it's wednesday, february 24th. right now on "first look," a huge victory for donald trump in nevada. winning big with male and female voters from almost every group imaginable. >> so we won the evangelicals. we won with young. we won with old. we won with highly educated. we won with poorly educated. i love the poorly educated. today 35 million americans in the path of severe weather that's already left at least three dead with more tornadoes expected today. the cdc has identified 14 new cases of zika in the u.s. transmitted through sexual relations. plus, sportscaster erin

andrews prepares to take the stand in her civil suit over secretly recorded naked video that's been viewed over 300 million times. it's wednesday, february 24th, and "first look" starts right now. good morninged to you. i'm frances rivera. trump won every major voting plok by a landslide. his count now stands at 79 delegates. far and away ahead of ted cruz and marco rubio with 16 and 15 respectively. trump spoke to his enthusiastic supporters. >> trump trump trump trump trump trump! trump trump trump trump trump! >> now, we're winning, winning, winning. and soon the country is going to start winning, winning, winning. [ cheers and applause ] >> and he highlighted the across the board demographics of the voters. >> we won the evangelicals.

we won with young. we won with old. we won with highly educated. we won with poorly educated. i love the poorly educated. we're the smartest people with the most loyal people. 46% with the hispanics, 46%. number one with hispanics. >> msnbc's steve kornacki breaks down how the next few weeks may play out. >> with donald trump -- if he wants to end this quickly the easiest thing to keep doing is to keep winning, but there are specific things he can do to force the issue with the three remaining components. win in the home states. look at this. this is a poll that's just out in the last day. ted cruz ahead by only eight points in his home state over donald trump. it was not long ago that the ted cruz campaign was look at texas and looking at 50% there. pause if you can win more than 50% in texas, you win every

single one of the statewide delegates at state. this is a winner take all primary in ohio. the buckeye state, john kasich, two-term governor re-elected overwhelmingly in 2014, brand-new poll out there, donald trump leading john kasich in his home state of ohio by five points. in florida, 99 delegates, marco rubio the home state candidate, not only in the latest poll -- this is a few weeks ago we have to say, not only is marco rubio losing to donald trump, but he was running third in his home state behind even ted cruz. now rubio got a decent performance in a couple of contests, maybe that bumps him up. but again, donald trump has done nothing but win since this poll was conducted. so from that stand point, maybe donald trump is moving up as well. >> meanwhile the democrats held a town hall in south carolina. hillary clinton took questions on foreign policy and women's issues. while bernie sanders touched on the hot button topic of the transcripts from hillary clinton's private wall street

speeches. >> secretary clinton said i will do it if other people do it. well, i am very happy to release all of my paid speeches to wall street. here it is, chris. there ain't none. >> sure, if everybody does it, and this includes the republicans because we know they have made a lot of speeches. but look, what is this about? this is about whether i have the best plan to go after wall street. >> you know everybody's not going to bring up their transcripts. there will be a hundred reasons -- >> why is there one standard for me and not for everybody else, chris? i mean -- i think everybody should be on a level playing field. >> the candidates also tackled issues of race and gun violence. both are hoping for a boost in saturday's south carolina primary will clinton is favored. before the whirlwind super tuesday when more than a thousand delegates are up for grabs. the massive number on march 1st brings us to tracie potts and a look at the dozen states.

>> reporter: hi, frances, yeah it's interesting to see what happens after super tuesday because this could be a key mark for both the democrats and the republicans in this race. take a look at that map of the states that are going to be voting. it's the largest contest we have seen so far. it's the first time we will see people in the midwest voting. the largest states so far, texas, will have those delegates up for grabs. donald trump is hoping to clinch it on super tuesday. more than half the delegates needed for the nomination. he goes into this with three of the four contests so far under his belt. ted cruz is also hoping that super tuesday could be a huge win for him. his home state of texas is voting, they have 155 delegates up for grabs. marco rubio who left nevada and went to the midwest is also hoping to solidify things on super tuesday. taking a look at the democrats for clinton and for bernie sanders, this could also be key. in fact, sanders' home state of vermont is voting on super tuesday. >> thank you very much, tracie

