it's monday, february 1st. coming up on "early today." they finally cast their first votes of the 2016 presidential campaign. "early today" starts right now. good morning. i'migi stone woods. today is the day after months of shaking hands, giving speeches, not to mention more than 60,000 tv ads iowa voters will make their voices heard in the race caucuses and the race apeers closer than ever. the final poll shows donald trump ahead of ted cruz by only

the democratic side is even tighter. hillary clinton ahead of bernie sanders by just 3%, a dead heat within the margin of error. although not everything's rosy for front-runner, the unfavor built average shows three out of every five americans, 60% view trump unfavorably. that's the highest presidential rating for a presidential candidate since 1992 while hillary clinton currently has the highest. 52% of americans have a negative view of the former secretary of state. i guess what they say, love and hate are synonymous are true on this. on the plus side clinton did get a huge endorsement over "the new york times" which calls the secretary of state, quote, one of the the most brotdly and deeply qualified presidential candidates in modern history. the paper also endorses john kasich. quote, even though he's the underdog he's the only plausible

clinton continued her push late last night making her appearance on stage with husband bill and daughter chelsea normally who stump separately while bernie sanders continues to garner support from younger voters and raise money. the campaign announced it raised $20 million in january alone and says lit have enough funds to stay in the race for the long haul. they tell nbc news they expect to be close. nbc's kristen welker is in iowa with more. >> reporter: it's the home stretch. hillary clinton and bernie sanders blanketing iowa, a fight for the number one spot in a finish. >> monday niet ght could be a historic night for this country. we can make history. >> let's start a storm of a future we make together. >> reporter: just hours before clinton and sanders in a dead

42% to 45% in the polling. teams of volunteers and organizers knocking on doors one last time making sure every supporter knows two things, where their caucus location is and how they'll get there. and the clinton campaign allowing nbc aen exclusive lieu at their specially developed app which is like a caucus night calculator. >> it allows us to stream our process and allow our precinct processes. they're spending less time persuading. >> the clinton campaign anticipated 125,000 doors knocked alone. sanders' ground team equally impressive, 76,000 door knocks, 15,000 volunteers. clinton still playing defense like when she was secretary of state.

of the timing and leaks that lead led up to it are concerning. >> sanders who's reluctant to weigh in on the issue spoke on "meet the press." >> this is serious. i will not attack hillary clinton. americans will have to make their judgment. >> who are you supporting? >> bernie sanders. >> i honestly thinks she has the most experience and can do the job. >> nbc's kristen welker reporting. make sure you tunethursday for the democratic debate on msnbc. now, with polling tight continue to escalate their attacks on one another as both candidates attended church in a last effort to court voters there.s hallie jackson reports. >> reporter: in the final crunch

becomes a campaign stop, but this sunday's signs of pieceay to the campaign battle. >> donald trump supports expanding obamacare to make it full on sanders. >> look. ted cruz is a total lie yar. i'm so against obamacare, i'm going to repeal and replace acare. >> reporter: trump still looking strong -- >> i'd like to win iowa. i'm doing really well with the evangelicals inter: both candidates know support from christian conservatives could be the deciding factor. about six in tenentify as evangelicals. if the same polling turns out, this race will be a dead heat. >> what's going to be important for you in that caucus think the most important thing when i go to a caucus, i want somebody that obviously

>> reporter: pastors at new hope church clear on what they want in a nominee and clear on what >> i'm disappointed that people will tell us when they get to washington they're going to do this. i'm disappointed that the republicans and democ work together to make better laws that reach across the aisle and that benefit all americans.t frustration, one of the biggest factors fueling outsiders like trump and cruz here. >> very frustrated with both parties, although ie faith that it in marco that it can be corrected. >> reporter: they're all ready for a the real thing that matters is the poll. it's necessarily what we do and not necessarily what the media tells us to do. >> nbc's hallie jacksong. late yesterday we got one more memorable moment, the ted

the mud. be towed. bernie sanders remains confident he'll win if turnout is high. campaign insiders say ifan 2,000 show up like they did in 2008, sanders will win. there's a storm coming.s is here with more. is it going to stop the caucusgoers? >> not directly. maybe indirectly.to prepare for the storm and not show up, but that will be the only ees 's 7:00 p.m. when the snow does start falling, most of it will be melting on the roads. let's focus on 8:00, 9:00, 10:00 this evening. there's a little bit sneak in here in nebraska and iowa. for the most part we're looking mostly clear. that's a great news. this storm itself is going to affect iowa.dy a blizzard watch. there will be one in the

the south side of the state right now northern portions of arizona are getting nailed. we did have reports of thundersnow and now we're going to see heavy snow pushing into colorado today. as far as the storm goes.fornia was a mess. tomorrow this heads out into the central plains and that's where we'll see all the troublesome all the way to north plat to northern garden city. blizzard watches still in effect. then winter storm watches bay. as farr as snowfall goes, the bull's-eye will be in the . the northern half of iowa especially. hastings, nebraska, has a chance for a foot. same with omaha. des moines a little lessly south of you. we have you about 5 inches. the big news is not directly affecting the caucus tonight but some are going to choose to prepare and get the that salt. that's the national

