Transcripts For KSNV NBC Nightly News With Lester Holt 20160105

Split, and tonight outraged calls for action. Nightly news begins right now. Good evening. Call it the sprint to the starting line. After all of the months of rising and falling fortunes, were now just 28 days from the first nominating contest of the 2016 race for president. And there is new urgency for those still in it. 28 separate Campaign Events today alone. Heading into the 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 10point lead over Bernie Sanders. While in New Hampshire, it is donald trump out front for republicans. And for the dems, sanders with a 2 point lead. And with crunchtime here, checkbooks are being opened, strategies refined. And in the case of Hillary Clinton, the man she calls husband and her not so secret weapon has been we have it all covered. Andrea mitchell begins our coverage. Andrea, good evening. Reporter good evening, lester. This is bill clintons first solo trip in this campaign, trying to pull Hillary Clinton over the finish line in New Hampshire. Bill clinton at a popular restaurant in manchester. Living up to a famous snl parody. Taking nothing for granted this time. Can hillary win this one . Win here . Sure. But it is going to be hard. Reporter back in his element. Despite Donald Trumps attack of the former president s past womanizing, to counter Hillary Clintons charge that trump is sexist. How could she do that when she has one of the great women abusers of all time sitting at her house. Reporter today bill clinton following a campaign decision not to take trumps bait. As much as he wanted to. How do you feel about the kind of Campaign Donald trump is running, sir . The republicans who they will nominate. How i feel is only relevant [ inaudible ]. And Hillary Clinton in iowa refusing to engage trump. Ive adopted a new years resolution. Im going to let him live in his alternative reality and im not going to respond. Reporter hillary calls bill her not so secret weapon. But he occasionally misfired, in 2008 for ridiculing barack obama. This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale ive ever seen. This time vermont senator Bernie Sanders is giving Hillary Clinton a run for her money in New Hampshire. Ahead there and raising 33 million in the last three months. Only 4 million less than clintons 37 million. All of this, as both clintons t exeter, New Hampshire. Im katy tur on the campaign trail with donald trump. Where today he Hillary Clinton by targeting her husband bill. I dont care about Monica Lewinsky think hillary he was paid for speeches paid by people doing business with the state department. And now the billionaire is putting his money where his mouth is. Spending 2 million in iowa and New Hampshire on his first tv ad. It is a 30second summary of Trumps Campaign hits. Fighting radical islam, banning muslims, cutting isis off at the head and stopping Illegal Immigrants and building a wall. If that doesnt look like the u. S. Mexico border, youre right. It was morocco. No, but this is what our country will look like if we dont build a wall. By playing to fear, trump is hoping for a boost. Especially in iowa, where polls have him losing to cruz. If he come in second by two points, they will say this is a terrible defeat. Reporter he is tamping down on expectations should it slip through his fingers. He said he would win. And if he doesnt win, he fails. He becomes the most treaded word in the trump lexicon, which is loser. Reporter and once again, trump is not in an early state. Instead rallying thousands here in massachusetts. Its only january, lester, but he is acting as if it is august and the o face a stinging defeat in iowa. And senator ted cruz is leading in the polls there. Now stepping on the gas, hoping to and Hallie Jackson is the only correspondent inside of the Cruz Campaign blitz. Reporter below freezing on the road in iowa. Ted cruz plays a hot hand, in the lead, but not a lock. Today kicking off trips to 28 counties in six days. On his campaign bus. Two weeks ago, just about every republican candidate was attacking donald king me. Why . That is an indication something has changed in the race. Reporter cruz in the crosshairs, facing fire even from donald trump. Not too many evangelicals come out of cuba. Just remember that. Politicians behave a certain way when they are panicking. Attacks. They engage in personal attacks. That is human nature. I understand that. Drawn into that. So he is panicking. Im going to keep issues that matter. Reporter but that is where rivals see weakness, accusing him of shifting his stance on immigration and National Defense and too calculating in his political position. Are you too political opportunistic. Washington establishment engaged in this freudian objection where they accuse conservatives of doing what they do every day. It doesnt bother me. And blanketing early states too. Today democrats and republicans racking up 15 Campaign Stops in iowa. 12 in New Hampshire. In all, more than 100 events this week. Far from home and family. The hardest thing is it has been hard on my girls. Cruz, staying in touch with his daughters by text. Here is carolyn. I love you and i love you. Her emoji game is on point. Reporter planning to stay on the trail long past iowa but downplaying he needs this state