coming up on "early today" -- after months of controversy and clashes, iowans finally cast their first votes of the 2016 presidential campaign. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'm darra brown. today is the day after months of shaking hands, giving speeches, not to mention more than 60,000 tv ads, iowa voters will make their voices heard in the state caucuses, and the race appears closer than ever. the final des moines register/bloomberg poll shows donald trump ahead of ted cruz by only five points. the democratic side is even tighter. hillary clinton ahead of bernie sanders by just 3%, a dead heat within the margin of error. although not everything's rosy

for the front-runners. gallop's most recent biweekly unfavorability average shows that three out of every five americans, 60% view trump unfavorably. that's the highest negative rating for a presidential candidate since at least 1992. while hillary clinton currently has the third highest, 52% of americans have a negative view of the former secretary of state. clinton did get a huge endorsement over the weekend from the "new york times". called the former secretary of state, quote, one of the most broadly and deeply qualified presidential candidates in modern history. the paper also endorsed john kasich saying even though he's an underdog, he's, quote, the only plausible choice for republicans. clinton continued her push late last night, making a rare appearance on stage with her husband bill and daughter chelsea, both of whom normally stump separately, while bernie sanders continues to garner support with the younger voters and raise money. the campaign announced it raised $20 million in january alone and says it will have enough funds to stay in the race for the long haul.

now, this as both campaigns tell nbc news they expect today to be close. nbc's kristen welker is in iowa with more. >> reporter: it's the home stretch. hillary clinton and bernie sanders blanketing iowa, a fight for the number one spot in a race likely to be a photo finish. >> monday night could be a historic night for this country. we can make history. >> let's start a storm of movement toward the future that we want to make together. >> reporter: with just hours before voters caucus, clinton and sanders in a statistical dead heat, 45% to 42% in the final iowa polling. getting people out to vote is today's priority. teams of volunteers and organizers knocking on doors one last time, making sure every supporter knows two things, where their caucus location is and how they'll get there. and the clinton campaign allowing nbc an exclusive look at their specially developed app, which is like a caucus night calculator, helping them

keep close tabs on caucusgoers and how they're voting. >> it allows us to streamline the process and allow our precinct captains be able to move more quickly through some of these processes. so they're spending less time calculating and more time persuading. >> reporter: the clinton campaign estimates 125,000 door knocks this weekend alone, 4,200 team members and captains in place. sanders' ground team equally impressive, 76,000 door knocks, over 15,000 volunteers. clinton still playing defense on her private e-mails when she was secretary of state. >> i just have to point out that the timing and some of the leaks that have led up to it are concerning. >> reporter: sanders, who's been reluctant to weigh in on the issue, spoke on "meet the press." >> you know, i think this is a serious issue. i will not attack hillary clinton. the american people will have to make that judgment. >> reporter: and with the clock ticking, voters are now ready to have their say. >> who are you supporting?

>> bernie sanders. >> why hillary clinton? >> i honestly think that she has the most experience and can do the job. >> nbc's kristen welker reporting. and make sure to tune in this thursday for the new hampshire democratic debate airing on msnbc. clinton, sanders, and martin o'malley are all expected to attend. now, with polling tight, donald trump and ted cruz continue to escalate their attacks on one another as both candidates attended church in a last effort to court voters there. nbc's hallie jackson reports. >> reporter: in the final crunch before the caucuses, even church becomes a campaign stop. >> i pray that god's will be done. >> reporter: but this sunday's signs of peace giving way to the battle on the campaign trail. >> donald trump supports expanding obamacare to make it full on socialized medicine like bernie sanders. >> look. ted cruz is a total liar. i am so against obamacare, i'm going to repeal and replace obamacare. >> reporter: trump looking strong still trying to tamp down expectations, arguing he doesn't

have to win this state. >> i'd like to win iowa. i'm doing really well with the evangelicals in iowa. >> reporter: both candidates know support from christian conservatives could be the deciding factor. about six in ten caucusgoers identified as evangelical the last couple of cycles. if the same number turns out, new polling shows this race will be a dead heat. >> what's going to be important for you entering that caucus room? >> i think what's most important to me when i go to a caucus, i want somebody who obviously shares the same values that i have as a christian, as a bible believer. >> reporter: pastors at new hope church clear on what they want from a nominee and what they don't. >> i'm disappointed that people will tell us when they get to washington, they're going to do this. i'm disappointed that the republicans and democrats can't work together to make better laws that reach across the aisle and that benefit all americans. >> reporter: that frustration, one of the biggest factors

