good monday morning, everybody. right now on "first look", breaking news out of baghdad. plus, will north korea use this anniversary day to show the world an act of defiance? immigration multiplication. scientist say ant arctic ice is melting faster. in the u.s. all kinds of snowfall records. plus, a masters first. just hours left to file your taxes and some of the most bizarre categories ever at the mtv music awards. good morning, everyone, i'm betty nguyen.

we are following a developing story out of iraq right now. officials say at least 22 people are dead after a wave of violence across the country. at least 100 others were injured in the attacks. mostly car bombings spanning from the capital city baghdad northwest and into northern kirkuk. the attacks come at a potential turning point for iraq. the country will host the first elections since the u.s. withdrew troops in 2011 in less than a week. north korea is developing the 101st birthday of its founding further and washington fears the current leader may use this occasion to flex his military muscle. secretary of state john kerry has just rapid up a three-day trip into the region. nbc's chief correspondent "andrea mitchell reports" now from tokyo. >> reporter: in tokyo john kerry reassured japan the u.s. will defend it from north korea but said the obama administration would negotiate with pyongyang under the right circumstances. >> what we really ought to be talking about is possibilities of peace, and i think there are those possibilities notwithstanding the rhetoric and

the provocation. >> reporter: kim jong-un has shown he's not interested in diplomacy. his father negotiated with then secretary of state madeleine albright in 2000 and his grandfather reached a nuclear agreement with former president jimmy carter for the clinton white house. critics warn that north korea has broke every past promise to disarm. >> this has been going on for decades. a cycle of confrontation, aid, and false hope that somehow the north koreans would give up their efforts to acquire nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them. >> reporter: some experts believe there's a peaceful path out of this crisis. >> i think kim jong-un has run out of bluster. we're clearly in the end game now. maybe it will end with a fireworks display or a whimper but he's going back in his box. >> that was nbc's andrea mitchell reporting. well, closer to home, it is a big week on capitol hill for

immigration and gun control. florida's republican senator marco rubio managed a world wind media blitz appearing on seven programs. nbc's tracie potts has more now from washington. good morning, tracie. >> reporter: hi, betty. good morning, everyone. he's talked about both of those issues. both could end up facing a big challenge and uphill battle in the republican controlled house. for now we're waiting to see if it gets past the senate. the gang of eight is expected to unveil their immigration bill tomorrow. senator marco rubio was on a record seven talk shows this weekend pitching it. >> it's a way to address the millions of people that are here undocumented in a passionate way but a responsible way. >> reporter: this bill is by no means a done deal. >> this will increase the legal

flow of low wages. >> reporter: deal with the border first. >> look, if those things are done right now, we'll deal with the 11 million once they're done. >> reporter: on gun control, the deal worked out by republican joe manchion and toomey will talk about internet sales and gun shows. >> we're working it and discussing with colleagues on both sides that we have bipartisan support. >> reporter: there's bipartisan opposition, too. >> today's carve outs are tomorrow's loopholes. >> we're talking about 3wr0u7bd checks as if criminals will no longer get guns because of background checks. >> reporter: compromises on the table but still plenty of debate. some of that talking seems to have convinced at least one republican named susan collins. she says despite the fact that people in her state may not agree with her, she has now come out publicly saying she will vote yes on that gun control package. the first republican to do so.

she calls it a reasonable approach. betty. >> all right. a busy week there. thank you. savannah guthrie, want to tell but this programming note, she will have an exclusive interview with president obama on gun control, immigration and other issues. that is tomorrow morning on "today." late last night a former bus driver became venezuela's new president. the interim leader nicholas hudoro clinched the title by fewer than 300,000 votes. he's a protege of former president hugo chavez who died of cancer last month. the opponent is calling for a full recount. experts say our gas prices will unlikely be impacted. the faa is ordering the inspection of more than 1,000 boeing 737 jets that could cause pilots to lose control after word that some parts could have factory defects. the parts in question help stabilize the up and down movement for the nose of the

plane. the faa says these are just inspections and there's no immediate threat or incidents reported. now here's your first look at this morning's dish of scrambled politics. it is a girl for former first daughter and "today" show contributor,en na bush-hager. margaret laura hager was born and they'll call her mila. they are elated at the birth of their first grandchild. florida senator marco rubio is not happy with beyonce and jay-z's recent vacation to cuba. rubio tells nbc they should have not missed the opportunity to meet with cuba's politically oppressed. >> if jay-z was truly interested in the oppressed people, he

