it's not just a sedan. it's a subaru. one day after blizzard '16, sunshine, blue skies and a desperate scramble up and down the east coast to clear as much snow before the workweek begins. high tide on the jersey shore. a live report on whether more floodwaters will spill into neighborhoods and towns along the coast. i'm alex witt live in new york at msnbc world headquarters. big developments, include'ing a new and dramatic rise in some snow totals. new york is getting back to normal. travel bans in and around the city have been lifted. most mass transsit expected to resume later today. millions of people across the northeast are digging out. in central park, 26.8 inches of snow fell.

that's just 0.1 shy of the previous record. the storm hit coastal new england before heading out to sea. snow totals in connecticut hit 16 inches. boston, which was clobbered by snow has just six inches of snow as of midnight. that storm left at least 20 people dead. and the nation's capital remains paralyzed. more than two feet of snow fell there. mayor muriel blowzer said schools will be closed tomorrow. the metro remains closed today. a decision on monday's service will be made later this afternoon. the snow may have stopped falling but that's not the end of the water problems for engine. icy waters have flooded coastal towns forcing residents out of their homes and sparking comparisons to superstorm sandy. jacob rascon is in sea isle city. lots of damage there. what is it like? >> back behind me as far as you can see and way beyond, there

are hundreds of homes there under water as you see here. a lot of them are built up higher than normal, anticipating some flooding. so most of them don't have damage. you still have probably 100 homes that have water damage, possibly more. we went and toured and it's really a giant lake with a bunch of homes in it. that's what it looks like now. we're able to see the sea wall way back by the bay where there used to be a beach more than 100, 200 feet. the beach has disappeared and the bay has emptied into this community. yesterday they did dozens of rescues to get people out and then they were also able to -- and it was very difficult. i don't know if you can see this humvee in front of me. that's what took us back on the tour. yesterday the water was so high, chest high, they couldn't even use the humvee. they had to use the giant five-ton trucks, army surplus trucks they have in this

community for this purpose. those that we talked to here for superstorm sandy say it's worse now than it was in superstorm sandy. they were told that was once in a century storm. but to them, this has been a lot worse. alex? >> yeah, and i do want to be clear that you are in west wildwood. that's where you've been. i was under the impression you were moving to sea isle city. they have water up to the tops of parking meters. that gives you a comparison there. we look at a couple different perspectives. people have water damage. a little in their garages. mostly it looks like those homes are built up. they expect this kind of thing is it, in general? >> you know, they get flooding but not like this. this is incredible. and the water where i am, of course, is only six inches. if i walk back to the intersection where i was earlier today, it's up to the top of my boots. and then if you go back further, it's still above the waist.

and yesterday, when it was worse, it was chest high. and even this humvee, there was another one. this might be embarrassing to say, but there was one left back there that was covered up to the roof. that's how high the water was. even though they're built up, the estimate right now is there are about 100 homes that have water inside of them, in the first floor. even though they're built up. this is a very serious situation for them. >> sure is. i know that little city. just one square mile. they are dealing with the water and damage. looks like in every corner of it. jacob rascon from west wildwood in new jersey. it was a near record snowfall in new york city, missing out by just 0.1 inch. new york times square was at a standstill during the heart of the storm. but it looks like business as usual there this afternoon. gleets to adam reese. i love seeing the sunshine and the shadows on your face. that's what we weren't seeing yesterday with you in central park.

talk about the travel ban. that's been over for about five hours. what's it like out there? >> it's coming back to life slowly coming back online. that sun is certainly keeping us warm this afternoon, alex. good afternoon to you. all services coming back online. the travel ban ending at 7:00 a.m. cars back on the streets. trains and buses slowly getting back on the streets as well. the long island railroad having some issues, though. some major damage to some trains and the rails at the airports. laguardia, slowly, slowly coming back online. at noon they should have their runways open. 12:30 to west palm beach. something i wish i was on. kennedy airport, first flight out is to india on air india. last night it was a ghost town in new york city. a lot of people taking advantage of that opportunity to walk the streets of new york without any cars. that's a once in a lifetime opportunity. this family from new zealand took advantage.

tell us a little bit about what it was like last night? you guys are from new zealand. it's summertime right now. that's hard for us to believe. >> and it's a hot summer. so, yeah, it's very different for us to come to this kind of weather. but we wanted to have an experience of this kind of weather in new york. and we just loved it. we spent the day walking around. >> what about last night? what was it like? you saw new york like most people haven't had an opportunity to see it. >> absolutely. we did walk in the middle of the road down the streets making footprints in the snow. cold but wrapped up warm and loved every minute of it. >> where are you going to visit? >> now we're going to spend time here and then out to central park to wander around and get some good photos up there. and we've got the ground zero memorial for this afternoon. >> enjoy central park. we were there all day yesterday. and i can tell you there is still plenty of snow there. alex, just to mention, unfortunately, there were some casualties as a result of this snow. some snow shoveling deaths.

please, there's a lot of snow. you see we're standing on it. as you clear the snow from your driveways and walks, be very careful. it's icy, wet and heavy. >> absolutely. i understand of the 20 deaths from this storm, five were snow shoveling just in the new york state alone. very good advice there. quickly, adam, you want to ask your guests or did you hear about anybody doing snow angels in the middle of times square? talk about a once in a lifetime, right? >> alex would like to know if any of you did any snow angels, and if not if you might be willing to do one. >> we're willing to do a snow angel. >> let's see some snow angels. >> all the way from new zealand and they're willing -- >> they are good sports. those new zealanders. >> the youngest daughter is going to school in florida. he's willing to take advantage of the snow. there you go. i'm sorry, alex if you can't see

that. that's a snow angel. >> i did a snow angel yesterday for al roker. we're all taking part. >> it's all good. >> tell them thank you very much. appreciate that. we'll get back to you and see how things are happening and if the traffic is picking up. thank you, and to your guests. washington is beginning to dig out of the more than two feet of snow there. let's go to luke russert on the national mall for us. i'm going to bet you did a snow angel or may have thrown a football. that would be more like you. >> the football would be me. unfortunately, there was not one to be had, but i did emulate one of my boyhood heroes. the macho man randy savage with a flying elbow drop off a ledge here into about a four-foot snow drift. so that looked incredible. too bad we don't have tape of it. maybe i'll pull that one out of the old bag of tricks. we are in what the mayor is calling the #dcdigout.

and that is the goal to try while the sun is out, while this snow is a little less rough. it's not going to freeze like it did last night. get it off the roads and sidewalks as quickly as possible. from walking around where we are in downtown d.c., some of the main thoroughfares are starting to open up. starting to see some cars out there. the real issue is the side streets where a lot of folks live in residential communities. a lot of those have not been plowed. or they were plowed once and a lot of snow drifts have accumulated. i think that's pretty generous to think the city will be back tomorrow. d.c. public schools are closed. local transportation system here is closed through sunday. a lot of digging around the tracks they have to do. congress is delaying votes because of this storm. the house of representatives canceling their week of votes. they aren't coming back until february 1st. remains to be seen whether the d.c. government is open.

