itself is mark the end of the war in its own way. "first look" is up next. monster storm, a line of severe weather tears through the midwest claiming at least a dozen lives. remembering davy jones. the singer who fronted the world's first made for tv band has died. and super-sized nuisance. scientists recover remains of prehistoric mega fleas. i'm veronica de la cruz, those stories and more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin with deadly winter twisters.

at least 12 people have been killed from the storms. jay gray has details from harrisburg, illinois. >> splintered wood, twisted metal and shattered glass across five states. >> all of a sudden windows went out like a big shotgun went off. >> reporter: shredding communities. >> they're devastated. >> reporter: a path of death and destruction from kansas to kentucky. >> the overturned cars and apartment buildings shredded to bits. >> reporter: harrisburg, illinois, may have taken the hardest hit. winds of 170 miles an hour searing through the core of this tight-knit town. >> we have lost children and lost loved ones and lost part of our family here in this community. >> reporter: six people died in harrisburg. at least a dozen were killed in storms across tornado alley over

the last 24 hours. and more than a hundred were injured. some of those in the resort town of branson, missouri, where a twister stayed on the ground for 22 miles. and the cleanup started as soon as the winds died down. forecasters warn it could happen again but the possibility of more storms across the heartland through friday night. jay gray, nbc news, harrisburg, illinois. the same massive storm system that brought all of that destruction also caused a dramatic snowstorm a little further north. in duluth, minnesota, wind gusts up to 65 miles an hour with more than a foot of snow in some places. it was a full-on blizzard leaving pretty much everything closed. nbc meteorologist bill karins will have more on the storm in a few minutes. to the campaign trail. four republican presidential hopeful be are ramping up their rhetoric before tuesday's ten-state match-up. nbc's tracie potts has more now from washington. >> reporter: good morning. >> reporter: good morning. super tuesday will be big.

more than ten states and more than 400 delegates, and rick santorum is hoping to get some of those delegates in a few days after michigan where he almost won but didn't but got a number of delegates. now he says this race is down to two people, him and mitt romney. ron paul and newt gingrich are far behind at this point. speaking of romney, today there's a vote here on capitol hill about the so-called blunt amendment that would exempt employers with religious affiliations for having to pay for contraception and birth control. this has been an issue with the obama administration in recent weeks. romney said wednesday initially that he opposes that amendment but later said he misunderstood the question and that he supports it. this would involve catholic hospitals, schools, charities, requiring them to pay for birth control. now, the senate votes on that amendment today. it is likely not to pass. in fact, some republicans have said it's too broad. veronica? >> tracie potts in washington, thank you. following the announcement

by senator owe llympia snow of that she will not run this year, one lawmaker has decide to run. shelly pancree today rachel maddow last night that people are fed up with gridlock in washington and that's why she expects strong support in maine. >> we're not a hyper partisan state, we're a third republican, third democrat, third independent. we like shelly snow and we like chellie pingree. people are looking for people who will reach across the aisle and find common ground. we want to fix the problem not get stuck in ideology. that's what people want you to run on. they want you to talk about what you have done, your record, the things you're engaged in, fighting for the middle class, clean energy, jobs, health care. things that matter to everybody that are not really left or right. they want us to move beyond political ideology, constant elections, you know, one fight

after the other. they want things to start being fixed and feel good about america and feel good about their childrens futures. >> don't miss rachel maddow's unique take on politics and all the top stories, that's rachel maddow, 9:00 p.m. weekdays here on msnbc. a dramatic development wednesday indicated relations between the u.s. and north korea could be headed in a new direction under newly installed leader kim jong-un north korea says international inspectors will be allowed in to verify all nuclear testing is stopped. cautiously, secretary of state hillary clinton called the agreement, quote, a modest step in the right direction but pointed out that the country's actions will be closely monitored. here is your first look at some other news going on around america today. an 83-year-old man was rescued in new jersey when flames burned through his car.

a store clerk saw the fire and ran to help. the victim is believed to be homeless living out of that car. he is now recovering. the hero who saved him admits it was scary but says he didn't have time to think about the danger. in texas, a second horse has been saved from euthanasia with the help of a prosthetic leg. its hoof had been torn off. the type of injury that would often mean having to put a horse down. the device was attached to the full-size horse a year after a miniature horse was also kept alive to a prosthetic. a local company both designed and donated the artificial limb. in iowa, a semi trailer carrying nearly 200 pigs crashed on the highway sending the pigs all over the road. a few pigs didn't survive but many were rescued after an hour's long effort to round them up. the driver blamed the accident on high winds. finally a real leap of faith

to mark leap day. take a look at that. base jumpers took a plunge off the roof of a 43-story casino in atlantic city, new jersey. unlike some gamblers, luck was on their side. the jumps went off without a hitch. now for a look at the national weather,nbc meteorologist bill karins. lots of severe weather out there. >> last year we had those billion dollar weather disasters, including the joplin tornado, the one that went through tuscaloosa, birmingham. last year out of all the weather events that we had, the one that got most peoples attention was the tornado season. we were hoping not to repeat that this spring and summer, we're not off to a great start this is what happened in the last 24 to 36 hours, about 30 preliminary reports of tornadoes. already 20 of those have been confirmed. the weather service has people out in the field who make sure they are real tornadoes.

