vicky daniel interrupted her florida vacation to fly home for tonight's caucuses. "it's important. i wanna stand up for my candidate." that's what democrats have to do here - literally. unlike republicans, there's no secret ballot: "you have to put your hand up in public and say 'i am for this candidate.' that's really something. that's just hands-on public democracy." nbc's political director knows just how important the first in the nation's caucus are. chuck todd was there when a record number of voters turned out to caucus in 2008. the meet the press host joins us live from west end salvage to tell us what we can expect going into the time has come to make a choice... about which candidate can actually make a difference for you. in a world as complex as this, we need a president as experienced as hillary. at the negotiating table... and always on your side... fighting for children and families. with a real plan to get incomes rising... ...reduce drug prices... ...win equal pay for women... ...and protect social security and medicare for seniors. she'll build on obamacare, not s

vicky daniel interrupted her florida vacation to fly home for tonight's caucuses. (sot: vicky daniel/ iowa resident :57-1:00) "it's important. i wanna stand up for my candidate." that's what democrats have to do here - literally. unlike republicans, there's no secret ballot: (sot: tom mccann/ iowa resident hand up in public and say 'i am really something. that's just hands-on public democracy." iowa... tonight. but keep in mind: the biggest turnout iowa ever had was 2008 - about one in six people here showed up. i'm tracie potts in des moines iowa - back to you. >> republican jeb bush was back in siouxland this weekend, campaigning in okoboji. the former florida governor stated our current government entitlement programs keep americans in poverty rather than lifting them out of it. bush says his first action..if elected president...wil l be to ensure the united states is safe and secure. he says the leadership role in chief position needs to be restored. when we are less safe than the day barack obama was inaugurated president of the united states. and if hillary c

. >> reporter: vicki daniel interrupted her florida vacation to fly home for the caucuses. >> it's important. i want to stand up for my candidate. >> reporter: that's what democrats have to do here, literally. unlike republins, there's no secret ballot. >> you basically have to put your hand up in public and say i'm for this candidate. that's really something. that's just such hands-on public democracy. >> reporter: democracy in action in iowa tonight. turnout may be the key, but keep in mind the best turnout they've ever had i` iowa was 2008, the first obama election. only 1 in 16 iowa6 iowans participated. >> complete coverage of the iowa caucuses continues on the "todgy" show. the entire team there for us this morning. >>> hi, everybody, this is savannah guthrie, i'm here in day iowa voters get their say. after all the campaigning and the back and forth, it's t tir chance to say their nomimation. some have never caucused before. it's all because of the power of that name, donald trump. we'll have a lot more on the race on both sides c cming up on the "today" show. >> and back here at home

vicky daniel interrupted her florida vacation to fly home for tonight's caucuses. sot: vicky daniel/ iowa resident :57-1:00 "it's important. i wanna stand up for my candidate." that's what democrats have to do here - literally. unlike republicans, there's no secret ballot: sot: tom mccann/ iowa resident 1:06-1:17 "you have to put your hand up in public and say 'i am for this candidate.' that's really something. that's just hands-on public democracy." democracy... in action... in iowa... tonight. tracie potts but keep in mind: the biggest about one in six people here showed up. i'm tracie potts in des moines iowa - back to happening today... attorney general mark herring will testify as a witness before a special senate committee about opiod abuse among older adults. the attorney general has made combating the heroin and prescription opiod epidemic a top priority... attacking the problem with enforcement.. legislation.. education and prevention. in the year since launching the strategy-- his team has prosecuted 28 state and federal cases involving heroin. the hearin

vicky daniel interrupted her florida vacation to fly home for tonight's caucuses. (sot: vicky daniel/ iowa resident :57-1:00) "it's important. i wanna stand up for my candidate." that's what democrats have to do here - literally. unlike republicans, there's no secret ballot: (sot: tom public and say 'i am for this candidate.' that's really something. that's just hands-on public democracy." democracy... in action... in iowa... tonight. tracie potts, nbc news, des moines, iowa. the iowa caucus is a big deal because it's the first real measure of how voters feel about the candidates. however keep this in mind, the biggest turnout iowa ever had was in 2008, and only about one in six people showed two virginia tech students charged in a missing teen's death. we'll tell you what's ahead today for one of the suspects. plus, deadly storm. you'll see more of the scene where a big tree fell on top of a driver. but first, meteorologist deitra tate is working on your detailed forecast for today. she'll have an update, it's about time the taco...came out of its shell. give it a

