crucial demand. for months iran reportedly agreed to send much of its stockpile to russia but on sunday the country's foreign minister made a surprise comment saying there is no question of sending the stocks abroad. this morning a senior state department official is pushing back against that new york times report saying quote, there are viable options that have been under discussion for months including shipping out the stockpile by the resolution is still being discussed. the metric is ensuring the amount of material remaining as enriched material will only be what is necessary for working stock and no more. >> the official went onto say that ooin has previously denied they would export enriched uranium as part of a deal. we have more. >> reporter: it has been a grueling round of talks as they try to bridge the gap with iran.

everyone here knows the deadline. midnight tuesday. unless kerri and the foreign minister agree to extend it. >> it has to be a deal which puts the bomb beyond iran's reach. >> i'm not paid to be optimistic. >> you're not paid enough to be optimistic. >> reporter: congress may try to skuttle the deal when they get ohm. >> i've got serious doubts about an agreechlt. we've got a regime that's never kept their word about anything. >> meanwhile senate majority leader on a trip to israel appeared alongside benjamin netanyahu on sunday and made clear the republican-led congress agrees with netanyahu's criticism of the deal being negotiated in switzerland. >> talks continue as usual and a deal that from everything that

we hear paves iran's way to the bomb. the. >> the group who are here share your concerns about the potential agreement. the option if there's an agreement is a bill we intend to vote on that enjoys bipartisan support to require that agreement to come to congress for approval. if there's no deal then the view of this group, similar to your own, is that ratcheting up sanctions might be the best direction to take in the wake of a deal that does not come together. >> let's turn to the crisis in yemen. war planes from a saudi led coalition carried out more air strikes over the weekend. now arab leaders from across the middle east here's nbc's chief foreign correspondent. >> reporter: the arab world which for decades has relied on the u.s. military for its

defense is going its own way. the breaking point was yemen where saudi arabia launched more air strikes against rebels who are pushing dangerously close to the saudi boarder. on meet the press the saudi ambassador discussed how far the saudi kingdom is willing to go. >> why would you send ground troops? >> we haven't made a decision to do that so far. so far it's been an air campaign and we have in a plan in motion that we're executing. >> reporter: that plan also appears to be a proxy war with iran. the rebels in yemen are backed by iran and at a summit in egypt arab leaders announced the standing combined arab army of 40,000 troops. they've decided to form a united arab military force but why now? analysts and former u.s. officials say arab states no longer trust the u.s. administration to stand up to

iran because the u.s. policy toward the country appears confused and contradictory. in iraq the u.s. is providing air support for iranian-backed militias. in switzerland washington is negotiating with iran. in yemen, u.s. advisoried left the fight, and in syria the u.s. is both supporting the fight against iran's ally while at the same time helping him fight isis. >> i and 100 other people warned the administration, look you can have negotiations. you can even have a deal with iran but you have to fit that into a wider regional policy that will work not just for iran. i'm not so sure we were heard. >> elsewhere in the middle east southeastern president is speaking out about his country's relationship with the united states.

here's comments with n an interview. >> we will always want to have good relations with the united states. we never thought it's a great person. no wise person think of having a bad relationship. >> can you can good relationship with a country that thinks you shouldn't be in a n power? >> that's not part of it. this is not a business. we have syrian citizens who can decide this. no one else. whether they want to talk about it or not. this not something we're going to discuss with anyone. >> this cannot end militarily. do you agree with that? >> definitely. if it's a war, it should end with a political solution. >> now to the investigation into the troubled germanwings to pilot accused of crashing a jet. a new detail of the final moments before the plane

crashed. nbc correspondent katier the has more. >> reporter: they still haven't found the flight data recorder but there's a chilling report citing the cockpit voice reporter purporting to say what it sounded like inside the plane during the final moments. the flight's last minutes from the cockpit voice recorder the flight started normally with the captain apologizing for a delay. during the assent he mentioned to the co-pilot that he didn't get a chance to use the restroom. lubitz tells the captain he can take over at any time. the captain asks him to prepare for landing atdusseldorf. the captain leaves and shortly after he's gone the paper says lubitz can be heard pushing his chair back and locking the door. air traffic control calls. no answer.

