thanks, mike allen. >> there's a big primary tomorrow. we will talk about that later.ry 10 minutes. starting with lisa baden. >> nothing right now maryland or the district. everything is status quo. metro rail reporting normal service systemwide. in virginia, normal volumes out of dale city on 95, 66, manassas, centreville slowing and 50. this is 395, the backup leaving edsall road past duke street and up to seminary road, kind of typical. back inside. >> now to doug hill to look at the forecast. you dial spring in a big way. >> that's right. in the 60s today. when you look outside you will notice the change for today life savings time makes a difference. just a hint of sunrise on the way. sunrise at 7:23. it does not set until 7:13 this evening. temperatures around area on this monday morning 47 in 10 states right now 47 in arlington. mild temperatures. everybody will be even and out through the morning. we will climb through the '50s and '60s and enjoy a little sunshine. then increasing clouds with the next system coming through. an area of rain to the west developin

will be laid off at the end of the month, that that's roughly one-third of the full-time staff. >> mike allentico.com. congratulations on the scoop. thank you for joining us on short notice. i appreciate it. us on short notice, mike.

mike allen. good morning. >> good morning, willie. >> eric fernstrom, you heard him saying in no uncertain terms that it's time for rick santorum and newt gingrich to step aside so that the party can rally behind mitt romney. any chance either of them will? >> well, santorum is going to fight on. but eric fernstrom told politico that romney has an insurmountable lead. so they're making this case on a number of fronts. he pointed out that in mitt romney's remarks, he was acting like the nominee. they think that by projecting confidence, even though he doesn't quite have the number, that he can give off the aura of the nominee. we're going do hear him talking less and less about other republicans. and more and more about obama. we saw that last night. santorum was still talking about mitt romney. talking about obama care, talking about how romney is a co-author of that. willie, listen to this. mitt romney needs just under 50% of the remaining delegates to get the nomination. santorum would need alm

the lead reported by mike allen at politico.gingrich is cutting back his campaign schedule, will lay off about one-third of his cash-strapped campaign's full-time staff and has replaced his manager as part of what aides are calling a big-choice convention strategy. explain that strategy in just a moment. the background here is that the newt gingrich campaign has been a bit of an odd duck in terms of its staffing. one of the really weird things about the gingrich campaign is when you look at the roster and the resumes of the people who are at the very top-tier levels of the national campaign, the person who is running things, his main claim to fame, his main claim to expertise to be running this national campaign was that he was an old college friend of callista gingrich's. mike allen from politico has just been able to join us by phone. mike, thanks very much for joining us. i appreciate it on short notice. >> thank you, rachel. >> i'm talking about michael kroll stepping down as the head of the gingrich campaign team right now

we're back with amy holmes, mike allen, dana loesch. he was upbeat.omney establishment types in washington, you know them, i know them. they were going into the deep south. they were pretty confident this was all but over. the voters had a different mind tonight. >> well, wolf, great interview. i think we're going to see a lot of that tape. and there he goes again. he was talking about delegate math. the campaign knows they need a tougher message. i'm told that mitt romney has been saying that he's out to replace barack obama. in coming days i would look for mitt romney to say he's going to defeat barack obama. small example of how they're tweaking their message. wolf, i think another big story in the next day or so is a lot of pressure both on the public stage and behind the scenes for newt gingrich to get out. i think the campaigns are going to be very cautious. you saw the santorum strategist not directly confronting. i think you'll hear the romney campaign silent on this question. they don't want to back gingrich into a corner. they want him to fi

we'll talk live to mike allen. >>> with the top u.s.afghanistan testifying on capitol hill, the attorney for accused shooter, robert bales, says he will put the war on trial in the defense of the staff sergeant. the question is, can you blame one man's alleged mass murder on a war. >>> and the denver broncos make it official -- introducing peyton manning as their new quarterback and saying thanks for the memories to tim tebow. the question is, which teams are knocking on tebow's door. it's "way too early" for this.

