any other republicans wanting to hop on board the trump band wagon, the line starts right behind the isis at the boarder guy. it seems perfect somehow. that does it for us tonight. "first look" is up next. it's thursday, february 25th. right now on "first look," death, destruction and delays. extreme weather and tornadoes from pensacola right on through the northeast. fresh off his nevada victory, the donald has his sights set on super tuesday. while cruz an rubio are seemingly battling for second place. a rare interview with the woman who could become first lady. and incredible images of exploding e-cigarettes inside people's pants. plus, an emotional day in court as erin andrews breaks down during her dad's testimony in her $75 million lawsuit. astronaut scott kelly prepares to return to earth after spending a record one year in space. and a clue to tiger's come

back? "first look" starts right now. good morning. i'm dara brown. breaking overnight, four people are dead after 19 tornadoes reportedly touched down along the east coast yesterday. three people including a 2-year-old boy were killed in the town of waverly, virginia. their bodies were found 300 yards from their home. officials enacted the curfew last night as first responders continue to search door to door overnight for missing residents. this tornado swept through an eight to ten mile area of appomattox, virginia. cutting houses in half and turning entire neighborhoods tone rubble. this is part of the storm system that claimed the lives of four others and spawned tornados in the south. the massive ef-3 tornado that hit pensacola, florida, is confirmed as the strongest of the year with winds topping out

at 155 miles an hour. one said his neighborhood is like a war zone with debris and cars and trees scattered everywhere. hundreds of thousands of people from florida up through new jersey are without power and thousands of flights have been cancelled or delayed. delta bought pizza for frustrated and hungry passengers after their flight that was supposed to land at laguardia was rerouted to sir kuss. as new york city saw heavy rains strong enough to blow over this tractor-trailer on the george washington bridge out on long island a truck burst into flames as light poles were knocked down on top of it. this pickup truck is barely visible after skidding off the road and getting covered in snow in indiana. and a fire broke out after heavy winds and snow knocked down power lines in a back road in illinois. meteorologist bill karins will join us later in the show with the very latest forecast. after winning nevada, donald trump continued to dig into ted

cruz's evangelical base with a q&a session hosted by christian media mogul pat robertson. trump got his first congressional packing from new york's chris collins who previously backed jeb bush saying the donald has the guts and fortitude to reclaim outsourced jobs and take on isis and north korea. california's duncan hunter who recently made news by vaping at a hearing to make a point about e-cigarettes said he'd also support trump. but former gop nominee mitt romney warned that a blockbuster was on the way when trump releases his tax returns, an issue that rankled the former governor in his 2012 bid. >> we really ought to see from all three of these foal fellows what their taxes look like. i think in donald trump's case it's likely to be a bombshell. >> he said the concern comes from trump's claims of charitable donations. trump responded to romney's prediction. >> why not get them out there?

>> my returns are extremely complex. i'm not in a rush to do it. >> and he also talked about picking up votes when his rivals drop out. >> i could win texas, i don't know that i will. that's the only state i'm a little down. i laugh at pundits if you add up all the rest it's 53. well, when people leave, i pick up a lot of votes. >> later the front-runner tweeted when ted cruz quits i will get most of his voters, no problem. we heard from mrs. trump. she spoke to msnbc's mika mika brzezinski about disagreeing with the donald. >> do we agree all the time? no, i don't. i tell him that. i tell him my opinions. i tell him what i think. sometimes he listens, sometimes he don't. >> a fascinating look at a very private potential first lady. and some of the latest polling

out of ted cruz's state has the senator a few points ahead and even neck and neck with trump. on the democratic side, hillary clinton is adding the flint water crisis to her platform. releasing a new campaign ad in michigan featuring flint mayor karen weaver, a local pastor and residents. be sure to keep it here on msnbc later today for clinton at 5:00 p.m. and then at 8:00 p.m., chris matthews talks with bernie sanders as part of the "hardball" college tour. don't miss it. now to the alarming and dangerous side effect from the e-cigarettes. >> reporter: a customer was stopping for snacks at a gas station when the security camera captured this startling moment. >> suddenly there was a blast in his pocket. there was a big fire. >> reporter: josh hamilton had second degree burns. he said the spare battery for his e-cigarette device exploded.

