thanks. "first look" is up next. tornado aftermath. north texas residents start cleanup after a terrifying tornado outbreak. tragic end. the final coroner's report provides new details on whitney houston's final moments. and charles manson. chilling, new photos reveal the face of an aging mass murderer. good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. today we begin with picking up the pieces. cleanup and recovery has started in texas after a string of tornadoes twisted through the dallas-ft. worth area tuesday. we now know a powerful ef-3

tornado was among those storms. several people were injured. hundreds of homes destroyed, but many, miraculously, none were killed. nbc's jay gray has more. >> reporter: it's been a full day since the storms, and the shock is giving way to the reality of what happened here. >> i had a lump in my throat. i don't know if it's really sunk in. >> reporter: at least 13 twisters on the ground across dallas-ft. worth, winds in some areas more than 160 miles an hour, ripping apart hundreds of homes, including jeri enox. >> i saw the funnel clouds coming toward the house. i was on the phone with my daughter. she said, mom, do you think you need to take cover? >> reporter: the winds grabbed abigail and threw her across the house. another young boy was tossed into the backyard. >> i was screaming on the phone to my daughter and said, hey, it's here, and i lost my cell phone, and she thought that we were dead. >> reporter: but they survived. somehow, everyone in the strike zone did. >> the sirens worked, the early

warnings worked, and that's why i think everybody is alive today. >> reporter: alive, but rattled. the emotions here as raw as the deep scars the tornadoes left behind. >> i don't know how you go on. i'm sure you will, but look at this. there's not a wall. >> reporter: so many struggling to try to pick up the pieces. >> i have been trying to figure out where to start actually. >> reporter: but then where do you begin when your life and your community has been splintered and scattered for miles? jay gray, nbc news, kennedale, texas. >> just unbelievable pictures out of there. well, elsewhere, u.s. attorney general eric holder has responded to a federal appeals court judge who took issue with the president over the opinions he expressed about the supreme court's review of the nation's health care reform law. nbc's brian mooar joins us from washington with those details. brian, good morning. >> reporter: hi, lynn. attorney general holder says he will respond appropriately to

the demand by appeals court judge jerry smith to give the justice department until noon today to put in writing its position on the powers of courts to strike down laws. that is a response to something president obama said on monday. he said if the supreme court strikes down his health care law, it would be unprecedented for unelected judges to strike down a law that was passed by a strong majority of a democratically elected congress. of course, republicans are pointing out that the court has done that before, 169 times, in fact. and the white house is dialing back on the president's rhetoric, but judge smith, not so much. the judge is standing by his order. that makes some conservatives uneasy. they believe this may be unintentionally making a point about activist judges. lynn? >> all right, brian, thanks so much. well, republican presidential candidate mitt romney is supporting the gop budget plan that passed in the house this week that cuts

trillions from medicare and other programs. well, last night on "politics nation," former pennsylvania governor ed rendell told host reverend al sharpton that he feels certain the republican budget plan will cost the party in the november election. >> it's almost as if the gop is suicidal. the slavish feelity to the ryan plan, which it destroys medicare as we know it and virtually every senior citizen, including tea partyites don't want it changed. this idea that we're going to cut taxes on the rich and it's going to trickle down, it's a theory that's never worked before. there's no evidence that it will work this time. the fairness argument is a winner, a big winner for the president, and if he stays on the fairness argument, that's, again, a solid path to re-election. if i'm the romney campaign, i'd duck the fairness argument and i say, look, right now, the most important thing for americans is to get a job, so we've got to get the economy moving again, and here's our plan.

and again, it's a very well-defined plan up to now and it's a plan that has a lot of the old mumbo jumbo that doesn't work, but that's where they want to fight. they want to fight on the economy's not recovering fast enough, here's our plan, we can get people back to work more quickly. if they're forced to defend the fairness issue, they're cooked. >> every night the reverend al sharpton features a lively debate of the day's top headlines. don't miss "politics nation." that's weekdays at 6:00 p.m. eastern right here on msnbc, the place for politics. well, the final coroner's report is providing new details this morning on whitney houston's death last february. houston reportedly drowned accidentally in a foot of very hot water in a bathtub in a beverly hills hotel, this due to the effects of cocaine and heart disease. the report says she had cocaine in her system and a white powder nearby. detectives also found a rolled up piece of paper, a small spoon

