line. "fi "first look" is up next. tale of the tape. new video raises questions about the story george zimmerman told police the night he shot and killed unarmed teen trayvon martin. hot ticket. friday's mega millions jackpot skyrockets to a record-shattering amount. and seeing is believing. a frisbee trick shot artist does it again. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we begin with the zimmerman video. when neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman shot and killed unarmed black teenager trayvon martin in florida last month he reportedly told police martin had fought with him, breaking his nose and repeatedly slamming his head

against the ground. however, police security camera video from that night obtained by abc news showing police officers leaving zimmerman into the station in handcuffs appears to show no blood or bruising to zimmerman with no blood or grass stains visible on his clothes. the parents of trayvon martin reacted last night to the video telling "usa today" it shows that zimmerman's claims of self-defense are false. last night zimmerman's father insisted to orlando's fox 35 that martin threatened his son as they struggled on the ground. >> in doing so, his firearm was shown. trayvon martin said something to the effect of, you're going to die now or you're going to die tonight. >> in washington yesterday, congressman bobby rush of illinois wore a hoodie during a speech in the house about trayvon martin's death and racial profiling.

rush was escorted out for violating a house rule on the wearing of hats. a jetblue airways captain who had to be subdued by passengers now has been charged with interfering with a flight crew. he faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. and this morning we are learning more about his very bizarre behavior. nbc's brian mooar has that story. >> reporter: passengers became the last line of defense as an apparently unhinged pilot tried to retake control of his plane. >> came running down the aisle and was screaming afghanistan. there's a bomb. i got to get in the cockpit. he started banging on the cockpit door. >> reporter: a federal complaint says clayton osbon was behaving erratically shortly after flight 191 left new york for las vegas. he was talking about lere lidgion and telling his co-pilot, things just don't matter and we need to take a leap of faith. osbon left the cockpit and it

was up to passengers to keep him from getting back in. >> the co-pilot is really the hero here. he was able to persuade the captain out of the cockpit. that is what completely averted what could have been a tragedy yesterday. >> with the help of an off-duty pilot who happened to be on board, the co-pilot diverted the plane to amarillo, texas. >> jetblu 191 emergency. we're going to need authorities and medical to meet us at the airplane. >> osbon was taken out of the plane in restraints, taken into fbi custody and given medical treatment. 13 hours after leaving, the passengers arrived in las vegas. >> i don't know. just happy to be on the ground. >> surviving a nightmare at 35,000 feet. brian mooar, nbc news. elsewhere, the republican presidential front-runner is picking up some high-profile endorsements. mitt romney has won the support of florida senator marco rubio, a tea party favorite. rubio says it's increasingly clear romney will win the gop nomination and that continuing

the primary fight will only hurt the party's effort to defeat president obama. later today, former president george h.w. bush is also expected to give romney his endorsement. if romney wins the gop nomination, how will he fare against president obama in november? last night on the "rachel maddow show," dan rather spoke with him about romney's chances in the fall election and presidential politics in general. >> american presidential elections are generally about where the country is going. what's ahead for the country, not what's behind us. that's what our elections are generally about. and i'd be very surprised if this doesn't follow that pattern. therefore, the candidate who can get the optimistic ground, who says, listen. i'm here to tell you that i'm the best person to carry us into the future. it's the candidate who is going to win. this should be a republican year. one question is whether the republicans this year will snatch defeat from the jaws of

victory. that obama is vulnerable, but they've hurt themselves time and again on women's issues, other things during the primary campaign. but by the time we get past labor day and start getting into the last two weeks of the campaign, what we've been seeing this spring, we're seeing so far back in the past that you and i will be smiling about it. but romney has to pivot strongly. he has to demonize obama because the strongest thing going for him is so many republicans find president obama at the very least extremely distasteful. and that's a big motivator for them. >> each night, rachel maddow takes on the biggest stories of the day with in-depth analysis and guests from all sides of the issue. a new york city police officer is under arrest allegedly seen on this video with another man punching someone in a nightclub. the officer was not on duty at

the time. the victim was left in a coma and may have suffered brain damage. in colorado, one family videotaped their narrow escape from the wildfires there that have already claimed two lives. take a listen as an older brother tries to keep his sister calm. >> daddy. >> we'll make it. we're going to be fine. >> where's mom? what is she stopping for? >> there it is. right here. >> oh, my gosh. >> it's okay. we're out. we're out. >> just frightening there. >> we may be fudging things a bit here. it's not exactly in america, but right across the border in quebec, call it extreme frisbee. a master of the flying disc was able to fling one from the rafters of a hockey arena all the way down right into a garbage can at center ice. there is an edit in there. >> there is? >> that's what we call it.

bill karins is here with the forecast and his opinion on whether or not you think that's real. >> there's multiple angles. am i a sucker? >> you are normally so skeptical of these videos so i love how you are now acting like all innocent and sweet. please. don't buy it. >> i believe in the good in everyone, lynn. here's what we're dealing with outside today. a lot of thunderstorms yesterday around the country. and even some large softball-sized hail in madison, kansas. a report of four-inch hail smashing through windshields. this morning, a few storms. later today, a chance some of isolated tornadoes. as you are heading out and dressing the kids and yourself, the only areas very cool and cold, bundle up north of minnesota, northern great lakes and northern new england. everybody else is pretty mild this morning. just need maybe the spring coat at worst. the rain is pretty much come to an end through the mid-atlantic. virginia is now dry. a few showers around albany, new york, springfield, mass, and over toward boston. rain in kansas and south texas.

