and myself for complete prime-time coverage of the super tuesday results on your nbc news affiliate. as for us, we'll be back next week because if it's sunday, it's "meet the press." it's monday, february 29th. right now on "first look." leo wins. "spotlight" shines, and chris rocks on. >> well, i'm here at the academy awards. otherwise known as the white people's choice awards. >> and the political insults and miscues as the candidates sprint for votes ahead of tomorrow's super tuesday with 12 states voting. plus a major assist from an anonymous shopping cart guy. that and much more as we kick off a busy week ahead. "first look" starts right now. good morning, i'm dara brown. the award goes to -- last night the stars gathered in hollywood for the 88th academy awards. the awards were spread out. "spotlight" won best picture

while "mad max: fury road" and "the revenant" also won big. the ceremony had plenty of controversy, with the cloud of #oscarssowhite hanging over the festivities. nbc's jennifer bjorkman is live in hollywood for us. good morning, jennifer. >> good morning, dara. they are still wrapping things up here on the red carpet. it's pretty noisy out here, as the heavy equipment is moving in and putting those statuettes up on forklifts and hauling them away for another year. hollywood's biggest night did not disappoint, with the glitz, the glamour, the controversy, and a few big surprises, too. >> "spotlight." >> reporter: the title described the moment. the newspaper drama "spotlight," the center of attention. a surprise oscar winner for best picture. >> this film gave a voice to survivors, and this oscar amplifies that voice. >> reporter: best picture favorite "the revenant" still won big. best director honors for alejandro inarritu for the second year in a row.

>> i can't believe this is happening. >> reporter: and a first career oscar for leonardo dicaprio as best actor. >> i thank you all for this amazing award tonight. let us not take this planet for granted. i do not take tonight for granted. >> reporter: best actress went to "room's" brie larson completing her domination of awards season. >> thank you to the fans. thank you to the moviegoers. thank you for going to the theater and seeing our films. >> reporter: best supporting actress went to alicia vikander for "the danish girl." >> thank you. >> reporter: while "bridge of spies" mark's rylance pulled an upset for supporting actor, beating out heavy favorite sylvester stallone. >> if you ever wonder about acting with tom hanks would it help? the answer is clearly yes. >> reporter: "mad max: fury road" took home the most oscars, six overall. all in technical categories. before the show demonstrators blocked the way, protested the academy's lack of diversity. >> otherwise known as the white people's choice awards. >> reporter: subject also on host chris rock's mind.

a night when the spotlight was on the movie industry's best. chris rock had to walk a pretty fine line there, delivering a searing commentary with some jokes, and also managed to get big laughs, not an easy task, and most people agreed that he did pull it off pretty brilliantly. dara? >> another one for the record books, jennifer, thank you so much for that. well, this morning the candidates prepare to make their final pitches to voters before tomorrow's 12 state super tuesday races. over the weekend it was a schoolyard fight between marco rubio and donald trump. >> that a guy with the worst spray tan in america is attacking me for putting on makeup. >> you're a joker and you're a liar. >> donald trump likes to sue people. he should sue whoever did that to his face. >> it's rubio!

>> have you seen his hands? they're like this. and you know what they say about men with small hands. you can't trust them. >> ted cruz meanwhile attacked trump on his tax returns. >> well, there've been multiple media reports about donald's business dealings with the mob, with the mafia. maybe his taxes show those business dealings are a lot more extensive than has been reported. >> cruz has released a few returns with summaries of other years. rubio released all returns dating to 2010 over the weekend. trump's endorsement from chris christie prompted harsh criticism from his former national finance co-chair meg whitman telling nbc news chris christie's endorsement of donald trump is an astonishing display of political tuneism. donald trump is unfit to be president. calling on christie donors and supporters to reject the governor and trump. the donald also nabbed his first senatorial backer jeff sessions of alabama. but his failure to strongly

condemn former ku klux klan grand wizard david duke on cnn may hurt the donald. while he did reject duke back in august and disavowed him on friday, trump seemed to stumble sunday morning. >> i didn't even know he endorsed me. david duke endorsed me? okay. already. i disavow, okay. so give me a list of the groups and i'll let you know. >> i'm just talking about david duke and the ku klux klan here. but -- >> honestly, i don't know david duke. >> the other candidates quickly bounced. >> we cannot be a party that nominates someone who refuses to condemn white supremacists and the ku klux klan. we cannot be a party who does that. >> we don't have any place for white supremacists in the united states of america. and it just doesn't make any sense to me. >> and trump was again on the defensive with nbc's chuck todd on a retweet quoting italian dictator benito mussolini. trump said he likes interesting quotes. website gawker later took credit for creating the twitter handle

