keir simmons, nbc news, germany. >> the prisoner exchange was not tied to the iran nuclear agreement but it did come hours before international nuclear sanctions were lifted on iran. freeing up some $100 billion of frozen assets. richard engel got rare access in iran where the way of life could be about to change. >> reporter: iran is already preparing for its new future. sanction-free. a closed society, now open for business. in charge of monitoring the nuclear deal promised in tehran today that inspections would be fair. >> we are committed to continue our work in an impartial and nonpolitical and factual way. >> reporter: president obama yesterday addressed the iranian people directly. >> you, especially young iranians, have the opportunity to begin building new ties with the world. >> reporter: iran's president rouhani told his people that the deal is a win-win, supported by the whole world, he said, besides israel, warmongers in the region and what he called hard-liners in the united states, seen here as a reference to donald trump and other republican candidates. expectations h

nbc's keir simmons has the latest on the suspect. keir, good morning. >> reporter: erica, good morning. police hunting the killer believing he is in the tel aviv area. witnesses say they thought of the paris massacre. candles overnight for the victims of the killer still on a manhunt still on the way this morning. on surveillance camera, young people relax at a bar and dive for cover in fear. a gunman appears firing more than 15 rounds. seconds later, one survivor

. >>> as nbc simmons reports, a last minute snag with iran came close to derailing their freedom. >> reporter: washington post reporter with his brother, wife and mother. "i'm feeling good" he told them. he described his treatment in iran, imprisoned in a 15 by 20 foot room, in solitary confinement for 49 days and former marine was jailed for his sisters flew to germany excited to see him. >> i'm in a fog. this is surreal. i'm still in disbelief. >> reporter: on friday night the white house told people close to the men there might be news and on saturday morning they began to be released and a scene one u.s. official described as something out of the film "fargo." they a were told they couldn't leave with him. >> he told him this must be part of the deal. >> reporter: a deal criticized who say a group of convicted iranians should not have been let go. and one captor thanking and the others back to their families. >>> now to the growing out rage over the lack of diversity in oscar nominations, threatening to a full boycott from some of the biggest names. >> reporter: with the oscars j

keir simmons, nbc news, london. an estill man is behind bars for 27 year old malcolm orr -- was charged in connection with the attempted murder of an estill officer. if convicted orr could serve up to 30 years in prison. he was also charged with possession of a weapon during a violent with carries an years. parts of west columbia is without water this afternoon due to a relocation project. it will impact more than two dozen blocks in and around the leaphart road area. officials say the water will be turned back on at 8 tonight. once water is restored people in the area will need to boil water for at least one full minute before using it. primary day is drawing closer here in south carolina. today -- the palmetto state welcomed republican presidential he made several campaign stops. one of those was a meet and greet with voters in lexington. our mike desumma was there and joins us now with more. sam, marco rubio used today to win over as many minds and hearts as he could. a lot of polls had him trailing texas senator

nbc's keir simmons reports. >> they dove for cover in fear. the gunman firing relentlessly. seconds later, one survivor looks up in horror. around him, two are dead. seven people injured and two in critical condition. we were shaking and hid in the coverage room. he pulled a rifle from his backpack and began killing leaving bullet holes and bar stools overturned. a man hunt underway for the sho shooter. so far, the killer is still at large. keir simmons, nbc news london. >> happening today, history will be made in loudon county for the first time in the county board. 200 year history. the mayor will be sworn in as chairman. joining her for that historic moment, another elected african american supervisor. we are live with a preview of today's ceremony. hi, derrick. well, you know what, he's going to be live and he'll check in with us later in the show. >> we'll check in with him then. how lucky are you feeling today? the power ball jackpot up to $334 million. the 12th biggest in the game's history. the jackpot got a big bump. the next drawing is tonight. the lump sum pay out

