i'm lynn berry.come to our viewers across the nation, including the pacific time zone. i'm lynn berry. >>> today we begin with a surprise win. before alabama and mississippi voted yesterday, not a single major poll had rick santorum in the lead. but last night he did win the republican primary races in both states. in alabama, santorum came in with 35% of the vote. while newt gingrich and mitt romney each got 29%. in mississippi, santorum eeked out a closer victory with 33%. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on what this means for newt gingrich and mitt romney. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. despite what the polls were telling us maybe this should have been no surprise rick santorum won both stays because they are packed with evangelical voters, and that's his crowd. >> we did it again. >> reporter: rick santorum won mississippi with a third of the vote and alabama with 35%. speaking from louisiana, where he promised another big win next week, santorum hint

i'm lynn berry. we begin with the zimmerman video. when george zimmerman shot and killed trayvon martin in florida last month he told police martin had fought with him, breaking his nose and repeatedly slamming his head beagainst the ground. however security camera shows police officers leading zimmerman into the police station with handcuffs shows no blood or bruising or grass stains visible on his clothes. the parents of trayvon martin reacted last night to the video saying it shows zimmerman's claims of self-defense are false. but zimmerman's father said martin threatened his son as they struggled on the ground. >> in doing so his firearm was shown. trayvon martin said something to the effect of you're going to die now or you're going to die tonight. >> in washington yesterday congressman bobby rush of illinois wore a hoodie during a speech in the house about trayvon martin's death and racial profiling. he was escorted out for violating a house rule on the wearing of hats. >>> elsewhere a jetblue airways captain who had to be subdu

i'm lynn berry.oday we begin with a campaign coen in drum. gop presidential candidates swing south today where newt gingrich locked in his only win on super tuesday in georgia. well, now some of rick santorum supporters want beginning hitch out to consolidate the conservative vote against moderate rival mitt romney. brian moore is in washington with more on this. good morning. >> good morning. he is vulnerable as the race heads to the south. newt gingrich and rick santorum are both going to try to utilize the southern strategy to try to take romney out. newt gingrich will be on home turf talking about gas prices, an issue he hopes will finally kick start his campaign. he took a poke at president obama saying if you want algae, vote for the president. if you want $2.50 a gallon gas, vote for newt gingrich. but rick santorum supporters are urging gingrich to get out of the way. yes, he won his home state of georgia and south carolina, but santorum argues if this is a two-person race, he's the person wh

i'm lynn berry. >>> today, we begin with super tuesday. republicans in 11 states will make their selection for a gop presidential candidates in primaries and caucuses from coast-to-coast today. the stakes are high in ohio where the race between santorum and romney has been incredibly close. tracie potts join us from columbus. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. we're in columbus, where today they will eventually certify today's primary results. this is the place to be. it's the place to watch today because no republican has ever been elected president without winning this state. so today's primary is a key proving ground for november. both top candidates, mitt romney and rick santorum, spent their last full day of campaigning in ohio. >> we have been all over the state, from a to z, all right. >> reporter: despite nbc's latest poll showing an unenthusiastic republican electorate -- >> i just don't think the republicans have a viable candidate. >> reporter: romney insists he's winni

. >>> good morning i'm lynn berry, those stories and more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> morning, with super tuesday, republicans in 11 states will make their selection for gop presidential candidate and primaries in caucuses from coast to coast. the stakes are especially high in ohio where the race between mitt romney and rick santorum has been incredibly close. nbc's tracie potts joins us, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. we're in columbus, where they will certify the primary results. this is the place to be. the place to watch today because no republican has ever been elected president without winning this state. so today's primary is a key proving ground for november. both top candidates, mitt romney and rick santorum, spent their last full day of campaigning in ohio. >> we have been all over the state, from a to z, all right? akron to zainesville. >> reporter: despite a poll showing an unthenthusiastic candidate, romney insists he is winning voters. >> it's gut check time. who wants it the most. what do you say? >> rep