12 fatalities, over 100 injured. we had the first february tornado in nebraska the branson, missouri tornado. the one that really stands out was the ef4 tornado. they upped the winds now to 180 miles per hour. that was the max winds with this tornado as it went through harrisburg, illinois. that destroyed the shopping center. tore it to pieces. also strong storms and tornadoes yesterday in areas of kentucky and a couple fatalities from storms in tennessee. as far as what we're dealing with out there as we go through tonight and tomorrow, another severe weather threat from st. louis, springfield and memphis. it's not during the daylight hours, so those areas can clean up nicely. it will move into the middle of the country today. tonight more severe storms will form and friday does not look pretty. not worried about tornadoes tonight into tomorrow morning,

but we could see hail. st. louis through the boot of missouri, northern portions of arkansas, outside of little rock, maybe memphis. friday, that's when everything comes together. the moisture out of the gulf, the strong storm headed up to the great lakes. this area of red is a moderate risk of severe storms. we are pretty sure we'll get tornadoes, large hail and a big damaging wind event this is right where the tornadoes went through yesterday from louisville, lexington, bowling green, nashville, columbus. that's the concern for tomorrow. later in the show we'll talk about that snowstorm still going on in new england. we'll update that forecast next. >> all right, bill. thanks. big ben speaks, apple hits a new high and your chance to own the home court of a basketball icon. your "first look" at business headlines is straight up. a huge win for usa soccer and kobe bryant like you've never seen him before you're watching "first look" on msnbc. what's with you?

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welcome back to "first look." i'm veronica de la cruz. here are some of the top stories making news this morning. the disabled cruise ship boat boat is safely in the seychelles islands. the ship lost power after a fire on board but nobody was hurt. a federal judge has blocked a requirement that would have forced american tobacco companies large graphic images on their cigarette packages. the ruling said the requirement would have violated the free speech amendment to the constitution. george rivas leader of the fugitive gang known as the texas seven, was executed wednesday for killing a suburban dallas police officer during a robbery. rivas had organized the biggest prison break in texas history in december of 2000. davy jones, the most popular teen heartthrob star of the 1960s tv show "the monkees,"

died of a heart attack at age 66 in florida. he was born in england and starred on broadway and tv before the huge success of the monkees. fossil hunters found the remain of giants fleas that sucked the blood of ancient dinosaurs and grew to almost an inch long, ten times bigger than present day fleas. huh! now here is your "first look" at how wall street will kick off the day. dow opens 12,952 after losing 53 points and s&p down six and nasdaq fell 19. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei lost 15 points, while in hong kong the hang seng dropped 292. well, you knew this was coming. will markets kick off march like a lion or a lamb?

wall street closed out its best february in 14 years, despite a hint from fed chair ben bernanke a third round was not in store. yesterday, 800 banks snapped up $700 billion in cheap loans from the european central bank. meanwhile, protests broke out after greece's parliament approved more pension reforms. gold suffered its biggest one day drop in more than three years to close just under $1,710 an ounce. the government reported the u.s. economy grew more than it thought last quarter as did personal income. today, traders get fresh retail and manufacturing and construction data. the nasdaq briefly broke through 3000 for the first time in more than a decade. that was thanks, in part, to a major apple milestone. its market value topped half a trillion dollars yesterday. wall street collected 14% less in bonuses last year, while bank profits plunged by some 50%. meanwhile, bank of america is

looking to recoup some of that cash from customers by dusting out new fees on basic checking users unless they agree to bank online or maintain certain balances. rupert murdoch's son, james murdoch has resigned as executive chairman at "london news international" amid an online bribing and hacking scandal. finally if you really want to be like mike, here is your chance. michael jordan's sprawling suburban chicago estate is up for sale for a mere $29 million. jeremy lin is bloodied, but not beaten. kobe bryant plays the masked avenger, and mavericks big man goes down and out. some calling it america's greatest ever soccer victory. f , plus a powerful decongestant. i can breathe freer with zyrtec-d®. so i'll race you to our favorite chair. i might even let you win. zyrtec-d® lets me breathe easier. so i can love the air.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm veronica de la cruz. in sports, two of the hottest teams in the nba met last night in san antonio, unlike at the rodeo the bulls won out over the spurs. here's nbc's fred roggin. good morning. before last night, the spurs had lost just one game at home all year. the chicago bulls changed that. here we go to san antonio. spurs and bulls back and forth the entire game. tim duncan looked like the duncan of old in the third and 12 points in the quarter and finished with 18. luol deng caught fire and drained a pair of threes late. derrick rose scored 29 and the bulls won it 96-89. time for your daily dose of linsanity. jeremy lin was smacked in the face against the cavs, bloodied

