deadline of 5:00 a.m. local time that was issued by loudspeaker on that ship today, that would be right now, 10:00 p.m. eastern time here in the united states. all eyes on the black sea. watch this space.secretary of ss on his way to ukraine as the u.s. ratcheted up the priessure on putin over his military occupation on crimea. >> i think the strong condemnation it has received from countries around the world indicates the degree of which russia is on the wrong side of history on this. midterm elections kick off, new poll numbers mean bad news for both parties. say it isn't so. the pope drops an f-bomb at mass? classic corvettes are rescued from a giant sinkhole. a megasnowman in minnesota

that puts all others to shame! hello. i'm betty nguyen. 16,000 russian troops are holding firm in a corner of ukraine known as crimea. the big question will president putin push further? and if he does, will the u.s. push back? let's get right to it. jim maceda is live in moscow. what do you know? >> reporter: there is positive news. the kremlin saying it's ordered all armed forces involved in those war games along the russian/ukraine border to return to their bases, meaning that huge show of force, 150,000 troops of 900 tanks is over now. if true, we haven't seen confirmation yet, but, if true, that should take the temperature down somewhat. that said, russia has built up the forces to division size. russia is now completely in

operational control of the peninsula and poised to strike elsewhere in ukraine if vladimir putin decides it's in his interests. in response to all of this, the u.s. and its allies are struggling to come up with a package of diplomatic and economic sanctions like freezing russian assets. vladimir putin seems largely unworried to say the least about the prospect of sanctions. with secretary of state john kerry in kiev today to discuss certainly ways to end the crisis, there's emerging now moscow's end game. it's becoming much clearer. according to senior russian officials only way out of there. ousting yanukovych and returning to the february 21st agreement which calls for new elections by december. the problem, betty, kiev and washington both say that plan

has been way overtaken by events. back to you. >> reporter: jim, we will be watching. thank you very much for that update. later today in washington, president obama will unveil his 2015 budget proposal. $1 trillion plan expected to call for an end of era of austerity. he will ask for job training and early childhood education and other programs aimed at jolting the middle class. mr. obama also wants to expand the earned income tax credit. one of the most popular credits for the working poor but a short shelf life. republicans are voicing already their disagreements with many issues. house speaker john boehner says these early details prove the president was never serious in addressing the nation's long-term debt. political news outside washington now. today is primary day in several states which officially kicks off the 2014 midterm season. perhaps, though, the most high profile race of the day is in

texas. state senator wendy davis is expected to grab the democratic election for governor. they will see if any way democrats can win in a deeply red state. this morning bad numbers for both parties. nearly 7 in 10 americans say republicans are out of touch with their needs from new "the washington post"/abc news poll put way below markings for democrats. on the issue? democrats hold a slight edge when it comes to helping the middle class and health care policy. voters are split evenly who is best for the economy. all that isn't translating into an advantage for the democrats, especially in those closely divided senate races. half of voters in states with a senate election say they prefer a republican candidate and 42% said they would vote for a democrat. let's take you now to south africa where the murder trial of blade runner olympian winner oscar pistorious begins second

day. powerful system from the athlete's neighbor marked day one. she said she heard four gunshots and a woman's blood curdling scream and the woman said the most helpless feeling she ever had in her house. she said i knew something terrible was going on in that house. the screams were from reeva steinkamp. pistorious pleads not guilty saying he killed steinkamp by mistake thinking she was an untrudier in his home. did pistorious deliberately murder steenkamp is a question for the trial. a record low temperatures and kripling snowfae inine inii snowfall shut down the offices

in washington, d.c. and schools and neighboring counties. overnight temperatures expected in the single digits. and these winter woes have also slammed air travel. thousands of passengers were stranded as airports cancelled 2700 flights on monday and with that flight disruption it brought the number of cancelled flights to 87,000 since december 1st. that, my friends, is a record that i don't think many people are proud of. in fact, no one. check this out, though. looks like the frosty snowman has taken a little, i don't know, growth hormone pill perhaps? a minnesota farmer used the massive snowfall in the midwest to build this 50-foot snowman. i wonder how long, bill, it took for that? i know there is a lot of snow but that is a giant snowman. >> if that frosty comes to life, we are in trouble. like "the ghostbusters." >> 3 degrees last night in atlantic, new jersey.

