donald trump over ted cruz. this time it's a former presidential nominee. plus bernie sanders under siege, taking hits from the left, and the right. another sign that the once long shot candidate is a real threat. and parts of the midwest and south already dealing with the snow and slick roads. but that's nothing compared to what's in store for the east coast. it is 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 out west. this is "way too early." good morning, everyone. it is thursday, january 21st. i'm shiba russell. we begin with that dangerous winter storm that forecasters say could cripple parts of the east coast beginning tomorrow. a blizzard watch now in effect for new york city, washington,

d.c., and baltimore. this comes on the heels of another storm that paralyzed travel in several parts of the country yesterday. officials say speed and slick road conditions contributed to this deadly crash in tennessee. we're told the driver was killed. the passenger is expected to survive. slippery roads in kentucky are also to blame for this accident. a driver lost control of his truck and ended up blocking one side of the highway for hours. >> and in d.c., where the worst is yet to come, the president's motorcade got stuck in traffic. a ride that usually takes 25 minutes, instead took more than an hour. we want to bring in nbc meteorologist bill karins now, and bill, we know d.c. doesn't handle snow very well. >> yeah. >> how many inches are they looking at there? >> possibly top five, definitely top five overall. maybe even top one or two. so yeah, let's get into this. 100 million people going to be affected by the storm. what's changed overnight is we pretty much eliminated central new england. you're kind of out of this.

even southern new england maybe barely get into this. now since we're going a little further south we're getting areas like greenville, charlotte, raleigh, north of atlanta, even northern georgia, memphis, tupelo, nashville, all of those areas are going to see significant winter weather with this storm. here's the snow fall forecast for the entire storm. snowfall to northern mississippi with this storm. and you know, they don't have many plows, period, in that portion of the country. then the mountains of virginia, west virginia, north carolina, are going to be the bull's-eye for this. washington, d.c. to richmond, i-95 west. so let's get into some specifics on how much we're going to see. overnight the totals went up for kentucky. i mean this is a significant snowstorm when lexington, kentucky, could get a foot of snow, 7 to 6 inches pretty much from bowling green to paducah. memphis probably four inches of snow. into areas of the south. this is where it gets really messy, freezing rain, sleet, at the end snow on top of that. charlotte, greenville, to columbia in areas up here. this is going to be one of the worst spots of travelling. you're not used to traveling in

messy weather like this. all snow greensboro, winston-salem northward. the bull's-eye, washington, d.c., the shenandoah valley, down interstate 81. 81 is going to be a nightmare probably for two or three days until they get all of that cleared out. d.c. to baltimore, possibility right now calling for about 20 inches of snow. philadelphia, about 14 inches of snow. and that's where the line really is. south of new york city, it gets really about the heaviest, north of new york, i mean look how quickly we go to 2 inches in newburgh, 4 in new haven providence only three inches. you see where we're pinpointing the heaviest of the snow, philadelphia southward. but new york city is in a blizzard watch because -- >> that's new this morning. >> because we're still about 36 hours away. if this shifts a little bit north. new york city goes from 6 to 9 inches to a foot to a foot and a half quickly. they're kind of protecting themselves. >> what an unusual situation for this nor'easter. it was another brutal day on wall street where stocks fell hard and fast. the dow with more than 500 points down more and 3.5% drop there a little after noon though

traders were able to cut the losses in half to end the day down 249 points. meanwhile the collapse in oil prices continued unabated as crude prices fell below $27 a barrel. for a twelve-year low. now to michigan, where governor rick snyder has released more than 270 pages of personal e-mails relating to the flint water crisis. the documents from 2014 and 2015 show the extent to which his office initially sought to blame the crisis on city and local officials. in one particularly revealing e-mail, a top aide wrote to snyder saying that some in flint were turning it the issue of children's lead exposure into a political football. adding that he could not figure out why the state is responsible. but noted that then-treasurer andy dillon did make the ultimate decision to switch flint's water source to cut costs, so we're not able to avoid the subject. those are the quotes. though the real responsibility rests with the county, city, and the water authority.

