the race continues. after mitt romney's super tuesday win, his rivals vow to fight on as the nomination heads to the bible belt. meds for the masses. could diabetes and cholesterol lowering drugs soon be available over the counter? disruptive force, the largest solar storm in five years is sent hurling toward earth. good morning. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. and we're going to begin this morning with a campaign conundrum. gop presidential candidates swing south today where newt gingrich locked in his only super tuesday win in georgia. now some of rick santorum's supporters want gingrich out to consolidate the conservative vote against

rival mitt romney. brian mooar is in washington for us. good morning. >> still struggling with conservatives but he has the numbers on his side. >> reporter: as the gop presidential race takes a turn to the south, newt gingrich is on home turf and talking about gas prices, an issue he hopes will kickstart his campaign. >> if you prefer algae, vote for obama. if you prefer drilling and $2.50 a gallon, we want you to join us no matter what your background. >> reporter: gingrich won his home state of georgia on super tuesday, vying for third or fourth place with ron paul and most of the other states. and rick santorum supporters are urging gingrich to get out of the way. >> and if this a two-person race we will nominate a conservative as president of the united states. >> reporter: mitt romney is the frontrunner after his string of super tuesday wins, but his victory in ohio, conservatives

still aren't won over. he's counting on delegates. >> time and resources and a plan to get the delegates and we think that will get done. >> reporter: romney's campaign wants everyone to know how far along the candidate is in the delegate race, saying it would take an act of god for one of the other candidates to win. debate romney and win the nomination, santorum would have to win about two-thirds of the remaining delegates. lynn? >> brian mooar in washington, thanks. reacting to mitt romney's super tuesday's win, last night on "hardball" david axelrod told chris mathews he believes frontrunner mitt romney recently lost out on a big chance to show voters he was a leader. >> he's been a weak frontrunner. i thought he was a weak frontrunner from the beginning. i think there are tests, campaigns test you. i've said always they're sort of mri for the soul and people learn about you and along the way there are tests. we saw one last week when rush

limbaugh engaged in that horrendous outburst against the young woman, law student from georgetown, and the republican candidates were asked to comment on it and romney first refused and then finally he said that's not language i would have used. that's not language i would have used. what about the essence of what he said? he called this woman, you know, a prostitute and he called her a "slut." you know. and suggested that she was trying to get taxpayer-funded birth control. all that was outrageous, the premise was false and that was a moment where he could have stood up and been a leader. >> don't miss "hardball with chris mathews" week nights at 5:00 and 7:00 eastern, only on msnbc. president obama has asked the pentagon to review american military options for dealing with the crisis in syria. still the president and his defense secretary are resisting calls for u.s. intervention.

leaving economic and diplomatic actions are the best ways to pressure ba shash al assad into giving up power. nbc's francis coe reports. >> reporter: as violence continues in syria, obama administration officials are pushing back against demands for u.s. military involvement. speaking before the senate armed services committee, defense secretary leon panetta said there is no simple solutions to what is going on in syria. >> we all wish there was a clear and unambiguous way forward to directly influence the events in syria and, unfortunately, it's not the case. it is not an excuse. that is reality. >> reporter: senator john mccain who has called for u.s. air strikes in syria fired back. >> how many additional civilian lives would have to be lost in order to convince you that the military measures of this kind that we are proposing necessary

to end the killing and forced to lead power, how many more have to die? 10,000 more? 20,000 more? how many more. >> reporter: the united nations estimates more than 7,500 civilians have died so far. and the uprising against syria's president. the u.n. humanitarian chief was allowed to enter the battered homs district after a deadly four-week siege. government forces took control of the district last thursday after rebel forces abandoned the area. it was sealed for six days and activists accuse the government of using the time to hide evidence of atrocities committed there. francis coe, nbc news. here is your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. in louisiana, surveillance video captured a thief break into a pharmacy and stealing 9,000 pills in less than a minute if you can believe it. the burglar filled a garbage bag with nearly $5,000 worth of prescription drugs including

