peter alexander has the story. sot: donald trump: "he's been really nice until the last couple of days. now, he's getting a little testy!" donald trump.. still on "cruz control".. nats: trump rally: "born in the usa.." ..the tycoon recently turning to "the boss".. before rallies playing "born in the u-s-a".. to taunt rival, ted cruz.. born in canada to an american mother. trump telling a crowd of thousands he's prepared for anything tonight. sot: donald trump: "they attack, but unlike this country, i attack back." cruz... holding on to a narrow lead in iowa... insists trump is howie carr show": "i think he may shift in his new rallies to playing 'new york, new york' from new york, and he embodies new york values." but now... the new york times reports cruz failed to properly disclose a loan up to a-half million dollars from goldman sachs -- where his wife works -- to help fund his 2012 senate campaign. "semantics." sot: sen. ted cruz: "it is facts of the underlying matter have been disclosed for many, many years. i

that was peter alexander reporting... gop presidential candidate ben carson will take a break from the campaign trail after one of his volunteers died in car accident. "braden joplin was an amazing young man. i had an opportunity to - to get to know him and the thing that impressed me the most was how 25-year-old braden joplin died yesterday after a van carrying four staff members flipped over on an icy stretch of highway and was hit by another vehicle. the three other passengers in the accident were treated and released from a local hospital. these three republican candidates are in the state today. rick santorum, carly fiorina and mike huckabee all spoke this morning. fiorina just finished speaking at the greater des moines botanical gardens. huckabee is speaking in carroll at this hour...and then head to wall lake... santorum will be heading to sheldon in just a half hour...and then head to cherokee at 3 p-m... as for democrats, hillary clinton is the only candidate in town today... she will speak at the pzazz conventi

that was peter alexander reporting. trump says he plans to hold a simultaneous event thursday night.. opposite the debate.. that he says will support veterans and wounded warriors. as the national media flocks to des moines monday for the caucuses, local hospitality businesses hope to capitalize. more than 16-hundred media members are registered to cover the caucus and hundreds more are expect to still sign up. hotels in the area are at 90 percent capacity and most hotels downtown are completely booked. local say they are better prepared to handle the caucus crowd than they were just a decade ago. "research showed us years ago that when you ask people about what do you think about des moines, iowa. al lot of people didn't really have a perception abut des moines. so it really does show that we are a cool, vibrant place. we are a big corporate city. we are insurance hub. it is what we are. we are a cool place and it does show us well." google is giving candidates a new window into your political searches... literally...

peter alexander has the story... donald trump... betting he's bigger than fox news. the republican front-runner will be in des moines tonight... ... but not at the final gop debate before iowa, instead, touting a "special event" -- at the exact same time -- benefitting veterans at a college auditorium just miles away. late wednesday, trump defended his fox boycott... on fox news. "i was not treated well by fox, they came out with this ridiculous statement like it was written up by a child. it was a taunt. and i said how much of this do you take?" host bill o'reilly all but begged the billionaire to reconsider, appealing to appetite and his christian faith. "i bought you so many vanilla milkshakes, you owe me. forgive, go forward. answer the questions, look out for the folks. just want you to consider it. you owe me milkshakes." trump - refusing to back down "even though you and i had an agreement that you wouldn't ask me that, which we did, i will it's up to fox, it's not up to me, bill." here, in iowa... "if gentle donald cannot handle megyn kelly..." ... rival ted

that was peter alexander reporting. republican presidential hopeful mike huckabee is in western iowa today. as for ben carson, this afternoon he will make two campaign stops after he took a couple days off because a member of his staff died campaigning for him. 25-year old braden joplin died when a bus of campaign staffers crashed tuesday.. carson spent time with joplin's family and canceled his events for the remainder of the day. urbandale police arrested a wisconsin sex offender after he led them on a chase and crashed into a dart bus. 23 year old zachery senger of wisconsin is charged with before police arrested him for those charges, senger had already been convicted of sexual abuse in wisconsin. he led police on a high speed chase through urbandale until the driver hit a dart bus at the intersection of parkview drive and meredith drive. the suspect's vehicle came to a rest in the yard of residence at the intersection. the dart bus driver was treated at the scene and is expected to be okay. in just a hour protestor

