>> in his final state of the union president obama gives a forceful defense of the nation's standing in the world. and the republican response, unlike any we've ever seen. nikki haley strikes a nerve, and why some are saying it was more of a rebuttal to donald trump than to president obama. it is 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west, "way too early." good morning. it's wednesday, january 13th, i'm mick can brzezinski. we begin with breaking news this morning. iranian state television is reporting that ten american sailors have been released from custody. the sailors were held overnight on iran's farsi island in the persian gulf. a pentagon official told the associated press two navy vessels were moving between

kuwait and bahrain. a commander from iran's revolutionary guard said on state television that the boats entered territorial waters after a failure in their navigation systems. iranian military forces seized both vessels and detained the sailors. nine men, and one woman. for more on this right now let's bring in nbc news correspondent ali arouzi live in tehran. ali, what's the latest? >> good morning, mika. that's right the iranian revolutionary guard issued a statement saying that they've released the ten sailors and their two vessels. they said initially they had stopped them because they found they had been suspicious. but after conducting a thorough investigation they concluded that their navigation system had failed and they accidentally trayed into iranian waters. they weren't suspected of any espionage or anything untoward. they said that the boats had been escorted out of iranian territorial waters, into international waters. now we had been expecting them to be released early tehran

time. that didn't happen because i think anything to do with the united states here is very sensitive, and has to go through multiple layers of bureaucracy here, and get signed off at the very top of the iranian power system here. but thankfully they've been let go. no harm done to them. and what's more important, that this didn't turn into a huge international incident between the united states and iran, as it could have, as relations between these two are very sensitive. i think president rouhani was very keen to sort this matter out very quickly as we're very close to implementation day of the nuclear deal, and he didn't want to do it -- want anything to jeopardize the implementation of the nuclear deal, which is going to bring millions of dollars of sanctions of relief to iran. but they weren't released without a warning, mika, the head of iran's army said that this is a warning to the u.s. to troublemakers in the u.s. congress who want to impose more sanctions on iran. so a happy ending but also with a warning.

>> and where are they? what's the process of their release? >> well, what we're being told here -- we're not getting a lot of information, but we're told here that the revolutionary guard navy unit had escorted them out of iranian territorial waters, into international waters, and from there they were set free to go back to their home base. we don't have a lot more other than that. i'm sure some more information about their detention will trickle out through iranian state media. >> ali arouzi, we'll be looking for that. thank you very much. president obama's final state of the union was remarkable, as much more what was in it, as what was not. the president made no mention of the international standoff over the american sailors detained by iran. though he did hail his landmark nuclear deal. and despite his recent executive action, he made only one reference to guns. but he did call once more for closing the detention center at guantanamo bay. just like he did in his first

address to congress back in 2009. >> that is why i have ordered the closing of the detention center at guantanamo bay, and will seek swift and certain justice for captured terrorists. because living our values doesn't make us weaker, it makes us safer. i will keep working to shut down the prison at guantanamo. it is expensive. it is unnecessary. and it only serves as a recruitment brochure for our enemies. >> the president also asked for an authorization for the use of military force against the islamic state, and used the ongoing fight in the muslim world to implicitly shame some 2016 republican presidential candidates. >> the world will look to us to help solve these problems. and our answer needs to be more than tough talk. or calls to carpet bomb civilians. that may work as a tv sound bite but it doesn't pass muster on

the world stage. and that's why we need to reject any politics, any politics that targets people because of race or religion. when politicians insult muslims, whether abroad or our fellow citizens, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid is called names, that doesn't make us safer. that's not telling it -- telling it like it is. it's just wrong. it diminishes us in the eyes of the world. it makes it harder to achieve our goals. it betrays who we are as a country. >> and president obama dedicated much of the real estate in his speech to wholesale reform of

the american political system, calling for reducing the influence of money, and the way congressional districts are drawn. >> all that is within our reach. but it will only happen if we work together. it will only happen if we can have rational constructive debates. it will only happen if we fix our politics. it's one of the few regrets of my presidency, that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better. i have no doubt a president with the gifts of lincoln or roosevelt might have better bridged the divide. and i guarantee i'll keep trying to be better so long as i hold this office. but my fellow americans, this is not be my task or any president's alone. >> so then the response, south carolina governor nikki haley delivered the official

republican response to president obama's address. and though she criticized the president's remarks, and record, she also appeared to speak out against some voices in her own party. >> unfortunately, the president's record has often fallen far short of his soaring words. as he enters his final year in office, many americans are still feeling the squeeze of an economy too weak to raise income levels. even worse, we are facing the most dangerous terrorist threat our nation has seen since september 11th. and this president appears unwilling, or unable, to deal with it. i am the proud daughter of indian immigrants who reminded my brothers, my sister and me every day how blessed we were to live in this country. today we live in a time of threats, like few others in recent memory. during anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices.

