the oscars to me, and so it qualifies as the best new thing in the world to me. right now on "first look," breaking news out of egypt where 19 tourists were confirmed dead. hurricane force winds caused white-out conditions as a second blizzard continues bearing down. countdown to sequester. who will feel the pinch first? getting rid of oil rigs in the gulf doing more harm than good. one year after florida teen, trayvon martin was gunned down, the case that stirred a nation. good morning. spring may be less than four weeks away. right now, a huge swath of the country is taking a one-two

punch with white-out conditions making travel impossible. they are warning snow weary residents not to underestimate the storm. >> this has a potential to be more severe than the last one and we don't have the margins we had last time. the ditches are full of snow. you can't pull it off as quick or easy. this could be more treacherous to travel in. >> jay gray has the latest from wichita, kansas. >> the attack was at time, relentless. >> some folks have 12 to 13 inches of snow. lots of eights, nines and tens. six-foot drifts in the texas panhandle. >> reporter: the national guard was called in. more than two inches of snow an hour pushed by hurricane forsz winds. >> i'm going step outside and let you see what it's like so

far. >> reporter: white out conditions they described as a crippling, historic blizzard. the storm counts oklahoma with more than a foot of snow in several areas there. as it moved into kansas -- >> it's bad on the interstate. >> reporter: many rushed for supplies. preparing for the winter blast. >> not much you can do about it. you get through it. >> reporter: a challenge that continues to increase across the region. jay gray, nbc news, wichita, kansas. on the heels of a ten-day recess, congress is staring down a busy week ahead. the senate is expected to vote on whether to move forward on chuck hagel's nomination of secretary of defense. jesse jackson jr.'s district will cast a vote to replace him. if they approve jack lu as treasury secretary, a senate

vote could come tomorrow. on top of that, can lawmakers prevent the spending cuts? tracie potts is live in washington with the answers to all those things and details on who will feel the cuts first, if congress fails to act. good morning. >> good morning, mara. good morning, everyone. three words on capitol hill, no one's talking at least on the white house and capitol hill. no negotiations going on days before the budget cuts hit. president obama headed to virginia. he'll speak at a shipbuilder that has connections and ties in all 50 states. their concern of the impact on the defense cuts on their industry. president obama is using that as a backdrop to emphasize the cuts. he's criticized by house speaker john boehner and other republicans who say the president needs to stop campaigning, get off the road, come back to washington and

facilitate a discussion. the two sides are at polar opposites when it comes to preventing the cuts from happening. the big cut could be air traffic controllers, those furloughs affecting overnight shifts at small airports. some of the managers there say they are concerned about safety. mara? >> tracie potts live in washington. thanks for that. the resignation of the highest ranking catholic leader in britain means he will not vote to pick the new pope. keith o'brien resigned after accusations that he behaved improperly with him going back to the 1980s. pope benedict accepts his resignation because he was near the age of 85. today marks the tragic shooting death of trayvon martin. a candle light vigil will be

held tonight. the unarmed teen was shot and killed by george zimmerman, a neighborhoods watch volunteer. zimmerman cited the trade your ground law. turning to a developing story, 19 tourists were killed in a firy hot air balloon crash in egypt. on an board fire triggered an explosion in the gas canister causing it to plunge 1,000 feet into a sugar cane field. the pilot and a tourist survived with critical injuries. the victims were tourists from china, japan, britain and france. the search continues for four people who 29 foot sailboat disappeared. the distress call is made by a wife, man, son and cousin before they banned the sinking vessel.