snyder, who has apologized to the people of flint, and promised to fix this mess, also moved yesterday to appeal the obama administration's rejection of his request for a major disaster declaration. he claimed the crisis warrants additional federal funding. the appeal came as president obama waded into the crisis while attending the annual auto show in detroit yesterday. >> what's happening in flint, you know, i am very proud of what i've done as president. but the only job that's more important to me is the job of father. and i know that if i was a parent up there, i would be beside myself that my kids' health could be at risk. >> a day after bernie sanders

labeled planned parenthood and other progressive groups that have endorsed hillary clinton part of the quote establishment both candidate clinton and former president clinton fired back. here are sanders' remarks from tuesday followed by both clintons yesterday. >> we're taking on not only wall street, and the economic establishment, we're taking on the political establishment. so i have friends and supporters in the human rights fund, in planned parenthood. but you know what? hillary clinton has been around there for a very, very long time. some of these groups are, in fact, part of the establishment. >> i was somewhat confused with senator sanders said well, you know, planned parenthood, and human rights campaign, they're part of the establishment, and that's why they're supporting, you know, hillary clinton, because it's all part of the establishment. i thought, boy, i wish it were. if it were part of the establishment that would be time for all of us to just quit having to work so hard. and defend it, and fight for it. well that's just not the case.

>> we got people from planned parenthood, and human rights campaign fund who are campaigning for. that's another area of disagreement, in the primary, hillary did not consider planned parenthood a member of the establishment. and i don't see how anybody else could. >> senators, supporters, rather, of hillary clinton are continuing to highlight senator sanders' socialist views in the wake of new polling that shows the race for the nomination tightening. after clinton backer senator claire mccaskill was quoted in "the new york times" saying republicans won't touch him because they can't wait to run an ad with a hammer and sickle, the senator from missouri doubled down >> you think they would use a hammer and sickle logo? >> i think they would -- i wouldn't put that past them. they have done much worse to hillary clinton. they have been terribly unfair in their attacks. it's what they do. one of my colleagues said the republican attack machine has chainsaws for hands. and i think the point i was

trying to make is, bernie has not felt those chainsaws. and they would come out with a vengeance if he was our nominee. >> do you think a socialist, a self-declared socialist could win the presidency of the united states? >> i can only speak for my state. i think it would be absolutely impossible for a self-declared socialist to win in a state like missouri. and you've got to win states like missouri if you're going to win the presidency. states like indiana, states like ohio. states like pennsylvania. it is very hard, i think, for most americans to see how socialism would cure the problems that we are facing right now. there's a lot of work we have to do, but we need to bring the country together, not nominate people that sit on the opposite ends of the spectrum because people are angry and they want to blow everything up. >> meanwhile, the clinton campaign continues to push back. one day after a document obtained by nbc news revealed that hillary clinton's home e-mail server contained information classified at the

most sensitive level. an internal watchdog said some of clinton's e-mails were designated top secret, special access programs. but the campaign responded by saying the finding does not change the fact that these e-mails were not classified at the time they were sent or received. and yesterday, clinton campaign spokesman brian fallon added it is suspect from the beginning that the intelligence community inspector general is continuing to reveal materials and surface allegations while the justice department review is going on. and here's what clinton herself had to say yesterday on npr. >> this seems to me to be, you know, another effort to inject this into the campaign. it's another leak. i'm just going to leave it up to the professionals at the justice department. because, nothing that this says changes the fact that i never sent or received material marked classified. >> in the republican primary, it was another day of heavy attacks on senator ted cruz. this time from 1996, republican

nominee bob dole, who told "the new york times" the party would face cataclysmic and wholesale losses if it nominated cruz. quote, i don't know how he's going to deal with congress. nobody likes him. he called the leader of the republicans a liar on the senate floor. if you want to call somebody a liar in the senate, you go to their office, you don't go on the senate floor and make it public. the former senate leader who is supporting jeb bush said he thinks donald trump is the only person who can stop cruz from getting the nomination. and trump did not let up on cruz yesterday. hammering him for loans he failed to file with the fec during his 2012 senate campaign. >> he got low-interest loans. he got low-interest loans. low interest. and now he's going to go after goldman sachs. doesn't work that way. goldman sachs owns him. remember that, folks. they own him. and what he did was wrong. because he didn't want you to know that he's dealing with banks, because he puts them down that he's just like all the

