we begin this morning without maneuver. the three-week standoff in wisconsin over a measure that would deal a huge blow to public unions has come to an abrupt end after a stunning move by republicans. until yesterday, republican state senators couldn't pass governor scott walker's proposals because under the rules they were just one democrat short for it to happen. that's because all 14 democrats had fled the state to prevent a mesh. but on wednesday republicans managed to push the plan to by resorting to a procedure real maneuver that removed parts of the proposal related to non-spending measures. using that tactic, republicans contend the vote could take place without the missing democrats. a senate majority leader peter barca tried to argue that there wasn't enough notice. >> no, no, no. >> yes, yes. the governmental body should o provide 24 hours' notice. this is clearly a violation. you've been shutting people down. it is improper for you to move forward while this is a violation of the open meetings law. >> well, barca says he will refer the maneuver to the attorney general and will meet with democrats to seek other ways to stop the action. the passage prompted crowds of protesters to swell inside the capital. now, for union workers, the bill means they have to pay more toward their pension and health insurance. they claim it's necessary to balance the budget. last night ten of wisconsin's 14 state democrats who have been in hiding to make that vote made an appearance on "the ed show." >> well, ed, i think it's absolutely shameful what the republicans have done in the state senate, what they're going do in the state assembly tomorrow. you know, it really does take away from our democratic process in wisconsin. this bill -- they were so desperate to strip away 50 years of worker rights that they had to go and break the open meetings law according to the attorney general. they voted on a bill that wasn't even -- they didn't even have before them, and it wasn't even available to the public anywhere, so in their desperation to strip away workers' rights, they broke the law, and they rammed through this bill that will have significant ramifications for, as you said, you know, well over a hundred -- a thousand workers in the state of wisconsin. but we are going to take this fight, and we're going to fight it out in every part of the state, and we're going to get the senate back, and we're going to make sure that governor walker in his radical agenda that he has set to set against working families in the middle class will not stand. >> leanforward with veteran host ed schultz. don't miss "the ed show" right here on msnbc, the place for politics. >> elsewhere, severe thunderstorms are threatening the mid-atlantic and the carolinas today with some areas expected to be battered by up to four inches of rain. further south, the governors of alabama and louisiana have both declared states of emergency after a strong system, including tornadoes, tore through that region. nbc's kurt gregory has the latest. >> reporter: a line of violent weather ripped through the deep south, tornados reported in mississippi. michael bangs ton was inside his house when tremendous winds struck. >> it didn't take but a couple of seconds that i heard the wind blow out that i knew something major was going on. >> reporter: three-quarters of his house was destroyed. in alabama, a gas station and grocery store sustained heavy damage. up to 17,000 people without power. three twisters reported in louisiana includinging one woman thrown from her home. she escaped with minor injuries. more than three irmgs of rain in 350 minutes flooded streets in new orleans, and flooding is on the minds of many in new jersey. residents nervously watch and wait. >> what are you going to do, you know? you can't fight with mother nay ter. >> reporter: the river has already chased dozens of families from their home. it and others expected to rise with more rain in the forecast. kurt gregory, nbc news. in libya, clashes intensified wednesday in what's being called the fierest day of fighting in three weeks. thick black smoke billowed above two oil installations set ablaze by air strikes and heavy shelling. to the west where gadhafi supporters rallied in zawiya. nato and european leaders are set to talk in belgium today to discuss a course of action in libya, including a possible no-fly zone. now here's your first look at some of the other news going on around america today. in florida it was the touchdown that will send discovery into the hallowed halls of the smithsonian. it ended its career with stellar stats. 36 2k5is in space and 39 missions. nasa will shut down the shuttle program after they complete their final missions. >> also employees had to duck for cover when a customer became enraged after she thought someone spit in her food. she began throwing breakfast sandwiches and condiments. police arrested her on assault charges. ralph the pelican is final back in the banks. after the wind blew the bird hundreds of miles off course he spent the last six months in canada reha bill tating now settled in a wild center. he's expected to be released back to the wild this spring. now for the weather we turn to ginger zee for the forecast. quite a day yesterday. >> that it was, and the storm has been marching, of course, from west to east and brirking rain and severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. you heard earlier about tornadoes. where did that happen? now you can put a red dot with the pictures. anywhere from far southeastern louisiana and to the far western portions of the florida panhandle and also one, a lonely one there in southern georgia. so that has moved off to the east. but now that storm, it's a monster still, creating problems for the