potts. after a tense night in the deep south, 35 million americans are in the path of severe weather with parts of the country bracing for more twisters today. dangerous storm systems pushed through the gulf coast region. at least three people are dead and dozens more injured as at least five confirmed tornadoes touched down in louisiana, mississippi and florida. and tens of thousands are still without power. this video captured the moment power was knocked out in one alabama town. and in louisiana, dueling tornadoes touched down over a lake causing huge waterspouts. while elsewhere debris from homes scattered in streets and yards. the state police posted this area looking more like a demolition site. and the damage in the area is severe, this home completely destroyed. the only thing left -- water shooting up, marking the spot where the house used to stand. and the remnants of this home can now be found floating in runoff from the storm.

and the threat continues today. nbc meteorologist bill karins is here with your extreme weather forecast. good morning. a tough one for lot of people watching the storms. >> a big clean-up. we don't know how bad the damage is because it happened at night. the tornadoes, 30 of them reported. a lot of them along the i-10er do corridor in new orleans down through north florida. 72 wind reports, wind damage. we have a tornado watch issued until 10:00 for much of north florida and southern portions of georgia. we haven't had too many bad weather reports and we're starting to watch them weaken slightly. and some wind damage too, we have a couple of severe tornado warnings in south central georgia at the current time. here's the threat for today. we have about 35 million people at risk. washington, d.c., south wards all the way down to the i-4 corridor.

but this enhanced risk, a moderate risk of severe storms this is where the best chance of any tornadoes are in eastern north carolina, southeastern sections of virginia today. the raleigh area to richmond, that i-95 corridor, that's where we can see some strong storms. charlotte, noon in columbia, that's when the worst of the storms will be clearing out. by 4:00 p.m. if we're going to have bad tornados between 4:00 and 6:00 in raleigh and richmond is the timing. we have snow on the backside. snow in chicago, detroit, blizzard conditions in indiana, illinois. >> blizzard. tough for a lot of people this morning. hope we get everybody through it. thank you. president obama formally announced his plan to close down the controversial detention facility in guantanamo bay, cuba. >> for many years it's been clear that the detention facility at guantanamo bay does not advance our national security. it undermines it. this is not just my opinion. this is the opinion of experts. this is the opinion of many in our military.

>> well, that opinion isn't shared by everyone, especially across the aisle. >> it would be illegal under current law to transfer foreign terrorists at gaughan muantanam the united states. >> when i'm president, if we capture a terrorist alive they're not getting a court hearing in manhattan or sent to nevada. they're going to guantanamo. we'll find out everything they know. >> and donald trump also addressed the president's decision in his victory speech late last night. >> gitmo, we're going to keep it open, and we'll load it up with bad dudes and a lot of bad dudes out there. >> the plan rests on the transfer of between 30 and 60 of the data -- detainees to u.s. soil. the u.s. armed services committee will hold a hearing on the plan. time to get down to business with cnbc's landon dowdy. good morning. >> hi, there. good morning to you as well. the markets could see more red

arrows today. stocks sold off tuesday on a lot of big prices. crude is below $31 a barrel and investors reacted to saudi arabia's oil minister ruling out any production cuts and reports that u.s. supplies rose more than expected last week. look for data on new home sales. meanwhile, sports authority can file for bankruptcy as soon as next month. the retailer plans to close up to 200 of its u.s. stores. the sporting goods industry is dealing with increased competition from the likes of walmart and amazon. and if you want a reliable ride, shop around for a foreign brand. consumer reports say the best cars hail from outside the u.s. the top reliable vehicles are audi, porsche and bmw. buick is the only american brand to crack the top ten. >> all right. at number seven. erin andrews $70 million stalker lawsuit gets under way.

and a plane crashes in a busy street. "first look" is back in three. oh remotes, you've had it tough.