we must resist that temptation. no one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions, should ever feel unwelcome in this country. at the same time, that does not mean we just flat-out open our borders. we can't do that. we must fix our broken immigration system. that means stopping illegal immigration. and it means welcoming properly vetted legal immigrants, regardless of their race or religion. just like we have for centuries. >> haley's speech sparked backlash from some on the conservative right but jeb bush offered up praise for her remarks tweeting that he was proud of her for delivering a positive and uplifting response. and back on the trail, ted cruz is no longer making light of donald trump's jabs. yesterday the senator from texas took his toughest shots yet at his iowa rival, tying trump to hillary clinton. and countering trump for

questioning his evangelical faith, and playing the bruce springsteen classic song born in the usa at his rallies. >> i like donald. the legal question is quite straightforward, which is that the children of u.s. citizens born abroad are natural-born citizens. i will say it is more than a little strange to see donald relying on as authoritative a liberal left wing judicial activist harvard law professor who is a huge hillary supporter. it starts to make you think, gosh, why are hillary's strongest supporters backing donald trump? you know, the past couple of elections, we saw the democrats thrilled that they got the nominee they wanted to run against in the general election. and it seems the hillary folks are very eager to support donald trump, and the attacks that are being tossed my direction. >> what's he getting at there, senator cruz with born in the

usa? >> look, i think he may shift in his new rallies to play new york, new york. because, you know, donald comes from new york, and he embodies new york values. and, listen, the donald seems to be a little bit rattled. any time someone is attacking your faith, that starts to suggest they're getting really nervous about what's happening in the race. i would be happy to invite donald to come with me to church any time he would like. he would certainly be welcome there. >> and cruz is stepping up more than his rhetoric. yesterday nbc news spoke with an iowa voter who says he received a polling call that asked about cruz, and tested political lines of attack against trump. including allegations that he is a new york liberal, a former supporter of abortion, and democrats, and that he has never asked god for forgiveness. trump tweeted in response, quote, just found out that ted cruz is spending a fortune on iowa push polls, negative to me, not nice. but okay. new polls are great. cruz was asked about the call in his latest line of attacks last

night. were you behind it, first of all? >> look, i -- i have no idea what calls are made to whom. you know my focus, i've been in new hampshire all day. >> what are new york lues. as a lifelong new yorker, what do you mean new york values? what are you getting at there? >> you know, i'll tell you the rest of the country knows exactly what new york values are. >> new polling on the democratic side of the race shows hillary clinton's lead slipping nationwide. these were amazing numbers. bernie sanders outperforming her in both iowa, and new hampshire. a new cbs news/"new york times" poll shows clinton leading sanders by seven points nationally. 48% to 41%. but that's a 13-point swing in sanders' favor since december. it comes as a new quinnipiac poll out of iowa shows sanders in the lead. 49% to 44%. that's an 18-point swing in the vermont senator's favor since last month. and in new hampshire, sanders

appears to now be widening his lead there. a new monmouth university poll out of the granite state has him ahead by 14 points. the new numbers come as clinton continues to hammer away at her top opponent, out on the trail. and yesterday, she got some help from her daughter chelsea, who was in new hampshire making her first solo public appearances of the 2016 campaign. >> senator sanders wants to dismantle obamacare, dismantle the c.h.i.p. program, dismantle medicare, dismantle private insurance. now the republicans in congress have voted against the affordable care act 55 times. not because they want to replace it with something, because they want to get rid of it. so i worry that if we give republicans democratic permission to do that, we'll go back to an era before we had the affordable care act. that will strip millions and millions and millions of people out of their health insurance.

>> don't talk to me about standing up to corporate interests and big powers. i've got the scars to show for it. and i am proud of every single one of them. we have a big difference over guns. you know that. and i think it's a telling difference because if you're going to go around saying you stand up to special interests, well stand up to the most powerful special interest. stand up to that gun lobby. he wants to roll medicare, medicaid, the children's health insurance program, affordable care act program, and private health insurance into a national system, and then turn it over to the states to administer. now if -- if that's the kind of revolution he's talking about, i am worrieworried, folks. >> wow the race on this side has just gotten really exciting. we're going to have much more on that on "morning joe" straight ahead. let's turn back overseas now to pakistan, where a suspected

suicide bomb blast killed at least 14 people outside a polio eradication clinic. according to wire reports many of the casualties are throughout to have been policemen assigned to guard vac continuation workers in the western city of ketta. officials say at least 25 others were also injured in the blast which hit a police van as it arrived at the clinic. pakistan and neighboring afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where the debilitating virus remains endemic. meanwhile in turkey, officials are now blaming an isis linked suicide bomber for a terror attack that left ten people dead including eight german tourists in the heart of istanbul yesterday. turkish officials say the attacker was a syrian national in his late 20s who recently arrived in the country, though say they he was not on any of their watch lists. according to reuters, later in the day, turkish police designed 59 suspected isis militants in raids at 22 separate locations across the country.

reportedly nabbing three russians, as well. although it's not yet clear if those raids are linked to the deadly attack in istanbul. still ahead on "way too early," heartbreak in st. louis. >> i got to tell you, i'm certainly an nfl fan. but probably not after tonight. >> somebody doesn't want to be here, let him go. >> the city reacts to news their rams are headed back to los angeles. this morning the team's owner's message to disappointed fans. that story and a check on weather when "way too early" comes right back. is your head so congested it's ready to explode?

