cloes enough. mitt romney eeks out a narrow win. ohio tragedy. the death toll from monday's deadly school shooting rampage rises while new details emerge about the alleged gunman. california confrontation. a dispute between native american people turns violence. this is first look on msnbc. let's start this morning with romney rebound. republican presidential contender mitt romney was the winner in both of tuesday's primaries restoring his momentum

as he heads into super tuesday next week. in arizona romney beating rick santorum by 20 points. he wins all 29 delegates there. but in michigan romney defeated santorum by just three points and they will each get some of the state's 30 delegates. nbc's steve hand dels man has the details. >> thanks. good morning from detroit. here in the state where he's from, mitt romney last night tried to hold his head high but what he had accomplished was to avoid disaster. >> reporter: mitt romney had to win michigan or face the collapse of his campaign, and he did win. after losing the lead and then gaining it back. >> we didn't win by a lot but we won by enough and that's what counts. i'm going to deliver on more jobs, less debt and smaller government. >> reporter: he went two for two. romney gets all 29 of arizona's delegates. arizona's primary was winner take all. not michigan's primary.

so rick santorum wins delegates in michigan and he claimed he won more. >> a month ago they didn't know who we are, but they do now. >> reporter: santorum vows to fight on into super tuesday. that's when ron paul hopes to grab delegates. that's when newt gingrich makes his stand, next tuesday in georgia. must win for him. georgia is gingrich's home state. that's why romney, born and raised in michigan, had to win tonight. >> reporter: what is not clear is whether romney's scared trailing santorum in this state and trailing santorum nationally before turning things around will leave romney stronger or more vulnerable in the tough week ahead. from detroit, i'm steve handelsman, nbc news. >> as we mentioned rick santorum came close to beating mitt romney in michigan's primary. santorum's director explains what he thinks sets him apart

from romney. >> the bottom line is we were outspent six to one in his home state. he just did this three years ago. he has the most name i.d. of any of the candidates. we're within three points and might end up with more delegates than him. i think mitt romney and his campaign have a serious problem. rick santorum clearly has passion for this country and the voters have passion for him. that's a big difference between the two candidates. he offers that positive vision that people gravitate toward. at the end of the day, it's important for the voters to relate to the candidate. even more so, the candidate can relate to the voter. i think rick and the voter have experienced many of the same struggles. that can't be coached. that can't be bought. it's something that's innate in rick santorum. >> we are now less than one week away from the all important super tuesday when republican candidates will be battling it out in primaries or caucuses in ten states. don't miss our live coverage happening all day long on msnbc.

it was a somber mood in chardon, ohio, as they held a candlelight vigil. yesterday, two more students died bringing the total number of fatalities to three. nbc's jay gray reports to us from ohio. >> thousands gathered for a memorial at st. mary's church, mourners spilling out of the sanctuary and into the parking lot. just a few blocks from the high school. a day after the deadly attack, seemingly miles from what's supposed to be normal here. >> i just feel so bad for all the families. it's a horrible, tragic thing that happened. >> reporter: as this grieving community struggles to work through its pain. >> there's a student with a gun. >> reporter: newly released 911 calls provide a glimpse into the chaos inside the school cafeteria after shots rang out. >> chardon high school, we have multiple gunshots. >> reporter: three young men have been shot.

two more teens are seriously injured. victims who prosecutors say were targeted randomly by alleged gunman t.j. lane. >> he went into the school cafeteria and fired ten rounds. he stated he did not know the students. >> reporter: mourners don't know why it had to happen here. >> we're not just any old place, chardon, this is every place. as you've seen in the past, this can happen anywhere. >> reporter: but it did happen here, and it's going to take a long time to heal. jay gray, nbc news, chardon, ohio. >> here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. one person was stabbed in a california brawl that broke out as factions of a native american tribe feuded over election results. protesters are now asking for federal intervention from the bureau of indian affairs. a deer smashing through the entrance of an atlanta convenience store. it slammed into an 11-year-old

girl who suffered a concussion. surveillance video shows that deer running across store aisles. police had to be called out for it. they had to put down the animal after this because it was also injured. finally a new guiness record has been put to bed. 850 people got together in new orleans to form human dominos. they're attached to mattresses. one by one they all came tumbling down. that was not the only thing to fall. their accomplishment shatters the old record set in belgium last year. now for a look at the national level. we turn to bill karins with the weather forecast. >> we had some active weather overnight. very impressive storm system in the middle of the country. busiest active weather for a morning we've had in maybe a month or two. we have tornadoes, winter storms. these pictures came to us from kansas. this was near hush chin son, kansas, harveyville.

