and just six days from when runners will be streaming through the area for the next running of the boston marathon. that does it for us. thank you for joining us. a ferryboat carrying hundreds of passengers. and hello, everybody, i'm betly

nguyen. thanks for joining us. on the one-year anniversary, and at the scene of the terror attack the brazen hoax on the finish line at the boston marathon. a man in in custody this morning accused of dropping a backpack with a rice cooker inside. police stopped him after an officer saw him acting suspiciously. they say he was wearing all black with a veil over his face and walking down the middle of the street barefoot in the pouring rain. that's when he dropped the bag and told officers what was inside. law enforcement officials tell nbc news a second bag was left behind fwhaurts was by a media organization. as you just heard, both were blown up in controlled detonations just as a precautions. the drama unfolded just hours after a poignant ceremonies to mark the anniversary. vice president joe biden praised the 36,000 runners who plan to run in the marathon monday. he says it will send a message to terrorists. >> we are boston.

we are america. we respond. we endure. we overcome and we own the finish line! >> in washington, president obama remembered the victims with a moment of silence. authorities say two ethnic chechen brothers planned and orchestrated the bombings, 26-year-old tamerlan tsarnaev died were a shoot-out with police. 20-year-old dzhokhar tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty to federal charges and is awaiting trial. he could face the death penalty. at least two confirmed deaths after a south korea ferry sunk off south korea with passengers on board including high school students on a field trip. nearly eight hours after the ship first sent out a distress signal. the south korean coast guard are reporting 300 people are still unaccounted for. a u.s. navy ship is on the scene

assisting the rescue cope. nbc frances kuo has more. >> reporter: these are scene of the ferry, crews on the water and air surrounding the sinking ship. the ferry was carrying more than 470 people many of them high school students on a field trip to the island of jeju. a distress call was sent. several hundred helicopters and rescue boats raced to the scene. it's not yet clear what caused the ship to sink, frances kuo, nbc news. we want to show you a new video that appears to show a large number of al qaeda members who apparently escaped from a prison. american officials examining the video. it's described as showing dozens of militants who escaped from a yemen prison in february.

now, u.s. intelligence officials tell nbc news they are being greeted by al qaeda's number two in command. a former guantanamo bay detainee and top official for al qaeda in the arabian peninsula is also featured in the video. u.s. intelligence officials tell nbc news the video seems recent and authentic but there's nothing to indicate the gathering was plotted to have any targets. the video was posted on april 4th but it's unclear when it was taken. michael bloomberg is pledging some big cash to support gun control efforts. the former new york city mayor has announced a $50 million investment to unite several gun-control groups he already funds into one larger umbrella organization. it will be called "every town for gun safety." and will attempt to compete in the national rifle association in gassing gun legislation. the $50 million will be

bloomberg's first major political investment since leaving office and it say big one. by comparison, the nra already spends about $20 million on annual activities. well, oscar pistorius' emotional and scathing cross-examination is over after five days. the prosecutor often called the olympian a liar. and pistorius himself often fumbled for answers and broke down into sobs. but pistorius had the last word on questioning by his own lawyer who gave him a card to read aloud. it was a valentine's day card that reeva steenkamp had given him just hours before he shot her to death. >> it says on the front of the card, roses are red, violets are blue, on the inside she wrote the dates. on the right she says i think today is a good day to tell you that -- and then it says "i love you." >> pistorius is accused of premeditated murder.

he claims he mistook steenkamp for an intruder. the trial is expected to hear testimony until mid-may. all right. you got to see this video. a leisurely carriage ride downtown savannah ended up giving tourist something they will never forget. this video shows something spooked the horse that it took off plowing into several cars. the driver and several riders eventually hopped off. the fight in new york, though, got new life on tuesday when liam neeson penned an op-ed in the "times" arguing against the carriage ban. shifting gears. let's get the latest in sports. ready on deck. the one and only richard lui. >> i was thinking about runaway carriages that's like you shopping on a saturday afternoon, right? >> yeah, right.

>> good day to you again, betty. tuesday, baseball players to all the league paid homage to the league's first black player. honoring jackie robinson. cleats and jerseys had this famous 42. jackie robinson day celebrations began in 2004. new york's carmelo anthony could be done as a knick. he sat out yesterday's game, betty, he tore his shoulder and will miss the season finale. team doctors says he won't need surgery. new york still wins the game 109-98. portland's damian leonard and the jab here is part of what espn says is a $100 million sponsorship deal. >> just picked up some gear from foot locker. look good, play good.