. >> vicki daniel. >> i want to stand up for my candidate. >> that is what democrats have to do here. >> you have to put your hand up in public and say i am for this candidate. that is really something. that is such hands on public democracy. >> democracy in action in iowa tonight. >> keep in mind the best turnout they have ever had in iowa was 2008, the first obama election. only one in six islands participated. coverage of the iowa caucuses this morning. behind the scenes with bernie sanders. catch it starting at 7:00 on wesh 2. our own adrian whittset is in des moines and he will have live coverage starting on wesh 2 news first at 4:00. michelle: the commute will look a lot different for some drivers this morning. jason: crews began tearing down a toll plaza on the beach line. alex, this is a plaza that has been creating backups for years. alex: a lot of traffic here. naturally, it has drawn a lot of complaints. once this toll plaza goes away you are not going to be paying any less money but you will not have to pay it here so that will save you some time. look at these signs. no t

vicky daniel interrupted her florida vacation to fly home for tonight's caucuses. "it's important. i wanna stand up for my candidate." that's what democrats have to do here - literally. unlike republicans, there's no secret ballot: "you have to put your hand up there are more than 16-hundred caucus sites all over this to select presidential nominees. hillary clinton and donald trump are leading the latest polls... but there are plenty of undecideds... and no guarantees. we will also have extended coverage tonight -- to bring you all the action. we'll have a full hour of news from six to seven -- tonight -- and again from ten til eleven. we'll have updates on our website -- throughout the night. ahead of tonight's caucuses, donald trump will be in eastern iowa, stopping in waterloo and cedar rapids. yesterday he began his final push in council bluffs. the candidate unloaded on his top rival, ted cruz, over a campaign mailer that mentioned the caucus voting record of the recipient and their neighbors... so he's putting in houses "voter because you haven't voted enough. bah bah bah, d

tracie: vicki daniels interrupted her vacation to fly home for the caucuses. >> it is important. candidate. tracie: that is what democrats have to do. unlike republicans, there is no secret band -- ballot. >> you have to up and say, i import this that is hands on public democracy. tracie: democracy, in iowa, tonight. the best turnout they have ever had in iowa was in 2008. the first obama election. only one in six islands -- iowans participated. from des moines, iowa. i am tracie potts. jason: the "today" show will continue live coverage of the caucuses this morning. matt lauer will go behind the scenes with bernie sanders. savannah guthrie will be reporting from a rally for donald trump. and sarah palin will be live for an exclusive interview. you can catch it all right here on wesh starting at 7:00 a.m. wesh 2 is your source for complete commitment 2016 coverage. our own adrian whitsett is in des moines, and he' ll have live coverage from the caucuses. starting on wesh 2 news first at 4:00 p.m. you can also stay up to date on all the big issues in the politics section of wesh.com. michel

. >> vicki daniel interrupted her florida vacation to fly home for tonight's caucuses. >> it's important. i want to stand up for my candidate. >> reporter: that's what democrats have to do here, literally. unlike republicans, there's no secret ballot. >> you have to put your hand up and say i am for this candidate. that's really something. that's just such hands-on public democracy. >> reporter: democracy in action in iowa tonight. turnout may be the key, but keep in mind the best turnout they have ever had in iowa was 2008, the first obama election. only one in six iowans participated. tracie potts, nbc news in des moines, iowa. >>> speaking of iowa, hey, if you can -- well, we'll talk about what's going on here. this is a live look at one of the kasich campaigns. when results come in, we'll update everything on our 11:00 a.m. news as well as tomorrow morning starting at 4:30. >>> let's talk a little football this morning. super bowl 50 now just six days away. san jose's special event zone now in effect. cameras were outside the sap center this morning. you can see extra officers on pat

