on their musical tastes and whether those artists are listened to in more democratic or republican

regions. more likely to be democrat if you listen to bob marley. more likely to be republican if you listen to dolly parton. who do historians say is the best first lady? none other than eleanor roosevelt, followed by ab gail adams, michelle obama, hillary clinton all due to a poll. groupon tweeted they're celebrating president's day with a $10 discount in honor of alexander hamilton calling him, quote, undeniably one of our greatest presidents, question mark? the problem is, hamilton was never president. he is on the $10 bill though. groupon, though, hamilton was our first ever treasury secretary, footnote there. next deal history class. and "house of cards" season two, need we say more? i'm halfway through the season. no spoilers though. how realistic is this series? listen to frank underwood

himself. >> for me, it's like performance art, you know? i sometimes watch it and actually we can get done shooting on a day and i'll come home and turn on the news and i'll think, our story lines are not that crazy, they're really not. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. joining me is david nakamura. dana millbank said as he wrote in an op ed piece. he brought up senate republicans who could face tough primaries coming up this year, what they had to give up in order to get the payments followed through so we did not default on our payments. this happening on friday. how close were we to going over the edge as they went through that senate vote on friday? >> i think, richard, that it's a wise column by dana millback as always. ted cruz was making a big point that he wanted the senate to get over the 60 vote margin to block

a filibuster. that put some of his colleagues in an awkward position. if they had a straight up and down vote, the u.s. would not have defaulted. mitch mcconnell, he's in a tough primary in kentucky, they had to confer with colleagues and get six more votes. they had 12 to give each other cover. it was difficult for mcconnell. i think cruz came away satisfied but he's not making a lot of friends and we'll see how this affects him going down the road when he tries to rely on people if he makes a bid in 2016. >> i think dana said cruz had a by the of a smirk as this entire vote was going on. speaking of which, vice president biden over the weekend taking a poke at the republican party saying there's no republican party, perhaps alluding to that vote on friday that he was watching there. "the wall street journal", "the hill's" front page noting that the dow had the best week in a while.

why? because congress was able to move pretty quickly without a lot of posturing here to get that debt deal done. so the question might be what's to make of how congress will be when they return in a week from now, will things be different? >> i don't think -- things like the minimum wage or immigration reform, i think it's still difficult obviously for president obama and democrats to get those passed. i don't think there's any question that republicans are dealing with an internal civil war, identity crisis to some extent. i think what the wall street journal and others are doing is without the debt ceiling where republicans lost on that, they can fight on obama care and president obama's approval ratings which are not so good. in that accepts they look good for 2014. >> last question quickly. how accurate, "house of cards"? >> from the journalist's point of view, we don't always have the relationship with our sources that zoey barns has.

i watched a funny video with kevin mccarthy who is the kevin spacey character in real life, majority whip in the house, sort of reading some of the lines. once again, life is combining and blurring the lines. i haven't seen two yet. i saw season very much and my wife is well ahead in season two. >> david nakamura, thank you very much. >> thanks, richard. coming up, bill karins, veronica de la cruz will be here with first buzz. stick around. my dad has aor afib.brillation, he has the most common kind... ...it's not caused by a heart valve problem.

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welcome back. we have first buzz. veronica de la cruz, bill karins here. today is president's day. do we actually agree on how to

spell president's day. take a look at this. evidently when you look at states, they don't all agree. some have no apostrophe, some have an apostrophe after. some have president's. >> i like the fact that i'm current no matter how i do it. >> also another interesting thing, which presidents? state to state it's different. >> really? >> yes. >> you can see here, different presidents with different birthdays. jefferson, april 13th there's not even the month of february. bill karins? >> a blind man did something pretty cool in a basketball game over the weekend. >> which is what? >> he had to hit a three-pointer for free mcdonald's for a year. the crowd? yes! >> nice. >> and went wild. that's a lot of mcnuggets. >> that is great. amazing. >> veronica? >> if you are having a baby in sonora, mexico, pay attention. these names have been banned.

facebook, terminator, us navy, harry potter. apparently parents have named their children the following. in order to stop bullying, they're taking it upon themselves. >> there's a baby out there named facebook. it's just wrong. >> huge. >> msnbc, these guys are going to continue arguing. "way too early" with thomas roberts starts right now. we can get done shooting on a day and i'll come home and turn on the news and i'll think, you know, our story lines are not that crazy, they're really not. some people feel that 99% of the show is accurate and that the 1% that isn't is because you could never get an education bill passed. >> it does seem like even president obama has a little bit of frank underwood. >> i can imagine why he would. i've thought over the last year it must be really interesting for not just an american public but people around the world to view a very effective congress that gets things done and so i

can imagine he must feel, gosh, i wish we could move that quickly. all right. so truth is stranger than fiction. can modern day republicans unite behind a common governing message in d.c.? senator john mccain sends a message to junior members while protecting the old guard. mitt romney gets on record about hillary clinton for president. and the gravity of the situation cannot be understated. the movies and the actors that stole the show at the bafta show across the pond. with oscar watching, this is "way too early." hi, everybody. good morning. i'm thomas roberts. it is monday, february 17th. welcome to "way too early." a show that wishes my name had bitter initials like frank