between the front runners. what trump is saying about both hillary and bill clinton. and that terror recruitment video that uses trump's comments about muslims. >>> the standoff at a federal building occupied by armed anti-government activists in oregon. tonight, why they're outraged and vowing to continue their occupation for years. >>> day of rage in the muslim world over the execution of a prominent clergyman, all part of a bigger struggle between >>> and saving the sea. the oceans drowning in plastic, but now a novel idea to collect all that garbage before it washes ashore. "nightly news" begins now. >>> from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with kate snow. >>> good evening. there's been no letup this weekend in donald trump's sharp attacks on his top democratic rival, and he's not just going after hillary clinton but her husband, the former president. bill clinton is due in new hampshire tomorrow, his first solo appearance to campaign for his wife. with the iowa caucuses four weeks from tomorrow, trump also found himself answering questions abo

down. >>> bill clinton's past as donald trump continued attacking the former president. newly revealed about george w. bush, vladimir putin and princess diana. >>> and biggest jackpot ever. huge lines as the jackpot explodes to more than $800 million. could it grow to a billion before the numbers are drawn? "nightly news" begins right now. >>> good evening. the images of our top story are beyond chilling. video and photos of a police officer ambushed at close-range by a man with a gun. and nearly as chill robert griffin iii the y are the implications this might be an isis inspired violence. the victim, a philadelphia police man, who survived being shot at 11 times and took down his attacker who allegedly told police he did it in the name of islamic. steve peterson is in philadelphia with the >> reporter: these chilling surveillance images show the moment a gunman dressed in a traditional white arab robe opened fire on a philadelphia police officer at point-blank range, shooting at least 11 times. >> shots fired. i'm shot. i'm bleeding heavily. >> reporter: 33-year-old police jesse hart

go inside the war rooms and door to door. clinton and sanders neck and neck and a real battle among the republicans as iowa gets ready for the opening act of 2016. >>> captured. three escaped inmates ck in jail tonight after two are caught on the streets of san francisco. a teacher who may have helped them break out. >>> race against time. the growing battle to contain the zika virus brazil as the outbreak linked to birth defects spreads. >>> eating well why more medical students are taking classes in the kitchen. "nightly news" begins now. >>> from nbc world headquarters in new york, this is nbc "nightly news." reporting tonight, ari erica hill. >>> good each. in iowa tonight, it's a full court press. with the caucuses 48 hours away, candidates aren't wasting a moment, personally among the undecided. crisscrossing the state to make their final pitches trying to meet as many voters as possible. donald trump may be leading among republicans, the battle for second place in iowa is critical. on the democratic side, hillary clinton and bernie sanders are nearly tied. nbc news has full c

current favorite target, the clintons. but once again bringing up skeletons past. >> the brash billionaire is aiming his political fire at the democratic front-runner. and her husband who is now scheduled for three more campaign stumps in new hampshire next week. >> hillary has the right temperament and proven ability to figure out a way to make good things happen. >> reporter: privately the trump campaign tells nbc news that they hope to force the former president off the campaign trail. publicly it sounds more like a warning to hillary clinton. a point they are trying to hammer home on instagram. >> women's rights are human rights. >> if she is going to continue this line of attack of trying to label republicans as sexist, she needs to tread very careful. >> reporter: the strategy may work now with the republican base, but it could backfire down the road, some democratic strategists say. >> gem election voters don't want an election about scandals, they want an election about their lives. >> reporter: tonight her main democratic rival forced to >> hillary clinton, is not bill

back here at 11:00. >>> tonight, campaign bliss. bill clinton hits the trail as donald trump puts his money where his mouth is. but his new ad has already erupted in copt very versailles -- cocontroversy. >>> and we go inside as armed protesters me control of a federal building unless the feds meet their demands. what they want. >>> taking aim. what we've learned obama's executive actions on guns. the white house about to go around congress asso uponents vow to fight and the real life whodonit who has so m many viewers hooked, amateur detectives split and tonight outrage calls for action. "nightly news" begins right now. >>> good evening. the starting line. after all of the months of rising and falling fortunes, we're now just 28 days from the first nominating contest of the 2016 race for president. and there is new urgency for those still in l . 28 separate campaign events today alone. heading into the y,stretch toward the february 1st iowa caucus, the latest poll there shows ted cruz ahead of the republican pack. for the democrats, hillary clinton with a nearly 10-point lead while i

