that thing, it looks like the satanic statue they were going to put up at the oklahoma state capital. it's friday, october 16th. right now on "first look" more extreme weather hitting the golden state as california battles massive mudslides and flash flooding. america's longest war just got longer as president obama does a 180 by keeping thousands of u.s. military members in the battle against the taliban, al qaeda and isis. lamar odom remains in a coma this morning, but there are new details surrounding the $75,000 that he spent at the love ranch. plus the new york mets will face the chicago cubs for another storied match-up. and this might just be the greatest football catch of the year. "first look" starts right now. what an amazing catch. all right, good morning, everybody. thanks for joining us today. we do appreciate it. southern california is dealing

with the aftermath of record breaking rain and flash flooding. the wicked weather shut down parts of several freeways and highways. mud and rock slides closed part of i-5 near los angeles. backing traffic up for miles and stranding hundreds of vehicles on a major highway. mudslides covered cars several feet deep and in some cases submerging them completely. some drivers reported having their vehicles thrown around by the rushing mud. >> all we saw was a mountain of boulders and dirt and stuff coming right for us and it pretty much lifted my car up and spun us around like it was nothing. my wife rolled her window down and that's when it was just -- it was just like a freight train coming through your house. it really was. it was loud, really loud. >> officials say it could take up to a day to clear the road. some residents are still trapped in their homes after side roads

were washed away. the l.a. county fire department had to rescue four people and two dogs from atop one car. other residents were hit by golf ball sized hail. which blanketed yards and cracked car windshields. so far there are no reports of any fatalities. the burden of the longest war in american history will be passed to yet another president. with recent gains by the taliban and the growing threat of isis, president obama is doing an about-face on a pledge he made just last year. nbc's richard engel reports. >> reporter: it's a war that just won't end. after 14 years, a trillion dollars, and more than 2300 american lives lost, the president said the mission is still not over. >> i've decided to maintain our current posture of 9800 troops in afghanistan through most of next year, 2016. >> reporter: it meant going back on a promise made just last year. >> by the end of 2016, our

military will draw down to a normal embassy presence in kabul with a security assistance component, just as we've done in iraq. >> reporter: but iraq didn't work out either. the president had hoped to end both wars. he ended up sending thousands of troops back into iraq. and said thousands will remain in afghanistan. it's not what he wanted. >> i know many of you have grown weary of this conflict. as you are well aware, i do not support the idea of endless war. >> reporter: the president had planned to draw dawn u.s. forces from about 9800 focused on training and counterterrorism, to about 1,000 by the end of next year. and under the new plan, those 9800 will stay through next year and 5500 will stay after that, too. some veterans oppose the plan >> there's no assurance this is going to work. there doesn't seem to be a clear plan for the future. >> reporter: but the president is determined. >> that was richard engel

reporting. former nba star, lamar odom, continues to fight for his life in a las vegas hospital. this morning new details surrounding his condition and what led him into that fight of his life. nbc's jacob rascon has more. >> reporter: two days after he arrived at sunrise hospital, lamar odom is still unresponsive. his in-laws, the kardashian family, asking the world to pray. >> they need to hurry, please. >> reporter: t.j. moore is a manager at love ranch brothel and said she spent many hours talking with odom, who told her he just wanted to get out of the spotlight. >> we've all been praying. he's been through a lot and he can get through this too. >> reporter: the brothel owner tells nbc news odom paid $75,000 and was getting ready to extend his stay. employees told police odom used cocaine the day he arrived and an herbal sexual stimulant throughout his visit. when paramedics arrived odom was

inside this vip suite, on the bed, fully clothed, still unconscious. it took four men to carry him. to the ambulance. he would have been airlifted to las vegas, but he didn't fit in the helicopter. video from tmz sports shows odom in the ambulance. >> at this point, the case is ongoing. >> reporter: sources close to the former nba star tell our sister network e! doctors found multiple drugs in his system, that he suffered from a stroke, and is in a coma. lamar odom and khloe kardashian's divorce is yet to be finalized so she has legal authority to make medical decisions for him. unconscious for a second day, and little but uncertainty ahead. jacob rascon, nbc news, las vegas. and now "people" magazine is reporting that kim kardashian has postponed her baby shower while the family continues to pray for odom's recovery. just hours ago a pivotal deadline in the race for president. third quarter fund-raising reports were due to the s.e.c.