other guys. and he said, with the -- with it being a canadian citizen, he said oh, i didn't know that. how did he not know that? then he said with the loans, oh, i didn't know that. smart guy. he doesn't know that? yeah. that's worse than hillary, when you think about it. he didn't want the voters to see that he's borrowing money and personally guaranteeing it from banks. spo what he did is just absolutely, probably illegal, but it's certainly wrong. >> and cruz pushed back against trump while on the trail in new hampshire while lashing out at marco rubio, as well. >> right now the washington establishment is abandoning marco rubio. they've made the assessment that marco can't win this race. and the washington establishment is rushing over to support donald trump. indeed, mr. trump said that they should support him because he said, ted won't go along to get along. he won't make deals with the democrats. and mr. trump's pitch to the

washington establishment is he's a dealmaker. he'll go and cut a deal with chuck schumer and harry reid and nancy pelosi and those deals will do exactly what john boehner and mitch mcdonnell have done. >> and one more story from the campaign trail, governor chris christie known for his tough talk, particularly in his home state of new jersey. but it followed him on the campaign trail in derry, new hampshire last night. >> when are you, and you're a fellow goop ba, when are you going to take the gloves off and start smacking him around? you don't have much time. >> you know, i think it's the first time in my political career that people have said to me, you're not aggressive enough. glad i'm in derry tonight. another first. listen, you know when i will? when i think it makes sense to. okay. i'm not in this to just beat donald trump. i'm in this to become president of the united states. >> this morning, we are learning

more about the americans freed by iran in a prisoner exchange. "washington post" reporter jason rezaian made a brief appearance outside the u.s. military hospital in germany yesterday. in a written statement rezaian says he's feeling fine, that he appreciates everything that's been done on his behalf, and that he wants to get back to writing. the u.s. iran story at some point. he also said, quote for now i want to watch up with what's been going on in the world, watch a warriors game or two, and see the "star wars" movie. sayed abedini, a pastor from idaho is expected to land on american soil today. according to his wife, she posted the news yesterday, in this instagram photo shows abedini meeting with congressman robert pittenger. it is a day of mourning in pakistan following yesterday's deadly attack at a university. at least 21 people were killed when gunmen stormed the school. a pakistani taliban commander initially claimed responsibility for the attack but a spokesman for the group later denied the claim. a professor at the university is being credited with saving lives

during the siege. according to "the washington post," he pulled out a pistol, and began firing at two of the gunmen giving some of his students time to run. that professor was reportedly killed in the attack. still ahead here on "way too early," the buffalo bills making history with the latest addition to their coaching staff. and can you guess why the footballs for the afc face-off had a police escort over the weekend last weekend? plus 2015 was apparently the hottest year on record but things sure take a cold turn. bill karins has another update on that monster winter storm when "way too early" comes right back.

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of stroke better than warfarin and has a specific reversal treatment. talk to your doctor about pradaxa today. time now for sports, and we begin with that historic hire in the nfl. the buffalo bills have named kathryn smith a special teams quality control coach. this makes her the first female to be named a full-time member of an nfl coaching staff.

smith served as an administrative assistant to head coach rex ryan this season following a 12-year stint with the new york jets. meanwhile nearly a year to the day after the patriots and the colts squared off in a controversial afc championship game, you may recall that game sparked the so-called deflate-gate saga, well we have learned the footballs from last night's divisional round match-up between the chiefs and the pats received some special treatment, a police escort. but it wasn't for fear of foul play. instead nfl officials accidentally forgot the designated kicking balls at a hotel which required massachusetts state police to deliver the equipment an hour before kickoff. turning now to the nba where in houston the rockets take intentional fouling to a new level. a whole new level. trailing 56-47 houston begins the second half with 12 consecutive fouls on the pistons. andre drummond that includes five fouls in nine seconds by k.j. mcdaniels. the takt tick worked at first.