a flurry of activity over the last few days that peter alexander rare access of how it >> >> reporter: in the final hours leading up to the state of the union, cody keenan is trying to keep up with the president's last-minute edits. >> describe the feeling when tonight is done? >> relief. pride in what everyone has done here. >> reporter: behind the president's speeches, keenan is the man tasked with translating images into the words. >> this is where the magic happens. this corner basement office. no windows. the white house doctors give me vitamin b. >> the chicago native takes his boss's hand-written notes like these, and turns them into powerful presidential prose. >> if prayer were made of sound, the skies over england that night would have deafened the world. up with him in the midst of a coffee-filled writing binge, including a meeting in the oval president. two-month marathon to prediction 2,000 words. >> where did you watch last year's state of the union. >> at this desk. >> with? >> chicken tenders and a buzz wiser. >> from the director of speech writing six years later. >>

>> joining me now for our "daily fix," peter alexander, still standing, chris cillizza, with the "washingtont" blog, and jeanne cummings with the "wall street journal." peter that was remarkable. props to you. you just stood your ground. we know that that is what he had said during an interview on "meet the press" with tim russert back a number of -- was it 2008? >> reporter: yeah, no, that was in 1999, that conversation that he had with tim russert. and the reason we were asking him this question, andrea, is because in this state, the evangelical vote is so important. this came on a day when he was announcing the support of jerry falwell jr. he was being hit by some antiabortion groups nationally and locally for being untrustworthy on the topic of abortion. they said he couldn't be trusted on it. they were urging iowans to support anyone but trump. so, i posed the question how iowans could feel comfortable and be convinced that his past position, saying he was pro-choice then, he could reconcile with the idea that he is now antiabortion. you saw the exchange there. but i think what it is re

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. a reminder we're back on at 9:00 eastern for the coverage of the state of the union. i'm lester holt. for all of us. >> announcer: today on the meredith vieira show. one direction controversy. and you will not upon how far people are going to reclaim virginity. plus, kirstie alley talking about her weight loss struggle and revealing the loss of 50 pounds. we have best tips for keeping organized in the new years. >> meredith: hi, everybody. we have a great show today it. so do you like my dress? okay. kirstie alley is here today. [applause] meredith love, chris kirstie. she reveals how she kept the weight on and what it is like in the dating scene. and great tips to keep us organized for 2016. first, let's talk about "what's hot now". [applause] >> megan: it is bright colors on >> meredith: thank you. we started the show and i came audience. and they said you have to go back because you're -- your >> lance: cold in the studio. >> meredith: i want to know, what did you think of that? [a

. >>> this is peter alexander. she was trump before trump. a provocative outspoken media magnet, sarah palin burst on to the national stage in 2008. >> they say the difference between a hockey mom and a pit bull -- lipstick. >> reporter: with her informal folksy style she gave voice to a growing movement of conservatives angry at traditional party >> the one tool they have are articles of impeachment. >> attacking president obama -- >> mr. president, the only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke is a good guy with a nuke. >> reporter: and attracting millions of followers along the way. >> bloomberg is not around. our big gulp is safe. >> she quit her job as alaska governor mid term and with it went any hope of national political office. but she is a master disruptor with the give trump the bump he needs. >> while sarah palin no longer has the sway she once had, she is still one of the few that could move votes, especially in an important state like >> for a time hers was the endorsement to get in the republican primary, launching south caro

that was peter alexander reporting for us. >>> if trump does change his mind, even at the last minute, his veterans event is only 8 minutes away from where the debate is being held. >>> today, january 28, marks 30 years since the nation was stunned by the explosion of the space shuttle challenger. 73 seconds after liftoff, a failed seal called an o-ring caused the shut toll blow up killing the seven astronauts on board. that people do remember very well where they were when they saw it. and heard about it. gary shapiro was at cape canaveral with the photojournalist manny supello doing stories on the colorado connection to the mission. c. u. boulder graduate and statute ellison onizuka was on board. and it also had a satellite on the shuttle called spartan halley, designed to study halley's comet and they were with six elementary school kids and their teachers from boulder county. the kids had won a contest to watch the launch in person. something they are all still very emotional about three decades later. >> dave augiliar who led the trip down from bolivar state, this is just after t

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. stay tuned for the president's state of the union address. i am lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, and good night.