i suspect by the time you have to get the metro up and running, opening up those highways, bridges, main thoroughfares and side streets, probably looking at tuesday by the time you even have some semblance of things back to normal. >> that's an inconvenience but at least people can make the necessary plans. especially parents who will have their kids home from school. luke russert, we'll see you again in washington. let's go back to politics. eight days until the iowa caucuses. the "des moines register" is anounsing its support for hillary clinton. on the republican side, the paper surprised many by backing florida senator marco rubio who is pulling a distant third in that state. in its endorsement editorial they called the senator whip smart adding he has the potential to chart a new direction for the party and perhaps the nation with his message of restoring the american dream. in the tv world, though, all eyes were on comedian tina fey last night as she reprided her

popular sarah palin impression on "saturday night live" including her spangle jacket from her endorsement of donald trump earlier this week. >> i'm here for all you teachers and teamsters, farmers and charmers. whether you are a mom or two broke girls or three men and a baby or a rock 'n' roller, holy roller, pushing stroller, pro bowler with a abscessed molar. >> she's a firecracker. she's a real pistol. she's crazy, isn't she? >> oh, my gosh. brilliant. let's bring in "the new york times" political reporter jeremy peters. you had to have a good laugh at that one. she almost does sarah palin better than sarah palin. let's get to the controversy, lots of which there has been over donald trump's assertion that he could open fire on fifth

avenue, shoot someone and still not lose voters. and today he's finally responding. let's listen to what he said. >> i have a great group of people, john. i have people that are so loyal, and it's been so reported. and even in your poll. these are people that just will not leave. i love my people. and it's a great thing. it's a great thing. far greater loyalty than any other candidate. >> what's your take on all of this? >> it's almost as if he's taunting his supporters to abandon him. pushing the envelope to see how far he can go before he says enough is enough. >> i stopped trying to predict what the last straw would be for donald trump. it wasn't when he called john mccain a phony war hero. he could go on and on and on. all the end scenarios that were supposed to be coming for his campaign. he's right. he does seem to be impervious. >> yeah it is remarkable. that's all you can really say

about it. let's go to marco rubio's campaign. are you surprised by the des moines register's endorsement? >> i do know that the rubio campaign was really counting -- maybe not counting on, but they really needed it. they wanted it and worked hard for it. they prepared senator rubio very intensely before his meetings with the register editorial board and knew if they got it it would give them credibility. a bit more credibility and some more seriousness and kind of help him build on the momentum that we've seen here in iowa. his crowds haven't been growing. i've been with him for about the past week. you started to notice it earlier in the week. several hundred people turn up to each of these events. these are generally not small places. something is happening for rubio. not enough for him to win but a strong third place showing that puts him -- well ahead of whoever finishes fourth place is

what they are looking to accomplish. >> i know you wrote that rubio has been the target of more attack ads than any other candidate. what is that? >> well, essentially attacking marco rubio -- one of marco rubio's biggest vulnerabilities which is that he's a political opportunist. this ad was on what is, by far, the most -- the biggest vulnerability that he has. and that's immigration reform. this attack from the jeb bush superpac says he's a weather mane shifting with weather wherever the political winds tell him to go. it's been aired in heavy rotation and rubio's supporters will say it's having an um pact. >> hillary clinton won the "des moines register's" endorsement. happened also in 2008, and she lost iowa that year. chuck todd asked her if she's

experiencing deja vu. here's her response. >> no, there isn't. i just have to tell you. i can only react to what i'm doing, feeling, getting responses from people. and, you know, i feel great that we have the level of enthusiasm that we do. and we also have a really good team on the ground that has been working for months to make sure that it's not just here today, gone tomorrow. but people are involved. they are really reached out to. and, yes, we believe they're going to come caucus. >> do you think these overly confident and she mentions her team. do you think that's what is the difference from 2008 that will make sure she doesn't have a repeat of that performance? >> i can tell you she has all but relocated to iowa for the next week. she won't be campaigning pretty much anywhere else. so she needs to. she absolutely needs to. you talk to people here and the excitement on the democratic side is around bernie sanders.

and that's a big concern to hillary and her supporters. >> jeremy peters, thank you much for joining us. making the best of a snowy situation. coming up, more of the best videos from around the web of people embracing the winter storm. before we go, this picture. the calm after the storm. sunrise this morning at point pleasant, new jersey, living up to its name, at least for today. we'll be right back. why blend in with the crowd? why shy away from the extraordinary? why fit in, when you were born to stand out? the 2016 nissan altima has arrived.

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snirks right now major flooding in new jersey following the storm that rocked the eastern u.s. coastal towns hit hard saturday by flooding from strong winds and high tides. officials say the situation is not as bad as it might have been and the waters will soon recede.

travelers are slowly returning to the airports. more than 10,000 flights canceled since friday. many airlines grounding flights well into monday. let's go on msnbc meteorologist bonnie schneider. where did this storm hit the hardest? >> definitely across the mid-atlantic. and a little more interior. these are snowfall totals that are almost hard to imagine. but first, i want to show you what's left of the blizzard 2016. the storm pushing out to sea which is a good thing. now the sun shining, which will help but still pretty cold out there. let's talk about the highest snowfall totals. the three-foot club. this is taller than most kids. 40 inches in shepperdstown, west virginia. north potomac, 38 inches of snow. well over three feet. some of the larger cities impacted, baltimore, new york, philadelphia, washington. these are all pretty high numbers. boston, a little breather there.

six, almost seven inches of snow. parts of cape cod did get a food. depends on where you were in massachusetts. let's talk about the numbers when we look at the history in though record books. this was the third worst storm ever for washington, d.c. for baltimore, 2016, this was the worst and the biggest snowstorm ever of all time. wow. so looking at temperatures outside right now. it is still cold. still below freezing in all the locations where we have the heavy snow. temperatures into the 20s and 30s. factor in the windchill. this is something i want to note for those of you heading out to shovel or play in the snow. the winds aren't too strong but it does feel like it's 17 in philadelphia and 16 in albany. 21 in boston. 21 in washington, d.c. so even with the sun shining we're not looking at a rapid melting going on. these are pictures at the time of high tide.

yesterday, sea isle along the jersey shore. it's amazing when we look back at sandy and the flooding pictures. we don't have those chunks of ice. so as we look towards the morning hours, really achieve high tide. one more to keep in mind. 12:17 nantucket. so that's some good news. most of the coastal flood advisories at the time of high tide tonight have subsided. what a difference today makes. this was all in red yesterday. >> and the sun shining today. it's a beautiful day in new york for the cleanup. thanks, bonnie. coming up, thousands of flights have been canceled or delayed all across the country because of this massive storm. what does that mean for those trying to get home? that's up next. hands down, it was... that's who i was. after one week of chantix, i knew i could quit. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix reduced my urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood,

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the mayor saying today the goal is to make major roads passable and do as much as they can for the secondary roads as we give you a live shot of folks tossing a football there in the middle of the road. that will make it hard to clear the roads. you'll have to get out of the way to do that. they are asking people to not drive or walk in the streets. i guess you can play until the road clearing vehicles get there. democrats have one more chance to speak on a national stage before next week's caucuses in iowa. they'll do so at a town hall in des moines tomorrow night. as they get ready to make their last pitches to iowa democrats, new reaction from the vermont senator on why he's failed to pick up any endorsements from democratic leaders? >> we have the establishment supporting secretary clinton. that is not a secret. but the reason our campaign is generating so much interest and enthusiasm is people think it's time that we take on the establishment. take on wall street. take on big money interest.