burgers are ready. >> she is the the all-time leader in all shots. yeah, talking about brittney griner. she did that on a roller coaster of emotions. she the lesbian nba star is saying encourage mrcht to higher sexuality made it difficult for her. griner is out magazine's four 50. retired players accused the league of promoting fights and downplaying head injury risks. they want a deal like that nfl deal that was $765 million for a concussion settlement. the league plans to fight it out in court. which team pays the most in all the land? five-year study shows soccer manchester city is tops. each player averages over $8 million. next is baseball's new york yankees and the dodgers. two more soccer clubs, madrid

and barcelona. here's the latest from caleb watson the adopted 2-year-old son of masters winner bubba watson getting some practice. what do you think of the swing? pretty good, huh? >> that kid's got a future. >> absolutely. thank you, richard. well, it is april 16th -- >> are you sure? >> you may not be sure once you look outside. because there is snow on the ground in detroit. not only that, the motor city got over three inches of white stuff. that breaks a 133-year-old record for total snowfall in a year. okay. bill, the last time they had weather this snowy -- james garfield was president. here's a look at snow falling in knoxville, tennessee. a dusting covered up some of the budding flowers there. bill, you got a lost explaining to do. >> i know. >> this is april 16th. this should not be happening. >> it's happened before, it doesn't make it any better. it was 80 degrees in these

areas. albany, new york, was 80 degrees on sunday. and they had 3 inches of snow last night. >> yikes. >> flowers are confused. >> everyone's confused. the snow is now ending in boston, providence, looks like over for you. cape cod, rain to snow shortly. and bangor maine still snowing. lake-effect showers. temperatures are 30 to 35 degrees colder right now than 24 hours. windchill is 17 in albany. it's 21 in philadelphia. so you definitely need the winter coat, hat and gloves if you didn't pack them away already. you're at negative 1. you see the temperatures in northern portion of michigan. want to go to duluth this afternoon. up to 10 inches of snow in duluth. >> i had to bring -- it was snowing when i came to work. >> yeah. >> it will be gone by noon. the new york police department disbands its muslim spy units. plus, if you think casual

marijuana smoking is okay. we have more information that you're definitely going to want to hear. plus, a 3-year-old goes missing but where he is found is just priceless, you're watching "first look" only on msnbc. ♪

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all right. that siem of day, we're go to be get down to business with cnbc's seema mody. good morning. >> betty, good morning. we begin with general motors, mary barra is focusing on safety as the automaker continues to fog customer on the recall of vehicles with ignition problems. ford will sell a special edition mustang to mark the muscle car's 50th anniversary. it comes in blue or white and has special features such as chrome highlights around the grille and windows. ford will only build 1,964

special mustangs. and lastly, a smartphone with various features such as a camera or blood sugar monitor. google will market online hardware just like an app story. careercast.com looked into 200 jobs in america, and they have compiled the ten best and ten worst jobs in the country. here goes. the best job starting at number ten, speech pathologist, optional therapists, computer system analysts, software engineer, dental high jennist, audiologist can about tear, statistician, and tenured university professor. and the number one job of over $100,000 is mathematician. >> the worst jobs, corrections officer, firefighter, garbage collector, flight attendant. head cook, broadcaster. hey, that's me.

and taxi driver, list of mill personnel. newspaper reporter, and the worst job on you are survey at $24,000 a year, lumberjack. i'm not sure i like that list. some stories we're watching for you this morning. for years, a st. louis man sexually tortured women in his apartment using threats to keep them from going to police. 29-year-old adam capriglum raped and assaulted women over 19 years. ukraine's military forces fought back retaking an air strip from pro-russian separatists. this after pro-russian groups have seized government buildings. with the ukraine an government now taking action, russian president vladimir putin is calls on the u.n. to, quote, condemn these actions." a major outbreak of the ebowl lal virus has the attention of health officials around the world.

in the past several weeks, the virus has spread through west africa killing more than 100 people and right now, official, trying to keep the uncurable disease contained. the nypd has business banned a special unit that used to use undercover officers to spy on militants. this is the first sign that the new commissioner william bratten is moving away from 9/11 practices. and a new study from northwest university shows casual marijuana use is linked to abnormalities in the brain. specifically in the regions responsible for motivation. researchers say the drugs cause abnormalities in the smoker's working memory. tax day message from the romneys to senator harry reid. and we have the exact moment in time when the selfie became officially uncool. that's next. so she could take her dream to the next level. so we talked about her options. her valuable assets were staying.

and selling her car wouldn't fly. we helped sydney manage her debt and prioritize her goals, so she could really turn up the volume on her dreams today...and tomorrow. so let's see what we can do about that... remodel. motorcycle. [ female announcer ] some questions take more than a bank. they take a banker. make a my financial priorities appointment today. because when people talk, great things happen. make a my financial priorities appointment today. i dbefore i dosearch any projects on my home. i love my contractor, and i am so thankful to angie's list for bringing us together. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust. without standard leather. you are feeling exhilarated with front-wheel drive. you are feeling powerful with a 4-cylinder engine. [ male announcer ] open your eyes... to the 6-cylinder, 8-speed lexus gs. with more standard horsepower than any of its german competitors.