. >> reporter: vicki daniel interrupted her florida vacation >> it's important. i want to stand up for my candidate. >> reporter: tht's what democrats have to do here, literally. secret ballot. your hand up in public and say i'm for this candidate. that's really something. that's just such hands-on public democracy. >> reporter: democracy in action in iowa tonight. keep in mind the biggest turnout they had for the caucuses, was 2008. that was the first year president obama participated. 1 in 6 iowans caucused that night. marco rubio will be a few blocks from here for what he calls his victory celebration. jeb bush is already in new hampshire, he has an event in manchester later today. live from iowa, i'm tracie potts, back to you. >>> just a few minutes we will check in live with chuck todd for his take and what to watch out for. and the entire the "today" show team is crisscrossing iowa as >>> hi, everybody, this is savannah guthrie, i'm here in council bluffs iowa, this is the day iowa voters get their say. after all the campaigning and the back and forth, it's

. >> reporter: vicky daniel interrupted her florida vacation to fly home for tonight's caucuses. >> it'sortant. i want to stand up for my candidate. >> that's what democrats have to do here, literally, unlike republicans there's no secret ballot. >> you basically have to put your hand up in public and say i am for this candidate. that's really something. that's just such hands-on public democracy. >> reporter: democracy in action in iowa tonight. and we're going to see more of the candidates today and we'll see the last-minute pitches and marco rubio having breakfast at a diner and hillary clinton stopped by with doughnuts and coffee for those in the des moines area. donald trump around lunchtime in waterloo, making those final arguments, but there are not a lot of people who are expected to participate tonight. yes, it could be a record turnout, but by record in 2008 the first obama election that is the biggest turnout they've ever seen. one in six iowans participated. so rosemary, that means five and six stayed home and they're hoping to break that record tonight. >> tracie potts putti

. >> reporter: vicki daniel interrupted her florida vacation to fly home for tonight's caucuses. >> it's important. i want to stand up for my candidate. >> reporter: that's what democrats have to do here, literally, unlike republicans. there is no secret ballot. >> you basically have to put your hand up in public and say, i am for this candidate. that's really something. that's just hands-on public democracy. >> reporter: democracy in action in iowa tonight. now, keep in mind, we spent a lot of time talking about these iowa caucuses and how important they are, but most people in iowa, they don't participate in the cauaucuses. you have to be there at 7:00. you have to be in line or you can't do it. the biggest turnout they ever had, sam, was 2008. the first obama election. only one in six were part of these caucuses. >> such a small percentage of the eligible voters there. tracie potts live for our coverage from des moines. >>> a close race tonight in iowa and tech giant microsoft will be tallying the neck to neck votes. the new microsoft app to tally the results. cut down on human error

. >> reporter: vicki daniel interrupted her florida vacation to fly home for's caucuses. >> it is important. i want to stand up for my candidate. >> reporter: that's what democrats have to do, literally. unlike republicans, there is no secret ballot. >> you basically have to put your hand up in public and say, i am for this candidate. that is such hand-on public democracy. >> reporter: democracy in action in iowa tonight. but there are still a lot of people who may not participate at all. the best year they had for turnout here was 2008. the first year president obama was elected. he won iowa, but only one in sisix iowans showed up for the caucus. how soon can we start seeing results? >> well, 7:00 local time is when everything gets started. you have to be there and you have to be in line at 7:00. republicans have a simpler process. and some democrats tell me they have been there for two hours trying to move people from one side to another. so t could be as late as 9:00 or so before we hear from some of those areas. >> all right. interesting to see. thanks a lot. >>> as those results come i

. >> vicky daniel interrupted her florida vacation to fly home for tonight's caucuses. >> it's important. i want to stand up for my candidate. >> that's what democrats have to do here literally. unlike republicans, there's no secret ballot. >> you basically have to put your hand up in public and say i am for this candidate. that's really something. that's just such hands-on public democracy. >> democracy in action in iowa tonight. >>a reporter: how many people are going to be involved? e remember, the biggest turnout that they ever had for the caucuses was 2008, michael. it was the first year that president obama was elected, when he won here in iowa. even then only one in six participated. >> tracie, i know you're inside. but everyone talks about the weather there. what's the weather like in iowa? >> now it's fine. it is supposed to start snowing. they have a blizzard warning for tomorrow morning. the snow isn'todupposed to start falling until people are wrapped up with the caucuses. maybe during the caucuses, with you the heavier stuff much, much later. people are not going to be able