it's the latest injury tied to the electronic vapor products. reports cropping up from oklahoma to california. >> i pulled it away from my lips. >> reporter: doctors at the medical center in seattle have seen five different patients in the past five months. >> the way that the battery is in the device it becomes a high powered rocket that can cause significant force and injury to the patient. >> reporter: the problem centers around lithium ion batteries that power the devices which can overheat, especially the wrong charger is used. the american vaping association says when charged and used under proper conditions, vapor products pose no more of a fire risk than other products that use lithium ion batteries like cell phones and laptops. are a lot of customers asking you about this? >> yes. >> reporter: at the vape source in l.a., employees say don't carry the batteries in your pockets. >> sometimes you might touch the loose change in your pockets or your keys. so i recommend carry a battery case like this right here. then pretty much it's protected.

>> reporter: advice to make sure that people can vape without the fireworks. joe fryer, nbc news, los angeles. a video purportedly made by isis supporters makes direct threat against two social media titans. the first is against mark zuckerberg and jack dorsey and are in response to the recent efforts to remove posts that promote terrorism. isis has threatened dorsey before, but it's the first one made against zuckerberg. in a video it was reportedly discovered and allegedly posted on a social media site popular among isis supporters and showed them both riddled with bullet holes. isis is known to use twitter and facebook to spread propaganda and recruit new members. let's get down to business with cnbc's landon dowdy. good morning. >> hi there, good morning to you. the faa will consider allowing

adrians to -- drones to fly over people. amazon and google say they aim to start delivering by drone in next two years although they'll it's investing in same day delivery start-up delivery which works with macy's, kohls and others to deliver on line orders. the stores pass on the cost to the customers. and beijing is the new billionaire capital of the world, surpassing new york. the chinese capital is now home to the most billionaires with 132 new members of that list last year. the study shows how china's elite continued to accrue wealth, despite a shaky stock market and economy. it was a night of upsets in college basketball. the marquee match-up of the night, number one villanova visiting fifth ranked xavier in cincinnati. the musketeers led by mccoy and sumner managed to dominate the

wildcats who got into foul trouble early and often. xavier took this one, 90-83. next wisconsin taking on home team iowa, the hawkeyes seemed to dominate most of the game. until about the final five minutes. the badgers turned it on late and held on to hand eighth ranked iowa their third loss in four games. 67-59. next we have nba hoopster bill walton feeling rocky mountain high. to the last second desperation at the buzzer and no good, and the herd of buffalo fans storm the court as colorado upsets number nine arizona, 75-72. finally, progressing nicely. that's what tiger woods who still recovering from back surgery posted along with this 13 second video on twitter showing him swinging a 9 iron in a golf simulator. no word on when tiger might return if ever to the tour. and just ahead astronaut

scott kelly prepares for his big return to earth. plus, the battle over the supreme court heats up with leaders circling the wagons. and playing peekaboo. details ahead.

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well, we showed yule the pictures at the top of the show. what an amazing storm over the last two days, still doing damage out there on cape cod and in maine. but for the most part, a horrible storm system that killed so many people and produced so much severe weather, the clean-up is going to take all day in some cases. all the blue dots are wind damage reports or high, gusty winds that caused damage. 360 reports of that. 19 tornado reports. notice how many reports were up in massachusetts and rhode island this morning. these are from the storms that just rolled through. we're pretty much clear. the worst have cleared boston. we have a severe thunderstorm warning in down east maine in february. that doesn't happen. the cold side of the storm, we have numerous areas reporting snow from michigan to indiana,