still a very warm day today from areas of texas through florida. most areas will be in the 70s and 80s. almost summer-like. as far as the rain goes, definitely umbrella weather. central portions of missouri. north of interstate 70. st. louis you have some light rain around you right now. areas of south texas. you are dealing with a few thunderstorms. most of those are avoiding the big cities. just one lone little strong storm between laredo and corpus christi. as far as what we're going to deal with today. once again, the middle of the country, a new storm system will be forming and heading toward kansas city late this afternoon. a chance of some severe weather with that. also showers around boston and san antonio. southeast, you look dry. mid-atlantic, big cities. no problems from d.c. to new york. a windy day for new england through the mid-atlantic. the wind out of the north pretty strong. temperatures will be pretty mild for this time of year. the areas of concern, who needs to pay attention to possible tornadoes later today? mostly the greater kansas city area off to omaha. it's not going to be a widespread tornado outbreak but we could see a few tornadoes.

of course, it only takes one or two to take a life. then back towards northern oklahoma, it looks like mostly the chance of large hail. and that looks to be just north of oklahoma city. so lynn, we're getting towards the peak months of tornado season. ever since we had those horrible ones about two weeks ago, so far, so good. we'll see how we do later on today. >> bill, thanks so much. a dip in oil, a spike in one ceo's salary. and raw data on just how much we rely on apple. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, a big night for kevin love. the knicks put a spell on the magic and the niners sign another ex-giant. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ♪

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. the lawyer representing army staff sergeant robert bales who is accused of killing 17 afghan villagers this month says he

will argue his client suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder, including severe nightmares, flashbacks of war and persistent headaches. pope benedict has wrapped up a three-day visit to cuba after meet with former leader fidel castro. the pope called for greater human rights in the communist country and also he criticized the u.s. for its trade embargo on cuba. last night, texas executed a convicted child sex offender for the 2001 fatal beating of a 10-month-old boy. jesse joe hernandez was put to death by lethal injection hours after the u.s. supreme court denied his last-ditch appeal. bluegrass banjo legend and country music hall of famer earl scruggs died in nashville wednesday at the age of 88. scruggs' collaborations with bill monroe in the '40ss and lester flatt have been referred to as big bang moments for

modern bluegrass and 20th century country music. and did you get your ticket? if you hear this you just might. the mega millions jackpot has reached $500 million. making it the largest in u.s. lottery history. a friday winner would be eligible for a lump sum payment of $359 million. now here's your first look at the stocks of the day. after losing 71 points down yesterday. the s&p was down 6 points. the nasdaq lost 15. taking a look at overseas trading. in tokyo, the nikkei fell 67. the hang seng dropped 276. today on wall street, investors will be watching for important data on the economy in the fourth quarter and last week's unemployment numbers. the stock market reacted negatively yesterday to a weaker than expected report on durable goods orders for cars and other products. oil is down to around $105 a

barrel as france considers the release of emergency supplies. bank of america gave its ceo a big pay hike last year as the company lost more than half of its value. the ceo earned $7.5 million. family dollar discount stores are reporting an income increase of more than 10% in the second quarter. ipo shares of annie's foods soared 89% on the opening day of trade. the biggest start for an ipo so far this year. as facebook gets ready for its ipo in may, the company is halting the sale of its private shares next week. shipments of flat panel televisions are expected to decrease for the very first time this year with sales down about 5%. according to a cnbc survey, half of all u.s. households own at least one apple product and 61% of homes with kids own an iphone, ipad, ipod or mac. and yesterday on the "uss

intrepid," nbc news and the u.s. chamber of commerce teamed up for a hiring our heroes job fair in new york. the unemployment rate for veterans is more than 12%. over 400 such job fairs are scheduled all around the country this year. it's aimed at getting around 500,000 vets or their spouses into the civilian workforce by the end of 2014. a good cause there. love thames the bob cat. the niners nab the giants. and the kings blank the flames. plus, the raptors slam the nuggets, snapping a nine-game losing streak. cannot be contai. [ clang ] the all-new 2013 lexus gs. there's no going back. see your lexus dealer. yeah, but the feeling wasn't always mutual. i should be arrested for crimes against potted plant-kind. we're armed, and inexperienced. people call me an over-waterer. [ female announcer ] with miracle-gro,

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♪ welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. in sports, despite a long casualty list, the new york knicks pulled off a big win last night against the magic. here's nbc's fred roggin. >> good morning. the knicks will be without amar'e stoudemire for the next few weeks with a bulging disc in his back. if they keep playing like this, amare can sit out the rest of the season. no problem against the magic. trailed at the end of the first. after that, all knicks. they scored 21 straight at one point. carmelo anthony, 25. this one over by the end of the third quarter. knicks won big. 108-86. kevin love is hands down the best forward in the league. added the three-pointer to his game and teams cannot figure out how to stop him. love had four points and 19 boards. t-wolves beat the bobcats.