the captain begins yelling and banging on the door. passengers scream in the background. alarm bells sound and the captain says open the door. nbc news has not confirmed this at and authorities will neither confirm for deny it. lubitz's motive remains a mystery. was it a personal crisis depression or another medical issue. he had seen doctors for problems with his vision according to multiple reports although it's unclear how syria. as investigators try to sort it all out, this grieving father says it hardly matters. >> if there was a motive or a reason, we don't want to hear it. it's not relevant. it should never has been again. my son and everyone on that plane should not be forgotten ever. >> investigators have confirmed that they have dna for about half of the victims. they're going to match that up with the dna they've collected

from family members. >> thank you so much for that report. governor mike pence isn't packing away from a controversial religious freedom law. he says he's proud of the bill and accused the media of pushing a false for a tifr. critics say it allows businesses and owners to discriminate against gays. yesterday on abc he was pressed repeatedly about whether gays and lesbians could be discriminate canned against. >> should it be legal to discriminate against gays and lesbians? >> you're trying to make this issue about something else. what i am for is protecting at the highest standards in our courts this religious liberty of hoosiers. i signed the bill. we're going to continue to explain it to people that don't

understand it and in f possible we will find a way to amply fie what will bill really is but i stand by this law. it was an important step forward with bill clinton signed it. it's an important step forward to keeping the bill of rights and our first amendment and our indiana constitution and i'm proud that indiana has adopted the religious freedom restoration act. >> one fix that people have talked about is simply adding sexual orientation under state's civil rights laws. will you push for that? >> i will not. that's not on my agenda and that's not been an objective of the people of the state of indiana. >> still, pence says he'd be open to the legislature clarifying the intent of the law. in the washington post apple ceo tim kirk is urging the business community to oppose it. own over the weekend, angie's

list announced it's stopping an office expanse in the state and the ncaa expressed concern about the legislation. new polling shows materially front runners for president and while hillary clinton is way out in front among democrats, she's starting to take fire from the left. first from the gop. more than half of republican voters would consider jeb bush. then mike huckabee and then rand paul and marco rubio. 39% with ted cruz. a 14 point jump from last nont. democrats say they would consider backing hillary clinton but that doesn't mean they're ready to anoint her as the nominee yesterday. two-thirds would like to see her face some competition in the primary. someone had this to say about the former secretary of state. >> we need a president who is on our side a president who's willing to take on powerful

wealthy special interests in order to restore the sort of american economy where wherever you start, you can get ahead through your hard work. >> hillary clinton is not that person? >> i don't know. i don't know whether weather she stands. will she represent a break with the failed policies of the past? i don't know. i think that our country always benefits from new leadership and new perspectives and let's be honest. the presidency of the united states is not some crown to be passed between two families. it is an awesome and sacred trust to be earned. >> "the new york times" is reporting the hillary clinton election time is trying to figure out how to deploy bill clinton on the trail. they said it was no mismanaged the last time that it caused some of the campaign's most damaging moments. we'll talk to the author of that piece coming up on "morning

joe." now to business. nearly a week long battering on wall street ended up on friday. it cannot overcome the biggest weekly loss since january. we are joined live from london. steve, will friday's momentum carry over into this week? >> i don't know. european markets are up at the moment but i've got to say it's a wait and see mode. you mentioned the dropping last week. 2.2% lower for the s&p and the dow as well. it's all about jobs. we're looking ahead already to wednesday's private sector jobs figures and friday's payroll figures. the average earnings could be a key to higher interest rates and when they push the button on a rate hike. >> the boss of volvo cars which is now a chinese company, he has a big endorsement for the u.s. they're going to build a new

vehicle plant in the united states and this is all about reshoring. big international companies including volvo putting u.s. car building manufacturing back in the u.s. beating countries like mexico which have been doing pretty well. good news for the u.s. >> and steve, facebook is currently banned in china, but how is it planning to capitalize on chinese business interest? >> very interesting. mark zuckerberg, the product is bad but there's a bit of a charm offensive. trying to draw some of the chinese advertisers toward their 1.4 billion customers globally. you can't use facebook in china but those advertisers want to reach bigger markets as well. they haven't broken down the numbers of how much money facebook is making out of asia but in terribles of the whole continue tent as a whole. 67% increase on the whole from

asian markets. you can see how they're looking at the area and saying we may be banned in the mainland but we want to grow and we want the revenue from the chinese companies as well to our benefit. it's an interesting strategy there. >> live from london. thanks for joining us. still ahead, the ncaa tournament down to the final four. we'll have the highlights from this weekend's fantastic matchups and what happened during this hockey game that had one of our colleagues returning with stitches? cuff tough guy. those stories and a check on your weather when "way too early" comes right back.