to stick around. Cruz tells me iowa is not a mustwin for him. But if he doesnt, it is tough for political observers to see how he gets the nomination. It is why cruz is conservative stance appeals to evangelicals and his Strong Fundraising appeals to pragmatists looking for candidates with resources to compete later on. The big question for cruz, four weeks out until the caucuses. Has he hit a hot streak too early. Hallie, thank you. We turn to the scene playing out in oregon. A tense scene. A look inside of the siege where armed antigovernm otesters have n ke reporter for the Third Straight day, the wildlife refuge is under the control of armed antigovernment protesters. Ill stay here as long as it takes. Reporter concerned or t entire week. Our town is a safe town. And i dont want the kids to feel scared in their own town. Reporter for a brief period, the media was allowed inside the refuge, where things were largely quiet. Government cars are still parked and no visitors. The fbi wants a peaceful resolution but wont detail how they plan to respond to the occupation. Is there anything that would make you say, okay, we could end this and go home now . I wouldnt say words would do it. I would say action would. Reporter the group wants local control of this federal land. The siege is motivated by the case of two oregon ranchers, dwight and steven hammond, who were convicted of lighting fires on federal land near their ranch. Late today, the hammonds reported to prison in southern california. An issue that goes well beyond the fate of two ranchers. This is about the fate of 300 million acres mostly in west and controlled by the federal government. The ongoing struggle between the ranchers and the federal government intensified in 2014, where bundy had an armed standoff with confiscate his cattle after he refused to pay grazing fees. Son is leading the group and taken over this remote wildlife refuge. Tonight the sheriff aimed a message directly at occupiers, saying it is time for them to leave this community. Meanwhile, the Hammond Family has made it clear they are not a part of what is happening here at the refuge. Lester. Joe fryer, thank you. President obama is starting off the final year of his presidency by picking a major fight with republicans. About to go around congress and take executive action on guns. Our senior White House Correspondent Chris Jansing has just learned details about the president s action. Chris, what does the plan do . Reporter president obamas biggest frustration has not been not getting any new gun laws on the books after the newtown massacre. So this afternoon he made it clear, this is a priority for his final year in office. His attorney general and fbi director among those in the oval office who gave their recommendations for the executive action that do not require congressional most important will narrow the gun show loophole, forcing more gun buyers to get background checks. And the fbi will add new employees to process them. Now critics say the new measures would not have prevented recent mass shootings. His response it is not going to prevent every mass shooting. It is not going to keep every gun out of the hands of a criminal. It will potentially save lives in this country. Reporter beyond executive actions, president obama potentially set up another fight. He wants to hire 200 new atf agents and add 500 million to the budget for Mental Health care. Those will need congresss okay. And late this afternoon, Congressional Democrats came here to the white house for a strategy session. The president has also lined up gunrelated events all week long, including a meeting with newtown families. Lester. Chris, thanks. A rough start to the new year on wall street. Selloff over concerns about a slowdown in china. And major new tensions in the oilrich middle east. At one point the dow was down over 450 points before it gained back some ground near the close to finish down 276, abt 2 . And in the middle east, things have gone from bad to much worse between the regions two big rival powers. Predominantly sunni saudi arabia, and shiitedominated iran. The saudi execution of a shiite cleric this weekend triggered an uproar in iran, leading saudis to cut diplomatic ties with iran. Widening the biggest fault line in an already dangerous neighborhood. Bill neely reports. Reporter fury in iran today at the rival saudi arabia. America targeted too. As a saudi ally. U. S. Flags burned. Since the Saudi Embassy was burned by protesters, relations iranian diplomats expelled and the saudis condemned, from india to iraq today, where police protected saudi diplomats. The saudis executed prominent shiite cleric nimr al nimr, despite numerous warnings from the u. S. There has been direct concerns raised by u. S. Officials to saudi officials. Reporter one consequence is a boiling crisis between iran and saudi arabia. Deadly already in syria and yemen, where they back opposing sides in war. Now worsened in iraq, lebanon and bahrain where the two struggle for dominance. We will not allow iran to destabilize our region. Reporter irans Supreme Leader warned saudi arabia of devine retribution. But the u. S. Plans for peace talks in syria this month that could suffer most. The americans hope to really find a way out of this syrian conflict. Forget about