Those who were allowed back to their homes have been forced to wear protective gear against bacteria and other contaminants. And the man who plowed his pickup truck into a crowd of mardi gras revelers had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit. 28 people were hurt including a 1yearold child and a female Police Officer who were sent to the hospital. The 25yearold driver Nielson Rizzuto is facing charms including hitandrun. And the Democratic Party elected the man tasked with leading the party to ultimately become united. The result is 235 votes, mr. Perez, and 200 for mr. Ellison. It is my great honor it is it is now my honor it is my honor to present the gavel of the next chair of the Democratic National committee to mr. Tom perez. Mr. Perez, congratulations. You can hear it there, the crowd erupting in a mix of cheers and boos after former labor secretary tom perez was named the dnc chair after beating out mr. Ellison. Many chanted, party of the people, not of the money. But immediately after taking over, perez named ellison his deputy chairman. The two men addressed the crowd calling on fellow democrats to come together and capitalize on opposition to President Trump the quickest. If you came here supporting me, if youre wearing a keith tshirt or any tshirt, im asking you to give everything youve got to support chairman perez. Shortly after perezs election, the rnc sent out a statement that read in part, quote, by selecting a d. C. Insider, democrats only create deeper divisions within their own party by pushing a far left agenda that rejects a majority of their base outside washington. President trump tweeted, quote, congratulations to thomas perez, who has just been named chairman of the dnc. I could not be happier for him or for the republican party. Perez fired back, quote, call me tom. And dont get too happy. Keith ellison and i and democrats united across the country will be your worst nightmare. And President Trump says hes planning to skip this years white house correspondents dinner. He made that announcement on twitter saturday adding, quote, please wish everyone well and have a great evening. The Correspondents Association responded in part, the whca takes note of President Trumps announcement. The dinner will continue to be a celebration of the First Amendment and the Important Role played by an Independent News Media in a healthy republic. Ronald reagan was the last president to skip the dipper back in 1981. Of course, at the time he was recovering from a gunshot wound in that failed assassination attempt. Reagan still, however, called in to provide a few remarks. The u. S. Military is looking ahead to the longterm strategy to defeat isis, but President Trumps military staffer is developing a unique culture with the president himself. As we learn that the nominee for secretary of the navy is taking himself out of consideration. Joining us onset is msnbcs cal perry. Great to have you with us this morning. Obviously, a lot to talk about, excuse me, but walk us through some of the headlines with the secretary of the navy and other news. So this will be a big week, especially in the west wing, especially with the generals surrounding President Trump. Theres a big address to Congress Tomorrow, but we have to take President Trump at his word. A lot of people during the campaign said, well, listen to what he means and not exactly what he says. Well, hes a pretty literal guy, i think. I think we can draw that conclusion. And he said within 30 days hell plan to defeat isis from the generals. He wants the plan to come from h. R. Mcmaster, who is being the new National Security adviser, and general mattis. H. R. Mcmaster, you see him on the screen, thats general mattis, h. R. Mcmaster recently held a meeting at the National Security council and said calling radical islamic terrorism, using that phrase, is unhelpful. That seems to be a split with President Trump. The thing that makes this most interesting is that h. R. Mcmaster wrote a book called dereliction of duty in 1997. And the entire books theory was that generals need to speak truth to the president. And we heard the president make comments at the governors address yesterday saying to some effect that had the president s been away from the middle east over the past 15 years. Had they gone to the beach. Yeah. They would be better off. Youre looking at general mattis and mcmaster who came up the ranks really in the last 15 years during the war on terror in iraq and elsewhere in afghanistan. How is their world view going to shape the president s policies you think . Is it going to be their view or bannons view . Thats the big question. If this is their view, well see subtly to u. S. Troops in iraq. Mcmaster has been there and got the silver star during the first gulf war and a hero during the second world war. Cal, thank you, we know you spent a lot of time in iraq. Nobody knows it better than you. Thank you. Thank you, sir. Chief petty officer William Owens is demanding an investigation