>> joining me now is simone sanders, the national press secretary for the bernie sanders campaign. welcome. >> glad to be here, alex. >> i'm curious, if the democratic establishment won't back them, how does bernie sanders expect to pick up the number of delegates he needs to win the nomination. >> look, alex. we know, as you well know, the caucuses are right around the corner. the first primaries are soon after that. and we think that the senator is going to do well in these caucuses and primaries. and the establishment is going to wake up and see that senator sanders is basically what the people are looking for. he's what the people want. he's speaking to the issues most important to them. and we have seen some delegates come out for us already and we are definitely confident that as we move through the caucuses and primaries that additional support will begin to pick up here and there. >> in terms of polls, the one out of iowa shows senator

sanders with his biggest lead yet. can you tell me his reaction when he didn't pick up the endorsement from the the "des moines register" or the "concord monitor" after leading in new hampshire. >> the "des moines register" also endorsed secretary clinton in 2008. as we know, then senator obama, now president obam awent on to win the caucuses and democratic primary. again, the des moines register didn't endorse senator sanders but we have the scht ovupport o 2.5 million americans. iowans are responding positively to the senator. the senator and secretary clinton were in the same city and the senator had bigger crowds, better enthusiasm. we look forward to seeing those results on caucus day. we're not concerned. we have great respect for the des moines register. we're not concerned we didn't get their endorsement. we're concerned with the

endorsement of the american people. >> how concerned are you about the south? it's expected to be hillary clinton stronghold. let's say your candidate takes iowa, takes new hampshire. what kind of uphill battle is it ultimately for the nomination? >> so, alex, we have state directors in every single one of the march 1 states. although we know we need to do well in iowa and new hampshire, we're not waiting until after iowa or new hampshire to invest in south carolina and states luke alabama and also, you know, we've got folks out in nevada. we are confident that our ground game is good, and we are meeting people where they are in their communities. we're in a similar situation that then senator obama was in 2007. it wasn't until after he won the iowa caucuses that the tide started to turn for him in other states across the country. we have momentum on our side, a good ground game, and we'll continue to meet people where they are. i think that clinton firewall is going to encounter a perry fire

in the south. let's talk about something that got great reaction thus week. your new ad showing what america is. i was working with my team and we thought it was the best produced ad we've seen. that said, as you know, it was criticized for showing just a handful of minorities and their late appearances in the ad. is this an option to showcase it considering bernie sanders has not been polling that well with black voters. >> we featured americans of color, african-americans and latinos in our ads. and we have more ads coming. the senator's name i.d. was relatively low in communities of color. he's been trailing secretary clinton. but folks are responding favorably. we were just in south carolina. i do believe last weekend. and the crowds were bigger. people were coming out saying we want to hear more about what senator sanders is talking

about. we feel, you know, that message of economic inequality, of injecting more life into the disappearing middle class and we feel that. we want to talk about criminal justice reform. so we definitely think that our message is again one that resonates with african-american and latino communities. and we're going to we're beginning to see and continue to see those results. we did feature people of color prominently in our ad and folks across the country have responded positively. >> can you give me a sense of what topic "a" will be at tomorrow's town hall? >> i think that's up to chris cuomo? we're prepared to talk about the issues most important to the american people. i definitely think economic inequality is something that is at the forefront of people's minds. people in america want to know how to help them and put food in their mouths and money in their pocket. i think community and safety

issues are going to come up. i think we'll talk about gun violence. i think the people of iowa want to hear where candidates are on big oil companies and the senator has been a staunch advocate standing up for the american people against those big oil companies. they want to know where candidates are on the pipeline and the senator is opposed to that. i think those are some of the issues that will come up tomorrow night. >> simone, thanks for joining us. >> i'll be back. some of the streets are cleared but that does not mean everything is not back to normal. not by a long shot. the struggle to dig ot after the blizzard of 2016. and classic creations on one plate for $15.99. and bold flavors ghost pepper bbq shrimp and savory maple-and-bacon shrimp are to good to last, so hurry in!

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they can't see any asphalt there covered by water by a foot or so. the nation's capital, what's a difference a day makes. look at the washington mall. absolutely beautiful. not a cloud in the sky, though lots of snow left on the ground there. they're trying to clear that out. capitol hill, take a look at that down pennsylvania avenue. there were points from this camera spot yesterday we could not see the capitol at that distance. it was a complete whiteout. they are certainly cleaning up. the snow ended. however, the flight cancellations have not. more than 10,000 flights have been cancelled since friday. the ripple effect is expected to last for days. kristen dahlgren is at laguardia. i can't believe i see people in the background. it's been like 36 hours since we've seen anyone behind you. >> some signs of life at laguardia. you can see there is now a line here. the agents are here. unfortunately, these people's story not a good one. they showed up at the airport and are finding out that

american is not flying out today at all. so they've had to be rebooked on flights for perhaps tomorrow and maybe into this week. still a lot of passengers stranded here because united also says it's not flying ot of laguardia today. spirit, southwest, air canada. you walk down this terminal and you just see empty counters and empty counters. finally to the end, jetblue and some smiles and happy people because jetblue, one of the few airlines flying out limited service today. so the runways here going to be opening up, and then they are hoping to begin to get some of those jetblue flights out. we talked to a bunch going to disney world. the kids thrilled they didn't have another day to wait to get down there. really some difficult travel days ahead. more than 3,400 cancellations today. and looking ahead to tomorrow,

already 675 cancellations nationwide. it's going to continue. they have to get all those aircraft back into place. they brought them out so they didn't have to dig them out from the snow. they have to bring the planes back in and rebook all these passengers. later on today and into tomorrow, those flights were already probably almost booked up with normal passengers and now they have to try and squeeze these people into those seats. it's going to take some time to get the system back to normal. >> i don't know if you have a monitor there. we were showing some incredible footage of the line of snow plows trying to blow out the snow from the d.c. airports. that is extraordinary. >> they are working hard. >> they are working extremely hard. it's good to hear things will get back to normal to some degree. jetblue flying out of laguardia there to florida. a lot of people are going to clap their hands for that for sure. thank you so much. let's go to msnbc meteorologist bonnie schneider.

snow totals are epic in some places. where do we stand now? >> this is a year to remember for baltimore. they've never seen a snowstorm like this. it's been a while. kind of tally up the top three. 2016 ranks as number one for baltimore. 29.2 inches. for new york city, this was epic but not the biggest ever. second biggest going back to 2006. and also we're checking out philadelphia because a little less snow there when you compare it to the other areas. still by no means a little snow. 22.4. still ranked at number four. those of you out and about trying to enjoy the snow, keep in mind we're not seeing a big warm-up. at least not right now. temperatures in the 20s. all the snow is. and the wndchill is even colder than that. if you'll be out in the snow, don't let the sunshine fool you. it's really cold out there. >> yes it is. windchill factored in there as well. the washington, d.c., area, battered by one of the biggest

snowstorms in history starting to dig out of more than two feet of snow. likely to continue for days. nbc's miguel almaguer is live with more on that for us. what's it like there? >> reporter: we're in the area that's not too far from washington, d.c., the heart of washington, d. krflt. want to show you what it looks like in front of our vehicle. as we move down what's a very typical residential street. there are folks playing football. other folks who are clearing out their driveways. i'm going to jump out in front of the car here and show you what we can see from our viewpoint. the snow is several feet deep in this area because the plows have started to come down this neighborhood. the problem is that as the plows come down, they are building up the snowfall on the side of the roads. this car, which is one of those mini cars, is completely submerged in the snow which is pretty packed here. it's pretty deep. two to three feet deep in some

spots. and it's covering these cars out here all the way to the rooftop. we've been talking to people who live in this neighborhood. they've been telling us how difficult to foond theind their this neighborhood. we walk down this block, on fifth and p street in d.c. it's a typical neighborhood. this is what we've seen. this is one of the better blocks we've seen. the streets have been plowed. at least they were a couple of hours ago. they are fairly clear. still very icy. very dangerous. it's why the mayor is asking people not to really drive their vehicles today. folks have been out here shoveling their walks and cars and trying to do help to these main streets. i've got to tell you, this is one of the better looking streets. you will find many streets completely impassable. it's going to be a tough day here for folks trying to dig out and get out of this area.