trumpretweeted. we'll find out how voters feel in tomorrow's slew of contests with nearly 600 delegates up for grab. trump also holds a healthy lead in tennessee while rubio trails at 19%. in cruz's home state of texas the senator manages to flip the numbers at 39%, to trump's 26%. and if that turns into a surge of support, it remains to be seen in tomorrow's showdown. on the democratic side, bernie sanders didn't mince words on saturday's south carolina results. >> you lost african-american voters 84-16%. worse than any poll had shown. senator, what happened? >> well, we got decimated, that's what happened. among older african-americans. it was pathetic. from our perspective. >> the vermont senator lost to hillary clinton by a near three to one margin giving clinton 112

total delegates to sanders 66. adding urgency to tomorrow's super tuesday races for sanders' candidacy. in colorado, sanders tried out a new campaign analogy last night. >> and you run on a platform calling for a full loaf, at worst you're going to get a half a loaf. half a loaf you're going to get crumbs. american people today do not want, do not need, crumbs. they need the whole loaf. >> clinton, meanwhile, looked past sanders during a speech in nashville. >> because ultimately we are all in this together. no matter what some people running for president might say as they insult one group of us or another group of us. i believe that america is great. right now. what we need is to be whole. we need to be whole where all of us have a place.

>> but she could face more questions as the state department plans to release a final batch of e-mails later today. despite his setback in south carolina, sanders vowed to continue fighting through super tuesday. picking up the support of former dnc vice chair tullesy gabbard who announced her resignation from the committee and endorsement on "meet the press." sanders trails clinton in georgia by more than 30 points. in tennessee the former secretary of state leads by 26 points. and in texas, clinton holds another 20-plus point lead 59-38. it was a horrific scene at a sunday church service in dayton, ohio. a baptist pastor was allegedly shot and killed by his brother in front of the congregation while the choir was singing. witnesses say the 70-year-old victim reverend william b. schooler had just walked to the pulpit when the shooting happened. police say his brother, 68-year-old daniel schooler is in custody and that it was likely a domestic incident. there's no word on motive, and no one else was injured. in virginia, a man accused of fatally shooting two people,

including a rookie police officer on her first day on the job is expected in court today. 32-year-old ronald hamilton, an active duty army staff sergeant assigned to the pentagon faces first degree murder and assault charges. he's accused of killing prince william county police officer ashley glendon and injuring two other officers who were responding to a domestic disturbance. after hamilton surrendered, police found his wife dead in their home. >> i just want to be clear, do we have officers involved in a shooting? >> we have three officers that have been shot. >> prince william county police department is in very deep mourning over the loss of officer ashley dwendon. >> the officer was sworn in to the police force just this past friday. thank you anonymous shopping cart guy. that's what police in portland, oregon, are saying after an unidentified grocery store shopper used his cart to stop a suspect in his tracks two weeks

ago. officers were able to tackle cody lindsay after he crashed onto the ground. the 26-year-old ran into the store trying to get away from police. lindsay was granted for jaywalking and was arrested for disorderly conduct and a parole violation. afterward you can see the shopper picking up his things, and just continuing shopping. and in southern india, an elephant went on a rampage during a religious festival. you can see the elephant there pushing one truck, and throwing it into the air with ease as two people rode on its back. it reportedly took hours to bring the powerful pachyderm under control. luckily no one was hurt during the festivities which featured parades of ornately decorated elephants. >> let's get down to business with landon dowdy. >> good monday morning. disney is launching seasonal prices for one-day tickets at its u.s. theme parks. people will pay more on peak days between $119 to $124. and disney grapples with how to manage crowds at times during

holidays and spring break it's had to stop selling tickets because too many people were in the parks. meanwhile mark your calendar. apple is expected to unveil a new, smaller iphone on march 21st. the device reportedly has a four inch screen and a faster chip. apple is also expected to show off new ipad pro, bands for the apple watch, and new support for apple pay. and restaurants are rolling out discounts and freebies for leap day. if you were born on february 29th, hard rock cafe will give you a free entree. olive garden is giving leap babies a free dessert. so everyone else doesn't feel left out, krispy kreme is offering a dozen doughnuts for $2.29 when you buy a dozen at regular price. >> landon, thanks so much. just ahead, talk about a confident golfer. woodland loses his pants to save par. sports is up next. plus find out what one senator is doing to make your next flight a more comfortable experience. you're watching "first look."

