tracy corey. chief medical examiner for the state of kentucky. she's one of several investigators who work to unravel the mysteries behind the deaths of the victims who arrive in her autopsy room. >> i like puzzles, and every single case presents its own mystery to try to figure out. >> you'll see all that it takes to solve one of those mysteries. a horrific crime. two lovers found shot to death in this car in an alley. our cameras are allowed rare access to the death scene. the investigation, the autopsies, and wherever else the clues and leads take the police. as in the tv drama "csi" there is a cast of fascinating characters who join forces to solve this crime. there's dr. corey, the medical examiner. a doctor of forensic pathology, she performs autopsies on all suspicious and unexplained deaths. >> my job is to let the victims speak to me. let the victim tell me what they can tell me through the physical evidence. >> there's the coroner. ron holmes, an elected law enforcement officer who once interviewed serial murderer ted bundy. his job is

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. voters say they want to hear things about cheaper gas. both gingrich and santorum talked about that at an energy forum monday in mississippi. santorum has the conservative message that seems to appeal to a lot of these voters. almost three out of four in alabama and mississippi identified themselves as evangelical voters. that is the area where santorum has had his strongest appeal. g

tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. this morning in afghanistan, there are warnings and calls for protests there as a result of all this. officials there in afghanistan and here in washington are calling it a senseless act of violence. afghanistan's president calls it terrorism. a u.s. soldier shot and killed nine children, three women and four men just 500 yards from the u.s. military base in southern afghanistan. he's in custody. >> nato's sitting in a tinder box, and this could be the spark that unravels our presence in afghanistan. >> reporter: president obama called president karzai sunday to apologize, saying we'll investigate and hold the shooter responsible. >> we're committed to an enduring relationship with afghanistan, to obtain greater peace and security in the region. >> reporter: karzai in a statement called it an intentional act that will never be forgotten. one month after accidental burnings of a koran sparked deadly protests. >> unfortunately, these things happen in war. you had an israeli soldier kill

nbc's tracie potts joins us with those details. tracie, good morning. >> reporter: hi, lynn. good morning. good morning, everyone. after months of watching the republicans slug it out in these primaries and in these debates, the president and vice president this week decided to jump into the fray, giving americans what they call a different choice. >> mitt romney, rick santorum and newt gingrich, these guys have a fundamentally different economic philosophy than we do. >> reporter: a one-two-three punch in his first campaign event. vice president biden told autoworkers in ohio republicans would let their bosses and employees go bankrupt. >> if you give any one of these guys the keys to the white house they will bankrupt the middleclass again. >> joe biden is doing what vice presidential candidates do which is call the other side out on issues differences. >>> in maryland, president obama focused on energy and promises from his republican rivals of cheaper gas. >> they start acting like we have a magic wand and we will give you cheap gas forever if you just elect us. they dism

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. >> reporter: 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 latest polls by as much as nine points. plus, romney's coming in with momentum. he won puerto rico's 20 delegates sunday. >> those people who don't think that latinos will vote for republican need to take a look in pue

tracie potts for us in washington. tracie, thanks. >>> well, at least two powerful tornadoes touched down in nebraska last night. the twisters hit near north platte in lincoln county in the southwest part of the state. at least two people were injured as the tornados tore roofs off buildings, knocked down trees and brought down power lines. nbc's meteorologist bill karins is going to have much more on all of this. that's coming up in just a moment. >>> but first, the good news, spring doesn't official ly arrive until early tuesday morning, but across the country it already feels like spring, even summer in some places. the warm spell has been smashing records for high temperatures in a lot of spots. nbc's frances kuo reports. >> reporter: before daybreak sunday, the typically cool late winter georgia marathon heated up. temperatures in atlanta soared into the 70s. runners elsewhere experiencing the same surprise. in new york, temperatures more typical of june than mid-march. the windy city better described as balmy, fi

and tracy mcmillan, author of the american war of eating. she was also attacked by rush this week. thanks to all of you for joining me tonight. >> thanks for having us on. >> let me start with you, congressman bass. congressman bass, what do you say about the gop leadership refusing to denounce rush limbaugh? >> well, i think it's absolutely inappropriate and absurd. they need to be on the floor. they need to be holding press conferences. they need to say that this type of speech which in my opinion is hate speech needs to stop or he need to be off the air. i think that this is the type of thing that leads to violence against women. this is international women's day. and so the way he acknowledges it is by using the "b" word in reference to a woman? what i'm very glad about, though is that there's 50 sponsors that have pulled out. i think there needs to be triple that. and i think the stations need to begin to throw him off the air. that is the only solution to rush limbaugh because he's clearly out of control. >> alexandra, he used the "b" word in referring to your work calling it