they may need to wait for those city plows to come through this area. >> miguel, how cool to work from a camera in a car and have your cameraman literally back up to give us a better perspective. that's cool. it's a good report. >> it's one of those rare tools that comes into great use. >> it's pretty neat. >> those poor cars packed up on the side. that's going to be a while. lots of snow shoveling for them. next up, the best pictures on social media from this storm. we've got them so you don't have to scour online, including another adorable panda video. well, maybe not. we'll explain. it took joel silverman years to become a master dog trainer. but only a few commands to master depositing checks

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connecticut. social media has been flooded with exceptiopal weather related posts. cal perry is digging through some of those for us. so let's go through the highlights. >> social media great for both usable information, important information and silly stuff. let me give you one piece of useful information. please clear the fire hydrants in filly, d.c. and new york. there's a fire in new york city on ninth avenue. when the fire department got there the hydrants were covered. seconds matter. let me show you some great drone footage we have of what really helped new jersey. these sand dunes went in before the storm and it kept the water in most places back. that was a huge victory for the people of new jersey. that made a big difference in this coastal flooding. you mentioned the panda. we have people now mocking the

panda at the national zoo, putting on panda costumes, rolling around in the snow. this is pretty well done. >> he pulls up the leg exactly the same time the panda does. it's gone completely viral. the other one that's gone viral is this. this is your west virginia swim team. i'm a washington football fan, this is what the practice facility is supposed to look like. that's what the storm did. for the redskins who lost three weeks ago. and we're all getting ready for the carolina game. the field looks good. we're ready to go. >> they are pulling the tarp back. underneath it looks green. with eight days before the iowa caucuses, i ask a spokesperson for ted cruz's campaign what's behind the dueling ads. might they be damaging to the

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donltd trump is among candidates making their final pitches ahead of the iowa caucuses next week. joining me now, kerry sanders. what can you tell us about today's event behind you? >> donald trump this morning attended a church here in muscatine, iowa. the evangelical vote say critical vote. i expect when he comes here to the high school, he'll talk about going to church this

morning. you can see there's a rather large crowd behind me. expect about 3,000 people to be allowed in here. i think they'll probably have to turn some people away based on the crowds outside. but donald trump will be here shortly. i think we'll continue to hear him talking about how he says that he wants to deal with change in america, the sort of change that he believes needs to come from a businessman. it's sort of the stump speech he's been given, even though he doesn't have a written speech he gives from location to location, there are very similar themes we hear over and over. among those, most have already made up their minds to support trump, but there are some who are wishy washy, unsure which person they're going to vote for. clearly those are the ones donald trump is seeking out. >> kerry, thanks for monitoring that speech. we'll let you get back to us when you have more. donald trump's rally comes at a time of eska laicalating ts

between donald trump and ted cruz. joining me now is rick tyler, the national spokesman for ted cruz's campaign. with a welcome to you, nice to see you. i want to talk about the "des moines register." they endorsed rubio. how important is that and why didn't they select your candidate, do you think? >> the "des moines register" has been a liberal paper. they've support comprehensive immigration reform and amnesty. they chose the two candidates they thought would pass amnesty, marco rubio and hillary clinton. >> all right. what about this back and forth between these two candidates. donald trump has said grudgingly, he'd vote for your candidate if he won the nomination. bob dole made a point of saying he wouldn't vote for senator cruz. what do you think? >> well, bob dole can vote whoever he wants to vote for.

but senator cruz has said he'd vote for the nominee, sign the pledge and his word means something. when senator cruz went to washington he did what he said he's going to do. that may not be popular in washington but it is popular with the voters. we're happy. we're about where we are. >> you've been a gop operative for a long time. you've been on this show many times. worked for newt gingrich in 2012. how damaging might this fight be to the party? cruz versus trump? and then toss in sarah palin, glenn beck endorsing your candidate. it kind of feels ugly and perhaps not where the public might find the next president. >> well, most conservatives are rallying behind ted cruz, and so, look, this is a competition. but donald trump really has been a liberal progressive all his life. maybe he did have a change. i hope he did. do we really want to elect someone to -- or nominate someone to run for president who

has recently changed to conservative positions on abortion, on marriage, on t.a.r.p., on stimulus, on amnesty, which he support amnesty in 2013. do we want someone who suddenly has had a change? because donald is a dealmaker. and deals involve compromise. we have enough of those in washington already. >> let's talk about compromise. donald trump saysi your candidae has changed on his stance on immigration. is it clear to say both candidates have evolved over time? >> ted cruz didn't evolve. he's never uttered a word in support of amnesty. he was the lead opponent of the gang of eight bill that gave amnesty and citizenship to people here illegally. he's never supported that. a chief opponent of it. jeff sessions credits him for defeating it. >> i want to listen to what donald trump said about your candidate earlier. >> ted cannot get along with people. the biggest problem, he's a

nasty guy. nobody likes him. not one republican senator, he works with them every day. not one republican senator has endorsed ted cruz. >> we put that out there with a deep sigh, but what is your response? >> look, senator cruz went to washington to change washington, and they want him to get along to go along. lots of people did that like marco rubio. senator cruz refused to do that. not surprising he's not liked in washington. he's the most liked candidate, bar none, according to a gallop poll. if you want someone who will change washington then vote for ted cruz. if you want someone that will manage the decay, then you want donald trump. it's just not true. senator cruz has deep friendships in washington. it's mostly nonsense. ted cruz -- donald trump for every utterance he has in this election cycle, he's said something counter to it previously. >> but do you think going to washington and making change means shoving down the

government at times. is that really what people want? there's a level of obstinance there. shutting things down. have your candidates done that? >> no, he did not lead a government shutdown. he led a fight to defund obamacare and the senators, republicans who don't like him, is because they all campaigned on defunding obamacare and getting rid of obamacare. senator cruz said i have to do what i told the voters i was going to do, defund obamacare. that led in part to a government shutdown. not a real one, but, anyway, it doesn't matter. but so they want to say shut down the government. of course you want to shut down the government. the way it works is you rally the american people to get congress to do what you want them to do. they like the system where the lobbyists on k street tell them what to do and they don't want to be responsive to the voters. people who lead get the country to act. margaret thatcher said first you

win the argument, then you win the vote. that's what ronald reagan did and newt gingrich. he didn't go to washington and say we don't have the votes. he started a conversation. they called their members and said you either pass welfare reform or we'll send someone who will. i think that's what ted cruz can do and i don't think donald trump has any way to do that. >> thanks. in our next hour hear from a spokeswoman from the donald trump campaign. and live reports from across the eastern u.s. as towns and cities begin showing signs of life from the record snowfall in the blizzard of 2016. text mom. boys have been really good today. send. let's get mark his own cell phone. nice. send. brad could use a new bike. send. [siri:] message. you decide. they're your kids. why are you guys texting grandma?