we have the latest from nbc's keir simmons. >> reporter: free, after 4 1/2 years in an iranian prison. >> this is all still surreal and we're soaking it all in right now. >> reporter: amir hekmati, relieved and elated tonight. >> i feel alive for the first time. again. and i just really feel proud to be an american. >> reporter: in disbelief as his captors suddenly told him to pack his things, he finally landed in switzerland on sunday. >> as soon as we got out of iranian air space, champagne bottles were popped and the swiss are amazable. chocolate, veal was served. >> reporter: a marine, his military training helped him survive, he said. >> i didn't want to let my marine -- fellow marines down. >> reporter: and he thanked the president, congress and his family for securing his freedom. >> even the iranian officials who were our captors, essentially, were amazed and had asked us why is it that they are working so hard for you? and i just said, well that is america. >> this must make it difficult. >> but on msnbc today, the son of former fbi agent bob levinson missing for nine years i

nbc's keir simmons reports that they went first to a us military hospital there. :12-:15 :22-:27 :27-:32 :38-:43 1:06-1:29 this was jason rezaian's first taste of freedom. the washington post reporter met by u-s officials. he's now one of three at the u-s medical facility in landstuhl, germany. s/ reza rezaian's cousin :12-:15 'it's just, it's spectacular news. we're just so happy. i can't wait to see him'. in a flurry of activity last simmons: what did he say? "he told us i feel a whole lot better than i did 48 hours ago. which has to be the understatement of the weekend." former marine amir hekmati's sister was flying in for a reunion sot s/ sarah hekmati/ amir hekmati's sister :38-:43 'we have been on pins and needles, dying to see him. freedom. sot president "we're united and welcoming home sons and husbands and brothers who in lonely prison cells have endured an absolute nightmare." simultaneously america releasing iranian prisoners in texas. a nuclear deal. sanctions lifted. events viewed with suspicion by republicans. s/ keir simmons/ nbc news/ landstuhl, germany 1:06-1:29 and

keir simmons/ nbc news/ landstuhl, germany and mystery surrounds a fifth american prisoner who was freed but chose not to leaveve iran. no one seemsmso know why, perhaps he just didn't want the attention because we're toll that tte others had to wait for a day at the airport before they could leave and it may be days that they're here before they can go home while they undergo psychological evaluation. back to you. >> before the iowa caucuses took place last night in south carolina. hillary clinton and bernie sanders are now neck-and-neck in iowa, and sunday's debate was much less friendly than what we've seen so far. kim hutcherson reports. << democratic presidential candidates took the stage in charleston amid a tightening race between hillary clinton and bernie sanders. on sunday night the gloves came off. as expected, the candidates clashed on gun control. sanders hit out at clinton: (bernie sanders/demo cratic presidential candidate) "well i think secretary clinton knows what she says is disingenuous - i have a d- voting record from nra." while clinton doubled down (hillary clinton/

nbc's keir simmons reports that their recovery will be a slow process. << this morning jason rezaian is enjoying time with his wife, mom and brother"! who says jason asked about baseball and his basketball team - the warriors - over dinner. ali rezaian/ jason rezaian's brother 'he actually knew how the warriors were doing, that's how big a fan he is, from evin prison he's been tracking them' in that notorious iranian prison"! jason says at one point he spent 49 days in solitary confinement. his only exercise - in an eight amir hekmati"! reunited with his sisters and brother in law"! describes being tortured by ir's revolutionary guard. dan kildee/ representativ e of michigan's 5th districthe was in solitary confinement in a one meter by one meter cell cell for a very longime and deprived of sleep.' psychologists at this u-s base are assessing the men's state of mind"! a representative of freed prisoner saeed abedini, jailed for three and a half years, tells nbc news saeed is yet to see his family... while ananher man"! former f-b-i agagt bob levinson is still missing in iran"! iran c