mike allen. thanks for waking up early this morning. >> good morning. >> want to come back to the president's polls in a second, but let's start with tonight. we have mississippi, alabama, e will happen. >> tonight could be the most decisive day of the primary season. newt gingrich is giving romney trouble. if he loses tonight after being tied for first in both these states, we think he could be out of the presidential race in a week. if rick santorum wins both of these, he has a real argument to go on. we still think he has very little chance of getting the nomination, but he's not going to quit after winning both of these. and willie, about mitt romney wins both of these, he can say he's won in the deepest south, he's won in michigan, he's won ohio, he's won florida, he's ready to take on obama. >> and we have to look at the numbers. the president 41% overall approval rating. 39% approval on the economy. and 40% on foreign policy. >> yeah, this is why we have been consistent about saying don't

that was the slogan. >> mike allen. >> we love mike. >> happy friday. >> have a good weekend. >> happy> kids are looking strong. >>> coming up next, we're going to finally talk about this school get everybody involved. >> yes! yes! >> where we are, why it's special, some of the administrators and teachers who are making it that way when we come back live to ft. lee high school in new jersey. [ female announcer ] if whole grain isn't the first ingredient in your breakfast cereal, what is? now, in every box of general mills big g cereal, there's more whole grain than any other ingredient. that's why it's listed first. get more whole grain than any other ingredient... just look for the white check. then don't get nickle and dimed by high cost investments and annoying account fees. at e-trade, our free easy-to-use online tools and experienced retirement specialists can help you build a personalized plan. and with our no annual fee iras and a wide range of low cost investments, you can execute the plan you want at a low cost. so meet with us, or go to etrade.com for a great retirement plan

. >> mike allen, politico.com. congratulations on the scoop. thank you for joining us on short notice. i appreciate it. us on short notice, mike. "first look" is up next. >>> unfriendly skies. a jetblue captain is subdued by passengers after becoming unhinged in a midair outburst. >>> smash and grab. surveillance video captures two thieves ramming an suv into a jewelry store. >>> and petite puppy. meet the tiny canine vying for the title of world's smallest dog. good morning, everyone. i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> and we're going to begin this morning with air scare. a pilot for jetblue airlines is receiving medical attention after he had to be restrained by passengers on a flight from new york to las vegas. nbc's kurt gregory reports. >> reporter: this is home video posted on youtube capturing the terrifying moments for passengers on board a jetblue flight when the captain was heard screaming, as passengers scrambled to subdue him. the plane was flying from new york to las vegas w

up next, mike allen has the big take away from super tuesday.ut first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. >>> good news today, mika. today's one of the days you'll wear the winter coat and then carry it home because we're going to have a nice afternoon. temperatures already significantly warmer right now than at this time yesterday. the 24-hour temperature change, we're almost 30 degrees warmer in buffalo than we were this time yesterday. it's 47 in buffalo. we're already in the 30s, near 40 in d.c. a nice afternoon, try to get your lunch outdoors if you can. high temperatures in the mid-50s in new england. philadelphia, d.c., mid-60s. the cherry blossoms will be out soon with weather like this. middle of the country, great day yesterday, temperatures are still warm, but we will have some damp weather. showers from oklahoma to kansas city, kansas city, all the way up to minneapolis on the west coast. a really nice day after a wild, windy day yesterday. enjoy your day on the east coast, one of those spring days you've been waiting for. you

. >> let's go to mike allen who has been checking out the development. we want to get a preview here. >> it is very -- the staff is very encouraging to the romney campaign they knew that they would do well among voters. they knew they would do well among voters that cared about the speed. the one among pro-life voters. that is an early sign that different parties are starting to come together for mitt romney. when governor romney goes out and speak, we will hear him making a plea for unity, the first time he has done that. he's not going after his republican opponent anymore. we're going to see governor romney more focused on president obama. he is going to talk about a faltering economy and a failed presidency. he is going to say to the millions of americans to look around and do not have jobs and have bills to pay, i have a message. you have not failed. this president has failed you. he will hit obama for several paragraphs. in 2012, he will be out of office. the most notable part of the speech, the real news in this speech is not that he has been hitt

mike allen, thank you so much for a look at the playbook. > happy weekend. >> happy weekend, mike. >>> sports is coming up next. >>> and later, the megamillions jackpot at $540 million. >> richard haass is sweating. >> but that's nothing compared to what the top hedge fund managers took home last year. nbc senior investigator lisa myers joins us for an annual look at the rich list. we'll be right back. turn left. the passat is one of nine volkswagen models named a 2012 iihs top safety pick. not that we'd ever brag about it. turn right. come on, nine. turn left. hit the brakes. huh? how'd that get there? [ male announcer ] we can't hide how proud we are to have nine 2012 iihs top safety picks. so we're celebrating with our "safety in numbers" event. that's the power of german engineering. right now lease the 2012 passat for $219 a month. [ male announcer ] want your weeds to hit the road? hit 'em, with roundup extended control. one application kills weeds, and stops new ones for up to four months. roundup extended control. in what passes for c

