mr. rica will serve five years' probation. his plea deal stipulates that he must pay back all the money he stole from the town parking meters. in the end crime does not pay. but it can be very slimming if you steal from all the right places in all the right ways. hello, everybody. good tuesday morning. right now on "first look," black box dead line. new details in the search for the wreck an age of flight 370. deadly mudslide. the scene of washington state's mudslide continues to unfold, but was this catastrophe predicted in 1999? the g-7 members turn their back on sochi as new plans emerge. fascinating testimony in the psitorius murder trial including reeva steenkamp's text saying i'm scared of you. plus these guys admit to pair shooting off the world

trade center. a day of intense heartbreak. malaysian officials say their loved ones are likely gone. searchers are racing to find the black boxes before the pings paid. but the weather is forcing the hunt to stop today. ian williams joins us live from perth. this searches has been described as looking for a needle in a haysta haystack, but they haven't even found the hay stack yet. >> reporter: that's right. that was a quote that came from the deputy head of the defense staff here in australia at a press briefing earlier today at the air force base. he also said until something is found and it hasn't been yet, everything is speculation. warned in this part of australia, when we talk about things being close, we talk about hundreds of miles.

so that was a fatherirly down b assessme assessment. that was underlined by the suspension of all search activities because of appalling weather out in the search area. gail force winds, waves of up to 20 feet and very poor visibility just made it impossible for them to get any flights out there, even though they have so many more assets now in theater here. very frustrating there relatives, many of whom as we have seen are refusing to accept that their loved ones are dead until they do see evidence, until they see something pulled out of the indian ocean. that hasn't happened yet. the search is suspended and we're hearing a rumor that it might be sus he sapended for an 24 hours. the weather remains pretty dreadful. >> all right. ian, thank you. now we want to get the latest in the catastrophe in washington state. the search for survivors following the massive mudslide

continues. death toll is now up to 14. and more than 176 people are still missing. the race to find victims is not getting any easier because many areas remain vulnerable to another slide. >> reporter: the desperate search for survivors continues in this tiny rural community where a waufl mud buried everything in its path leaving behind unthinkable destruction. more than 30 homes now buried under 15 feet of mud and debris. >> it's about a mile long. probably 1,000 feet wide. probably an estimate of 15 million cubic yards of material. >> reporter: lives torn apart, families hope for the best. >> i want to know where my husband is, you know. i just need to know. >> reporter: searching on the ground on and in the air, hover craft have been brought into help navigate the slide zone.

>> we found no survivors today. >> reporter: spirits were raised when an infant was pulled from the rubble just hours after the slide and when this chocolate lab was discovered a live with a few cuts and bruises. a glimmer of hope in a tragedy that has touched every person in this small enclave. jennifer bjorkland, nbc news. we'll continue to follow that sorry. in the meantime, the g-8 is now the g-7. western allies are cutting moscow out. president obama is in the netherlands for a pre-scheduled nuclear summit, but he's redoubling his efforts to pressure russia. peter alexander joins us live from the netherlands. moscow basically just shrugged off its purge from the g-8. >> reporter: that's right, even before the hague declaration as it's called was made by the g-7

leaders, we lettered from russian's foreign minister lavrov who basically referred to the g-8 as an informal club, saying there were no membership cards for entry. so here was an emergency meeting that took place late yesterday. the president bringing together basically europe, canada and japan where they came out and made an announcement basically saying russia had been kicked out of the g-8 until in its language it changes course. putin who was supposed to be hosting the sochi summit has been told that has been canceled. instead the g-7 will meet separate the lthely in brussels. there were also sanctions threatened if russia goes further into ukraine. the desire was to bring russia into these western type clubs, but now according to the former ambassador, that ear ra is over.

>> all right, peter, thank you. oscar pistorius is expected to take the stand soon in his murder trial, but not before his defense team cross-examines the final witnesses of the prosecution. mike taibbi is live in south africa. >> reporter: pistorius' defense attorney right now is trying to blunt the powerful impact of the latest witness who was none other than reeva steenkamp the girl he shot to death, prosecution says intentionally. this is prosecution now in the digital age. steenkamp in text messages to pistorius that were read in court said sometimes i'm scared of you and the way you snap at me. she complained about her in-says santa criticism and suggested that the relationship might be nearing its he said. she said we're living a double standard life where you can snap and get mad and i can't, et cetera. so pistorius defense attorney

saying those are only four text exchanges out of 1700, it doesn't tell the whole story. but at one point her mother craned her neck in court to see how oscar was reacting to it. he was crying. >> powerful indeed. thank you. now to a genuine environmental disaster that is playing out in texas. the houston ship channel is at a stand still has crews clean up 168,000 gallons of oil that spilled during a barge collision. that fuel is lapping at the shore line of galveston beaches, 13 miles of contaminant boom is in the water and dozens of ships are skimming for cleanup, but the oil has already seeped into an important bird refuge during mating season. at least 50 animals have needed treatment. and royal caribbean had to cancel a cruise because the ship can't leave port. let's get the latest in sports now. good morning, richard.

