trayvon martin shooting case is released from a florida jail. man on a wire. an american daredevil performing a death defying stunt in china. good morning everyone. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we're going to begin this morning with the spring snow. winter is making a surprise comeback as a powerful nor'easter brings snow to parts of the country as well as heavy rain and the danger of flooding. let's get right to nbc meteorologist bill karins with the details. >> the snow portion of it, very historic by the time we're done with today. good morning everyone. we needed the rainfall because of the drought situations. i know it washed out a lot of

people's sunday plans from the mid atlantic through southern new england. we did pick up the rain we needed. what we don't need is april snow. this will be significant april snow. it's already started in the mountainous areas of pennsylvania. now western new york is changing over to snow from rochester and over torts buffalo. that's where we'll see the worst of it. right now the radar is picking up the snow. just outside of state college in altoona and right on interstate 86 heading into western portions of new york. eventually this afternoon, buffalo and pittsburgh will even pick up some of the snow. of course, spring came early. all of the leaves are now on the trees, and that means downed power lines, downed tree limbs. that's going to be the legacy of this storm is how heavy and wet the snow is and how many people lose powers in those areas, even in areas like buffalo we could see as much as five inches of snow. on trees with leaves, we'll see

a lot of problems. that's why it's historic. >> bill, thanks so much. the former neighborhood watch captain charged with second degree murder in the death of unarmed florida teen trayvon martin is now free on bail this morning. george zimmerman was released from a florida county jail around midnight eastern time. nbc's jay gray is in sanford, florida, with the latest. good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lynn. this is where it happened. the waiting game ended as george zimmerman walked out of the jail in seminole county. it happened around midnight. he was carrying with him a small brown paper bag. he walked to a wath suv, got in and that vehicle drove away. there's been a lot of speculation about where he may go and what may happen. his attorneys have said they have four or five locations where he could go. he will be in hiding, basically. he will be out of the public eye obviously. still a lot of frustration, a lot of emotions involved in this case. we do know he has an electronic

gps monitoring plabracelet. he is most likely outside the state of florida. that's the latest on this story, lynn. back to you. >> jay, thanks so much. nbc news has learned that investigators have found possible bits of forensic evidence in the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old etan patz. dozens of items including strands of hair, a piece of paper and other possible evidence was found by investigators searching a new york city basement. the material is being sent to a virginia lab. the boy's family has been told no human remains were found. the basement which was along the boy's route at the time of his disappearance was used as a workshop and storage space. opening arguments will get under way this morning in the criminal trial of former senator and presidential candidate john edwards. edwards has pleaded not guilty to six criminal counts related to campaign finance violations

involving the attempted coverup of an affair. nbc's francisco has more. >> reporter: the jury is expected to be seated monday in the trial of john edwards. the case against the former u.s. senator and democratic presidential candidate. prosecutors alleged wards used nearly $1 million in campaign donations to hide and provide care to edwards' then pregnant mistress, rielle hunter with whom he shares a 4-year-old daughter. she's expected to be called to testify. >> i know the edwards trial team will be concerned about the fact that people really just can't get over the fact that he cheated on his wife while she had cancer and as she was dieing. >> reporter: edwards has admitted publicly that he did wrong to his family and supporters, but insists he did not break the law. his defense team argues the money came from private, personal donations, not campaign funds. edwards faces six counts

including illegal use of campaign contributions and conspiracy. those charges could bring 30 years in prison and fines of $1.5 million. francis co-nbc news. here is a look at other news going on around america. in ohio, police used teargas to break up a crowd near kent state university. officers say an annual block party had gotten out of hand with students fighting and throwing beer bottles. some 3,000 people were on hand. more than 30 were arrested. in the nation's capital, a frightening attack was captured on video. a pair of dogs, possibly pit bulls terrorized two teenagers. they climbed on top of the car. one of the dogs leapt onto the car, forcing one of the kids to jump off. a man who came to the regs queue was attacked by the animals while trying to stop them. police are looking for the dogs and their owner. in new mexico a bizarre

incident involving a man who opened fire on a police van setting up a recording video of speeding drivers. this is just weird. the gunman who appeared to be wearing a nightgown hit the vehicle at least three times but the camera survived. the shooter still on the loose. not your typical late night stack. kansas university set the guinness world record for the biggest plate of nach vos, 80 feet long, ten inches deep. lots of heartburn there. 4,689 pounds of chips, cheese and other fillings helped raise money for a local charity. no judgment on nachos. they're delicious. now we turn runs again to nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> i don't believe you for a sechblthd you like nachos? >> every once in a while. not 80 feet worth. >> you x get them whole grain if you want to be healthy. >> and fat free cheese? >> they make fat free cheese?