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the cdc is investigating 14 new cases of zika in the u.s. reportedly spread through sexual contact. >> in each of the episodes, man was traveling to a zika-affected area, developed symptoms that were consistent with zika. and within two weeks of the man's symptoms, the female partner developed symptoms consistent with zika virus. >> the cdc advises expectant mothers to use condoms or abstain from sex from pregnancy if their partner has travelled to a zika infected area. what do we want? privacy. >> with giant don't break our phone signs, democrat demonstrators showed support for apple yesterday. they're fighting a court order

to break into farook's phone. the u.s. government has asked to unlock 14 other devices. in california, a single engine plane crash landed hitting several cars. the pilot was trying to return to the airport in a plane owned by his son joshua. he's currently in jail for stalking sandra bullock. jurors heard opening statements in the lawsuit of erin andrews. she is suing a man who secretly photographed her naked. >> sports reporter erin andrews headed into the nashville courtroom. eight years after a stalker secretly recorded her naked in her room of this marriott hotel and then posted it online. a video viewed more than 300 million times. >> she is so afraid now.

she's so afraid. >> reporter: andrews' attorney says her stalker michael barrett asked for a room next to hers and got it. he served 30 months and is now free. and in the civil case, andrews wants $75 million from the marriott hotel in nashville. its management company at the time and michael barrett. the hotel denies they're responsible. >> the counsel is trying to tie my clients who are trying to provide a hotel room to their guests, to a criminal stalker. >> reporter: andrews was stoic in court, but previously shared her embarrassment. >> i won't get this down in 30 months or 30 years. my kids and future husband has to deal with this. >> reporter: she alleges the stalker found out where she was staying by marriott. >> you said that it was acceptable to provide the information if somebody was staying at a particular hotel,

correct? >> yes. >> reporter: michael barrett will be testifying by videotape in a trial expected to take two weeks. and andrews is expected to take the stand. morgan radford, nbc news. just ahead, msnbc's steve kornacki is back to break down the numbers on how trump won the nevada caucus. where you come from. we didn't really have anything, you know. but, we made do. vo: know you can craft an investment plan as strong as your values. al, how you doing. hey, mr. hamilton. vo: know that together you can establish a meaningful legacy. with the guidance and support of your dedicated pnc wealth management team. is caring.ng because covering heals faster. to seal out water, dirt and germs, cover with a water block clear bandage from band-aid brand.

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know, if they could just take the other candidates and add them up, they keep forgetting when people drop out, we're going to get a lot of votes. >> donald trump certainly did win a lot of votes last night, adding 12 delegates to bringing his total to 77. we go to msnbc's steve kornacki and his charts for a deeper look at the voting group breakdown. >> let's start on ideology. those who call themselves very conservative, again, a big part of the electorate here. donald trump winning them, over ted cruz. ted cruz has been targeting this group of people, he's losing to donald trump tonight. how about somewhat conservative, another large chunk of voters here, again, a bigger donald trump win, 18 points. rubio jumps up there. there's moderate republicans, that's not an insignificant chunk of the electorate. donald trump, a lot of people look at him on immigration, he's

doing the best among moderate voters. note, rubio, he jumps up and down, he does better with moderates, not as with well very conservatives. cruz is jumping around. trump is winning all the groups, he wins again. white evangelical voters. he did this in south carolina. he's doing it here by an even bigger margin. this is a bigger group of voters that the ted cruz campaign has been built up. we have seen this college/noncollege, donald trump does better with those without college degrees. rubio does well among noncollege. a huge win for donald trump. he gets half the vote tonight. there's the question of when did voters make up their mind? we can show you some interesting things here. those who made up their minds today, marco rubio actually did a slight plurality, trump, cruz, some votes there. the thing the most encouraging for marco rubio those who said in the last few days they made up their minds, look at this. this is since south carolina.

