good morning, everyone. it is wednesday, december 9th, i'm shiba russell. amid the firestorm over his comments about banning muslims from entering the united states, donald trump is planning a visit to the middle east. trump tweeted last night he'll be traveling to israel before the end of the year, and, quote, despite my great respect for king abdullah ii i will not be visiting jordan at this time. trump was responding to a report by the associated press that he would visit that country this month. the jerusalem post reporting this morning that trump will meet with israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu on december 28th, just a few days after christmas. the report says that the meeting was scheduled two weeks ago, before the republican front-runner released his controversial plan, which he defended to barbara walters last night. >> do you regret your ban on muslims, which some people think is un-american? >> not at all. we have to do the right thing. somebody in this country has to say what's right. it could be very quickly if our country could get its act together. we don't know what's happening. we have a president that doesn't have a clue. >> are you a bigot? >> not at all. probably the least of anybody you've ever met. >> because? >> because i'm not. i'm a person that has common sense. i'm a smart person. i know how to run things. i know how to make america great again. >> new polling has donald trump out front, and one poll in particular reminds the republican party of the damage he could do as a third party candidate. at 32% trump's lead continues to grow in the new hampshire primary with senator marco rubio 18 points behind at 14%. governor chris christie has risen four points since september to third place. and in a national poll from "usa today," trump dominates with 27% support, followed by ted cruz and rubio at 17% and 16%. this poll also found that 68% of trump supporters would still back him if he ran as an independent. trump noted, too, tweeting about the poll, but the republican front-runner signed a pledge to the republican party back in september. jeb bush responded, quote, maybe donald negotiate a deal with his buddy hillary clinton. continuing this path will put her in the white house. he also refused to say he would support trump as the nominee last night. >> are you going to be able to support donald trump if he's the republican nominee at this point? >> chuck, he's not going to be the nominee. he's not a serious candidate. he's an entertainer. to make his proposals out there just to basically -- these are dog whistle proposals to prey on people's fears, and consume the news. it's not a serious campaign. >> well, then, it doesn't sound like you can support him if he's the nominee. why not say it? >> because it's not going to happen. he's not going to be the nomi e nominee. i will support the republican nominee and i'm working hard to make sure i'm it. >> so you will support the republican nominee no matter what the voters decide? >> absolutely. it's not going to be donald trump, though. >> hmm. bush was far from alone. many more of trump's republican rivals piled on against his plan yesterday. >> trump's comments i would just say that, this is a very serious issue. we need to deal with it in a serious way. what he proposed was not well thought out. it was impulsive. he didn't think it through. it violates the constitution. it places a religious test and it isn't the best way to do this. it is not the best way to address this threat. >> the world also seems like it's going crazy, when donald trump, the front-runner in the republican party, stands up last night and says let's throw the constitution out, i don't have a plan to defeat isis, so let's just ban all muslims from entering the u.s. truth is, donald trump is the best thing to ever happen to hillary clinton. because if he is the nominee of this party, she will wipe the floor with him, and we will also lose the senate and we will most probably lose the house. so she hopes for donald trump wrapped up under her christmas tree. >> iowa radio reports that one candidate is embracing part of the plan. rick santorum reportedly said that muslims from syria, libya, and other areas where members of the faith have been radicalized should not be allowed into the u.s. and while texas senator ted cruz says he disagrees with trump's plan, he still is refusing to criticize him correctly. >> i disagree with that proposal. i like donald trump. a lot of our friends here have encouraged me to criticize and attack donald trump. i'm not interested in doing so. but i believe we need a plan that is focused on the direct threat. and the threat we're facing is radical islamic terrorism. certainly in the media there has been no shortage of criticism for donald trump. and i do not believe the world needs my voice added to that chorus of critics. and listen, i commend donald trump for standing up and focusing america's attention on the need to secure our borders. >> meanwhile, rnc chair reince priebus spoke out against trump's plan for the first time yesterday. he told the washington examiner, quote, we need to aggressively take on radical islamic terrorism, but not at the expense of our american values. and reaction poured in from public figures and lawmakers outside the orbit of the 2016 presidential election. a spokesman for president george w. bush said the former president won't be, quote, giving oxygen to anything of trump's bolster -- his bluster, rather. meanwhile mitch mcconnell