. >> hallie jackson reporting for us.o bloomberg reporter kevin, merry christmas and what do the candidates normally do? what is the tradition on christmas? >> happy friday, merry christmas to you. most of the candidates spent the night last night at church like a lot of other americans and senator bernie sanders who is jewish spent the evening with his wife and family in vermont. all of the candidates going to church last night. >> what do they do on the campaign trail? when does that happen? >> i'll be up back in new hampshire on sunday, and monday morning. mr. trump is expected to have a huge rally monday night in new hampshire. he is leading the pack there, richard. but hot on his tail of course is former florida governor jeb bush who also will be campaigning there. a lot of the other candidates spending a lot of time in iowa and new hampshire and that's only going to continue as we inch closer to the first contest. >> 24 hours. president obama is in hawaii. i was thinking how do presidents normally celebrate, at leas

hallie jackson has more. >> don't feel guilty about your last-minute christmas shopping.ven presidential candidates are procrastinating. jeb bush browsing board games. >> unlike donald trump, i didn't try to have a monopoly in real estate. >> and taking shots at donald trump, who is focusing on his own feud with hillary clinton. >> i really haven't gone after hillary yet. there's a lot to go after. the job she's done is horrible. >> trump cautioning clinton after she said this -- >> it's not the first time he's demonstrated a penchant for sexism. >> and donald trump is the only candidate i've seen in i don't know how many cycles that's been able to get away with what he gets away with. the electorate constantly forgives him for the things that he says. >> trump making plenty of noise but on christmas quiet on the campaign trail, candidates spending time with family, sending greetings to supporters and in rand paul's case airing his annual festive grievances. >> hallie jackson reporting for us. good morning to you, my friend. what do the candidates normally do? what's the

we get more from hallie jackson. >> reporter: for donald trump, language he might like. russian from vladimir putin and poetry from jimmy kimmel. channelling dr. seuss. >> there are two kinds of people which one will you be, a loser like them or a winner -- >> like me. >> trump could be headed for a storybook ending. the race's leader for months. now facing fresh competition with ted cruz solidly in second place. but he's playing defense today after attacks from marco rubio over what to do million people living here illegally. rubio wants to of them citizens. cruz does not. support any legal that's more politically palatable to conservative now he's having to explain why he said this, proposing an amendment back in 2013. eligible for legal status. >> sounded like he wanted the bill to pass. >> of course i wanted the bill to pass. my amendment to pass. >> you said the bill. >> it would take citizenship off the table. >> reporter: cruz says he was trying to make a political point to prove the bill's supporters would budge. -- wouldn't budge. >> it laid naked. the partisans

lester. >> hallie jackson, thank you. >> a solemn ceremony at an air base in delaware. the remains of six airmen killed by a taliban suicide bomber in afghanistan on monday were brought home late this afternoon. the dignified transfer ceremony was attended by defense secretary ash carter. defense officials say the six airmen were killed while providing security for a meeting with local afghan leaders. >>> meanwhile, there under way tonight in iraq where government forces supported by u.s. air-strikes have launched an offensive against isis militants in the key city of ramadi. isis has occupied ramadi for months after driving out and humiliating iraqi forces. but now the forces have regrouped and are advancing, this time leaving isis in retreat. our report from nbc's bill neely. >> reporter: ramadi is under siege. and its attackers say they will wrench it from the grip of isis within days. there is fighting. iraqi tanks advancing steadily. an assault backed by dozen of air-strikes in a city where hundreds of american troops died in the war against saddam. the enemy now,

and today hallie jackson traveled exclusively with him, and donald trump came out swinging. >> donald trump sticking the landing on a victory lap, like he is the nominee, a day after promising if he is not, he won't run as an independent. >> i'm totally committed to the republican party. i feel honored to be the front-runner. >> reporter: the donald trump battle everyone expected with ted cruz never materialized. but one with jeb bush did. >> you will never be president of the united states by -- insulting your way to the presidency. >> i'm at 42, you're at 3. >> last night i have jeb come at me. low energy. >> and in another corner, cruz versus rubio hammering over national security and immigration. >> the ted cruz rule out ever legalizing people in this >> senator cruz? >> i will -- i have never supported legalization and i do not intend to support it. >> cruz counter punch aimed at the pathway to citizenship, part of the immigration reform he tried to pass in 2013. now a liability. >> do you regret having been a part of that process? >> no. i went to washington to solve problems. >

nbc's hallie jackson >> reporter: in iowa, icy weather is forcing campaigns to cancel stops. but in new hampshire, a different kind of flurry. attacks from donald trump. not just on hillary clinton now. but her husband. >> bill clinton is not going to be the end-all in the campaign. and he'll come under attack. >> reporter: the former first family bundled up with trump's tweet storms gaining strength. writing, if hillary thinks she can unleash her husband with his terrible record of women abuse while playing the women's card on me, she's wrong. >> i think he is fair game because his presidency was considered to be troubled. >> picking on trump for the comments he made about women, it is fair game. >> this is a sure-fire way to get conservatives to like you more but not as great of a general election strategy. >> reporter: late, a response from the clinton campaign, hillary clinton won't be bullied or distracted by attacks by her and former president clinton. up to him. a turn around from 2008. >> hillary is a great friend of mine. her husband is a great friend of mine. fantas