iran consistently denies knowledge of his disappearance and has offered to help in s/ keir simmons/ nbc news/ landstuhl, germany 1:03-1:23 at one point the iranians even tried to stop jason rezaian's wife and mother from leaving iran with him according to the family. both he and amir hekmati are now undergoing medical evaluation here, but one representative tells me both physically and spiritually they're doing great. back to you. winning more than 500- million dollars can make a lot of things possible. what a tennessee couple says they're enjoying after they won the powerball....and the things they say are staying the same. temperatures started in the teens in many places as cold high pressure is in charge today though wednesday. today, sunny and cold, highs lower 40s. tonight, clear, cold, lows near 20 to lower 20s. wednesday, mostly sunny, chilly, highs middle 40s. thursday, increasing clouds, a chance of showers by evening, highs lower 50s. temperatures started in the teens in many places as cold high pressure is in charge today though wednesday. today, sunny and cold, highs tonight

keir simmons, nbc ne, germany. >>the controversial decion to lift teional nuclear satis on iran could have a mor ct owhat you pay the gas pp. it is just one of the ripple affects the an deal isavg the rest othe c orgn correspondent richard gerare access into iran and has more rorter: with sanctionft, iran isoving quickl op the taps at i vail flds. and it is alrey vingarkets. the putyil iran could soon export an extra half a n s a y, foow ba lf min rethe comingonths. >> the wld is as in extra o. so when iran ces backnline, theare going to badng to th oillut. ulgo even lower. >> rorter: goonews for consumers athe pump news for other o producers like sdi arabia. but inhe tiny, olfashioned stock exchange, iranians are betton the fure. >>a gooday at thhran ock exchan thrket jt clos. it was up a thound points, about 1.5%, at a time when markets almost everywhere else around t worldre tanking. sa has been a ader for n years. >>hat would you recommend that i buy? >> i would say to buy autoompany shares. >> iranianosts >>es

keir simmons, nbc news, london. >>> reopening after tragedy on monday, the site of the san bernardino mass shooting will once again open its doors. it's been one month since a husband and wife went on a rampage at the inland regional center complex during a holiday party. 14 people were killed. the regional center has been closed ever since and many employees have been working from home. starting on monday two of the offices on that campus will reopen. the regional center's employees help more than 30,000 people with developmental disabilities in the area. >>> eureka marked the new year with a moderate earthquake, the usgs marks a quake with a preliminary magnitude of 4.3 struck off the california coast. no tsunami threat. about an hour and a half later a quake with magnitude 6.5 struck six miles north of pittsburg. >> a little new year's eve shaking there. >>> meteorologist rob mayeda joins us with that microclimate forecast. >> not too far away near the mendocino triple junction off eureka we do have some rain there, not as much around the bay area but offshore pretty impressive loo

keir simmons, nbc news, germany. >>> the controversial decision to lift international nuclear sanctions on iran could have a major impact on what you pay at the gas pump. it is just one of the ripple affects the iran deal is having on the rest of the world. nbc news chief foreign correspondent richard engel got rare access into iran and has more. >> reporter: with sanctions lifted, iran is moving quickly to open the taps at its vast oil fields. and it is already moving markets. the deputy oil minister said that an extra half a million barrels a day, followed by a half million more in the coming months. >> the world is awash in extra oil. so when iran comes back online, they are going to be adding to that oil glut. that means prices could go even lower. >> reporter: good news for consumers at the pump. bad news for other oil producers like saudi arabia. but in the tiny, old-fashioned stock exchange, iranians are betting on the future. >> it was a good day here at the tehran stock exchange. the market just closed. it was up a thousand points, about 1.5%, at a time when markets almost ever

