hallie jackson hey good morning and this morning we are putting our today

more from hallie jackson. >> reporter: 9:00 a.m., lindy's diner. and ted cruz getsrved yet another question about his closest rival. >> are you really going to get mr. donald trump to build that wall? >> if he doesn't, he'sd. >> reporter: at the same time, donald trump is on his way to liberty university in virginia hoping to prygelical support from cruz. >> 2 corinthians. 3:17, that is the whole ball >> reporter: and taking off for comfort in new hampshire. and so are we. following the two front-runners in one state on one day and their former >> he is a nasty guy. nobody likes him. >> he is losing in the polls and it seems his response is to attack and get personal. i don't intend to respond in kind. is responding. and hitting donald trump as too liberal. d reagan when he was younger was a strong libery and he became conservative. >> robld reagan not spend the first 50 years of his life supporting democratic competitions. >> rep toward a photo finish in iowa. today's trip highlighting the difference on what they are caming and campaigning on ands

each focused on the numbers that count, and we've got it all covered starting with nbc's hallie jackson in iowa. hi, hallie. >> reporter: good evening, lester. republican party leaders here in iowa tell nbc news they are getting ready for record turnout one week from tonight, something that could help donald trump, but with as many as four in ten people saying they will wait until the last minute to make up their minds about who to support, what happens over the next seven days? these closing arguments will make a difference. from the back of the pizza chain where she works angie point watches candidates and a speech. >> with seven kids at home i do like homeland security as an issue. i want to keep my kids safe. >> reporter: who top two. who are the top two? >> in between trump and ted cruz. >> reporter: and recently she decided on trump as he surges 11 points, ted cruz slipping four. what's changed? >> i like ted cruz. he's been very nice to me. >> reporter: trump's tune. >> he's a nasty guy and he brought it up at the debate. he started it and i finish it had. >> reporter: hammering

i just don't want to work for him any more. >> reporter: hallie jackson, nbc news, washington. >>> when we come back, new hope for a new year as cities around the globe welcome >>> finally tonight, >>> finally tonight, hopes and dreams for 2016 as the world turns a page on a year that some are ready to bid farewell. around the planet tonight, displays of optimism at a time when we could use a good helping of that. the fireworks and other celebrations began in australia and asia, including the simplicity of white balloons being released in tokyo. from the pyramids of egypt to red square in russia, a turning many languages with a universal wish. in a still-recovering paris, a new year's display of resilience. the french president calling on people there to make 2016 a year of courage and hope, words that resonate far beyond france on this new year's eve. here at nbc, we will welcome the new year with our own toast. it all begins with hoda and kathie lee with a farewell to 2015. that's at 8:00/7:00 central time. get your glasses ready. that will do it for us on this new year's eve. i'm kat

as nbc's hallie jackson reports, republicans are already unleashing attacks on what they expect to hear from the president. >> reporter: skipping the state of the union? soerntd ted cruz. >> i think there is a canadian curling contest on. >> reporter: instead firing away at president obama. at a second amendment rally in new hampshire. >> why not join your colleagues tonight. >> tonight is no president will say. >> my prediction is we'll see heights of demagoguery that the president has not reached in his final farewell state of the union. >> others taking aim at the president's leadership. >> he can't be thrilled with me. and frankly, you know, the country is a mess. and we're going to straighten it out and we're going to make america great again. >> the state of the union is way too pessimistic for the american people. they do not believe that it is good. and it needs to change. >> the state of the union will not be a call to action tonight. it will be fantasy wish list by a president who has failed us. >> reporter: on the democratic side, not hitting president obama, but hillary clin

hallie jackson, iowa. >> reporter: i'm a34i67 el as the democrats make their closing arguments. >> he said, you know, i don't know. like my head versus my heart. i said can you have it both. >> reporter: each >> and it's so hard to do anything to pay your bills. you're ashamed all the time. it's just hard. >> thank you, thank you. and until millions of people who are experiencing exactly what you guys are experiencing do say that, we don't make change. >> reporter: both candidates are counting on field armies, paid staff and thousands of volunteers. for democrats iowa caucus rules are more complicated than for republicans. candidates have to meet a minimum threshold of supporters in each votes. clinton posted an animated how-to manual today. >> and it's as easy as 1, 2, 3. >> reporter: sanders' team proviewsed a video friday. >> in you're 18 by friday, in iowa you can caucus. >> reporter: map showed the challenge for sanders. his supporters are concentrated in three counties with college towns, but to win he needs first-time voters to show up all over the state. so he's riding a bus t

hallie jackson, thanks. >>> let's bring in our political director, chuck todd. chuck, back to the clinton e-mails. it's a scandal that won't go away but does it resonate with voters? >> you know, that's unclear, but i will say this, timing and inn union dough are not her friend her. 72 hours before caucus night just as democrats are having this conversation about elect ability, i was at a sanders event, bernie sanders spends a lot of time because he thinks that issue has been hurting him, hillary clinton has been making this issue but here comes in e-mail issue, here comes real you see the words top secret but we don't know much about it. that's what frustrates the clinton campaign, they feel as if once all of it is out it will be easy to explain but right now 72 hours before the caucus it isn't. i've talked to plept kree of democrats that are undecided at events for clinton and sanders who say to me one of the hesitations on clinton is this stuff that's always around her. well, e-mails is part of that stuff and frankly right now it looks like a bit of a mess fo