would have met with a oppressed rapper. dreyfuss was at the white house. she says she gave the real life beef advice on various briefs in policy. really? she said mr. biden paid no attention to whatsoever. that is more like it. just months after losing what many thought to be a winnable election, republicans have decided to stay with that strategy. rnc members voted this weekend to maintain the party's platform, including a unanimous backing of marriage as a union between one man and one woman. millionaire bob perry who bankrolled numerous campaigns has died. he was instrumental in the swift vote veterans for truth movement. he backed john kerry. bob perry was 80 years old. "saturday night live" used

last week's senate debate on gun reform to open the show. they mocked the congressional defeating. >> we are confident that this bill will pass the senate and it will then go to the house of representatives where it will immediately get shot down. >> that's right. and that is not a metaphor. no, they will literally throw the bill up in the air and shoot it with a gun. i've seen it done. >> and that is your morning dish of scrambled politics. leave it to snl. before we take a look at your forecast, we want you to check it out. this is what happened in bismarck, north dakota, on sunday. they're no strangers to nasty weather, but more than 17 inches of record-breaking snow in mid april is just too much. meanwhile, chaos on the road in minnesota. blizzard conditions caused three semi trucks to clyde. one truck was hauling pigs and one hauling cattle. bill karins joins us with a look at this forecast.

the pigs and cattle are being affected? >> that won't be so bad if we could close the book but there's another storm. more snow from colorado to wyoming up to the plains. those are the poor folks who are dying for spring and can't get ahold of it. it's still snowing. it's snowing hard from fargo north wards up to areas around grand forks. interstate i-94 is still closed. that's a major highway through north dakota from fargo all the way to the montana border. thankfully minnesota is looking a little better. we mentioned snowfall totals. this just shatters all records for this late in the season, especially april records in north dakota. notice that dickinson, 16 inches. even fargo has 7 inches and it's still snowing right now in fargo. fargo we're going to deal with, everyone wants to know what's next. here's the forecast. european computer model. white three to six inches, pink,

6-12. cheyenne, wyoming, 8 to 16 inches of snow. possibly nebraska, minneapolis again. in the end of this period it looks like the northern plains. east coast we're okay today. lots of clouds. few showers in the carolinas. compared to what the northern plains is dealing with now, it is going to get in the days ahead, i feel bad. >> double whammy. thank you, bill. straight ahead, general motors teams up with ford. also the trial of a doctor. and a bus driver completely loses his cool when a serious passenger asks him questions. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. [ engine sputters ]

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some sore rtories making ne this morning. a director from the cdc will be among health officials traveling to china this week to help authorities respond to the bird flu outbreak. it comes as 11 fresh cases are reported bringing the number of confirmed cases to 60. so far no cases in the u.s. at least one woman is dead

after being buried in five feet of snow in an avalanche in washington state. the search has been suspended for a missing man from another avalanche that hit another group. a police officer has been fired for using a target resembling trayvon martin. sergeant ron king was said the poster was meant to be a teaching aid. he based his firing on lies and political agendas. a jury found a man was left paralyzed and had brain damage. a man was left partially paralyzed and with severe brain damage after a concussion during high school football practice in 2008. brienl brian shackman has our report. >> gold sinks to a two-year low today. investors are selling commodities worried the federal

reserve and other global central banks will basically pull the plug on economic stimulus. it is a merger monday in business. thermal fisher is buying life technologies which makes genetic testing equipment for $13 billion. the deal would be one of the biggest of the year. gm and ford are teaming up to work on more fuel efficient transmissions. the systems would go into most of their new vehicles and both companies say they could save millions of dollars which will keep prices competitive, i.e.,, low for us which is good news. >> we like the sound of that. so just how high account markets go? the dow and the s&p both set several new all-time records last week. in less than four months the s&p has already blown past some targets set by the analysts. there's a whole lot of earnings on deck this week. citigroup will kick it off. on friday, heavy weights wells fargo and jpmorgan chase both reported record high profits but lower revenues.

with soda sales falling for eight years in a row, investors will closely be watching results for coca-cola and pepsi co. new update on new home construction in march. and new this morning, china reporting its economic growth slowed unexpectedly in the first quarter saying that last year's recovery is losing steam. get this, wrigley field, an historic home of baseball's chicago cubs and the second oldest park, will get a $500 million face lift. it was announced sunday night. the revamp will be its first electronic outdoor video board and parking improvements and more night games. rooftop viewers may lose their bird's eye view. of course, it is tax day. that means freebies and deals ga lone. free cinnabon delights, free

arby fries. you might need it after paying the tax man. well, the only sport where viewer can call in and talk about the outcome of the game. plus, a threat where democrats and republicans alike over gun control. you're watching "first look" on msnbc.

