tracie potts nbc news washington. >> a new outbreak of measles to report today. this one affecting five babies at a day care center in illinois. >> this morning, parents preparing to drop kids off at this day care will notice something different. the infant center closed after five babies were diagnosed with measles s measles, all under a year old, too young to get the measles shot. ten other kids may have been exposed to the virus as well. one mother just got booster shots for her kids not because of concern for the day care but an upcoming trip. >> we were traveling into southern california. i never expected it would be here. >> unvaccinated kids and workers are told to spend three weeks away from the day care. illinois, one of 14 states seeing measles cases right now. an outbreak that stretches from california to new york. where the twins are getting vaccinated. >> an outbreak and that scared me. >> her pediatrician refuses to accept patients who won't get immunized. >> i can't worry if measles have going to walk through my door. >> 90% of people who are not v

nbc's tracie potts is live in washington. good morning to you, tracie. what is the latest on this fight against isis? >> the latest we understand the white house is working on that authorization for use of military force. and will probably send it here to capitol hill sometime this week. president obama and chancellor merkel talk strategy as u.s. fighter jets help jordan fly 20 strikes a day against isis. jordan denies isis claims that one of these bombs killed american hostage. [ speaking foreign language ] >> friends and family are hopeful. >> her final quote before she left for as long as i live i will not let this suffering be normal. i will not let this be something we just accept. >> reporter: the u.s. admits it will take more than airstrikes to defeat isis. >> there have to be ground troops involved to win this victory. >> iraqi troops trained, recent video of a jordanian pilot burned alive will have an impact. >> i think if anything the lighting on fire of this jordanian pilot will now galvanize, i hope the arab nations to fight isis including on

tracie potts, nbc news washington. >>> one of the top stories on nbc news.com ucla warns 160 patientsbout danger superbug exposure. the ucla health system says the exposure may have happened during specialized endoscopic procedures called ercp performed between 2014 and january of this year. all of this after an investigation found seven patients were infected and two dies from possible infection. >>> six minutes past the hour. let's get down to business with landon dowdy. >> the major difference between apple pay and loop pay. loop pay's technology already works. >>> edmunds.com says used car prices rose 6% to a record last year at nearly $17,000. higher prices means higher resale values for older cars and consumers are likely to get condition reasonable offers for their trade-ins. >>> and little caesars is crazy about bacon. the new pie is topped with pepperoni and bacon. little caesars is looking to capitalize on americans' love for bacon. recently topping $4 billion. betty, back over to you. >> a lot of bacon. a lot of calories too. thank you. >>> back to the deep freeze that is b

nbc's tracie potts is live in washington this morning. tracie how is the white house reacting to jordan's response? >> reporter: we're going to get more likely today from the white house on what isis has done the president called barbaric and we'll likely hear more about that here in the next couple hours. the president's nominee for defense secretary, ashton carter is on cap doll hill for his confirmation hearing. isis is going to be a key topic. how is the bill tear going to continue this campaign against them? we've already heard from the pentagon. they said, i'm quoting, nobody is letting off the gas in terms of letting up on the campaign against isis. there is concern we still do believe there's one american hostage. we haven't learned a lot about her, other than she's a 26-year-old final mail aide worker. some experts think because isis hasn't paraded her in front of the cameras, because we haven't heard a lot about her, that it's likely they may not execute her as they've done other american and other hostages because it may of fend

tracie potts has more. >> reporter: they looked at five things. to do you have a sense of purpose, do you feel financially secure, what about your relationships, do you have supportive relationships in your life do you like the community where you live and your health. they mix that all together and this gallup poll came up with state by state rankings in each of hosethose categories. and al alaska has risen to number one. maryland below half ranking number 29. virginia ranks number 15. and the survey is generally seen as fairly significant and scientific but you're right, it will be controversial and there will be a lot of discussion about what went into this survey and how it determines our well-being based on where we live. >> we'll see what the conversation looks like later on today. tracie potts on the hill for us. thank you. >>> it is now 4:47. u.s. postal workers call if a pivotal time for the postal service and today they will outline their vision for the future. actor danny glover will join leaders of the union to kick off new contract ne

tracie potts in live in washington this morning. tracie, how bitter could this get, and is there any common ground here? >> reporter: well it's going to be contentious. the chair wants to look for common ground and we're going to be looking for the details within the hour more and then later today as this budget comes out. president obama's $4 trillion budget. federal workers would get a bigger raise than before. plus, he wants to spend nearly half a trillion on infrastructure, roads, bridges and public transit. $10 billion plus on clean energy. >> really important stuff. >> reporter: and nearly half a billion for free community college just to start. we'd pay almost 60 times that in three years when more students sign on. >> we can afford to make these investments. since i took office we cut our deficits by about two-thirds. >> reporter: the deficit, how upside down the budget is, and the debt, the total amount we owe, would remain relatively stable, experts say, but still unbalanced. that's likely to cause a rift here, plus a 14% c