nbc's hallie jackson is on the campaign trail. >> reporter: december drama for jeb bush. in a surprise move, emptying his miami headquarters to send staffers to early states and canceling $3 million worth of ad time to pump that money into getting out the vote. still keep him all over tv in hopes the bush could be the party's traditional pick. >> at some point someone will have to be the standard bearer for the establishment they don't have any time left to wait. where the fiercest fight is happening, for third place. behind donald trump and ted cruz, the establishment candidates firing at each other. is tough, we are nowhere close to tough yet. >> reporter: but trump is still dominating the polls, and the crowd count, today this long trump line treated inside to this trump line. >> i'll tell you who doesn't like hillary, are women. women don't like hillary. >> reporter: trump amping up attacks against his former wedding guests, both clintons. >> she wants to accuse me of things and the husband is one of the great abusers of the world. >> reporter: and he is announcing pl

so from the lawrence family, and ours, happy holidays from nbc. >>> nbc's hallie jackson. and i tried, nothing that will do it for us on a tuesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. >> 911 recordings released. when a woman drove her car into a crowd of innocent people on the las vegas strip. >> it wasn't all tourists. that is a local guy who works on the strip when he was hit by that car>> all eyes are on mother nature with a holiday weekend approaching. news three live at 6:00 starts right now. >> live from las vegas. recordings that give us a

with donald trump still atop the polls hallie jackson says the competition is intensifying.n the race for the white house it's full throttle two months from iowa where ben carson is stalled, slipping behind ted cruz who is pulling closer to front-runner donald trump. fuelled by evangelical support and his signature strategy, taking on his own party. most recently for not fighting back harder against misperceptions most republicans do not support contraception. >> this is a made up, nonsense example. last i checked, we don't have a rubber shortage in america. [ laughter ] >> reporter: cruz's comments raising eyebrows with jeb bush, in single digits in iowa and new hampshire. adding staff there, but trump's still on top, trailed by marco rubio, chris christie stuck in 7th and in overdrive, hoping to make his move after several key endorsements in a state where establishment moderates usually do better against outsiders. how seriously do you expect to win in new hampshire? >> even the loyal republicans who will be voting in the primary and dependents who participate, they're ju

i feel much better back here. >> hallie jackson reporting. jeb bush did self-described therapy at a campaign event, where he railed against trump, calling him a jerk. >>> on "snl" this weekend, amy poehler reprised her role as hillary clinton and joined kate mckinnon's hillary on stage for surprising news. >> now, hold on, hillary. even if you beat bernie, aren't you worried about the republicans? who is their front runner? >> i will tell you, but only if you grab on to something to brace yourself because you are going to hit the f-ing floor. >> i'll be fine. just tell me. >> no, you need to hold on to something. >> hillary. >> i'm warning you. donald trump. i told you. >> oh, my god, we're going to be president! >>> this morning, new developments in the man hunt for the so-called affluenza teenager who killed four people while driving drunk and received only probation after his attorneys claimed his family's affluence spoiled him and it was a factor. kerry sanders has the latest. >> reporter: someone must be helping ethan couch elude capture

hallie jackson, nbc news, washington. >>> when we come back from southern california, have americans become numb to mass shootings? how do we keep from losing hope in times like these? san bernardino killers. ===vo jess=== new at 6, a man who attended the same mosque as this suspect, speaks out about the massacre. ===jan oc=== plus, the major change you could soon see at every restaurant in one bay area county. ===next close=== the news is next. >>> here in southern california, and all across the country, americans are struggling to make sense of difficult times. today, as this community prepares to lay the victims to rest, ceremonies were held for victims of two other mass shootings in the last three weeks. nbc's kevin tibbles looks at how americans are trying to cope with these events without giving up hope. >> reporter: today the funeral of a fallen officer taken in last week's mass shooting in colorado springs. and a funeral of young californian, killed in the paris attack. as florist shops in san bernardino now prepare for their funerals. >> you don't think it will happen out he

despite stellar fund-raising numbers in the fourth quarter, our hallie jackson reports that several of those close to carson are jumping ship. >> reporter: a campaign in chaos. ben carson asking his top advisor not to resign. but campaign manager barry bennett had already made up his mind. >> i don't need to bang my head on the wall any more. describing low morale, job insecurity and infighting. >> i think we can still win iowa, but only if this internal rivet stops. >> reporter: his deputy campaign manager, constant disagreements between his aides and long-time friend armstrong williams. >> dissension is not bad as long as the candidate comes out better, more well prepared and ready for this battle that is ahead. >> reporter: carson calling this a new phase and necessary to in gorate his campaign with a strategy that more aggressively shares his vision and world view. after falling from first to fourth in the last couple of months. >> out of chaos, leadership rises. there is a new carson emerging and you and others will see it soon. >> reporter: what's it going to look like? >> a man