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new york is getting back to normal. travel bans in and around the city have been lifted. most mass transed is expected to resume later today. millions of people across the northeast are digging out. in central park, 26.8 inches of snow fell. 0.1 inch shy of the previous record. the storm hit coastal new england overnight before heading out to sea. snow totals in parts of connecticut hit 16 inches. boston, which you all remember was clobbered by snow in 2015, had just six inches of snow as of midnight. the storm left at least 20 people dead. and the nation's capital remains paralyzed. more than two feet of snow fell there. the mayor said that schools will be closed tomorrow. the city's metro remains closed today. a decision on monday's service will be made later on this afternoon. we have reports from jacob rascon, adam reese and luke russert. let's start with you, jacob. you are there in west wildwood,

new jersey. any word on when things will get back to normal there. it's a flood zone at this point. >> back to normal is a long shot. i think that today, later this afternoon, the water where we are is going to recede, but back beyond where i am into the other neighborhoods, back where the sea wall broke, that water will probably stick around through tonight, maybe tomorrow. so tonight and tomorrow you'll see a lot of the residents returning to their homes, seeing what the damage is. looking at fixing it and then that's when things start to get back to normal. this area was hit by superstorm sandy as well as the rest of the shoreline here. and they say here that this is worse for them than sandy was. many of the people built their homes higher this time around. and they were spared. there are about 800 homes total in this town and they estimate they are probably 100 homes or more that actually have water inside of them. the rest were built up high enough so that's not the case.

the water, though, in here, was incredible. yesterday during the peak hours, the water was waste deep. in fact, so deep that the hummers they were using to go in and rescue people were not good enough. they had to use the five ton army surplus trucks they have on hand in case this happens. they are used to flooding but not like this. they have probably never seen a storm like this. alex? >> were they able to bring out boats at all or just too windy and the snow too heavy, that wouldn't work? >> yeah, they didn't have boats. i was curious about that as well. although i will say there are some boats that we saw as we did our tour back there. that were not supposed to be there. they are supposed to be docked somewhere else and they were just sort of floating back there. not small boats. we're talking about big boats. they didn't have boats instead of the five-ton trucks to go rescue people. >> jacob rascon, thank you.

let's bring in meteorologist bonnie schneider. give us the pin point of where the most damage was done by this storm? >> we've had the damage that you saw from the flooding along places like the jersey shore. then we also have the massive and heavy snow. as the storm continues to pull away, it's sunny now. but look at all the snow left behind. record-breaking for baltimore. the biggest snow ever. they'll be shoveling out for a while. as high as the numbers are here, we had snow totals higher than that. well above three feet. for new york city, this was the second biggest snowstorm. very close, though. almost at number one. philadelphia ranked at 22.4. but still, at number four. it's interesting where we rank these in history. i want to show you pictures on social media. i'm @bonnieweather. randy in kutztown, p.a. patio furniture completely covered or cars completely covered in heavy, heavy snow.

and as you mentioned, the snow is heavy. it's got a lot of moisture in it. and temperatures outside are still quite cold. we're not looking at a brutal arctic air mass. could be worse. could have temperatures in the single digits where you can't be outside at all. close to freezing or at freezing in washington, d.c. closer to warming up. this is one part of the story. the winds aren't as fierce as yesterday but strong enough to make a difference where you are. temperatures feeling colder than what it actually is outside. keep in mind that as the storm pulls away, we're still going to be dealing with gusty winds and potential for flooding will exist along the coast. when will the snow melt? for example in new york city, we are seeing a gradual warm-up. while today we'll stay below freezing, 37 on monday and eventually up to 43 tuesday. but this particular warm-up, unlike the one we had on christmas and the other ones will be short lived. we'll be getting cold again.

those numbers dipping back into the teens. we're into the final part of january, the most snowfall we typically would get comes in february. we're not done by any means with snowstorms. this was a big rude awaken, but there's more to come, i'm sure. >> let's hope there's not a repeat of this rude awakening this season. flight cancellations are piling up at some of the biggest airports. more than 10,000 flights have been cancel since the storm started on friday. we'll have a live report on that shortly. first, new york city is coming back to life after shutting down through the night. the travel ban was lifted about six hours ago. and mass transit is getting back to normal. adam reese is in the heart of things in times square. a lot of people traveling about. i see cars and buses. have you seen taxis? >> the cars are coming back on to the road. the travel ban lifted at 7:00 a.m. everybody all across the

tri-state region coming back to life slowly after that fast and furious storm. buses and trains also coming online. the long island railroad, a very important critical mode of transportation for this area having some issues are with some damage done to some trains. you talked about the airports which we'll hear about in a minute. laguardia coming back online at noon. runways opening. kennedy also the same thing. it will be slow until they get up to full operational capacity some time tomorrow. temperatures we talked about are seemingly warming up. i can feel the heat on my back. and that's going to hopefully melt some of the snow around this city. 28.6 inches at central park yesterday. 0.1 inch away from the record. 30.5 at kennedy airport. as you mentioned earlier, last night this was a ghost town. people taking advantage of this once in a lifetime opportunity to walk through the streets of new york city without any cars. joining me now, two women who

came all the way from london for the storm. tell me, you were talking about, you are a little upset we didn't make the record. >> yeah, absolutely. i was watching the news all day. i was like, come on. that one little bit? i thought it was just about going to make it, and then that little 0.1. it should be measured again. i think it needs to be measured again. maybe a little bit melted. >> maybe a little drift could have made the difference. >> a little bit. >> you enjoyed the opportunity to walk around this city. you are from london. >> it's amazing. i've never experienced anything like it. like in england you get a bit of snow but nothing like it was last night. to see the whole city like shut don and then you could walk around. didn't have to dodge cars and stuff. amazing. >> well, i'm glad you had the opportunity to enjoy it. what's next for today? >> we're going to fly home tonight. we're just going to wander around and then head off to the airport. >> broadway is reopening and

matinees are about to restart if you sare interested. there's some good plays to see. alex, one other item, the city just sent out a note that they are looking for people to help shovel out. they are offering $3.50 an hour if you can help shovel out through the city. >> do so with great caution. as we were talking about earlier, five new yorkers who perished as a result of heart attacks or something going drastically wrong when they were shoveling. be careful when you do that. thank you, adam r oeiss, in tim square. washington, d.c. is beginning to dig out of the snow that fell there. luke russert is on the national mall for us. how long are they thinking for the district to get back to normal? >> oh, back to normal, probably not until later this week. but in terms of being serviceable, the goal is really for tuesday to be the day when d.c. is back open for business. at least serviceable capacity.