>> all right, peter alexander, thank you. on the democrac side the race, o brand-new poll shows hillary clinton and bernie sanders lked in a virtual tie in iowa. debating over whether to hold more debates. meantime, clinton is also getting d ay from the til to raise more money. something heronent was quick to pounc on we g details fm nbc's andrea mitchell. >> rorr:t' a dead ht f the atsn wa ou new poll sho a close poll. the vermont senator has a commanding -point leadn new hampshe. with the race more competitiv both are now aing to more nexteek in n hashire, if the democratic pty apoves the political world has changed a littl bit. it noweems hilla clinton wou lik another bate you know at, i said, that's fine i don't mind that. >> reporter: facing a longer than expected primary contest, clinton left iowa wednesday afrnn to goohilalphiao raise money fromn investment firm. somef m supporters, including my good frid jon bon joviad a fund-raiser for me. >> reporte but clinton's fund-isers plays rig into sanders' critics. >> does w

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. stay tuned for the president's state of the union address. i am lester holt. for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night.from president his 8th and final state of the union adress. ==jess//2 shot== but first, we want to update you on some breaking news. ==jess//take live== rescue crews are working into the night to save a man stuck in a trench in oakland. these are live pictures from our nbc chopper. it's been going on for almost 6 hours. you can follow our livestream on nbc bayarea.com. ==raj//take vo== also happening right now. the raiders are not moving to l- a. in the past 20 minutes, the n-f-l owners overwhelmingly voted to keep the raiders in oakland. instead -- the rams and chargers have been given the green light to move to l-a. ==jess//take vo== getting back to the state of the union. here's a live inside the at the u.s. capitol building. president obamas expecd to focuon we now turn it over to nbc news. tonight for the final time -- >> the president of t

>> all right, peter alexander, thank you. on the democratic side of the race, our brand-new poll shows hillary clinton and bernie sanders locked iowa. debating over whether to hold more debates. meantime, clinton is also getting drawn away from the trail to raise more money. something her opponent on. we get details from nbc's andrea mitchell. >> reporter: it's a dead heat for the democrats in iowa. our new poll shows a close poll. the vermont senator has a commanding 19-point lead in new hampshire. competitive, both are now agreeing to more debates, including hampshire, if the democratic party approves. >> the political world bit. clinton would like another debate. you know what, i said, that's fine, i don't mind that. >> reporter: facing a longer than expected primary contest, clinton left iowa wednesday afternoon to go to philadelphia to raise money from an investment firm. >> some of my supporters, including my good friend jon bon jovi had a fund-raiser for me. >> reporter: but clinton's fund-raisers plays right into sand

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. a reminder we're back on at 9:00 eastern for the coverage of the state of the union. for all of us. thank you for watching

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. a reminder we're back on at 9:00 eastern for the coverage of the state of the union. i'm lester holt. for all of us. thank you for watching and good night.good evening, thanks for joining us. i'm sheila brummer. ktiv's matt breen will join us in a few minutes. today, new information on the student accused of bringing a gun to north middle school in sioux city. police say he's a 6th grade boy. and, he faces a charge of carrying a concealed weapon. ktiv's tiffany lane with an update tonight. << north middle school officials received a call around 7:30 am monday morning about a student with a handgun, according to sioux city schools superintendent, dr. paul gausman. police say the call who the 12 year old boy

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. a reminder we're back on at 9:00 eastern for the coverage of the state of the union. i'm lester holt. for all of us. thank you for watching and good night. [mother] yeah but this neighborhood,i feel like kinda talking about. we should definitely go see it. [agent] hi. melanie. maggie. living room. [dad]what about this? this looks good. [brendan] no. [mother] isn't it great? [agent] hey brendan,you might like this room.

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. a reminder we're back on at 9:00 eastern for the coverageef the state of the uniogood evening everyone, i'm ron steele. amanda is outtn assignment - itwas an icy cold day toddy. let's go to storm track seven chief meteorologist mark schnackenberg now who is tracking this cold. from the kwwl stormtack 7 weather team. see the screen for your complete weather information. information from the kwwl

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. a reminder we're back on at 9:00 eastern for the coverage of the state of the union. i'm lester holt. for all of us. thank you for watching and good night.right now on wis news 10 at 7 -- two south carolinians will make an appearance in president obama's last state of the union. plus it's back to the books for lawmakers. and clemson fans will welcome home the tigers desert. we'll also have a check of the forecast. wis news 10 at 7 starts now. "i want us to be able when we walk out this door to say we couldn't think of

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. a reminder we're back on at 9:00 eastern for the coverage of the state of the union. i'm lester holt. for all of us. and good night. >>> the era has ended. >> david bowie's ex-wife in tears and new details about the terminal cancer bout. >> kept it secret. >> he's not with us no more. >> late night honors and growing memorial around the world. what we learned about his final days.