i'm going to vote for him. work for him any more. >> reporter: hallie jackson, nbc news, washington. >>> when we come back, new hope for a new year as cities around the globe welcome 2016. my sister raves about her toothpaste and mouthwash all the time. i'm like, huh? aren't they all the same? you know, i had to see for myself. so i went pro. with crest pro-health advanced. advance to a healthier, stronger, cleaner mouth from day 1. this toothpaste... p ...and mouthwash make my whole mouth feel amazing. and my teeth stronger. pcrest pro-healthpadvanced is superior in these 5 areas dentists check. this is gonna go well, for sure. advance to a healthier stronger, cleaner mouth from day 1. great check up. my sister was right. but drinking an entire full size nutritional drink can be a challenge. try new boost compact nutritional drink. the only drink that provides complete nutrition in half the size of other nutritional drinks. boost compact is filled with 10 grams of protein, plus 26 vitamins and minerals including calcium and vitamin d, to help you get the nutrition you need. try new

so from the lawrence family, and ours, happy holidays from nbc. >>> nbc's hallie jackson. and i tried, nothing rhymes with that. that will do it for us on a tuesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. >>> nbc bay area news starts now. >>> right now it's 6:00. this is a photo of a robbery in progress. in the flash of an eye, this man snapped up every iphone he could carry. i'm raj mathai. >> and i'm jessica aguirre. police say crooks are targeting stores and shoppers in one east bay city at an alarming rate. we're joined from downtown walnut creek with a warning from police and the tactics they're using to stop thieves and that whole area is so busy this time of year. >> reporter: so busy and thieves are being so agrgressivaggressi. thefts here have increased 200% since last year. the most recent incident happened yesterday and tonight police are stepping up patrols. it took just seconds for this suspect to grab five iphone 6s from this store yesterday, a sign of the season. >> people are hardup and anal is a good produc

for more ton that, nbc's hallie jackson reports. >> reporter: in the race for the white house, it's full throttle two months out from iowa where ben carson is stalled, slipping behind ted cruz who's pulling closer to frontrunner, donald trump. fumed by evangelical support and his signature strategy, taking on his own party, most recently for not fighting back that most republicans do not support contraception. >> this is a made up nonsensic baffle. last i checked, we don't have a rubber shortage in america. >> reporter: cruz's comments raising eyebrows with jeb bush in single digits in iowa and new hampshire, adding that chris christie is stuck in seventh, and hoping to make his move after several key indorsements in a state where establishment moderates usually do better against outsiders. >> how seriously, do you realistically expect to win? >> even the loyal republicans will be voting and they're just starting to tune in now. >> reporter: still, even though insiders christie, rubio, bush and their supporters have spent a combined 47.5 million on tv ads, the candidates spending less ar

>>>>nbc's hallie jackson. and i tried, nothing rhymes with that. that will do it for us on a tuesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news,,hank you for watctcng and good night.for over a year so she can buy gifts for veterans this holiday season. plus - a small eastern iowa high school is rewarded by the democratic presidential front runner after they constantly ask her to comeeto their school. and - the warm weather has many people enjoying the winter, but "you're watching kwwl, we've got you coveredd this is the news at six." good evening everyone, i'm amanda goodman. ron s off tonightt allowance money for more than a

so from the lawrence family, and ours, happy holiday urrom nby c. >>> nbc's hallie jackson. and i tried, nothing rhymes with that. that will do it for us on a tuesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc

so from the lawrence family, and ours, happy holidays from nbc. >>> nbc's hallie jackson. rhymes with that. that will do it for us on a tuesday night. i'm lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night.if i have a conflict i'm going to recuse myself just for the appearance not all council members feel the same way... see the legal opinion behind christine hensley's controversial vote approving tax breaks that could help her employer. the bait and tackle business is pretty much nonexistent until we get safe ice winter is here...ice anglers are ready... but waiting... and a look at the lake that could be the first in iowa to welcome them. moines school today...

but as nbc's hallie jackson reports, second place ted cruz is facing fresh competition. >> reporter: he's playing defense after attacks from marco rubio over what to do with the estimated 11 million people living here illegally. rubio wants to eventually make some of them citizens. cruz does not. and says he doesn't support any kind of legal status. that's more politically palatable to conservative primary voters. but now he's having to explain why he said this, proposing an amendment back in 2013. >> they would still be eligible for legal status. >> sounded like he wanted the bill to pass. >> of course i wanted the bill to pass -- my amendment to pass. >> you said the bill. >> what my amendment did is take citizenship off the table. >> reporter: cruz says is he was trying to make a political point to prove the bill's spoefters wouldn't budge. >> it lay naked the partisanship, the hypocrisy and the lies behind the proponents of the rubio/schumer amnesty plan. >> reporter: it's rubio who should be on the ropes for his support of that comprehensive immigration reform bill, unpopular wi

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