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 winning last had-minu-minute vo. >> i keep hearing people say they were undecided, and how it they've decided to join us here. >> it's gut check time. who wants it the most? what do you say? >> reporter: rick santorum has a two-point edge in ohio, a virtual tie. last night he focused on romney's flip-flop on contraception coverage. >> he will be the weakest candidate we

ben tracy has been tracking the travels of llz's latest arts sensation. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news." >> brown: good evening. i'm terrell brown. in the latest round of campaign 2012, rick santorum won today's caucuses in kansas, where 40 delegates were at stake, mitt romney still energize wide lead on delegates over all. ball amia and mississippi hold primaries tuesday. the economy remains voters' number one issue. nancy cordes is in robertsdale, alabama, tonight. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, terrell. the republican candidates have been hammering the president on the economy from the beginning, but recent and encouraging jobs figures have forced them to recalbright their message and their central rationale for change. until recently, the phrase "where are the jobs?" was a constant refrain on the campaign trail. >> our current president doesn't include how you create jobs and most of his policies are destructive at creating jobs. >> this president is not interested, in my opinion, in providing jobs. >> reporter: ev

tran, tracy? [applause] tracy has not made it yet. so really, thank you very much. and for joining us and hope to see you again next year. and it's so special that our new police chief is with us. and would you like to say a few words? [applause] >> i don't think that that was actually a question. [laughter] i'm just really pleased to be here. i wasn't prepared to say anything. but just the culture and what it does for the community, it really does leave me without much to say other than thank you for everybody does. and thanks for having me. [applause] >> thank you, chief. and thank you, claudine. i hope you were able to meet some. greeters in the lobby before the event started. and you may have noticed they were selling these little pins. you see this a.p.a. heritage month pin? it's the image of the heritage month logo designed in the form and shape of an a. and it's a beautiful piece. but what is even more important is all the proceeds from the sale of this pin will go to the japanese cultural

>> we're moving out as the president said and i think that's the right thing to do. >> reporter: tracie potts, nbc news, washington. >> we can tell you there aren't many details about the shooter. he served three you tours in iraq, this was his first in afghanistan. the u.s. embassy is warning americans to avoid large gatheri gatherings. >> closer to home a new tactic to keep video evidence out of the domestic abuse trial of san francisco sheriff ross mirkarimi. attorneys for mirkarimi will argue the video would violate his rights because the defense won't be able to cross-examine his own wife about the video. it shows mirkarimi's wife with a bruise on her arm. two other attempts to exclude the evidence have been denied. jury selection resumes today. >> closing arguments will begin in the murder retrial of the man accused of killing tracy. the 2001 conviction was overturned for misconduct by the prosecution. ali has admitted killing her during a violent argument but his attorneys say it was an unplanned crime of passion. the woman was a daughter of raiders receiver. >> teams could be ou

tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning.pite 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 hinted newt gingrich should drop out of the race. >> the time is now for conservatives to pull together. the time is now to make sure, to make sure that we have the best chance to win this election. >> reporter: gingrich came in second in both states and gave no indication he's quitting. instead, he focused on mitt romney's failure to win the conservative southern vote. >> if you're the front-runner, if you're the front-runner and you keep coming in third, you're not much of a front-runner. >> the elite media's effort to convince the nation that mitt romney is inevitable just collapsed. >> reporter: romney didn't give a speech

lynn. >> all right, tracie potts for us in washington.racie, thanks so much. >>> elsewhere, the senate has rejected a republican attempt to the approval of a pipeline from canada to texas. the vote to must pass the vote to attach the project fell just short of the 60 votes needed to pass. president obama personally called and lobbied senators asking them to oppose it. earlier this year, the president put off the pipeline proposal which would ship oil from canada down to the gulf coast pending further environmental review. >>> recent controversial pardons given out by the former mississippi governor during his term has been upheld by the state's highest court. in january during his final days in office, governor haley barbour issued about 200 pardons. the mississippi supreme court was asked to void ten of those pardons on technical grounds, including four for inmates serving life sentences for murder. but the court agreed with state lawyers who argued the court had no authority to overturn the pardons. >>> here is a look at some of the oth

tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning.aking a look at those numbers you just showed us, it's pretty clear that mitt romney is beginning to solidify his lead among his republican challengers. he's now got three times as many delegates as his closest competitor. he's proven he can win a tight race. >> we need mitt! >> reporter: it appears mitt romney ekes out a narrow victory over rick santorum in ohio, as little as one percentage point. >> i'm not going to let you down. i'm going to get this nomination. >> reporter: romney realizes it's all about delegates, and he's now got more than 300. it's a numbers game, and he's winning. >> tonight we're doing some counting. we're counting up the delegates for the convention. it looks good. we're counting down the days until november. that looks even better. >> reporter: romney also won his home state, massachusetts, vermont, virginia, idaho, alaska, and four delegates in wyoming. santorum scored victories in tennessee, oklahoma, and north dakota. >> we have won in the west, the midwe