tracie potts is live on capitol hill this morning with what lawmakers are saying about this issue. >> reporter: good morning. this is getting political. we're hearing from current and possibly future washington politicians on whether or not they think parents should have the final say on whether or not their kids get the measles vaccine. this outbreak which started in california at disney land and spread to more than cdc says 102 in 14 different states is taking on a political tone. you heard president obama in the "today" show interview says yes parents should vaccinate their kids that the science is clear. chris christie said that parents need to have choice and he clarified in his office clarified that yes, he supports vaccines but he also thinks that some parental choice needs to be involved in this. and new morning, hillary clinton, we're hearing from hear as well, she tweeted as she put it the earth is round, the sky is blue and vaccines work. so lots of politics now mixed in whether or not the measles ss ss vaccinations should happen. >> tracie potts, thank you. >>> a developin

nbc's tracie potts is live in washington for us this morning. tracy, what is happening next in this immigration battle? >>. >> reporter: next things have to work their way through the court system and we don't know how long that will take. what we do know right now, there will be no social security numbers, no work permits for these kids called dreamers while the courts decide whether or not these immigration orders are constitutional. today instead of applying for legal status to begin college here andrea is praying the courts will change this ruling. >> i really hope they touch their hearts you know. i really hope they think about us that there's people like us. >> as a mother that scares me. that makes me stomach turn over. that's really scary. >> reporter: president obama's order that puts up to 5 million undocumented immigrants on the back burner for deportation has been blocked by a federal judge in texas. >> it's a political stunt. it's a hiccup. that's the process. >> reporter: 26 states led by texas sued. the judge says there will be no

tracie potts joining us live on capitol hill now to talk about this. tracie the president's authorization request expected up on capitol hill. any idea what it will say? >> reporter: a couple things. democrats got a preview yesterday. it will call for this to he said in three years, that's something lawmakers like. but then there is a phrase that they want to discuss a bit because they didn't know what it means. "enduring offensive combat." to limit to that. what does it mean offensive versus defensive, what are the combat roles going to be enduring sort of a vague term. so that's what they debated behind closed doors and likely on the house and senate floor before this is over. >> the death of kayla mueller in syria by isis putting a lot of pressure on the white house to act now. i know we're learning more about how she died, but are we sure that she's the last american hostage? >> reporter: not necessarily. we just heard the state department say that they are aware of reports that there are other americans missing in syria. she is the last known ameri

nbc's tracie potts live in washington. tracie the senate could vote on a plan today which is what the house has been waiting for. >> reporter: exactly. but is it going to be the same plan the house is willing to approve? that is the key question. if not, they can't get this on the president's desk in time by midnight tomorrow and we could be looking at a homeland security shutdown affecting 230,000 employees, most of home by the way, would have to stay on the job without pay. so they are still doing a lot of back and forth behind the scenes here and getting a lot of pressure from around the country including new york. you just talked about those two arrests. the new york police commissioner is telling lawmakers they need to get this done. >> with all that's going on in washington at the moment the debate about withholding of funding for homeland security this is not the time to engage in activities that would threaten our counter-terrorism capabilities and effectively to hold our counter-terrorism agencies hostage to politi

nbc's tracie potts has more. >> reporter: richard, good morning. good morning, everyone. the cdc tells us they now have confirmed cases of measles here in washington, d.c. and 17 states. they are now tracking these cases from where many of them started, disney land all the way to the east coast. the cdc is now tracking 121 cases of measles across the u.s. most but not all of them are connected to disneyland. measles is now in the northeast, new jersey delaware and the nation's capital. >> measles is literally a plane ride away. >> that's a doctor from the cdc, she testifies today along with the pediatrician whose letter went viral. his kids were exposed at disney but cannot be vaccinated. a new pew research poll 80% of americans feel the vaccine is safe. lawmakers are pushing the shot. >> no reason not to. >> reporter: even with measles spreading, there's opposition to the government requiring immunization. >> what it gets down to is a vaccine, just like anything else in medicine is a procedure. it's a personal decision. >> reporter: an outbreak at a chicago area daycare

tracie potts is live on capitol hill now with more on the mounts pressure for the president to do something from jordan. the latest action there, 21 u.s. planes accompanied jordanian fighter jets into syria, they were bombing weapons locations for isis after the brutal killing of that jordanian pilot. but they want more from the united states. now, there is an effort here on capitol hill to speed up military equipment getting to jordan but that authorization for use of military force, so president obama can expand the campaign people here on capitol hill say those who are working for lawmaker ares here say they're expect to go get that from the white house next week. now, as john bay per put it it could be a heavy lift trying to get that done. because democrats want specifics. how long is is this going to last what type of conflict is it going to be, what areas are they going to target. right now there is no request for boots on the ground although some republicans here say that is enevidentable and the president needs to prepare the country for that. he's also being pushed about to a milit

nbc's tracie potts is live in washington. what are the chance democrats and congressional republicans will sign on to senator mcconnell's deal? >> reporter: it's looking more possible but we're not quite there yet. we're learning today, homeland security secretary jeh johnson is speaking this morning, and then this afternoon he's taking a new approach to convince these lawmakers to get something done. this afternoon homeland security secretary jeh johnson is bringing in new fire power, his two predecessors, both republicans, urging congress not to let the agency run out of money friday. >> we should rnt compromise our homeland security just because republicans want to pick a political fight. >> reporter: if homeland security shuts down will the public really notice? border patrol the coast guard and airport screeners would all stay on the job unpaid. cleanup from super storm sandy and hurricane katrina could slow down. office workers who cut those checks would stay home. >> this is government gridlock in congress at its worls

