it's monday march 21st. coming up on early today. history. president obama is the first u.s. president to visit cuba in almost 90 years. donald trump plans to beef up his campaign rallies. the captured suspect in the paris terror attacks is squealing to authorities. we have new details ahead. plus, an 11-year-old joy ride aboard a cement mixer. yes, pains at the pump as prices skyrocket and fantastic finishes as march madness heads

"early today" starts right now. well, good monday morning, everybody. thanks for waking up with us today. i'm betty nguyen. the president of the united states is waking up in cuba today. president obama is the first sitting president in 88 years to visit the country, a trip he hopes will be lasting part of his legacy, but there are still simmering tensions. nbc's jay gray is in havana with more. >> reporter: after visiting old havana yesterday including a visit to the cathedral with his wife and daughters, the president will lay a wreath at the memorial to jose mar tee, the cuban poet honored for his role in the fight for freedom from spain and later there will be a visit from cuban president fidel castro where the president

areas of disagreement including human rights practices, but for many here, the topic isn't nearly as important as the fact the two sides are talking again. yes, it's interesting that it's a historic trip and it's been 50 years without relations with the north american government very third generation cab driver hopes the president will take a close look at the country she is so proud of. >> translator: i like that he gets to know our country, our story, our country, how beautiful it is. it's a tourist attraction so he >> reporter: a beauty and culture hidden from most americans for more than 50 years. now understand there is still a trade embargo obviously and still a ban on tourist travel, though the borders seem to be opening a bit, betty. and there's a lot of excitement here in cuba, as you might imagine.

this is a very first and important step in normalizing countries. back to you. making. thank you so much. donald trump had harsh words when the cuban president was not at the airport to greet the president and hi family. >> president obama landed in cuba and the president who was there for the pope and other dignitaries who come in, but he wasn't there for the president of the united states. i mean we are amateur hour, folks. amateur hor. and honestly, obama should have turned the plane around and left. he slould. he should have said bye-bye. >> the white house has said today begins the official visit when he'll formally meet president obama. meanwhile the trump campaign

is the violence. nbc's gaib be gutierrez has more. >> one escorted out by bless. another repettedly punched and kicked by the crowds. that protesters spoke with jacob rascon. >> this political movement has gotten to the point where you may get beaten to death at a rally. i just got my [ bleep ] kicked. >> reporter: trump's campaign manager corey lewandowski grabbed another by the collar. trump defended him. >> police were a little bit lax and they had signs in that area. they were horrendous. >> reporter: last week a conservative reporter filed a police complaint accusing lewandowski of assault but he's not been charged.

politics to work as a new hampshire state police officer. >> it's very unusual, precedent for a campaign manager to be out in the crowd being involved in security. >> reporter: ted cruz campaigning in arizona. >> there is now only one campaign in a position to beat donald trump and win the republican nomination. >> reporter: polls show he trails trump there and leads in utah, getting some unlikely support getting so-called establishment. john kasich betting on a contested convention. >> lab. nobody's going to the convention with enough gel dell gats. in the end, you know why i can get picked? because i'll get picked in the fall. trump is expected to speak today and also john kasich and speaker paul ryan will deliver the keynote address. vice president joe biden addressed apec last night. he backed the iran nuclear deal saying iran is much further from

they were a year ago. hillary clinton is expected to deliver a speech this morning but democrat rival bernie sanders who is jewish is not taking part due to his campaign schedule and the latest campaign fund-raising numbers are out, take a look. for a second month in a row, sanders raised more than clinton, $43.5 million compared to just over $30 million. however, sanders spent about $7 million more than clinton. at the starr of march, clinton had more in her war chest than sanders. officials in belgium say the suspect may have been planning more violence. hope to learn more from him and the broader threat from isis in europe. nbc's keir simmons reports from brussels. >> reporter: salah abdeslam may have been planning another attacking.

