trail and he brought jokes. but he made it clear he isn't laughing about donald trump's critiques of his handling of september 11th. plus the circular firing squad continues, fights over ads and now threats of a lawsuit. new questions are being raised about the value of a cease-fire after air strikes in syria target schools and hospitals and leaving people dead. it's 5:30 on the east coast, 2:30 on the west. this is "way too early." >> good morning. i'm chris jansing and it is february 16th, a tuesday. we are coming to you live from columbia, south carolina. that's voting here on saturday so we have lots to get to. let's start with the biggest crowd since jeb bush decided to

run for president. it happened last night not far from here in charleston. his brother 43 came for a campaign stop and lines started forming hours before that. and ballooned into the biggest event since miami. 3,000 people in north charleston and george w. bush made the case for the man he calls his big little brother. he relived the single day that defined his presidency, talking about what it was like finding out that the world trade center had been attacked. he called for tolerance and vision and in direct contrast to donald trump praised his brother for being thoughtful, trustworthy and measured. >> there seems to be a lot of name calling going on, but i want to remind you what our good dad told us one time -- labels are for soup cans. it seems like americans are yearning for a strong leader. i'd like to remind you and the voters what true strength means. strength means facing challenges.

and prevailing. it means sacrificing and enduring. and emerging a better and bigger person. it means having a set of core principles, beliefs that are true on the campaign trail. and will be still true in office. strength is not empty rhetoric. it is not muster. it's not theatrics. real strength, strength of core purpose comes from integrity and character. and in my experience, the strongest person usually isn't the loudest one in the room. >> so meanwhile, just across town, donald trump was insisting there's no bad blood between him and the bush family. he says it's really just all the negative ads they have throwing at him, but he didn't back away from his critiques of george w. bush and his behavior as he calls it before, during, after

9/11. >> i didn't say it, i didn't want to say it. but he talked about the tremendous safety. well, excuse me, the world trade center came down during the, you know, reign of george bush, right? it came down. i've heard that for years. i have heard that for years, jeremy. i heard for years he kept the country safe. what does that mean after, what about during 9/11? i lost a lot of friends that were killed in that building. the worst attack ever in this country. it was during his presidency. you mean we had the worst attack ever. by the way after that we did okay. that's meaning the team scored 19 runs in first inning. but after that, we played well. i don't think so. you obviously had the war which was a big mistake. i mean, i think few people would say that the war in iraq was a positive. you had him on the aircraft carrier saying all sorts of wonderful things how the war was essentially over, guess what? not over. and, you know, the war with iraq is a disaster. the war with iraq which started

this whole thing, the whole thing starts with the war in iraq. you know, saddam hussein was a bad guy. but one thing about him -- he killed terrorists. now iraq is harvard for terrorism. saddam hussein understood and he killed terrorists. if the president went to the beach we would have been better of, believe me. >> and donald trump meantime is threatening to sue ted cruz over his eligibility to run for president unless he apologizes for his attacks. at his press conference yesterday, trump called cruz a basket case who is too unstable to be president. and railed against attacks accusing him of being a liberal. >> he's printed lies. he said i'm pro-choice and i'm pro-life. he's printed lies. he talks about me being against the second amendment. i am the strongest person running in favor of the second amendment. he said i will appoint liberal

judges. donald trump, i just say it. donald trump is going to appoint liberal judges. i named two judges that are -- i named them during the debate. i was the only one i named two names. but those judges are highly respected, conservative judges. the only way you can fight it and the only way i can fight it is all the pres here. but most people can't fight it. but he's a liar. he'll apologize but i don't want an apology after the election. i want the apology before. if he doesn't i'm going to bring a lawsuit because in my opinion, based on what i have learned over the last two or three days, from very top lawyers he doesn't even have the right to serve as president or even run as president. he was born in canada. so i will bring that lawsuit if he doesn't apologize. we will bring a lawsuit if he doesn't straighten his act out. he's a lying guy. some people misrepresent, this guy is just a plain out liar. >> but while campaigning across the palmetto state into the evening, cruz said he was unfazed. >> donald trump held a press conference.

where he apparently lost it. i mean, he was just going on and on about how i'm the most horrible person in the world. because i keep repeating the things he said. and you noticed how rattled donald gets when his numbers start going down? >> meanwhile, a pro cruz super pac has pulled an attack ad against marco rubio here in south carolina. local stations across the state decided not to run it. they found that it lacked evidence to prove rubio supported allowing sanctuary cities in 2013 as the ad claims. so yesterday, rubio back tracked on his support for the gang of eight bill saying at a town hall, saying the senate immigration law was not headed becoming law. conservative members of the house were going to make it even better. rubio was so heavily papering

