i think what we found is really important. eastern. "first look" is up next. good wednesday morning, everybody. right now on "first look," nato holds emergency talks on the ukraine crisis and russia's occupation of crimea as the white house weighs its options. new jersey student loses the first round in the court battle to force her parents to pay for her school and living costs. check it. united airlines gets tough on passengers with oversized carry-ons. why timber thieves are poaching california's giant redwoods. and breathtaking images of a niagara popsicle. thank you for joining us, everybody. i'm betty nguyen. vladimir putin breaks his

silence saying military violence is a last resort but he went on to mock the west to an experiment involving lab rats. while in key eve, secretary of state john kerry pledged financial assistance to the struggle ukraine. what's next appears to be a balance on the tightrope of diplomacy. jim maceda joins us. >> reporter: what a difference a day makes really. putin's comments on tuesday that he had no desire to annex the crimea peninsula, to take a step back from the brink. even though crimea remains tense on the ground today there's a new report of russians seizing two ukrainian anti-missile posts. still it feels like ukraine is spinning not towards war today but some kind of diplomatic solution. for instance, after secretary of

state john kerry's visit to kiev yesterday, where he did show support for that new pro-western government with very strong words against vladimir putin and a promise of a billion dollars in loans, today kerry meets for the very first time since the current crisis escalated with his russian counterpart to talk exit strategy. more significantly, the ukrainian and russian governments are talking on a cabinet level today for the first time. and then there's a russian defense official discussing ukraine with nato members in brussels as well. of course, there's only one man who can make or break any deal. that's vladimir putin. it's just unclear what he will do next. talking about sending international observers. will putin allow them to go into crimea? we just don't know. now that putin controls crimea, that may be the new status quo, to remind everyone that ukraine's future depends on him.

betty, back to you. >> a lot of variables here. jim, thank you. back at home, there is a new political fight to tell you about. president obama's $3.9 trillion budget is now on capitol hill. the highlight is a massive expansion of the earned income tax credit. the 13.5 million more workers would be eligible for $60 billion in credits. also included is billions for roads and rails. it's spending, the white house says, will bolster the economy. but republicans say the president's budget is dead on arrival, complaining that it runs up the long-term national debt. attorney general greg abbott easily won the primary for governor, the first gop nominee in more than a decade. is he pushing for more freedom and less government. >> we must never forget that the rights that we have, they don't

come from government. instead those rights come from god. >> meanwhile, democrats are pinning their hopes on state senator weekendy davis, callingr opponent a defender of the status quo. >> i am ready to fight for you and to fight for every hardworking texan across this state. >> another member of the bush family begins his political career with a win. george p. bush, the son of former florida governor jeb bush is running for texas land commissioner. but in a stunner at least two prominent republicans were forced into runoffs, lieutenant governor david dewhurst and the oldest serving member of the house also fighting for his job, 90-year-old republican hall. his challenger says he has spent too much time in d.c. what would be the nation's toughest abortion bill has passed the alabama house.

it would ban abortions in the instant a fetal heartbeat is detected, which can be as early as six weeks into a pregnancy. the house voted 23-79 in favor of the measure. the bill heads to the senate along with three other abortion restrictions. if signed into law, alabama would join north dakota in having the strictest abortion laws in the u.s. it is being blocked in court and not in effect while lawsuits are pending. you can call it a bluegrass battle. two top kentucky democrats are at odds over the ruling in favor of same-sex marriage. governor steve basheer is hiring outside lawyers after calling it discrimination. >> this issue is larger than any single person. it's about placing people over politics. for those who disagree, i can

only say that i'm doing what i think is right. in the final analysis i had to make a decision i could be proud of. for me now and for my daughter's judgment in the future. >> the judge's order did not fully strike down the state's ban on same-sex marriage but instead mandates that kentucky must recognize unions performed in other states. let's get you to a story that a lot of people are talking b new jersey teenager suing her parents for money after she moved out. a swrunlg dejudge denied rachel request, saying it could lead to a slippery slope of claims by teenagers against their parents but is requesting that they seek counseling. canni inning wants her parents y all of the remaining high school

tuition and part or all of her college tuition. she says she had to leave the home due to years of abuse. measuring 35 and 130 feet why, the giant space rock will be closer to the moon when it zips by earth this afternoon. this nasa animation seems to are it on a collision course with earth. thankfully, scientists don't see a disaster movie on the horizon. they expect the fly-by to take place just over 2,000 miles away. down here on earth, arctic conditions slammed the northeast, forcing thousands of drivers to camp out in their cars. look familiar? portions of i-55 and i-40 in arkansas after snow, sleet and freezing rain produced treacherous driving conditions. numerous conditions have trapped

