else we sing -- we will do -- you haven't seen twerking until you have seen us twerk. >> if it were only that simple. after wlikting reports that russian forces have moved along the black sea. a full update. then a change from tea partiers. time to clear the air. five years into the movement, is it ready to smell what rand paul is cook sng jesse james really kicking himself now. actress sandra bullock takes hollywood pay to super new heights. this is "way too early." good morning. i'm thomas roberts. welcome to "way too early." it is good to have goals. america's sweetheart, she deserves it. all right. we start with the rising tensions in the ukraine. super big development overnight to talk about. ukraine's interior minister saying russian forces had taken control of two airports in crimea. it was once part of russia, and

many people lig there remain loyal to moscow. dozens of the men are carrying machine guns and assault rifles and wearing military uniforms, but they do not have any markings to indicate their affiliation. one said they were there to "maintain order." recent protests in crimea have increased. concerns the region could mrit split from ukraine. secretary of state john kerry says russia has promised not to intervene in ukraine. still, secretary kerry is issuing yet another warning to moscow. >> we believe that everybody now needs to step back and avoid any kind of provocations, and we want to see in the next days ahead, obviously, that the choices russia makes conform to this affirmation that we received today. we are also making the same point about reducing tensions in crimea to the ukrainians, and it is very important that the

process continue in a thoughtful and respectful way. meanwhile, vice president joe biden spoke to ukraine's new prime minister saying the country has the full support of the u.s. former ukrainian president viktor yanukovych is set to hold a news conference later today. five years into the tea party movement, its leaders are trying to steer the message into the future with a new tone. senator rand paul is calling for an air of optimism, and he is trying to keep the movement from being side tracked from comments made by ted nugent about president obama. >> we have to reach out to more people. it has to be a bigger party. it has to be a bigger movement. there are times -- and i don't think it is our movement, but there are times when people are using language that shouldn't be used. i recently criticized someone for using some of that language. i'm not going to bring it up, but i will say that we can disagree with the president

without calling him names. i'm not saying that's our problem. i'm just saying there are people out in the public that are taking away from our message. >> when we present our message, we want a bigger crowd, and we want to win politically. our message has to be a happy message, one of optimism, one of inclusiveness, one of growth of -- a message that brings up the people that are poor among us and those that are long-term ub employed and find them jobs. our message is that, and we have to find out a way to make sure know knows that's what we're here for. democratic groups are -- wendy davis have been called abortion barbie, and allison grimes who was called an empty dress. meanwhile, there are signs of division between the republican party's mainstream and its right wing. senator ted cruise of texas refused to endorse the senior senator from texas in his re-election bid against a tea party challenger. >> i'm leeblg going to stay out,

and that is true outside of texas and inside of texas many congressional races. i like john cornyn. he and i have worked together very closely. we've agreed on the vast majority of things. there are some areas in which we've disagreed. >> cruz has been criticized for involving himself in other races. well, we have a new troef of text messages that's been released in the george washington bridge scandal, and it shows more vin district courtive language. you'll remember ann kelly famously wrote time for traffic problems in fort lee. in this wave of texts that began six days later wildstein and kelly have -- wildstein said the rabbi has officially pissed me off. kelly said leerl we can't cause traffic problems in front of his house, can we. all mysteriously delayed. >> perfect, kelly said. the port authority controls the area's airports.

carl lock has traveled with governor christie to israel and served on the new jersey-israel commission. he said he is shocked, appalled, dismayed to be mentioned by wildstein and says they have no idea why they might have been upset with him. the texts do not directly connect to the governor himself. now, since the scandal broke wildstein resigned. kelly was fired. white house press secretary jay carney is reportly getting tired of answering a certain thread of questions that keep coming up. the potential matchup between hillary clinton and joe biden in 2016. >> i promise you, this is questions about an election that is very far in the future. they're not laying on the president's mind right now. the questions about 2016 are just not on his mind, and since my job is to channel him from this podium, they're not on my mind either. >> you're clearing not going to talk about any potential rivalry between -- >> you really are demonstrating for the massive audience that watches this briefing how the charge against the washington

press corps is true, which is that you guys care mostly about elections. >> well, there's not a whole lot to talk about when it comes to the white house agenda in congress. much is focused on self-preservations and the upcoming midterms, even without november elections, the legislature remains deadlocked and immigration is stalled and a federal minimum wage increase has been postponed. republicans say bob corker of tennessee expressed his frustration yesterday with senator reid saying he sees no way anything important will be dealt with this year. >> after seven years and seeing especially what's happening right now, i've come to the conclusion that the united states senate will not ever function in an appropriate way with the leadership that we now have in place. it's not going to, and i'm going to do everything i can. >> so kentucky is home to the latest victory for supporters of marriage equality. federal judge says the state must recognize same-sex marriages legally performed in other states and countries. however, the judge stopped short of ruling kentucky officials

must issue state marriage licenses to gay or lesbian couples. kentucky's attorney general has asked for a delay in the judge's decision. president obama is going to bat for a program that he says will help one of the country's most vulnerable of groups. the program is called my brother's keeper, and it looks to help boys and young men that are minorities that helped them stay out of trouble and then on professionally. foundations have already promised to spend $200 million over the next five years on this program. business and political leaders will also be involved, and president obama got very personal as he explained how he sees himself in many of the boys he wants to help. >> i didn't have a dad in the house. and i was angry about it, even though i didn't necessarily realize it at the time. i made bad choices. i got high without always thinking about the harm that it could do. i didn't always take school as seriously as i should have. i made excuse.