and a mirror, all items commonly used with cocaine. the report revealed that houston had a perforated nose filled with a bloody discharge, indicating substance abuse. now, here's a look at some other news going around america today. newly released surveillance video shows a former colorado sheriff offering drugs in return for sex. pat sullivan can be seen tossing a bag of methamphetamine to an undercover agent. moments later, officers busted in, arrested sullivan, who pleaded guilty this week to drug possession and solicitation charges. in pennsylvania, a historic multimillion dollar mansion went up in flames wednesday. smoke could be seen for miles as the home, built more than 100 years ago, with 19 bedrooms just burned. people living inside did get out okay. to new york now, where the royal couple has been waxed. prince william and kate, the duchess of cambridge, are the newest models on display at

madame tussauds. it took a team of artists more than four months to capture their likeness. >> looks like you. >> hey, bill, thanks! i'll take that compliment. you don't dish them out very often. it comes a week ahead of william and kate's first adverse. and finally, they could have used one of these on "sex and the city," and ladies, let's admit it, we could all use one of these. new vending machines are going to allow ladies to buy an emergency pair of flat shoes. i love this. the shoes resemble ballet slippers. they'll be installed at nightclubs for ladies to get during agony in high heels. the price won't knock you off your feet. just 20 bucks. now for a look at your national and regional weather, we turn to nbc meteorologist bill karins. he has your weather channel forecast. >> it's brilliant. >> i'm just glad you appreciate it. you can walk around in your flats all day long except maybe -- >> are you kidding me? >> pump those up a few inches when you're standing next to me?

yeah. >> yeah. good morning, everyone. well, we showed you the amazing recovery pictures from the dallas, texas, tornado. now we're dealing with a new tornado threat this morning. it's not a large tornado threat. i don't think we'll see a lot of tornadoes, but we could see a couple isolated tornadoes. once again, we're focused on southern louisiana. you can see new orleans up here in the corner. we've got a pretty strong thunderstorm that's coming your way. right now, it's just to the west side of houma, louisiana. looks like it's going to go just to your north, but we'll track this, this morning, right near amelia, louisiana. that's where the worst of it is. so far, no reports of tornadoes, but the threat is there. also areas of mississippi. these red boxes are tornado watches, including jackson, mississippi. north of jackson, a pretty strong storm crossing interstate 55 in about a half hour. just outside of baton rouge, we had strong storms just to the north side of town. few isolated tornadoes. otherwise, we are watching some rain out there this morning.

we're just north of st. louis, through central illinois. and if you're down there in the keys, you've got some thunderstorms and some of that rain's heading for miami. give it about another hour, hour and a half from now, probably the peak of the rush hour. some light rain will move on through. then it's a chilly morning up in the great lakes and up through new england. definitely wear the winter coat, probably even the gloves for the kids this morning. it will warm up this afternoon with the sunshine, but it's definitely on the chilly side. as far as the severe weather threat later today into this afternoon, really, it's all of the southeast, you have a chance of seeing some strong storms with the wind and the hail and the lightning. again, not too many tornadoes. and lynn, one of the things we're watching, of course, this is the start of the biggest golf tournament of the year in augusta, georgia. you're going to see some thunderstorms later today and i doubt they'll get the whole round in. >> that's unfortunate. bill, thanks so. coming up, stocks tumble, the dollar jumps and the economic solution based on pizza. that sounds easy. your "first look" at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. coming up, opening night in baseball, a possible nba finals

preview and a track meet turns into a dance party. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

mine was earned off vietnam in 1968. over the south pacific in 1943. i got mine in iraq, 2003. usaa auto insurance is often handed down from generation to generation. because it offers a superior level of protection, and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans and their families is without equal.

begin your legacy, get an auto insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve.

welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry, and here's some of the top stories making news this morning. four american soldiers are among the dead after a taliban bombing in northern afghanistan. police say at least ten people died when a suicide bomber on a motorcycle detonated his explosives. secretary of state hillary clinton says the u.s. is ready to nominate an ambassador to myanmar and to ease sanctions. she said that parliamentary elections there represent real change after decades of military rule. five former new orleans police officers have been sentenced to prison for their part in the deadly shootings of residents on a bridge in the aftermath of hurricane katrina. the officers will spend up to 65 years in prison for the shootings and conspiring to cover up their actions. billy payne, the chairman of the augusta national golf club

in georgia, home of the masters tournament, refused to answer questions yesterday about his all-male membership. it's being scrutinized because one of its three tournament sponsor, ibm, recently appointed a female ceo. the past four male ceos have all received member invitations. and two new photos of convicted killer charles manson have been released by california prison officials showing him with long gray hair and a beard. manson is scheduled for his 12th parole hearing next week. all right, now here's your "first look" at how wall street's going to kick off the day. dow opens at 13,074 after tumbling 124 points yesterday. the s&p fell 14 points. the nasdaq plunged 45. taking a looat overseas trading this morning, in tokyo, the nikkei was down 52 points, while in hong kong, the hang seng lost 197.