at midnight and right now, the most read story in "the washington post" in campaign money race, democrats vastly outpacing republicans. take a look at the top ten for yourself. hillary clinton sits in first with nearly $30 million raised between july and september. and while ben carson was the highest earning republican by far, bernie sanders is in second, raking in $26 million, largely from grassroots support. yesterday on ellen sanders shared the moment he realized things were going pretty well. >> we came and drove by and there were these long lines of people. and i said to the guy who was with me, what's going on? what kind of ball game going on here? what are all these people lining up to see? well, turns out they were at our rally. i think we had 7,000 or 8,000 people >> here's something you might not expect to hear. donald trump also a grassroots spender, yep, the first filing of his campaign reveals, although he claims to be spending his own money, he is actually spending cash from

mostly online donations. he's also creating some major drama ahead of the next gop debate. nbc's kristen welker reports. >> reporter: teaming with fellow candidate ben carson, donald trump is threatening to boycott the october 28th republican presidential debate on cnbc if it lasts longer than two hours and doesn't include opening and closing remarks. in a letter to cnbc, trump and carson describe their demands as very reasonable format changes. cnbc, a sister channel to nbc, says it is still in the process of discussing its debate format but notes it has not done opening and closing remarks in past debates. and in a statement, cnbc added it would take the views on the format into consideration as we finalize the debate structure. meanwhile vice president biden remains undecided. while waiting to greet the south korean president, he played coy. >> are you running for president? >> i'll answer in korean. i'm here to greet president park. >> reporter: sources close to the vice president say he's

calling allies in early voting states to ask about his chances. a stark contrast to biden's indecision, hillary clinton aggressively courting the all-important latino vote in texas, picking up a key endorsement, hud secretary julian castro. >> and that was kristen welker reporting. lawyers for dennis hastert told a federal judge in chicago yesterday that he has agreed to change his plea to guilty. the 73-year-old former speaker was accused of evading federal banking rules and making payments of nearly $2 million in hush money to cover up past misconduct. hes also charged with lying to the fbi about it. law enforcement officials have said the misconduct was sexual in nature, involving a male student when hastert was a high school teacher and wrestling coach in yorkville, illinois during the 1960s and '70s. that person's identity has never been released. time to get down to business with cnbc's landon dowdy. happy friday to you. >> hey there, betty. daily fantasy sports sites

ordered to shut down in nevada. because they may be violating the law. "the wall street journal" cited a notice from the nevada gaming control board. the notice affects sites like draft kings and fan duel and they've been under fire for flooding the marketplace with tv and internet ads without a nevada gambling license. represents for draft kings and fan duel weren't available for comment. a new survey finding more employees are calling in sick when they're well. career builder, a job site, finds more than 38% have played hooky from 28% from the year before. betty, i have to ask, is that where you've been all week? >> you know what? i actually was on vacation. not sick. it was all valid. >> well we missed you. glad to have you back in in sports, dodger stadium an all or nothing night for l.a. and the visiting new york mets. we pick up the action in the first inning. >> to left center field, pretty well hit, peterson goes back, that's off the wall. granderson is around third!

he's going to score easily. and all the way in to third comes daniel murphy, and the mets are on the board here in the first. >> the dodgers, they fight back capitalizing on a rough start for mets pitcher, and the home team takes a 2-1 lead. now to the sixth, game tied the mets daniel murphy hits a solo homer to put the mets ahead for what would be the game-winning run. the mets take game five and the series. the chicago cubs can now make plane reservations, as they'll meet the mets in new york on saturday for game one of the national league championship series. in thursday night football, the saints taking on the undefeated atlanta falcons. new orleans with two quick touchdowns in the first quarter, including this blocked punt that's recovered in the end zone, 14-0. atlanta leads the league in fourth quarter comebacks. devon toy freeman cuts loose for a 25 yard touchdown carry. the saints held on for a 31-21

victory. the play of the day, number 18, ucla versus number 15 stanford, third quarter. >> back up against it right now. >> here's mccaffrey giving way, it's a reverse back to hogan. how about this from stanford! >> did he catch that? pinned against the defender's back. that is utterly incredible! >> can you believe that catch? he couldn't even see the ball as he brings it in and pins it against the defender's back. stanford went on to win 56-35. and you can bet you will be seeing this catch on a whole lot of plays of the week. it might even be the number one play of the year. good for him. all right. just ahead. the new forecast for winter that has been released. we'll tell you what's in store. and why millions are in for a roller coaster season. 11 minute past the hour. all of that is next.

