>> thank you. it's thursday, january 28th and coming up on "early today," the exchanges were hot and heavy between the donald and the factor. but do iowa voters care if trump ditches tonight's debate? new details on the oregon shooting with police and a message from bundy, occupiers, go home. walmart closing 150 stores, devastating some communities, creating food deserts in others, without a grocery store to be found. plus police pay the price of excessive force during an arrest. long lines for 39 cents a gallon gas. and rachel maddow gets to the heart of the water crisis in flint, michigan. "early today" starts right now. with four days until the

is still not participating in the fox news debate tonight. host bill o'reilly pleaded with him to reconsider. >> will you just consider, yub want you to consider, all right, think about it, say look, i might come back -- >> well, even though you and i had an agreement that you wouldn't aske that, which we did, i will therefore forget that you asksk me that. >> o'reilly also tried to play the religion card but trump wouldn't have any of it. >> in your christian faith there's the tenant of forb giveinousgive giveness giveness. don't you think that's the right thing to do? >> it it probably is but it's called an eye for an eye, i guess. >> no, no, no. if you're the christian, the eye for the eye rule goes out.

>> you're taking this much more seriously than i am. i'm going to have a wonderful time tomorrow night at 9:00 at drake university. >> so, tonight it's the donald going up against the rest of the gop candidates in theox debate scheduled for the same time at a separate event. meanwhile ted cruz is doubling down on his challenge, asking his twitter followers to tell him to accept #ducking donald. and from the c cz campaign web page, which shows donald trump's head superimposed on scrooge mcduck. super r ck supporting crews offering a d dation of $1.5 million to charities committed to helping veterans. and "ted cruz wants to debate me again.

>> and katy terr. >> reporter: trump possibly betting at the risk of a no show is better than the risk of a poor performance. in response, trump's opponents are piling on, ted cruz not so btly tweeting that trump's a coward. and iowa, locales want to get it over with. >> i don't think he's credible candidate. i wouldn't vote for him if he was the only one running. >> more drama, more pech lnt behavior. >> even beacher who is still deciding between trump and bush, says he's had enough. >> i don't need it at this point. >> if trump is running a risk, it's that some voters in iowa are going to say this is immature but that's relatively

are supporting trump who will see this as a move of strength. >> reporter: and there's still little signs the campaighas followed through on its get out the vote effort. turning now to the democrats and the increasingly close race between hillary clinton and bernie sanders. yesterday the vermomo sanders took time off to a private meeting with president obama. and afterwards, spoke with nbc's lest holt. >> it was a private conversation but if there's anyone in the world who upnderstands what campaigning in iowa and new hampshire is all about and putting together an extraordinary grass roots movement that took him to victory, that is barack obama. >> and he went on to ad that his success in iowa is winning and he'll do that if there's a large voter turn out.

debate this week and bernie sanders is not ready to commit to that debate yet. hillararclinton says that she is in. >> look, i'm ready for the debate and i hope senator sanders will change his mind and join us. and i think that the campaign should be able to work this out. i've said for a long time that i would be happy to have more debates and i hopee can get this done. >> now to the latest in the occupation of that oregon wildlife refuge. this morning a few antigovernment activists remain at the refuge. they have sealed off the facility with a series of check points. their leader sent this message through his attorney. >> t t those remaining that refuge, i love you. let us take this fight from here..

>> nbc's's so i fryjoe fryer has more. >> reporter: authorities are tightening their grip around the wildlife refuge, blocking roads and some remain not giving up on theirrrmed occupation. >> peaceful resolution is what you keep hearing and that's what we expect. >> reporter: but many of the group's leaders are now occupying a jail cell. some were stopped boo iy the fbi and state police one vehicle drove off and hit a sn bank and then finiken emerged brandishing a firearm. he was killed. another one a was shot in the arm and survived. several including the bundy brothers appeared in court facing charges. and ene had just returned home to see his family. three and half weeks have past since the armed group took

and now they say those remaining need to pack up and go and they won't be rested. >> if the people on the refuge want to leave, they're free eto do so. and officer indicted on excessive force charges. caught on surveillance video in 2014, derrick price was arrested on a drug warrant and in the footage appears to surrender, at no point resisting the arrest but five deputies are seen kicking him repeatedly. he faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 if convicted. the four other deputies rizion resigned. by the end oof today, walmart will have shut down nearly all of its stores scheduled for closing, many in small wns. here to one of the many

to find fresh food after walmart leaves. >> reporter: in tiny oriental north carolina, population 900, everything changed when thehe giant came to town. >> it was bad. i mean, immediately it effected us. >> it kills . >> reporter: for 44 years her family ran a grocery store here and then a walmart express came along and she closeder stores. >> i feel it's very malicious of them to leave this town in the state it's in. >> reporter: turning oriental into a food desert without a single grocery store. >> anybody here that wants to buy an onion has to drive a 40 mile round trip. >> reporter: the company plans to open 300 new locations around the world, closing stores is never an easy decision he says but it is necessary to keep the

for the future. >> they weren't really in the right location and the product mix just wasn't right. >> reporter: rebecca anderson was laid off when walmart opened up near the mom and pop store. >> we were all about the people and they were all about us and when walmart came, we were no more. >> reporter: many wondering what will fill the void now that giant is leaving town. >> all right, it's thursday. you made it most of the way through the week. bill karins is here. >> all eyes on florida once again. we had three to four inches of rain, a few isolated tornados, winds 90 t t 100 miles per hour. and we're going to watch the storms, again, isolated risk of severe storms. there are lightning strikes not