>> good morning. we have more bad news for duke university. first men's college team exits early from the ncaa tournament. now the number two women's team is out. depaul lighting up the scoreboard, raining down three-pointers all game long. that upset, 74-65, takes them to the sweet 16. joining them, brigham young upset nebraska 80-76. and fighting irish, oklahoma state, kentucky and baylor all advance. top seed tennessee moving on in the louisville region. and stanford with a win over florida state. two weeks, that's when augusta national could be tiger-less. he says it's too soon to tell if his back problems will keep him out of the masters. it's the only major he's never missed. washington red skips owner daniel snyder continues to argue his team's name honors nature difference americans. he started a foundation to

assist tribes. it's unclear how much money if any he is contributing. critics saying it's somewhere between a pr assault and bribery. johnny manziel's arm strength has been questioned. not with hoops. the under 6-footer showing he can dunk. >> he has some game there. >> after 100 takes. no, i'm making that up. now for a look at weather. >> and you are excited for the snow. >> i'm wearing a sweater yet again. >> washington, d.c. people will be driving in the snow. this is like the fourth week in a row. one storm every week. winter weather advisories as far south as north carolina. blizzard warnings for maine. thankfully not a big huge storm along i-95. the storm itself is huge, one of the biggest since hurricane sandy, one of the strongest, but most of the worst effects will

only be felt in cape cod and out over the ocean. already snowing in roanoke, and quickly sliding its way to washington, d.c.. hopefully it looks like for the tail end of the rush hour. the white lines on this map what we call isobars. equal lines of pressure. closer the lines are together, the stronger the storm. this storm in 24 hours will be a beast. just a huge nor'easter out in the open water. so that's good. but we'll still see snow. areas like east port could get 8 to 12, chatham, mass, 6 to 10. dover, 3 to 6. baltimore, 2 to 4. philly and d.c. and new york, not much, roads should just be wet and mostly on the grassy surfaces. but as you said, it's string. we're sick of this. >> that's what the calendar says. i don't know about mother nature, though. the obama administration's new plan on telephone eavesdropping. that, plus why warren buffett is

being called a fat head and that's actually a good thing. dad, why are you getting that? is there a prize in there? oh, there's a prize, all right. [ male announcer ] inside every box of cheerios are those great-tasting little o's made from carefully selected oats that can help lower cholesterol. is it a superhero? kinda.

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now for your first look at business. good morning. >> five of bernie madoff's former employees have been convicted by federal jury for helping their boss hide his multibillion-dollar ponzi scheme it for years. his right hand man was the government's key witness in the trial. the five employees will be sentenced in july. google is adding a little style to its google glass eye wear. it's teaming to develop ray ban and oakley branded versions of the web connected device. it will be sold through lens crafters and sun glass hut stores. and warren buffett is coming to a living room wall near you. at least if you want it. fat head is selling an oversized big head decal of the billionaire for $29.95. all proceeds photo two detroit

area charities. i'm not sure i'm ready for a big head version of warren. >> i like calling him a fat head, though. that's kind of fun. how to stories making news this morning. 32 people were injured in a chicago subway derailment monday because the operator reportedly dozed off. that's what the chicago transit authority union president said before adding the operator actually had 17 hours between shifts to get enough rest. none of the injuries are life threatening. president obama is expected to unveil a complete overhaul to the nsa's data collection program. it will end their systemic collection of domestic phone records. and 529 members of the muslim brother hood have been sentenced for death by an egyptian court. it relates to riots last year that led to the murder of a police officer. so jeb bush, hillary clinton and the return of anthony weiner. neutrogena®

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...of america's number-one puppy food brand... ...with dha and essential nutrients also found in mother's milk. purina puppy chow. on your scrambled politics menu this morning, hillary clinton, jeb bush, two potential foes come 2016, but both promote a higher education monday in texas. >> higher education america has a growing affordability problem while billions in the developing world struggle with accessibility. >> we can't forget that the end of the day providing education

for everybody has to be the follow. an n and not just any education, but a quality education. >> now people close to bush tell the "washington post" he has not begun to consider a presidential campaign, but plans to decide no later than 25015. and vow by ten willjoe biden wi hampshire today to raise money for candidates. and re-election in a difficult climate for democrats. raising money is a common step for potential presidential candidates. biden hasn't ruled out a third run in 2016. secretary of the navy is considering banning the sale of all tobacco products at navy and marine corps exchanges. among the issues, would the ban extend to overseas installations and combat zone bases.