nbc's tracie potts is live in washington for us this morning. all right, tracie, explain how immigration reform is tied to homeland security funding. >> reporter: sure milissa. a number of republicans here don't like the president's immigration orders and refuse to fund homeland security until he gets rid of them. but now based on what happened over the weekend with the mall threat and last week's federal court deciding, that may change. part of homeland security's $40 billion budget helps protect places like the mall of america mentioned by name in the latest al shabab video threatening shopping area around the world. >> not too worried about it. >> i refuse to let those people change the way i live my life. >> al shabab claimed responsibility for the deadly 2013 mall attack in nairobi kenya. after that fbi and homeland security staged mock attacks at 400 malls around the country. homeland security money may run out friday if congress doesn't act. >> if we go into government shutdown, some 30,000 employees of my department will be furloughed inc

tracie potts is live for us. walk us through the house gop plan. >> reporter: it's pretty simple three weeks, that's all the money homeland security would get while the house and senate try to sit up to together in a conference and work out something more permanent that may or may not deal with the sticking point which has been rolling back the president's immigration order that allows undocumented immigrants to stay here. so a three week temporary fix while they try to work that out. but it's not clear if senate democrats will participate in that conference. they have a separate vote set today that would fully fund homeland security, doesn't deal with immigration at all, but there is a separate vote in the senate on immigration. so two completely different plans coming up for a vote just hours before this deadline. >> let's look more at that first option. if you take us forward from there, if congress can only pass a short term solution are we right back where we started in a couple weeks? >> reporter: we may be

tracie potts nbc news washington. >>> if you want to stay in bed a little longer this morning, if you are still in bed, you're not alone. a new study by the national sleep foundation finds millions of americans are not getting enough sleep. the report says sleep deprivation is a national epidemic. the group at most risk for not getting enough sleep, teenagers need 8 to 10 hours a day. adults should get 7 to 9 hours. this new study widened the range for many of the younger age groups and also added an older adult age group. experts say people over 65 should get 7 to 8 hours of sleep. >>> well, even though it's winter sudden changes in temperature and humidity can trigger allergy and sinus problems. doctors say over-the-counter medicines should help with the occasional itchy and runny nose for people with nasal symptoms all year long may have winter allergies and you should see a doctor. >>> a royal caribbean ship is back ashore after hundreds were sick with the norovirus. they left baltimore, maryland and left for the bahamas but returned after many fell sick to their stomachs. this is

nbc's tracie potts is in washington with more. >> reporter: this afternoon congress votes on ashton carter as definance secretary. he'd take over a war president obama wants to expand up to three years in iraq syria and perhaps beyond. >> the president should have all the tools necessary to win the fight that we're in. >> there is no appetite for any boots on the ground except in limited circumstances. >> reporter: that is the key issue, will congress authorize what the president calls limited enduring offensive combat. >> very broad, very ambiguous. no one knows what enduring offensive combat operations means. >> reporter: president obama explains. >> i will only send our troops into harm's way when it's absolutely necessary for our national security. >> i'm not going to vote for anything that has the interpretation that we can have combat ground forces on the fight line fighting someone else's war. >> reporter: military leaders insist this war cannot be won by air alone. >> we know we need competent partners on the ground but they don't necessarily need to be u.s. boots on the ground. >>

tracie potts nbc news washington. >>> 4:47. this morning family members are facing charges after police say they kidnapped a 6-year-old boy to teach him a lesson because he was too nice to strangers. here are the the suspects including the boy's mom, and aunt. according to police that coworker took the boy after he got off the school bus and told him he would never see his mommy again. authorities say he showed the boy a gun, blindfolded him and took him to the family's home and then officials say that the aunt took his pants off and told him that he could be sold into sex slavery. >> 11 years i've been in law enforcement, i've never seen anything like this. this is no way to terrorize a child, to tell him that he's going to die. >> he's 6. police arrested all four suspects after the boy told someone at school what happened. they are locked up facing kidnapping and child abuse charges. >>> 4:48 now. a terrifying walk to school for two young girls in trenton after they suddenly fell through a trapped door and wound up undergroun

tracie potts, nbc news, washington. >>> 4:48. this story will have you shaking your head. parents of some pennsylvania middle school students not happy about an assignment based on the book "50 shades of grey." teachers in a westmoreland county school district not far from pittsburgh gave students a puzzle that contained suggestive words from that very adult book which is now a movie. this is a look at the puzzle but the words have been blurred out. >> mr. grey your next meeting. >> counsel, please we're not finished here. >> this is a clip from the new movie. the puzzle contained words like "spanking, submissive and bondage." school officials say they don't know how many games were given out to the middle schoolers. >>> and the book has been a top seller for several years now. it's about an erotic romance featuring explicit scenes about bondage and submission. >>> boston street crews dealing with tons of snow are trying to get the city in ship shape. >> yeah. tough to do though when there's a ship blocking your way from getting it in ship shape. take a look at this. a tru