>> i'm sure there are a few. >> hallie jackson, nbc news. >>> a urgent plea for help from the fbi over a critical gap in time in the foemts following the terror attack in san bernardino. the husband and wife killers were on the run after wounding and killing peoplement and investigators want to know what they were doing in the missing minutes. pete williams has late details. >> reporter: the fbi said it cannot account for 18 minutes on the eager to solve. 8:37 a.m., december 2nd, farook leaves his house in redlands, california. ten minutes later he arrived at the inland region center. he sits down a backpack that turns out later to have contained pipe bocks. 10:37 a.m., farook leaves the center and returns 9 minutes later when he and his wife open fire with assault rifles killing 14 people and injuring 22 more. at 11:45, farook and malik drive to this nearby lake. but what were they doing that afternoon from 12:59 to 1:17? the fbi said they were in this area driving back and forth on the highways but where did they go and did they meet with someone else? >> we want to ensure if they ma

as hallie jackson reports, one of the gop rising stars used her national platform to take her party's front-runner to task. >> reporter: even when he's not supposed to be in the spotlight, donald trump still is. nikki haley's republican response rebuking not just president obama but her own party's presidential front-runner. >> during anxious times it could be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. we must resist that temptation. >> in that context, you are referring to donald trump, correct? >> he was one of them, yes. mr. trump has definitely contributed to what i think is irresponsible talk. >> reporter: trump now hitting her back. >> i'm very strong on illegal immigration, she's weak on illegal immigration. maybe it will turn out because people know where i stand and you see the numbers. >> reporter: governor haley and house speaker paul ryan represent what some establishment republicans think the gop should be, more diverse. more inclusive. what the gop has is trump, leading the pack and mobilizing a new base of support for the party. even as the establishment

instead they'll be in the granite state. >> hallie jackson, let's bring in our political director, the moderator of "meet the press," chuck todd. back to the clinton e-mails, it's a scandal that won't go away. >> you know, that's unclear, but i will say this. timing and innuendo are not her friend here. just 72 hours before caucus night. just when democrats are having this conversation about electability, i was at a sanders event today. bernie sanders spends because he thinks that issue has been hurting him. been making that issue. but then here comes this e-mail issue. here comes real questions. there's uncertainty. you should see the words top secret, but we don't know much about it. that's what frustrates the clinton campaign, lester, is they feel as if once all of it is out, it will be easy to explain. right now, 72 hours before the caucus, it isn't. i've talked to plenty of democrats that are undecided at events for clinton and sanders, who say to me, you know, one of the hesitations on clinton is this stuff that's always around her. well, emails is part of that stuff, and frankly

hallie jackson, iowa. >> reporter: i'm andrea mitchell. as the democrats make their closing arguments -- >> he said, you know, i don't know. it's kind of like my head versus my heart. i said you can have it both. >> reporter: each trying to connect to voters. >> it is so hard to do anything to pay your bills. you're ashamed all the time. it's just hard. >> thank you. thank you. millions of people are experiencing exactly what you guys are experiencing do say that. >> reporter: both candidates are counting on field armys, paid stuff and thousands of volunteers. caucus rules are more complicated than for republicans. candidates have to meet a minimum threshold of supporters in arbitrate caucus to even get votes. clinton posted an animated how-to manual today. sanders' team produced a video friday. >> if you're going to be 18 by election day, and you're an iowan, you can caucus. >> reporter: the map shows the challenge for sanders. to win, he needs first-time voters to show up all over the state. so he's riding a bus to get to far-flung rural

we get more from hallie jackson. >> reporter: 9:00 a.m., lindy's diner. and ted cruz gets served yet another question about his closest rival. >> are you really going to get mr. donald trump to build that wall? >> if he doesn't, he's fired. >> reporter: at the same time, donald trump is on his way to liberty university in virginia hoping to pry some evangelical support from cruz. >> 2 corinthians. 3:17, that is the whole ball game. >> reporter: and taking off for comfort following the two front-runners in one state on one day and their former bro-mance blows up into a brawl. >> he is a nasty guy. nobody likes him. nobody in congress likes him. nobody likes him anywhere once they get to know him. >> he is losing support and going down in the polls and it seems his response is to attack and get personal. i don't intend to respond in kind. >> reporter: but cruz is responding. and hitting donald trump as too liberal. >> ronald reagan when he was younger was a pretty strong liberal and he became conservative. >> ronald reagan did not spend the first 60 years o