a defense official tells nbc news this new policy could be implemented as early as october 1st. and meet the newest political columnist, anthony wiener. yep, he is back. the new column will be aptly named weiner! . it runs on the last friday of each month. and that is your morning dish of scrambled politics. joining me now is ellis. you see the jokes flying already. keep it clean. >> i'm looking forward to his twitter feed. how about that? >> wonder what name that will be under this time around. there is a big decision, a big argument going before the supreme court i want to talk about. because it can have far reachingism implications. owners of hobby lobby are saying they're totally against some of the obamacare's mandate on birth control because especially the

morning after pill, they think it violates religious freedom. how strong of is case is that? >> if we're trying to predict the court, i would say it's a jump ball. part of the reason there is so much emotion around this argument today in front of the court. there has been no clear line that has been drawn yet about exactly how far an employer's rights go in deciding some of the personal practices of employees. should the boss say whether you get birth control pills in your health insurance plan. and it's a very emotional issue for people. >> do you think this could very well define religious freedom in this country? >> well, it will define how far a company, a store, an employer could go. for instance, what if a dry cleaner said we don't want to allow people to be our patrons if they live together out of wedlock or if they're gay or if they practice-of if a woman

works, maybe we at the present time don't approve of that. i think many say those are decisions i to make for myself. >> reminds you of the situation in arizona a few weeks ago and how the employers were are coming up and saying, hey, i don't want to service this person because of their backgrounds and what they chose in their life. but now supporters of this mandate will say to you that this really goes beyond religious rights. this is about women's rights. and even further than that, this is about health right when it comes to women's access to birth control. is that what is at issue, as well? >> exactly. those are the two colliding values. and if you look at the polls today, vast majority of americans believe birth control should be open and available and legal and accessible even among religious groups.

catholics, my own religion, a huge percent of catholics support that today. the arguments will be interesting about how do you balance those two rights. and i have to tell you, i'm not sure i know how the court will come out on this. >> we're watching closely because this is going to be a big decision. >> and one of those cases that affects real people's lives. >> absolutely. he wi ellis, thank you. coming up, first buzz. we'll tell you what caught our eyes take. afghanistan, in 2009. orbiting the moon in 1971. [ male announcer ] once it's earned, usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection. and because usaa's commitment to serve current and former military members and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

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time for first buzz. let's get right into it with richard and bill.

richard, you want to talk about some base jumping. >> world trade center about to open, finishing the construction of that very large building. 1776 feet tall. evidently the first video has just been released. base jumpers jumping 1300 feet on to the ground below. no permits here. the three were arrested. it is illegal in new york to jump off of any building that is 50 feet or higher. and this is just a week after that report of a teenaged boy breaking in and getting to the very top. >> isn't one a worker? >> one is a construction worker. >> they can't put it on youtube, they probably wouldn't have been arrested. >> if they put it on. in any case, the video got out. they devote 200 officers, surveillance cameras and other technology to survey this

perimeter. already two cases in the last week. >> let's move on to something that is a little sweeter. girl scout cookies. this one girl scout has defied the odds. people at work want to sell them? no, no. shall this girl it on her open. she sold 18,107 boxes. she goes in to the girl scout hall of fame. congratulations to her. >> thin mints and tag a longs. i bought 70 bucks worth. $4 a box. it's a bargain. put them in the freezer. >> they're delicious. although something you're about to talk about smells awful. >> walking dead, season finale coming up. and this professor at nebraska mass decided to come up with a death cologne. he's actually trying to mimic the smell as much as possible of a rotting corpse.

>> what's the price? >> he's calling it eau de death. smells like rotting eggs and methanol. >> good luck wearing that. "way too early" starts right now. the world has been gripped by the mystery of malaysian airlines flight 370. we here send our thoughts and prayers to all those suffering this great loss because today the mystery became a tragedy when the malaysian government announced that the lean weplane down and there were no survivors. thankfully they informed the families first in the most appropriate manner, via text message. yes. text message because snap chat would be insensitive. >> there is no joke after 17 days, hard to believe distraught families were notified by text their loved ones were lost at sea in a plane crash.

now the nearly impossible task of locating the actual crash site. in wash state, 14 are dead, nearly 100 missing. more rain today. and first it was a team making headlines after illegally spidermaning his way for the top of the freedom tower. now new video of a base jumper taking it even further. incredible images. this is "way too early". good morning. i'm thomas roberts. tuesday, march 25. welcome to way too earlying on. the show that doesn't open any base jumper fashion. but we are planning to rock a onesie onset at some point. but that's a story for another gay. we lead off with hard news about the search for flight 370. it has already ended for the day after