fueling outsiders like trump and cruz here. >> very frustrated with both parties, although, i have faith in marco that it can be corrected. >> reporter: that's gary at a marco rubio rally. rubio, cruz, trump, all ready for a race that could last long past iowa. >> the real poll that matters is like the poll that we actually do, right, and not necessarily what the media tells us to do. >> nbc's hallie jackson reporting. now, late yesterday we got one more memorable moment. the ted cruz campaign bus got stuck in the mud. it had to be towed. it's a metaphor ted cruz is hoping does not come true. bernie sanders remains confident that if he wins more than 20 0,000 people show up like they did in 2008, sanders will win. but all the confidence in the world can't stop the weather. and there's a storm coming. nbc's bill karins is here with

more. >> close call. the big snow will be moving towards iowa but looks like later tonight after the caucuses are over with. this is the forecast for 7:00 this evening. as far as the iowa area evan through 8:00 and 10:00 temperatures above freezing. blizzard conditions in the northern half of the state as far as caucus time it looks like everything will be just fine for people going and coming. as far as other forecast areas of concern, today is a horrible day for areas of colorado, i-25 heavy snow for you and i-80. snow in nebraska. we had a lot of gusty winds. areas of tucson and phoenix strong wind. snow reported with lightning and thunder. thunder snow just north of the phoenix area. even though areas like flagstaff

northward we have snow coming down. there is problems from weather and eventually it will move east. the snow is just about over with in all of california. the blizzard warnings are here for this area in the north. snowfall amounts heaviest colorado into nebraska a little less in areas and a few areas of snow in the north. forecast totals are highest in ad in northern california where we try to get back to normal with temperatures in the 50s. a lot of amazing scenes yesterday. a golf tournament in san diego yesterday.

the golf balls were blowing around the green. it was crazy. >> thank you so much for that report. just ahead, two virginia tech students arrested in connection with a shocking murder. plus, could this be the future of transportation. elon musk moves a step closer to reality. hey, honey! how'd it go? ♪ thanks, dad! mcdonald's happy meal. with fresh, delicious cuties. i work for the dogs twenty-four seven. these are my dogs dusty and cooper. i am the butler. these dogs shed like crazy. it's like being inside of a snow globe. it takes an awful lot of time to keep the house clean. i don't know what to do. (doorbell) what's this? swiffer sweeper and dusters. this is nice and easy boys. it really sticks to it. it fits in all the tight spaces. this is really great. does that look familiar to you? i'm no longer the butler, i am just one of the guys.

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advil pain relievers are used by more households than any other leading brand. to treat their aches and pains more people reach for advil. relief doesn't get any better than this. advil. two virginia tech students have been arrested in connection with the abduction and murder of a 13-year-old girl. nicole lovely's body was found saturday along a carolina highway. david eisenhauer who knew the victim is charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping. natalie keepers is charged with improper disposal of a body. they will be arraigned today. all three prison inmates who broke out of california are back behind bars. they were captured in san francisco saturday and have been brought back to the orange county jail where they escaped.

at least 50 people were killed and more than 100 wounded from triple suicide bombings on sunday in damascus, syria. isis took responsibility for the attacks which happened nearby one of the holiest shiite shrines. one of the lawyers for dzhokhar tsarnaev has filed an appeal. seeking to overturn the conviction and death sentence for his role in the boston bombing. this is just two weeks after a federal judge had denied tsarnaev's request for a new trial. and today the world health organization is holding emergency meetings to find ways to fight the explosive threat of the zika virus which is linked to birth defects. >> let's get down to business. >> the markets could start off february on a down note. stocks higher on friday but still closed out the worst january since 2009 and the nasdaq since 2009. data on personal income and

consumer spending and earnings from google pfsh parent company. today the cdc is expected to declare an end to the chipotle outbreak as. the media campaign to woo back customers. elon musk to test hyperloop system this summer. the hyperloop could transport passengers at speeds of up to 760 miles per hour. back over to you. >> that is super fast. just ahead, super bowl sunday is almost here. plus we have the highlights from an exciting nfl pro bowl in hawaii where high-scoring offensive attacks took center stage.