nbc's keir simmons reports. hawaii's beautiful moloka'i island... few get to visit this protected place.. but arriving by chopper, ... we find garbage washed up... and volunteers struggling to clean up. sot volunteer: 'this is just from one day, this was clean yesterday... shocking' plastic ... from the pacific... sot: "i got toothbrushes' everyday items... littering hawaii's coastline.. breaking into billions of small pieces that choke ocean life. from a floating garbage patch... sot: 'hi, good to meet you' ... that began accumulating before this 21 year old was born. sot: 'you get sea sick? i do' laughs but dutch entrepreneur boyan slat believes he has a solution. next year he wants to build the largest floating barrier ever deployed.. and use the ocean's own currents to capture plastic. this year he persuaded 30 boats to join an expedition to first find out how much plastic is out there.. sot: 'what we're doing here now has never been done before.' the pacific garbage patch is located between the west coast and hawaii. for a month the boats trawl

nbc's kier simmons has the story. << former marine and now former walked out of this u-s base in germany, stood here, pleased to be free, glad to be an american. s/ amir hekmati / released u.s. prisoner "i feel lucky, alive...for the first timemen a long time. and veve humbled at everybodods support." he said as they were leaving iranian space... s/ amir hekmati / released u.s. prisoner "the champagne bottles were popped, the swiss are amazing, their hospitality, chocolates, veal was served." they didn't know whether they would really be released, he was waiting for two and a half days. he said he thought he would be in prison for ten years...he's been put in solitary confinement, he was subjected to sleep deprivation. s/ amir hekmati / released u.s. prisoner "there is a lot that i have to say about the experience and what happened and i hope to bring that to the american people and the world. " he said when he first saw his family they were speechless until they were tears. when he will head home is his choice. it is up to him. at the same time, the family of bob levinson was watching h

nbc's keir simmons has our report. >> reporter: captured on a security camera, young people relaxing in a bar. then diving for cover, in fear. a gunman appears, firing relentlessly. seconds later, one survivor looks up in horror, around him two are dead. seven people were injured. two in critical condition tonight. >> we were shaking, this woman says. we hid in the storage room. >> reporter: more the same gunman moments earlier in a grocery store, apparently buying food. he pulls a rifle from his backpack and begins killing. leaving bullet holes and bar stools overturned in terror. no happy new year here. one survivor thought of last year's palace massacre and took shelter. >> i fall and i waited but [ inaudible ]. >> reporter: a manhunt underway for the shooter. israeli media are reporting police have identified an arab israeli suspect. some believe this could be the country's first isis-inspired attack. investigators say the motive may be criminal. but last month abu backer al-baghdadi threatened israel. one of those killed was a man, age 26. >> my son was special, his father said.

nbc's keir simmons has some of the pictures out of dubai. >> reporter: the cities around the world prepared to celebrate with more spectacular displays of fireworks, dubai put on an unexpected display. and one that many people were lucky to escape alive. >> whoa. >> reporter: flames, 20 feets floor. engulfed the luxury building. chunks of debris falling still on fire. >> it was six or seven minutes the entire side of the building was engulfed in flames. >> reporter: more than two hours, the sky lynn lit up and not by the scheduled fireworks display. emergency responders racing to help. >> we saw quite a bit of firefighters making their way running top speed through the >> reporter: inside, there was pandemonium one survivor said. at least 14 people were injured. outside, others fled. >> there was debris raining down from as high as 20 floors up at least in that building and now you can see what they're trying to do is get -- get everybody out of the mall area. >> reporter: yet at midnight, dubai's world famous fireworks went ahead to the disbelief of many. >> it is really surreal and bizarr

nbc's keir simmons reports their recovery will be a slow process. this morning jason rezaian is enjoying time brother who says jason asked about baseball and his basketball team - the warriors - over dinner. (sot) s/ ali rezaian/ jason rezaian's brother :11-:15 'he actually knew how the warriors were doing, that's how big a fan he is, from evin prison he's been tracking them' in that notorious iranian prison jason says at one point he spent 49 days in solitary confinement. his only exercise - in an eight by eight foot concrete yard. amir hekmati reunited with his sisters and brother in law describes being tortured by iran's revolutionary guard. (sot) s/ dan kildee/ representative of michigan's 5th district :34-:40 'he was in time and deprived of sleep.' psychologists at this u-s base are assessing the men's state of mind a representative of freed prisoner saeed abedini, jailed for three and a half years, tells nbc news saeed is yet to see his family... while another man former f-b-i agent bob levinson is still missing in iran iran consistently denie