nbc 10 national correspondent tracie potts reports from washington. >> we need partners on the groundo beat isis. >> reporter: but some of those partners are leaving senior defense and military officials now confirm the united airrab emirates has pulled its fight from isis because they want more u.s. search and rescue teams closer to syria in case their pilots go down. jordan is asking for more weapons. >> a lot of this requires important coordination not just in terms of the work that we have to do with congress but also in terms of the work that we'll do with the jordanians to ensure that we are providing the actual assistance that they are requesting and that they need. >> reporter: anger is boiling over in jordan after an isis video showing their pilot burned alive. turns out it happened weeks ago. >> isis is really trying to fracture the coalition. >> reporter: jordan isn't waiting for the coalition. they've executed two prisoners in retaliation. ashton carter seeking confirmation as defense secretary tells congress -- >> the united states involvement is, i believe, essential. it

. >>> nbc's tracie potts is live in washington. good morning. we hear the house may have a short-term solution here. >> reporter: the house may have a short-term solution. they're voting today. no word is said if democrats will go along. the senate has a long-term solution they're voting on today. no word if the house will go along. neither of them mention immigration. and separately neither of them gets us any closer to dealing with this midnight deadline. programs and paychecks will keep rolling after midnight with a temporary fix congress votes on this morning. money for homeland security, but just for the next three weeks. then a meeting between the house and senate. >> hopefully the senate will go to conference with us and we can work this out. >> time for the senate to act. >> reporter: but the senate's voting on a different plan this morning. full funding, not temporary, with no mention of immigration. homeland security secretary jay johnson tells congress a temporary fix will not work. just makes his 230,000 employees anxious about what

nbc's tracie potts is here to break down the guidelines. what else is on that list? >> reporter: coffee is one of the big ones. three to five cups a day is okay, these experts say. yes, you can add another cup of coffee. in fact some of the latest research suggests that it could even prevent or help prevent type 2 diabetes. eggs the thing with eggs has been that they contain cholesterol. but the latest research seems to indicate that foods high in cholesterol don't necessarily translate into higher cholesterol in your blood. for that reason they're saying that more than the 1 1/2 eggs recommended a day is now okay. the thing you want to watch are trans fats and saturated fats. some high-cholesterol foods like shellfish and eggs it's okay to eat a little more. others like butter fried foods, ice cream, the good stuff, that you might want to still stay away from. sugar and salt the salt recommendations are about the same. sugar now limiting to 200 calories a day, about one 16-ounce drink. >> and i was ready for that second serving of bacon later on. tracie potts we app

tracie potts live on capitol hill. thank you. >>> and health leaders in our area are also trying to take steps to stop the spread of measles. today montgomery's leading health official updates the council on the threat of measles in the county. we'll also hear an update on childhood vaccinations. the council meets at 2:30 p.m. in the rockville office building. >>> montgomery public schools will vote on using artificial turf. winston churchill will be the seventh school in the county to use it if approved. adding the turf will cost just over a million dollars as part t improvement > you can learn about the 395 widening project. >> the plan is to construct a fourth street between duke street in arlington. it happens today at holmes oo 7 to 9:00 p.m. >>> mandatory reporting of campus sexual violence just one of the bills moving forward to combat that issue on campuses. lawmakers yesterday advanced legislation that requires colleges to write transcripts if a student is found guilty of assault. the bills are a response to t

tracie potts, nbc news washington. >>> right now, temperatures are in the 20s. things are warming up just a little bit. . why warmer is the new thing this winter. >>> a stick of snow a chance to have another snow stick challenge. i'm pat collins, i got the stick. i'm going to tell you how you can get one of your very own, coming up.detted@@j@aj>dett9xed@@j@aj> j@aj> @@j@aj> @@j@aj> @@j@aj> @@j@aj> @@j@aj> @@j@aj> @@ajj@> @@j@aj> @@ajj@> aj@@j@>9x @@ajj@>9x aj@@j@>9x @@>j@9x aj@@j@>9xz9 @@>j@9xz9 >j@9xz9 @@>j@9xz9 @@>j@9xz9 >@@j@9xz9 @@>j@9xz9 >@@j@9xz9 @@>j@9xz9 >@@j@9xz9 @@>j@9xz9ze >j@9xz9zedett @@>j@9xz9zedetaj >j@9xz9zedet @@>j@9xz9zedetaj >>> on this snow day, we have a new snow stick challenge. it's been a tradition here at news 4. pat collins joins us live with how you can win your very own snow stick. >> reporter: are you ready for another snow stick challenge? i hope so. it's the official pat collins snow stick. now we have markings of some of the biggest snows we have had in our city over the years. we also have markings so you can measure the snow. a

tracie potts has more from capitol hill. >> reporter: isis is likely to be topic number one at ashton carter's confirmation hearing today. >> isil has nothing to offer expect brutality and death. >> reporter: a pentagon spokesman says the shift at the top won't shift their focus going an isis. >> nobody's letting off the gas. we'll continue to put pressure on isil. >> reporter: just this morning, jordan executed two of three prisoners isis wanted freed in retaliation for the jordanian pilot isis burned alive on video. >> give us your reaction please to the -- >> reporter: after making the rounds on capitol hill and the white house, jordan's king abdullah is cutting his u.s. visit short. president obama called the killing barbaric. >> whatever ideology they're operating off of, it's bankrupt. >> reporter: the concern, a female aid worker an american still held hostage. experts think there's a good chance she may not be executed. >> it's not clear executing a woman on camera would be at all popular or palatable among isis supporters. >> reporter: back on capitol hill democrats say the l