half the town sustained damage. it was one little funnel there. the big breaking piece of news overnight, it looks like bran son, missouri, it's near joplin, hit by a tornado last night. does not appear to be a big, devastating tornado like the one that hit joplin. the entertainment district has been hit. the roof of a waurl mart has reported to be collapsed. best western is supposed to have major damage. no reports of any fatalities out of bran son. it does appear that bran son, missouri, was hit by a pretty strong tornado overnight. overall, ten tornado reports. these show where they occurred around the greater springfield area and a couple in areas of kansas. we have a tornado warning still. possibility of one occurring now along the arkansas missouri border. we'll watch that as that storm approaches. a tornado just north of cape

gerardo. now crossing the mississippi into southern portions of illinois. st. louis, you are now safe. we'll watch the severe storms continuing as we go through the morning. now we have a snowy side of this storm. full-fledged classic early spring storm with the tornadoes and the blizzard conditions on the back side through areas of south dakota. hopefully the roads won't be too bad. most of the heavy snow north of you. you'll transition to snow. green bay, milwaukee, grand rapids have been warm enough that it's been all rain for you. northern portions of michigan, you're getting heavy snow now starting to accumulate from flint mortga flint. snowfall forecast, northern wisconsin will get over a foot. upper peninsula of michigan will get hit hard. later today all of this moves into new england where the air is cold enough for a significant snow event. areas from albany north wards to burlington, all of vermont, all

of new hampshire, southern maine and it looks like if you're north of the mass. pike you'll be doing shoveling tonight and tomorrow. this will continue overnight tonight. the timing of this if you're in hartford, boston, providence, your evening drive home today will be in the snow with snow covered roads. it should actually continue overnight, especially in northern new england. the other side of this storm, we talked about the tornadoes at the beginning of this weather forecast. we'll have more severe weather today. it will regenerate later this afternoon. atlanta, all of mississippi, tennessee, kentucky. again, the big story, richard, overnight, bran son, missouri hit by a tornado. we'll have pictures coming to you shortly. >> a lot happening today. banks getting generous. blue chips have a break through. new technology to solve your senior moments. your first look at business headlines is straight ahead for you. >> coming up, the capitals rally. the celtics get back on track and the nets brook lopez takes

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. welcome back to first look. i'm richard luie. a grim pentagon report saying partial remains of some 911 victims which could not be identified were incinerated and sent to a landfill. those victims were among 184 people killed when a hijacked airplane smashed into the pentagon. 40 who died in the crash of a hijacked plane in pennsylvania. the virginia legislation has passed a law saying women who are going to undergo an abortion have to undergo ultra sounds. syria's president bashar al-assad could be classified as a war criminal according to secretary of state hillary clinton. at least 25 people died in syria tuesday. the u.n. is saying more than 7500 civilians have been killed

so far. olympia snowe will not run for a fourth term. this jeopardizes chances of winning the senate. she's tired of the my way or the highway atmosphere in washington. debris from last year's tsunami in japan could soon start washing ashore from hawaii. lumber, boats and other debris have covered 3,000 miles of the north pacific. here's the first look at how wall street will kick off the day. for the first time since the 2008 crisis, the dow will open five points above the 13,000 mark. the s&p was up over 4 points. taking a look at overseas trading this morning, tokyo, the nikkei added a fraction of a point while in hong kong the hang seng was up over 111. tuesday's close above that key 13,000 level has investors looking ahead with some optimism. last week the blue chip index flirted with 13,000.

yesterday the dow rode a surge in the economy to cross a threshold not seen since before the great recession. fueling yesterday's rally, a swell of consumer confidence in february driven by improving job prospects and an upbeat overall attitude about the nation's economy. for instance, johnson and johnson added 5.5 points to the dow's crucial rise. microsoft had the biggest percentage gain a among the 30 stocks adding 2%. tech shares added a boost. sending the semiconductor index higher as a whole. earnings front, office depot shares, they shot up 19% thanks to its impressive quarterly report. on the down side, dream works animation tumbling in late trade after a weak earnings report and forecast after the bell there. new york based cable vision seeing its stocks slide, too. 10% after reporting an increase in capitol expenses last quarter. but in another healthy sign for economic growth, lending has picked up with u.s. banks with

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at legalzoom.com, we put the law on your side. welcome back to first look. i'm richard lui. in sports, they took the courts again. here's nbc's fred roggin. >> good morning, the second half of the nba season started with a full slate of action last night. we'll get right to it. start in cleveland. celts snapped a five game losing streak. this came down to the final shot. anthony parker, it was off the iron and the selts held on 83-81. plan done jennings couldn't get the runner to fall but here is the tip-in for the rebound. the wiz with a chance for the buzz zard. he traveled. wizards can't do anything right. bucks won it 119-118.

