it's it's friday, january 15th, coming up on "early today," the republican candidates squared off, landing shots and punches squarely on one another but almost univrs ersally going after president obama and the person they fear most. >> you cannot give hillary clinton a third term. >> hillary clinton would be a national security disaster. >> she's disqualified from being commander and chief of the united states.

release of a video of an officer shooting and killing an unarmed teen. the husband of celine dion has died of cancer. and this on the heels of the passing of alan rickman. "early today" starts right now. good morning. it was a bare knuckle brawl for republicans served up southern style. the hits came hard and heavy. the candidates taking on each other while also unleashing vicious attacks on president obama and their democratic rivals. he's a taste starting with the texas senator's take on new yorkers. >> there are many, many wonderful working men and women in the state of new york but everyone understands that the it

socially liberal, pro abortion, pro gay marriage, focus on money and the media. and i guess i can frame it another way. not a lot of conservatives come out of manhattan. i'm just saying. >> when the world trade center came down, i saw something that no place on earth could have handled more beautifully, more humanely than new york and the people in new york fought and fought and fought and we saw more death and even the smell of death nobody understood it and it was with us for months, the smell, the air and we rebuilt downtown manhattan and everybody in the world watched and everybody in the world loved new york and loved new yorkers and i have to tell you that wauz a very insulting statement that ted made. >> you know back in september,

his lawyers look at this from every which way. and there was nothing to this birther issue. the constitution hasn't changed bullet the poll numbers have. listen, i've spent my entire life defending the constitution in front of the u.s. supreme court and i'm not going to take legal advice from donald trump. >> you used to say you supported doubling the number of green cards, now you're against it. i saw you on the senate floor flip your vote on crop insurance because they told you it would help you in iowa. that is not consest istent conservetism. >> this is a question on entitlement. >> we don't have to have refugees come to our country but all muslims, really? what kind of message does that send to the rest of the world. >> it's the people that pull the trigger and we have to find out

>> if that's that case, we're going to win every state if bernie sanders is the nominee. and i know bernie and i can promise you he's not going to be president of the united states. >> and just a moment ago you offered very kindly the vp spot. i'll tell you what if this all works out, i'll consider naming you the vp. >> i like it. but i think i'll go back to building buildings if this doesn't work out. >> i'm happy to finally get a kbegz question. i was going to ask you to wake me up. the response on facebook seemed in line with the polls. trump was the most discussed candidate, followed by cruz, marco rubio, ben carson and chris christie. and it was new hampshire voters who were actually the most engaged in the debate on

bernie sanders' home state of vermont was next. and iran was the most discussed issue followed by immigration, isis, economy and guns. and check out this in the daily news, drop dead ted and go back to canada with a unique statue of liberty salute. you don't want to make those new yorkers mad. >> reporter: they came to debate just two weeks before the first vote in iowa. >> the next commander in chief is standing on this stage. >> reporter: ted cruz had a lead in iowa polls until donald trump pushed question about whether cruz born in canada is eligible to be president. >> i would note that the birther theories that donald has been relying on, some of the more

must not only be born on u.s. soil and have two parents born on u.s. soil. and under that theory i would be disqualified and donald j. trump would be disqualified. >> why are you raising the issue now? >> because now he's doing a little bit better. >> reporter: and he did not properly disclose his financing with a loan he got from his wife's employer, neiman marcus. >> if thats arer the best hit the new york times has got, they better go back to the well. >> reporter: south carolina governor warned about sounding angry. >> our country is being run by incompetent people and yes, i am angry. >> you cannot give hillary clinton a third term. >> she might be going back and forth between the white house and the court house.

runs against clinton got more intense and it got more personal. cruz saying conservative republicans will know what manhattan values means. and this just in. bloomberg reporting a houston attorney filed a suit saying senator ted cruz should be disqualified because of his birth status and they asked the supreme court to define and clarify natural born citizen. a campaign spokesman has said i don't think there will be any stamping. nbc's lester holt will be moderating and you can watch it 9:00 p.m. eastern time right