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justice served. weed b gon max with the one-touch wand. get order. get ortho®. weed b gon max with the one-touch wand. i tr ied weed b gon max with the one-touch wand. depend last weekend. it really made the difference between a morning around the house and getting a little exercise. unlike the bargain brand, depend gives you new fit-flex®, our best protection. it's a smooth and comfortable fit with more lycra strands. get your free sample at depend.com. now, is your "first look" at this morning's dish of scrambled politics in a tax day tweet. mitt's son and josh romney saying hey, senator reid, here's a shot of mitt romney paying tax. does it every year. it's how you get your paycheck. according to a new study from princeton and northwestern america is actually not a democracy. really? when it comes to policy changes

made between 1991 and 2002 a small amount of very rich people benefited the most. in that same period, the average american had a, quote, miniscule, near zero, significant nonimpact among public policy. >> the fund-raising numbers they are in for the first months of this year. kentucky secretary of state allis alison lundergan grimes raked in $2.7 million. the associated press says for now democrats seem to have a roughly 3 to 1 advantage over republicans in disclosed contributions made to super pacs. and in ad senator mary landrieu from louisiana reclaims a senate hearing from last year. this is according to rules that prohibits videos in campaigns. in the standard, she uses the

opportunity to fix a flub. take a listen. >> do you think that there are a bunch of fairy godmothers out there that just wish a magic wand. >> do you think there are a bunch of fairy godmothers out there that just wave a magic wand? >> and the photo of this connecticut senator richard murphy and richard blumenthal, quote, the exact moment when the selfie stopped being cool. and aaron at the "washington post" joins me for first politics. good morning, aaron, thanks or four being here. >> thanks for having here. >> do you believe in the princeton study that says that america is where the rich rule? >> well, i think this puts into words and studies something that we've all suspected for a while is somewhat true.

you know, the advent of the lobbying industry means that people who fund money into politics generally have more of a say in what kind of legislation ultimately gets produced. i'm sure there are plenty members of congress who are concerned about what average americans are wanting and needing in everyday lives. you but there's a lot of money going towards effecting certain provisions and bills and the types of legislation that is ultimately produced. so i think this is really the reflection of increase in lobbying and the amount of money spent on that in washington, d.c. >> and to some, it's probably not a surprise. but speaking of money, billionaire and former new york city mayor michael bloomberg is taking on the nra, using some of its own tactics. exactly, what does he have planned? >> well, look, he's starting a new gun organization, kind of built off of his old organization which is mayors against illegal gun us. obviously, he's not a mayor anymore. so is looks like he's starting a

new organization. combining with some other groups. he's aiming to spend about $50 million in the 2014 election. i think this is important for gun control advocates because part of their problem in recent years and for a long time, has been a lack of funding. so he's aiming to basically kind of trump the nra when it comes to the amount of money that's being spent on pro-gun control candidates in the 2014 election in hopes of changing this debate which, of course in recent years, hasn't exactly worked out for gun control advocates. >> bloomberg is putting in some 50 million bucks to begin with. aaron blake, thanks for joining us today from "the washington post" we appreciate it. coming up, bill and richard are back for "first buzz" including the missing boy who just had to that that special toy. and i don't need to be online for it to work. it runs office, so i can do schedules and budgets and even menu changes.

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all right. i am joined by richard and bill today for our "first buzz." one topic, it's definitely worth it. sometimes, you just can't keep a kid from his toys, right? that's what happened in nebraska. unfortunately, mom doesn't know where he was. look where he was. he left the house, and made it to the arcade down the street and was inside the bear dlau. >> how do you let your kid leave your house without you? how does the kid cross the street? how does he get in the machine? magic powers? >> i don't know. >> if you get in one of the machines, what's the first toy

you pick up? >> there's so many to choose from. how did they get him out of that machine? >> that was the easy part. >> that might be difficult. >> break the glass. >> all right, everybody, thank you for watching today. "way too early" with thomas roberts starts right now. a year ago today, we chose to run towards smoke and danger. we chose to utilize our belts and purse straps to create tourniqu tourniquets. we chose to hold the injured in our arms. we chose to offer our hearts to those in despair and our treasures to those in need. we chose to love, and that has made all the difference. >> ahead of the boston marathon, it is with prideful hearts bostonians show they won't be taken hostage by fear. the day to honor and remember is not completely panic-free. the details on an arrest.

and take two. by senator mary landrieu is under fire for reenacting real life moments in her campaign ad. and then from madison avenue to sesame street. john hand is nothing like john draper. this is "way too early." ♪ hey, everybody. good morning, i'm thomas roberts. it is wednesday, april 16th. welcome to "way too early." the show that still watches sesame street, grover remains our favorite character by far. all right. let's take you to the northeast and the city of boston looking ahead to its world famous marathon next monday. after marking the one-year anniversary of the terror attack that ripped through that race. it was a moment of silence at 2.49 yesterday afternoon. that's the time when the first of two bombs went off. thousands gathered