which is where we hear from nbc's hallie jackson. >> reporter: the birther reborn. donald trump insinuating ted cruz is not eligible for the white house because of his canadian birth. >> everybody is talking about it now that he is doing better. >> i would go and seek a declaratory judgment if i was ted. >> what does that mean? >> you go to court. >> which court? >> federal court to ask for a declaratory judgment. >> reporter: cruz, leading trump in iowa, attack with a tweet featuring fonzi, now turning more serious. >> people will continue to make political noise about it but as a legal matter it is quite straightforward. >> he was born in calgary and his mom was born in delaware. an american citizen. making cruz one. the constitution requires the president be natural born. >> the constitution doesn't define natural born. the supreme court never ruled on it, but most agree it means citizen by birth and that would include ted cruz. >> here is trump himself in september. >> i hear it was checked out by every attorney every which way and i understand ted is in fine sh

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

nbc's hallie jackson brings us up to speed. >> reporter: against ted cruz, donald trump done playing nice. >> he's a nasty guy. nobody likes him. nobody in congress likes him. nobody likes him once they get to know him. >> reporter: a new attack not on policy but personality. new york papers, furious. >> our friends in the media, seems like they lit their hair on fire. what are the new york values of which you speak? i would say, and the rest of america, people know exactly what that means. >> reporter: cruz arguing he is using trump's own words from more than 15 years ago, discussing abortion and gay marriage. >> i lived in new york city all my life. lived in iowa. >> reporter: trump fighting back against those who say he's too liberal. >> he should be a conservative and hasn't shown it. >> i'm conservative. but when it comes to different elements of what i believe in, that's what people really understand. i'm going to solve our trade problem. i'm going to solve the military problem. i'm going to get rid of isis. >> reporter: the front runners fighting for first in iowa. as trump ta

and if they do it's benefit the most. >> hallie jackson, thank you. andrea mitchell has been following the twists and turns and democrats. >> it's an election that you have outsider democrats drawing big crowds but big they can deliver the caucuses. on the democratic side, hillary clinton on organization but she's fighting off that bernie sanders 83% of the clinton supporters have made up their mind compared to 69% for sanders. clinton will be using the playbook that barack obama used to defeat her eight years ago. everything will depend on turnout. campaign insiders say if only 170,000 people were to vote, then she wins. if more than 200,000 show up, as they did for obama, then sanders would carry the day. it's a lot at stake. if sanders were to win here, he would have big momentum going into new hampshire where he's already way ahead and that would be a real crisis. >> the republican side has the trump surge be real, how will the ground game play out? >> the question is whether that surge is real. he now leads cruz by five points. it's clear his att

let's go to hallie jackson. the beauty in this if you are trump this raises stuff in the air, throws crap in the air you didn't think would be in the air. we know the guy who has cuban background somehow was born in canada. what were his parents doing up there? why didn't we know about this before? what is this? the canadian passport story. i have been reading in the paper about this y. thought he did have a passport. now saying he never had one. what is it? >> reporter: so the deal with this, you are right. today ted cruz is talking about cuba and canada. he wants to be talking about north korea and iran. this is not the message he wants. you talk about questions. this is not a secret that ted cruz is canadian. his parents moved up there for some oil and gas work. they were working up there. the canada story is central to the narrative of his father who was a heavy drinker, leaving the family, abandoning he and his mother, coming back to canada and asking for forgiveness after he found the church. this is tied

thank you katy tur and hallie jackson and robert costa. warning signs. hillary clinton and the democratic establishment getting nervous about bernie sanders. wait until they see the numbers tonight. sanders rise in the polls has coincided with a more forceful warning call. i'm going to speak with a top bernie adviser tonight. sarah palin facing back lash for her comments that seem to blame president obama for her son's misbehavior. veterans groups are not pleased with the former half governor's comments in the wake of her son track's domestic violence arrest. >>> 2015 goes down in the history books as the world's warmest in record. has the time come for science deniers to face the facts. >>> the "hardball" round table will tell me something i don't know. guys, to celebrate super bowl 50 i'm rewarding fans with a special offer. order a large pizza and get a second large pizza for 50 cents. 50 cents?! that's pocket change! if only we had pockets... what? purely decorative. get a large,1-topping pizza for only 50 cents when you order any large pizza at regu