. >> danielle: thanks, sarah. as vicki mentioned, only the franklin and providence-stoughton lines on the commuter rail will go into south station this morning. if you're taking the worcester line, it's going into back bay. the needham line going into forest hills. the middleborough line will go into j.f.k. the kingston and plymouth line will go to braintree, and the center. the fair mount line will go to new market. the "t" is on time so far. if you're driving to work this morning, good shape right now. route 1 looking guys, as is 93 southbound. south of town from braintree to boston expressway northbound, that drive ten minutes. so no delays there. route 24, route 3, 95 all green, looking good. the pike from framingham eastbound into boston, no issues let's take take a look at these drive times. ten minutes on the expressway. 128 to the zakim bridge, 10 minutes, as well. >> christa: police at umass-amherst are still searching for two gunmen who they say assaulted a student on campus. >> intruder alert. >> christa: an ale

. >> danielle: it is. as vicki was saying, as you're saying, christa, take your time. this is a look at the expressway. you can see the roads really shiny. there's definitely a lot of water out there. you'll want to be careful of well. let's go to the maps. we don't have any major issues out there yet. that's the good news. route 1 looking good as is 93 southbound heading into boston this morning. the expressway from braintree to boston, ten minutes. you'll want to give yourself more time than that. route 3, 24, 95 looking good. the pike from framingham eastbound all the way into boston, no issues or major delays to tell you about. let's take a look at those drive times if you're getting ready to head out the door this morning. no delays so far. in you're taking the "t," it's on time so far. >> christa: families up and down the east coast are facing a day of clean-up. >> sarah: the same storm system this proved through our area overnight did much more damage down south. the death toll rising this morning and dozens of people are injured. 7's jennifer eagan is in the co

storm as it heads our way it's already caused daniel in the florida pan -- caused damage in the florida panhandle. >> and we have video that we just got in. vicki? >> reporter: the southern part of the line of storms triggering the severe weather is over tallahassee, florida right now. we're getting the reports of much of the damage left behind. the cluster first tore through tuesday evening and just left. the tornado caused this damage in pennsylvania cola. you can see in the -- in pensacola. you can see this home's roof is gone. that's also this massive tree ed from its roof. there are many other parts of the path of the dangerous storm. in fact, it covers about 15 states. the wind and the storm is coming up in 30 minutes, we're getting in new video that shows how powerful it is and a big concern it means for us today. stephanie? >>> fire crews across the state are prepared to prepare for any emergencies as the massive storm system heads our way. firefighters are getting their equipment ready to handle flash flooding. up to 2 inches of rain has already fallen during the past few days. drivers should be on the lookout as the d.o.t. has closure

vicki. 5:52 right now. time now for fast track traffic with danielle gersh. >> chris: thanks, sarah. good morning, everyone. >> danielle: this is the expressway northbound. already a slow drive. part of the reason for, that again today, much like friday, the hov lane will not open northbound on the expressway. let's go to the maps from braintree into boston that. drive is up to 20 minutes this morning. south of town, route 3, 24 and 95 looking good. a little bit of slowing on 128 southbound as you approach the expressway. the pike, no delays from framingham into boston. and in needham, we do have some issues going onodaga the ramp from 128 southbound to highland heading south on route 93 from lawrence over 128 into boston, that drive looking good as is route 1 this morning. let's take a look at those drive times if you're getting ready to head out the door this morning. 128 to the pike, 12 minutes. 128 to the zakim bridge, that drive 11 minutes. if you're taking the "t," it's on time and planning to run on its normal weekday schedule. back to you, guys. >> sarah: we'll be on with you

vicky daniel interrupted her florida vacation to fly home for tonight's caucuses. "it's important. i wanna stand up for my candidate." that's what democrats have to do here - literally. unlike republicans, there's no secret ballot: "you have to put your hand up in public and say 'i am for this candidate.' that's really something. that's just hands-on public democracy." democracy... in action... in iowa... tonight. audio outcue: tracie potts, nbc news, des moines, iowa. 9news political reporter brandon rittaman is in iowa this morning. he'll have more on the caucuses over 9news political reporter brandon rittaman is in iowa this morning. he'll have more on gives customers a unique view -- that's because it's underwater!!! the 'real poseidon' restaurant officially opens today. you can enjoy panoramic views while you eat. this concept lets you see the fish from a scuba divers perspective without getting wet. they serve thai food, mexican food... and indian food. there are about 40-thousand fish in the tank that surrounds the dining area. we love seeing all your broncos photos... they'