88-83. the 49ers didn't win the peyton manning sweepstakes but they signed randy moss and mario manningham. now add brandon jacobs to that list. the former giant signed a one-year deal to back up frank gore. hockey, it's a mad dash to the finish. the canes started the night out of the playoffs. beat the flames, 3-0 in calgary. jonathan quick picked up his ninth shutout of the year. with that victory, the kings moves into the sudden spot in the west with five games to play. edmonton. mike ryder resurrected his career with the stars. he now has 35 on the year. dallas took over first place in the pacific and third in the west with 3a 3-1 win. finally back to basketball. for the dunk of the night. the nuggets mcgee drove the length of the court and posterized caldron. this is why denver picked up mcgee at the trade deadline. a single dunk doesn't win a game

and the raptors won it. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred roggin. now for another look at the weather. here's nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has the weather channel forecast. >> is that like five too many basketball highlights for you? >> well, it was probably four. i can take one. it's my job, but after that, i sort of zone out. >> i feel for you. good morning, everyone. in new england, we had some rain showers this morning. to deal with. it's going to be a pretty nice afternoon in the mid-atlantic unlike yesterday when we had thunderstorms down there in areas of virginia. the forecast for today, boston will be on the cool side. probably only highs in the mid to upper 40s. that's kind of chilly. everyone else should be okay. cooler than yesterday. but we should be breezy and sunny in the afternoon. temperatures in the big cities all the way about 60 degrees. a little heads-up for areas especially southern new england, including the new york city area. saturday looks like some heavy rain could be around. if you have weekend plans, sunday is definitely the better of the two days. could be a cold, chilly rain. some areas, the higher

elevations of southern new york maybe get snow through friday night into saturday morning. as far as thursday's forecast, today's go heads-up to everyone around kansas city and omaha. maybe strong thunderstorms later today. possibility of isolated tornado. anyone traveling to the west coast. a lot of heavy rain, gusty winds. northern portions of california, all the way through the oregon coastline. by far the worst weather in the country over the next two days. and even as we go through friday, lynn, doesn't look like anything too troublesome. just some thunderstorm action in the deep south. >> thanks so much. coming up, bieber may be getting sued? lohan is headed back to court. and rihanna is not talking. plus -- he's back. a big announcement from san diego's very own favorite fictional anchorman. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. ♪ when your chain of supply goes from here to shanghai, that's logistics. ♪ ♪ chips from here, boards from there track it all through the air,

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a high school here in new york is asking the knicks point guard jeremy lin to speak at his graduation. he plans on telling the kids they can be anything they dream of, for about two weeks. anything. just dream it and two weeks you can do it. this is kind of an interesting story. alicia silverstone -- she's making news. she's feeding her son by chewing his food and passing it into his mouth. even birds are like, just buy some gerber you weirdo. the birds don't even respect it. they go, this is too weird. this week is very interesting. ron paul said it's still too early to count him out as the republican nominee. seriously? that's like newt gingrich saying it's too early to count him out an as abercrombie model.

not going to happen. >> tonight, jimmy welcomes susan sarandon and adriana lima. that's "late night with jimmy fallon" on your local nbc station. time for a little entertainment news. when it comes to ashton kutcher, rihanna is not talking. at a news conference in london, the singer was asked if kutcher would be joining her on the promotional trip. she brushed it off. she called the question disappointing. speaking of rihanna, "american idol" runner-up clay aiken told andy cohen he thinks the singer wouldn't make it past the first round on "idol." >> oh, clay. come on, clay. really? justin bieber may be facing lawsuits over a twitter prank. earlier this month, bieber posted "call me right now" along with a phone number that left the last -- >> hi, justin. is this you. >> he's only 16. this is what you do when you are 16. only when you have 19 million

followers that it's a problem. at least two texas residents want financial compensation for fielding thousands of unwanted calls. lindsay lohan is in court today where the judge is expected to take her off probation. "star" magazine reports megan fox and husband brian austin green are expecting what is likely to be a very beautiful baby. and finally staying classy. last night on conan o'brien, appearing as anchorman ron burgundy, will ferrell announced he's making a sequel to "anchorman." we thank you. thank you. >> he should make it into a sitcom. who do i need to talk to? >> i have no one on speed dial for you. this is really a step up from the movie he was just in, the entire thing in spanish that nobody knew about. >> 1 out of 5 will be a classic. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look." stay tuned. "way too early with willie geist" starts right now.

the arguments have been made in the fate of president obama's landmark health care law rests now in the hands of the nine supreme court justices. the question is, with tea leaf readers suggesting the entire law could be struck down, what would be the practical consequences? we'll look into it. there are federal charges this morning against the jetblue captain who melted down aboard a flight from new york to vegas this week. what exactly happened to the guy to make him rant uncontrollably and to tell the passengers to say their prayers. and he's back. ron burgundy is back. did you hear about this? an announcement late last night of historic proportions. the question is, what did we do to earn this colossal honor of an anchorman sequel? it's "way too early" for this. good morning.