i'm lynn berry.>> today, the focus on the economy. wall street to washington, a lot of attention will be paid to the government's monthly jobs report. that is due out later this morning. this as the president seeks to reassure the voters he's the best candidate to keep the recovering economy on the right track. nbc's tracie potts joins us with more from washington. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. good morning, everyone. when we see those jobs numbers come out today, we expect they will continue the trend we've seen for the last few months, supporting a robust recovery. but republicans think they can do it better and faster. economists predict more than 200,000 new jobs were created last month. not as many as january, but still enough to support a robust recovery. the unemployment rate's expected to stay flat. republicans running against president obama don't call that good news. >> i keep waiting to hear something about a fundamental improvement of the job situation in this country. he just

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with lotto fever. the largest lottery prize in u.s. history keeps getting bigger. the mega millions jackpot has hit an estimated $540 million, and it is expected to rise even higher as millions of americans buy tickets ahead of tonight's drawing. nbc's kurt gregory has more. >> reporter: this single little slip of paper could mean -- >> half a billion. >> it's such an insane amount of money. >> reporter: -- a whole lot of green for a lucky winner tonight in the mega millions lottery drawing. and with still hours to go before the drawing, the record-breaking sum could climb even higher. >> buy some race cars, maybe. >> donate some to charity. >> travel. >> retire early. >> i never have to mow the grass again. >> reporter: and those half a billionaire dreams are bringing in customers across the country. >> this has been crazy all day today. very, very crazy. >> been busy, just lottery. everybody want to buy mega million, everybody want to try, you know, want to take chanc

i'm lynn berry. those stories are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> and we begin this morning with the strike zone. a daunting task of cleanup and recovery awaits many midwest and southwest residents this morning. at least 39 people lost their lives in the recent rash of devastating tornados. this includes an indiana toddler that was found alive in a field on saturday. nbc's jay gray reports. >> reporter: this morning across tornado alley, battered communities are preparing for anything but a normal monday. the message seems a bit obvious. like so much here, henryville high school has been torn apart. there are, though, other signs of survival. some life brings the steady rhythm of crews looking to pull away and pile up what they can. others sifting through the rubble by hand to find anything they might be able to save. evidence of their lives before the storm. >> she's probably 70. and she lost everything except what we can pull out. >> reporter: more than three dozen families alrea

i'm lynn berry.>> today we begin with the campaign trail. on the heels of primaries in mississippi and alabama, republican presidential candidates rick santorum and mitt romney are shifting their focus much farther south looking to puerto rico this saturday. tracey is here with more. >> reporter: good morning. even though puerto rico will not vote in the november election, they do have 20 delegates at stake this weekend during the primary. that's why we are seeing the focus on the island this weekend. rick santorum today will be there for his second straight day of campaigning. he's been speaking with religious leaders, veterans there, business leaders. they have been talking about this on the mainland, and he said he would push for statehood if the people there want it and if they make english the official language. mitt romney will be there tomorrow, although he's focused in illinois where he's launch a million dollars in new ads. that race is between him and gingrich, but santorum did make the bal

i'm lynn berry.>> today, we begin with a split decision. yesterday on super tuesday, republican presidential candidate mitt romney pulled off a narrow victory in the key delegate rich state of ohio but he lost several other states to rival rick santorum. romney was the apparent winner of ohio with 38%. that is just 1% more than santorum. in virginia, it was a two-man race because santorum and newt gingrich didn't make it onto the ballot. romney is the projected winner there with 60%. with 72%, romney also won massachusetts, the state where he was governor. romney is the projected winner in vermont with 40%. in the idaho caucuses, romney won a decisive victory with 62%. he also picked up four delegates in wyoming while ron paul picks up one. rick santorum the projected winner in tennessee with 37%. he's also the projected winner in oklahoma with 34%. with 40%, santorum is the projected winner of the caucuses in north dakota. not surprisingly, newt gingrich took his home state of georgia with 47%. that

