but as one of the oldest guys to run for president tanking with black voters which is an important part of the democratic primary electorate, the emergence of the hip-hop booster caucus has got to be a very welcome surprise. "first look" is up next. >> it's wednesday december 16th and right now on "first look," fight night in las vegas. the insults were flying. we've got the must-see moments as the republicans battle over isis. plus a few surprises. meanwhile, hillary clinton takes donald trump to task over fighting terror as she lays out her own plan. hundreds of thousands of kids returned to school today after a major scare. plus, crime time, brazen thieves caught on tape but still on the loose. then a brush with death. everyone survives. and a simple act of kindness. "first look" starts right now. and good morning everybody. i'm shannon mulaire. just 12 words into last night's

debate and we got to its two biggest topics, terrorism and trump. over the next two hours, candidates would go after each other like we hadn't seen yet. one major takeaway a feisty jeb bush repeatedly going after front-runner donald trump. >> donald is great at the one-liners. but he's a chaos candidate. and he'd be a chaos president. he would not be the commander in chief we need to keep our country safe. >> jeb doesn't really believe i'm unhinged. he said that very simply because he has failed in this campaign. it's been a total disaster. nobody cares. and frankly, i'm the most solid person up here. i built a tremendous company. and all i want to do is make america great again. >> but those two weren't the only source of friction on stage. senators ted cruz and marco rubio went head-to-head four separate times on issues like terrorism, surveillance and immigration. but going in the question everyone was asking, how would the unofficial truce between

cruz and trump play out? see for yourself. >> if i'm elected president, we will secure the border, we will triple the border patrol. we will build a wall that works and i'll get donald trump to pay for it. >> i'll build it. >> -- maniac one heartbeat away from the president. >> he has a wonderful temperament. he's just fine. don't worry about it. >> okay. >> what you're saying right now is you believe mr. trump has the judgment to be commander and chief. >> what i'm saying is that's a judgment for every voter to make and what i can tell you is all nine of the people here would make an infinitely better commander in chief than barack obama or hillary clinton. >> another big takeaway, trump setting the record straight on a much talked about issue. denying a third party run and then doubling down on msnbc just hours later. >> are you ready to reassure republicans tonight that you

will run as a republican and abide by the decision of the republicans? >> i really am. i'll be honest. i really am. i am totally committed to the republican party. i feel very honored to be the front-runner. and i think i'll do very well if i'm chosen. >> would you endorse and support whoever wins on your party side? >> i would. >> with enthusiasm? >> with enthusiasm. i've gotten to know most of them pretty well. i like a lot of them. i can't say i love everybody. but i like a lot of them and i respect quite a few of them. >> the next debate will be in nearly a month. by the way, this is good, twitter says the candidate who gained the most followers during last night's gop debate was democrat bernie sanders. as the republican candidates duked it out, democratic front-runner hillary clinton detailed her own strategy for taking on isis. nbc chief foreign affairs correspondent andrea mitchell reports. >> reporter: with fear of

another san bernardino or paris-style attack in the u.s., now a top worry for americans, hillary clinton took on donald trump and the republicans for their rhetoric, accusing them of becoming a tool for isis recruitment. >> promising to carpet bomb until the desert glows, doesn't make you sound strong, it makes you sound like you're in over your head. >> reporter: her plan to stop isis? foil plots, enlist silicon valley to attack isis online recruitment, tighten screening at the borders, empower muslim american communities on the front lines. but while clinton likes to portray herself as a national security grown-up in contrast to this year's crop of republicans -- >> bluster and bigotry are not credentials for becoming commander in chief. >> reporter: critics say she, too, is vulnerable, her policies in iraq, syria and libya that helped spawn isis. and for failing to counter radical islamic online propaganda. plus russia's 11-week air

campaign in syria has complicated the u.s. war plan. defense secretary ash carter visiting u.s. pilots in turkey accused russia of bombing the anti-assad rebels. not isis. >> there are those who are not yet working in the right direction. and obviously that includes russia. >> reporter: while john kerry in moscow tried to sper suede vladimir putin that isis, which brought down one of putin's passenger planes, is now a threat to all of the civilized world. >> that was nbc's andrea mitchell reporting. los angeles public schools will reopen today after yesterday's unprecedented closure of the nation's second largest school district due to e-mail threats which, at the time, were described as serious and credible. nbc's jennifer bjorkland reports from los angeles. >> reporter: 1,531 school properties searched and hours later, the good news. >> we can announce the fbi has determined this is not a credible threat. >> reporter: just after 7:00 a.m., parents started getting