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 improvement in the job situation in this country. he hasn't been able to do that. >> reporter: creating jobs is a central issue on the campaign trail. >> it's impossible to argue on a supply and demand basis that an additional 800 million barrels would not have an impact. first of all it would keep the money here at home to create jobs at home. >> reporter: today in virginia president obama talks about how to boost manufacturing and rick santorum says he can improve. >> we want you to create jobs here in america. but if we're goi

joining me now is tricia rose and tracy clark, also a repeat guest.come back to you both inside "the war room." tracy, are we seeing a successful push back by women? >> i think so. i mean i think that people are actually having to listen. i mean the outrage is -- it's deafening. >> it's empowering isn't it? >> it is. >> the anger through the internet is just awesome. >> yeah it is. it really -- there is unprecedented access, i think to joining the conversation and becoming political. >> and you have seen it a lot because i know you follow this stuff closely and some of the best stuff that is out there, i think you would all agree is actually pretty darn funny. >> it is hilarious. >> women have gotten very creative and humorous. >> yes you have to laugh about it. >> yes. tricia from your perspective, are we seeing just a temporary lull in the action? >> we're definitely only seeing a lull in the action but that doesn't mean we can't keep fighting. we have to keep with the humor, keepith the social networking but most importantly educate young women abo

we'll be right back with tracy morgan!at universal orlando resort. ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: welcome back, you guys! everybody, 30 years ago tonight, "late night with david letterman" began. that's right, tonight. [ cheers and applause ] 30 years ago. and he was born right here in indianapolis, and then came to new york and started "late night." and we're so proud that we get to continue that tradition. so thank you, dave, for giving us jobs. and everyone here in indy sends you congratulations -- to you and paul. congrats, guys. [ cheers and applause ] our first guest this evening is a great comedian and one of the stars of the emmy award winning "30 rock" which airs thursday nights at 8:00 p.m. right here on nbc. please welcome to "late night," one of the funniest dudes around, tracy morgan! ♪ [ cheers and applause ] ♪ [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy! >> jimmy: oh! >> jimbo, what you doing, man? >> jimmy: tracy morgan! >> you're in indianapolis, man. [ cheers and applause ] this is crazy. this is crazy, man. >>

>> tracie there for us in columbus, ohio. so where do the candidates stand in terms of states and delegates won as they try to reach that all-important 1,143 needed to get the republican nomination? as of now, mitt romney has picked up 323 delegates. that's in 13 states. rick santorum has a total of 101 delegates in 7 states. newt gingrich has 105 in 2 states and as we mentioned last night, ron paul picked up his very first delegate. there were two other super tuesday results to mention. both of them in ohio. long-time cleveland congressman dennis kucinich lost a democratic primary showdown made necessarily by newly redrawn district maps to 15-term congresswoman marcy captor of toledo. she'll face the republican primary winner, that guy, the man known as joe the plumber. samuel joe wurzelbacher gained his name in 2008 by expressing his concerns to barack obama. >>> filmmaker michael moore told rachel maddow for all intents and purposes, he thinks the presidential race is over, thanks to policies made by the republican party,

. >> all right, tracy, thanks. well, newt gingrich again vowed to remain in the race. and he em that sized that he want new delegates. last eighth know, his daughter jack rio argued her father's record in congress is beter than rick zx antorum. he told lawrence the former speaker his been making the strongest case. >> if you look at what's happening, we look at the secretary that said gosh, i made a mistake. the only candidate that we have as repub le cans that is driving