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. we'll begin this morning with a split decision. yesterday on super tuesday, mitt romney pull off a narrow victory in the key delegate rich state of ohio. but lost several other states to rival rick santorum. here's a breakdown. romney was the apparent winner of ohio with 38%. just 1% more than santorum. in virginia, it was a two-man race because santorum and newt gingrich didn't make it on to the ballot. romney the projected winner with 60%. with 72%, romney also won massachusetts. that of course the state where he was governor. romney is the projected winner in vermont with 40%. in the idaho caucuses, romney won a decisive victory with 62%. he also picks up four delegates in wyoming. while ron paul picks up one. meanwhile, rick santorum is the projected winner in tennessee with 37%. he's also the projected winner in oklahoma with 34%. and with 40%, santorum is the projected winner of the caucuses in north dakota. not surprising i, newt gingrich took home his -- took his home state of

i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with an overwhelming win. mitt romney raked in all of puerto rico's 20 delegates on sunday after walking away with more than 50% of the island's republican primary vote, and now the spotlight is on tomorrow's race in illinois. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on this. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. illinois will be a little different than we've seen because it's called a loophole primary. it essentially means that people going to the ballot box will get two votes, who they want to see for president on the republican side, and separately, which delegates they want to represent their district, and that popular vote does not determine who gets those delegates. illinois is the next big prize, president obama's home state. tomorrow's republican primary will decide most of the state's 69 delegates. >> if we're able to come out of illinois with a huge surprise win, i guarantee you, i guarantee you that we will win this combination. >> rep

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 a focus on the economy. from wall street to washington, there's going to be a lot of attention to paid to the government's monthly jobs report. that of course is due out later this morning. this as the president reassures voters that he's the best candidate to keep the recovering economy on the right track. nbc tracie potts joins us with more from washington. tracie, good morning. >> lynn, good morning. no question we're seeing more jobs each month supporting this recovery, but president obama's challengers say they can do it better and faster too. economists predict more than 200,000 more new jobs were created last month, not as many as january, but enough to support a robust recovery. the unemployment rate is expected to stay flat. republicans running against president obama don't call that good news. >> i keep waiting to hear something about a fundamental improve

i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >>> a small town in portugal indulges the eyes and pallets of chocoholics. dark, milk, and white chocolate took over the town for the 10th annual international chocolate festival. stunning sculptures crafted by skilled chocolatiers featured characters and themes to go along with the disney theme. it will continue through the month of march, hosting exhibit tastings and even a fashion show. >>> women in mexico city donned some unconventional footwear for bike riding. about 300 women strapped on sets of stylish high heels and took to their bicycles as a way to promote safety between bike riders and motorists. they want to make the statement that it's less dangerous to bike in heels than it is to ride through the city on a daily basis. >>> and, finally, in new york, competitors get bent out of shape to be the next yoga champion. opponents compete five different poses plus two of their choice and are evaluat

i'm lynn berry. this is first look on msnbc. >>> we begin this morning on the campaign trail. on the heels of primaries in mississippi and alabama republican presidential candidates rick santorum and mitt romney are shifting their focus much farther south looking forward to purt terto rico's primary. >> lynn, this morning rick scrum is campaigning in puerto rico. they have 20 delegates at stake for the primary but will not vote in november. >> rick santorum's back in puerto rico today after telling residents he'll push for state hood if they want it and if they make english the main language on the island. still reeling from surprise victories in alabama and mississippi, santorum insisted he's not pressuring newt gingrich to drop out. >> i didn't ask newt gingrich to get into this race. i'm not going to ask him to get out of the race. >> reporter: puerto rico's delegates will only be winner take all if one of the candidates can get more than half of the votes. that's unlikely. mitt romney is off toda