notifications to keep their kids home. the immediate concern, terrorism. a threat, which law enforcement confirmed appeared to come from overseas, was credible enough for the superintendent to shut the district down and send s.w.a.t. teams to some schools. >> based on past circumstances, i could not take the chance. >> reporter: another threat, sent from the same ip address and containing some of the same wording, also was sent to new york city schools. >> it appears to be the same e-mail that a generic e-mail. >> reporter: new york police commissioner bill bratton, the former los angeles chief of police, says his department is investigating the e-mail as a hoax. a vastly different reaction than his cross country counterpart. happened chief charlie beck defends the decision to leave hundreds of thousands of potentially unsupervised students out of school. >> if you knew what the superintendent and the school board knew at 5:30 this morning when the decision had to be made, would you have sent your child to school?

and every parent i've asked has said no. >> reporter: and he adds that the happened wilapd will have a presence when school starts tomorrow. although the threat was found not to be credible, investigators still don't know who made the threat. jennifer bjorkland, nbc news, los angeles. a southwest airlines plane rolled off the runway into the grass and got stuck while taxiing into its gate last night. traveling from houston, southwest flight 31 landed in nashville when the accident occurred. passengers were evacuated safely from the aircraft and later described their experience. >> i didn't hear any screaming. it was a bunch of commotion. >> it sounded to me like a wheel blew out but i don't know if a wheel blew out or if it collapsed. >> fire officials say eight people were transported to the hospital with minor injuries. the faa is now investigating the incident. a florida car theft shows you can never be too careful.

raymond raftery had just finished gassing up his car when a 12-year-old boy riding his bike told the 89-year-old his passenger side tire was deflated. raftery stepped around the car to check when the boy dropped his bike, hopped in the driver's seat and took off. the boy later wrecked the car in a collision. police recognized the youngster because he's been arrested 20 times already on a mix of auto theft, and robbery charges. the jury in the trial of baltimore police officer william porter connected to the death of freddie gray is deadlocked. but the judge has ordered them to continue deliberations. officer porter is charged with manslaughter and assault, among other charges, in the death of freddie gray. gray died in april, a week after his neck was broken during a ride in the back of a police van. prosecutors say porter neglected his duty to keep gray safe and get him medical care. jurors began deliberating on monday and have not been sequestered. porter is the first of six officers to be tried relating to freddie gray's death.

all right. let's get down to business with cnbc's landon dowdy. good wednesday morning to you, landon. >> hey, shannon. it is a big wednesday, the markets are on fed watch today as the central bank announces its decision on whether to raise interest rates this afternoon and most expect the fed to pull the trigger. but they'll be focused on the pace of future rate hikes in the coming months. stocks rallying tuesday ahead of the fed with the dow having its best two-day performance since october. and kohl's will be burning the midnight oil all the way up until christmas. the retailer will keep most of its stores open for 170 straight hours from 7:00 a.m. on thursday to 6:00 p.m. on christmas eve. that's two days earlier than last year and kohl's says the move is aimed at adding convenience for time-starved shoppers. and lack ma, no hands. ford gets approval from california to start testing its self-driving car on public roads next year. ford joins a range of companies including google, honda and tesla experimenting with self-driving technology. shannon, back over to you.

>> two hands on the wheel. >> 10 and 2. >> absolutely. have a great day, landon. in sports the shocking announcement in college sports, wisconsin men's basketball coach bo ryan is retiring effective immediately. ryan said that after months of discussion with his wife and staff that now is the right time to step aside. ryan coached wisconsin to a school record 36 wins last season and a loss in the national championship game against duke. assistant greg guard takes over as interim head coach. in boston the cavs came to town with some big plays from lebron james, who else, who had 24 points as cleveland beat the celtics 89-77. the real highlight might be this. when james took a moment to say hello to a special olympian in the crowd, who was featured on the jumbotron. james said he somehow felt connected to the young man, and even gave him his game sneakers later. and a disappointed pete rose addressed the media on being banned from baseball yet again saying he screwed up, but also offering this.

>> so, my whole life has been a hall of fame life. just by association with the teammates i had. i'm the luckiest guy in the world. hell, i had offers, the next three guys up got statues at the ball park. how many players could be in that position? no wonder i scored all those runs. >> all right. the top twitter moments from last night's gop debate just ahead. plus, the government may do something today that it hasn't done since 2006. and a major reversal for american foreign policy. that's all next. constipated?