ohio. some of the roads will be treacherous. temperatures are right around freezing there. the only heavy snow will be found in the mountains of the appalachians in the day ahead. only one to two inches likely a lot of spots from cleveland. the rest of the country looks great out there. no big storms are on the way for the weekend so that's nice too. we get a break after the big one. >> thank you so much for that. president obama is pushing back the republican senators who say they won't consider any of the supreme court nominees to replace the late antonin scalia. one person on the list -- brian sandoval, the republican governor and first latino judge. >> this is quay for democrats in the white house to extract maximum pain on republicans on their stance not to hear any nominee. >> in a scotus blog post, president obama said he is looking for one who is eminently qualified. scott kelly the first

american to spend a year in orbit is returning back to earth on today. he's gaped a huge foal lying -- gained a huge following after posting on social media. during an interview with "nightly news" interview lester holt. he shared what he'll miss the most. >> the ability to push our limits with exploration and discoverry. i think it's been a privilege of being a part of that. it's something that i'm going to miss. >> by the time kelly returns, he will have travelled more than 143 million miles in space. and you have to look at this cute photo of a polar bear that seems to be playing a game of peekaboo at the detroit zoo. amazing. well, it was a dramatic day in the civil lawsuit brought by sports reporter erin andrews in court. she looked on in tears as her father testified about her trauma after a man secretly filmed her naked at a hotel. she is suing the stalker and the hotel's owner and former

management company claiming they let it happen. nbc's morgan radford has the details. >> reporter: an emotional day for erin andrews, wiping away tears while her faertd describes her as a -- her father describes her as a shell of the person she once was. >> she's terrified. she's depressed. she's not the girl that we used to know. >> reporter: steve andrews a veteran reporter testifying on behalf of his daughter and her $75 million suit of the man accused of filming her naked in the nashville hotel room. >> she screamed i'm on the internet, i'm naked. i'm done. >> reporter: michael barrett removed and altered the peep hole of the room and then held up a cell phone and recorded it. >> he wanted a room next to her. how does this happen? >> reporter: a hospitality expert was called to the stand. >> that's the cardinal sin, to

give somebody's room number away. >> reporter: the hoe teels lawyer blames only the stalker. >> he connived, he stalked. that's what mr. barrett did. >> reporter: mr. andrews believes someone needs to pay for what happened to his daughter. >> first time in my life that as her -- sorry. as her father i didn't know if she was safe or not. i feared for her life. >> reporter: morgan radford, nbc news. >> is the republicans refusal to consider a supreme court nominee political pay back? plus, fantasy sports meets the race for the white house in "scrambled politics" and that's up next. you listen. you laugh. you worry. you do whatever it takes to take care of your family. and when it's time to plan for your family's future, we're here for you. we're legalzoom, and for over 10 years we've helped families just like yours with wills and living trusts. so when you're ready, start with us. doing the right thing has never been easier.

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time now for "scrambled politics." senator marco rubio spun donald trump's nevada victory as only a second placer could. >> last time mitt romney got over 50% so donald trump actually underperformed what mitt romney did not once but twice in this state. >> rubio pulled in seven delegates in nevada and the donald gained 14. south carolina senator lindsey graham is quoted by "the new york times" implying that the senate's refusal to hold nominations on the supreme court nominations is political pay back. he said this is the consequence of an abuse of power. don't ask for fairness if you're not going to give it. responding to the president's plan to close gitmo, senator pat roberts tweeted this video showing him throwing white house plans right into the garbage. and we have heard a lot

about bernie sanders pulling in the younger vote and a toy company is banking on that demographic, fuelling the nostalgic bern. ♪ my bernie, my bernie, my bernie and me 12340e9. >> the company is trying to fund the action figures via kick stater. hey, political junkies, think you'd make a better president? thomson reuters built a app and lets you build it up into the general election. that's your morning dish of "scrambled politics." now to washington and i'm joined by a bloomberg reporter. >> thanks for having me. >> now the tenth republican debate is tonight, this thursday. >> i'm on my way. >> give me a hint here, because it's the last one before super tuesday. any surprises expected? >> you know, i really think that what you're going to see is senator ted cruz as well as