into the death of his son. Owens was killed during a january military raid when everything went wrong. Dont hide behind my sons death to prevent an investigation. I want an investigation. The government owes my son an investigation. Bill owens himself a veteran and retired Police Detective refused to meet with the president saying, quote, i told them i didnt want to make a scene about it, but my conscience wouldnt let me talk to him. The white house maintains the mission was a success, though there are plenty of critics including senator john mccain and yesterdays spokesperson said she, quote, imagined the president would be supportive of an investigation. Well turn to business now where global stocks are bracing for President Trumps address to Congress Tomorrow night. Nancy hungerford is joining us live from london. Nancy, overseas markets appear to be in retreat this morning. Thats right, were getting a mixed reaction from the european stocks this morning. And without a doubt, investors are counting down to the big joint session in Congress Looking for any comments coming from President Donald Trump to give additional clues on big plans for stimulus plans including tax cuts, Infrastructure Spending and a presumed regulatory rollback because investors were pushing u. S. Stocks higher once again to record levels last week. But certain traders say they want to see additional up for implementation. January tends to be a month in which Prescription Drug prices increase, but according to a report coming from Raymond James associate, that was not such a big increase this time around. In fact, there were fewer posts of 10 or greater increases to that level. In fact, overall, the media drug prices rose about 8. 9 according to that survey. Guys, back to you for now. Nancy hungerford live from london, thank you so much. Still ahead, much more from last nights epic Academy Awards. And if you fell asleep when you heard the first announcement of who wop, you missed the best part. Well go live to hollywood for a complete wrap. I want to say thank you to President Trump. I mean, remember last year when the oscars were racist . Thats gone thanks to him. What a night. It has been an amazing year for movies. Black people saved nasa and white people saved jazz. Thats what we call progress. Boost its about moving forward not back. Its looking up not down. Its feeling up thinking up living up. Its being in motion. In body in spirit in the now. Boost. Its not just nutrition. Its intelligent nutrition. With 26 vitamins and minerals and 10 grams of protein. All in 3 delicious flavors. Its choosing to go in one direction. Up. Boost. Be up for it. Everyone deserves attention, whether youve saved a lot or just a little. 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I would like to see you get an oscar anyway. Why cant we just give out a whole bunch of them . Im going to be very proud to hand this to my friends from moonlight. Jimmy kimmel is trying to make the best out of the epic flub when la la land was announced for best picture when moonlight was the actual winner. Joining us from how hollywood, jennifer bjorklund. Everyone is waking up scratching their heads. Explain how this happened. Reporter eyyeah, it was a b argument all the way to the end. And the biggest argument is the twist no one saw coming. Its all anyone can talk about this morning. And the Academy Award for best picture youre impossible. Come on. La la land. So you saw it there, Warren Beatty opening the card for best picture, said la la land, for whatever reason. So he hands it to fay dunaway. But in reality the winner was moonlight. So what happened . Heres emma stone backstage. Of course, you know, it was an amazing thing to hear la la land. I think we all would have loved to win best picture, but we are so excited for moonlight. I think it is one of the best films of all time. So i was pretty beside myself. I also was holding my best actress in a leading role card that entire time. So the producers decide what the order of the awards will be. This is from an interview with Price Waterhouse cooper from a month ago saying, we each have a full set. I have 24 sets in my briefcase. Martha has 24 in hers. We stand on the opposite side for the entire evening and we each hand the respective enve tone to the presenter. It doesnt sound very complicated but you have to make sure youre giving the presenter the right envelope. So, what happened . Apparently, someone gave the presenter the wrong envelope. The one that said emma stones name on it. She had one she took backstage from her win in the category before, and then somehow the wrong envelope got handed out again. So its one well be talking about for a very long time, louis. It looks like Warren Beatty passed the buck to fay dunaway. He made her read it. He wasnt sure. Jennifer, thank you so much. As far as the reaction, there was an embarrassment on twitter. Plenty of people dressed up Steve Harveys flub at the 2015 Miss Universe pageant when he announced the