is that an oxymoron? >> yes. >> we are still watching that storm moving up through new england. i mentioned a little bit about where it's snowing. let me tell you how much snow we're expecting. still pretty incredible this time of year to be talking about an area of six to 12 inch offense snow. you can picture what the damage would be like. so many plows on the roads in western portions of new york state all the way down -- the area between buffalo and pittsburgh will see the heaviest amounts. how much snow are we talking about for the cities? jamestown, new york, will be the bullseye. youngstown, ohio, will get into the mix, four to eight. even buffalo, new york, an historic four to eight inches, one of the heaviest late season snows. two to four inches in rochester and erie, pennsylvania. the storm is located almost right over the top of new york city. all the heavy rain is really

exiting to the north in a hurry. it's not going to be like yesterday or even last night. you notice all the heavy rain is shifting towards portland, maine. just some showers in the forecast. d.c. through virginia, carry the umbrella. it will be drizzly and showery, but not the heavy intense rain. the incredible heat in the west, 105 in phoenix. areas in the west, about 50 record highs yesterday. that heat will continue in the west. middle of the country is beautiful. it's just in new england and all areas struggling with the rain and snow. >> bill, thanks so much. coming up, will apple drop even further? some big-buck company buys. if you thought long distance air travel couldn't get faster, think again. your first look at this morning's business headlines is straight ahead. the king's sleigh a giant. the flyers ice the penguins and a vicious elbow that could change the face of the nba play-offs. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ male announcer ] if you have yet to master the quiet sneeze...

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welcome back to "first look." here are top stories making news this morning. the u.s. has agreed to a deal crucial to the exit strategy in afghanistan. it ensures americans will provide military and financial support for afghanistan for at least a decade beyond the withdrawal deadline of 2014. the government accountability office wants the obama administration to cancel an $8 billion medicare bonus program. the g.a.o says most of the money would go to medicare advantage insurance plans that are only rated average and would offset many of the initial cost cuts achieved by the new health care law. the u.s. supreme court today hears arguments on the federal government's challenge to arizona's controversial immigration law which sparked nationwide protests. in china american daredevil dean potter made a death defying barefoot walk on a rope line

almost 6,000 feet over a canyon. he had no safety equipment when he made this 131-foot crossing. he made it across safely and then he celebrated, as you can imagine. yeah, thank god. here is your first look at how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 13,029 after adding 65 points on friday. the s&p was up a point. the nasdaq was down seven. taking a look at overseas trading, in tokyo the nikkei was down 19 points. in hong kong the hang seng dropped 386. another crush of corporate earnings will grab attention this week. apple will likely be the most closely watched after suffering a 10% correction in the past ten trading days. apple reports tomorrow. traders will also be tuned in to data on new home sales and prices, factory orders for big ticket items and the first estimate on first quarter economic growth. interest rates will be in focus after the fastball's

two-day meeting. no big changes are expected. but the central bank will update its take on the economy's health. walmart could be a prime short selling target in the wake of a "new york times" report of widespread bribery and an alleged coverup at its mexico unit. this morning asian markets were lower despite china's upbeat manufacturing data and successful imf fund-raising. markets were rattled by financial instability in denmark and first round election results in france favoring conservative president sarkozy's socialist rival. on the deal front, swiss food group necessarily is buying pfizer's infant nutrition business for just under $12 billion. beam incorporated is buying pinnacle vodka for about $600 million. gas prices dropped for the first time since december falling five currents to an average $3.91 for a gallon of regular. good news for all you globe trotters out there.

the first ever nonstop flight between asia and boston arrives sunday at boston's logan air pour. japan airlines expects round trip flights on its brand new boeing 787 dream liner will save passengers six hours of travel time. not so bad there. coming up the penguins bite the dust, the brewers stay alive and the knicks beat the hawks. after a sudden act of violence, a los angeles laker faces a very long suspension. your first look of sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. s. only the twists and turns of an unpredictable industry. so the eighty-thousand employees at delta... must anticipate the unexpected. and never let the rules overrule common sense. this is how we tame the unwieldiness of air travel, until it's not just lines you see... it's the world.

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honey nut cheerios. welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. last night the l.a. kings knocked out vancouver's khan nukes to move on to round two of the play-offs. here is nbc's mario solis. >> good morning. before the stanley cup play-offs began, the canucks and penguins were the odds-on favorites to meet in the finals. today both teams are done. we'll start in vancouver where the kings needed over time to take out the best team in the nhl, the canucks with a costly turnover and jarrett stole makes them pay. fires a rocket past cory schneider. kings send the canucks pack being a 2-0 win. to philly where the flyers make quick work of the penguins grabbing the early need. claude giroux scores just 32 seconds into the game. flyers up 2-0 after one.