now here's a day ahead. one other story, he other side an all out snowstorm through 125 colorado. that's good news. if it hadn it would have been a problem. >> thanks, bill. just ahead, two virginia tech students arrested inh a shocking murder. plus, could this be the future of transportation. elon musk moves a step loop reality. with you're watching "early today." thanks, dad! mcdonald' s happy meal. with fresh, delicious cuties. are my dogs dusty and cooper. i work for the dogs twenty-four seven. i am the butler. these dogs shed like crazy. it's like being inside

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highway.nhauer who knew the victim is charged with first-degree murder and kidnapping. natalie keepers will be chaas well. all three prison inmates who broke out of california are back behind bars, thank goodness. they were francisco saturday and have been brought back to the orange county jail where they escaped. at least 50 people were killed and more than 100 wounded from triple suicide sunday in damascus, syria. isis took responsibility for the attacks which happened nearby one of the holliestrines. one of the lawyers for dzhokhar tsarnaev has filed an this is just two weeks after a federal judge had de night tsarnaev's request for a new and today the world health organization is holding

to fight the explosive threat ofirus which is linked to birth defects. >> let's get down to business. today the cdc is expected to to the chipotle sickness. it was linked to locations in nine states. investigators haven't been able to pinpoint the exact> occupancy at malls has increased according to research by green street advisers. theontributing factor is e is e-commerce. who has time to go to the store anymore. elon musk, the real-life iron man, an engineering teamom mit won first place. the hyperloop is a ground moves people at high speeds of roughly 700 miles an hour.

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exclusive live interview withlin. in sports super bowl 50 is less than a week away and the competing has touched california. they arrived in san jose looking to catch their first super bowl title in franchise history. the panthers rolled through the regular season with a ore knocking off the seahawks and cardinals to advance to the big game. the afc challenger denverflew a broncos team flag on the arrival to san jose. it's their second appearance in three years as the team looks toirst championship since 1998. meanwhile some of the nfl's best took part in the pro bowl in hawaii. they were led bye and coach your bin.

russell wilson threw for 143 yards and six touchdowns in the first half. leading team irvin to the detroit lions' wide receiver calvin johnson is hanging it up after nine seasons, retiring from the nfl. he report ily told family and before the 2015 season it would be his last. drafted seventh overall from georgia tech johnson wenthe all-time leader in receptions and leading yards. journey man enforcer john scott was named division squad. hockey a great jaromir jagr skated in his tenth game. he won the most valuable player and another fan vote after scoring two goals. the players from eachng up the four all-star

now the pacific team won the $1 in honor of black history month they'll honor some of the biggest game-changers who all happen to be under 28 years old. you can check it out on on on on #nbcblk28.com. just ahead, find out which movies dominated the box often this weekend and which remained entertain entertainment's next up. see me to know that psoriasis is just something that i have. i'm not contagious. i won't stop. until i find what works. discover cosentyx, a different kind of medicine for moderate to severe plaque psoriasis. majority of people find clear or almost clear skin. 8 out of 10 people saw 75% skin clearance at 3 months. while the majority saw 90% clearance.f you are allergic to cosentyx. before starting, you should be tested for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infectionsy to fight them may occur. tell your doctor if you have an infection or symptoms...

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southern california, this powerful winter storm downed trees, power lines, tore rooftops from home. a driver was killed by a tree that fell acrossa huge tree in pacific beach. that's the storm we'll be dealing with. later today it will come out near the four corners region, passing traveling on i-25 and i-80 will be most difficult today into this evening. then on tuesday, near blizzard conditions in areas ofsouthern minnesota and wisconsin and we'll see severe storms possible up through mississippi into the areas of tennessee and kentucky and on wednesday thee its way into canada, still bringing very heavy rain into areas of the east. we're not too concerned with flooding mostly because a lot of the snow is already mississippi northward, tennessee and kentucky for tuesday. maybe some tornados too.

for some entertainment news now, kung fu panda three took the top at the box office. holding on tight were the revenant with more than $12 and stat wars the force awakens with over $10 million. still goingdies and gentlemen, welcome to diverse tv. >> he summed up the awards with that one-liner. is bond or what. >> many actors includingd queen la tee stay. they were in complete contrast to the oscars where famously norrs of color were nominated

i could stay home every night d for mr. right >> oh, what a profound impact me. that was actress vanessa udson playing her. she tweeted out. last night my daddy passed away and she said tonight i do the show in his honor. we are thinking of you, vanessa.d shoppers in rome. owen wilson and ben still lers posed as real-life models in the windows. get ready for zoo lander 2. cannot wait. i'm gigi stone woods. this is "early today." with me, what you see is what you get. and i expect the same from my

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