wrong name. Now the Miss Universe account tweeted at the film academy, have your people call our people. We know what to do. Some other highlights on the night after being slammed for the lack of diversity last year, several nominees of color prevailed last night. Iranian director Asghar Faradi won but he did not appear at the awards last night. Im sorry im not there tonight. I decided to stand with the other six countries not allowed into the u. S. This creates fear, a deceitful justification for aggression and war. These wars prevent democracy and human rights in countries which have themselves been victims of aggression. In addition to nabbing awards for best supporting actor and best picture, moonlight received the best screenplay. All you people out there who feel like theres no mirror for you, that your life is not reflected, the academy has your back, the aclu has your back, we have your back. And for the next four years, we will not leave you alone, we will not forget you. This goes out to all those black and brown boys and girls and nongender conforming who dont see themselves. We are trying to show you, you and us, so thank you, this is for you. And before the cast of hid up figures announced the documentary feature, they applied three africanamerican women. Katherine johnson was invited to the stage for a standing ovation. That was a really nice moment there. It really was. Can i just i want to defend Warren Beatty for a second, i think when he saw the crowd, he was up credulous. It was not making sense to him. He showed fay dunaway to say, are you seeing what im seeing . Were having a discussion here, ayman and i, and he disagrees. I feel like he should have warned her, given her a headsup, before he led with the oscar goes to the academy goes to its a tough situation. This is not making sense. Lets just say, you and i will never be in that situation. Thank goodness. Well go right to weather with bill karins. What do you think was worse, steve harvey with the Miss Universe or was that worse last night . I would say last night because of the way they announce the awards at Miss Universe because they say and the first runnerup that means Miss Universe then becomes its all less than ideal. So the story of the next two days is severe storms. Not so much today. We have rain moving through mississippi and tennessee, a little bit in louisiana, but it will be tuesday and the last day of february and the first day of march that well deal with severe weather. And it shouldnt be a surprise. Its still incredibly warm for this time of the year. And its been an incredibly warm february across much of the nation. So tomorrow, 25 Million People, so a headsup day tomorrow. And im sure well add all the schools will be advised and everyone from little rock to memphis, south to springfield, the ozarks, this is the greatest risk of tornadoes. Then the line of storms is going to be a pretty strong storm to blow all the way to the east coast. So those storms will be early in the morning and heading to the eastern seaboard. 62 Million People on wednesday at risk of those severe storms, guys. So, yeah, i dont think well have a huge tornado outbreak. Hopefully it wont be deadly or anything like that, but there will be a few tornados to deal with tomorrow. Bill, thank you very much for that. Still ahead, iraq makes major advances in the battle to retake mosul from isis. Plus, Top Republicans appear divided over whether a special prosecutor should investigate the trump campaigns ties to russia. Who is pouring cold water on the idea . Next. 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Built for business. We can we clcome back. The top democrat is expressing grave concerns into whether to probe into Donald Trumps potential ties to russia can truly remain end pen didnt. Independent. Mark warner said he is concerned. He thinks the white house sought the help of Senior Intelligence officials on the house and Senate Intelligence committees to combat news stories over the alleged connections. Meanwhile, Top Republicans remain divided over calls for a special prosecutor to handle the investigation. You cannot have somebody, a friend of mine, jeff sessions, who was on the campaign and who was an appointee. Youre going to need to use the special prosecutors statute in office to take, not just to reuse, you cant just give it to your deputy, thats another political appointee, you do have to do that. We are way getting ahead of ourselves here, chuck. Theres no allegations of crime occurring. Theres no allegations of criminal investigations underway by the fbi as opposed to counter investigations, which occurs all the time. If we get down the road, thats a decision that the attorney general sessions can make at the time. Overseas now, Iraqi Forces Continue to make progress as they advance deeper into western mosul. Nbc news has now confirmed that eight neighborhoods have been fully liberated. Joining us live from london, nbc news Foreign CorrespondentLucy Cavanaugh. A good morning to