they win 5-1 and eliminate the penguins in six games. capitals also had a chance to move on. but the defending champs weren't having it. tyler sagan scores a game winner early in over time. bruins live to play another day. they win 4-3 in over time, a decisive game seven is wednesday night. nba carmelo anthony had 39 points against the hawks and knicks needed every single one of them. new york down one in the final minutes. melo for the lead gets it. knicks win 113-112. a half game lead on philly. lakers and thunder, a dunk, slams james hardin, elbows him in the pace. mwp says he was celebrating. if that's a celebration, i'd hate to see him mad. harden left the game with a concussion. hardin wasn't the only one who hit the deck. kobe bryant takes out an entire row of seats. everyone was okay. this one goes to double over

time where kobe goes from knocking down fans to knocking down shots, 8 of his 26 coming in the extra periods. lakers win a wild one 114-106 in double ot. for another look at the weather here is nbc meteorologist bill karins. >> it's amazing. so much of the country is so beautiful today, but not in areas of new england and also through the mid atlantic. still rain showers left over in areas of virginia today. the heavy rain is over with. carry the umbrella up i-95. philly and new york relative dry for the first couple hours of the day, will bring in showers this afternoon. all the heavy rain shifted into northern new england. the snow coming down pretty good in western pennsylvania. rainfall totals exactly what we needed. we were seeing deficits of four to eight inches. we got about two inches out of this event. it took a dent out of the drought conditions. today's forecast, temperatures cool, 50s in most areas. on the cold side of the storm, there's the snow and maybe even

thundersnow possible around buffalo. that's pretty crazy to think of in april, too. the rest of the nation, so gorgeous. the warm conditions continue in montana in the mid to upper 80s. phoenix today near 100. 80 around denr in. dallas, cooler and beautiful. new orleans, 71 and sunny. again, about 80% of the country has seen a perfect monday. >> lucky for them. bill, thanks. taylor swift has big plans for the silver screen. bigger than expected box office business for one film tackles "the hunger games" off its champion pure ch. your first look at entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. et cookies for free. nothing worked. ♪ but we started using miracle-gro garden soil. you just mix it with your backyard soil... and it feeds your plants for up to 3 months. my plants grew bigger... more beautiful... with more flowers and vegetables. guaranteed. everything changed with miracle-gro.

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50 years ago this weekend the seattle space needle opened to the public and welcomed people to the 1962 world's fair. that was a big day in seattle. this weekend, as thousands gather to mark the occasion, one family held a very special reunion affiliate king 5 news in seattle has this story. >> reporter: wearing their original buttons, they have their tickets to go back in time. >> 50 years. reservations a few months ago, but 50 years coming. >> can you believe the view and the day? >> built in 1962 at the world's fair. >> there's actually three of us. our dads were brothers, our moms were sisters. so the three of us really grew up very close. >> reporter: sisters barbara neal and sister monica and cousin sally made a date for

this day. >> i was waiting for nice time to open it. >> that was old paper. >> he daut bought this paper, the souvenir edition. >> the guide to the world's fair. >> reporter: while dancers, marching bands and dignitaries narkd seattle world's fair 50th anniversary outside, this family found it necessary to sit inside the spags needle and reminisce. >> that was one of the department stores in seattle. >> it finally put the city on the map. >> oh, wow. how kriz ziz zi was that. >> reporter: as they carefully pull back the pages, more than just the fair comes to mind. >> what scared me was the thought of war. you never knew -- >> reporter: this decades-old paper provides the trip back that they all wanted. >> that was my fifth grade teacher. well, it is time for entertainment news.

this weekend two date movies performing way above expectations put an end to "the hunger games" rule over the box office. "think like a man" based on steve harvey's dating advice bestseller debuted on time for $33 million. produced for $13 million it took in that much on friday alone. >> it's official. i want to see it now. >> "the lucky one" starring zac efron opened second with almost $23 million. you want to see that one, too, right? >> no. >> after four weekends at number one, "the hunger games" took in $14.5 million. >> starving for viewers. "chimpanzee" opened in fourth with over $10 million. so cute. another box office note, "battleship" which doesn't open until may 18th, it earned $58 million. that makes it virtually certain

the film will take in over $200 million before it sees one american theater. >> why do we have to wait so long? i'm not good at waiting. finally "varietity" reports taylor swift may be getting her first big screen dramatic role. >> who? >> singer joanie mitchell. >> i would have guessed for a week straight and not gotten that one. >> i actually didn't hear rumblings she was getting into acting. i guess that's the inevitable thing to do when you hit number one on every -- >> good at singing. we'll see. i'm lynn berry. stay tuned. "way too early is next". george zimmerman, the man charged with murder in the killing of 17-year-old trayvon martin was released from a florida jail just a few hours ago after posting $150,000 bail. the question is did the

testimony at last week's televised bond hearing change at all the way you see this case? meanwhile the united states signs an agreement with afghanistan to maintain a presence in the country for at least a decade after next year's withdrawal date. the question is, will the u.s. really have its combat forces out of afghanistan by the end of 2014 to begin with. and meta world peace may have to change his name again after throwing that less-than-peaceful elbow right to the head of james harden. how wilong with the artist formally known as artest be suspended for this one? it's way too early for this. i'm willie geist. this is "way too early." i'm glad you're up with us this morning watching on msnbc or