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look." when we left for the weekend we were thinking there was a possibility of maybe another tornado outbreak this upcoming week. thankfully over the last couple of days that threat is going to be minimized. it's not going to be completely gone. let's talk about how the setup is first. today we're still very warm. it is winter in the northern portion of the country, even northern new england, too. fast moving showers early today through new england. late tonight, this is the storm to watch. severe weather risk for the state of oklahoma. not tornados, but 3 million people in the slight risk. large hail is the biggest threat and the timing of it is literally overnight hours into tomorrow morning for oklahoma city, tulsa included in that. so now let's get to super tuesday. that storm continues to move. we have 23 million people in the slight risk. this looks like a big deal. but the coverage of the storms is not going to be like the last couple events. there's not enough moisture available. wind damage most common, maybe an isolated tornado. we're voting in arkansas, georgia, alabama and tennessee. those are all areas that will deal with these storms but it's a fast moving, progressive storm system. that's what's going to be good

about it. we're not going to be looking at yaeb one getting rain for any longer than an hour or two at most. people can delay maybe going to voting. it's that going to wash anyone out. >> let's hope the weather shows good voter turnout. >> it should be. >> thank you so much for that, bill. on off duty nypd officer was killed in an early morning hit and run on sunday, 25-year-old officer vincent harrison was standing on the shoulder of the new jersey turnpike after he was involved in a minor accident with another car. police say that other driver accidentally struck harrison killing him. that driver initially stopped but then fled the scene. police later found the driver and are determining appropriate charges. and senator chuck schumer is leading the fight against the increasingly shrinking airline seats. schumer says the average airline leg room has dropped from 35 inches in the 1970s to just over 16 today. and passengers are like sardines. he wants the faa to establish guidelines and plans to introduce an amendment to the faa reauthorization bill. a vote is expected in march. well now to sports, and to

the honda classic. and a pants-less gary woodland. with his ball in the muck and not wanting to get his white pants dirty the boxer brief clad golfer hit the shot onto the right greenside bunker. he went on to a par of the hole. adam scott took the tournament over his friend sergio garcia. and next to atlanta motor speedway. >> kevin harvick, he spun the 250irs when he went into third gear. >> straightaway. this will be the race. >> the race is over. >> here they come. around to the line. looking for the flag. >> jimmie johnson's 76th career victory. tying him with dale earnhardt for the secht on the career wins list. dale earnhardt jr. finished in second. college hoops and three upsets starting with seton hall taking on xavier musketeers. the pirates got off to a fast start including a 45-26 score at

the half. seton hall never let up, even though xavier scored 55 in the second half, the pirates victorious here 90-81. next, unranked ohio state played number 8 iowa, who'd been cold losing three of their last four. a close one to the final buzzer, but the buckeyes managed to hold off the hawkeyes, 68-64. and finally, pittsburgh at home against duke. the 15th ranked blue devils fighting to catch the red-hot home team. but the unranked panthers gave their ncaa tournament hopes a major boost by spanking duke 76-62. another questionable endorsement for the donald. and marco rubio stands up for his record of accomplishments. "scrambled politics" is up next. . and i'm jess. and we are the bug chicks. we're a nano-business. windows 10 really helps us get the word out about how awesome bugs are. kids learn to be brave and curious and all kids speak the language of bug. "hey cortana, find my katydid video." oh! this is so good. if you're trying to teach a kid about a proboscis. just sketch it on the screen.

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a heart valve problem. for people with afib currently well managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® and warfarin compare in reducing the risk of stroke. you know, taking warfarin, i had to deal with that blood testing routine. i couldn't have a healthy salad whenever i wanted. i found another way. yeah, treatment wi xarelto®. hey, safety first. like all blood thinners, don't stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase your risk of a blood clot or stroke. while taking, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. xarelto® may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto® can cause serious and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you have had spinal anesthesia while on xarelto®, watch for back pain or any nerve or muscle related signs or symptoms. do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures. before starting xarelto®, tell your doctor about any kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. xarelto® is the number one prescribed blood thinner in its class. well that calls for a round of kevin nealons. make mine an arnold palmer.