mike allen with a look at the playbook.d morning. >> hey, good morning, guys. >> let's talk about what happened last night, new insight into mitt romney's game plan after two losses last night, he did win hawaii but lost alabama and mississippi. what's their plan going forward? >> well, and won american samoa, don't forget that. >> yes, of course. >> they are very aware of the message crisis that mark haleprin talked about at the top. and after talking to a bunch of campaign folks, we boiled this down to mitt romney's five-point survival plan. he's going to keep the team. he has a bunch of stories in the next hours and days about a shake-up in boston. at the moment there's no such plan, we think he might layer in an expert in hunting for delegates. this race is now a county-by-county knife fight. second, a bolder message from mitt romney, the base is just not buying the message now. we're going to hear, for instance, look for him instead of talking about replacing barack obama, he's going to talk about defeating obama. he's

we are going to mike allen who has some fresh data for as. tell us something cool. >> if you cannot be vince lombardi, what coach would you want to be? the coach the romney campaign said is they are woody hayes. it is not pretty but he will get what he -- where he is headed. they're on a good trajectory. this is not the result would have asked santa for. romneyland is calmer. the last three nights have been like an existential threat. will he make it tonight? he knows he does not have to win. they're grateful he is not coming in third in both places. are you ready for production? >> i am already -- always ready. >> the results are close enough. when 8:00 eastern rolls around, we're not going to get a poll call right away from the ap or the network. there will hold off. this is my prediction. we will hear about alabama first. it will be in rick santorum when. we will hear about mississippi second. it will be a mitt romney win. >> we have the print edition of tomorrow's paper. can we scroll to the top? this is a story that we did about how the

mike allen has an interesting ride up in "political" >> this morning> you can check out more information on line in politico. the prime minister and the present world -- will hold more meetings in the white house today. the present will have a dinner in the prime minister's honor and this video from last night shows mr. cameron being taken to a march madness basketball game. >> the jury and a wrongful death lawsuit against virginia tech will likely get the case today. the defense rested yesterday and the parents of two students killed in the 2007 shooting are suing because they say their daughter could have survived if a warning had been issued sooner. defense witnesses testified that campus police and school officials acted properly. friends of the montgomery college student are trying to prevent him from being deported to columbia. they -- he and his family are in the u.s. illegally. immigration officials place them in a detention center. he has a 3.5 grade point average and was to become a surge in one day. his friends will rally at 1:30 this afternoon at the ice skating rink at rockv

mike allen with political., former-vice president dick cheney is recovering after a heart transplant. >> he has a history of heart disease. he received a new heart on saturday. if he had been on a waiting list for nearly two years. some people question whether he is too old for a transplant and if he might have received special treatment. >> heart transplant? no. there are several things at that age. >> i think it should be on the person-to-person basis. people who are healthy not different ages. >> the family says they do not know the identity of the donor but, of course, they are very thankful. >> maryland state police investigating whether one of their troops assaulted a waitress. if the incident happened on thursday night at a ruby tuesday in frederick. the waitress filed charges because the incident began when the trooper received chicken tenders there were undercooked. >> he was very angry. he kept going and going talking and cursing about it. >> if it was a malicious act. >> police confirmed an assault c

tough, but they're great. >> they're tough. >> and mika is just as tough with them too. >> i think mike allent job today, by the way. >> mike, this is all your fault. >> by the way, happy birthday dr. brzezinski. >> happy birthday, dad. >> he had the highest s.a.t. score in the history of the world. >> that's why i am such a grand failure. >> tell me about the new ebook, right now. [ laughter ] >> 10 seconds. >> you have 10 seconds to pitch your own book "inside the circus." go. >> last night, we closed the book. this is the old "newsweek" project done in real time, edited by john meacham, written with evan thomas. we go behind the scenes of the campaigns. and we have a great look at the unraveling gingrich campaign. the most unusual campaign ever run from the bus. joe, you'll enjoy this. one of the people who works on the campaign described it to me as a think tank with yard signs. it's the biggest book tour ever for newt gingrich, last night as we heard about them firing 1/3 of their staff, getting rid of their campaign manager. we saw the beginning of what looks like an unraveling of that

