coming up on "early today." the republican candidate said squared off, taking shots and landing punches squarely on one another but almost universally going after president obama and rs the person they fear most. >> you cannot give hillary clinton a third term of barack obama's leadership. >> hillary clinton would be a national security disaster. >> she's disqualified from being commander and chief of the united states. and a chicago police officer shooting and killing an unarmed teen. the husband and manager of celine deon has died after a long battle with throat cancer and this on the heels of the passing of the great allen rickman. known for harry potter and die hard. goodod mornrng. it was a bare knuckle brawl

the candidates taking on each other while also unleashing vicious attacks at president obama andsi their democratic rivals. donald trump and senator ted cruz's short friendship appears to bepp over. here's just a taste, starting with the texas senator's take on new tayorkers. >>yo there are many wonderful working men and women in the state of new york but everyone understands that the values in new york city are pro abortion, pro gay marriage, focus on money and the media and the concept is not that complicated to figure out. i guess i can frame it another way. not a lot of conservatives come out of manhattan. i'm just saying. >> when the world trade center came down i saw something that no place on earth could have

more humanely than new york and the people in new york fought and fought and fought and we saw more death and even the smell of death and it was with us for montnt, the smell, the air and we rebuilt downtown manhattan and aneverybody in the world watched and everybody in the world loved new york and loved new yorkers and i have to tell you that was a very insulting statement that ted made. >> you know back in september my friend donald said he had had his lawyers look at this every which way. the constitution hasn't changed but theng poll numbers have. listen, i've spent my entire life defending the constitution before the u.s. supreme court and i'll not be taking legal advice from donald trump. >> you used to say you support doubling the amount of green cards, now you say you're

i saw you on the senate floor flip your vote on crop insurancece because they told you it would help you in iowa. that is not consistent conservative. thatva is political -- >> that is the question on entitlement. you had your chance, you blew it. >> we don't have to have refugees come to our country but all muslims, really? what kind of message does that send to the world. >>wo ritser theit's the people that pull the trigger and we have to find out what's going on. >> bernie sanders is the nominee and i know bernie and i can promise you he's not going to be president of the united states. >> just a moment ago you very kindly offered me the vp slot. if this all works out, i'm happy to consider naming you vp. >> i like it but i think i'll go

>> i was going to ask you to wake me up when the time came. >> no shy people there. so, who won? the response on facebook seems in lineee with the polls. donald trump was the most discussed followed by cruz, rubio and chris christie. and it was new hampshire voters who wereer actually the most engaged in the debate on facebook. bernie sanders' home state of vermont was second most followed by south carolina, f virginia, and new jersey. iran was the most discussed issue followed by immigration, and guns. and this speaks volumes about their opinions of the texas senator. drop dead ted and go back to canada with a unique statue of liberty salute. you don'ttu want to make those new

>> reporter: they came to debate just two weeks before the vote in iowa. >> the next commander in chief is standing on this stage. >> reporter: ted cruz had a lead in iowa polls until donald trump had questioned about cruz being born in canada. >>na some of the more extreme birther theories insist that you must not only be born on u.s. soil but have two parents born on u.s. soil. under that theory,.s i would be disqualified and donald j. trump would be disqualified. >> who the hel knows if you can serve in office. >> why are you raising this issue now? >> because now he's doing a little bit better. >> reporter: and firing back about not disclosing his

>> bayes, i made a paperwork error discloses it on one piece of paper than the other. but if that's the best tip the new york times has got, they better go back to the well. >> south carolina governor nikki haley warned about sounding angry. >> yes, i am angry. >> reporter: others went after the top democrat. >> you cannot give hillary clinton a third term. >> she might be going back and forth between the white house and the court house. >> reporter: the fight of who runs against clinton got more intense. kroousz a cruz attacked trump for conservative values. >> and this just in. bloomberg is announcing a houston attorney has filed suit saying senator ted cruz should

birth status and they asked to have the term "natural born citizen" explained. and on sunday, it's the democrat's turn in their final debate before iowa. lester holt will be moderating. it will be right here on nbc. celine dion's husband has died. he discovered celine and mortgaged his home to make her first h record. they married in 1994 when she was 26 and he was 42. in 2014, deon took a leave of absence from her las vegas show to care for him.

vegas home. they have three sons together and he has three children from previous relationships. he was 73 years old. meanwhile, hollywood is mourning the death of allen rickman known for his rolls in harry potter and "die hard." the fbi says there's no indication the man who attempted to assassinate a police officer was part of a terrorist cell and he says there doesn't seem to be anymore threats of violence eareilating to that ambush. this contradicts earlier reports that an anonymous tipster said the shooter was part of a group that roincluded three other people. something comy is calling quote garbal. officer hartnett was shot three

continuing his recovery. the flint, michigan water crisis continues as aid from the state national guard begins. protests have erupted over the contaminated water and demonstrators asked governor rick snider to resign. meanwhile, he's seeking aid from president obama asking for the county to be declared a federal emergency. possible assistance includes temporary housing and home repairs. snider declared an emergency in flint earlier this month. and we're learning more about video released of a shooting in 2013. we're warning some viewers may find this disturbing. it shows police chasing chapman, suspected of stealing a car.