and then we'll get another linin this afternoon. so, a marginal risk of severe weather and then all downn through the keys. so, isolated, severe weather, just like yesterday. and looks like fort meyers, will time you out, the worst of it around noon to 1:00 p.m. and then we'll continue to watch the line dow towards west palm beach as we go throughout your late afternoon, if we get isolated tornados, @ikely near the miami area. so, keep an eye to the sky and your local nbc station as we go throughout to the early evening today. and the cold front will be gone by 8:00 p.m. and texas all the way to montana, nice little january thaw. now a closer look at your day ahead. well, the temperatures are beautiful in the southeast today. it's hard to believe it was snowing and wintry last week where today it will be in the

even 27 at fargo this time of year is above average. no cold shots on the way. middle of the country, pretty big storm for you next week. big earnings and a few mood changes ahead for facebook. plus, want to own a brand new delorean. we'l'ltell you how next.seizing opportunity. so i'm going to take this opportunity to go off script. so if i wanna go to jersey and check out shotsy ccerelli's portfolio, what's it to you? or i'm a scottish mason whose assets are made of stone like me heart. papa! you're no son of mine! or perhaps it's time to seize the day. don't just see opportunity, seize it! (applause) choose the one new revlon ultimate-all-in-one. our revolutionary mascara delivers 5 lash-transforming benefits. volume, leng, definition, lift, and intense color. choose love

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lector from "silence of the lambs." because he's accused of torching a victim with a blow torch. in texas one generous gas station had gas for 39 cents. we haven't seen prices that low since 1969. governor rick snyder said replacing the city's pipes is not on his short term enda. residents are dedesperate for hopes to fix the toxic system. and first rachel maddow talked about the economic impacts with a master plumber. >> part of the problem is replacing that service line. how big a job is that? >> for something like this, probably three to five grand

without an upstairs, ruffle aoughly $4,000. and the plumbing will cost more than you could sell your house for. >> a pediatrician who helped expose the elevated led levels in children. [ applause ] >> you can hear the w w she's viewed in this town. [ applause ] >> if we don't act for these kids now, we will see those consequences in 10, 15, 20 years. >> democracy needs to be restored in flint. en you're elected you are supposed to speak up and speak out on behalf of the people that got you there. >> we're going to do everything human possibly federally to help. howeve it does not take the place of the state. the state has a rainy day fund.

step up and fix this. >> democratic senators in congress say they plan to ad an amendment to an energy bill currently being considered. the delorean is coming back to the future. a facility in humboldt, texas will start manufacturing it for the it first time in three decades, using refurbished parts. a new model will cost just under $100,000. the first car expected to be completed in 2017. and soon users of facebook will have more ways to express their feelings after four months of testing, mark zuckerberg says six new emote cons will be added soon including symbols for angry, sad, wow, yea, and love. just ahead, tennis star, serena williams is on her way to

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this morning on "today," theworkplace emergency series continued with what you should do if there's an active shooter at work.

serena williams finds herself pursuing her seventh australian open title. 6-0-6-4. she'll be in the finals on saturday. in hockey a blind side hit. they claimed he cross checked henderson into thth boards. henderson gets up, looking a little dazed, no penalties were called and later he said the hit was unintentional and that he apologized to heheerson. we'll see what happens when they rule on the seemingly dirty maneuver. and number five texas a&m loses to arkansas in fayette vill, 74-71. just ahead, guess which highly anticipated album was accidently leaked. plus actor harrison ford

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(baseball on tv inackground) with heart failure, danger is always on the rise. symptoms worsen becae your heart isn't pumping well. (water filling room) about 50 percent of people die (dog whimpering) within 5 years of getting diagnosed. but there's something you can do. talk to your doctor about heart failure treatment options. because the more you know, the more likely you are... (dog whimpering) totoeep it pumping. all right, now for evtertainment news this morning. rean rihanna rihanna's new album was accidently leaked by jay-z's streaming service. and nattilyly portman revealed

awakens but added she heard it was amazing. and harrison ford in an upcoming tv special. andnd tyra banks is a new mom. she welcomed a baby boy via surrogate. and she thanked her, calling her an angel of a woman. and amazon firststver super bowl ad will feature baldwin and dan merino. >> that's a good a-lister for your first super bowl ad. >> alec baldwin is a good one. i'm shannon mulaire and this is "early toda" e trade@is all about seizing opportunity. so i'm going to take this opportunity to go off script. so if i wanna go to jersey and check out shotsy tuccerelel's portfolio, what's it to you? or i'm a scottish mason whose assets are made of stone like me heart.

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leading the news in the los angeles times, orange county sheriff's deputy loses ar 15 rifle. it was lost on tuesday after it was placed on the lid of the patrol car's trunk. the shift started around 7:00 p.m. and noticed it was missing nearly eight hours later. anyone with information is asked to call the department. d australian accused of planning to pack kangaroo with bomb. they discussed setting the kangaroo loose on police officers. he was inspired by t t islamic state. he pleas notuilty to the charges. the university of missouri professor who tried to block a

has been suspended pending further investigation. click, who called for muscle, has also been charged with assault. one 99-year-old lady didn't think it was adorable when she ke up screaming to banana on her chest. 's native to south american rain forests snuck into her home monday night. it's beeneturned to its rightful owner. this time today the challenger claiming the lives of all seven astronauts. here's how it was reported. >> reporter: it was a bitter cold but sparkling cold morning. here that last seconds of the countdown. >> three, two, one,nd lift off.

>> reporter: all the communications between shuttle and mission control showed that it was going fine. there was much relief that it was finally on its way. >> three good fuel ces. engine is tlaut throttling up. >> reporter: it happened under one minute into flight. >> velocity 125 per feet per second. nine nautical miles. >> reporter: from mission control, silence. then bland, chilling report. >> we have a report from the flight deignynamics officer that it has exploded.