tracie potts live on capitol hill nw are lawmake planning on a comprise?e watching the policy lunches separate between democrats and republicans in the senate to see if they come up with some way to break the gridlock. th immigration. senate republicant to homeland security's budget and get rid of the president's immigration orders that protect up to 5 million immigrants in this country without documentation. democrats do not want to see that link. and that is the key issue right now. so until they can work through that it looks like homeland security funding may in fact be in jeopardy. even if they come up with something in the senate it's not necessarily a done deal they'll accept it in the house where they're a lot more conservatives. we know the president met with governors all over the country. what are they saying? >> they're frustrated. the governors say, look if you can't get it together in washington it's going to be our watch. we have to pay for some of the the bad weather we've been seeing. fema they deal with that. they send money to washington

tracie potts, nbc news washington. >>> waiting for proof of life for a pilot captured by isis militants. they want proof the pilot is still alive before exchanging a jailed iraqi militant as part of the swap deal. the pilot was taken hostage in august after his jet crashed in an isis-controlled territory in syria. dozens of people gathered outside japan's prime minister's office to pray for the two japanese hostages killed by isis. over the weekend isis released a video that purports to show journalist kenji goto being beheaded over the weekend. japan's prime minister said the country will take on a role in the international community's fight against terrorism. >>> over the weekend, some russian attack helicopter arrived in baghdad to help in the fight against isis. in this video from the iraqi ministry of defense, you can see helicopters being unloaded from a cargo plane. the helicopters will be deployed to northern iraq where the harsh winter weather and thick mud hindered soldiers on the ground there. some teachers in pakistan are now carrying firearms. this decision comes one month

tracie potts has been covering this recent outbreak. she reports now from capitol hill. >> listen to some of america's top politicians and you may not know whether to vaccinate your child againsmeasles. get your kids vaccinated. >> parents need to have some measure of choice. >> reporter: chris christie's office back. ed off his comments clarifying there's no question kids should be vaccinated. >> what i'm saying is you have to have that balance. >> president obama in a "today" show interview says the science is clear. >> there's every reason to get vaccinated. there aren't reasons to not. >> reporter: hillary clinton put it this whyway tweeting "the science is clear, the earth is round, the sky is blue and vaccines work. let's protect all our kids. #grandmothersknowbest. rand paul chimed this. >> im think they are a good thing but i think the parent should have some input. the state doesn't own your children parents own the children. >> reporter: measles are fast becoming a political football and a public health problem. the cdc report

tracie potts, nbc news washington. >>> the department of homeland security could shut down at the end of this month, because of a budget impasse. those words from house speaker john boehner, the agency is caught up in a fight over president obama's immigration action. and both parties in the senate are pointing the finger at each other. the deadline to keep the funding going is february 27th. most of the agencies workers, though would have to keep working. >>> and for more on the funding fight, joined by mark murray nbc senior political editor and good morning. >> good morning. >> so do you consider this a risky move for republicans to make this kind of threat? homeland security? >> a risky threat for everyone involved. of course, when dealing with the department of homeland security which is in charge of the airport screeners, it's in charge of border patrol. it's in charge of the secret service, it's important to note many of these personnel, if it's shut down if this is not funded will still go to work. the biggest consequence, people will be working without a paycheck. >> talking

tracie potts, nbc news washington. >>> coming up in 15 minutes, we'll talk with the nbc news political unit about what republican leaders are going to find a way to break the budget impasse. >>> right now the search is on for two missing teens in loudon county. 15-year-old christopher rhames and 16-year-old stephen sever, last seen three days ago in the pursalville area. the sheriff says neither has ties to the area and both need medications for health issues. if you have information call the loudoun county sheriff's office. >>> after days ofbowser called for all hands on deck due to the snow. northwest d.c., we're live how's it looking? making progress out there? >> reporter: well, barbara, they are making some progress. initially we at a different location. we had some trash behind us to show you, but a crew came and took it all away. we've since moved. now off 19th street in northwest washington and you can see that this alley trash cans are still overflowing here. they need their trash picked up. there is a big push happening over the weekend. dpw is bringing in extra crews that wi

nbc's tracie potts is live on capitol hill with more. that was a funny video, tracie. so what are these deadlines for our region? >> reporter: well, we know that the deadline is sunday for everyone. february 15th. what that means is if you're under 65 if you don't have medicare, you don't have medicaid and you do not have health insurance through your employer you have to sign up for one of these plans or you'll get hit with a fine of $325 or 2% of your income when you file your taxes. that fine is a little higher than last year. so sign up. we've been digging into the numbers from the kaiser family foundation. what we found is that in our area people in the district just over half were eligible have signed up so far. in virginia, about 40%. the lowest in the area maryland at only 22%. the other thing you need to keep in mind is that the prices of these plans have changed. so what you already had, you might want it take another look. it may be cheaper or higher. we know in the district the average price per month for a silver plan if you're 40 and nonsmoker is about $2