oxycontin, morphine and oxycodone. he remains on the loose. an explosion in cincinnati sent fire shooting up into the street in front of a bus. at least three manhole covers were sent flying from the blast caused by an underground electrical line. thankly no one there was hurt. also in ohio, a school bus driver is now facing charges. police say video shows the driver going into the middle of the bus and restraining a 9-year-old boy so a girl could hit him. the driver, who has already quit her job, apparently thought the boy had been teasing the girl. and, finally, a minnesota couple won't have much trouble remembering their kids' birthdays that's because for the third time in a row, mom gave birth on march 5th like she did two other times over last four years. the parents say they never planned to have any of their kids born on the same day and thankfully their two older kids have already learned the value of sharing. and now for a look at your

national weather we turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins. what's that like? >> like they had a choice. >> i mean, they're 5 years old. so they're probably like i don't want to share my birthday. >> you want your special day. >> you tell them that your birthday was on march 4th. >> yeah. >> right. >> i don't know how that would go over. >> this year you're the 4th, next year the 5th. yesterday beautiful weather up and down the east coast, many areas from the mississippi river to the east coast were well above normal temperatures. as far as what we're looking at there this morning, mild air pumping up the east coast so you're going to notice it's warmer this morning through new england and the mid-atlantic than yesterday morning. a lot of rainy weather to deal with too. an umbrella day and then the cold air trying to return winter-like weather back in the northern plains. a tour of the radar first and that's kind of where we're seeing the worst of the conditions out there. definitely throughout missouri, arkansas, louisiana, during the afternoon today, even the dallas/ft. worth area today.

all the heavy rain with the front through oklahoma and look at this on the back side of it, enough cold air the radar is picking up snow outside of wichita and down heading just to the northwest side of oklahoma city. there's cold air behind this. and even in kansas city looks like wet snowflakes are trying to mix in on the back side of our storm. that's not the only areas that need your umbrella today. in cleveland, detroit, toledo, already seeing the rain quickly moving in here and the temperatures are going to plummet. mild this morning. later today we may mix with snow showers in detroit. a big temperature contrast out there across the country today. and you notice from st. louis over to cincinnati the rain is filling in too here and you may have a rumble of thunder or two. today's forecast on the east coast you're going to be dry today. little bit of wet weather later on tonight. a very warm and windy day from 68 in washington, d.c., new york city very warm from philadelphia, atlanta should be nice at 71, but here's where all the wet weather will be and then mostly the deep south will dry it out during the day in

chicago, minneapolis, little chilly for you but not bad and we're finally going to start to warm things up once again from billings to denver. anyone joining us from the west coast another great day for you today. 81 today in l.a. as the winds begin to crank a little santa ana effect as the big area of high pressure. a peek at tomorrow's forecast, your friday, heavy rain in the deep south. we could have flooding concerns in texas, arkansas, possibly around the memphis area as we get a couple bouts of heavy rain in the days ahead. so, lynn, it's not quite as perfect as it was out there yesterday, but we're going to hold on to one more nice day along the east coast. >> bill, thanks so much. high hopes for jobs. a new thicker ipad and the world's youngest self-made female billionaire. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, peyton says good-bye, a buzzer beater by the mvp and what has happened to the lakers? you're watching "first look" on msnbc. emily's just starting out... and on a budget.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. some of the top stories. the associated press reports a satellite image of an iranian military facility shows heavy equipment apparently to clean up radioactive traces by tests left by a nuclear weapon equipment. that analysis was reportedly made by experts from the international atomic energy agency. the food and drug administration is considering easier access to prescription drugs to treat diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure. it would make the drugs available over the counter and should reduce health care costs. in texas, keith thurmond was executed for the 2001 killings of his estranged wife and her boyfriend. the u.s. supreme court rejected his final appeal. his last words were, quote, i did not kill my wife, i swear to god, i didn't kill her. the effects of the largest solar storm in five years hit the earth today. the spectacular eruption has forced airlines to reroute some