rubio clearly winning this group. so this was what the rubio people have been saying, since south carolina republicans may look at this race anew. they will start siding with rubio. there's some -- i don't want to overstate this, because this is a big trump win, there is some indication that some voters gave rubio a second look over the last few days. look at the other number, those who made up their minds more than a month ago. this is half the republican electorate today. in nearly 60% of them voting for donald trump. >> wow. and that is nevada. now behind us. super tuesday in front of us. right beside me is political analyst and best selling author ellis henican. good morning to you. donald trump said winning six times in 30 seconds in his speech last night. winning, winning, winning. >> he won. he won. >> is this thing done? >> no. no no no no. >> i mean, come on. >> what would we do if it were done, let's be honest? >> if he takes super tuesday and

we're looking at last night in nevada, hispanics, won there. evangelicals, across the board and the numbers that steve broke down. actually the other ones, when they'll start to chip off? kasich, carson. you said they're not going to. >> i don't think individually they have an incentive to quit. every one of them said, hey, you other guys ought to quit, get out of the race, it will be easier for me. but honestly, as long as they can squeeze two nickals together, i don't think they'll quit. what would ben carson do, go home and watch "ellen" reruns? >> if you saw rubio who has the momentum and he got the endorsements of the establishment here, he's looking ahead and saying, come on if john kasich drops out, let's consolidate maybe what i got from bush and maybe that gap between donald trump and marco

rubio will start to narrow? >> you're such an optimist. >> i'm just -- i'm putting it out there. >> listen, here's the thing. you want to understand why they want to look ahead, because they can't look behind. the results behind didn't work out so well. listen, it is absolutely the case, donald is romping right now. it's also the case that we just -- we're just beginning, an awful lot of delegates to go. super tuesday will have a load of them. ted cruz is looking closely at texas and then a couple of weeks ago john kasich. ohio is where i'll make my stand and marco rubio says, just get me to florida. but you know what, at some point in there these guys have got to actually win something. so far -- >> isn't it too late? we have donald trump with the momentum here, three in a row. >> are you asking me is it likely or is it possible? >> well, anything is possible. it's politics, right? >> that's what you have to fall back on, anything is possible. listen, you make a good case, d donald is the one who has the most to cheer about.

the smart people like him. the uneducated people like him. he likes the uneducated people. but we'll have plenty to talk about. don't worry. >> of course. when it comes to ted cruz, how is he going to turn it around? when you see him lost here. he needs texas and then you have just the internal struggles, you know, with his campaign, very quickly resigning -- how will he turn it around? >> he pins it on texas. 155 delegates there. it's possible, but get back to what you said earlier. not too likely. >> well, i wanted to talk about the democrats, but we don't have time for that. but hillary clinton is favored for south carolina. >> great to see you. >> i'm frances rivera. this is "first look" on msnbc. don't forget to like us on facebook. up next, "way too early." thanks for being with us on this wednesday morning. have a great one.

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trump trump trump trump trump! >> of course if you listen to the pundits we weren't expected to win too much and now we're winning, winning, winning the country. and soon the country is going to start winning, winning, winning. [ cheers and applause ] >> nevada gives donald trump his third win in a row. and despite his harsh rhetoric on immigration, he even won among hispanics. from the campaign trail to capitol hill, leaders dig in their heels on two major issues -- gitmo and the supreme court. and severe weather sweeps the south, at least seven confirmed tornadoes. two deaths. and dozens of injuries across

southern states. it's 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west. this is "way too early." good morning. it's wednesday, february 24th. i'm jonathan capehart. as the results continue to come in slowly from nevada, nbc news projects donald trump as the winner. his third early election victory in a row. he did it on the back of what the state party is calling a record turnout. at one high school in sparks, lines were two to three times what organizers had planned for. vote totals are still trickling in, but with more than 90% of the vote, 73,000 votes have already been tabulated. this morning, trump is easily beating ted cruz and marco rubio who are neck and neck and right now, it's too close to call second place. ben carson and john kasich are much further back. not getting more thanng