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tand that's what we're doings to chat xfinity.rself, we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. the west coast continues to hog that wintry weather with parts of montana getting over 30 inches of snow since sunday. while california, nevada and colorado also upwards of 20 inches this week. but here in the east, we are still living in the april-type weather with temperatures from maryland to rhode island reaching into the 60s. it's so warm that bears in

vermont are still awake. instead of digging into bird feeders -- or rather they are digging into bird feeders there. they're not hibernating, bill. it's incredible. >> why hibernate? the grass is still green. still get yourself some nice food. hopefully they'll be hibernating soon. hopefully we'll return to a more normal weather pattern. the worst drive is bismarck and fargo. there's enough snow out there for a little bit of plowing, too, and northern minnesota is going to get the snow. that storm will be exiting during the day and then we focus on a rain event. now some thunderstorms down around houston for your morning drive. watch out northern louisiana and also southern portions of arkansas. this will spread through the south. very warm, humid air mass will come, will actually have a marginal risk of even a few severe storms, maybe some wind damage. worst case scenario, one or two isolated tornadoes. new orleans to mobile, montgomery, that's the area of concern for some of those storms during the day today. then the rain spreads all the way up the east coast. and it's a warm rain, too. temperatures will be in the 50s

with this rain. one inch is expected from atlanta to asheville to raleigh. lighter amounts thursday afternoon, philadelphia, d.c., also new york and boston. maybe some minor airport delays, too, with that beautiful weather today in florida. in the mid 80s. the cold stuff, salt lake city and denver, shand . that's where it's going to feel and be like winter over the weekend. >> all right, bill, thank you. house speaker paul ryan announced that congressional leaders have agreed on a $1.1 trillion tax and spending deal that would fund the government through 2016. the deal raises domestic and defense spending, and extends popular tax credits. it also reauthorizes the zadroga act that provides federal health benefits for 9/11 first responders. the house and senate are expected to pass the deal this thursday. and a reversal of policies, secretary of state john kerry, after meeting with russian president vladimir putin, says the u.s. will not seek regime change in syria. instead, he has agreed that syrian president bashar assad can stay in power as long as the syrian people support him.

both russia and the u.s. want to hold an international conference on syria this friday at the united nations. police are looking for two suspects who broke into a medical marijuana dispensary in oregon. the thieves broke through a wall and walked off with $2,000 in hemp products but no actual marijuana. state guidelines require marijuana products be kept in locks safes overnight. and in china, check out this shocking surveillance video showing a tractor being completely crushed by a truck. leaving it in pieces. and surprisingly, the tractor driver suffered only a hand fracture and minor injuries. incredible. find out which moments from last night's debate lit up the twitter sphere. that's next. earn once when you buy, and again as you pay. that's cash back now, and cash back again later. it's cash back déjà vu. the citi double cash card.

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shortly after last night's debate, twitter released its top tweeted moments, starting with donald trump talking about closing parts of the internet in the war on isis. take a listen. >> what i like even better than that is getting our smartest, and getting our best to infiltrate their internet. so that we know exactly where they're going, exactly where they're going to be. i like that better. but, we have to -- who would be -- i just can't imagine somebody booing. these are people that want to kill us, folks, and you're objecting to us infiltrating their conversations? i don't think so. i don't think so. >> jeb is a very nice person. he's a very nice person.

but we need tough people. we need toughness. we need intelligence, and we need tough. jeb said when they come across the southern border they come as an act of love. >> you said in september 30th that isis was not a -- >> am i talking or are you talking jeb? >> i'm talking right now. >> you interrupted me. >> september 30th you said -- >> have you apologized yet? no. am i allowed to finish? >> one at a time. >> go ahead, mr. trump. >> so -- >> a little of your own medicine there -- >> i know you're trying to build up your energy, jeb, but it's not working. >> look the simple fact is if you think this is tough and you're not being treated fairly -- >> this isn't tough. i wish it was always this easy. >> -- president xi or dealing with the islamic terrorism that exists. this is a tough business to run for president. >> oh, you're a tough guy, jeb. >> and we need to have a leader that is -- >> real tough. >> you're never going to be president of the united states by insulting your way to the presidency. >> let's see i'm at 40 -- >> all right. from washington now i'm joined by jonathan allen, journalist and co-author of hrc. good morning you to, jonathan. >> good morning, shannon. you were talking about those

vermont bears hibernating. not hibernating because it's so kwarm. i think it's because they wanted to watch the debate. >> it was a good one, right? >> it was fantastic. i think the candidates are getting a lot sharper with time. >> let me ask you this. i know you're up because you were watching it and live tweeting it. did we have a clear winner last night? >> i thought ted cruz probably gained the most last night. he came under attack a lot. i thought he survived it pretty well. he's been rising in the polls. i don't see anything from the debate stopping him. but of course donald trump is donald trump and we have seen nothing in his campaign that doesn't help him. >> well it's funny because all week leading up to this we've been talking about how everyone's anticipating this whole trump-cruz showdown but what we ended up with was something very different. what happened? >> it was like felix and oscar. we got the odd couple coming to the at the end. they've been -- their campaigns have been fighting each other a little bit about what's been said behind closed doors about one another. and i think what you saw there was both of them think it's in their best interest to maintain