♪ ♪ ♪ the beautiful sound of customers making the most of their united flight. power, wi-fi, and streaming entertainment. that's... seize the journey friendly. ♪

thso we got our new he washingzy machine but it took forever turns out it wasn't the machine, it was our detergent. so we switched to tide turbo clean. now we get way cleaner clothes way faster he turbo clean. 6x the cleaning power in ½ the time it takes a lot of work... but i really love it.s. i'm on the move all day long... and sometimes, i just don't eat the way i should. so i drink boost® to get the nutrition that i'm missing. boost complete nutritional drink has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a great taste. i don't plan on slowing down any time soon. stay strong. stay active with boost®.

welcome back. noaa came out with their winter outlook yesterday. what can you expect? we've had some brutal winters lately especially in the east. this should be completely different. el nino winter. much warmer for the northern half of the country and cooler and wetter in the southern half of the country. doesn't mean there's going to be snow but it will be on the cooler side with all the wet weather and the rainy weather. the northern half of the country looks about a 50% chance of being above average temperatures. how much precipitation? this can depend how much snow you get. does look like the southern half of the country will be the wetter, the green. the drier spots should be montana and also possibly up through the great lakes. we'll keep that in mind. doesn't mean you can't have some big snowstorms in the great lakes but at least in general shouldn't be as bad as the last two winters. fall foliage at peak in northern new england, patchy to near patchy to near peak in areas of southern new england. keep that in mind. it's going to be a chilly, windy weekend but the leaves should look gorgeous. the weekend forecast, today no problems in the east. showers in florida. we're still looking at a chance of some of those rain and

downpours in arizona up through california, nevada. saturday very chilly northern great lakes. also into new england. could even be some rain and snow showers mixed this weekend, especially in the adirondacks and white and green mountains up there. betty, should be a beautiful scene. i know thousands of people head to see these beautiful peak leaves. you're going to need to bundle up. >> a little chilly, okay. thank you, bill. the political plays of the week plus "scrambled politics." all of it is next. hey, you forgot the milk! that's lactaid. right. 100% real milk, just without the lactose. so you can drink all you want... ...with no discomfort? exactly. here, try some... mmm, it is real milk. see? delicious. hoof bump! oh. right here girl, boom lactaid®. 100% real milk. no discomfort and for a creamy and delicious treat, try lactaid® ice cream

they come into this iworld ugly and messy. ideas are frightening because they threaten what is known. they are the natural born enemy of the way things are. yes, ideas are scary, and messy and fragile. but under the proper care, they become something beautiful.

at ally bank no branches equals great rates. it's a fact. kind of like ordering wine equals pretending to know wine. pinot noir, which means peanut of the night.

18 minutes past the hour. time now for your friday edition of "scrambled politics." charles koch has been made out to be a billionaire boogeyman by some of the left, but does he identify as a republican? >> i consider myself a classical liberal. >> classical liberal? what does that mean? >> classical liberal is someone who -- who -- who wants a society that maximizes peace, civility, tolerance, and well-being for everyone. >> put the polls aside. here's a way to tell who won the debate. when hollywood legend dick van dyke de sade. >> i believe bernie sanders did win -- >> oh, good. let's hear about that. so you watched it all. you thought bernie won? >> pardon? >> you watched the whole debate, you thought bernie won? >> absolutely. yes, i think that bernie sounded an alarm that's been around for -- a problem that's been around for about 100 years. he warned us becoming an oligarchy and i'm afraid perhaps he's too late. >> all right well that settles

the question of the night on this show. who won that debate. dick van dyke says bernie won it. >> declare. >> from "the washington post," jeb bush has added the redskins to his stump people? the team name isn't offensive, it's the word washington. he proposes changing it to the northern virginia redskins or something like that. except one problem, the redskins play in maryland. here's a bigger whoops. london mayor boris johnson on his visit to tokyo accidentally decking a 10-year-old onto the ground. the boy says he's okay. north pole, alaska, has a new city council member. santa claus. yep, that is his actual legal name, folks. he led all write-in candidates. congrats to santa. and finally some tips from ann romney on how to be a quote freakin' awesome grandma. >> keep up with what the kids are into.

make sure you dress appropriately for every occasion. >> and that is your morning dish of "scrambled politics." all right, it's coming up on 21 minutes past the hour. it is friday, you know what that means. we're joined by kevin cirilli reporting for the hill. good morning, kevin. >> happy friday, betty. i mean no disrespect to ann romney but i had two pretty freakin' awesome grandmas growing up. >> they don't dress like that? >> they had style. they had a lot of swag. >> no hat tilted to the side? let's talk about donald trump for a second. he's been saying he's spending his own money, but, turns out he's really spending donor money? explain this. >> well, he's been spending a little bit of donor money. but i actually interviewed mr. trump in new york earlier this week for a candid ott-minute sit down and he is adamant that he is going to be self-financing his campaign. but you're right. he has been drawing in smaller donations. but he's not taking big money