flights and may disrupt satellite networks, gps services, and utility grids. >> new here is your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,837, after adding 78 points yesterday. the s&p was up nine points. the nasdaq added 25. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei surged 192 points. while in hong kong, the hang seng spiked 272. some reassurance on the jobs front helped stocks bounce back from their biggest dive this year. ironically a slowdown in worker productivity fueled hopes of increased hiring on the horizon. ahead of tomorrow's monthly jobs report, investors were encouraged by estimates, private employers added 216,000 workers last month. banks got a boost from a "wall street journal" report saying fed officials are considering a new type of bond buying program. the treasury is unloading $6

billion in aig stock to help reduce its stake in the bailed out insurer. pandora's after the bell beating continued resulting in a loss of more than a fifth of its market value. american eagle outfitters shot up 6 % after sewing up a healthy quarter. toyota is recalling nearly 700,000 u.s. autos due to a range of problems. the "wall street journal" reports the justice department is threatening to sue five of the nation's largest book publishers and apple over an alleged scheme to raise the price of ebooks. ceo tim cook unveiled apple's updated ipad which is not called an ipad 3, by the way. the new ipad is thick he and heavier due to a larger battery. and its retina display. it goes on sale for $499 or more for a 4g combatable model. mexican tycoon carlos lim retained his top spot on the forbes list annual billionaire

list. bill gates and warren buffett second and third respectively. there was one new face on the list, 41-year-old sarah blakely, thanks to all of us ladies know that, spanx. her slimming undergarments company, she is the world's youngest self-made female billionaire and ladies thank her for it. in health news a new treatment for deadly skin cancer might be a new turning point in cancer medicine. it involves a drug that triggers the body's immune system to take on melanoma. when doctors added radiation treatment all the tumor treatment disappeared. test will see if it can work on patients with kidney, and lung cancers. check out the health page at msnbc.com. two last-second nba thrillers, the world's greatest soccer players go goal crazy and emotional day for peyton manning. last night the woeful washington

wizards slammed hollywood's heros. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] the draw of the past is a powerful thing. but we couldn't simply repeat history. we had to create it. introducing the 2013 lexus gs, with leading-edge safety technology, like available blind spot monitor... [ tires screech ] ...night view... and heads-up display. [ engine revving ] the all-new 2013 lexus gs.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. in sports, last night, the nba's lost lakers blew a 21-point lead and lost to one of the league's worst teams. here is nbc's fred roggin. good morning. after beating the heat on sunday, it appeared the lakers were once again an elite team in the nba. wait a minute, not so fast. back-to-back losses to the

pistons and wizards have basketball fans scratching their heads. here we go to washington. wizards looked like the worst team in the east in the first half. nick young on the fast break. look at this, whoa, toss the ball over the backboard. lakers up by 21. the wheels fell off. the wizards put together 28-4 run and in the blink of an eye they were down and then out. wizard the earn their ninth win of the year, 106-101. another shocking outcome in philadelphia. not a huge surprise that the sixers beat the celts but how they did it. led from start-to-finish and won by a staggering 32. sixers won it 103-71. from a blowout to a buzzer-beater. chicago and milwaukee tied at 104. derrick rose with the ball and this is why he is the mvp. step-back jumper and that is your ball game. bulls win it 106-104. to new jersey, final seconds clippers up two on the nets. jordan farmar said forget the tie i'm going for the win and he drained the three with less than a second to play. nets beat the clips 101-100. soccer. amazing night on the pitch for

