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 into the sweet 16. "early today" starts right now. well, good monday morning, everybody. thanks for waking up with us today. i'm betty ng.

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 will be, quote, candid about 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

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 can share it with everybody else. >> 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. many here on the streets believe this is a very first and important step in normalizing the relations between the two countries. back to you. >> definitely a history in the making. thank you

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 stops are growing bigger and so is the violence. nbc's gabe gutierrez has more. >> one

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. he once took a break from politics to work as a new hampshire state police officer. >> it's very unusual, unprecedent for a campaign manager to be out in the crowd being involved in security. >> reporter: ted cruz

>> 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 obtain agnew clear weapon than 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 h

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. >> they were ready to restart 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

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 paris police raid leashing abdeslam as the only known living terror cell. how much does he know. >> the fighters, they're extremely professional, and i don't see tse

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. you wouldn't know it in parts of 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 ist

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. this is the additional snow ll 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. a little slippery, but not horrible. how about the cold. these are all freeze warnings kansas city, shreveport, across the state of tennesse 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 wm

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? that makes getting the lash look you want easy. so whether you choose ultra volume, super length, volume and length magnified,

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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 tape of him online. protesters say they're already working on an appeal. get ready. the newest attraction, the sky lied arrived this weekend

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 floor in an-inch and a quarter glass tube. no, sir, i'm going to pass on that one buchl the slide is going to open in june and i know a lot of people will be excited 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 stopping for a job helped stop a robber. 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 ah

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basketball. the texas a&m all but dead behind 12 point and 44 second, rallies, and this happens. >> a big time-out for the pan 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. good for them. to brooklyn steven a. austin brought a fight to the irish. they're down. >> switch, jackson, off

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 soccer skills as he heads the puck into the penguins' goal but they took the win with a 6-2 win. and the final round of the arnold palmer invitational, it was jas

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 status? you're watching "early today." c" 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. and clean and real and inside jokes and school night. good, clean food pairs well with anything. try the clean pairings menu.

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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" premi e premiered on saturday. amy made a bartender happy. she left a $1,000 tip on her $77 tab. needless to say the bar ternlds were overjoyed, you think? bruce springsteen

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 florida panthers fans saturday 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. i'm betty nguyen and this is "early today." "early today." ♪ we stop arthritis pain, so you don't have to stop. because you believe in go.

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now at 4:26, for the first time in almost a century, an american president is waking up on cuban soil. we're live from havana with what is on president obama's agenda. ahead just for metro users, why you might want to use the house just a little early this morning in order to catch your train on time. and it might be the first full day of spring, but it sure doesn't feel like it. when can we expect to see more seasonable temperatures? >> morning, i'm aaron gilchrist. >> and i'm angie goff in for eun yang. it does not deal like spring. >> it's that time of year -- again. tom kierein is in for chuck this morning.

>> good morning. don't hit me. certainly more like winter than spring. still getting wet snow on the eastern shore and it wasn't a mixture of wet snow and rain last few showers, southern st. mary's into the northern neck and parts of calvert county, but that's moved east of the bay and pulling off to the north and east. and it will leave maybe an inch or two on the grassy areas on the eastern shore. no accumulation in southern maryland. temperatures are before freezing so nothing is freezing up. and your weather headlines for today, cold morning, a blustery afternoon, much warmer weather moving in mid week. breaking news on the roads this morning. we're talking about northbound bw parkway shut down at 198. you can u turn and get back on to bw parkway. but i'd probably just take 95 instead. there is a tow tron

probably in the next 30 minutes. but for right now, it is still closed. 270 at falls road looking good. no worries there. to have road work outer loop at university. work zone blocking the right lane. a look at 66 coming up. i'm molette green at the live desk. north korea fires several missiles into the sea. details just into the live desk. this latest round includes a missile launch and several short range projectiles into the waters off its east coast. their news agency say this is just three days after the north fired a medium range missile. ongoing joint military drills have outraged the nation. back to you. it is 4:29 just about now. and president obama continues

he's expected to meet with raul castro later today. the first family arrived yesterday and spent the day as tourists in old havana. today the president will also lay a wreath at the jose martin memorial, considered a national hero for his poetry. coming up, jay gray will have more on the issues the two t presidents will discuss. today two men trusted with thousands of children over the years will be in court on child porn charges. first to maryland where the head swim coach for st. mary's college faces a judge today. it's andre barbin's first court appearance. police say he shared sexually explicit pictures with a 12-year-old girl. and solicited sex from her the whole time knowing how young she was. during his arrest, police say barbins

and to d.c., a former little league umpire should learn his sentence. donald pleaded guilt to child porn possession last year. fbi agents say he contacted an undercover officer thinking he was talking with a 9-year-old girl. essex was an umpire until 2012. a montgomery county mother suspected in the disappearance of her two children tried to break out of tf of thpsychiatri hospital several times. the "washington post" reported hoggle attempted eight escapes. she never succeeded, but once she did get a hold of a staff member's badge. her attorney says she was trying to see her kids sarah and jacob. >> she's also made several statements that the reasons that she wants to get out are to go see her children, that she's done everything she can to protect and love her children. >> sarah and jacob hoggle