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> we're going to begin this morning with a big swing state. in the republican race for the white house, all eyes are on illinois. voters head to the polls in that state's primary today where a convincing victory for front-runner mitt romney would make it very difficult for his rivals to keep running. nbc's tracie potts joins us with more on that from washington. tracii, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. rick santorum is hoping to do well in illinois, but it's going to be an uphill battle for him. meantime, mitt romney, even though he is the front-runner at this point, is not taking the land of lincoln for granted. >> these pan takes are something else, i'll tell you. >> reporter: mitt romney in his third day campaigning in illinois the land of reagan and obama. >> i'm looking for the nod here in illinois. >> reporter: romney is up nine pointes, santorum is the underdog, ineligible because he filed paper

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> we begin this morning with an overwhelming win. mitt romney raked in all of puerto rico's 20 delegates on sunday after walking away with more than 50% of the island's republican primary vote and now the spotlight is on tomorrow's race in illinois. nbc's tracie potts joins us from washington with more on all of this. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: hi, lynn. good morning, everyone. now, illinois' primary is going to be a little different than what we've seen so far. it's not winner take all. it's not proportional. they actually have separate votes for the popular vote for the president and for the delegates. and the popular vote does not determine who gets those delegates. illinois is the next big prize, president obama's home state. tomorrow's republican primary will decide most of the state's 69 delegates. >> if we're able to come out of illinois with a huge surprise win, i guarantee you, i guarantee you

i'm lynn berry.>> today we begin with on the campaign trail. on the heels of primaries in mississippi and alabama, republican presidential candidates rick santorum and mitt romney are shifting their focus must farther looking looking to puerto rico this saturday. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning. this weekend we shift off the mainland to the island to focus on presidential politics. puerto rico cannot vote in the general election but they elect delegates to the convention and that is the focus right now. rick santorum has been campaigning there two days in a row. today will be his second day. and he talked about whether or not puerto rico should receive statehood. he said he will only push for that if it's something they want and if they make english the primary language there. he also emphasized he is not pressuring newt gingrich to push out of the race. as he put it, he did not ask newt gingrich to get in, he's not going to push for him to get out. puerto rico has 20 delegates this w

i'm lynn berry this is "first look" on msnbc.tuned, "way too early" with willie geist starts right now. >>> a sergeant of the united states army walks off his base in afghanistan and allegedly goes door to door killing at least 16 civilians in kandahar province. the question is will this horrific incident change the direction and timeline of the american presence there? a live report from the ground. >>> back here at home, mitt romney, rick santorum and newt gingrich duke it out in the south with polls showing a couple of air-tight race there's, after santorum routed romney in kansas over the weekend. the question accompany and gingrich have been debating on the trail, which candidate likes grits more. and vanderbilt hangs on to beat kentucky for the school's first secournament title since harry truman was president. this as the commodores begin their long march to the national championship. the question is who do you have in your

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more are straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> and we are going to begin this morning with lotto fever. the largest lottery prize in u.s. history just keeps getting bigger. the mega millions jackpot has hit an estimated $540 million. it's expected to rise even higher as millions of americans buy tickets ahead of tonight's big drawing. nbc's kurt gregory has more. >> this single, little slip of paper could mean -- >> half a billion. >> it's such an insane amount of money. >> reporter: -- a whole lot of green for a lucky winner tonight in the mega millions lottery drawing. and with still hours to go before the drawing, the record-breaking sum could climb higher. >> buy race cars, maybe. >> donate to charity. >> travel. >> retire early. >> i'd never have to mow the grass again. >> thank you. >> reporter: and those half a billionaire dreams are bringing in customers across the country. >> this has been crazy all day today, very, very crazy. >> it's been busy