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vote on a key issue of gun control. joining us is lynn sleeves. a washington bureau chief of "the new york times". >> good morning to you. >> gun control is no laughing matter, the snl skit highlights how convoluted the measure has come. how far do you think the senate will go in trying to expand the background checks? >> i think that's the one that is most bipartisan. there's deep divisions in both parties. even though on thursday there was a vote to go ahead and have these votes, we're going to spend almost all of this week debating not only background checks but other measures, and i think the fate of everything else is up in the air right now. >> that mother of a little boy killed in the newtown shooting who spoke with the president spoke over the weekend. susan collins threw her support behind it. is this bill gaining enough support to pass? >> i think the different

elements are. for all we know, it could end up dead. it's broken up and background checks is what could get passed. it's not a foregone conclusion that in the end of this it will all be just in one bill, and i think that's what some of the debate will determine. we already know the assault weapons ban proposal has been jettisoned. i think the trafficking ban -- the enforcement of tougher laws on sentencing and trafficking, that seems in better shape, but i think the magazine proposal, how many bullets can you put in a -- in one of them is still up in the air. you would think that the mental health provisions would be in good shape. >> yeah. there's a lot to be determined. >> it's a lot. >> yeah. >> but patrick toomey and joe manchion's deal on background checks does have, i think, a good running start. >> all right. we'll see how it shakes out.

thank you so much for your insight, lynn. we appreciate it. >> here's some other news going on around america. a massive explosion rocked a utah county leaving a heap of twisted metal and rubble in its wake. the powerful blast inside an oil filled building was ignited by a combustible mix of two ruptured propane tanks and air. no one was injured but 26 structures including four homes were damaged. a nebraska bus driver was fired for this attack. check it out. the victim is punched 18 times and later dragged off the bus after he apparently agitated the driver with several questions about the bus route. really? assault charges against the driver are pending. next to el paso, texas. the implosion of the old city hall building lasted less than ten seconds and rattled neighbors. nearby residents ducked for cover as the blast blew debris through apartment windows. the longest breech in the florida keys attracted over 1500 runners for the 31st annual run. two floridians took home the top

prizes in men's and women's division. in sports now, an exciting playoff finish at the masters. on the second playoff hole, angel cabrera's putt for birdie stopped short of the hole. then, adam scott sank his 12-foot putt giving him a one stroke victory over cabrera. scott is the first australian to win the masters. >> what an incredible day. everything fell my way in the end i guess. you just never know and i just kept plugging away. >> good for him. following the win, they held the traditional green jacket ceremony there to welcome scott into the exclusive club as masters champion. jason day was third and tiger woods was tied for fourth. the big controversy came following a television viewer's call and tiger woods was given a two-stroke penalty for an illegal drop. thomas vonn sent out a tweet joking he was the viewer. no problem.

happy to call in and help. you always have to keep an eye on those cheaters. wonder if there's a double heeng there? i think there was. just ahead, stories leading the news. plus, it was a big week end for "42." you're watching "first look" on msnbc. ♪ before tori was taking her kids to lunch in her new volkswagen... before her passat had passed 30 different inspection tests, and before several thousand tennesseans discovered new jobs on volkswagen drive, their cfo and our banker met for lunch. together, we worked with a team that helped finance construction of the world's first leed platinum auto manufacturing plant. that's the impact of global connections. that's bank of america.

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in "the new york times", rift in both parties complicate odds for gun measure. and in "usa today", media late to coverage of abortion doctor's trial. it's a case of late-term

abortion doctor. it's a death penalty case. jackie robinson continues to make history this weekend. "42" had the biggest opening weekend. pulling in $27 million. the big win though at sunday night's mtv movie awards went to silver lining playbook and the avengers which won movie of the year, however, will ferrell also took home an honorary comedic genius award. the actor accepted his trophy in a money printed three-piece suit and even brought his family on stage, albeit a fake family. justin bieber visited the anne frank house. he managed to anger everyone. hopefully she would have been a believer in the museum guest book. well, he did unfortunately. i'm betty nguyen. this is "first look" on msnbc.

stay tuned for "way too early." it starts right now. like that long putter. adam scott is your masters champion winning the green jacket yesterday at augusta national. he's the first australian to take the title since it began back to 1934. somewhere greg norman is smiling. he needed two holes to beat angel cabrera. we'll have much more of the drama in sports including whe