>> coast guard, coast guard, we are abandoning ship. >> their electronics were failing. they were fashioning a make-shift raft. they hope it leads to new information to aid in the search. now, here is your first look at scrambled politics. leon panetta is still secretary of defense working from home in california as he waits for chuck hagel to replace him. he has no plans to return to washington. john boehner may be holding to his position to hold new taxes for a personal reason. if boehner caves on that point, he could lose his speakership. a research poll shows strong support for raising the minimum wage to $9. 50% of republicans say they support it along with 87% of democrats. new jersey governor, chris christie may not be feeling the

love from conservatives. after his praise of president obama, christie will not be invited to the c-pac convention that usually hosts presidential candidates. earl blumenar is proposing legal use of marijuana and prevent feds from interfering where medical marijuana is legal. that's your morning dish of scrambled politics. for more on the weather. dylan dreier is here with the forecast. good morning. >> good morning. we were talking wichita, kansas. now, this is officially the snowiest winter on record with 20 inches of snow this february in wichita, where the snow is still coming down. the old record was exactly 100 years ago, february, 1913. i don't know. as long as it's going to snow this much, break records. we are seeing the snow across

missouri, heavy at times. look at all this rain. severe thunderstorms are likely down through the panhandle of florida. back where the snow is, we have winter storm warnings, oklahoma is reporting high wind gusts, blowing the snow around and blizzard-like conditions are felt out that way. kansas city will see the snow off and on throughout the day. heavy at times. look at this tornado watch moving through the panhandle and northern florida. that's an area where we could see very severe storms today. we are looking at perhaps up to a food of snow in the kansas city area and across northwestern missouri. chicago could end up with three inches out of this storm. >> a lot of snowfall. thanks so much. can stocks rally after yesterday's major drop off? plus, a diet to ward off heart attacks and strokes. iran photo shops the first lady. details in three minutes.

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welcome back. here are stories making news this morning. israeli police say a rocket has been fireed from the gaza strip into southern israel causing damage to erode but no injuries. it's the first since tensions peaked in november. president assad says they are prepared to hold talks with armed rebels. saudi arabia financed a huge purchase of weapons from croatia to break the bloody stalemate. the wife of a new york city police officer charged with wanting to kill and eat women described how she discovered her husband's plans including her intention to slit her throat when she looked through his laptop. dr. koop served during the

business and reagan administrations has died. michelle obama beared her bare arms. an iranian news agency decided to photo shop a new outfit on the first lady with sleeves. a new study finds a mediterranean diet rich in olive oil, fruits, nuts, can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. turning now to business, stocks dropped on news of turmoil in italy. the dow closed at 13, 784. the s&p shot down 27 and the nasdaq sank 45. overseas markets followed. nikkei plum meted 263 points and

the hang sang tumbled 300. deadlocked elections in italy panicked investors. without a stable government, italy won't be able to tackle a major recession. a domino effect spiked volumes on the vix volatility to an all-time high. today, investors are looking for ben bernanke to supply encouraging words. macy's and auto zone talk earnings before the opening bell. the 2010 gulf oil disaster from protesters gathers outside the court as opening statements got under way. on the heels of marissa mayors said workers cannot work at home. working life is not 9:00 to 5:00. companies that don't embrace this are missing a trick.

you may hear from your internet service provider and could lose service. several companies and comcast will begin a six-strike policy under the copyright system this week. honesty is the best policy. people are paying it forward to a homeless panhandler who gave back a woman's lost ring with $150,000 in donations. tom and giselle ha to tighten their budget. manti te'o leaves a lot to be desired. for access to one of the top wealth management firms in the country. for a team of financial professionals who provide customized solutions. for all of your wealth management and retirement goals, discover how pnc wealth management can help you achieve. visit pnc.com/wealthsolutions to find out more.

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let's get started at capella.edu. turning back to a top story, today marks the one year anniversary of the shooting death of trayvon martin. joining me is a manager of grio.com. good morning. thanks for being here. >> caller: good morning. >> you covered this story extensively in florida. where is george zimmerman? >> caller: the case at the moment is awaiting a stand your ground hearing. zimmerman's attorney is going to seek an immunity hearing for his client approximately april 22nd. if they are successful, the case would be dismissed by the judge. if they are not, we go to trial on june 10th. as to where zimmerman is, i spoke to his attorney yesterday evening. all he would say is zimmerman is

not in sanford, but somewhere in seminole county, florida. >> the case in april is about the stand your ground law. have florida lawmakers re-evaluated the law? >> caller: they have re-evaluated it and the governor put together a task force to see if changes need to be made. they didn't make any changes. the stand your ground law is fixed. there are a lot of con stistitc. it doesn't look like there are substantive changes but there are democrats and others hoping to make changes. so far, nothing has changed. >> what have we heard from trayvon's parents? they were so outspoken before. what have they said leading up to the somber anniversary? >> caller: it's difficult. i interviewed his mother on what would have been his birthday.