going bald? have a mass scott spray silly string. game high, 26. rockets beat the raptors, 88-85. the nets brook lopez's missed the entire season with a broke enfoot. in the third game back he dropped 38 on the mavericks. he made a pair of clutch free throws. brooks did it all for the nets, they won it 93-92. college hoops the big ten might be the best league in the nation. michigan state is ranked fifth but they got more than they could handle from number 20 indiana. cody zel ler led the hoosiers with 18. they won easily 70-55. great finish in washington against the islanders. troy brower scored a pair of goals in the final three minutes, tied the game with just 25 seconds left to force overtime. alex ovechkin did the rest. capitals rally to win it 3-2 in o.t. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred roggin.

thank you, fred. here' bill karins with the weather channel forecast. >> tornadoes overnight, snow heading into new england with a big snowstorm there. a blizzard in the northern plains. the tornadoes obviously are the immediate threat. we've had numerous damage. one town in kansas was hit last night, branson, missouri. big tourist destination there was hit by a tornado. the entertainment district was hit. couple of hotels and the roof of a walmart reportedly collapsed there. no fatalities as of now. that's still a breaking news situation. as far as the tornadoes go, there's still four or five tornado warnings. one in southern illinois, one in areas south of cape gerardo. that's going along the arkansas, missouri borders. we'll watch them crossing the mississippi border. new england, you're waking up to a cold, chilly morning with cloudy skies. we're set the stage for snow and a wintery mess especially throughout southern new england and central new england.

you could get up to a foot of snow. ski resorts are going to love this. as far as getting around and commuting, the morning starts out okay. then the snow moves into areas like boston, providence, hartford. for the evening drive home, albany new york, mass. pike, going to be a difficult, heavy snow later this afternoon. some areas will turn over to sleet and rain later tonight. initially it will be a burst of heavy snow. that will make the roads very slippery. central to northern new england. we're fine today. new york, new jersey to filled, d.c. it will be wet and heavy. you don't have to deal with the snow. the middle of the country we'll be watching the rain changing to snow around minneapolis, too. that's one of the airports you'll want to avoid. once again, richard, we're dealing with a blizzard and tornadoes at the same time. >> silver lining. good ski weekend perhaps in the northeast. >> yes. that's probably the only good. >> thanks, bill. a bitter hollywood custody battle, one of hollywood's most recognizable faces showing up on

what could be, the worst, fake i.d. in history. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching first look on msnbc. why don't you use bengay zero degrees? it's the one you store in the freezer. same medicated pain reliever used by physical therapists. that's chilly. [ male announcer ] new bengay zero degrees. freeze and move on. to help us with an experiment for the febreze set & refresh. they agreed. [ facilitator ] take a deep breath. what do you smell? there's a freshness. actually it takes me outdoors. apples and pears. sort of a crisp, fresh feeling. it's a friendly environment. [ facilitator ] go ahead and take your blindfold off. [ laughs ] no... [ male announcer ] the febreze set & refresh with scented oils that eliminate odors for 30 days that's probably the only good.

i read about a man in missouri who can freeze dry pet dogs and cats after they die "first look" it's interesting how they came up with the idea "first look" he's a psycho "first look" the company in japan has plans to build a space elevator that will take passengers 22 miles bof earth "first look" that's a long ride "first look" people will be

like -- >> even my grandma was like, i'm not playing with those nerds. tonight he offers animation and voice to the lorax. larry the cable guy will be on there as well. time now for your fooirs look at entertainment news. there are reports that whitney houston's death will be ruled an accidental situation "first look" a source with knowledge of the investigation tells e news that investigators found nothing suspicious that would connect any physicians or other people to the singer's death and that the inquiry is nearly completed. jennifer garner and ben after

fleck have welcomed their third child into the world and it's a boy "first look" he joins his big sisters "first look" no word yet on the baby's name. court documents says kelsey grammar and ex-wife ka mile have settled their child custody dispute agreeing to joint custody. a 41-year-old brazilian man arrested and charged for allegedly using a fake i.d. with jack nicholson's i.d. while opening a bank account. the one with nicholson set off some alarms. as you were saying, we want to see what the guy looks like. >> could anyone look like jack nicholson? >> anything's possible. he would have big, curly hair "first look" it would have been absolutely ridiculous. i'm richard lui.

"way too early with willie geist" starts right now. in this room are the people who knocked on the doors and made the calls and went to the polls and it made an enormous difference "first look" we didn't win by a lot but we won by enough and that's all that counts. >> a month ago they didn't know who we are, but they do now. we came into the backyard of one of my opponents in a race that everyone said, well, just ignore it, you really have no chance here. the people of michigan looked into the hearts of the candidates and all i have to say is, i love you back. thank you. mitt romney a verts disaster in his home state and reclaims for the moment, at least, momentum in the