drummond struggled from the line while attempting free throws and the rockets closed their nine-point deficit to go ahead. despite an nba record of 23 missed free throws by drummond in the game, 23, the pistons retake the lead and win the game 123-114. i can't say i would do any better. i'm sorry. to the australian open and a show of compassion after a ball girl takes a shot to the face during a match. frenchman jo-wilfried tsonga notices the ball girl behind him had been struck and was in tears. so he stopped the match to escort her off the field, off c. his gesture is met with a round of applause from the crowd, as for tsonga's second round match, he won it in straight sets. what a caring guy. let's get a check now on this monster storm coming. >> i'm trying to figure out like what's going to be the worst part of it. and there's like so many different items. if you live at the beaches in the mid-atlantic you're going to deal with beach erosion possibly

and property damage power outages from the strong wind. if you're down in the deep south in louisiana from houston to new orleans, you have the possibility of tornadoes later on today. so that obviously could be deadly and very dangerous itself. and then just looking at the latest forecast information from the raleigh area, charlotte, columbia south carolina, and your forecast has gotten colder. you've gotten winter storm warnings and you could be dealing with a crippling ice storm with massive power outages and tree damage. so many different items across the country that are going to be impacted. the storm now is just beginning to start to grow and strengthen. little lightning strikes. you see lightning in the middle of the night in the winter you know you have a storm that has a lot of strength, dynamics with it. and that's going to be the case. so the severe weather risk goes from the houston area. much of the state of louisiana. about the southern two-thirds of mississippi. a little portion of southern alabama, mobile, new orleans, baton rouge, jackson, these are the areas at risk of severe storms possibly tornadoes later today into this evening. the wind damage threat at the coast mostly saturday. the high tide cycle early in the morning. a lot of property damage

possible. with especially delaware and to maryland and also down towards virginia beach. up to 70-mile-per-hour winds on the coast is no joke. that's enough to cause some power outages, too. >> near hurricane force. >> almost. >> all right, bill, thank you. still ahead here the battle for middle earth and middle america. we'll talk about the lord of the rings joke rand paul made that paints an unflattering portrait of the republican front-runner.

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mr. meanwhile at a recent town hall event in new hampshire jeb bush says he loves his mother more than his dad. well, his dad says he loves winners more than people at 4% in the race for president. >> more from jimmy fallon last night. having a little fun at jeb bush's expense. okay, sliding in the polls, senator rand paul of kentucky has resorted to cinematic attacks on donald trump. yesterday he posted on facebook electing golam should not be our objective. then compared to the front-runner to the character from the lord of the rings. he even sent out an entire fund-raising e-mail steeped in lord of the rings -- things from the movie. he writes donald trump shares his enquenchable thirst for absolute power and a rule over

morder or in this case washington, d.c. paul even compares to himself leading his men into battle. here he is yesterday putting a finer point on the message on cable news. >> gollum was after his precious, his little ring, the ring of power and to him power was really important to be an obsession and i think donald trump in some ways represents that in a sense that he's so smart he's so rich if you just give him power he's going to fix everything. >> the solar system may have a ninth planet after all but it's not pluto. astronomers say they have good evidence that a ninth planet is orbiting far out beyond neptune. they haven't actually seen it yet but they have seen its gravitational effect on six small objects whose orbits all loop outward in the same area and tilt at nearly the same angle. they say the odds of that happening by chance are about 1 in 14,000. by the way, one trip around the sun for this new planet, that would take 10 to 20,000 years.

one trip. and we have been telling you about this major winter storm that could should down the nation's capital this weekend beginning tomorrow. and telling by what happened yesterday we're not too sure d.c. is ready. it wasn't only the president's motorcade that was stuck in stop and go traffic because of an inch of snow, one woman says she was stuck in traffic for more than five hours. no accidents. this was just traffic. >> it is so not a game out here. and i waited to miss all of this, and still, cars are abandoned. and everything. wowzers. >> our own luke russert tweeted this map of the traffic backup. with half a laugh buffalo, your nation's capital in a half inch of snow. there was also the traditional run on grocery stores. d.c. has also loaded up on volunteers to help remove all of the snow for the elderly and disabled. oh, boy. well that will do it for me and "way too early."

coming up on "morning joe," the bernie sanders pile-on. it's no secret he's a socialist. so why are his rivals pushing the fact so hard now? plus new numbers out this morning showing the extent of donald trump's dominance among republicans. but what about independents? and later on, presidential candidate chris christie joins the conversation. morning joe is just moments away.

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there's music in dance group called the u.s.a. freedom kids and this is how they spread freedom by singing and dancing in tribute to donald trump. kids say the darnedest things. it would be nice to sne