>> tracie, thanks. our coverage begins with "way too early" and "morning joe," continuing to prime-time. don't miss a minute of our special coverage of the illinois primary here on msnbc, the place for politics. >>> elsewhere, nbc news has obtained the republican party's proposed new budget, which will be unveiled later today, and in it the gop will propose massive tax reform by consolidating the six current tax brackets into just two, 10% and 25%. the plan would also repeal the alternate minimum tax and reduce the corporate tax rate to 25%. the budget promises to it decrease loopholes and tax subsidies and it does not specify who would qualify for which of the two tax brackets. >>> the justice department and fbi have opened an investigation into the shooting of a black teenager in florida last month. unarmed 17-year-old trayvon martin was killed by a neighborhood watch captain, george zimmerman, who has not been charged. on a 911 tape, zimmerman was specifically told by police not to pursue martin, who

nbc's tracie potts joins us with those details, tracie, good morning. >> good morning. democrats on offense after months of watching the republicans slug it out in these primaries and debates. the president and vice president this week decided to jump into the frey giving americans what they call a different choice. >> mitt romney, rick santorum, and newt gingrich, these guys have a fundamentally different economic philosophy than we do. >> reporter: a one, two, three punch in his first campaign event. vice president biden told auto workers in ohio republicans would let their bosses and employees go bankrupt. >> if you give any one of these guys the keys to the white house, they will bankrupt the middle class again. >> joe biden is doing what vice presidential candidates often do, which is calling the other side out on issue differences. >> reporter: in maryland president obama focused on energy and promise the from his republican rivalries of cheaper gas. >> may start acting like we've got a p magic wand and we will give you cheap gas forever if you just elect us. they

news4's tracy wilkins is live along the tidal basin. what are they saying? >> reporter: they were originally saying it was going to come late in march, looking at it happening probably up against the 31st, just a couple of days before that. but, yes, it has changed. let me explain why. these warmer temperatures, we as washingtonians are walking around, stuck between winter and what feels like summer. same thing is happening with the blossoms. let me show you how we arrived at the change in date. if you look over at this building, that is the office of the man who does the forecast for the cherry blossoms. and if you look from one of the windows there right over here to the right, you're going to see a cher roy blossom tree that is almost in full bloom. this is called the indicator tree. now, he says that when this indicator tree blooms and looks like that, about seven days later we're going to see all of these trees in bloom. so this is why he has changed the forecast. he watches the blooms and according to the indicator tree we're looking at the cherry blos

tracie potts, nbc news, washington. >>> and rick santorum made up a little ground on mitt romney in the delegate count yesterday, but yesterday's primaries might have shown problems with romney's campaign. this morning on the "today" show, chuck todd said that romney is still struggling to connect with many republicans. >> he is not winning the heart and soul of the republican party. this has always been the challenge, right. eight, nine months ago we kept saying mitt romney is the guy, the favorite for the nomination, but nobody was quite sure how he gets there, how the end game happens. and we're still in that place. how does he land this plane? it's not clear. he has the math. i mean, ironically, he may win the night on dell galts when we

tracie potts, nbc news, washington. >>> the uc berkeley men's basketball team starts that march to a possible ncaa title tonight. golden bears play south florida at 6:10 in what some call the first four. if the bears win it, they make it into the field of 64 teams that make up the ncaa tournament. cal is favored to win the ball game tonight. meantime, good news for lgc. the st. mary's men's basketball team boarding a plane this morning bound for omaha, nebraska. they get ready to take on the first game of the tournament against purdue friday. st. mary's grabbed the number seven seed in the midwest bracket and they fly out of oakland airport at 9:00.

tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. for folks in afghanistan, this morning there are warnings there are calls for protests there as a result of all this. officials there in afghanistan and here in washington are calling it a senseless act of violence. afghanistan's president calls it terrorism. a u.s. soldier shot and killed nine children, three women and four men just 500 yards from the u.s. military base in southern afghanistan. he's in custody. >> nato's sitting in a tinder box, and this could be the spark that unravels our presence in afghanistan. >> reporter: president obama called president karzai sunday to apologize, saying we'll investigate and hold the shooter responsible. >> we're committed to an enduring relationship with afghanistan, to obtain greater peace and security in the region. >> reporter: karzai in a statement called it an intentional act that will never be forgotten. one month after accidental burnings of a koran sparked deadly protests. >> unfortunately, these things happen in war. you had an isra

the current program manager, colonel tracy told us what happened. >> it was sent back to the united states reporter: why is it sent back? >> yeah, that's a great question. >> reporter: the answer is, american commanders were afraid the afghan people would see it as a torture device or part of a plot to sterilize afghan men. now he's trying again to send it to afghanistan. he just spent four days auditioning the new improved ray gun for everybody from pentagon generals to the afghan ambassador to reporters. but it remains a hard sale. >> it's different. can't see it, can't hear it, can't smell it and it's kind of hard to get, i think, your arms around that for a lot of people. >> reporter: it still works the same way but it's poefd to be even safer because the beam automatically shuts off in three seconds. yep, still works the same way. it's been in development for 18 years and cost $120 million. still until a battle fooelfield commander is willing to trust it, the ray gun will remain what it was when we first saw it, a military side show. david martin, cbs news, quantico, virginia. >>> com