tracie potts live on capitol hill this morning to talk more about that topic. tracie, we know a lot of parents are listening into this particular issue. they want to know if their sons or daughters will be septembernt to war. when do we expect to hear? >> reporter: they will probably not approve this authorization until march and it could be well after that when and if the president sends this ground troops. the way he set it up it's not automatic. what the president has saided is if there is a situation where we have intelligence for example a group of isis leaders together and the people already on the ground, the arab nations in that region can't handle it he wants the flexibility to send in our special forces. republicans say that's great. we need to strengthen that. democrats say we're not trying to get into another ground war. so already 24 hours after he submitted that request, robust debate on capitol hill about whether or not we need to be sending ground troops in to that region region. the president says this could last up to three years. >> tracie pot

tracie potts joining us live. >> reporter: and the hold up is immigration.wmakers do not want to give money to homeland security unless they roll back the immigration orders from president obama that will allow up to 5 million people to avoid deportation for now in this country. that has been the holdup. but now it looks like they may gee link those two issues given the fact that a federal court has ruled against president obama. some key republicans say they're willing to let it work its way through the courts. >> so what is the impact if they don't act to get things going? >> well, if they can't get a bill by friday homeland security department will have to furlough 30,000 people and the rest of their staff will end up working without pay. they are essential. so they have to come to work. but they won't have the money to get paid until congress acts. >> tracie potts on the hill for us. thank you. >>> this issue on capitol hill is playing out as malls across the u.s. are stepping up security due to a terror threat. the al shabaab is calling for len oig lone

tracie potts live on capitol hill with more. >> reporter: the u.s. needs to strengthen this coalition. they really need supporters here on capitol hill say more boots on the ground, arab nations, iraqis and others willing to fight isis on the ground. not the u.s.. now, we are expecting that authorization for use of military force to get wrapped up in the white house. we're told they're working on it and they will send it over here to capitol hill probably sometime this we ther are critics who say that the u.s. needs to do a lot more. they are right now accompanying jordan and we've seen new video of that. jordan says they're flying 20 missions a day now hitting isis in syria. but they dozen that one of those strooip strikes killed kayla mueller who isis claims was hit in one of those jordanian strikes. so a number of things for obama and merkel to talk about today. >> tracie potts on the hill for us. thank you. >>> and the family of the woman kidnapped by isis now asking the u.s. to pray for her return. kayla mueller from arizona is the only known u.

tracie potts is live on capitol hill with how some in congress say troops deploying is inevitable. >> reporter: good morning. and those who think that we're eventually going to have combat troops on the ground there want the president to prepare the public for that the public in polls that we've done has been very reluctant to get involved in another long term conflict. now, we have some equipment that is already in the pipeline on the way to jordan to help out in the fight. lawmakers here on capitol hill are trying to speed that up. next week, they are expecting the president's authorization for use of military force. we understand that the wording of that is beihouse. aides say it will be sent over next week. the reaction to that john boehner says it could be a heavy lift shall democratome democrats are concerned about how long this might last. >> tracie potts live on capitol hill for us. thank you. >>> happening today, the maryland is that the will start to vote on governor hogan's choices for his cabinet. his pick for budget secretary and health secretary is on the agenda today. r

tracie potts live on capitol hill.and today all eyes are on former florida governor jeb bush as the biggest names in the republican party gather in washington. bush joins a long list of potential republican candidates who are all speaking at the conservative political action conference. governor scott walker governor chris christie senator ted cruz and many others spoke yesterday. today bush is expected to play up his conservative credentials when he addresses the crowd. he is competing for attention with senator rand paul and governor rick perry. >>> the search for two missing teens continues today in loudoun county. 15-year-old christopher rams and stefan seaver were last seen three days ago. both need medication for health issues. if you have any information, call the loudoun county sheriff's office. >>> we're learning this morning that a mosque in d.c. was vandalized for the second time. first happened monday night. yesterday another incident. this time vandals ripped down wall hangings and broke chairs. now its di

tracie potts live on capitol s members of congress talk medicine today. >> that's right. they're there to focus on the flu, but we anticipate they will probably the cdc and the nih will probably get asked about the measles because of the outbreak. 102 cases in 14 states. it started with disney. now it spread throughout the country. and it's becoming very political. you heard president obama with savannah on the "today" show interview say that yes, people should get their kids vaccinated. now chris christie governor of new jersey on an overseas trip made some confusing comments about it. i said confusing because what he said was parents need to have choice and that needs to be factored in. there needs to be a balance between parental choice and what the government says we should do. his office came back and clarified he's saying you shouldn't get the shot. he's saying there needs to be balance. what the balance is wasn't very clear. overnight we heard from hillary clinton who tweeted following up with what president obama said. that absolutely people should get their kids