drivers on several highways. those scenes were very similar. >> enough. >> to what we've seen in the past. >> the atlanta misery. >> they were stuck on the highway for hours. >> yeah. >> is it done? you're not quick to answer that. that's not a good sign. >> in arkansas, at least, it is. that's good for them. one area of snow this morning. if you're heading out and driving. first off, 54% of the country is covered in snow right now. that's the third most snow cover we've had this late in the season. this is -- we're not unprecedented but very rare territory. there's the snow this morning, coming down. a little shot of it from minneapolis, southern wisconsin, northern illinois into the chicago area. one to three inches of light, powdery snow to make it slippery on the roads for you. plenty cold still. areas colored in in blue are freezing, all the way down to arkansas. this afternoon we will do a significant warm-up. really the only really cold spot out there, caribou, maine, at

minus 13. we're still much colder than we should be, especially in the great lakes. but even for you, you'll warm up toward the weekend. only 25 in chicago. 41 in d.c. we begin the snow melt after your snow back on monday and still a little cold in new england. by the time we get to thursday, you know, 31 in chicago. we're inching our way there. >> above freezing barely. >> we're not doing a lot of melting. we're not getting any big thaw. >> we'll take what we can get. >> we could feel like we're accomplishing something if we don't have any big puddles coming down. out of the cold, into the warmth of our studio, 72 degrees. good day to you, betty. eight of the nine top nba teams playing last night. miami's lebron james with a whopping 61 points monday. well, just held at 22 points last night. >> that's all? >> that's it. the king barely even being

princely. five seconds left. needing three for overtime. sorry, my friend, james misses. houston wins 106-103. no last second hitters for golden state's clay thompson, hitting a turnaround jumper there with the lead with 0.6 seconds loss, pacers get only their fourth loss at home. night for unranked teams in basketball. unranked georgia tech hands syracuse their fourth loss. 67-62. syracuse still scoring the problem for them. espn saying they broke 70 points only twice in 17 conference games. let's go to unranked baylor. looking good for the postseason. iowa state, 74-61. baylor's sixth win. number 12, michigan. winning the big 10 championship outright last night. >> someone's happy about this. >> just a little, my friend.

the first time in 28 years. they route illinois, 84-53. who to watch going into postseason, florida ranked number one, wichita state ranked right behind, arizona, duke and virginia. by the way, texas, not even on the list. >> you just had to say it, didn't you? >> sit down, betty. watch the player in black sweats and blue gloves, chad johnson, aka, ocho cinco playing defense in a flag football game. >> trying to play defense. >> not good at defense. he gets faked out, gets beat deep. he gets scored on for a touchdown. he should sit down. i'm just saying. >> that's hnot his cup of tea, right? he usually plays on the other side. >> still. ever notice how those baggage hogs tend to sneak those massive carry-ons on to flights? if they fly united they're in for a rude awakening.

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now for your first look at business, we turn to cnbc's courtney reagan. good morning. >> good morning, betty. markets are flat. investors were able to put aside their concerns about the ukraine, the best day for the s&p 500, closing at a record high, nasdaq at a 14-year high. mary barros says the automaker is sorry for the recall of vehicles. gm has known about the issue since 2004 and barros says she is personally leading a review. bag whose exceed dimensions of a new bag size are back to the ticket counter where it's checked for a $25 fee. united says it wants to speed up the boarding process. i think they would like to have that $25 per bag. >> i think so, too.

thank you, courtney. some stories making news this morning. researchers have unveiled an experimental shot that one day could replace a daily pill to prevent hiv. this new shot would only have to be administered once every few months. nighttime robbers in california's redwood forest have left some of the majestic trees absolutely butchered. check this out. the national park service says they plan to close nearby roadways on a nightly basis to prevent the rash of poaching incidents. it's just a shame. and these stunning photos of a frozen niagara falls, while we all may want the cold just to go away, at least this makes for quite a sight. senate majority leader harry reid goes after the billionaire coke brothers. will the bush presidential dynasty live on? our politics block is next. good job!

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hey, let me get it. ah, uh. i don't want you to pay for this. it's not happening, honey. let her get it. she got her safe driving bonus check from allstate last week. and it's her treat. what about a tip? oh, here's one... get an allstate agent. nice! [ female announcer ] switch today and get two safe driving bonus checks a year for driving safely. only from allstate. call an allstate agent and get a quote now. just another way allstate is changing car insurance for good. it is that time, for a helping of scrambled politics. the divorce of congressman alan grayson is getting ugly. his wife is accusing the florida democrat of shoving her son, when trying to visit her children. politicians are getting creative when it comes to soliciting donations. marcia blackburn recently offered cooking lessons in exchange for campaign cash.