for only the second time this year the dow recorded a triple-digit drop wednesday as european debt worries flared up once again. a disappointing auction of government debt in spain signaled investor confidence in that country's finances is weakening. in reaction, european markets suffered broad losses. the euro fell to its lowest point against the dollar in more than two weeks as investors looking for safe places to park money looked to the dollar and u.s. treasuries. and with the dollar gaining, the price of gold plunged to its lowest level since january. the dollar's climb also sent crude oil falling down to its lowest level since mid-february. bank stocks, which typically drop on european debt news, fell sharply. citigroup, morgan stanley and bank of america lost 3%. elsewhere, ahead of today's weekly jobs report, yesterday, data from the adp showed factories and other private sector companies added 209,000 jobs in march. the final sale of private shares of facebook set a record at $43.50.

heading into the company's ipo that values facebook at about $109 billion. directv subscribers in 19 u.s. markets can see tribune broadcasting channels once again, now that the two companies have worked out a new five-year deal. and finally, an 11-year-old dutch boy created a solution for the eurozone's debt crisis. who knew it was this easy? he won a very special mention in an economic competition for his idea for a money exchange machine to deal with the debt in greece. he says his plan was inspired by pizza because it was easy to divide into pieces. there you go. i hope somebody is listening. well, the marlins play their opener. the heat rally past the thunder and a professional basketball player scores way more than 100 in one game. plus, a high school sprinter in hawaii who knows how to stumble, does it in style. nice move, buddy. your "first look" at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

two of the most important are energy security and economic growth. north america actually has one of the largest oil reserves in the world. a large part of that is oil sands. this resource has the ability to create hundreds of thousands of jobs. at our kearl project in canada, we'll be able to produce these oil sands with the same emissions as many other oils and that's a huge breakthrough. that's good for our country's energy security and our economy. oooh, what's her secret? [ male announcer ] dawn hand renewal with olay beauty. improves the look and feel of hands in just five uses. [ sponge ] soft, smooth... fabulous! [ male announcer ] dawn does more... [ sponge ] so it's not a chore.

that's good morning, veggie style. hmmm. for half the calories plus veggie nutrition. could've had a v8.

your finances can't manage themselves. but that doesn't mean they won't try. bring all your finances together with the help of the one person who can. a certified financial planner professional. cfp. let's make a plan. welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. and in sports, wednesday, the cardinals managed to spoil the marlins' opening of their new balm park. here's nbc's fred roggin. >> good morning. the miami marlins have a new name, new players, a new look and a new ballpark. unfortunately, they opened the season with the same old results. there's the new crown jewel. $634 million marlins park. no better way to christen it

than with the champion himself, muhammad ali. then the world series champs knocked out the marlins. david freese, cardinals up 2-0 after one. that was enough for kyle lohse. he had a no-hitter going through six. they forgot the bats in the new stadium and the cards won 4-1. that's okay, the miami, the heat, they took care of the best in the west, the oklahoma city thunder. it was a matchup of possible mvps, kevin durant and lebron james. durant finished with 30. lebron had it going all game long, 34 points and 10 assists. they haven't lost at home in three months and won this one, 98-93. spurs won their ninth straight. but it wasn't easy. from 17 down, paul pierce, a chance at the buzzer. could not get the jumper to fall. the spurs won again, 87-86. do you know who mohammed el akkari is? no? well, he is a 27-year-old guard who plays professional basketball in lebanon. he attempted 69 shots in a game, 59 of them three-pointers. yes, he hogged the ball, but

nobody complained because he scored 113 points. and finally, let's go to hawaii for a memorable finish in high school track. keep your eye on the runner in the green tank top on the right. down the home stretch they come. uh-oh, no, he fell flat on his face but no worries went right into the worm. the crowd was loving it. you talk about making the best of a bad situation, with those kind of moves, he should have no problem getting a date for the prom. and that's your "first look" at sports. i'm fred roggin. >> i'll bet he hae won't. now for another look at the weather, nbc's bill karins has your weather channel forecast. >> raise your hands if we've ever done the worm in your life before. >> no, of course not, because i'm cool. i said no. i didn't raise my hand. i went like this, no, not here. >> uh huh, sure. tell me about it later off air. good morning, everyone. we are watching cold temperatures up in new england today. bring the jacket with you out the door and also the gloves. temperature windchills are in the 20s right now in albany and many of the suburbs. even the cities are in the 30s.