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. a reminder we're back on the air at 9:00 p.m. eastern for live coverage of the state of the union. i'm lester holt, for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. >>> we now know the name of the first person shot and killed by denver police in 2016. ramon loanergon died yesterdayarve being shot yesterday afternoon. police say he had a handgun, they have not said what he did to prompt an officer or officers to shoot. police came to a hotel at spirit and sunni looking for a stolen car.

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. a reminder we're back on at 9:00 eastern for the coverage of the i'm lester holt. for all of us. and good night. >>> the fix didn't fix things. coming up oneight at 7:00, you may be facing another traffic nightmare in the morning. why are now and improved lanes

here's peter alexander with more. >> reporter: >> he's been really, really nice, other than the last couple days getting testy. >> reporter: donald trump still on cruise control. the tycoon repeatedly turning to the boss before rallies playing "born in the usa" to taunt ted cruz born in canada to an american mother. thousands he's prepared for anything tonight. >> now they attack but they don't understand, unlike this country, i attack back. >> reporter: cruz holding on to a narrow lead in iowa insists trump is rattled. >> may shift in his rallies to play new york, new york because donald comes from new york and he embodies new york values. >> reporter: now "the new york times" reporls cruz failed to properly disclose a loan up to $500,000 from goldman sachs where his wife works to fund his 2012 senate campaign. cruz dismissing that as a matter of semantics. >> it is an inadvertent filing question. the fact of the underlying matter have been disclosed for many, many years. it is not complicated. our finances are not complicated. >> reporter: heading into tonight, the divide between t

peter alexander has more from the intense campaign trail leading "..my polls are amazing.." another full house for donald trump, in massachusetts packing them in..and kicking more protesters out.. "get him out".."bye, sweetheart"..."get him out please!" : they remind me a little of hillary. no energy no stamina no strength. " i'm donald trump.." and just hours after trumps first ad hit the airwaves.. a fact check of his footage.. politifact says that's not mexico, its moracco. trump's campaign manager insisting the edit was intentional, telling nbc news - "no expletive... it's not the mexican border but that's what our country is going to look like. " the candidates -- on both sides -- picking up the pace... ... 60 stops in less than 48 hours across iowa and new hampshire. ted cruz... with nbc's hallie jackson. "two weeks ago, just about every republican candidate was attacking donald trump. today just about every republican candidate is attacking me." "tv ad collage/noise..." the contenders now on a ... as accusations fly over who's the real serious candidate this from cruz

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. a reminder we'reack on at 9:00 eastern for state of the union. i'm lester holt. thank you for watching and good night. >>> the era has ended. >> david bowie's ex-wife in tears and new details about the

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. a reminder we're back on at 9:00 eastern for the coverage of the state of the union. i'm lester holt. for all of us. thank you for watching and good night. @ @>>> a home explosion took the @lives of four family members. @how firefighters know that a @mother spent her last moments @trying to protect her children. @>> the president's priorities. @what you can expect to hear in

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. back on the air at 9:00 p.m. eastern for live coverage of the state of the union. i'm lester holt, for all of us at nbc news, thank you for watching and good night. p>>. >> i'm looking for a man to share all that with. >> beauty and the beast roars the head line. i'm billy bush with t

peter alexander, nbc news, the white house. >> that will do it for us tonight. back on at 9:00 eastern for the coverage of the state of the union. i'm lester holt. for all of us. thank you for watching and good night. >>> good evening. i'm meteorologist shee ma parveen. the snow is coming down in the poconos and this is around the allentown area. blue mountain ski resort. you see the snow coming down. a quick update for you on the snow showers moving through. around allentown, temperatures are dropping too so some of the snow is in fact sticking on some surfaces. near redding, snow is falling, also moving into upper montgomery county, pottstown and upper buccs county and chester county. this line of snow will continue moving to the east around 40 miles an hour. near philadelphia around 7:34, trenton by 7:45. there you see the line of snow showers moving through lowering visibility as it does so. for allentown and the poconos, visibility is at half a mile. temperatures are at freezing so some of this may be stick in redding and the poconos, 24 degrees. elsewhere