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this morning on "today," an exclusive live interview with sarah palin. she talks about the 2016 race and why she is hitting the campaign trail for trump. let's get you caught up on sports.

super bowl 50 is less than a week away. the nfc champion carolina panthers arrived in san jose looking t capture their first super bowl title in franchise history. the panthers rolled through the regular season with a 15-1 record before knocking off the seahawks and cardinals to advance to the big game. the afc challenger denver broncos flew a broncos team flag on the arrival to san jose. it's their second appearance in three years as the team looks to capture their first championship since 1998. meanwhile some of the nfl's best took part in the pro bowl in hawaii. the teams were coached by jerry rice and michael irvin. seattle seahawks' quarterback russell wilson threw for 143 yards and three touchdowns in the first half. earned offensive and most valuable player honors.

detroit lions' wide receiver calvin johnson is hanging it up after nine seasons, retiring from the nfl. he reportedly told family and friends before the 2015 season it would be his last. drafted second overall from georgia tech johnson went on to become the lions' all-time leader in receptions and receiving yards. journey man enforcer john scott was named captain of the division squad. hockey a great jaromir jagr skated in his tenth all-star game. scott who made the team as a write in won the most valuable player award and another fan vote after scoring two goals. the players from each division making up the four all-star teams. now the pacific team won the $1 million prize. in honor of black history month nbc will honor 28 of the

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california. the powerful storm tore roof tops from homes. a driver was killed by this massive tree that fell across all four lanes of traffic in pacific beach. a lot of cleanup from that storm. overnight those winds were dramatic in areas of arizona. the center of the storm in northern arizona. in southern portions it is snowing this morning and hills outside of san diego we have some snow. it is a cold air mass accompanying this storm as it continues to move on through. the timing of the storm exiting even arizona will be pretty early. throughout the afternoon some snow will taper off. notice much of california looks clear and even a lot of sunshine during the day today. further towards the coast as we go into tuesday another weak system comes through as we pin point the morning hours into early afternoon a little bit of rain possible. a little bit of light snow further north. today's forecast is a cool 55 degrees. that's it for you in phoenix

today. a little bit of snow continuing especially throughout areas of colorado and utah. >> say it ain't snow. >> it is snow. >> thanks, bill. for some entertainment news now, the weekend "kung fu panda 3" took the top at the box office. holding on tight were "the revenant" with more than $12 million and "star wars: the force awakens" with over $10 million. ladies and gentlemen, welcome to diverse tv. >> he summed up the awards with that one-liner. the awards recognized many achievements by actors of color. they were in complete contrast to the oscars where famously nor actors of color were nominated for the awards. ♪ i could stay home every night wait around for mr. right ♪

>> someone special in mind as she belted it out. she tweeted hours before the performance my daddy, greg passed away from cancer. she says tonight i do the show in his honor. zoo lander 2 is out in theaters this month. i cannot wait for that to come out. >> genius pr move. put them in the window. you know everyone will talk about it. >> we are talking about it now. this is "early today." with me, what you see is what you get. and i expect the same from my mascara. now, revlon introduces a new collection of mascaras that makes getting the lash look you want easy.

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leading the news in the "washington post," eye wash. how the cia deceives its own work force about its operations. for years they contributed memos with false information. they describe it as an important security measure to protect secrets and from nbc.com a cheap cure for flint. scientists tout new fix for tainted water. in switzerland a scientist created a paper-like membrane that contains carbon and processed milk proteins. a kilogram of the prototype will cost about $100 to make and it can be adapted for use in homes and in water treatment facilities. this interesting election year has many people engaged, of

course, even those who typically aren't. as wyoming -- iowa prepares to caucus there is one man who might be caucusing for the first time because he thinks it might be time for a drastic change in the white house. here he is in his own words. >> i've got a convenience store with full self gas. i sell several grades of ethanol. i've been here 22 years, going on 23 years. if you asked me would i take anybody from washington, d.c., to run my business? no way, no way. i got something to lose. they have nothing to lose. they are playing with our money. they want their power. they want their power and they want their way. for iowa, not only for iowa but for the national spotlight as far as i'm concerned, this is about national security, providing our own fuel and not buying from the people who want to hurt us. i made this statement to a senator from texas two years ago

when i was in d.c., and i said i want america to be energy-independent. he said that's a pipe dream. i said as long as you are in charge, that's right. i think because we have some outsiders involved in the race, things are being talked about and in my view no matter how much you love our hate donald trump, some of the reasons we're talking about these things is he's keeping it up there. time to look ahead at iowa caucuses. caucuses begin at 7:00 p.m. central, 8:00 p.m. eastern. lastly you must be a registered democrats or republicans. independents cannot participate. keep it right here on nbc for complete coverage of the iowa caucus. thanks for watching "early today" and we hope you have a great monday.

kicking off the 2016 election with the caucuses. the power players leading the national polls may not be able to seal the deal in iowa. we'll preview what key factors could swing the vote. justice in the shooting death of mario woods. u.s. justice officials weigh into the facts of the case as a federal investigation focuses on the san francisco police department. it's game on oin the south bay. super bowl hopefuls from the broncos and the panthers get the spotlight and a microphone as we hear from both teams tonight at the sap center. "today in the bay" starts right now. and a good monday morning. thank you for joining us, i'm sam brock. >> i'm