the reason it's going to take that long is while a lot of the main thoroughfares have been plowed, a lot of the side streets are still untouched by a plow or if they were plowed, it was a long time ago and a lot of cars still stuck in there. the mayor employing residents not to go out on the streets today. let the plows do their jobs. a few cars here and there are out because thoroughfares have been plowed. the mayor also said that if you drive your car and you get stuck, and the d.c. government has to come bail you out, that they're not only going to charge you with a towing fee but fine you as well. so please, please, please do not drive unless you are very confident in your abilities or have a nice suv. on top of that, public transit is closed through sunday. they'll make a decision about whether to reopen that by 5:00 p.m. today. d.c. public schools closed tomorrow. the house of representatives made a call to cancel all the votes scheduled for next week.

they'll not come back until february 1st. in terms of really getting everything back to where folks can come into their businesses and their offices and retail can get up and coming, probably looking at tuesday. just because i was walking around here. this is the downtown heart of d.c. there's a thoroughfare. but the side street is up to your knees, waist and some of the snow drifts on these cars we've tracked in. that goes all the way up to your chest. this is quite the historic snowfall here in d.c. largest since the 1920s. >> it's got to be until at least tuesday until things are back to normal. luke russert, thank you. airports in blizzard stricken cities are slowly returning to the people moving business. how long it might take to resume normal air service. also, eight days before the iowa caucuses. the candidates are criss-crossing the hawkeye state. that include donald trump. a trump remark is eliciting more

rival reaction. >> i could stand in the middle of fifth avenue and shoot somebody and i wouldn't lose any voters. it's like incredible. >> is that the kind of comment we've come to expect from the republican front-runner. a spokesperson for the trump campaign will join us after the break. why blend in with the crowd? why shy away from the extraordinary? why fit in, when you were born to stand out? the 2016 nissan altima has arrived. 80% but up to 90% fall short in getting key nutrients from food alone. let's do more. add one a day women's 50+ complete multivitamin. with vitamin d and calcium to help support bone health. one a day.

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from the msnbc world headquarters, we have these new aerial views. the area just blanketed with snow over philadelphia. the fourth worst snowstorm there dumping about 22.5 inches of snow in the area. at last report. public transportation has resume inside philadelphia but regional rail remains suspended. also this footage of a roof collapse at a house in

philadelphia there. firefighters arrived on the scene a short while ago but no reports of injuries. and then to the south in northern delaware, this is a scene occurring throughout the region. some fearless people digging out their parked cars after the snowy assault. lots of people in good company in that problem. kind of a mess today. the number of flights being cancelled only rising this afternoon. now topping 11,000 nationwide. some of the nation's biggest airports continue to dig out of the snow. kristen dahlgren at laguardia aurpt. you've spoken to several passengers who got stranded there. are they hopeful they're going to get out soon? >> depends what's airline they're flying. we're seeing some new faces, people coming in today hoping to get out. at this end of the terminal, they are not likely. this is united and american. both said they aren't flying out of laguardia. jetblue had their first flight go out. a lot of happy people down on

that end. jetblue has about six or seven flights going out today. really for the rest of passengers around here it's been a very tough day. you can see many of them still camped out here in the food court. i've been talking to them. some of them have been here for days. here's what a few of them had to say earlier, alex. >> we stayed at the hotel, but we had to fly out today and it got canceled. >> when i look at the board, i'm not seeing any changes. it hurts me so much. >> more than 11,000 canceled since the storm started. 3,400 flights canceled today. and we're already seeing some cancellations into tomorrow. more than 700 cancellations nationwide already on the books for tomorrow. if you are flying, definitely check with your carrier to see if they are going. stay on the phone, look on the computer. don't just show up to the airport because that's where a

lot of these people are coming like the people over there at the american counter who showed up today hoping to get out and now they are stuck as well, alex. >> good advice. thanks, kristen dahlgren at laguardia. let's go to politics. hillary clinton and marco rubio have another full day of campaigning in iowa after picking up the coveted endorsement by the "des moines register." clinton and her democratic rivals are getting ready for a town hall tomorrow morning. it will be their last chance to speak on a national stage before the iowa caucus. a bit earlier thus morning, donald trump addressed some criticism for saying he could shoot someone and not lose any support. >> i have a very great group of people, john. i have people that are so loyal, and it's been so reported and even in your poll. people that just won't leave. they will not leave. i love my people.

and it's a great thing. it's a great thing. far greater loyalty than any other candidate. >> joining me now is katrina pierson, the national spokeswoman for the trump campaign. with a big welcome to you, i'm glad to talk with you. before we get to things of more substance, i want to ask you about the comment. when we think about kids being shot and killed almost daily in places like chicago, the fear that americans have about gun violence, do you at all think his comment yesterday was crossing the line? >> i think, alex, for some people it probably did. for mr. trump, the loyalty goes both ways. him and his supporters are very loyal. he's known to have this conversational tone with them. any time he's on a poed yurges he's not scripted. talks to his people. responds from the the podium. it was a joke and you heard the whole crowd laugh. >> i guess my point is, is this the kind of examples the public would want their president to use? i'm not talking about a campaign

where you are trying to get the votes once in office. do you think it gives anyone pause? donald trump is going to have to rely on a broader coalition. people who wouldn't vote for him if he shot someone on fifth avenue. even you. did you hear that and think, i'm going to have to deal with this? >> well, when i heard it, i thought, that's going to make a headline because everything he says that's not politically correct makes a headline, but he already is pulling a broad base of support. that's why hillary clinton's superpac is turning their gaze on him. he has a broad base of support. his support is loyal. it's not a politically correct thing to say, but it was a joke and his audience members knew that. >> let's get to what happened earlier this morning. your candidate called fted cruza nasty guy that nobody likes. why go after ted cruz in this manner. >> ted cruz alwadonald trump al

you go after me, i'm going to go after you. he's telling the truth unlike the cruz campaign that's been putting out attack ads with outright lies in them. >> i'm curious who is advising mr. trump on the vernacular he uses. do you offer advice on these sorts of comments? are these all just off the cuff remarks? >> well, for the most part, mr. trump is mr. trump. that's the campaign motto. we all talk. we talk about policy, positions. we talk about the campaign. mr. trump at the end of the day is going to be mr. trump. >> let's talk about sarah palin's endorsement. he regained the top spot in a pol out of iowa. is the endorsement helpful in iowa and do you think it could have a halo effect beyond the evangelical vote? >> sarah palin is beloved by a lot of people. she went through a lot and had to fight the establishment and has been fighting the establishment. this shows that's mr. trump has broad base of support whether

it's evangelicals, conservers, tea partiers. this is important. i'm a former tea partier. one of the original tea party leaders. amy kramer, former tea party express has come out and endorsed mr. trump. very strong conservative women are support playing trump because he has the best economic policies and best national security that this country needs to make america great again. >> how about the national review writing a pretty scathing denouncement. does that have the possibility to ding your candidate? >> that's what they thought was going to happen, but i do believe that's backfired. even phyllis came out and doesn't consider national review the authority on conservatism. they've endorsed candidates in the past that have lost every single time. so we're trying to win, put forths a top conservative message. if you don't win a general election, you can't do anything. mr. trump wants to make deals.

the problem we have in washington, d.c., are republicans that don't make deals. they give away everything. they spend all the money. not a single deal being made for the american people. >> katrina pierson, good to talk to you. thanks so much. for some folks a brainstorm of creativity. how some tried to make the best of the snowstorm, coming up. chax to shut everybody else up about me quitting smoking. i was going to give it a try, but i didn't think it was going to really happen. after one week of chantix, i knew i could quit. along with support, chantix (varenicline) is proven to help people quit smoking. chantix definitely helped reduce my urge to smoke. some people had changes in behavior, thinking or mood, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. some had seizures while taking chantix. if you have any of these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away. tell your doctor about any history of mental health problems, which could get worse or of seizures. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you have these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away