mike allen with a look at what's at stake. any surprises that you see out there? stay in the game. a good day for mitt romney. sen they, welcome back. >> oh, thank you! >> we felt a little underdressed. >> georgia, a lot of delegates up for grabs. >> when i look for poll, i look at what's rising and who's falling rather than specific numbers. and in ohio, we've seen romney consistently closing on rick santorum who most polls showed him tied. that's a good night for mitt romney. he doesn't want to be caught in a state where he lost like he was in colorado. so on super tuesday, he's not going to be in any -- he's going to go back to his home quarters in boston for election night. it will be a neutral state to jump off from. >> only two candidates on the ballot in virginia. is virginia still an important state when it comes to this? >> it is because battleground virginia is going to be so important for the candidates. that's why house majority leader eric cantor from richmond jumped out and endorised romney. newt gingrich not on the ballot but his wife calista gingri

. >> mike allen is standing by. what should i ask him about?k him about it. >> it's a london thing, right? >> coming to d.c. >> is it really? >> i'm thinking you forgot at chick-fil-a, you forget the waffle fries. >> those are good. >> wendy's -- there's something -- i can still eat chi chick-fil-a. >> you cannot. >> it's chicken. it's good for you. >> you can't close your jacket after you eat that. >> grilled salads. >> if you ever had the peach -- >> it's gross. poison. >> the crystal. try it friends. go south. buy it. thanks, mike. what's next. mike allen. let's go to newt gingrich, your headline. newt's end. what do you mean? >> yeah. this is really bad news for the gingrich campaign in addition to losing contests they are going to report heavy debt according to gingrich insiders. he's having money problems. jonathan martin talked to gingrich folked owed $27,000 going back to january. v volunteers in florida not being paid for their work. you peel back the gingrich campaign and on the road he looks like a happy warrior. he and his wife love

we are back with amy holmes and mike allen and dana lash. mike, it was pretty upbeat.e was talking about the voter his a different mind tonight. >> wolf, great interview. we will see a lot of that tape and there he goes again. he was talking about the campaign and they know they need a tougher message. a small sign of this. i'm told that mitt romney has been saying that he is out to replace barack obama in coming days. i would look for mitt romney to say he will defeat barack obama. a small example of how they are week is how they are tweaking. pressure on the public stage and behind the scenes for newt gingrich to get out. the campaigns will be cautious. you saw the santorum strategist not taking the debate and not directly confronting newt gingrich. silent on this question. they don't want to back gingrich into a corner. they want him to figure it out on his own. keep the conservative leader saying that rick santorum has earned it. conservative leaders saying it's been a great run. go out as a happy warrior. >> you like romney. what piece of advice do you want to sha

. >>> let's go to politico, mike allen has that look at the playbook.y, good morning guys. >> let's talk math, shall we? the romney campaign making the argument that the delegates are on their side. therest no argument for newt gingrich and rick santorum to stay in the race at this point. they just can't get enough delegates. the santorum camp is turning that argument on its head. >> today's mitt romney's birthday, he's 65 today. and as a present, rick santorum's launching that new argument that, yes, the delegate math may be on his side today, but rick santorum will argue the time is on his side. and he's saying that he's going to stick with this going into late may even early june when he claims his momentum will come. so he says if he has a math problem, mitt romney does too. the romney campaign figures that to get the nomination, romney will have to get half the delegates that are left. newt gingrich would have to get 70% of the delegates that were left, rick santorum would have to get 65% of the delegates left. and almost insurmountable hurdle, but

sitting here playing super maria. >> okay. >> this is a big night for a guy like mike allen.is like the first night of the ncaa tournament. you've got all the games up, you're sitting there watching. what are you looking for? >> maggie has given us some ways to look beneath the top-line results. some of the things that we're going to be watching to look both at the trend for the next couple weeks and also how strong the ultimate republican nominee might be against president obama. one thing is can governor romney make any inroads with voters who make less than $50,000? the lower-income white voter group which is one that karl rove watched very closely when president bush was running is a place that romney's been weak. he needs to do better. they're part of the swing voters that are going to be what the election is ultimately about, if you know what women, hispanics and independents are going to do, you know the answer to this election. another sign of whether or not romney is strong or just hanging on. will he win a clear majority of the continue contests tonight? will he get