you, lucy. Reporter ayman, good morning. Iraqi troops are reportedly making slow progress in pushing back Islamic State fighters in the southern districts of western mosul, but much of this progress has been defending villages, the strategically important airport, the nearby military base. The real challenge will be pushing into western mosul proper. As you know, this is an ancient, dense part of the city. The streets are narrowed and winding. You cant get Armored Vehicles through them. Thats exactly where the iraqi forces have weather have to do housetohouse combat. And that will be a great cost to the troops. As they retreat, they have been ramping up the use of car bombs, armed commercial drones to drop bombs. Also a danger to the troops and civilians. And already we have seen a surge in casualties. At least 30 iraqi forces and more than 200 civilians killed or wounded in the last three days alone. A kurdish journalist was also tragically killed over the weekend in a roadside bomb blast. She was just 30 years old. Broke many barriers in the maledominated profession. A tragic loss, indeed. But this just close to show you how difficult and dangerous this fight is. And it will continue to be. We took over 100 days for the iraqi forces to take east mosul. Its likely this tougher part of the battle for the western portion of this city will take much, much longer. Ayman . Nbcs Lucy Cavanaugh live in london. Thank you for that, lucy. Still ahead, a look at the stories happening in the day ahead. And coming up on morning joe, senator Duke Dick Durbin will join us. Well talk about the partys first step it needs to return to power. And talking about the oscars, including this epic video of a man, willie geist, and family reacting to the best documentary. She was an executive producer on the film. Well have that reaction just moments away. This is the story of Green Mountain coffee and fair trade, told in the time it takes to brew your cup. Lets take a trip to la plata, colombia. This is boris calvo. Thats pepe. Boris doesnt just grow good coffee, boris grows mindblowing coffee. And because we pay him a fair price, he improves his farm to grow even Better Coffee and invest in his community, which makes his neighbor, gustavo, happy. Thats blanca. Yup, pepe and blanca got together. Things happen. All this for a smoother tasting cup of coffee. Green mountain coffee. Packed with goodness. 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The big surprise was were not german at all. 52 of my dna comes from scotland and ireland. So, i traded in my lederhosen for a kilt. Ancestry has many paths to discovering your story. Get started for free at ancestry. Com. Before we toss it over to morning joe, well bring you a check on the stories in the morning ahead. And nbc news Kelly Odonnell has more from the white house. Good morning. Reporter good morning, louis. With all the buzz about the Academy Awards, you hear a lot about the governors ball, the one out in l. A. Here at the white house, President Trump and First Lady Melania Trump also hosted a governors ball. Its an annual event where governors from around the country are invited here to the white house. Coming up today, the president will be meeting on the issue that will affect many of the governors, what to do on health care. And hell be having ceos here at the white house. In addition, hell also have meetings with House Speaker paul ryan and the Top Republican in the senate, mitch mcconnell. Important because tomorrow night the president makes his very first address before a joint session of congress. It will feel a lot like a state of the union, but its different when youre a new president. And for donald trump, the expectations will be very high. Advisers say hell be talking about some of the things hes done in the first five weeks in office. But hell also focus on how he can work with congress for bigger issues down the line. Among them, how to deal with the Health Care Law and tax reform. Louis . Thank you to Kelly Odonnell for that report from the white house north lawn. Ahead of the president s speech tomorrow night, Chuck Schumer and House Democratic leader nancy pelosi will give a p prebuttal to the president s speech. And bill cosbys team will be moved to another pennsylvania county. Thats a wrap for us on this monday. We are still arguing about the Warren Beatty thing. Well argue about it all day. Meantime, im alex witt alongside Ayman Mohyeldin and louis burgdorf. This is not a joke. This is not a joke. Moonlight has won best picture. Moonlight best picture. Awkward. That happened actually. Good morning, everyone. Its monday, february 27th. Welcome to morning joe. Joe has the morning off. Did you all see that . I fell asleep. I watched this morning. I need you to get cell phones. We will go over that later. With us on set political analyst and coauthors of game change mark halpern and john heilemann. Former democratic congressman harold ford jr. Good morning. In washington, msnbc political analyst and former