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 when sources say the captain began acting erratically, pushing buttons and steering the plane. the co-pilot became concerned and convinced the captain to leave the cockpit to take a break. an off-duty captain on board and witnesses say the pilot then seemed to lose control. >> just out of his mind and screaming and saying to the passengers, "say your prayers, say your prayers." >> it appeared he was trying to open the side door, so i wasn't g

i'm lynn berry. those stories and more straight ahead. this is "first look" on msnbc. >>> we begin with the zimmerman video. when neighborhood watch volunteer george zimmerman shot and killed unarmed black teenager trayvon martin in florida last month he reportedly told police martin had fought with him, breaking his nose and repeatedly slamming his head against the ground. however, police security camera video from that night obtained by abc news showing police officers leaving zimmerman into the station in handcuffs appears to show no blood or bruising to zimmerman with no blood or grass stains visible on his clothes. the parents of trayvon martin reacted last night to the video telling "usa today" it shows that zimmerman's claims of self-defense are false. last night zimmerman's father insisted to orlando's fox 35 that martin threatened his son as they struggled on the ground. >> in doing so, his firearm was shown. trayvon martin said something to the effect of, you're going to die now or you're g

>>> i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >>> it is now 4:28. 37 degrees. a chilly start to your morning. good morning to you, i'm eun yang. >> i'm aaron gilchrist. joe krebs is on vacation this week. welcome to "news4 today" on this monday, march 5. >>> this morning we are seeing an up-close and personal look at a tornado that touched down in southern tennessee. take a look at the security cameras that were rolling as that ef321st hit on friday. one man says it sounded like a freight train and was over in less than a minute. amazingly he, his family, his dogs, and his home are all okay. >>> the devastation in the south and midwest grows as the death toll from these tornadoes is on the rise. the tornadoes killed at least 40 people. hundreds more were injured with entire towns flattened by the deadly twisters. meteorologists say that might be the largest tornado outbreak ever in the month of march. the national weather service issued close to 300

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with an overwhelming win. mitt romney rakes in all of porcello's 20 delegates on sunday after walking away with more than 50% of the republican's primary vote and now the spotlight is on illinois. tracie potts joins us with more on this. good morning. >> good morning. illinois's primary is going to be a little different than what we've seen so far. it's not winner take all. it's not proportional. they have separate votes for the president and for the delegates. the popular vote does not determine who gets those delegates. illinois's the necked by prize. tomorrow's republican primary will decide most of the state's 69 delegates. >> if we're able to come out with a huge surprise win, guarantee you, i guarantee you that we will win this combination. >> it's an uphill battle for santorum. he's not on the ballot in all illinois districts plus mitt romney's got a clear lead in the poll by as much as nine points, plus romney is coming in with momentum. he won porcello's delega

>>> i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >> live, local, late-breaking, this is wbal-tv 11 news today. >> good morning. we're off to a quiet start on this monday. the drive time will be just time. skies are breakers -- skies are basically clear. we have a chance for some rain or snow showers. the best chance will be south of baltimore. we will come back and check the seven-day forecast going to the end of the week. >> 4:57. >> a look at the latest cleanup efforts following the devastating weather in tornado alley. >> the body of a girl is found in a baltimore alley. >> foreign affairs and the economy are making headlines just before super tuesday. >> sarah caldwell checking on your morning commute. your morning commute. we will let you know how t you know what's exciting, graduation. when i look up into my student's faces, i see pride. you know, i have done something worthwhile. when i earned my doctorate through university of phoenix, that pri

i'm lynn berry. >>> today, we begin with super tuesday. republicans in 11 states will make their select slun for a gop presidential candidates in primaries and caucuses from coast-to-coast today. the stakes are high in ohio where the race between santorum and romney has been incredibly close. tracie potts join us from columbus. >> reporter: good morning, everyone. columbus is key. this is where they will eventually certify tonight's primaries from the results of ohio. ohio is a very important state because no republican has ever been elected without winning this state. so today's primary is a key proving ground for november. ♪ >> reporter: both top candidates mitt romney and rick santorum, spent their last full day of campaigning in ohio. >> we have been all over the state from a to z, all right? akron to zanesville. >> i just don't think the republicans have a viable candidate. >> reporter: romney insists he is winning last-minute voters here. >> i keep hearing people tell me they were undecided and