tracie potts live for us.alk us through the ruling. >> reporter: it starts on the day that the kids dreamers who were brought here illegally, were supposed to be able to apply for legal status. so they could go to college. so they could stay here legally, get a work permit get a social security number. none of that is going to happen thousand because a federal judge in texas said that what the president did is unconstitutional. it was part of a lawsuit brought by 26 states led by texas. so now this has been temporarily blocked by a federal court. so those applications are not going forward starting today. >> this immigration policy is a big priority for the president. how will the white house respond? >> reporter: well, the president has already said that he thinks this is really just one step toward what is likely going to land at the u.s. supreme court. we heard that from eric holder also. so their response they're reviewing it now. the attorney general, solicitor general, they will take a look and figure ou

tracie potts joining us live from capitol hill. the question what is the holdup here?> reporter: the holdup is simply immigration. there are a number of republicans, including some key republicans who do not want to give this this money to homeland security unless president o agrees to roll back his immigration orders. those orders would allow as many as 5 million emgrants to stay in country legally for a while. it would basically put them on the back burner forring deported. so that has been the holdup immigration, for homeland security money. but now that a federal court has ruled on immigration in favor of where republicans want to go it looks like they may delink those two issues and work toward getting spgomething done by friday. >> so if we don't get something what's the possible impact? >> reporter: if they don't get something done by friday we're looking at 30,000 furloughs in the department of home land security. another 200,000 people the rest of their staff would be working without pay until congress can work this out. >> tracie potts on the hill for us. tha

tracie potts is live on the capitol hill now to tell us what is expected to happen. >> reporter: in just three hours, lawmakers will start questioning ashton carter and one of the biggest issues likely will be how is this military going to continue to deal with isis and get the upper hand especially in light of what you just talked about. ashton carter who has a long history in the defense department is going to have to explain how his leadership will continue. the pentagon is saying nobody is letting off the gas here as they put it going after isis. but also the latest developments in jordan are drawing criticism from president obama who called them barbac saying they have a bankrupt ideology referring to isis of course. the other thing that is happening here on the hill democrats are now coming out saying this is exactly why we need to fund the department of homeland security. that's been hung up in discussions over imsgrags which is part of homeland security's budget. but democrats now saying we can't afford not to give them the money that they need as we continue to try to fight isis

tracie potts live for us on capitol hill looking at all this. sort of walk us you through the gop plan now. >> reporter: what house republicans plan to do this morning is pass a three week temporary fix and then give themselves time to sit down with the senate and work out something more permanent. we don't know if at some democrats will go for that because scheduled that is full funding without dealing with the immigration issue. and they do have support from some republicans to separate out the immigration issue. we don't know if house republicans will go if that. so two very different plan, both coming up for a vote. not the clear that the other side will accept either which gets us no closer to a solution. >> so if we go with the shorter term fix here if that passes puts us back where we started i would imagine and what does the speaker say about all this? >> reporter: assuming senate democrats are willing to come to the table, and that's still up in the air, then you create a situation where you've got a few senate democrats and republicans

tracie potts live on capitol hill thousand with what the president will propose today. >> reporter: you'll of numbers today. and in terms of agreement, paul ryan says they do want to try to find some common ground with president obama on taxes. he's got new taxes in there for corporations on the profits that they make overseas. 14% tax. even more on your future items. but tax breaks for the middle class built into this $4 trillion budget. a second tax credit for two parent working families expanding tax breaks toed a consult adults who don't have kid, expanding the child tax credit. all of that the president putting in the bunch the like intra structure-terdiction infrastructure roads, bridges, free community college new efforts with clean ene in the d.c. area will be glad to hear this, he's proposing a bit of a bigger raise for federal workers. >> tracie potts on the hill for us. thank you. and nbc's a vansavannah guthrie sat down with president obama. many of the many topics getting your kids vaccinated. >> it's good to them and the challenge you have is if you have a certain group of ki

from washington tracie potts, nbc news. >>> and now to the plane crash in taiwan. this morning, rescue workers continue to search for missing passengers and crew members on board the transasia plane that crashed into a river shortly after takeoff on wednesday. in an audio recording from the cockpit, one pilot said may day, may day, engine flameout and contact was lost. 31 people were killed. 15 survivors were hurt in the crash. >>> also today, family members of the victims gathered at the crash site to identify passengers belongings. rescue workers arranged luggage and purses recovered from the wreckage along the bank of the river. around ten family members walked through the items trying to find those that belonged to their loved ones but half of those killed in the crash were chinese nationals. taiwan's president met with some of the injured survivors earlier this morning. this is video from the hospital in taipei where those people are being treated. the president handed some of the survivors money to compensate for their injuries. the cause of the crash is stil

from washington, i'm tracie potts. >> the deputy director of the secret service has resigned but will the government pay roll. he was number two in command at the agency overseeing day to day operations. some lawmakers have sharply criticized smith, blaming him for a series of bad decisions which have hurt the agency. up until now, they have been critical of the decision to keep him in his job. he's taking an unspecified role. >> jeb bush has released a trove of e-mails in his days of florida governor citing transparency. he posted 250,000 e-mails along with the first chapter of an upcoming e-book on a newly created website. the set of e-mails was previously obtained by news organizations late last year after a public records request, but bush's move is meant to show a tradition of communicated with constituents, he says as well as the commitment to transparency. back in december, mr. bush announced plans to actively explore a white house bid. >> back here in the bay area police in antioch said they have never seen a daylight crime quite like. a 22-year-old woman is recovering after p