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west wildwood, new jersey, about a one-square-mile town inundated with water. damage estimates aren't too great as the water has stayed just in the basements and not gotten into people's homes. there's a look at times square. you can see shadows and light. we saw no light whatsoever yesterday. the snow was just pounding down there for the better part of the day. traffic has resumed as of 7:00 a.m. this morning. the tupical traffic routes throughout times square in the heart of new york city. and the cleanup throughout the streets of manhattan, brooklyn, queens, staten island. they have thousands of workers out and about trying to make sure things get back to normal as quick as possible before the workweek begins tomorrow. hoping things will be normal. i'm going to bet about 80%, 85% normal by tomorrow. it's better than what it could have been. let's go to a few of the newspapers and how they are telling the story.

did home delivery make it? prospect park. swirling storm draws white curtain over the east. that sums the size of that storm. from the jersey shore, snow, winds slam shore. massive photo shows a brave soul walking down the street. and the philadelphia inquirer headline, walloped. surely a memorable headline about quite the unforgettable storm. communities along the jersey shore are reeling. we'll take you to the waterfront and see how people there are coping. staying in rhythm...

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essentially paralyzing the nation's capital. we give you live looks there. that right there, much different scene on the jersey shore. towns along the coast dealing with serious flooding there. that's west wildwood, new jersey. officials are urging residents to avoid driving until the water is cleared out. despite the sunny skies, more flights are being canceled this afternoon. some of the nation's busiest airports are clearing out the runway as we give you video we just got in of laguardia here in new york city. some airlines are stating officially they're not operating until at least tomorrow. this could carry on into tuesday. the washington, d.c., area remains at a standstill. residents continue to dig out from one of the biggest storms they've ever seen. miguel? >> we're not far from the national mall. this is a typical washington, d.c., neighborhood. i want to show you a little bit of what we've been seeing over the last several hours. this is one of the better streets in this area.

it was plowed probably a day or two ago. the ground still covered in snow. still covered in some ice. as it gets colder, the slippery roads become more dangerous. i want to see if we can veer our camera off to show you some of the depth of the snow we're looking at. in some places it's going to be two, three feet deep because of the snow plows here. residents are going to have to be shoveling this. we've seen folks shoveling for a few hours. even sidewalks, front doors. those are covered with snow. it's going to be a difficult situation here as many wait for the city and those big plows to come in here. as they sit here and wait, they've got hours and hours of shoveling. back to you. >> thanks, miguel. msnbc meteorologist bonnie schneider is here. let's talk about the fallout overall from this storm. how do you read that? >> in terms of fallout and how much snow or the forecast? >> the snow, the forecast. and also the airlines. when are they going to be able

to get back to normal? >> that's going to take a while. not only they have to clear the runways but play catch-up for all the flights canceled. the thousands canceled this weekend. interesting to note about the forecast. i was just thinking about that. as early as last monday the computer models, the more reliable computer models were saying this is going to be a major historic event in terms of snow for the mid-atlantic. there were some tweakings. new york city got more snow than perhaps it originally forecast. this was a well advertised storm, well in advance. that's why people had time to prepare in most cases. but there's still that first huge snow of the season. how do you prepare? this even exceeded the computer models. 38.5 inches of snow in north potomac, maryland. 30-inches plus. really to see it in black and white and knowing it happened is phenomenal. 40 inches in some areas. this, of course, a record-breaker. number one in baltimore? we had 29.2 inches of snow.

this storm going down in history. the blizzard of 2016. even though many places didn't reach the criteria of a blizzard with blowing and drifting snow for three hours. nantucket, you did see that. new york city, 26.8. may have felt like more but we're actually at the second strongest storm for new york city. and for philadelphia, the storm department rank as high but still substantial of 22.4 inches. not quite at 31. just looking at what people are dealing with today. the snow-covered cars across new jersey, new york, through maryland and, of course, still going to deal with that threat for black ice. and that's important to know even though the sun is shine, a clear night tonight. temperatures below freezing. be care philadelphia you are driving. >> thank you so much, bonnie. after being stuck on the snow-bound pennsylvania turnpike for 24 hours, the duquesne men's basketball team is finally home.

well, we hoped to see the team cheering there. i hope we have the video of the team muscling their way out of the mess. it's quite something. we can see it from behind pushing their stuck bus, and there it is. there you see it for yourself. they've been stuck there since about 9:15 friday night. that bus wasn't alone. they were stranded with other vehicles on a 90-mile stretch of the turnpike. the team, though, arrived in pittsburgh not much later than when they were pushing this bus out of the snow and finally ended their 30-hour ordeal. high-fives all around. lots of snow posts going viral, including a panda's snow battle. more like a panda man. msnbc's cal perry picking out the best of all out there for us. take us through it. >> panda-monium. i did it. yesterday we were showing the panda at the national zoo which

has spun all kinds of spin-offs. people putting on panda costumes, rolling around in the snow. i don't know why it makes sense. i did mention an hour ago, the fdny. when they are wearing 60 pounds of gear. get those fire hiydrants clear. i'm also stalking jacob rascon who is taking a tour of the jersey coast in a humvee. still seeing some water damage. could have been a lot worse. power outages could have been a lot worse. this is a great follow on twitter. you'll be seeing this throughout the day. and new favorite people for you here. this is the haguers town, maryland swim team. kyle kelly and her friend. i love the prepration here. shake it out. getting ready. something about swimmers. >> here we go. >> that's my new favorite one of the day. >> i think that's mine, too.

that's just rich. thanks for that. >> i would love to see once they get back inside with towelling off and probably a few swear words. >> a bit unpleasant. >> perhaps. thanks for that and keeping it clean. still ahead, the plan to improve diversity at the oscars. will it really make a difference? i'll talk about it with a star from the hit show "the wire." ♪ ♪ why fit in when you were born to stand out. the 2016 nissan altima has arrived. ♪ if you have high blood pressure many cold medicines may raise your blood pressure. that's why there's coricidin® hbp. it relieves cold symptoms without raising blood pressure.

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42 past the hour. ground shot level of times square just a brock or so from broadway which is reopening for all of today's scheduled performances start with the matinees. shows were canceled yesterday obviously because of the snowstorm. it's one more sign the big apple is in recovery. let's turn to some new developments out of the oscars controversy. chris rock says he has no plans to boycott as a result of the lack of diversity with

nominations. according to variety, he is now in the process of rewriting his entire monologue to reflect the hashtag #oscar#oscarssowhite. the academy announced revoking the membership of those inactive for ten years and the academy hopes to increase the number of women and minority members by 2020. "saturday night live" parodied the controversy. >> for "shut them down," '80 rap group, in the role of little q, drew mckenzie. >> man, they were trying to shut us down from day one, spike a little truth and they try to take you out. if anybody wants to leave, there's the door. so who is staying? >> yeah, guys, who is staying? i know i am. >> great parody there.