barcelona's messy. he became the first player ever to score five goals in a champions league game. you'll likely never see a performance quite like that. barcelona won big, 7-1. as expected the colts released peyton manning and an emotional farewell for mvp quarterback. >> i've been blessed to play here. i've been blessed to play in the nfl. as i go, i go with just a few words left to say. i truly have enjoyed being your quarterback. >> the end of an era in indianapolis but the sight of a new one somewhere else. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred roggin. >> here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has the forecast. >> remember i promised a couple days ago winter wasn't going to -- >> a lot of people are hanging their hat on that. >> nervous times for me here. i think i'm looking okay. good morning, once again. the temperature change from

yesterday very dramatic. the east much warmer than yesterday morning at this time, about 15 degrees warmer in new england and the mid-atlantic, but we are significantly colder today, still feels like winter from minneapolis to iowa to kansas city. a lot chillier than yesterday. right now at 32 in kansas city and snowflakes around town, 22 in minneapolis. compare that to the near 70 degree temperatures for louisiana through texas. your classic spring setup with a big temperature contrast. we will get some severe storms today but thankfully we don't have a fast jet stream to produce the spinning motion in those thunderstorms, so i do not expect a lot of tornadoes. if you're in areas of east texas, louisiana, you could see damaging winds and gusty winds and hail. as temperatures go in the east a mild morning. 60 degrees in buffalo to start your winter morning. that's incredible for the beginning of march. as far as today's forecast goes with the warm temperatures, the front going through, there is a chance of a thunderstorm in the

buffalo area but will be dry during all the daylight hours. the big cities on i-95, there's your heavy rain threat today, tomorrow, especially east texas, oklahoma, arkansas, memphis area, and down through northern portions of louisiana. and this is the piece of information that gives me confidence about the lack of cold air. this is the map that shows where all the cold air is. it's up in areas of the hudson bay, eastern canada and as we go through the upcoming weekend into next week, the cold air retreats all the way practically to the arctic. even canada will be warm next week. it's looking good, lynn. we are -- looks like we're going to get through st. paddy's day nice and warm. >> thanks so much. whitney's will, snooki's announcement and justin bieber's mom make hers own deal. indications things are mellowing out between brad, angelina and jennifer aniston. your first look at entertainment is ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. i love that my daughter's part fish.

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welcome back to "first look." time for a little entertainment news. whitney houston has left her wealth and possessions to her daughter bobbi kristina. in a will written in 1993 a month before she gave birth, houston specifies her, quote, surviving children will receive everything. bobbi kristina was her only child. elsewhere. key yanna -- keanu reeves has a third script is finished and says it's pretty good. it's been 21 years since the last excellent adventure. makes you feel old. "jersey shore's" snooki has confirmed she is pregnant and she did it where the "new york post" said she would. "us weekly" magazine.

justin bieber's mom is cashing in. patty who gave birth to the pop star when she was only 18 just got a book deal to tell all about being the biebs mom. >> the dirt here it comes on him. >> and finally, "now" magazine reports a major thaw between jennifer aniston and angelina jolie. bill doesn't believe it. it seems ex, brad pitt, sent aniston a copy of jolie's new film "in the land of blood and honey" and aniston responded sending jolie flowers and how well directed the movie was. it's a tabloid magazine so, of course, it's true. why are you doubting it? >> as the general public we don't want them to be lovely dovey anymore. doesn't make for a good story. >> the tabloids will say they're lovely dovey and next week back to -- >> and then brad spending time with jen on the movie shoot. >> this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" is next.

the romney campaign says let's cut the nonsense. we have the only candidate who mathematically can win the republican nomination. to which rick santorum reflied, who died and made mitt romney king. the question is, what circumstances somewhere along the road to tampa will convince either santorum or newt gingrich it's time to step aside? a debate on capitol hill over what the united states should and should not do to stop the uninterrupted bloodshed in syria. the question is, how much longer will the world be able to see the images out of that country before stepping in? we'll have a report. and peyton manning makes it official at an emotional news conference. he is finished with the only nfl team he's played for. the question is, which team now is about to have one of the all-time gre quarterbacks fall into its lap? it's "way too early" for this. good morning.