angelel discovered the singer and when she was 12 and mortgaged his home to pay for deon's first record. they married in 1994 when he was 52 years old and she was 26. he was first diagnosed with throat cancer in 1999. in 2014, dion took a leave of absence from her las vegas show to care for him. they have three sons together and he was 73 years old. meanwhile hollywood is mourning the death of beloved actor, alan rickman known for his rolls in harry potter and "die hard." the fbi says there's no indication the man who attempted to assassinate a philadelphia police officer was part of a

and there doesn't seem to be anymore threats of violence related to that ambush. this contradicts earlier resports that an anonymous tipster said archer was part of a group of three other people. archer previously pledged allegiance to isis. he has been charge woulded d with attempted murder but has not issued a plea. the flint water crisis continues. protests have eerupted over the contaminated water. protesters marched to lancing to ask snyder to resign. and if federal aid is granted, possible assistance include temporary housing and home

loans to cover uninsured property losses. and we're learning more about video released yesterday by judicial order of a chicago officer involved in a shooting in 2013. it shows police chasing 17-year-old cedric chapman suspected of stealing a car. one of the officers said he believes that champ pman had a gun in his hand. his family claims his iphone box was the only thing found at the scene. a statement released by the attorney for both officers said in part, the suspect turn would a dark object in his right hand, causing one officer to open fire. going on to say an expert found

now to this rare january hurricane. here's nbc net meteorologist, bill karins. what is el nino doing to us? >> now we have hurricane warning. there will be people taking shelter from a hurricane in january. it's quickly approaching the island areas. winds are right at the thresh hold for a category one hurricane. so, it's going to be a rough 12 hours for 250,000 people. and panama and south florida, we got heavy rain and we could get a little severe weth wr damaging winds with some of the storms that roll across florida. and we got heavy rain in areas of georgia and then it moves

and then we may have just enough cold air on saturday, loorks like a snow storm to you. so that should be good for all the players and fans at the stadium and the cold will be the other story in the northern plains. now a look at your leakal ocal weather. so, the chance of a few strong storms and wind damage would be the biggest threat and how about the cold air? it's returned. a high temperature of one degree and that will spread during the weekend bp. thanks. winners next up. stay with us. xt up. ng hand. after brushing, listerine total care helps prevent cavities, strengthens teeth and restores tooth enamel. listerine total care to the total family. listerine

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arrested three men with suspected links to isis and found an isis flag at the home of one of the attackers. a chemical explosion released a massive plume of toxic gas in brazil yesterday when rain water seeped into tanked with industrial detergent. and the gas causes skin irritation and fainting spells. so far none of the three winners of the $1.5 billion powerball jackpot have claimed their prizes but several of the smaller winners have stepped forward to cash theirs. $1 million ticket is being shared by employees at an elementary school. just ahead, nfl coach's carousel goes round and round blus plus a couple of buzzer beaters. rs. s a gorgeous

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this morning on "today," an nbc news exclusive, george clooney's wife opens up about being in the spotlight on her first interview on american tv. >> it's wonderful that celebrities would choose to spend their time or energy or spotlight to raise awareness

i don't see myself in the same way because i'm still doing the same job i used to do before. >> her exclusive interview will be later on "today." not even lebron james and the cavaliers could beat the spurs winning streak. in philly, another thriller that took chicago's jimmy butler into over time where the bulls escape would a 1 6ers. and nailing the last second jumper for the win over the pistons. another last second winner, rudy gay hits the game winner as the kings beat the jazz. and the 49ers hired eagle cast

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in entertainment news, former back street boy, nick carter, was arrested wednesday night in florida. carter and a friend became aggressive when they were refused service at a bar for being intoxicated. both are being held on misdemeanor battery. i hope this doesn't give him street cred for it. and ellen degeneres reveals a new edition to her family. >> i got a puppy and his name is kid, so now we have a kid. >> boy, love him. she said now people will stop asking when she and her wife, porsha, are having a kid. lebron james will be hosting a show called "cleveland hustles." he'll meet with and offer to help struggling local businesses.

mark burnett is creating a dating show based on tinder. this sounds like a disaster. >> this sounds good. >> he does make the hits. singles will head to the caribbeans and make instant yes/no connections and then make the relationship work. >> or not work. in theaters, "13 hours" the secret soldiers benghazi is in release today. and "ride along 2" will get its first box office weekend. and jimmy fallon decided to photo bomb some cute little children with the folks from sesame street. >> we're doing a photo bomb. three, two, one. one.

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