. >>> up next, mike allen with a look at politico's top stories of the morning. first, bill karins with a check on the forecast. >>> good morning. hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. things have changed in new england. you aren't going to get a little dose of winter for today, tonight, and tomorrow. and then we'll be back to warmer conditions. let me first explain what's happened. wind-chill. hoping not to talk about this anymore, but wind-chill is only 24 in buffalo. chilly all through new england and the mid-atlantic as the colder air filters in. even with sunshine, temperatures today only in the 40s in new england. buffalo, struggling to get to the upper 30s. we will be better in philly and d.c. but later tonight, it's going to be a cold night. you have to remember all the flowers and buds are out on the trees. this will be a hard freeze in many areas. so if anything on why your property you want to protect, cover it up. middle of the country today, you're still enjoying the beautiful warm weather from denver, all the way down into florida and texas. wet we

fouls prevent three-pointers -- pierce to force overtime. >> jeff: i didn't say below seven. >> mike: ray allent. has to adjust to pierce. pierce a long three. garnett throws it back out. rondo for three. won't go. and the lakers go on to win. the lakerers and the game on an 8-0 run in the last 2:20 to win their ninth straight at home and are now 18-2 at the staples center. andrew bynum with a big bucket as ray allen and the celtics just put him in that at the end. >> jeff: so many good things happened here. ray allen to prevent the catch. there gasol jumped out as he gets the ball and then great play by garnett, the awareness to tip it out and pierce. >> mike: andrew bynum, meanwhile, career season continues, another terrific game for bynum, now an all-star as kobe bryant gives this young center a hug and bryant now with lisa salters. >> lisa: thanks, mike. kobe, you were just saying that play out of the time-out for andrew, your play, tell me about it. >> well, look, everybody in here thought it was coming to me. and, you know, andrew has improved so much. i felt like supported me in that sit

. >> mike allen, politico.com. congratulations on the scoop. thank you for joining us on short notice. i appreciate it. now with my apologies for being late, "the last word." lawrence, i'm sorry. i got ahead of myself. i apologize. >> is that you, rachel? i've just been sitting here reading your book, "drift." i have a few questions. are you going home? could you come over here and talk about this? >> yes, i could come over to talk to you about it, and i'll give you back as many minutes as you want, man. >> it might cost you a minute of your time. breaking news. can't do anything about it. i will see you soon, rachel. >> thanks, i appreciate it. >>> we have reports today that the homicide detective in charge of the trayvon martin case wanted to prosecute the shooter, george zimmerman, the night of the killing. george zimmerman's friend and defender is my first guest. >> i just want this guy arrested and so he can be brought to justice. >> justice. >> justice. >> justice. >> justice. >> an arrest needs to be made for george michael zimmerman. >>

mike shanahan, bruce allen, all taking time out to chat with fans and pose for pictures.eir potential starter to a potential backup, the redskins will host johnson. johnson was drafted by tampa bay in 2008. the gm at the time was bruce allen. we expected the nfl to lay down major punishments for bounty gate. but the discipline ended up being more severe than many of us originally thought. defensive coordinator has been accused of implementing a pay for pain scheme. he paid players money for big hits that injured opponents or knocked them out of the game. the entire organization including coaches and front office were also investigated for knowing about the scheme that was in place. here's what the sledge hammer, the league brought down on the saints. fined several hundreds and thousands of dollars, lose two draft picks, the league suspended sean payton for one year, and gregg williams is with the rams has been suspended indefinitely. the redskins, however, have been cleared of any involvement in bounty scheme. also today was announced that denver broncos traded tim tebow

. >>> the chief white house correspondent for mike allen with a look at the playbook. o, mike. >> good morning, guys. >> you were talking about rick santorum campaigning yesterday in puerto rico and courting the latino vote. let's listen. >> i think you will see as a president santorum someone who will take the responsibility of representing all americans very, very seriously. >> i was referred to by many in my state as -- >> there you go. politico, you guys are reporting about mitt romney and the latino vote. we saw those polls from fox news, devastating to republicans, something like 14% support trailing the president by 56 points. how do they change that? >> yeah, well, that's one of the biggest worries in washington among top republicans about the romney campaign. they're a lot less worried about whether he's perceived as ritchie rich or whether he's awkward than this very fundamental problem from the party. we're told that that number needs to be around more like 33% of latinos. twice what governor romney polled or not polled for the party to be in the mix in the g