closeness and proximity and so, we saw that physically. i mean if you look at the images from last night, certainly warmth between the two candidates, being portrayed. >> sure. they practically were hugging at one point i think. does that leave the door open for potential running mates there? >> absolutely. i think so. i -- my first thought when i saw it was somebody better take that picture because it could be a campaign photo if they run together. >> let's talk about the senators here, rubio and cruz. they seemed to take center stage for a good chunk of the debate. did one do better than the other? >> i think they both reassured their bases. cruz has very much been courting conservatives in the party trying to be the outsider candidate, despite sitting in the senate. on the other hand, you've got marco rubio, who i think right now is the leader among the what you would call the establishment candidates, rubio resists the idea that he's establishment but he's doing better than bush, better than christie, better than fiorina and so i think that's one of the big clashes people are looking for. it absolutely happened. these two guys looked like they were getting under each other's

skin and there's substantive difference between them which i think the debates are meant to bring out. and we saw a lot more of that this time than we had in previous debates. >> absolutely. i agree on that one. jonathan allen joining us from d.c. this morning. thank you for getting up early and staying up late. >> good morning and take care. just ahead history in the making at the u.s. military academy at west point. plus, why one south carolina lawmaker wants to restrict access to viagra. find out why, next. now more than ever america's electricity comes from cleaner- burning natural gas. and no one produces more of it than exxonmobil. helping dramatically reduce u.s. emissions. because turning on the lights... isn't as simple as just flipping a switch. energy lives here.

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we are challenging ourselves to improve every aspect of your experience. and this includes our commitment to being on time. every time. that's why if we're ever late for an appointment, we'll credit your account $20. it's our promise to you. we're doing everything we can to give you the best experience possible. because we should fit into your life. not the other way around. leading the news from nbcnews.come, want viagra, south carolina bill would make men go through what women do to get abortions.

state representative says she wants men in the male dominated legislature to know what it's like to have their reproductive rights targeted. under the bill any man seeking viagra or a similar drug must go through a 24-hour wait period and attend three sessions of outpatient counseling. she does not expect the lendl slags to pass. and for the first time in history the u.s. military academy at west point has selected a female commandant. brigadier general diana holland will be the 76th commandant of cadets. she is an iraq and afghanistan veteran. she'll assume command on january 5th. if you thought the presidential debate last night netflix wants you to know frank underwood is also on the ballot. house of cards released its new trailer which looks like a real campaign ad. >> america, i'm only getting started. i'm frank underwood and i approve this message. >> the new season begins on

march 4th. i'm shannon mulaire. this is "first look" on msnbc. don't forget to like us on facebook. "way too early" starts right now. have a great day, everyone. jeb said when they come across the southern border they come as an act of love. >> you said in september 30th that isis was not a -- >> am i talking or are you talking, jeb? >> i'm talking right now. i'm talking. >> i know you're trying to build up your energy, please, but it's not working. >> one at a time. >> this is a tough business to run for president. >> i know you're a tough guy, jeb. >> we need to have a leader -- >> real tough. >> you're never going to be president of the united states by insulting your way to the presidency. >> let's see i'm at 42 and you're at 3. so far i'm doing better. >> doesn't matter. >> yes, we would shoot down the planes of russian pilots if, in fact, they were stupid enough to think that this president was the same feckless weak link that the president we have in the oval office is right now. >> i think if you're in favor of world war iii you have your candidate.

i mean, i think when we think about the judgment of someone who might want world war iii we might think about someone who might shut down a bridge because they don't like their friends. >> to wage war we need a commander in chief who has made tough calls in tough times and stood up to be held accountable over and over. now first-term senators who never made an executive decision in their life. >> can i tell you, if i'm elected president, we will secure the border. we will triple the border patrol. we will build a wall that works. and i'll get donald trump to pay for it. >> i'll build it. >> some of the best moments from last night's republican debate where the front-runners played nice. the senators clashed, and jeb bush showed that he can take on donald trump? and the candidates also spent plenty of time linking hillary clinton to president obama's foreign policy. but yesterday the democratic front-runner laid out her own plan to protect the homeland. all this as the nation's two largest school systems received terror