tracie, good morning. >> reporter: lynn, good morning. they're also going to focus on the medicaid expansion. right now, qualifying for medicaid is different in every state. the states here today will argue they should not be forced, as they put it, to expand that program. also, more today on that requirement to buy health insurance. today, the supreme court considers whether the new health law can survive without requiring everyone to buy health insurance. on tuesday, justices debated how far the government can go making you spend your own money. can uncle sam force you to buy healthier food, too? >> everybody's in the market. therefore, you can make people buy broccoli. >> it seems pretty clear that if there are substantial effects on interstate commerce, congress can act. >> reporter: liberals argued there's a ripple effect. >> people who don't participate in this market are making it much more expensive for the people who do. >> reporter: justice kennedy, the swing vote, suggested a unique solution may be warranted, if the government

if you are coming often tracy closer to 40 minutes to the 580/680 interchange.you may want to consider ace train so farther not reporting any delays. bay bridge toll not much of a wait, looking good minor wait for the cash paying lanes. starting to see usual crowds on i-80 berkeley no major problems around the rest of the bay area. >>> 6:10. >>> sorry for the scare. the bay area man whose well wishes sparked a bomb scare at disneyland. >>> digging for a life. the frantic effort to save a snowmobiler buried by an avalanche, all caught on video.úúúúúúúúúúú@@úúúúúúúúúúúúú ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> take a look at this frightening crash in the laurel heights neighborhood a woman and her baby escape injury when she crashed her suv into a house severe damage to the house no word from city building inspectors on the effect of the structural integrity of the building. police have not said what led to the accident. >>> san jose voters are expected to low solve the city's bitter battle with unions over pension reform the council voted yesterday to put the issue on the june ballot. law

tracie potts, thank you very much. over to you. >> thank you. >>> jetblue just announced the pilot involved in the mid air meltdown has been suspended. we now know the captain's name is clayton osbon of georgia who flew for jetblue for 12 years. jetblue flight 191 was flying from new york to las vegas tuesday when the flight crew says the captain began steering the plane err at cattically. the copilot became so concerned he persuaded him to leave the cockpit and locked the door behind him. >> jetblue 191 emergency and we're going to need authorities and medical personnel to meet us at the airplane. >> that's when witnesses say the captain lost control and began pounding on the door and screaming about a bomb and the middle east. passengers had to use their own seat belts to subdue the captain. >> what a scary and freaky scene there. >>> it's hard to believe and hard to remember the last time the bay area saw not one but two companies launch ipos on the very same day. scott mcgrew has a look at a pair of hot new offerin

tracy, good morning. >> now, president obama and vice president biden jumping into this giving what theyay is a different choice for americans. mitt romney, rick santorum. >> a one, two, three punch. vice president biden told auto worker ins ohio, republicans would let their bosses and employees go bankrupt. >> if you give any one of these guys a key to the white house, they will bankrupt the middle class again. >> joe bidden is doing what vice presidential candidates often do what is calling the other side out on issue differences. >> in maryland, president obama focused on energy and promises from his republican vivelle of cheaper gays. >> they start acting like we've got a magic wand. they dismissed wind power. >> this is utter intellectual concepts. and we'll see who the american people want to elect. >> a campaign underway with both sides in the ring. >> and it is fully underway, the president actually has more events today in chicago and atlanta. >> all right, tracy, thank you. well, now, here's a look at some other stories making news early today in america. frightening moments in

tracy is the store's manager. >> he decided that he wanted to come through the back door, and you see him get up on the curb and kind of bumps himself up and then he just guns the car and just goes for it. >> in a split second, he's in. glass shatters. the door frames are left a twisted heap of metal. then the customer in black hoodie jumps out of the car. >> pulls in probably about ten feet. you can actually see him get out of his car and starts running. >> he's running, but so is his car. >> he forgets to put the car in park, and the car will just keep driving throughout the store, hitting a fixture and bouncing off on to one of our security systems. >> the customer is so busy deciding which sex toy he wants to steal, he hardly seems to notice his car rolling down the aisles. >> this is where you can see him coming out, looking for the item. he goes in and grabs a higher-priced item, just to turn it down and pick an item that was of lesser cost. >> with the cheaper simulation device in hand, the porn bandit makes a quick dash back across the aisles to his car. >> he'll jump back in