same here. with xarelto® there is no regular blood monitoring and no known dietary restrictions. treatment with xarelto® was the right move for us. ask your doctor about xarelto®. and here's a look at your monday dish of "scrambled politics." donald trump is pulling in endorsements from increasingly unlikely places. but the strangest yet may be the maine governor paul lepage. la page was recently in the news cycle for saying out-of-state drug dealers were impregnating white women then apologizing. he previously endorsed chris christie and according to "the new york times" urged fellow republican governors to write an open letter disavowing trump. but on the new england radio show friday he seems to have changed his tune. >> unfortunately the american people are not going for a governor this year, so i am going to endorse donald trump. >> one gop endorsement we know

he won't be getting, nebraska senator ben sass. he went on a twitter spree particularly about trump saying he was asked who he would support between clinton and trump saying neither and that he would look for a third party option if trump received the republican nomination. on marco rubio's endorsement front, an awkward moment when crescent party said he can't name any of rubio's accomplishments. rubio responded to the conundrum on fox news sunday. >> well, in fairness to these folks, right, they're signing up at the last second. they're inspired by our message. they want to be a part of our team. we haven't provided them all this information. i'm more than happy to tell you about my record. >> and last week tonight host john oliver has a slogan we doubt the trump campaign will want to adopt. >> he's spent decades turning his own name into a brand. >> even as a very young kid the word trump sort of meant rich. >> it meant success. >> she's not even wrong. trump does sound rich. it turns out the name trump was not always his family's name.

one biography found that an ancestor changed it from, and this is true, drumpf. would you think he would make a good president or is the spell somewhat broken? >> and that is your morning dish of "scrambled politics." msnbc political reporter jane timm is here and good morning to you, jane. >> good morning. >> okay let's start with trump. addressing that he didn't know who david duke and the kkk was on sunday. yet, earlier he had said he didn't know he'd endorsed him and he disavowed. what does this do to trump's credibility? >> i think you have to ask credibility in front of whom? is it front of his supporters? they're not going to falter. they've proven themselves to be very, very atentive fans. they say they're going to vote for him, nothing's going to change it. they've been longtime fans. but i think democratic admakers looking forward to a general election cannot wait to write an attack ad about this. it's been a general election. he's in very dangerous territory here and the republican primary i mean we have to see if marco

rubio can regain some of that attention and excitement and say, you know, i -- donald trump is not electable. that is marco rubio's main campaign promise here. >> right. >> but he needs to -- this is general election. it's very dangerous. >> let's take this one step further because he could get the gop nomination and what does that mean for the party? this is to quote "morning joe's" joe scarborough in "the washington post." so is this how the party's abraham lincoln dies? what does this do to the gop? >> this is what the gop has been trying to get away from. when we got into this election they were looking at the autopsy from the last election saying we need to be more engaging of minorities, we need to be more open to other groups, people who don't traditionally vote republican and they've done the exact opposite. they've mored toward a very xenophobic, nativist territory with donald trump at the front. >> let's go over to the democrats, because bernie sanders is now coming out swinging at hillary clinton and swinging at trump. is this new strategy going to get him any more votes? >> he's really having some trouble looking towards super tuesday.

doesn't look good for him. and i think just beating expectations may not be enough. there's a lot of delegates that are being handed out on tuesday and hillary clinton looks very strong to get a lot of them when they leave you know when they hit wednesday morning his path looks a lot slimmer than it did maybe a few months ago. >> one quick question, hillary clinton the last batch of e-mails are about to come out today. is this going to hurt her or is everybody over this? >> i think it actually might help because she gets to stop talking about them for a little bit and i think bernie sanders hit the nail on the head. people are a little tired about talking about hillary clinton's e-mails. >> well, jane timm i thank you so much for your insight on this. it's always a pleasure to have you. >> great to be here. >> great, thanks. >> that will do it for this leap day edition of "first look." i'm dara brown. thanks for watching. don't forget to like us on facebook. stay tuned because "way too early" is coming up right now.

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> this is the wildest, craziest oscars to ever host because we got all this, this controversy. no -- no black nominees. you know. and people are like, chris, you should boycott. chris, you should quit. you should quit. and you know, how come it's only unemployed people that tell you to quit something, you know? you know? i thought about it real hard. and the last thing i need is to lose another job to kevin hart. okay? >> chris rock takes center stage at last night's academy awards and jumps right into the diversity controversy. more of his best moments, the big winners, and the big upset.

plus -- >> it's rubio! >> donald is not going to make america great. he's going to make america orange. >> and going south, senator marco rubio spends the weekend in the mud with donald trump. and it's not pretty. plus, hillary clinton's smashing victory against bernie sanders in south carolina. the big question now is where does bernie sanders go from here. it's 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 here on the west coast. this is "way too early."