called trump's plan completely and totally inconsistent with american values. on capitol hill, house speaker paul ryan had this to say. >> normally, i do not comment on what's going on in the presidential election. i will take an exception today. this is not conservatism. what was proposed yesterday is not what this party stands for, and more importantly, it's not what this country stands for. not only are there many muslims serving in our armed forces, dying for this country, there are muslims serving right here in the house, working every day to uphold and to defend the constitution. some of our best and biggest allies in this struggle and fight against radical islamic terror are muslims. >> 2012 republican nominee mitt romney tweeted, quote, on muslims, donald trump fired before aiming. speaker ryan is on target. and homeland security secretary jeh johnson said trump's comments aren't just misguided, they're dangerous. >> i believe that it's the responsibility of those of us in national security and homeland security, when a leading candidate for office proposes something that is irresponsible, probably illegal, unconstitutional and contrary to international law, un-american, and will actually hurt our efforts at homeland security and national security, we have to speak out. >> and democrats from hillary clinton to harry reid to the white house press secretary all speaking out forcefully against trump. and were happy to tie him to the rest of the field. >> some of his republican candidates are saying that his latest comments have gone too far. but the truth is, many of them have also said extreme things about muslims, their language may be more veiled than trump's, but their ideas are not so different. they all driving the exact narrative that jihadists want to advance. that we are at war, not with barbarous, violent murderers, but with an entire religion. this is a grave mistake. >> throughout history, you've had demagogues. when somebody like a trump is trying to do is to divide us up. a few months ago we were supposed to hate mexicans and he thinks they're all criminals or rapists, now we're supposed to hate muslims. and that kind of crap is not going to work in the united states of america. >> republican candidates condemned trump's remarks and adopt his racist policies as their own, we shouldn't try to fool ourselves. this sort of racism has been prevalent in republican politics for decades. trump's just saying out loud what other republicans merely suggest. political leaders must condemn these hateful, un-american statements with their words and their actions. silence only empowers bigots. >> the fact is that what donald trump said yesterday disqualifies him from serving as president. and for republican candidates for president to stand by their pledge to support mr. trump, that in and of itself is disqualifying. they should say right now that they would not support donald trump for president. what he said is disqualifying. and any republican who's too fearful of the republican base to admit it has no business serving as president, either. >> vice president joe biden also weighed in, telling bloomberg, quote, i don't know what his motive is, but i know what he's preaching is a very, very dangerous brew for america. last night the house overwhelmingly passed a bill to tighten parts of the visa waiver program. with strong bipartisan support the legislation was passed by a vote of 407-19. the current visa program allows citizens of 38 countries to travel to the u.s. without first obtaining a visa. under the new legislation, visitors from those countries would have to secure a visa if they had been to syria, iraq, iran, or sudan during the past five years. the measure also requires countries participating in the program to share information with the u.s. about suspected terrorists. the white house has expressed support for tightening the rules. we are learning much more about the couple that killed 14 people in san bernardino last week. law enforcement sources tell nbc news that syed farook may have discussed an attack as early as three years ago. officials believe farook and his wife tashfeen malik spent at least a year preparing for their terror attack. practicing at a local firing range and making financial plans for their family following their deaths. enrique marquez, the man who several years ago bought two of the firearms used in the attack is being questioned by authorities. and nbc news has learned marquez is a distant relative of syed farook by marriage. and an imam tells nbc news that marquez converted to islam about three or four years ago. marquez has not been named as a suspect. more than 300 officers responded to the san bernardino shooting and last night about two dozen of them shared their stories. during evacuations one officer, detective jorge lozano could be heard telling survivors, i'll take a bullet before you do. >> thank you. thank you. try to relax. everyone try to relax. i'll take a bullet before you do, that's for damn sure. just be cool. i said for them just to calm down, relax that we were going to do everything we can to get them out of that building safely. it's nothing short of what any other person in law enforcement would do. i don't feel like a hero whatsoever. anyone behind me or any one of the 300 people that were there, would have said the same thing. that's our job to put ourselves in the line of danger to protect a community. >> a lot of brave men and women. tomorrow both the senate and the house will be briefed