coldest temperature ever in the month of march. the snowstorm in the mid-atlantic and this morning, dealing with more cold. the great lakes ice cover is what it looks like in the fall from outer space on a nice clear day. here is how it looked yesterday across the great lakes. about 86% covered in ice. can you see only a little bit of open water on lake ontario and tiny bit in lake michigan. it's going to be a while. record ice coverage for this late in the year. current temperatures cold in the northeast. at least it's not windy. we are cold down in texas. we are 27 in dallas. we do have freezing rain out there this morning and some sleet. austin to brian, texas, the houston area. this is texas in march! we shouldn't be dealing with this! >> not used to that. >> another cold day. a slow warm-up. unless you're in florida, that's about the only warm spots out there. >> if only we could all be in florida right about now. >> i think in march it triples

in florida for a good reason. a good here at sports with francis. the nba, miami's lebron james wore new clear face mask to protect his broken nose. maybe that was his lucky charm. he had a huge night and made shot after shot with 24 points in the first half and 25 in the third quarter alone. a franchise record. he finished with 61 points. a career high. >> that's incredible. >> they beat charlotte. afterwards, he said he was really in the zone. >> i just had it going. you know? shot a lot but when you get to a zone, you know, i threw one up there from 33 and i just kind of tried to keep the same routine. but like i said once you get to a zone, you feel like -- >> that is a zone. >> zone, check. mask, check. collins is reportedly getting a ten-day contract attention.

deron williams had 26 points last night. first base look at that where minnesota runner was called safe. toronto manager john gibbons challenged the call but the video showed the umpire made the right decision there. texas rangers training camp in arizona, super bowl winning quarterback russell wilson was fielding grounders like any other prospect. he played baseball in college but this was a one-day event. he plans to stick with football and the seattle seahawks. >> i would say so. check out this party for the detroit tigers over the weekend. on the right, yep, super model kate upton who is giving posing lessons for wearing women's swimsuits. no bikini. >> i'm just thankful that swimsuit was bigger than the sombrero on his head or we could be in trouble! coming up, some classic cars get a new leash on life. holy slip! the pope delivers a blessing with a curse. we will explain when we come

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now for your first look at business. we turn to courtee rooeg reagan. >> futures are higher right now. the crisis in ukraine overshadowing positive data on personal income and spending. oil prices are also down today on news that russian president putin ordered troops taking part in military exercises near ukraine back to their bases. disney and dish network signing a deal to let dish offer content from abc and espn and other channels on set top boxes and mobile devices. dish will disable and ad skipping feature on its dvr for three days after abc prime time shows air. national parks add billions of dollars to the economy. visits to parks in 2012 generated nearly $15 billion in spending and gateway communities or those within 60 miles of a park. >> a nice vacation if you can do

it. today is mardi gras. thousands in new orleans for the big celebration is highlighted by parades and music, floats, costumes and all of that. the last day of the carnival season means those colorful beads and a whole lot of excitement. nbc jay gray is live with us in the big easy with some beads. not asking how you got them but you are still awake. >> reporter: good morning, betty. let's talk about what is going on right now. a very busy bourbon street. the beads and i assume the beverages still flowing out there. a lot of people out. thousands early in the morning here. i think most wrapping up what was a big party last night, the night before fat tuesday. now as they end the carnival season, still getting in every minute they can here along bourbon street. the parades will roll a bit later in the day across the area. and that will signal the end of

what has been a very popular, very profitable mardi gras for the city of new orleans. this is the biggest free party in the united states they say, though, very little is free here during mardi gras. back to you. i'll make sure to bring back some beads. >> i've been to a mardi gras. i know how it goes. people still partying in the streets. pope francis wishes he could get this one back. why? well, listen to this. while addressing thousands of people at the vatican on sunday, the pope mistakenly dropped an f-bomb in italian but he corrected it soon after that. the highest ranking al qaeda member is to face trial in the u.s. since the 9/11 attacks. he is charged with conspiring to kill americans. first lady is head to go

china later this month on an official white house trip. she will be joined by her two daughters and plans to visit various universities and high schools in the region. remember the corvettes that fell victim to a sinkhole to the national corvette museum last month? they are finally being lifted out, kind of, sort of. three of them are. the other five corvettes, yeah, not able to be recovered, leaving them to rust in peace, if you will. coming up, john boehner on his prospects for another speakership term. the kerry family's new addition. scramble politics is next. that are powered by the moon. ♪ she can print amazing things, right from her computer. [ whirring ] [ train whistle blows ] she makes trains that are friends with trees. ♪ my mom works at ge. ♪

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here's a fat tuesday helping of scrambled politics. house speaker john boehner expects to retain the speakership in a cake walk. he tells the "cincinnati inquirer," he will be re-elected. congressman steve king is disappointed. arizona did not adopt the recently anti-gay. >> when you're in the private sector and you're an individual entrepreneur with got given rights that our founding fathers declined in the declaration you should be able to make your own decisions on what you do in that private business. >> the congressman was also torn on whether people choose to be gay. in the end, he said he believes

it's a mixture of nature and nurture. the former irs official at the center of the controversy over tax-exempt groups is expected on capitol hill today. lois lerner took the fifth when initial called last summer and she was thought to be planning the same thing this time around but e-mails from her lawyer relieved by the house oversight committee suggests she might talk behind closed doors. texas congressman ralph hall is by no means a spring chicken at 90 years old. he is the oldest member of congress and he, my friends, running for an 18th term. in a new'd he is promoting his age and wrinkles because as he puts it, when you battle nancy pelosi you're bound to get a few. >> see this one? taken on the liberals when they attacked their second amendment right. these when we fought them on obamacare. i've never voted for a tax increase and i won't raise the debt ceiling ever.