own event, trump said he's not sure how it will play with iowa voters come caucus night nbc's peter alexander has more.... as fox put it, he was the "elephant not in the room"... "we love our vets!" ... donald trump -- boldly boycotting the fox news debate. "when you're treated badly, you have to stick up for your right. " defying critics who called his move a mistake... ...even inviting two underdog opponents to speak... ... trump compared the crowd and the number of cameras at his veterans fundraiser to the academy awards. later, touting six million dollars gave his opponents an opening to deliver their best one-liners, unchallenged. "i am a maniac, and everyone on the stage is stupid, fat and ugly. and ben , you're a horrible surgeon. now that we've gotten the donald trump portion out of the way..." "i kind of miss donald trump; he was a teddy bear to me." the policy-oriented debate - offered a glimpse into what this campaign might have looked front-runner. ted cruz -- #2 in the polls became the #1 target on stage. "the truth is ted, throughout this campaign, you have been willing to say o

peter alexander has the highlights from the new year. you should go out, get a declaratory judgment, let the courts decide-- 21:31:40 because now he's doing a little bit better! it's true! dominated by a pair of bitter exchanges between donald trump and ted cruz. one over canada, the other about new york. first on cruz's eligibility to be president: cruz: my friend donald said he'd which way. and there was no issue there, there was nothing to this birther issue. now since september the constitution hasn't changed. but the poll numbers have. and, trump with a powerful defense of what cruz criticized as his "new york values." cruz: not a lot of conservatives come out of manhattan. i'm just sayin'. trump: "when the world trade center came down, i saw something that no place on earth could have handled more beautifully, more humanely than new york. cruz also fended off questions about the new york times' reporting that he failed to properly disclose a loan from goldman sachs in 2012. cruz: "if that's the best the new york times got has, they

nbc's peter alexander gives us a better look at the numbers. >> reporter: three weeks to go.ll up in the air. donald trump and ted cruz neck and neck in iowa. cruz's advantage just four points, within the margin of error, as trump keeps up his attacks on his canadian-born rival. >> it's not a settled matter. >> reporter: even trump loses in iowa, he insists he's in the long haul. >> i'm going all the way. >> cruz is at 30%. rubio, christie, bush and kasich are splitting up 44% of the vote. trump has a new warning for the clintons. keep calling him sexists and he'll keep up the threats. >> she was saying he has tendencies toward being sex yis. wait a minute, she's married to a abuser. >> clinton is arguing against that. >> it's been a fair game going against the republicans for several years. that can be their choice as to how to run this campaign. >> reporter: for the moment, clinton has her hands full. in iowa, her lead over bernie sanders is just 3 points. in new hampshire, sanders is up 4. >> that was nbc's peter alexander reporting. >>> from our delaware bureau, a kid who

it's all adding new wrinkle to an already wild ra with the wa caucuses, 4 days fr n nbc's peter alexander rerts. --kg -na: dold tru... ne. e reblican front-runner will be in des moines tonight... ... but not the final gop date bere iowa, instead, touting a "special event" -- at the exact same time -- benefitting veterans at a collegauditorium ju miles ay. te wednesday, trump defended hifox boott... on fox news. sot: "i wasot treatedell by fox, they came out with ts ridiculous statement like it was itten up by a child. was a taunt. and i said how much of this do yotake rr: host bl o'reilly a but begged the billionaire to reconsider, appealg to appitand his christian fait sot: "i bought yoso many valla mishakes, you owe me forgive,o forward. answerhe questionsokut for the folks. just want you to consider it. you owme milkshakes.trump - refusingo back down "even though you and i had an agreement that you wouldn't ask me that, which we did, i will therefore forgethat you ked me tt, but it's to fox, narr: here, in iowa... sot: "if gentle donald cannotandle megyn key..." narr: ... val ted cruz

