at 8:00 a.m. eastern. "first look" is up next. mega mania. the nation's largest lottery jackpot ever sets off a ticket-buying frenzy. holy dash cam! police release video of a bizarre traffic stop in maryland. and super massive twister. nasa scientists spot a solar tornado that's five times the size of earth. good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. and we are going to begin this morning with lotto fever. the largest lottery prize in u.s. history just keeps getting bigger. the mega millions jackpot has hit an estimated $540 million. it's expected to rise even

higher as millions of americans buy tickets ahead of tonight's big drawing. nbc's kurt gregory has more. >> this single, little slip of paper could mean -- >> half a billion. >> it's such an insane amount of money. >> reporter: -- a whole lot of green for a lucky winner tonight in the mega millions lottery drawing. and with still hours to go before the drawing, the record-breaking sum could climb higher. >> buy race cars, maybe. >> donate to charity. >> travel. >> retire early. >> i'd never have to mow the grass again. >> thank you. >> reporter: and those half a billionaire dreams are bringing in customers across the country. >> this has been crazy all day today, very, very crazy. >> it's been busy, just lottery. you know, if everybody want mega million, if everybody try, will take chance. >> reporter: but chances are slim with odds 176 million to 1. it's more likely that you hit two holes in one in the same round of golf than hit it rich

when those little plastic balls decide the winning number. but for most, the smallest chance is better than none. >> i just hope i win so i can retire. >> thank you. >> reporter: when it comes to claiming the biggest prize in lottery history. kurt gregory, nbc news. >> we can all dream. all right, now to some startling, new numbers from the federal government on the growing prevalence of autism among u.s. children. a new study by the centers for disease control and prevention is showing a rapid rise in cases over the past decade. nbc's brian mooar has details. >> bubble. >> reporter: an ongoing study of 14 areas across the united states shows a troubling spike in autism cases. >> 1 in 88 children has been identified with autism. >> the man -- >> yes. >> reporter: but experts acknowledge, this increase might simply be explained by better diagnosis. >> what we don't know that we should be alarmed by is if this

is truly a change in the number of children who are developing autism or whether we're recognizing it better. >> reporter: the study by the centers for disease control and prevention shows autism cases jumped 23% from 2006 to 2008 and spiked 78% when compared to 2002. the 2008 numbers show autism spectrum disorders are five times more common in boys than girls, and the largest increase among hispanic and african-american children. older parents and premature births are expected factors, but the cause remains a mystery. >> the prevailing scientific idea is that it's something that affects the brain development predominantly in utero. so in other words, it's either genetic or some environmental factor affecting in utero. >> reporter: the study shows the average age of diagnosis is down to 4 years old, but experts say that is not good enough. they're hoping to get children diagnosed by 18 months to give them a head start on treatment.

brian mooar, nbc news. well, here is your "first look" at other news going on around america today. in oklahoma, a dramatic end to a standoff. a s.w.a.t. team used a taser to take down a man who witnesses say had a gun. officers had tried repeatedly to talk him out of his apartment next door to a daycare center before firing the taser. new philadelphia, a pet store dog-napping was all captured on surveillance video. a woman leaned into a bin and snatched a puppy, sneaking it into her oversized purse. police say another woman and two little girls went along for the heist. the dachshund named pipsqueak is worth 900 bucks. in florida, someone broke into a bar and decided to treat himself to a cold one. the homeless man can be seen swiping a six-pack of beer. it turns out, he might also be the one who busted into the tavern on st. patrick's day and poured himself a pint. police have declared last call

and arrested him. and finally, holy traffic stop! far from gotham city, batman got pulled over by his fellow crime fighters. this is for real, people. >> he's big, too. >> his batmobile is a lamborghini. he's upgraded. the kapd crusader can be seen explaining to officers why his license plate had been replaced with a batman logo. he was headed to a hospital to cheer up sick kids, so all a good cause there. they gave him a pass and actually snapped some pictures with him, because you really have to see it to believe it. now here's a look at your national weather with nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. good morning. >> the police officer goes home, and the kids are like, how was work, daddy? i arrested batman. >> then you're terrible! who arrests batman? you can't do that. >> you have to let him go, i guess. >> you have to. good morning, everyone. an interesting forecast for the upcoming weekend, a lot of changes around the country. we'll have a lot of wet weather to deal with and even little