something from bustles and it's maybe the reality because i sad we have fallen on weapons. >> reporter: but it's his knowledge of the paris attack in last november that may be crucial. since salah abdeslam was discovered in this building in brussels, he has been talking, and there are many questions surrounding the attacks in paris that he could answer. the explosives used in the paris attacks, tatp, require an experienced bomb maker. who was he and where is he. according to "the new york times," which said it has seen a police report, french investigators describe salah abdeslam and the logistics guy, so can he detail the original plan. while reports confirmed by nbc news reveal the suspected ring leader hid in bushes for three nights after the attacks. had something go wrong? ultimately he died during a

abdeslam as the only known living terror cell. how much does he know. >> the fighters, they're extremely professional, and i don't see those people sharing all the information. >> reporter: abdeslam relied on a large network of friends to stay hidden, the belgium prosecutor said. the continuing and most urgent questions, how many more isis operatives are on the run in europe. keir simmons, nbc news, brussels. now to a bizarre chase in southern minnesota. police were after an 11-year-old boy who stole a cement truck and took it on a joy ride. the police say he swiped it from a local contractor and led the police. it went an hour and a half. eventually the boy was stop and aid rested and taken to the juvenile detention center. luckily no one was hurt flank. today is the first full day of spring.

the northeast. brr. some snow fell in some places already. >> boston has no school. snow day on this first monday of spring. you notice the spring is most heaviest in eastern portions of new england, the snow is over around delaware, d.c., wilmington. new york city has about an hour or two. but it's not thickening. all the roads, no issues. northward, that's where it's accumulating. east ward is where it's steady and then 95 up to bangor eventually is where the snow will be. fall. the plows will be out here with up to 8 to 10 inches of snow. bangor to portland, anywhere from 4 to 5 inches. boston, 2 to 4 on top of the 2 you already have and same for hartford. horrible. how about the cold. these are all freeze warnings kansas city, shreveport, across

right now we're hovering in the mid-30s in these areas. this is where the flowers are out and a lot of tender vegetation could be damaged by the freeze. this afternoon we'll warm it up nicely in the south. that's a look at your national weather. so here's a closer look at your day ahead. by about noon boston will be all done. as far as temperatures warming up after a cold morning in the south, we're going to warm it up nicely. 63 today in little rock. >> so is winter finally done? >> this is it. i think we're like okay. 've in boston, the snow will be completely gone by wednesday or thursday. it will be 60 degrees. >> bring on the warmth and sunshine. thank you, bill. so why is a massive shipment of plutonium headed to the u.s. plus a jury awarded hulk hogan 150 million bucks in his sex tape trial. so why is the hulk headed back to court tard? court tard?

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welcome back, everybody. two british ships have arrived in eastern japan to transport a shipment of plutonium to a u.s. government facility in south carolina for storage. the shipment contains enough plutonium to make a dozen atomic bombs. it had been used for research purposes. the ship is equipped with naval guns to prevent attacks. a tell worker and security guard were shot. troopers arrived as their former fellow trooper was unloading money from a fare collection vehicle in exchange gunfire. the suspect was fatally wounded and died at the scene. today florida considers pubive damages against hulk hogan on the sex tape. they awarded him $150 million agreeing they provided a sex

protesters say they're already working on an appeal. get ready. the newest attraction, the sky lied arrived this weekend and was hoisted up by a helicopter. it's part of the space renovation to the u.s. bank tower, the tallest building west of the mississippi. riders with slitd 45 feet from the 79 floor to the 69 glass tube. no, sir, i'm going to pass on that one buchl the slide is going to open in june and i know about that. >> gas prices are on the rise. a whopping 17 sends higher and a quarter of the past four weeks. the national average is $2.02. at popeyes, a teenager

grabbed him with a bear hurricane as he was fleeing with cash. he surrendered the police and the teenager ended up getting that job. that's one way to do it. just ahead, a red header score. a goal, but not soccer. we're talking hockey. and the biggest comeback in the tournament. sheer madness. sheer madness. if you have muddling through your morning is nothing new. .your nose is the only ing on your mind... ...and to get relief, introducing rhinocort allergy spray from the makers of zyrtec . powerful relief fromtt your most frustrating nasal allergyvv symptom* ,all day vv and all night. hasn't your nose been through enough already? try new rhinocort vv allergy spray. xx muddle no more in a world that's trying to turn you into someone new... ...one hair color wants to help you keep on being you. nice'n easy. natural-looking color... ...that even in sunlight, doesn't look like hair color... it just looks like you. vv nice'n easy: colorvv