the tennessee republican held a retreat at an upscale hotel in mississippi. she also gave donors the option of a spa day. senator harry reid is escalating his feud with the billionaire coke brothers, accusing them of unlawful business practices in an effort to portray them as wealthy americans who rig elections in republicans' favor. >> what is unamerican is when shadowy billionaires pour unlimited money into our democracy toy rig the system, to benefit themselves and the wealthiest 1%. senate republicans, madame president, are addicted to koch. >> a spokesman for the koch brothers responded in part saying we are disappointed that senator reid is attacking private citizens rather than the problems facing this nation. it is no wonder that americans have lost faith in congress. that is your morning dish of scrambled politics. joining me now for our first

look at politics, washington post congressional party ed o'keefe. good morning, ed. >> good to see you, betty. >> $4 trillion budget was released yesterday and you are already calling it dead in the water. why? >> well, remember, we were all celebrating the fact that congress passed a two-year budget deal back in december, which takes the federal government through the end of fiscal 2015. so really what the president released yesterday is irrelevant, is moot. isn't needed. the congress already has a budget plan. by law, he is required to he shall a budget proposal. did he that but it was basically a democratic wish list that has absolutely no hope of ever passing the house and the senate so it's dead. >> politics in my home state of texas just got even more interesting. democrat wendy davis has become the first gubernatorial

candidate since ann richards. what are her chances of winning? >> a lot of texas democrats see some hope here, in that even if she doesn't win -- it's still early. we'll see. the idea is that she's helping to shake the trees for democrats in texas, trying to get new people motivated and registered and maybe even helping candidates down ballot, city races, county judge races, the idea that this will set the party up for even more wins. it's in those coming cycles that demographers really believe the state will start turning purple, if not blue. she has some structural disadvantages but in the long term this could help the party revive itself. >> i definitely want to get to this before i let you go. >> sure. >> george p. bush, son of former governor jeb bush, does he have

a shot at furthering his family's political dynasty, if you will? >> absolutely. 37-year-old. he is really the embodiment of what both parties are now looking for in texas in the future. a guy who is, you know, hispanic and white. he speaks both languages. he's got some cross-over appeal. the compared to many in texas is a moderate. undoubtedly he has some kind of future, running for congress. >> with a name like bush. >> it will be easy. >> thank you. first buzz is just ahead. we'll tell you which tech terms trip people up the most. plus, ellen's selfie is spreading. the latest re-creations, next. no two people have the same financial goals. pnc investments works with you to understand yours

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right now, the president of the united states is getting outplayed. look what he wore saturday during a tense 90-minute phone call with vladimir putin. no tie. jeans with a jean shirt. what is this, casual doomsday? meanwhile on the other end, you know putin is shirtless, stroking a tiger, looking into an infinity mirror. >> that visual. >> it goes on and on and on, does it not? >> we're pretty tech savvy -- i should say you two are. me, not so much. apparently a lot of americans aren't either. according to a new poll, americans don't know a heck of a lot when it comes to these tech words. motherboard, 42% believe it was the deck of a ship. >> you did not, though. >> yes, this is real. no, i did not. 27% thought gigabyte was an insect. >> gigabyte, megabyte.

>> 23% thought an mp3 was a star wars droid. >> cp3o. >> 11% said html was an std. >> that's 11%, though. 11%. >> from that then to then there's gold in them hills, right? >> they found $10 million in gold coins? maybe not so lucky. in 1900 the u.s. mint in san francisco had approximately the same amount of gold coins stolen from it. >> uh-oh. >> there's a chance this could be the government's property. the mint says they have no record of that. it goes all the way back to 1900s, only a small blurb in the newspaper. they've already hired lawyers and an art dealer to help them. >> tax attorney. >> you have a selfie that's worth its weight in gold. >> it is. well said. let's go to that ellen degeneres selfie. >> i worked on that one.

>> fantastic. >> 3.2 million retweets, saying some will donate $3 million. it was not part of some promotion but they're still going to pay it forward. >> good stuff. "way too early" with thomas roberts starts right now. at the time of the ussr's collapse, be nuclear stockpile in the world but surrendered all of it in the diplomatic agreement called the budapest memo memorandum and russia promised never to use threats or use of force against the political independence of ukraine. tragically, it appears ukrainian diplomats forget to call no backsies. >> wanting to keep ukraine a russian state.

will secretary kerry's visit help? and hillary clinton goes after putin with a nazi germany comparison. does that enhance her poll numbers? and john travolta's mea culpa. good morning. i'm thomas roberts. it's wednesday, march 5th. welcome to "way too early," trying to limit its flubs to one syllable. it depends on where you put the emphasis on the syllable. meeting with his russian counterpart to talk through mounting tensions through ukraine. secretary kerry visited kiev, bringing with him prayers for slain protesters and $1 billion aid