look, they are extremely somber, obviously. this is a very difficult day for them. she said this would be the most difficult day besides it birthday. they are trying to channel what's happened into a new foundation where she's trying to help mothers of children who have been killed. they are hoping the case can cause people to reflect on the stand your ground law, take a second look at laws like this around the country and they have tried to turn it into a positive in terms of speaking out about things they care about regarding gun crime and victims of murder. so, it's difficult. but that's what they are trying to do. they lean heavily on their faith. >> thank you so much for your perspective. now here is your first look at the other news going on around america. we start in the gulf of mexico where the demolition of oil rigs is killing thousands of red snapper and killing sea life

habitat. it's part of a federal government program aimed and destroying the rigs. people say they want the demolitions to stop. in florida, a high speed pursuit was captured on dashcam. a teen driver spun out after striking another. she fled. the 18-year-old was arrested for the hit and run and dui. in texas, speeding caused a motorist to speed into a house. the driver lost control after hitting a curb. luckily no one in the the home was hurt. finally, new york state assemblyman is apologizing after wearing black face and afro wig. he wore the costume to celebrate the halloween-like holiday but was surprised by the attention. really? in 2013, we're surprised by that. new england patriots

quarterback agreed to a contract extension that pays only $9 million per season. it's half top nfl quarterbacks are making. brady and his supermodel wife may have to cut back on luxuries. the deal is $15 million from the salary cap to sign new players. line backer manti te'o was slow. it's more than a month after the romance with a girlfriend exposed as a hoax. it could affect where he's taken in the nfl draft. jamie collins makes the longest long jump. best vertical jump of 37 inches. peyton might need help with binoculars he was using backwards. a controversial photo gone

viral. three students wearing white hoods resembling kkk. the school says the students were disciplined. now for another look at the weather, here is dylan. good morning, again. >> good morning to you, too. good morning, everyone. we are focusing on the midwest. we already have officially the snowiest month on record in wichita, kansas. the oldest record was 100 years ago. chicago is at 43 degrees. it will start as a wintry mix and turns to snow. three to six inches tonight and tomorrow. kansas city will see up to a foot of snow. in the northeast, it's a rainstorm, even boston with highs topping out around 41. the midwest getting pummeled. the northeast is getting rain and much needed from the northeast. >> the 40s. that's not bad. especially february. we can do it. thank you so much. just ahead, jennifer lawrence's major transformation.

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turning to entertainment. if you thought jennifer lawrence would take the week to relax after winning her oscar, you were wrong. less than 24 hours after the award, she had her blond hair dyed brown to finish "catching fire" the sequel to "hunger games." >> daniel day-lewis needs to rest. the lincoln star said i need to lie down for a couple years. it's hard to imagine doing anything after this.

lots of folks tuned in for the big win. they scored over 40 million viewers. first time host seth mcfarlane was fairly well liked. more than james franco. the album of the year, mumford and sons is moving to hip hop. they have been talking to jay-z about what should be a fresh experience for the band. wedding bells. janet jackson confirmed she married her billionaire boyfriend and christina applegate said i do. daniel day-lewis saying he's going to take years off to rest, it must be nice. >> you work hard. then you feel guilty takes days off. >> maybe if i can find a billionaire husband like janet i

can take years off. this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. "way too early" starts right now. when it came time for best picture, was the award presented by a huge movie star? no. it was presented by first lady, michelle obama accompanied by a pile of wrinkled laundry. did she give it to the most american movie, "zero dark thirty"? oh, no. her husband had to get all the credit sfr that. >> steven colbert mocking the oscar cam know. i'm bill karens, this is "way too early."