mid-atlantic. so if you're in the carolinas, especially north and then you're looking into parts of virginia, slight risk for severe storms today. that's put out by the storm prediction center. and we're going to keep that monster storm pushing rain in the northeast. that's the other part we're concerned with. flood threats. flood warnings, watches, too in boston, new orleans. this is like a puzzle. all the green lines are watches. where that's filled in, that would be warningsle throughout the day and early tomorrow we'll likely see that fill in a little bit more. most of it is reserved for the interior and that it will be for most of the storm. more than three inches in the next 48 hours. temperatures are in the 40s from new york southward and they will be in the highs too. 60s in d.c. it's such an umbrella day for many. don't forget, there's a cold part to this system. pittsburghing you'll get some snow on the back end of this. that will be later tonight into tomorrow. orlando dries out today, 54. kansas city, new orleans sunny as well with 62 for a high. we're trying to push this thing out but by tomorrow it will be wrapping up in the northeast. >> look at bill karins taking the week off and letting you do all the heavy lifting. >> i like it. >> i know. and you're doing a great job at it. ginger, thanks so much. well, a big day for big blue. price gouchg a pregnancy blue and bye-bye. coming up, controversy in the big east tournament. kevin love stands alone, and a hockey goal that will make you dizzy. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. 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[ female announcer ] visit aveeno.com to save on nourish plus. at 190 miles per hour, the wind will literally lift ordinary windshield wipers off the glass. so, did we build a slower car? or design wipers that could handle anything? what do you think? the cadillac cts-v, the world's fastest production sedan. we don't just make luxury cars, we make cadillacs look." i'm lynn berry. here are some of the top stories making news this morning. the senate had developed a spending plachblt the white house officials say the vote should turn a page and lead to a productive talks to fund the federal government for the rest of this year. illinois has become the 16th state in the country to abolish the death penalty. governor pat quinn has signed the legislation into law yesterday and then commuted the sentences of 15 inmates who had been on death row. six other states are currently considering a similar move. the dalai lama says he'll give up his political role in tibet's exile. the 75-year-old who will retain his spiritual roll. . french police say they recovered about $20 million worth of jewelry stolen from a hairy winston store back in 2008. the jewels were found at home from the robbery suspected mastermind in a drain pipe. and the smithsonian volunteer has uncovered what are believed to be the first and only color photos of san francisco after the massive 1906 earthquake that anywhere leveled the city. the never-before-seen images were taken several months from a roof of a hotel after the great quake. here's how wall street will kick off the day. the dow opens at 12,213. the s&p shed a point. taking a look at overseas trading this morning in tokyo the nikkei sank 155 points while in hong kong the hang seng fell 195. and stocks fell wednesday as investors continue to worry about the possible long-term effects of a possible oil crisis. it pushed it above $116 a barrel overseas while at home prices were kept in check. still some investors were optimistic on the two-year anniversary of the bull run. since hitting his store uk lows in 2009 the s&p has more than doubled. it turned out to be a big day for ibm. retailer bonton jumped 10%. american eagle outfitters went up 5%. texas instre munt took a hit. wall green shares got a boost after announcing the sale of its pharmacy management benefit business for $525 million. meanwhile the price of a drug to prevent preterm labor for high-risk pregnancies is about to sky rocket. now that the company that makes it has won exclusive selling rights. a weekly injection of makena currently costs between 10 and 20 bucks but next week shoots up to $1,500 per dose. and finally could the dollar bill be on its way out? say it ain't so. the price of printing a green back is going up. one proposal is doing away with the pricey cotton lynn enblend replacing them with coins which won't be replaced as often. buzzers in the n and a spinorama spinner on the ice. your first look at sports is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msn msnbc. everyone has someone to go heart healthy for. who's your someone? campbell's healthy request can help. low cholesterol, zero grams trans fat, and a healthy level of sodium. it's amazing what soup can do. ♪ crossing borders with ease ♪ ♪ clearing customs' a breeze ♪ ♪ that's logistics ♪ ♪ a-di-os, cheerio, au revoir ♪ ♪ off it goes, that's logistics ♪ ♪ over seas, over land, on the web, on demand ♪ ♪ that's logistics ♪ ♪ operations worldwide, ups on your side ♪ ♪ that's logistics ♪ how can expedia now save me even more on my hotel? well, hotels know they can't fill every room every day. like this one. and this one. and oops, my bad. so, they give expedia ginormous discounts with these: unpublished rates. which means i get an even more rockin' hotel, for less. my brain didn't even break a sweat. where you book matters. expedia. welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. in sports an unsing player on an unsung team sets an impressive nba record. here's fred roggin. >> good thursday morning. it's a record that stood for over three decades. kevin love has made basketball history. love had 16 points and 21 boards for his 52nd