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safe are the bridges you drive across every day. well, a surprising report may make you think twice about your morning commute. right now, though, it is basketball. the texas a&m all but dead rallies, and this happens. fers. watson throws it into the hands of the other player. two seconds. looking for david on the post. he takes it, ties it at 83-83. >> they never thought this was even possible with 44 seconds to go. >> their season was over with 44 seconds left in regulation and now they're on to the sweet 16 in anaheim. >> wow. okay. double o.t. and an incredible aggies comeback.

to brooklyn steven a. austin brought a fight to the irish. they're down. >> switch, jackson, off the glass. august, no. >> they would hold on, 75-74. they'll face wisconsin on friday. to st. louis where he hit not one but two three-pointers. the badgers rallied over xavier with a buzzer beater 66-63. the villanova wildcats will face miami on thursday. rounding out the round of 32, maryland defeated hawaii, 72-60. it was syracuse, 75. middle tennessee state, 50. oklahoma, 85. cu, 81. and oregon, 59. st. joseph, 64. to the nhl, watch capitals jason chimera pulls out some

puck into the penguins' goal but win. and the final round of the arnold palmer invitational, it was jason day who was the wire-to-wire champion. he won one stroke ahead. just ahead, does a note from bruce springsteen get a kid out of teacher trouble? plus, did actor kevin stacy live up to his lucky charm you're watching "early today." ching "early today." and i' d like to... cut. so i' m gonna take this opportunity to direct. thank you, we' ll call you. evening, film noir, smoke, atmosphere... bob... you' re a young farmhand and e trade is your cow. milk it. e trade is all about seizing opportunity. soup and sandwich

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now to entertainment news. music legend prince will pin his memoir called "the beautiful one." it will be his first book. publishes said his fans can expect it to be unconventional and poetic. disney reigns over the box office making for a disappointing debut for "allegiant," which took the second stop. its opening is $24 million less than last year's see quiet "insurgent." bryan cranston has taken his portrayal of lyndon johnson to hbo. the movie "all the way" premiere premiered on saturday.

tab. needless to say the bar ternlds were overjoyed, you think? bruce springsteen helped a young man out with a tardy note. he got to go backstage while springsteen wrote a note he was backstage rocking and rolling. kevin stacy surprised son night. the actor became a good luck charm for the team after they starting a running joke giving sweatshirts with spacey's face floating in outer space. the spacey in space gag got his attention and he showed up with a spacey mask just like anyone else. can you imagine? >> to be at your own bobblehead night. >> and you take your mask off and it's kevin spacey and the crowd goes wild. all right.

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with claritin-d. leading the news on nbcnews.com, they'll be sending more ma troops. the coalition made an announcement yesterday after consulting with the iraqi government. this comes after a 27-year-old staff sergeant died saturday in an isis rocket attack and several others were injured. cardin is the first u.s. soldier to have been killed in iraq since october.

arrested dozens of protesters. they broke up their weekly march. the group calls for improved human rights and is set to meet with president obama on tuesday. pope francis ushered in holy week yesterday in a solemn procession procession, an outdoor mass across st. peter's square. in his homily he abandoned his texts and talked about the indifference, indifference. eagle cam watchers everywhere. they rejoiced on sunday when a second ee glet hatched at the arboretum. the prot and first lady have watched them over their eggs. they're the first to nest in the airy in nearly 70 years. look at the eaglets.

the queen of england be addressed at her majesty. prince george prefers to call her gan-gan. i think he gets a pass there. the queen often leaves little gifts for the a great grandchildren whenever they stay with her. they call her gan-gan. her royal gan-gan. a wedding in minnesota redefined what it meant to be a flower girl over the weekend. four women all over 90 years old took up the task if their exercise 'eers big day. the bride says she has a special relationship with these women and could not imagine her wedding day without them. >> wow, that's a little different spin on a teacher/student relationship. >> that's true. but they made lovely flower girls. >> matching outfits. >> true. now here's a look ahead. can you believe we even only

twitter is celebrating its tenth birthday. happy birthday to gran torino scott east wood. he's 40. rosie o'donnell is 54 as well.

michelle: dozens turnout to member a local teen shot and killed at her home over the weekend. we will to you by the team now facing charges for her murder. he also the latest on the search for a driver who killed it by sciquest and kept on going. president obama continues his historic trip to cuba. announcer: local, live, late breaking. this is wesh 2 news sunrise in high definition. michelle: good morning, i michelle imperato. let' s getting you