i'm lynn berry. and today we begin with the south having its say. folks are going to head to the poll today in mississippi and alabama where republican presidential candidates have been campaigning hard to convince conservative voters they share their southern values. caucuses will be held today in hawaii. tracie potts joins us from washington with the details. tracie, good morning. >> hi, lynn. good morning. this southern vote, bible belt vote will be a real test for mitt romney, the conservative base of the party has not been his strong suit. the polls seem to indicate that beginning rich is running strong in these states, although romney is within striking distance. this is sort of a must win for newt gingrich. he's from the state next door when it comes to alabama and mississippi. and his campaign needs to win the south to prove he can go on in this race. southern voters say the primaries today are literally about more than grits and gravy. you have heard a lot of that on the campaign trail. vote

dog a great deed there. >>> i'm lynn berry. this is "early today," just your first stop of the day today on your nbc station. >>> 4:28 is our time now. we have 46 degrees. kind of cool here in the nation's capital. good morning to you, i'm joe krebs. >> and i'm eun yang. welcome to "news4 today" for this friday, march 30, 2012. >>> breaking news right now. a u.s. drone strike killed four suspected militant and wounded three others this morning in the northern part of pakistan. intelligence officials say they did not have details on the identities or nationalities of the suspected militants. we'll have more throughout the newscast. >>> we're also following breaking news out of afghanistan. nato says that two of its service members have been killed in the south part of the country. one man was killed in a roadside bomb explosion, the other in an insurgent attack. nato did not disclose any further details. so far this year, 88 international troops have been killed in afghanistan. >>> five members of a fairfax county street grain a

i'm lynn berry. here are some of your headlines this morning. >>> police in france are conducting a massive manhunt for the person who shot and killed three children and a teacher yesterday at a jewish school in southwest france. authorities say the same gun was also used in two other shootings. local police who normally don't carry weapons have been issued guns. >>> the lawyer for sergeant robert bales says his client remembers very little about the killing of 16 afghan civilians. bales' wife said in a statement that she, too, wants to know what happened. and it's reported that bales owes $1.5 million from a 2003 arbitration that found him guilty of securities fraud. >>> kate middleton's made her had first public speech. she was warmly welcomed at a children's hospice. >> first of all, i'd like to say thank you. thank you for not only accepting me as a patron, thank you also for inviting me here today. >> kate said she was sorry that prince william, who's on military duty, could not be there. >>> me

i'm lynn berry. today we begin with the afghan shootings. the u.s. soldier accused of killing 16 people has hired a high-profile attorney to handle his defense. john henry brown, the lawyer for the unnamed soldier, said his client was not happy about going to afghanistan after suffering severe injuries during three tours to iraq. the family was totally shocked by his actions and denied reports there were any marital difficulties. the attorney previously represented serial killer ted bundy and the barefoot bandit. meanwhile, a senior official told the "new york times", due to stress, alcohol and domestic issues the soldier, quote, just snapped. the official told the times the account of the sergeant's state of mind came from two other soldiers he drank alcohol with on the night of the shots. >>> forth leaven worth, kansas could be the next place for the sergeant. if convicted of murder, he could face the death penalty. >>> thursday in the continued fallout from those killings, america's military campa

i'm lynn berry. >>>, gop presidential candidates swing south today where newt gingrich locked in his only super tuesday win in georgia. well, now some of rick santorum supporters want beginning hitch out to consolidate the conservative vote against moderate rival mitt romney. brian moore is in washington with more on this. >> reporter: no doubt about it, mitt romney has been stumbling with conservatives, trying to get on message, but he does have the numbers in terms of delegates on his side right now and clearly the front-runner but newt gingrich has the home turf advantage as the gop presidential race heads south and talking about an issue to kick-start his campaign, gas prices. he took a poke at president obama who was in north carolina yesterday talking about alternative energy. gingrich says if you want $2 a gas, vote for gingrich. rick santorum voters are urging gingrich to get out of the way. he only won his home state of georgia on super tuesday. santorum did better winning tennessee in the f