tracie potts, nbc news washington. >>> here's a different kind of story. duped over disney lands tickets. a bay area family got scammed on craigslist. >> how the alleged scammer got scammed himself by an undercover operation. >> there were many signs. >> reporter: signs she didn't notice until it was too late. before her trip to diz lee land last week her friend suggested she look for ticket deals on craigslist. >> i may get a better deal you know. >> reporter: she says she met this man in the mountain view costco parking lot where she says she paid him $500 cash in exchange for four tickets, which is half of what they would cost at the park. she says he told her they were extra from his recent disney visit. >> i said, what if they don't work? well, you have my number. >> reporter: it wasn't until she and her family arrived at the happiest place on earth that she realized the tickets were a bust and she was out $500. >> if a deal is too good to be true it probably is. >> reporter: sergeant saul jagger with the mountain view police department said they were

tracie potts is live to tell us what lawmakers are saying on capitol hill. >> reporter: good morning. they're saying that isis is likely to be the number one issue. in just a few hours ashton carter comes before lawmakers here in the senate to see if he can be confirmed as the new defense secretary. the pentagon had said that they're not going to let up this will bombing campaign against isis, but now new this morning, jordan has taken decisive action killing, executing two people that isis wanted freed. they are al qaeda prisoners in retaliation for isis and that very brutal and very public killing of their jordanian pilot. you're seeing video of ambulances taking the bodies of those two prisoners that have been freed. today here on the hill as we hear from ashton carter we're also waiting to hear from the white house on this latest move by jordan. yesterday president obama responded to the killing of that jordanian pilot saying that it was barbaric and it shows that isis has a bankrupt ideology. >> tracie potts live on capitol hill for us. thank you. >>> 13 before the hour now. man

tracie potts live in washington this morning. tracie, how bitter could this get and is there any common ground? >>? >> reporter: there are going to be disagreements. budget chair paul ryan says he wants to look for common ground with president obama particularly on taxes. what they would really like to see is a balanced budget. president obama's $4 trillion budget. federal workers would get a bigger raise than before. plus he wants to spend half a trillion on infrastructure roads, bridges, and public transit, 10 billion plus on clean emergency and millions eventually billions for free community college. >> we can afford to make these investments. since i took office we cut our deficits by about two-thirds. >> reporter: the deficit, how upside down the budget is, and the debt, the total amount we owe, would remain relatively stable, experts say, but still unbalanced. that's likely to cause a rift here, plus a 14% corporate tax on overseas profits. and an even bigger tax on future foreign earnings. but republicans are talking compro

tracy potts is live at the white house. how is the white house responding to jordan's response. >> no response on the response, the reaction to that horrific video jordan's pilot being burned alive, president obama called it barbaric and vicious the burning alive of the jordanian pilot saying that the ideals of this islamic state are bankrupt. we're getting reaction from the pentagon. the defense secretary nominee will be on capitol hill here today. the pentagon is saying we're not going to let up as they put it, nobody is letting off the gas as far as going after isis. they're still believed to be holding a young female aide worker. because she's a woman and because they haven't said a lot about holding her the possibility they will not execute her, it could offend some of their followers. >> indeed thank you. >>> now to another breaking news story, ntsb investigators are heading to the scene of a deadly commuter train accident mp reports say the female driver of an suv stopped on the tracks, the crossing gate came down, s

tracie potts on capitol hill with the latest. >> we need partners on the ground to beat isis. >> some of those partners are leaving senior defense and military officials now confirm the united arab emirates has pulled its pilots against the fight against isis because they want more u.s. search and rescue teams closer to syria in case their pilots go down. jordan is asking for more weapons. >> a lot of this requires important coordination. not just in terms of the work we have to do with congress but also in terms of work we'll do with the jordanians to insure we're providing the actual assistance that they are requesting and that they need. >> anger is boiling over in jordan after an isis video showing their pilot burned alive. turns out it happened weeks ago. >> isis is really trying to fracture the coalition. >> jordan isn't waiting for the coalition. they have executed two prisoners in retaliation. ashton carter seeking confirmation as defense secretary tells congress -- >> the united states involvement is i believe, essential. it's necessary. but it's not sufficient. >> some lawma

tracie potts nbc 10 newnews, washington. >>> to bring attention to the health care deadline president obama made a new video showing a side of himself you don't normally see. take a look. ♪ this video was post on buzzfeed. the president hopes the video will appeal to the younger generation who don't have health coverage and encourage them to sign up. >>> americans will spend some cash on their sweethearts this valentine's day. the average person will spend about $142 with the majority of that for their spouse or significant other. the rest will be spread out between family friends, co-workers pets children's classmates and teachers. men will likely spend nearly twice as much as women as they should. and if you're looking for love with your latte, head to starbucks today. the coffee shop is teaming up with match.com for the world's largest date. from 2:00 p.m. to closing time you can meet up with your mate or perspective mate, and enjoy romantic music, food and drinks and special photo props. share your snapshots using the #starbucksdate on social media. >>> from dates to weddings more