nbc's kira simmons reports from london with new details about the shooter. >> reporter: multiple developments of police in tel aviv hunt for the man who gunned down two people and swrired seven. police have confirmed that their suspect is a 31-year-old man, he is an arab-really. now a lawyer for the family speaking to nbc news said that the family's house was raided, that the brother was arrested, a computer was confiscated and that lawyer who represented the suspect in the past and has been speaking to the suspect's father, says he believes the suspect directly is insane. the man's father himself has come out of the house to hold a news conference. he said i did not educate him in such a way, i am deeply sorry. i am part of everyone's suffering. it doesn't matter if you are arab or jew. >> as far as i'm concerned, i don't care if he's normal or not, he just came and the whole idea was just to kill. >> reporter: around tel aviv, people are being instructed to just go on with their everyday life while intelligence searches to find this killer. >>> reopening after tragedy. on monday the site of

nbc's keir simmons reports >> reporter: this morning jason rezaian is enjoying time with his wife and brother. he asked about his baseball and basketball teams over dinner. >> he was tracking them in prison. >> reporter: in that notorious iranian prison, jason says at one point he spent 49 days in solitaire confinement, his only exercise in an eight by 8-foot concrete yard. amir hekmati reunited with his sisters and brother-in-law describes being tortured by iran's revolutionary guards. >> reporter: psychologists at this u.s. base are assessing the men's state of mind, a representative of free prisoner aside said abedini -- one another man, former fbi agent iran. iran consistently denies knowledge of his disappearance and offered to help in the at one point the iranians even tried to stop jason rezaian's wife and mother from leaving iran with him according to the family because he and amir hekmati undergoing medical evaluation here. but both physically and spiritually, they are doing great. >>> bond for the man accused of shooting people in lakewood will stay at half a million dollars

nbc's keir simmons is in germany where the released americans may be headed.eir, what have you learned? >> reporter: hey, reverend al. these have been some tense hours. we may now be learning why there may have been a delay, a white house official making clear that one of the prisoners did not leave iran. another senior administration official saying those who wish to depart iran have left. now, they have been, we understand, taken to switzerland. we expect them to now then be brought to this u.s. medical facility in germany, and they must be breathing a sigh of relief. free from an iranian prison, five americans, their release a hard-won break-through on a momentous weekend. former marina myrrh hekmati, iraq war veteran, held for four long years by iran. his family posted thanks on facebook. saeed abedini, jailed over three years. his wife got the news. >> surreal, unbelievable. i woke up my kids around 7:30 and told them that daddy's coming home and he's out of the prison and they were just so shocked but they were jumping up and down and excited. >> reporte

nbc's keir simmons live for us in germany, thank you, keir, as always.nk you for getting up with us on this sunday. melissa harris-perry is next. plus a previous of the final democratic debate before iowa. you can watch that on nbc on 9:00 eastern with post-game coverage here on msnbc. see you next weekend. have a great week. you think you're doing all you can for your heart health, ...but 9 out of 10 americans... ...aren't getting enough important omega-3s. bayer pro ultra omega-3 can help, with two times the concentration of omega-3s than the leading brand. love your heart ... with bayer pro ultra omega-3. theand the kids always eat sky their vegetables.e. because the salad there is always served with the original hidden valley ranch. staying in rhythm... it's how i try to live... how i stay active. so i need nutrition... that won't weigh me down. for the nutrition you want without the calories you don't... try boost® 100 calories. each delicious snack size drink gives you... 25 vitamins and minerals and 10 grams of protein. so it's big in nutrition an