their events with flyers that they even posted them in bathrooms. meantime, the white house is beginning to apply pressure in its search for a replacement for supreme court justice antonin scalia. already discussions have been set up with congressional leaders and some of the most vulnerable senate republicans are in the hot seat as they face tough re-election fights. among them -- rob portman of ohio, pat toomey of pennsylvania. they joined a growing list of republican incumbents yesterday including new hampshire's kelly ayotte and ron johnson. all calling for a delay on any nominee until after the presidential election. illinois's mark kurt is undeclared although kirk called the squabbling unseemly. tim kaine were quick to pounce, saying their strategy would backfire. >> i don't think that the majority is going to be able to look at the american public and say for a year we're going to keep the court deadlocked at 4-4

and we're not doing to fill a nomination. we're not doing to fill a position because we don't like president obama. the president has a constitutional responsibility and so does the senate. the senators who ran and who are cashing their paychecks have to do their jobs and having hearings and voting on presidential nominations is one of the jobs. >> the white house says the president will wait until congress returns from its break later this month to announce his nominee. hillary clinton cancelled events in florida to stay in nevada yesterday and with just four days to go before the caucuses and with few polls to draw from, "the wall street journal" is calling the race there almost a total mystery. yesterday on the trail, clinton continued to paint her rival bernie sanders as a single issue candidate, but her most animated riff of the day came during an attack on republicans and their explanation for what caused the great recession. she said it brought to mind a radio ad she heard in arkansas while her husband was running for office. >> one of my favorite, favorite political ads of all time was a

radio ad, rural arkansas, where the announcer said, wouldn't it be great if somebody running for office said something we could have an immediate reaction as to whether it was true or not? well, we have trained this dog and the dog if it's not true, he's going to bark. then the dog was barking on the radio. and so, you know, people were like barking at each other for days after this. i try to figure out how we can do that with the republicans, you know? we need to get that dog and follow them around and every time they say these things, like oh, you know, the great recession was caused by too much regulation -- arf, arf, you know? i think we could cut right through a lot of their -- you know, their claims. >> well, hillary clinton campaigned in nevada, her husband filled in for her in

florida. without mentioning bernie sanders by name, the former president appeared to take a number of veiled swipes at his wife's opponent and those who support him. >> it's not all together mysterious that there are a lot of people that say, well, the republican party rewarded the tea party. tell people what they want to hear, move them to the right. and we'll be rewarded. except they didn't get anything done. then that's gone on now in our party. if you don't deal with the fact that we are too politically polarize and we keep rewarding people who tell us things they know they can't do, because it pushes our hot buttons we can't go forward together. >> bernie sanders meanwhile travelled to michigan yesterday where he drew a crowd of over 9,000 to eastern michigan university. the visit was his first to the

state and it comes three weeks before the primary there. sanders said he'd begin his remarks differently than he normally does and then he launched into a story about meeting with families affected by the flint water crisis. >> i have four kids, we have four kid, and we have seven beautiful grandchildren. can i just talk to -- okay i just talked to a mother who said she has a kid who was very bright. did school work really, really well. in the last two years she has seen her child's ability to do school work markedly deteriorating. can you imagine being a mother seeing your own baby's, your own child's intellectual development deteriorate in front of your very eyes? >> no! >> that is happening -- that is happening all over that city. if the local government cannot

protect those children, if the state government cannot protect those children, then the federal government better get in and do the right thing. >> senator sanders' remarks came on the same day that the clinton camp announced it's opening a campaign office in flint and drew endorsements from a number of ministers in that city. turning overseas now, the u.n. says as many as 50 civilians including children have been killed in air strikes that hit seven schools and hospitals yesterday. doctors without borders claimed the hospitals were a deliberate target. the u.s. state department blames the regime of bashar al assad and his russian backers. moscow has said it's targeting terrorist groups and dismissed the assertion it killed civilians. >> i have seen many children and i have many, many women. they were injured and they were dead. >> today to be a doctor or nurse in the area controlled by the

opposition, it's equal to being killed. >> major powers agreed last week to pause the come pat in -- combat in syria and bashar al assad said it doesn't mean each side will stop using weapons. it's the kind of crowd that any political candidate would love to see, but this stadium is packed for the pope. plus, from frost to flooding the northeast saw a fresh coat of storm, and severe storms in the south. those stories and more when "way too early" comes right back.

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legalzoom. legal help is here. pope francis continues his five day tour of mexico today. yesterday, he per formed mass in one of the most impoverished and least catholic areas. but tens of thousands were in

attendance. he authorized the use of indij news languages to reach out to people. the four big oil producers won't increase above january levels but only if other nations follow suit. it was struck during talks this morning in dohar, qatar. how are the markets reacting to the news? >> well, initially on expectations on the meeting in the talks we had oil up above 5% and it came back, yes, we have the likes of saudi arabia and russia coming together and saying they'll freeze output here at january levels. if and only if the likes of iran will also agree to freeze. now, that's way tougher. those talks are going to continue on wednesday so it's a case of watch this space. initial optimism disappearing. if we're not talking about the oil market, generally we're talking about central bankers.