joining me is the actor best known for his role in "the wire." your reaction to the changes by the academy. do you think it's going to help? >> i think it's a good first step. it's long overdue. and i think there's a possibility of it helping, yeah. i'm not completely convinced just yet because it's a long road. we're talking about an institution in hollywood that was never really built on diversity. so it's something people have been preaching for a long time and just didn't really hear it. now it's being forced to change. >> what about chris rock and his decision to continue hosting. and how much do you think this is a burden for him as a black actor and comedian. he's rewriting his whole monologue. >> i think we all have different parts to play. i understand if chris boycotted the oscars. i also understand that the fact that he's going to continue and change the way he's going to do it. and that it's important that other black actors in general

boycott as well. we have different roles to play to address this issue. i'm not disappointed at all that he's continuing to go forward and host the oscars. >> there's been a lot of pressure on people. what do you make of spike lee saying i'm going to go to a knicks game. that's not uncommon. you can go to nearly knicks game and see spike lee there court side. he said i'm going to do that instead and claims he wasn't asking anybody else to boycott because it is an individual decision. >> it is. it's very important. the industry, you know, people hold grudges in the city. it's difficult for people who have achieved some sort of success to speak out. there are a host of issues people in this industry in my opinion should have spoken out a long time ago. it's incestuous, it's a grudge match and there are more people who want to do the job than there are jobs. so it's -- there's a whole bunch of complications. that's what bravery is about,

standing up on something when it's not easy, when it's difficult and you have a great deal at risk. >> what's do you think is at the core of the problem? is it that those who are voting, the base of voters do not necessarily reflect diversity themselves? is that what it is? >> yeah, alex, that's what it is. that and you have -- this comes down as far as decisions of what films and television shows are green lut. white and male gatekeepers who don't reflect what the consumers are. 46% of ticket buyers who go to see cinema are quote/unquote minorities but those aren't the films that are made or given awards. those aren't the films that get green lit. >> i don't understand why that is. art is art. i look at the show, the film "straight outta compton." that was a fantastic film. you'd think there would have

been more accolades. it's been recognized to a degree but what is it about, you think, the block that just art for art's sake is not being recognized. >> that's not -- honestly that's not what this business is. art for art is great. "straight outta compton" say rarity. if you have more than two black people on a television show in prominent leads, people tune out or think that people in the industry think that people tune out and think it's a black show. it's how we market it to consumers. including black people. we have been part of this main stream consumption that's lode us to see it in a very minute way, a very small way. it's not true. it's not the reality of it. you mentioned "straight outta compton." it's got a majority black cast and it's a great film but it's a minority. there are a lot of black films that have come out that we never hear about, if they even get

made. a film called "home" a long time ago, well, 2013, filmed with great actors, diverse cast. shot in new york. and unless you've seen the film, never heard of the film. >> what do you make of the social media backlash over will and jada pinkett smith saying we're going to boycott the oscars this year? >> it's good that people can discuss things on social media. i think that i'm glad that will and jada have stood up on this. and i -- and actually there's -- i think there 24 ways to go about it. you can either boycott altogether and try to change the institution, or you can do what jada was suggesting and we -- make and create our own institutions. of course we have award shows and so on. everything we like about the oscars we can put into these other awards ceremonies to make them our own, give them their own prestige. make our own machines. i'm always about making our own

machines as opposed to make, people accept us for what we are and our stories. >> what's the top of mind thing that you would like to see happen and that would indicate to you, we're moving past this problem? >> i mean, i think that next year there are going to be more films, diverse films nominated. part of it will be some sort of bandage and part of it hopefully will be some real change. but i think it's going to be on many levels. has to be on many levels as far as the types of films green lit. the types of diversity executives at studios who get hired and aren't given any real power to green lit anything diverse. i think that's where you'll see real change, when those board rooms start to change, when those decisions start to change, executives start to be able to -- not act out of fear but act out of power and reflect on television and film what's actually going on in the

streets. >> well said. and admirable actor there from "the wire" and more. thank you for joining me from new orleans where you're wearing a t-shirt and new york like are you kidding me? thank you. in a moment, eight days before the showdown in iowa. what can we discern from the latest polls in the battle between donald trump and ted cruz? iscreet underwear and move, groove, wiggle, giggle, swerve, curve. lift, shift, ride, glide, hit your stride. only always discreet underwear has soft dual leak guard barriers to help stop leaks where they happen most and a discreet fit that hugs your curves, you barely feel it. always discreet underwear so bladder leaks can feel like no big deal. because hey, pee happens. get your free pair and valuable coupons at always discreet.com i have a massive heart attack oright in my driveway.d the doctor put me on a bayer aspirin regimen. be sure to talk to your doctor

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flooding is the issue along the new jersey coast. we're following that story in barnagut. what's it like where you are? >> reporter: it is the sign of recovery where i am, alex. look behind me. what you see here is utility crews. we have about five trucks, folks who are up trining to repair the lines that went down here. let me tell you why they went down. first, there was that fierce storm and then look over here past the construction garbage

thing we have going here. that's barnagut bay. with that storm yesterday it was the perfect storm in terms of water. the streets were flooded, heavy, wet snow that brought the power lines down. lots of people were evacuated from here. now the water has receded. some people stayed overnight and they were cold overnight and they can't wait for these guys to finish their work and the power to come back on and it's coming. alex? >> you can about imagine. there wasn't a chance to be able to do that yesterday with the winds and the snow blowing. thank you so much, rehema. glad the wind is not blowing. yesterday you were a trouper. thank you so much. let's go to politics now with the iowa caucuses just eight days away, the pressure is on for candidates to make their case ahead of the first real vote of the election. joining me now, larry sabato. good to see you.

let's get to the new polls showing donald trump gaining 11 points in iowa while ted cruz slips. what's behind it? >> well, donald trump had a very good week. it wasn't just sarah palin endorsing him. i think the most significant thing that happened was governor terry branstad, who is very popular in iowa, the longest-serving governor in the history of the united states in any state, did something i don't remember anybody doing. he basically told the republicans in iowa i don't care who you vote for as long as you don't vote for ted cruz. that is the ultimate anti-endorsement, and i think it had a real impact. clearly it's going to help trump, it has helped trump. let's remember, alex, we got eight days. candidates save special endorsements for the last week and they also save dirty tricks like nasty phone calls and mailers. so things can still happen. >> sarah palin and the endorsement there, how much has that helped? >> well, it helps trump with the tea party voters and even some

evangelicals. he's cut into ted cruz's once giant advantage with the evangelicals in iowa, and they can be up to 60% of the turnout at the republican caucuses. so this is significant. >> okay. another big headline this week and i want to gauge your surprise here, that michael bloomberg, former new york city mayor, might be considering a bid for the white house. what impact might that have on the race if he jumps in? >> well, it will probably spur sales of big gulps, but beyond that -- you know, i'm going to tell you something, alex. we have been through this in so many cycles, not just with him. he's going to find some early polling very encouraging, and he's going to think he has a route to the white house. i will make you a prediction right now. even if it is sanders versus trump or cruz, he will end up placing third. he won't win any electoral votes, and he may do worse just about everywhere than he

imagines. >> okay. >> we're living in a four-eyes partisan era, alex. >> we are, indeed. that's to say the least. always good to see you. we are just out of time right now. that's a wrap of the show. up next, "meet the press." why blend in with the crowd? why shy away from the extraordinary? why fit in, when you were born to stand out? the 2016 nissan altima has arrived. starts with arthritisg pain and a choice. this is sheldon, take tylenol or take aleve,.. the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news.

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