secretary of state john kerry made a detour on his way to ukraine. he stopped in new york to meet his granddaughter. no word on a name for the baby girl. that is your scrambled politics. joining me is ellis. so nice for you to take a break from mardi gras celebrations to join us! >> i just want you to know, i'm stone cold sober at this hour, betty. do not worry about that. >> we would hope so. >> i'm not talking about the rest of the day, but for now, you got me. >> just for right now, right? okay. so while we are in this safe space, a new poll shows americans trust democrats more than republicans on key issues, but it also shows that won't translate into a political advantage during mid terms. do you agree with that? >> well, listen. republicans do have a number of advantages this time. you know, first of all, the way the congressional maps have been

redrawn over the years, a lot of the district do kind of tilt their direction in the senate. you remember from your civics lessons back in high school that the each state gets two of those, regardless whether it's big or little. there are some structural reasons that republicans do have the advantage going into november. >> don't midterm elections generally favor the party that does not hold the white house? >> there is the another one. obama being in the presidency actually hurts his own party when it comes to the midterm elections. republicans do hadisadvantages t they still can blow it. >> since you're in new orleans, any voters there talking about how senator marry landrieu's bid is shaping up? >> other people have had other issues on their mind but that bubbles up around the third cocktail. i got to tell you, i know it's a tough race for a democrat in a

state like louisiana but if i'm betting now i think mary landrieu may squeak through. her opponent cassidy has not really brought his party together. mary is a pretty conservative democrat, one of the most conservative in the senate. she is probably a little closer and more relying to her folks in louisiana. it's going to be a tough race but if you're betting, i think she has a pretty good shot. >> should i be betting on you heading off to bourbon street at 4:30 your time in the morning? >> let me let folks in on a secret. we do other stuff. i got some cool places to send you but i think the bourbon street is for the amateurs. you guys have a great mardi gras up there. >> coming up, bill karins is back with our first buzz and toronto's infamous crack smoking mayor and late night.

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example for other people who might be in a similar situation. >> well. >> that is just how i feel about it. actions speak louder than words. i'm a normal average hard working politician. >> you are not the average politician, my friend. you are the most wonderful mayor i've ever witnessed. >> toronto mayor rob ford. you knew he would surface yet again in the news. >> jimmy kimmel started the

interview by asking why he was dressed like a magician. >> i love what he says talk is cheap. actions speak louder. yeah, acttions have definitely spoke louder than words. >> the election is coming up i think on october 27th. we will see. his brother says that he was very upset after the interview. i don't know what you expected out of jimmy kimmel. >> speaking of being upset. these parents are upset. their daughter is suing them and making sure, she hopes, that they will pay for the rest of her private school education and her college education. like we have all gotten mad at our parents as kids but she is 18 years old. her parents say you moved out because you refused to listen to our rules. i can hear this argument taking place in the homes across america. she wants quite a bit of money. >> she is the one going to school. >> the family that is hosting her want some $12,000 for keeping her.

so it's going to get interesting. there is a hearing today so we will see how it shakes out but i've never seen anything like this. >> when she becomes a parent, let's see how she handling it. >> exactly. karma is going to kick in one day. i'm betty nguyen. this is "first look" on nbc. "way too early" with thomas roberts starts now. >> are you homophobic? >> no, i'm mot homophobic. are you? >> if you had more gay friends, you would not wear that tie? >> a question about the tie. rob ford making jimmy kimmel's late night dream come true. he seemed to be lacking go go juice. the white house is ready to unleash another obamacare delay. is this a key off democrats in the midterm? putin's ruble is rocked in the markets after the russian aggression in the ukraine. if international diplomacy won't work, will putin's love of money make him reconsider a border war? this is "way too early."

good morning. great to have you with me. i'm thomas roberts. is tuesday, march 4th. welcome to "way too early." the show that wants to lead with rob ford every day but is experimenting about with dlat gr -- delayed gratification until he works out the tie thing. no sign of agreement or easing over russian's invasion of crimea. putin is expected to speak at any moment now. in a first swing of reaction the u.s. has ended all military relations by the kremlin. estimate that 6,000 troops in the peninsula area and ballooned to 16,000 russian troops. for all intents and purposes they control that area. ukraine's navy in crimea sang together in defiance and crews were ordered to surrender or be stormed and claims that mosco