sometimes i sold myself short. >> so the reverend al sharpton will be here to weigh in on his thoughts about this program. the president mentioned where heed in an interesting way. we'll look forward to hearing the rev's reaction to that. business with our commerce department will release its fresh estimate of fourth quarter gdp, but yesterday the s&p reached a new high. cnbc's jeff cutmore is live in london for us. jeff, this was a great day all based on sarah yellin's words. >> yeah, absolutely. we've got the second fresh high here for the year, and there are those who are starting to wonder if the s&p is running out of steam, but janet yellin managed to reinvigorate the bulls by talking about the weather. go figure. the new fed chair said she thought, well, the weather may have been an influence in some of the slower data we've seen on the u.s. economy, and that was enough to encourage the bulls to go out and buy again. i think we need to keep a very close eye on these data points.

next week we're going to get another look at a jobs number here. i think it has to show that there is some real economic activity in the u.s. economy, and this is not just a story about plunging temperatures. so fascinating news from janet yellin at this banking senate committee, and it has helped the bulls take up the driving seat once again as far as the s&p is concerned. >> this is pretty amazing. what's old is new again when it comes to customer dissatisfaction. there's a company at the top of the list. >> yeah. this is fascinating. this is a survey of consumers about retailers, and i don't know about you, but when i walk into a retailer, it ticks me off if the cues are too long. what really hurts me is poor customer service, and so they did a big survey of all the retailers in north america, and you know what, wal-mart comes up number one yet again in terms of the top ten lists of places to shop where people are dissatisfied. it's a fascinating list.

wal-mart, again, because they were the top last year. i just wrote down a number of others on this list here. rite-aid. vcs, walgreens, and macy's all in the top five of places that people were unhappy about their shopping experience. back to you. >> you would think they would figure that out with the suggestion box from last year. we'll see what happens in the year to come. jeff, great to see you. have a great weekend. >> speaking of weekends, we have the academy awards now this weekend. only a couple of days away. we're in the mood to talk oscar this friday. there are some huge stars who are still longing for their very first gold know statue. we have glen close, julie ann more, johnny depp who have never received one, and there values been more than a few memorable moments like this one from 1976. >> now to die vulg the contents is a very important contributor to world entertainment and someone quite likely -- isn't it

fascinating that -- fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will get in his life will be by stripping down and showing his shortcomings. >> we want to hear your favorite oscar moments or your most blatant oscar snubs. use the _#way too early. we'll post the best answers coming up later in the show. we look forward to hearing from you. still ahead on "way too early" if utah and mexico state want to get national attention? this is one way to do it. the action that led to that mess. more creativity from local newsrooms. you got to see this. the inspirational song that may just change the way that you think about traffic. that story and a check on weather when we come back here on "way too early." stick around. ♪

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is it a superhero? kinda. ♪

lebron james wearing a protective mask in his return to the court. doing a little hamnibal lecter reverse style. it's a four-point game. carmelo anthony comes up with the big block on james, but miami takes over there. james finishes with 31 points, and the heat rout the knicks. that is an intimidating mask. to college now, and the game where things got really ugly right after utah valley's five-point overtime win. over new mexico state last night. the horn sounds. memorial normal state's casey ross miller -- did you see that? an opposing player just before fans storm the court. once the crowd makes it to the floor, things get worse.

fists begin to fly. players, fans. they're all going at it. look at that. it's a mess. big mess. all right. let's go from the fight on the basketball court to a fight about hockey and the ice. some nhl action. capitals and panthers tied up in the third. >> this great save -- panthers win it. for the a's and brewers in spring training. take a look.

>> it's a home run in his first game since being suspended last july. the former mvp accepted a 65-game ban for violating baseball's anti-drug agreement. so pitcher java chamberlain made his first appearance over the spring for detroit yesterday. check out this photo of his tommy johns surgery scar. see it there? look closely. he turned it into a smiley face tattoo. he went under the knife, and he has actually had the ink since at least last summer. we were saying it kind of looks like lamb chop. >> yeah. >> a well known athlete is in disguise showing off his skills behind the wheel and giving a firsthand knowledge that he really does perform his own stunts. look at this. >> please stop. please! no! no, no. help! >> i can't go back, man. i'm sorry. >> stop!