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their new home in engelwood, california. owner stan kroenke, a missouri native said the decision to move his team is bittersweet. >> it is a difficult process, and as roger said it is bittersweet. we understand the motions involved of our fans. and it's -- it's not easy to do these things. they are purposefully made hard. but we're here today. we made a decision, and worked long and hard at the various alternatives when they didn't succeed, we -- we worked this one to this point. >> the rams were based in los angeles from 1946 to 1994, when they moved to st. louis. the san diego chargers have also been granted a one-year option to join the rams in engelwood, followed by the oakland raiders if the chargers decline. in nfl playoff news, the

pittsburgh steelers could be without their starting quarterback for their final divisional round match-up against the broncos on sunday. after ben roethlisberger confirmed in a radio interview yesterday he tore ligaments in his throwing shoulder during saturday's victory over the bengals. >> it's definitely sore. i think it's a little bit better than it was. but, you know, we're still going to just take it day by day. i haven't tried to throw a football, you know, since the game. and maybe that's not even the right thing to do right away. i'll see the doctors and trainers tomorrow. we'll evaluate, kind of how i feel. >> let's get a check on your weather now with nbc meteorologist bill karins. bill. >> mika, that snow yesterday caused a lot of problems. only snow squalls but in indiana especially we picked up a quick two to three inches and a lot of the roads got slick. we had one pileup that went for three miles on interstate 70 i mean look at the carnage from this scene. thankfully there are only a few

minor injuries, no fatalities. that was just a little taste of winter. now in that same location it's 3 degrees. so the problem areas this morning coming off the lakes we do have a couple lake-effect snow bands that are very heavy. one just north of cleveland and the other one near the syracuse area. and syracuse all schools are closed. your first snow day of the season. so as far as the snow totals, syracuse to watertown, that's where the snow band will be and buffalo to erie. anyone driving on the new york state thruway that's where the trouble will be and interstate 90 as you head towards cleveland. the forecast for today, besides how cold it is, and the windchills are pretty brutal out there, especially in areas of the mid-atlantic. i know washington, d.c. right now has a windchill of only 8 degrees. that's cold. pittsburgh is at negative 8. so bundle up your kids all the way to the south. this is short-lived mika. already today, 50s and 60s surging towards kansas. it's only going to be cold for one more day and then another cold blast next week. this is the heart of winter and it's starting to feel like it. >> and we're going to iowa. thank you very much. up next a look at the most buzzed about moments from last night's state of the union from speaker paul ryan's poker face

to the kid who tried his best to hold back a yawn. and also when paul ryan did clap, hard. "way too early" is back in a moment. at ally bank no branches equals great rates.

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that's the america i know. that's the country we love. clear-eyed, big-hearted. >> people are expecting, people

are expecting quite a bit. expect you boys to play football. >> yes, sir. ♪ >> clear eyes, bold hearts -- >> that closing line from president obama's speech drew a lot of comparisons to the iconic line from coach taylor in friday night lights. time now to go to louis for that and for whatever he does in the control room far, far away. part of which i probably don't want to know about louis. take it away. >> thanks so much, mika. let's stay with the president's state of the union and some of the movements that had social media buzzing. the most noticeable difference was paul ryan sitting in the speaker's chair instead of john boehner. ryan said he prepared practicing his poker face and it held up pretty well except for when he tried really hard not to laugh at the president's joke about the presidential election, you can see a little smirk there. but he didn't give much. the house speaker also took some heat online for the many times he refused to applaud.

now one thing he didn't refuse to do was chat with the vice president. you can see there's a lot of whispering happening behind the president. but to be fair, the speaker was mostly responding to the veep. the president also had a hard time keeping the attention of the youngest ones in the chamber. he put a little logan barrett to sleep. the 4-year-old was invited by the house speaker after starting a campaign to send care packages to troops overseas. there was also another kid slightly older struggling to stay awake. you can see him fighting off a yawn. we'll give him an "a" for trying to be polite there. and as always the first lady stunned the crowd when she walked out in her sleeveless marigold color dress. didn't take long to track that one down. according to the neiman marcus website, it's been marked down from $2,000 to $628. and finally, a look at what happened when secretary of state john kerry was asked about his attire. >> secretary, who are you

wearing? stunned and then amused. it's nice to do that to the secretary of state. >> that's pretty good. i like it, louis. thank you. that does it for "way too early." coming up on "morning joe," breaking news. the pentagon confirming that the ten american sailors detained in iran have now been freed into u.s. custody. we're going to go live to tehran for that. plus, more reaction to president obama's final state of the union where he gave a forceful defense of the nation's standing in the world. and if south carolina governor nikki haley is a contender for vice president, we know whose ticket she likely will not be joining after last night's republican response. we'll talk to jeb bush, who praised her performance, chris christie, and rand paul also join the conversation. "morning joe" is moments away.

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