snow. yes that four-letter word will be moving through places in new england tonight into tomorrow morning. so, overnight, we had a lot of big thunderstorms down in south texas. at one point, they reported s e six-inch-deep hail. that's melting as we speak as the thunderstorm complex exits. we also had a ton of rain that was in the quad cities, headed for wisconsin and chicago. if you're around say milwaukee, green bay's even going to get nailed with some cold rain, but the chicago area, these storms are probably about two to three hours away from you. and then we're probably at the peak of your morning rush hour will deal with the heavy rain threat. so, we'll watch that throughout your morning commute. otherwise, this storm system has enough cold air on the northern side of it. as we track it from chicago to the east coast, there will be a band of snow on the northern portion of it. if you're in central portions of michigan, you may even get some snow as we go throughout this evening. so, here's how it's going to look. on the futurecast, we call this, this is our future radar, the blue shows you where the snow

is, and the yellow and the green show you where it's going to be raining. brighter colors like the red is where we'll have thunderstorms today. so, you watch the snowy part. as we go throughout this evening, this is at 2:00 a.m. so, this is, you know, hopefully after a lot of people are away and to bed, but we could have some snow in areas such as binghamton, oneontaoneonta, cooperstown, new york. through the catskills, looks like you'll have accumulating snow. other areas, the snow will be melting on the roads, but we could get occupations accumulat higher elevations, the berkshires, even sunday morning through new england, elevations through connecticut and massachusetts could be dealing with minor accumulating snow. for new york city, philadelphia, just looks like a cold, chilly rain you'll wake up to saturday. here's your forecast today. we start with the heavy rain near chicago, then we track it through the ohio valley during the day today, also thunderstorms in the southeast. and as we get towards tomorrow morning, kind of one of those mornings, lynn, you're going to

want to sleep in in southern new england and the northern mid-atlantic. not a day to be outdoors. >> i thought you told us to pack our winter clothes, bill. what about that. >> that wasn't me. must have been someone else. >> good answer. coming up, more good job news, a promise from iphone makers, and how you can enjoy dinner on the "titanic," sort of. your "first look" at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, an nba finals rematch, a scary moment for sidney crosby, and derek fisher returns to l.a. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] what can you do with plain white rice?

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry and here are some of the top stories making news this morning. the house passed a $3.5 trillion republican budget plan yesterday, largely along party lines. it would drastically change medicare and create only two income tax brackets, but there is no chance of it ever passing the democratically controlled senate. congressman paul ryan of

wisconsin, who wrote that budget plan, is expected to endorse mitt romney for president today. former president george h.w. bush gave romney his endorsement yesterday. the lawyers for andrea yates, the texas mother who drowned her five children in june 2001, is asking that she be allowed a weekly two-hour pass to go to church. in a 2006 retrial, yates was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a state mental hospital, but her attorney says she is ready to rejoin society and live on her own. canada will stop making pennies this year. this is all in a bid to save some money. the copper-coded coins worth 1 cent actually cost 1.6 cents to produce. and nasa scientists have announced the discovery of a massive super tornado on the surface of the sun five times bigger than planet earth. the storm has winds of 186,000 miles per hour and temperatures of over 3 million degrees

fahrenheit. and now, here's your "first look" at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 13,145 after adding 19 points yesterday. the s&p was down two points. the nasdaq lost nine. taking a look at overseas trading this morning. in tokyo, the nikkei fell 31 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng lost 53. well, today, markets are set to close out what has been the best first quarter in 14 years. the job market continues to gain strength with the lowest level of new unemployment claims in four years. crude oil prices are at six-week lows at around $103 a barrel, as western nations appear ready to release oil reserves to force down prices. and because of high jet fuel prices, australia's qantas airlines is raising fares once again for the second time in two months. the u.s. wants the european union to end subsidies for airbus and could go to the world trade organization for sanctions against several european countries. blackberry maker research in