consecutive double-double. that broke a record all the way back to '78/'79. knicks and grizzlies tied it 108 when carmelo drilled one. knicks won in dramatic fashion, 110-108. now to toronto, jazz and raptors, final seconds. some how, some way, al jefferson tipped in the ball at the buzzer. remarkable way to end the game. 96-94. never a dull moment. here we go to madison square garden. rutgers down two. inbound pass broken up. appeared there was a foul on the plate but no call. justin bromley called the ball and clearly travel. then he stepped out of bounds. again, no whistle. here it is one more type. the foul was a judgment call, but there is no doubt that bromley travelled and stepped out of bounds with time on the clock. rutgers should have had another shot. instead they're sent home. st. john's won a wild one, 65-63. now to the ice caps and oilers. alexander ovechkin finally got it right in the third. him and johansson playing a little hot potato. tic-tac-toe, the caps win. finally the blackhawks needed a shoot-out. tampa won it, 4-3. that's your first look at sports. i'm fred roggin. and now for another quick look at the weather here's meteorologist ginger zee with the forecast. everyone bracing for a deluge in the northeast but it's not going to be for everyone and there will be a cold end to the system. those are the things we're going to focus on here. storms waking you up east of orlando, but look at all the moisture already pooling. more than 3 inches will fall in parts of central pennsylvania. that's the area where you're really going to have to focus today. also down just south and west from there. so flood threat is certainly something we're going to be watching. snowfall, however, around clevelanding get that lake-enhanced stuff. wow. pittsburgh even 1 to 3 inches behind the system in the next few days. your forecast looks like this. for philadelphia, it will be an umbrella day. boston, you'll keep the rain but quite a bit cooler at 42. and hartford will go to 41. a lot of sunshine in the middle but when do we get it out east? big question. well your friday forecast does brighten up. d.c. gets a little peek but you have to wait for the weekend. >> all right, ginger. thank you. well, more problems leave the "spider man" musical hanging. don't expect any resolutions to her problems. your first look in entertainment is straight ahead. you're watching "first look" on msnbc. it extends the life of your color in 10 minutes with a seamless match to any brand -- guaranteed! roots are outta there. with root touch-up by nice 'n easy. sounds like a mini-wheats day to me! and becka's science fair is on the 8th. she's presenting the solar system. hey, i've got just the wholegrain fiber to keep her full so she can stay focused. um, you rock. she'll be ready to rock. [ female announcer ] make your kids big days, mini-wheats days. packed with 100% whole grain fiber, kellogg's frosted mini-wheats cereal has what it takes to help keep your kids full so they can stay focused on the days that matter most. keeps 'em full. keeps 'em focused. welcome back to "first look." i'm lynn berry. and today lindsay lohan heads back to court in her felony grand theft case and according to one report, she's not dealing. accords to sources close to lohan, the "associated press" reports lohan will not accept any plea deal that includes guaranteed jail time. nbc reports. >> reporter: plead guilty to $2,500 necklace seen in this picture and face more lenient jail team or she can fight it in hopes of an acquittal but could face a long drawn out legal battle and possibly three years in prison. newly released pictures show lohan walking into the shop back in january. seen shopping at the display counter speaking with a salesperson. she later turned the necklace over to police just as they were about to issue a search warrant on her home. lohan claims the piece had been loaned to her by the store. her father asked for understanding. >> i don't see lindsey as a criminal. i mean this is all a result of her addiction. >> but the court system might see it differently. after several dui charges, she spent the last few years in and out of jail, rehab, and probation. this morning we'll see if she's willing to go back to jail or if she's ready for a trial. ben thompson, nbc news. else where in entertainment news reports say tomorrow will be gibson's day in court for plea bargaining. that's mel gibson. he will report lid plead no contest to a simple battery charge stemming from an argument with former lover oksana grigorieva last year. in doing so, gibson avoids jail time and a prolonged court battle. symbolic of all the show's problems, on the same day the spider-man turned off the dark and pushed aside the director, the green goblin's flight came to a stop last night when his steering mechanism failed forcing him to dangle for several minutes. >> and finally it's a big change from tina fey. hbo has announced it's cast the recently nominated oscar actress juliana moore to play sarah palin in "game change." that's in account of the 2008. we're all surprised julianne moore would be chosen. i just don't know who else would have been a good fit. >> i have no idea. i have had over an hour to think about and i can't come up with anyone. she's a great actress. that's all you need, right? >> yeah. it's going to be interesting to see. i'm lynn berry, and this is "first look" on msnbc. stay tuned. ended a three-week standoff by voting out collective bargaining rights for public workers without including those democratic senators camped out across the border in illinois. the question is can they do that, and what happens now? meanwhile more call this morning for a u.s.-led no-fly zone for libya as gadhafi continues. are we naive to think gadhafi will respond to