peter alexander has the story. donald trump - on the attack... going after ted cruz in a political ad out just this morning... using cruz's own words against him on the topic of immigration... it comes hours after trump -- slammed cruz in front of a rowdy las vegas crowd... calling the candidate a party pariah. "here's a united states senator, republican - doesn't have support of one other republican senator. and i can tell you... they like me! cruz -- attacking trump on the very same point. "if as a voter you think what we need is more republicans to cut a deal with harry reid, nancy pelosi and chuck shumer then i guess donald trump is new track: late thursday, conservative magazine national review released it's new cover. a special issue opposing trump's bid for the presidency....with essays from conservatives like erick erickson and glenn beck. the editors, writing: "trump is a philosophically unmoored political opportunist." trump responded late thursday. trump - thursday night22:59:42 the national review is a dying paper, it's circulation is

tonight with the top republican candidates facing off for the first time in 2016, nbc's peter alexanderlooking ahead to tonight's debate. >> he's been really, really nice. other than last couple of days getting testy. >> reporter: donald trump still on cruz control. the tycoon turning to the boss before rallies to taunt ted cruz born in canada to an american mother. trump telling a crowd of thousands he's prepared for anything tonight. >> now they attack. but they don't understand. unli unlike them, i attack back. >> reporter: cruz insists trump is rattled. >> he may shift in his new rallies to play "new york, new york." he comes from new york and embodies new york values. >> reporter: now the "new york times" cruz failed to disclose a loan up to a million and a half dollars from goldman sachs where his wife works to help fund his 2012 senate campaign. cruz dismissing that as a matter of semantics. >> it's an inadvertent filing question. the facts of the underlieings matter have been disclosing for many, many years. it's not complicated. our finances are not complicated. >> reporter: he

peter alexander is following the gop race. >> this this race nationally is coming down to a two-man raceen me and donald trump. >> reporter: ted cruz in new hampshire no longer holding back. >> donald trump says he thinks eminent domain is fantastic and he supports using government power to seize private people's homes. >> reporter: trump getting personal with cruz. >> he's a nasty guy, nobody likes him. >> reporter: cruz dismissing that attack with a tweet featuring this janet jackson hit. ♪ nasty boy >> donald the last couple days has been a little rattled. [ laughter ] his poll numbers went down and he got a little upset. >> reporter: even conservative commentators are questioning trump's tactics. take rush limbaugh. >> when you get into criticism, it better be believable. >> reporter: under fire for being too liberal, trump is comparing himself to another former democrat. >> ronald reagan when he was younger was a very -- you know, pretty strong liberal and he became quite conservative. >> ronald reagan did not spend the first 60 years of his life supporting democratic politicians. >

as nbc's peter alexander shows us, it features many themes we have heard the businessman repeat on the campaign trail. >> i'm donald trump and i approve this message. >> reporter: overnight, donald trump released his first tv ad of the campaign, a move he has hinted at for months, airing in iowa and new hampshire, the ad reinforces his stance on isis and immigration. >> that's why he is calling for a temporary shutdown of muslims entering the united states. he will quickly cut the head off isis and take their oil. >> reporter: the new ad comes on the heels of a new recruitment video from al qaeda affiliate al shabaab in africa, lighting trump's muslim ban, trump shrugging it off. >> they use other people what am i gonna do? i have to say what i have to say. >> reporter: instead, citing an isis video. >> fornicators. >> reporter: that attacks former president bill clinton for his past sexual transgressions. >> and i think it's an isis and they really put him down as a degenerate. >> reporter: the front-runner targeting both clintons. >> hillary clinton created isis with obama. >> report

nbc's peter alexander takes a closer look at what palin's endorsement means for trump. >> reporter: donald trump's biggest endorsement to date came sealed with a kiss. >> thank you so much. it's so great to be in iowa. we're here. >> reporter: sarah palin praising perhaps the one candidate most like herself. >> i'm in it to win it. we're not gonna chill. in fact, it's time to drill, baby, drill. are you ready for a commander-in-chief who will let our warriors do their job and go kick aaisis' ass. >> reporter: palin made her best pitch. >> our leader a little bit different. he's a multibillionaire. not that there's anything wrong with that. it's amazing, he is not elitist at all. >> we're going to give them hell. >> reporter: for ted cruz, the evening rally capped off a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad di. earlier an aide insisted joining team trump would hurt her with conservatives. palin's daughter pounced. "after hearing what cruz is saying about my mom in a negative knee jerk reaction makes me hope my mom does endorse trump." cruz quickly tried to smooth things over. >> i love sara