motion is saying it will now focus on business customers as consumers move to iphones and android phones. foxconn, which produces iphones and ipads for apple in china have worked out a new deal to improve conditions for workers, reducing their long hours and raising their pay. best buy is closing 50 stores and cutting $800 million in operating costs to try and keep profits up. the online deals website livingsocial has launched a takeout and delivery service in 26 markets nationwide, including chicago, boston and san francisco. and now, you can dine like the passengers on the "titanic." not with leonardo dicaprio, unfortunately. a houston restaurant offers what it calls the titanic experience, dinner for 12 for 12,000 bucks. it's a ten-course meal of dishes similar to those served to the ill-fated ship's first-class passengers the night the ship went down. it lasts four hours. it starts with a wine and beef

appetizer and is topped off with some brandy from the year 1900. there's the price difference there. all right, millions of americans are going to be making a mad rush for those tickets for tonight's record-setting mega millions lottery drawing, and many will be buying for pools made up of your co-workers or friends. well, reporter gus rosendale from wnbc 4 here in new york got some tips from a lottery official on how to make sure, if you win, everyone in your pool gets to take home their fair share. >> reporter: beth isn't into office lottery pools. she wants all the money for herself. >> we actually always joke about winning and just walking out of our office. >> i'm a receptionist and we're buying a whole bunch of tickets, hoping to win. >> reporter: and terry garcia knows buying tickets for an office pool works best when everybody's in the loop. >> we're making copies, and you know, everybody gets their tickets and, you know, that's. >> reporter: the new jersey lottery commission is out with some guidelines for anyone who

joins an office pool. make sure everyone knows what the rules are by putting them in writing. agree on what happens when a regular pool participant is absent the day money's collected. everybody should have photo copies of the tickets, including the serial numbers on the back of tickets. and find out where the tickets were purchased and when. >> the important thing is for people to understand what the rules of the pool are. they should have clearly defined rules. >> reporter: but one piece of advice the lottery commission doesn't offer? what does the boss do on monday when everybody picks the right numbers on friday? >> we're all going to quit. >> all right, that was wnbc 4 new york's gus rosendale reporting. coming up, the thunderstorm the lakers, a puck hits a penguin and a slugfest in tokyo. plus, a monster between-the-legs slam wins the college dunk contest. looks good. your "first look" at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. if your kid can recognize your sneeze from a crowd... you're probably muddling through allergies.

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welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. and in sports, last night in miami, there was a rematch between the two teams that played last season for the nba title. here's nbc's fred roggin. >> good morning. it was an nba finals rematch, but this time, it was all heat. taking on the mavs in the second quarter, look at dwyane wade, calm, cool, collected, like he's playing at the local gym. soft touch off the glass, heat up by seven at the break. they kept it going in the second half. wade to lebron james, finished the fast break with authority.

james and chris bosh both had 19 and 9 boards. heat won it easily 106-85. now to los angeles, an emotional return for derek fisher, received two standing ovations, and that's about all laker fans had to cheer about. russell westbrook had 36. the thunder dominated the second half and won 102-93. nhl, it's been a rough year for the penguins' sidney crosby. hampered by concussion-like symptoms, he took a puck to the face against the islanders and it got him right in the nose. rattled and bloody, he laid on the ice for about a minute before gathering himself and skating off. he did return, but it wasn't enough. islanders beat the pens for the second time this week 5-3. no need to wait for next week for baseball. the season's already started in japan. oakland paid top dollar for cuban rookie and it's paid off. his first home run in the bigs. oakland won 4-1. college hoops. the north carolina tar heels lost in the elite eight and are

now losing harrison barnes, john henson and john marshall, who have all declared for the nba draft. final four is tomorrow, but last night was a college dunk contest. at 5'9", james justice from martin methodist was the smallest player on the field, but there was nothing small about that. exploded to the rim, and that's your winner. justice was served as james justice won the college dunk contest. that's your "first look" at sports. i'm fred roggin. now for another look at the weather, here's nbc meteorologist bill karins with your weather channel forecast. good morning once again, bill. >> so, it figures, we haven't talked any snow all of march. >> here we go. >> then the first of april, so many people getting snow. here's what we're dealing with. cold air's in place through new england and back through pittsburgh and buffalo, and that's going to set the stage for the storm that's going to come in later tonight during the overnight hours. today we're just fine. we're dry and chilly from new england through the mid-atlantic. late in the day we'll watch some storms heading for pittsburgh, probably around dinner time or maybe even after that.