>>> breaking news. tonight top so credit bombshell. a majoror twist in hillary clinton's e-mail scandal has the campaign scrambling, and we're with her exclusively three days till iowa. >>> also, the fight night fallout. donald trump declares victory and ignites a new firestorm with ted cruz. jail break. a dangerous escapee turns himself in. two more on the run as a jail the escape. >>> we're at the outbreak each center of this zika pandemic where the virus is exploding. fear. >>> and a dramatic takedown on camera. chase, a crash and the moment fbi agents opened fire. "nightly news" begins right now. >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt reporting tonight in des moines, iowa. >> good evening. three days from a critical vote here in iowa, and the hillary clinton camp finds itself back under the cloud of the e-mail controversy. minutes after secretary clinton told me in an exclusive interview here in des moines today that there is nothing regarding the e-mail investigation that should cause voters to have any concerns, the state department confirmed for the fir

impossible for a socialist to win in a state like missouri. >> but former president bill clinton in new hampshire today steering clear of the s-word. borrowing for the 2008 clinton playbook saying he is uneluktable and just can't win. >> the real question is who can win the election, who is prepared to do the job, who could make real change. >> reporter: could the socialist line of attack backfire. >> a lot of those voters are capable of looking past the socialist label. >> reporter: hillary clinton taking her own shot at sanders today in an interview. >> in some of the comments that senator sanders has been making there is room for disagreement and even concern zblshlgt the current gop game plan, build up sanders. the republican national committee tweeting during last week's democratic debate, i feel the burn. >> they are trying to prop up bernie sanders and they would rather run against him. >> the clinton came getting jittery with polls slipping. a dead heat in iowa. sanders in the lead in new hampshire. today the campaign down playing any nervousness to andrea mitchell. >> we ha

nbc, the latest polls show troubling news for hillary clinton. with her numbers slipping, clinton and bernie sanders are stepping up attacks on each other. we get more from nbc's kristen welker. >> reporter: hillary clinton and bernie sanders escalating the sniping today. clinton firing the first volley, repeating her toughest attacks on health care and guns. >> senator sander has been a reliable vote for the gun lobby and i have been standing against them for a long time. >> reporter: on msnbc today, sanders punched back. >> to say i'm a supporter of the nra is a mean-spirited and unfair and inaccurate statement. >> reporter: her ramped up rhetoric comes with the democrats locked in an unexpected nail-biter. a new national poll showing her lead tumbling. she still tops sanders but only by 7 points, a sharp decline from month. the numbers. >> no, i'm not nervous at all. i'm working hard. and i intend to keep working as hard as i can. >> reporter: so why are more and more democrats feeling the burn? sanders, a self-described democratic socialist, could be tapping into voters desire

clinton on disaster in california. new evacuations from a ferocious line of storms, fueled by one of the most powerful el ninos in history. >> and mind games that claim to improve your memory, even ward off alzheimer's. so-called brain training apps under fire. as customers ask for refunds. "nightly news" begins right now. >>> good evening. going it alone and issuing his own orders meant to keep guns out of the wrong hands, a tearful president obama both tested and reluctantly accepted the limits of his executive power today as he went around congress. the steps he took were modest at best. but long on symbolism. the president, flanked by those touched by gun violence, wept as him to this point. senior white house correspondent jis jansing has more. >> reporter: president obama today, unable to hold back tears. as he remembered 20 children murdered at sandy hook elementary, every time i think about those kids, it gets me mad. and by the way, it happens on the streets of chicago every day. >> reporter: in the three years since newtown, he has failed to get any sweeping new gun laws th

vote here in iowa, and the hillary clinton camp finds itself back controversy. minutes after secretary clinton told me in an exclusive interview here in des moines today that there is nothing regarding the e-mail investigation that should cause voters to have any concerns, the state department confirmed for the first time that some. e-mails found on clinton's personal e-mail server from her days as secretary of state contained information so secret they fell under the highest level of classification. nbc's andrea mitchell has details. >> reporter: as hillary clinton was campaigning in iowa, the state department dropped the e-mail bombshell. e-mails from her private server top secret, the highest level of classification as demanded by the intelligence agencies. >> none of this traffic was marked classified at the time it was sent. >> reporter: just minutes earlier lester had asked clinton about how the e-mail investigation might affect her campaign. >> anything can happen. indictments could happen. why shouldn't people, as they weigh the electability question, worry about this

iranians from u.s. jails to get and even former secretary of state hillary clinton took a hard line. she released a statement tonight saying we shouldn't thank iran for fulfilling their nuclear obligations. she also pointed out that iran is still violating u.n. resolutions against their missile program. u.s. officials said they did not link the prisoner release to the nuclear deal because they didn't want the prisoners to become a bargaining chip in the nuclear that talks. the talks to release the prisoners did accelerate. one thing is very clear though. iran was desperate to get out from sanctions, the economic sanctions, and back into the oil business. all the political noise tonight makes it clear that there are a lot of hurdles left before iran and the united states are going to restore full diplomatic relations or full business relations anytime soon. >> thank you. by the way, that's where the top republicans were today and where the democrats will be tomorrow to square off. >> reporter: with the one time bromance between donald trump and ted cruz over, increasingly heated >> it see