on the latest intelligence on the case. the man accused of attacking a planned parenthood in colorado springs is expected to be formally charged today. robert lewis dear sunnen dered where three people were killed. at the end of his standoff with police dear reportedly uttered the words no more baby parts as well as comments about president obama. the associated press has new details about the day of the attack. according to a law enforcement source dear asked at least one person in a shopping center for directions to the planned parenthood center before opening fire. today, the defense will begin presenting its case for the first of six baltimore police officers charged in connection with the death of freddie gray. after five days of testimony and 16 witnesses, the state rested its case against officer william porter. the judge also rejected a motion from the defense to dismiss the case. porter pleads not guilty to manslaughter, misconduct in office, and reckless endangerment. he's accused of contributing to gray's death by failing to call for medical help during the 25-year-old's arrest. gray died from a fatal neck injury after being placed in the back of a police van without a seat belt. still ahead here on "way too early," a new health scare linked to chipotle. we'll have the latest on the serous of outbreaks impacting the popular fast food chain. plus, heavy rain in the northwest triggers landslides and flooding. just as the region prepares for an even stronger storm. bill is also tracking the possibility of record highs in some parts of the country. that and more when "way too early" comes right back. the great beauty of owning a property is that you can create wealth through capital appreciation, and this has been denied to many south africans for generations. this is an opportunity to right that wrong. the idea was to bring capital into the affordable housing space in south africa, with a fund that offers families of modest income safe and good accommodation. citi got involved very early on and showed an enormous commitment. and that gave other investors confidence. citi's really unique, because they bring deep understanding of what's happening in africa. i really believe we only live once, and so you need to take an idea that you have and go for it. you have the opportunity to say, "i've been part of the creation of over 27,000 units of housing," and to replicate this across the entire african continent. this holiday, i can count on my going off list.again, and knowing right when my packages arrive. so that's two things. introducing real time delivery notifications. sign up at myusps.com i tried depend last weekend. it really made the difference between a morning around the house and getting a little exercise. only depend underwear has new confidence core technology for fast absorption and the smooth, 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(friends gasp) the app where you put fruit hats on animals? i love that! guys, i'll be writing code that helps machines communicate. (interrupting) i just zazzied you. (phone vibrates) look at it! (friends giggle) i can do dogs, hamsters, guinea pigs... you name it. i'm going to transform the way the world works. (proudly) i programmed that hat. and i can do casaba melons. i'll be helping turbines power cities. i put a turbine on a cat. (friends ooh and ahh) i can make hospitals run more efficiently... this isn't a competition! health officials say norovirus has sickened 80 boston college students, including at least eight on the school's basketball team who ate at a local chipotle restaurant. the city moved to close the cleveland circle chipotle yesterday after an inspection found meat was being kept at too low a temperature, and a worker was on the job while sick. the fast food chain says it believes the illnesses are the result of an isolated incident, not that multistate outbreak of e. coli linked to its restaurants which has sickened 52 people in nine states. the city seat has replaced its long time director of lab direction. though the cdc hasn't said why it made the personnel change last month, it comes after an internal review. and "usa today" has raised questions about cdc oversight shortcomings, including how an army facility inadvertently shipped live anthrax for more than a decade to labs across the world. okay. time now to get to sports. and we begin with the nba. to indianapolis the defending champion warriors extend the best ever start in league history to 23-0 after 131-123 win over the pacers last night. steph curry put up 29 points and fell just three rebounds shy of a triple-double. clay thompson scored a season high 39 points but injured his ankle late in the game. he'll get a few days to recover until golden state's next game on friday against boston. a big day for trades in major league baseball. in chicago, the cubs signed ben zobrist to a $56 million contract. and in order to make room for him at second base the cubbies sent starling castro to the yankees in exchange for pitcher adam warren and a player to be named later. in arizona, the diamondbacks get pitcher shelby miller in a package deal from atlanta to go behind newly rhined right-hander zack grieng ki. arizona sends three players to the braves including number one overall draft pick swanson. to the ice in chicago one black hawks fan shows off her skills in a game of shoot the puck sliding her shot through one of three small holes cut in front of the net from center ice for a $100 prize. what's even impressive here -- whoo -- she turns toward the opposite goal and finds the center hole again to add another $500 to her prize total. somebody needs to give her a job. >> minor league hockey teams. are you ready -- these temperatures in the east, just you know, just day after day it's going to be 60 degrees in many areas of new england this weekend. >> that's what i heard. >> the ski resorts are struggling. killington and sunday river have like 20 trails each but it's a struggle. anyone that loves snow and ice, this is not the winter for you. out west we have just a parade of storms back to back storms, the picture is just day after day of this. too much rain too fast. the rivers are going up. now that we've had so much rain over such a long period of time we're starting to get reports of landslides. at one point the amount track was washed out last night. that will be the story. we have two more storms. one right now. another one right behind it. this is storm number one. this is storm number two. as we go through the weekend we'll even get another one also. so as far as the travel goes, i-5 is the worst. it's a very warm storm so the snow levels are very high. even the passes are mostly just rain. so that's good for anyone driving. rainfall totals, this next storm the one tomorrow goes into northern california. up to this point it's mostly been washington and oregon. this is what we needed, a good soaking in northern california. let's talk quickly about the warmth because today it's going to be almost 60 degrees in bismarck. it's supposed to be 30 this time of year. and near-record highs headed to the east. new york city should be 60 this weekend. areas down in d.c. should be like in the almost mid 60s, shiba. so you know, it's just -- there's no signs of any winter. anyone hoping for a white christmas, it's time's ticking. >> really? all right. >> i know. >> we'll still hope for it, though. thank you. still ahead, late night has a field day with trump. plus more from bernie sanders' appearance on "the tonight show." "way too early" is back in a moment. this holiday i can count on being slammed with orders. we're getting slammed with orders. and my customers knowing right when their packages arrive. totally slammed! introducing real-time delivery notifications. one more reason this is our season. okay, donald, so you want to keep muslims out of the country. how would this actually work? >> donald, a customs agent would then ask the person his or her religion? >> that would be probably -- they would say, are you muslim? >> and if they said yes they would not be allowed in the country? >> that's correct. le. >> hey, you know, this is actually a foolproof plan you got because everyone knows is isis' one weakness is they can't tell a lie. right? they're into beheadings, mass killings, rape, but the one thing they won't do is fib. >> when asked in an interview this morning if he's bothered by his growing association with hitler and the policies of nazi germany, trump simply replierep no. when she heard this hillary clinton simply replayed, yes! >> the late night shows having fun at donald trump's expense. time now for a check on the morning's other headlines, and for that we turn head on over to the control room and louis burgdo burgdorf. >> hi, shiba. bernie sanders made the most out of his visit to "the tonight show" yesterday. he spoke about everything from climate change to the economy. but he also had some fun playing the whisper challenge with jimmy fallon. >> i -- >> i don't wanna. >> iowa. >> i wanna. >> caucus. >> caucus. >> iowa caucus. >> oh, iowa caucus. >> right! >> okay. feel the burn. feel the bern. >> feel the bern! le. >> you got it! >> you know "people" magazine has provided an exclusive look at a scene in the new david o'russell film starring jennifer lawrence and bradley cooper where melissa rivers makes a cameo playing her late mother joan. she spoke about how the show quote freaked out when she was in her hair and makeup and looked in the mirror. she said she couldn't look in the mirror anymore after she looked once. now rivers also talked about the emotional risk that she took by stepping into her mother's shoes with hopes that she captured her mother's kindness, and sense of humor. now finally this morning the mona lisa may not be the only portrait that leonardo da vinci painted on that famous canvas. a french scientist says he has found another portrait beneath the 500-year-old masterpiece after a decade of analysis. reconstruction of one of the hidden paintings shows a woman hidden beneath the mona lisa who is looking away instead of directly ahead and not smiling. the louvre has declined to comment but some experts are skeptical and says it's an entirely different portrait arguing that artists often paint over images on their canvases particularly for commissioned work. shiba, it will be really interesting to see if this it's the real deal. >> i still can't keep thinking about melissa rivers. she looks just like her mother. >> i know. >> strikingly. >> unbelievable. very frightening. but i think that film is going to be great. i can't wait to see it. >> yeah. all right, thanks, louis. that will do it for me and "way too early." coming up on "morning joe," the latest fallout from donald trump's call to ban muslims. more top republicans denounce the plan, including at least one congressman calling for him to drop his bid for the republican nomination. but if trump goes, will his supporters go with him? 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