buffalo, chillier rains for you later. and in buffalo, as we go throughout the overnight hours, it will probably change over to some sleet and snow and that will move tonight through the southern tier of new york, binghamton area, cortland, all the way through the catskills, northern poconos will get some snow. higher elevations could get one to three inches of snow out of this, and then just a cold, chilly rain for areas like new york city and hartford. i think even boston and albany have a chance of getting a slushy half-inch of snow, especially on grassy surfaces. so, that's just to prepare you. for all of our friends on the west coast, lynn, i know we keep saying it, but it keeps raining, especially oregon and washington states. it's less than an ideal end of march. >> bill, thanks so much. coming up, another day in court for lindsay lohan. plus, can a follow-up sale about gods and mythical creatures knock off last weekend's box office record-breaker? your "first look" at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look." [ clang ] my house is where plants came to die. ♪ but, it turns out

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yesterday, mitt romney told wisconsin voters that he had a humorous story, which ended up being about his father shutting down a factory. it is a humorous story. then romney added, and you're going to love this. ever heard of a ship called the "titanic"? it's a humorous story. rick santorum gave a speech at the jelly belly factory in california. incidentally, the jelly belly factory was also newt gingrich's nickname in college. isn't that weird? kind of a cool nickname. >> that's cool. >> jelly belly factory. >> what's up, jelly belly factory? >> a new poll found that president obama's approval rating is above 50% for the first time since last may. obama made sure --

[ cheers and applause ] yeah. obama made sure to thank the people who made that possible, mitt romney, rick santorum, newt gingrich and ron paul. >> tonight, jimmy welcomes comedian artie lange, and musical guest ed sheeran. that's "late night with jimmy fallon" on your local nbc station. time now for entertainment news. at the box office this weekend, "the hunger games" still dominating, but two new films could still do well. >> you act surprised. >> well, it's amazing people are so into this. the record-breaker will take the top spot again. the only question is by how much. $70 million is not out of the question, but hard-core fans may go back for seconds to drive the total higher. "wrath of the titans," the sequel to 2010's "clash of the titans," will rely on fan loyalty. despite not-so-great reviews, it could start earning back the estimated $150 million it cost to make, by taking in about $40

million. "mirror mirror," the one bill's going to go see. this is the first of snow white movies out this year, starring julia roberts and newcomer lilia collins. although women like it men aren't expected to, especially bill. >> i have a little girl now, so i have to get ready for these movies. >> expecting to bring in $20 million. tea parties, all that. get ready. and finally, and we do mean finally, we think, lindsay lohan's probation is over. yesterday, the judge gave lohan credit for completing her community service and therapy and left her with one simple piece of advice -- stop nightclubing and focus on your work. let that be a lesson to you, bill karins. i try to tell you that every morning and you just never seem to get it. >> i already nominated her way, way back then, a couple years ago, for comeback person of the year. hasn't gone so well. >> yeah, not -- >> this could be the year. >> this could be it. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc, but stay tuned. "way too early with willie geist" starts right now.

with marco rubio already stepping forward this week for mitt romney, the front-runner expected to pick up another huge conservative endorsement today. this as a new nbc poll shows him opening up a lead in tuesday's key primary state of wisconsin. the question is, have you seen the clip of romney and george h.w. bush talking about chairs? you will in a few minutes. an eyewitness to the shooting death of trayvon martin speaks out about the scuffle he saw between martin and george zimmerman. while zimmerman's family appears on tv telling a very different story. the question is, what exactly happened in the moments before zimmerman pulled that trigger? and tonight is the night for the largest lottery jackpot in the history of the world, $540 million and rising. question is, do you have your ticket? it's "way too early" for this.