it. Reporter the real winners could be isis. They want sectarian conflict and the syrian war to wage. And this is already a crisis that has brought more chaos where it is least needed. Bill neely, nbc news. Still ahead tonight, the fascination and controversy over the Netflix Documentary Series Making a murderer. How it has sparked a new call for action, for many who think that an innocent man is behind bars. And also songs and sign language. How an unconventional revival gave this on broad were back now with a sensational murder case featured in a new documentary that has become something of a national obsession. So many people binging on the tenpart Series Making a murderer. Many viewers coming away feeling a miscarriage of justice may have taken place in wisconsin. And as Stephanie Gosk reports, there are now calls for the president himself to get involved. Reporter the Netflix Documentary making a murderer, begins with a happy ending to a tragic story, about a miscarriage of justice. Steven avery wrongfully imprisoned 18 years for Sexual Assault and attempted murder was exonerated by dna evidence in 2003, but his story was far from over. It was all a storyteller would want. You have compelling and complex incredible conflict. Reporter in 2004, after his release, he filed a civil lawsuit for wrongful conviction, seeking 36 million. He would later settle for 440,000. Frlance photographer Teresa Hallback was murdered. Police charged avery with the crime and accused his nephew of being an accomplice. Both were convicted. The documentary suggested the defendant was framed, with evidence planted by the same Law Enforcement agencies he was suing. And that police coerced a confession. And released in december, the tenpart series gained an instant following. Even triggering two petitions asking the president to issue a full pardon. One calls the story an abomination of due process. Facing intense public criticism, the former prosecutor is pushing back filmmakers left out critical pieces of physical and forensic he told nbc news that the complete set of facts is inconsistent with the claim that avery was framed. I call it a movie. I dont call it a documentary. Because it doesnt share all of the facts. Reporter meantime, the reviews keep coming in and they are glowing. Including Ricky Gervais tweeting, it deserves a nobel prize. You have the wrong guy. Reporter netflix has the next big hit. For now, steven avery is watching behind bars, still in prison, serving life without parole. Stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. When we come back here tonight, the holidays are over and so is the warm weather. The unusually warm weather so Many Americans were across the country. The attorney for the socalled affluenza teen said it could take months before ethan couch is deported back to the u. S. From mexico where he was caught on the run with his mother. Immigration official tells us that couch is being held in a sparse room with three or four other people. He got ten years probation for a deadly drunkdriving crash te right from wrong. Extreme weather whipping across the country this evening after the usually warm holidays. Some of the coldest temperatures of the season are blasting the northeast. Up to 20 degrees below average in some areas. While on the west coast, six storms influenced by el nino are threatened to be on the march. And the midwest is still reeling from flooding that destroyed 150 homes and left 25 people dead. They call today black monday in the od r son. A number of teams in se the new york giants tom coughlin steps down after 12 seasons and two super bowl wins. And out, mike pettine of the cleveland browns. 49ers, jim tomsula. The eagles, titans and dolphins fired their coaches before the end of the season. When we come back, a beloved musical back on broadway in a way or heard before. Finally tonight, a broadway dream come true. A muchloved musical playing to an audience that most shows ignore. And it is cast with actors so often locked out of the great white way. Including one young woman who got the break of a lifetime. Rehema ellis has her story. Reporter this is the opening scene of the Broadway Musical spring awakening. But when the audience hears this [ singing ] lead actress sandra may frank hears this. Sandra is deaf. She shared her role with hearing actor katie. As katie sings, sandra signs. She spoke to us through an interpreter. I see the faces in the audience and the ey. L they are going, you are the one who is singing. Oh, okay. You are the one who is signing. Hearing actor. What were trying to create is that people will watch her and hear me. I watch this play, and i didnt think of two actresses. I thought of one. Sandra lost her ability to hear at age 3. But held fast to a dream. I wanted to learn how to sing. And my mother was like, oh, okay. But u but here i am singing, but in a different way. She looked up to people like oscar winners, who are now a one. I want to be able to see more deaf actors get recognized f i could see they are moved by the acting. They are not looking at us like disabled characters on the stage, they are looking at us to tell the story. Reporter an and audiences alike. Rehema ellis, nbc news, new york. And that will do it for us on monday night. Im lester holt. For all of us on nbc news, thank you for