from -- from large donors at all. from lobbyists or what have you. >> but breaking it down, here's what we understand, that 12% of the money spent is for hats and t-shirts. that's about a half a million bucks. and those are not being given away. they're being sold, kind of sounds like a lucrative business plan to me. >> well, you know, he is a billionaire businessman. and i think the question for mr. trump is going to be whether or not he's able to get beyond sort of the sound bites and cut through and be able to discuss his more policy positions. in fact we discussed that with him earlier this week. particularly his positions on obamacare, as well as his health care proposal. and of course his take on the economy. and dodd-frank, the 2010 law that he says he would repeal because it's stifling growth. so he's got a book coming out. he's hosting "snl" in a couple of weeks. so he's going nowhere. i think the rumor is that he's eyeing an exit strategy are false. this is a guy who's in this for the long run. >> say he's going nowhere. he may not even be going to the

next gop debate, because -- >> good point, betty. >> -- trump and ben carson could derail the next republican debate if their demands are not met. have these candidates -- are they going rogue? or are the networks really becoming greedy since they know these debates are ratings gold for them? >> that's above my pay grade, betty. i think that mr. trump and dr. carson have raised a concern. i think that a lot of viewers have, which is these debates are very, very long. and so i think that they would perhaps like to see some more structure. it will be interesting to see how exactly the formats of the debate will be changed. but they would like a to-hour debate with opening and closing statements. but i mean, as a political junkie, i mean, i have fun watching them all. but we'll have to see -- >> yeah, but three hours for a regular person is -- who's not a political junkie like you, is a long time. all right. thanks so much, kevin. have a great weekend. >> thanks, betty, you too. just ahead from the democratic debate to joy behar's

struggling confession about bernie sanders. our week in review is next. ot houses in town. or becoming the next highly-unlikely dotcom superstar. and us, we'll be right there with you, helping with the questions you need answered to get your brand new business started. we're legalzoom and we've already partnered with over a million new business owners to do just that. check us out today to see how you can become one of them. legalzoom. legal help is here. i tried depend last weekend. it really made the difference between a morning around the house and getting a little exercise. only depend underwear has new confidence core technology for fast absorption and the smooth, comfortable fit of fit-flex™ protection. get a coupon at depend.com it takes a lot of work... but i really love it.s. i'm on the move all day long... and sometimes, i just don't eat the way i should. so i drink boost® to get the nutrition that i'm missing. boost complete nutritional drink

has 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d to support strong bones and 10 grams of protein to help maintain muscle. all with a great taste. i don't plan on slowing down any time soon. stay strong. stay active with boost®.

now here's your political playbook for the week that was. >> the american people are sick and tired of hearing about your damn e-mails. >> thank you. me, too. me, too. >> all he does is yell. do we really need a president who does nothing but yell? >> i yell all the time. in fact i'm yelling right now. >> do you think he ran again, could run again and did run again you would be elected? >> yes. >> you do? >> i do. >> what does that say about you that you're casting a vote for something you weren't really sure about? >> i think you're being a little

rough. i just arrived at the united states senate. ♪ >> do you really think that this country is going to elect a black guy from the south side of chicago with a funny name to be president of the united states? that is crazy. ♪ my kind of america the usa ♪ >> you guys are the first to realize that i'm really not even a human being. i was constructed in a garage in palo alto a very long time ago. >> this explains a lot. >> i wouldn't be doing this dumb ass livestreaming if i weren't. so yes, i still am running for president. get over it. >> have you ever been in handcuffs? >> yes. i don't know exactly what you mean. >> i thought that bernie was so menche in that moment, like a real guy. i actually am aroused by him. >> are you serious? >> i find him to be eye candy. ♪

>> so has betty ever been in handcuffs? >> i thought you were going to ask me if i was ever aroused by bernie sanders. but those dance moves, i tell you what, feel the burn on that one. i'm betty nguyen, this is "first look" on msnbc. "way too early" starts right now. this morning, a 180 from president obama. reaction is pouring in after his announcement to keep thousands of troops in afghanistan through the end of his term. plus, will there be a republican boycott? why two 2016 candidates are threatening to pull out of the next debate. and later, heavy storms have swept through parts of california. mud and debris have flooded some streets and neighborhoods. meteorologist bill karins will take a look at the damage. it's 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west. this is "way too early."

good morning. it's friday, october 16th. i'm jonathan capehart in washington. president obama announced his decision to halt the withdrawal of american military forces from afghanistan, leaving in place thousands more troops than originally planned when he leaves office 15 months from now. flanked by vice president biden, defense secretary ash carter, and the chairman of the joint chiefs, general dunford, the president reviewed the accomplishments in the nearly 14 years of fighting and what is still ahead. >> afghan forces are still not as strong as they need to be. they're developing critical capabilities, intelligence, logistics, aviation, command and control. and meanwhile the taliban has made gains, particularly in rural areas. and can still launch deadly attacks in cities, including kabul. pressure from pakistan has resulted in more al qaeda coming in to afghanistan, and