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♪ ♪ >> all right. time now for some sports. the ncaa is down to the final

four. check out the action from the elite eight matchups. >> okafor gets the shot to go. matt jones lays it in. >> they can double off -- clock is ticking. three it goes to two, to one. grant gets the shot up. >> douser. made the fake. mcconnell. that gets him a three. the big time hit. >> outside decker. it's a three. got it. >> this second half has been phenomenal. >> the defensive presence then sure wasn't three green shirts defensively.

>> michigan state on top. >> dawson into the corner. forbes. put back. what a beautiful shot. >> michigan state is headed to the final four. >> wisconsin, kentucky michigan state, and duke all advance to the final four. the action picks back up on saturday. three number one seeds in the seven. let's go to the nh will. even the broadcasters are tough as nails. a tipped pass sends the puck into the press box hitting brian engblom into the forehead. he leaves for stitches but he returns into the third period showing off a nice gash on his forehead. some great toughness right there. good job, brian. let's check on your weather with bill karins. what do we know? it was snowing today when i walked into the studio.

a week out from opening day. this is brutal. >> i know. it's true. we're not far away from it and the basketball game saturday night. we could talk about that all night long. >> the good guys won in the notre dame game. >> i see. let's talk about luke said he saw snow flakes. this little batch of snow is kicking through new england. saturday was ugly. as far as this goes this will be in and out in a hurry. this morning some sun shine. also a little batch down to the south, a little rain and snow mixture. that will be kicking off the coast shortly. as far as the south goes a batch of thunderstorms. it brought a lot of lightning earlier. they're approaching the birmingham area. even in atlanta the storms are just to your north. a little bit of lightning. the timing of that it's not going to take that long to race through. probably during the peak obvious your morning rush hour is probably the worst of it.

again in charlotte and other areas, quick moving showers. atlanta, it looks around 7:00 a.m. the worst for you. charlotte and augusta, that should be around 8:00 or 9:00 a.m. and this afternoon it falls apart. the rest of the south should be okay for your ride home today. how about the middle of the country. this is has nice as it gets. you've been in a warm stretch. very windy. the warmth gets up to chicago. the good news for new england if there is any is finally we're ending march which we'd like to forget and it looks like it's going to warm up. boston today only 45. tomorrow it gets about 48 and we sneak into the 50s. even new england is finally going to turn the page into april. it's about time. >> billings montana looks like the place to be today. who would have thought that. >> you didn't get the message? billings. get to the rodeo. >> thank you so much. appreciate it. >> still ahead we'll tell you

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in those around them as early as age two. that's the same age they begin adopting the attitude and vocabulary of their parents. so use that opportunity to let your children know that it's okay to not only talk about our differences, but to celebrate them. that's a lesson they're never too young to learn. the more you know. all right. let's gate check on the morn eegs other headlines. trevor noah is the most likely candidate to replace jon stewart as host of the daily show a course tells deadline the 31

south african born comic made his debut as an international correspondent in december. he has been on the short list since february says the industry source. comedy central had no comment. the return of the rock oh balm ma brought back his hull can i fied alter ego when he hosted saturday night live taking things out on republicans. >> oh my god. it's happening. >> what's happening? >> what's happening is you made barack obama very angry. and when you make him angry, he

turns into the rock obama. anyway, i just wanted to remind you about dinner barack. gentleman, good luck. >> now, don't be alarmed. the rock obama much like barack obama only larger and more violent. now, where were we? you, orange man. >> me? >> you enviet netanyahu without asking? >> i did but -- >> you like israel? >> yes. >> maybe you should go visit israel. >> now for a preview of what's coming up on "morning joe." the state department hitting back at a report that claims iran backtracked on a key part of the nuclear deal that it once agreed to with the tuesday deadline quick approaching how much will the obama

administration give to make a deal. andrea mitchel will join the show where negotiations are happening right now. plus major backlash over a new indiana law that critics say is a license to discriminate. the business community ramping up to oppose it. that and much more coming up next on "morning joe." m one... i am one of the one's who discovered always discreet underwear for sensitive bladders. it makes me feel secure, confident. i feel protected. i mean i feel comfortable to move in them, they move with me. i love always discreet underwear because of the fit. the fabric is very soft. i can wear whatever i want to wear. always discreet has made me a very happy woman. join over 500,000 women who've discovered always discreet underwear. for more stories and your free sample go to alwaysdiscreet.com so bladder leaks can feel like no big deal.

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the governor of. indiana signed a new law to allow business toes turn away gay and lesbian customers saying it's part of their religious freedom. you will be able to tell which stores are supporting the new law because they will have these helpful little signs. the head of the house committee investigating the benghazi attacks said friday that hillary clinton wiped her personal e-mail server clean permanently deleting all her e-mails. so at least one clinton has lear