so, it's definitely a colder morning today than what you dealt with yesterday. the sun will still be out, but it will be on the chilly side today. highs in the low 50s in new england, 45 in buffalo. in the big cities, we should be in the mid-50s, so at least this afternoon in the sun will feel better that be this morning. in miami, bring the umbrella with you. we've got rain heading through the keys and looks like it's knocking on the door. probably in the next half hour, it will start raining in miami, a light, soaking rain through your early-morning commute. keep that in mind. might make the drive slow on the 95 and florida turnpike. middle of the country today looks fine. no problems whatsoever. a little cool in chicago. there's going to be a snowstorm headed up there to montana over the next two days. it's not that unheard of, northern rockies, snow in april. >> all right, bill, thank you. coming up, a tv reunion and the movie star who wants to give away more than 1,000 acres. plus, a report that some of saturday night's favorites aren't going to be returning. oh, you're just going to have to wait until the end of the show,

bill, to find out. your "first look" at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. so who ordered the cereal that can help lower cholesterol and who ordered the yummy cereal? yummy. [ woman ] lower cholesterol. [ man 2 ] yummy. i got that wrong didn't i? [ male announcer ] want great taste and whole grain oats that can help lower cholesterol? honey nut cheerios.

holding down the fort while you're out catching a movie. [ growls ] lucky for me, your friends showed up with this awesome bone. hey! you guys are great. and if you got your home insurance where you got your cut rate car insurance, it might not replace all this. [ electricity crackling ] [ gasping ] so get allstate. you could save money and be better protected from mayhem like me. [ dennis ] dollar for dollar, nobody protects you from mayhem like allstate.

a passenger at jfk airport was caught trying to board a flight with a knife hidden inside a jar of mayonnaise. yeah. when they caught the guy, he was like, aw, hell-mands. a delta air lines flight attendant was removed from a plane this morning because he was acting unstable. yeah, he was saying crazy stuff you'd never hear on a delta flight, like "prepare for an on-time arrival." what?

what are you talking about? hey, celebrity news yesterday. ryan gosling -- [ cheers and applause ] well, yesterday, he saved a woman here in new york from being hit by a cab. i know. the woman was like, i think i'm okay, but just to be safe, you should probably give me mouth-to-mouth. >> brilliant. tonight, jimmy welcomes actress sofia vergara. is that how you say it, bill? >> i'll look it up. >> thank you. director judd apatow and musical guest walk the moon. that's "late night with jimmy fallon," 12:35, 11:35 central time. i think i just lost a little credibility there in the entertainment department. speaking of, here's your entertainment news. could another era be ending on "saturday night live"? sources tell "us weekly." kristen wiig, adam samberg and jason sudeikis plan to leave at

the end of the season. bill is upset about that. "entertainment weekly" reports "the '70s show" reunion on fox's upcoming 20th anniversary special will include ashton kutcher, mila kunis andville ameri. gary sinise canceled appearances of his lieutenant dan band after a car accident. the extent of his injuries are unknown. tmz reports nicolas cage took a big step towards squaring his tax bill with uncle sam, a payment of over $6 million. cage blames his business manager for tax problems over the last decade. he still owes around 7 million bucks more. and finally, his mansion's on the market, so is his local bar and nightclub, and now bruce willis says he's willing to give away his 1,100-acre ski resort to the right non-profit group. he owns so many things. i'm lynn berry. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" with willie geist starts right now.

a day after president obama's blistering speech ripping the republican budget and lumping mitt romney in with it, romney responds from the very same podium, accusing the president of playing hide-and-seek with the american people. the question is, will the obama campaign strategy of attaching romney to that budget, you know, the one the president says throws dear little children and sweet old grannies into the streets to fend for themselves, will it work? we'll see. the man accused of orchestrating the september 11th attacks will be tried before a military tribunal at guantanamo and faces death if convicted. the question is, will guantanamo and not a criminal court in new york prove to be the right place to try khalid shaikh mohammed? and the masters tees off in two hours, making everyone wonder if this week marks the return of tiger woods. the question is, does tiger still have it somewhere inside