president. >>> on the democratic side of the race, our brand-new poll shows hillary clinton and bernie sanders locked in a virtual tie in iowa. even as the two campaigns looked beyond the hawkeye state, debating over whether to hold more debates. meantime, clinton is also getting drawn away from the trail to raise more money. something her opponent was quick to pounce on. we get the details from nbc's andrea mitchell. >> reporter: it's a dead heat for the democrats in iowa. our new nbc "wall street journal" poll has hillary leading bernie sanders by just three points. but in new hampshire, the vermont senator has a commanding 19-point lead. both are now agreeing to more debates. including next week in new hampshire. party approves. >> the political world has changed a little bit, and now it seems like hillary clinton debate. i said that's fine, i don't mind that. >> reporter: facing a longer than expected primary contest, clinton left iowa wednesday afternoon to raise money in philadelphia from an investment firm. and in new york today. >> some of my supporters, including my goo

hillary clinton and donald trump, trading fire as trump takes aim at bill clinton's pass indiscretions. he's doubling down and she's refusing to take the bait. and trump is looking to muddy the waters on the republican side, raising the question of whether ted cruz could legally be elected president because he was born in canada. more on that in a moment. but more from kristin welker with the trump and clinton fight getting personal. >> reporter: hillary clinton digging in, refusing to engage with donald trump over his jabs. today during the first television interview chris matthews. >> is this sexism? >> i will not respond to his personal attacks. >> her campaign recently overshadowed by a barrage of attacks by trump who has criticized her husband for his sexual transguesses just as bill clinton returned to the trail for the first time on monday. >> he can say what he wants to say. i'm going to talk about what people want to talk to me about. >> reporter: but donald trump is showing no signs of letting up. >> it is fair game. >> reporter: in an interview with morning joe

hillary clinton trading fire. why he says it's open season on her husband's past indiscretions. >>> bracing for disaster in california, storms fueled by one of the most powerful el ninos in history. >>> and mind games to off alzheimer's and customers. >>> nightly news begins right now. >>> from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news with lester holt." >>> good evening, going it alone and issuing his on orders to keep guns out of the wrong hands, a tearful president obama accepted and admitted the limits of his own power as he went around congress. the president, flanked by those most closely touched by gun violence chided congress for inaction and wept as he ticked off the mass shootings that he says brought him to this point. >> reporter: president obama today unable to hold back tears. as he remembered 20 children murdered at sandy hook elementary. about those kids, it gets me mad. and by the way, it happens on the streets of chicago every day. >> reporter: in the three years since new 4 town newtown, he's failed to get any action. >> they cannot h

clinton versus sanders a tossup. as for the republicans, trump and then cruz and on the ground, getting out the vote is where this first in the nation battle will be won. our team is in the thick of it tonight. let's start with nbc's kristen welker. >> lester, good evening. tonight both campaigns tell me they're expecting this to be close. there have been tens of thousands of tv ads. phone calls and door knocks. now it come down to turnout and the final pitch from the candidates. it's the homestretch. hillary clinton and bernie sanders blanketing iowa. a fight for the number one spot in a race likely to be a photo finish. >> monday night could be an historic night for this country. we can make history. >> let's start a storm of movement toward the future that we want to make together! >> reporter: just hours before voters caucus, clinton and 45 to 42%. getting people out to vote tomorrow is teams of volunteers and organizers knocking on doors one last time. making sure every things -- where their caucus location is and how they'll get there. and the clinton campaign allowing nb

stretch on both sides. hillary clinton and bernie sanders locked in a neck and neck battle as ted cruz tries to fend off donald trump's momentum. 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 n

>>> tonight, on the attack. hillary clinton scrambling to shore up support amid growing concern she could lose iowa and new hampshire to bernie sanders after the most intense debate yet on our stage. >>> and the republican race taking a nasty turn with ted cruz hitting donald trump today after being labelled, quote, a nasty guy. >>> high stakes release. a behind the scenes last-minute drama that could have stopped the free american prisoners from reunited from families. tonight we're in germany and richard >>> a dangerous virus spreads. more cases of the virus that puts unborn baby at risks are discovered in the u.s. with no known cure. how could it be stopped? >>> and oscar protest. the growing outrage that has some in hollywood telling the academy the show may go on without them. "nightly news" begins right now. >>> good evening. for hillary clinton and bernie sanders, a week of sharper and sharper jabs on the campaign trail all came to a head in ruckus fashion on the debate stage in charleston, south carolina, last night. it is a critical moment in the race. iowa and new hampshir

turn to the battle for the white house. hillary clinton firing off her most direct attacks yet at bernie sanders as their race tight. donald trump remains the front-runner with fellow outsider ted cruz now being targeted by many within his own party. we are covering both races beginning with nbc's andrea mitchell in des moines. >> reporter: good evening, lester. with that race getting tighter on the democratic side. hillary clinton went after bernie sanders with her toughest attacks yet. a small private college in iowa, clinton hammered bernie sanders, deliver on his promises. >> i'll tell you, i'm not interested in ideas that sound good on paper but will never make it in the real world. >> reporter: sanders responded to nbc's kasie hunt. >> virtually every plan we have brought forth is supported by the american people. >> reporter: clinton delivering sharp jabs from a teleprompter, unusual for the setting, betrayed sanders as naive on foreign policy, especially iran. >> he suggested we invite iranian troops into syria. the arsonist to be the firefighter >> reporter: touting her o