. >> let's start off with peter alexander. he's off in des moines, iowa. peter, what is the campaign saying 3:01 p.m. eastern time right now that trump won't show up at the debate? >> we have the fox news debate tomorrow night, then the other debate, 90 minutes that ted cruz has challenged trump to. donald trump finally responded to ted cruz's challenge. even though i beat him in the first six debates, especially the last one, ted cruz wants to debate me again. can we do it in canada? again, revisiting that line that has been so effective, sort of his way of trolling ted cruz, who, of course, was born in canada. yesterday and the other day saying he would probably best serve as canadian prime minister. this fox news debate going on without trump's participation, fox news telling nbc news that they will not, if trump does not show, put an emplty podium up o that debate stage tomorrow night like the same situation that existed before when rand paul said he would not participate in the lower, lesser debate when he didn't make the cut for the debate that evenin

peter alexander joins us live from washington, d.c. bureau. peter, they weren't on the stage last night yet they are the headlines once again even though it washe democratic debate yesterday. how is this happening here? >> reporter: i think that's exactly right. right now you have two weeks to the iowa caucuses, ted cruz and donald trump neck and neck, that's fueling this fierce war trump's latest cruz missiles, if you will, focused not so much on policy but on personality. over the weekend he really went after ted cruz following their debate exchanges saying that he is a very nasty guy. he said that he is a hypocrite, really trying to take ted kruds out at the knees. cruz hitting back at thump, taking a swipe at one of his past positions where he expressed himself at being pro choice and said he was open to gay marriage, all positions that don't sit well with the conservative base of the republican party. marco rubio, jeb bush, john kasich all trying to squeeze their way in, but right now it is a one/two fight between these two men as we head

nbc's peter alexander ains. >> reporter: tonight should be the republican's final showdown before the iowa caucuses, instead, donald trump's no-show is stealing the spotlight. staging his own raise money for veterans. going head-to-head on the fox news debate three miles away. drawing his underdog opponents, like huckabee and santorum. >> you're not giving them -->> i'm not walking away. >> reporter: trump is defiantly positioning himself as the deal maker in chief. >> it's called an eye e. >> i bought you so many milkshakes. you owe me. >> reporter: it's a media company, not a public service for voters. >> now they're g make much less. >> reporter: today the billionaire launched his fund-raising website claiming 100% of donations to the founda vets. the campaign won't say exactly where the money will go. canines for warriors tells nbc news the ca them today, saying they're one of 18 nonprofits now under consideration. a separate veterans doesn't need to be if funneled through a campaign. just do good work. trump's move backfire. still trump has momentum and now the lead in iowa, acco

peter alexander standing by the a the white house for us. nt has been very candid on this subject, very angry when addressing the media after one of these mass shootings. >> yeah. so many of those occasions where the president has had to speak before america giving eulogies, talking about the grave loss of life of so many young individuals, individuals from san bernardino to newtown. of course it was after that community college shooting more recently in october where the president asked his team to better examine what more they could do. remember, they already pursued 23 executive actions following congress' inaction after the newtown shooting. that's why we are here today. the president himself tweeting last night, brian, that the gun lobby in his words can hold congress hostage but they can't hold the president hostage. that's why he's hoping with these new efforts to better, among other things, shrink the gun show loophole. we tend to refer to it as the gun show loophole because that's what it more broadly refers to. specifically white ho

>> that was peter alexander reporting. >>> texas senator ted cruz was once again on the campaign trail in iowa. he told a gathering he would scrap the iranian nuclear deal and repeal every word of obamacare. >>> on the democratic side vermont senator bernie sanders took questions from voters in iowa falls. he spoke about ways to extend the life of the social security trust fund. >>> democratic presidential field will discuss the issues in des moines, iowa. it is a final chance for hillary clinton and martin o'malley to share the stage before next week's caucuses. sanders and clinton are running neck and neck in iowa. >>> the irs wants to make sure that you know about some changes when it comes to filing taxes for 2015. if you are prone to procrastinate, you do have extra days to file this year. the deadline has been moved to april 18th because the 15th is a holiday in washington, d.c. the 1095 forms describing where you purchased your health insurance. if you don't have health insurance the penalty you pay will go up. >>> well, kids have them all the time. so who says adults can't get