and bruised and returned and had 19 points and 13 assists but however steve novak was the story. sparked new york with a flurry of three-pointers in the fourth and knicks rally from 17 down to beat the cavs 120-103. no that is not the phantom of the opera! that is kobe bryant wearing a face mask to protect his broken nose. but it was the timberwolves that could have used protection from kobe. came out flying, ten points in the first and another 14 in the third. the nba's leading scorer finished with 31. a broken nose wasn't going to stop bryant. lakers won big 104-85. fresh off his mvp performance in the all-star game, the thunder's kevin durant had a sluggish start in philly but picked it up down the stretch. eight of his 23 in the final minutes. thunder knocked off the sixers 92-88. tough night for the world champs after losing to the nets. the grizzlies had their way with the mavericks. dirk nowitzki left the game early with a sore back and memphis took advantage. went on to win it 96-85. finally, huge win for usa soccer. the americans travelled to italy and took out one of the best teams in the world. clint dempsey scored the only goal of the game in the 55th

minute. it took 78 years and team usa finally beat italy for the first time ever. they pulled off the upset, 1-0. that's your "first look" at sports, i'm fred roggin. now for another look at the weather, here is nbc meteorologist bill karins with the weather channel forecast. you follow soccer at all? >> i do. that's a big deal. i'm sure in italy they're not happy today. >> i know david beckham, that's about it. >> italy is probably more upset than we are happy. good morning. we talked about the tornadoes earlier. don't want to ignore my friends up in northern new england who are dealing with a good winter storm. you had part one yesterday, part two during the day today. temperatures are warm enough in connecticut, rhode island and even most of massachusetts that the roads will be okay. one of the mass pike, the 495 loop, north of boston, that's where the snow will start filling in and coming down it will get colder as the day goes on. areas that had been getting sleet or rain will change back over to snow. plenty of snow through the adirondacks and through much of

vermont and new hampshire the snow will be on the increase. one area that will get a lot of snow, portsmouth new hampshire, maine, possibly over a foot of snow by the time it ends late tonight into tomorrow. boston, close call. south of boston, two or three inches. boston itself, four to six, especially north of there. not much snow in southern new england. this is a new england special for you. ski resorts are loving it. forecast today, warm and just fine down i-95. one of the big stories u tomorrow we're expecting another tornado outbreak. >> it is that time of the year. thanks, bill. which superstar called yesterday one of the best days of her life and why? and she has grabbed the spotlight thanks to some of her outrageous behavior, but this morning she's making headlines for a different reason. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. that's good morning, veggie style.

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north korea has officially agreed to suspend its nuclear program. yeah. apparently they watched one episode of toddlers and tiaras and realized we're destroying our own society. big election news. last night mitt romney came in first place in the michigan primary, though he barely won. incidentally, barely won is also the total number of votes that ron paul received. newt gingrich yesterday said that mitt romney is so closed-minded he would fire christopher columbus. romney denied it saying are you

kidding me? a man with three boats? i like that guy. nina, pinta, i don't care. front jimmy welcomes lindsay lohan, and musical guest elvis costello. that's "late night with jimmy fallon" at 12:35, 11:35 central time on your local nbc station. it is time for your "first look" at entertainment news. is she or isn't she? when it comes to "jersey shore" snooki and questions about a possible pregnancy, has she been fibbing? the "new york post" reports that snooki despite consistent and direct denials over the past several weeks is, indeed, three months pregnant. the concern is that mtv is unsure how to handle the news and that she has a deal to break her pregnancy on the cover of "u.s

"us weekly." >> ben affleck used facebook to announce the birth of his son. samuel garner affleck. he posted he and wife jennifer garner had happy about the healthy boy. the couple's first after two daughters. congratulations. finally, lady gaga went to harvard university yesterday to launch her "born this way" foundation, a student-run organization against bullying. with support from the likes of oprah winfrey and health and human services, secretary kathleen sebelius. she called the anti-bullying event up with of the best days of my life. going back to the ben affleck story -- >> i thought you wanted to go back to snooki being pregnant. >> i don't even care about snooki being pregnant. i'm sorry. going back to ben affleck posting on facebook, i saw one of my friends was pregnant through facebook. i feel that's how you find out all the news. >> a lot of celebrities will get money to charities if they give the rights to someone. i think angelina and brad did that once. in facebook? >> no, in "us weekly" or one of those magazines. i'm veronica de la cruz. stay tuned because "way too early" with willie geist starts

right now. rick santorum is claiming retroactive victory in michigan, at least a tie there after a counting of the delegates shows 15 apiece for him and mitt romney. what core conservative question did romney trip up on yesterday? a huge band of violent weather rips through the midwest with a tornado killing at least six people in one southern illinois town alone. the question is what does the damage and death toll look like this morning? we'll have the latest. and tiger woods gives a golf writer who dares ask a completely fair question the tiger death stare at the press conference. the question is what set tiger off? it's "way too early" for this. good morning. i'm willie geist. this is "way too early," the show k