marco rubio battling each other. both of them feel like they're the best, most clear alternative to republican presidential front-runner donald trump. and they want the other guy out of the way. so i think it's going to be really tense, particularly on the issues of immigration. we have seen this before, but now all eyes are on these three people. of course, dr. ben carson and john kasich will be on stage as well. >> super tuesday is that going to be the turning point do you think for both parties? >> well, you know, i think with regards to the republican party, i think we have had a turning point if you will just after the nevada caucuses. there's no question now and whether i'm talking to donald trump supporters or critics within the republican circles they view him as the front-runner. so the chances for an alternative candidate to begin coalescing behind for the republican party is extremely -- that time is narrowing. so i think that especially after super tuesday, if you're looking

at a situation where donald trump is the clear winner, then that's really no time, as far as the democrats i think that hillary clinton still very well positioned to have a solid super tuesday. >> let's stick with the gop for a minute because mitt romney is calling out trump on possible tax return bombshell and republican representative trent franks from california is trying to get cruz or rubio to drop out. what has this 2016 race done to the republican party? >> well, two things. first and foremost, you know, again, that winnowing field, they feel if they want to stop donald trump they have all got to coalesce behind somebody. as far as mitt romney and the tax return there is's been a lot of growing cries for donald trump to do that. we see that frequently every cycle. it will be interesting to see how transparent he is willing to be with regard to his tax returns. he said he's released the financial disclosure forms that a lot of people thought he wouldn't do it. we have to see if he'll go further with his tax returns. >> kevin cirilli in washington,

thank you for that input. >> thank you. all right. well, just ahead, was supreme court justice antonin scalia part of a secret society? and plus, ellen's audiences are seeing double. 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. it takes a lot of work... but i really love it.s. i'm on the move all day long... and sometimes, i just don't eat the way i should.

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leading the news, it's the knows read article in "the washington post." justice scalia spent his last hours with members of the secretive society of elite hunters. the international order dates back to the 1600s. a review of the public records show that some the members were with justice scalia at the west texas ranch where he spent his last days. it's still unclear what if any official association scalia had

with the group. and on nbc.com, emergency rooms doubled for those visiting colorado. the rate doubled for tourists since 2014. this is disproportionately due to edibles and is cautioning you to have an understanding of the risks before you try it. this might make you do a double take. this woman might be a better ellen than ellen herself. >> hi, i'm ellen. >> that's how you say, i'm ellen. >> i'm ellen. no, i'm ellen. i got this blondie, step aside. >> you're going to do the monologue? >> that's right. because i'm ellen. so scoot. um, hi, everyone. happy wednesday. >> that is amazing. she is so spot on. >> she could have a career doing that. >> i love that.

i got this, blondie. i wonder if she made it up or a monologue prepared. i don't know. >> we'll give her credit for ad-libbing. >> i'm dara brown. don't forget to like us on facebook. "way too early" starts right now. the very first speech that i gave back in april was about criminal justice reform. and about -- >> it's not appropriate. this is not appropriate. >> that's rude. >> i know that you called black youths -- >> hillary clinton interrupted by a black lives matter protester at a fund-raiser in charleston last night. the democratic front-runner asked to apologize for remarks she made during her husband's administration. plus, four years ago it was mitt romney who was accused of hiding something in his taxes. now romney is playing the tax

man, warning of a possible quote bombshell in trump's financials. the pictures coming in from across the south this morning, devastating. an update on the severe weather that's now being blamed for at least eight deaths. it is 5:30 here on the east coast, 2:30 out west. this is "way too early." good morning. it's thursday, february 25th. i'm alex witt. donald trump has been feuding with mitt romney since the beginning of his campaign and yesterday romney took his strongest swipe yet at republican front-runner. calling on the candidates to release their back taxes. a question that dogged his 2012 campaign suggesting trump has something to hide. >> frankly, i think we have good reason to believe that there's a bombshell