teen had a gun in his hand. chapman's family contends he was unarmed and that his iphone box was the only thing found at that scene. the independent police review board found the officer was in compliance with the department's deadly force policy. a statement released said in part the suspect turn would a dark object in his right hand, causing one officer to open fire, going on to say an expert report found the shooting to be justified. now to this rare january hurricane. here's nbc meteorologist bill karins.ns what is el nino doing to us? >> it's pretty crazy we developed this storm this late in the season. there will be people taking shelter. the storm is now quickly approaching the island areas and the conditions are quickly deteriorating. 75 miles per hour winds.

so, it's going to be a rough 12 hours for 250,000 people who live on that island. big thunderstorms rolling through panama city. during the day we could get strong storms with damaging winds across florida. so, we get heavy rain in areas of georgia and south carolina andol florida and by this evening, the heavy rain moves into virginia and overnight, this will bomb off the coast and we may have just enough cold air in place on saturday, definitely in maine, looks like snow storm for you but just rain in boston which should exit before the patriots game. and the cold will be the other story over the weekend in the northern plains. that's your national forecast, now a look at your local weather. so that heavy rain in florida, a chance of a few strong storms

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isis has claimed responsibility for thursday's terror attacks in jakarta. seven people killed, five militants. earlier today police officers arrested three men with suspected links to isis and found an isis flag at the home of one of the attackers. a chemical explosion released a massive plume of toxic gas in brazil yesterday when rain water seeped into tanked with industrial detergent. and the gas causes skin

so far none of the three winners of the $1.5 billion powerball jackpot have claimed their prizes but several of the smaller winners have stepped forward to cash theirs. $1 million ticket is being shared by employees at an elementary school. just ahead, nfl coach's carousel goes round and round blusplus a couple of buzzer beaters.rs.s a gorgeous trublend face for each of us one: new trublend primer it hides pores, preps and smooths skin two: trublend makeup matches 99% of skin tones. three: new trublend blush and bronzer - a baked blend to get you glowing! find your trublend it's easy as 1 tru 3

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this morning on "today," an nbc news exclusive, george clooney's wife opens up about being in the spotlight on her first interview on american tv. >> it's wonderful that celebrities would choose to spend their time or energy or spotlight to raise awareness about these causes. i don't see myself in the same way because i'm still doing the same job i used to do before. >> her exclusive interview will be later on "today." not even lebron james and the cavaliers could beat the spurs winning streak.

took chicago's jimmy butler into over time where the bulls escape would a 115-111 win over the 6ers. and nailing the last second jumper for the win over the pistons. another last second winner, rudy gay hits the game winner as the kings beat the jazz. and the 49ers hired eagle cast off, chip kelly as their new coach. and giants go with offensive coordinator gym mcadoo. and a 76-59 route of the spartans. just ahead, new reality tv shows for mark burnett and lebron james. plus, back street boys busted. nick carter cuffed.

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a new edition to her family. i got a puppy and his name is kid, so now we have a kid. >> boy, love him. she said now people will stop asking when she and her wife, porsha, are having a kid. lebron james will be hosting a show called "cleveland hustles." he'll meet with and offer to help struggling local businesses. king james. mark burnett is creating a dating show based on tinder. this sounds like a disaster. >> this sounds good. >> he does make the hits. singles will head to the caribbeans and make instant yes/no connections and then make the relationship work. >> or not work.

secret soldiers benghazi is in release today. and "ride along 2" will get its first box office weekend. and jimmy fallon decided to photo bomb some cute little children with the folks from sesame street. >> we're doing a photo bomb. three, two, one. one. three, two, one.

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leading the news on nbcnews.com, new stephen hawking hypothesis, black holes have hair. they suggest these electric hair like particles could swallow information. my head hurts, i can't think about it. in the l.a. times amazon is dropping prime price to $73 for the weekend. the price celebrating golden globe wins for their show mozart in the jungle. a subscription normally costs $99. theyall red all redall red allready have 40 million viewers. he balanced the love of his

alan rickman. >> i can teach you how to bewitch the mind and insnar the senses. >> it is impossible to imagine professor severous snap as anybody other than alan rickman. he played eval with a twingtwingal in his eye. he found joy in malevolence. but rickman was in on the joke. >> wax on, wax off. >> reporter: villains and foils never get top billing. but he was also a romantic lead. >> thank you so much, colonel. >> remember "sense and

the boss who falls for the office temperous trs. we knew he knew who he was. his co stars praised him for his loyalty and kindness. a tribute to how good an actor he really was. >> one of the greats. now a look ahead. vice president joe biden heading to the university of pennsylvania to participate in a round table discussion on cancer.