mario draghi, the most important man here in europe, saying that the banks here are safe despite investors' concerns, but he is ready to act. so, guys, i think a couple of reasons for u.s. investors to be optimistic today when they get in after the holiday weekend. back to you. >> optimism is good, julia chatterley, thank you so much. a record setting night for the u.s. women's national soccer team and 23-year-old crystal dunn. to the cheers team usa wrapping up olympic qualifying in convincing fashion last night. dunn scored five goals in the 10-0 rout of puerto rico. it ties the national team record for ties in a single game. the u.s. women can wrap up a spot in the rio games with a win in the semifinal round in

houston. to college basketball and a look at the a.p. rankings released yesterday, villanova has 44 of 45 first place votes. and kansas is in second. oklahoma, iowa, north carolina round out the top five. the tar heels take on archrival duke tomorrow night in chapel hill that'll be a game. let's get a check of your weather now with nbc meteorologist raphael miranda. good morning. >> good morning. another stormy day here in the east, but the big difference, temperature's about 30 degrees warmer than yesterday. so instead of snow we'll see some heavy rain later on today. it will be another rough go from boston right down towards d.c. now, this morning, we have a severe weather threat for florida. tornado watch in effect, nasty storms moving towards west palm beach and miami. expect delays if you're headed to the florida airports over the next several hours. north and west of town, could be an icy commute for many along the i-95 corridor.

winter storm warnings in effect for buffalo where we could see a foot of snow. very heavy snow along the great lakes. 55 degrees that's your high temperature so much milder. heavy rain later on this afternoon and windy as well from boston down towards d.c. still sizzling out west. 88 in los angeles. near 90 in phoenix. that finally changes, it's been so warm over the past few days, back down to the 70s with some rain in california for your wednesday. we are drying out across the southeast tomorrow. quiet into thursday as well. seasonably cool. keeping that sunshine going right towards chicago. 60s back down to reality in los angeles. back to you, chris. >> thank you. still ahead, country star taylor swift -- do we call her a country star? she's more crossover pop, right? anyway, she has a piece of advice for young women. she gave a passionate speech. we're looking at some of the best moments from last night's grammy awards. "way too early," back in a moment. constipated?

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we are back live in south carolina. time to get a check on the other headlines and for that, we head to 30 rock and louis burgdorf. >> good morning. last night's grammys was one for the ages, lady gaga performed a fitting tribltd tribute to her idol, david bowie. kendrick lamar took home five

awards. and now hamilton took the broadway world by storm this year. last night the cast performed a song live from new york city. and minutes later the writer and star of "hamilton" accepted the award for best musical theater album from the broadway stage in true musical hip-hop fashion. >> we write music, we write songs to tell a story, whether you're king kendrick or -- i'm sorry if i start screaming historically, derrek lee and tommy kales, bill sherman and tarik, the whole roots crew. and right hand man, the frantic hispanic, it's nonstop. it goes into the pot, and the

cast unstoppable bend is unbeatable, inevitable. always inspiring me to pull through, sebastian, daddy is bringing home a grammy for you tonight! >> pretty incredible there. now taylor swift won album of the year for the second time. the only woman in history to do so. and in a powerful acceptance speech she had words of advice for other women, taking a moment to address lyrics on kanye west's new album where he insists he made her famous. >> as the first woman to win album of the year at the grammys twice, i want to say to all the young women out there, there are going to be people along the way who will try to undercut your success or take credit for your accomplishments or your fame. but if you just focus on the work, and you don't let those people side track you, some day when you get where you're going, you'll look around and you will know that it was you and the people who love you who put you

there and that will be the greatest feeling in the the world. thank you for this moment. >> really unbelievable show last night, chris. for all you "star wars" fans out there, cameras have begun roll on next chapter of the saga. episode eight began filming yesterday with acting heavyweights toro and dern. take a look. ♪ >> cut. >> beautiful. >> we're going to have to wait a while for the final product, chris. the film is scheduled for release on december 15th of 2017. back to you. >> wow. is that j.j. abrams again? >> yes. >> i thought the "star wars" was

great. by the way, if you haven't seen "hamilton", mortgage the house, that's how good it is. second mortgage. that's what it will cost you too. that's going to do it for me and "way too early." thank you, louis. coming up on "morning joe," senator cory booker joins the show live. plus, the bush brothers taking on donald trump. you'll be surprised to learn trump isn't backing down. hmm. another massive turnout for bernie sanders. more than 9,000 people showing up with elections in south carolina and nevada coming up this weekend. the campaigns are already focusing on michigan. we have got that and much more coming up next on "morning joe." it took joel silverman years to become a master dog trainer. but only a few commands to master depositing checks

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we spent a lot of time on a ranch where we've become tree farmers. gives me a chance to practice my stump speech. i've been one to defy expectations. i have been mis-underestimated most of my life. and as a real shock to people, i have become an oil painter.