stop! stop! sir, sir -- >> we're going to lose them. it's all right. i can't go back. >> sir. help! >> sir, just unlock the door and let me out. ♪ >> come on out, buddy. i'm jeff gordon. >> all right. this is a reporter that actually criticized gordon for a stunt like that. gordon had performed that, and his critics said he didn't do his own stunts. they told him that they got him in the back of the cab and -- >> he thought it was real the whole time? >> he thought it was real. he was being chase bid cops. >> somebody had already called it out before. >> you saw that reaction shot from the back. he is screaming. let me out. let me out. anyway, let me out of this winter. what do we have going on? >> we have about three more

weeks. yeah. california this morning is getting it, and this is the storm that's going to go across the country. it's going to provide an ice storm for some areas, and another snowstorm in the areas that have been hit so hard all winter long. indianapolis, chicago, pittsburgh area, philadelphia, new york city. that's mostly sunday and monday. now the storm, this huge circulation spinning off the coast. they're getting much needed rain that they've been begging for for the last year. reason we're watching the heavy rain from san francisco all the way down to san diego. haven't shown a radar like this in probably about three years. now, the cold, it's about as cold as it's been in areas of the northeast. this is all the cold air that was in the midwest yesterday, which is still freezing, by the way, but we're at minus 7 wind chill in boston. not much better all the way down to d.c. this is how i see the storm kind of playing out. sunday, icy storms. some areas from kansas city down to oklahoma city, and then it's that band of heavy snow right along i-70 from kansas city all the way through indianapolis to the pittsburgh area, and then it should be a snowstorm around

here. it looks like monday is not a day you want to be traveling from areas to philadelphia, new york city, and even possibly washington d.c. >> appreciate it. coming up at the top of the hour on "morning joe" managing the message of the tea party. the new strategy from senator rand paul and how discipline can help them make the next step. when we come back, we're going to huddle around the water cooler, and the next time you hang out with sandra bullock. make sure she picks up the tab. her major payday from her hit movie "gravity." you won't believe it. i will light up every room i walk into. [ female announcer ] olay presents the new regenerist luminous collection. renews surface cells to even skin tone. in just two weeks, see pearlescent, luminous skin. new regenerist luminous. from olay. if you have a business idea, we have a personalized legal solution that's right for you.

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>> i think this is about as fun as armed robbery gets. yesterday at an a.m.-p.m. in researchmond, california, a man wielding a handgun went into a store, pointed the gun at the clerk. the clerk, i don't know why he does this, but he just grabs and wrestles it away from him, and then one of his co-workers comes in and slams him to the ground. >> we thought it might -- that clip might be even more fun if we added some wrestling announcers to it. >> good show trying to -- mark henry bursts -- steps up.

>> who says wrestling is fake? >> body slam. he is out. the academy awards are set for sunday night, and sandra bullock is nominated for best actress for her role in "gravity." >> you sure this is mission specialist ryan stone. i am drifting. do you copy? anyone? please copy. please. >> you know, win or lose, it's all good news for bullock. the hollywood reporter says the oscar winner will make $70 million for that role. she'll get $20 million of that up front, and 50% of the movie's

worldwide gross. she signed the mega deal after winning the academy award for the blind side. gravity is on track to be more profitable than all the other best picture nominees combined. >> if you are worried about the other nominees that may walk away without a statue in hand, don't fear for them. they will all go home with a swag bag worth more than $85,000. that's nearly double last year's give-aways. a $15,000 walking tour of japan is included, and a $16,000 laser hair removal offer for some furry famous people. some of the strangest items lug organic pet shampoo, naek ed luxury condoms and horse shampoo made for human hair. cincinnati traffic reporter bob herzog has taken the cake for doing the best thing at work. entertainment for all of you to watch. take a look. ♪ ♪ the snow blows right on the

roads overnight ♪ ♪ not a lane stripe to be seen ♪ a town with no transportation ♪ ♪ and that info comes from me ♪ just don't go, just don't go ♪ can't hold 'em back anymore ♪ just don't go, just don't go ♪ home to stay, no 454 ♪ all the traffic's gone ♪ closed or at least they're on a delay ♪ >> yeah. that was from "frozen" an original song. applaud, everybody. that was really good, right? bill is practicing in the back right now. your favorite oscar moments or the blatant snubs. ♪

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you're on to the next thing. neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair has the fastest retinol formula to visibly reduce fine lines and wrinkles in just one week. neutrogena®. >> we ask you for your favorite oscar moments or your favorite snubs.

>> well, dina said whoopi goldberg and the color purple. >> she didn't get it for the color purple. >> we have a picture of me and steve said mike barnicle for his performance in "binge minute button." >> he was so good on in that! he was so good! we have the picture! look at him flexing! you don't know because barnicle comes dressed so well. you just don't know he has all of that going on up there. >> he hides it well. >> he really does. that is the end of "way too early" for this friday. thanks so much, gang! >> good show. >> really good show. barnicle shirtless is the way to end it! "morning joe" starts right now. ♪ >> it doesn't rain much here in southern