There are new concerns on whether a deal can be struck. House Republican Leadership aides say theyre confident they have the votes to pass a shortterm government funding bill that would keep the federal government running at least until february 16th. But thes prospects in the senate are less positive. Lindsey graham said yesterday enough is enough and a fourth shortterm extension since october is too many. With graham against the measure and fellow republican senator john mccain absent for cancer treatment, Senate Republicans need the support of 11 democrats to pass it. President trump yesterday said a shutdown could happen and said democrats would be to blame. Speaker paul ryan, yesterday, echoed the that blame on the shoulders of democrats, citing their push for a deal to help young undocumented immigrants as a part of the bill. Weve been very clear, we want to see a daca solution. But a daca solution has to be a balanced solution, a solution that not just treat tess the symptoms, but the root cause of the problem in the first place. Look, i feel that it makes no sense for democrats to try and bring us to a shutdown. Now, coming up on morning joe, republican congressman and chairman of the House Freedom caucus mark meadows says the bill doesnt have the votes to pass the house. A bipartisan immigration bill, trump described the Senate Compromise a as, quote, hoebl for security and very, very weak on legal chain migration adding, quote, its the opposite of what i campaigned for. Trump told reuters that senator graham meant well, but i said, well . How many agree with this . Yesterday, four senators got mind the deals. Mike rounds, lisa murkowski, senator alexander and Susan Collins of maine. But Senate Majority leader said he would only bring a vote on something that the white house supports. Im looking for something that President Trump supports. And hes not yet indicated what measure hes willing to sign. As soon as we figure out what he is for, then i would be convinced that we were not just spinning our wheels going to this issue on the floor. And white house chief of staff john kelly attempted to clarify the administrations position on immigration and border security, this after controversial comments to law packers behind closed doors on capitol hill. In in a meeting with members of the congressional hispanic caucus, kelly reportedly said some of the hard line policies President Trump advocated during the campaign were uninformed and that a wall along the entirety of the southern border would never be built and mexico would never pay for it, according to people familiar with that meeting. Kelly gave his side of those comments in an interview on fox news. As we talked about things with this president and how much he wants to deal with this daca issue and take it off the take it away, i told him, you know, theres been an evolutionary process that this president has gone through as a campaign. And i pointed out to all the members in the room that they all say things during the course of campaigns that may or may not be fully informed. And former white house chief strategist steve bannon could be returning to capitol hill today to meet with the House Intelligence Committee after a marathon meeting on tuesday. Spokesman for the Committee Devin Nunes says it is likely, but not 100 . On tuesday, bannon is expected to answer questions about his time in the white house. He cited the privilege for executive privilege to evade certain questions. Bannons attorney was on the phone with the white house relaying questions and asking what bannon could tell congress. Ranking democrat a gag order was effectively issued, but bannon was not instructed to invoke executive privilege. Did the white house tell him to invoke executive privilege . No. No. Steve has had very, very little contact with the white house since he left. I know steve a little bit, not very well. He was he left the white house and has has really never returned to the white house, with the exception of a few phone calls here and there, very, very little contact with the white house. And i certainly have never spoke to him since he left. Is the white house afraid of what steve bannon might say . Not that im aware of. I think weve been pretty clear what our position is in regards to this entire process, that there was absolutely no collusion. But in terms of, you happen, what he might say, i cant answer that. I cant speculate on that. I can simply tell you that were following the procedure, whether it was in this committee or any other committee down the road. This is a process thats important to protect and thats what were doing. All right. Axios, mean wile, is reporting that bannon made one conspicuous slipup during his appearance on tuesday citing sources with his conversation. Bannon admitted that hed had conversations with reince priebus, sean spices and mark corallo about don jr. s infamous meeting with the russian lawyer. That meeting has become a focal point, of course, in the russia investigations, both for lawmakers and for bob mueller. A source for the legal team says bannon will be interviewed by muellers team instead of testifying before a grand jury. It is still undecided whether that will take place. And two other Trump Associates made appearances on capitol hill yesterday. Corey lewandowski met with the House Intel Committee and refused to answer questions about events during the campaign and his conversations with the president since then. Mr. Lewandowski came to testify. Yesterday he said he would answer questions like steve bannon that referred to anything after he left the campaign. Now, he is not an administration official, never has been an administration official. Those questions included, by the way, did you have a conversation with the president of the United States within the last 24 hours where you discussed your testimony. That is a question he would not answer. So lewandowski cited his own reasons for not answering questions. According to nbc news, he said he was simply not prepared to offer answers and offered to return at a later date. White house deputy chief of staff rick deerborn was fully cooperative during his more than four hours of questioning. Deerborn announced plans to resign last month. He is expected to remain in the west wing for the first month or two of this year. And President Trump heads to pennsylvania today to help save a Republican House seat the democrats have their eye on. Hes expected to speak on the economy at a factory just outside of pittsburgh this afternoon. Were told the president will appear with republican rick siccone in a district that the president won by 19 points. Spooked by the recent democratic wave, republicans are on the defensive ahead of the midterms. In fact, the president tells reuters that hes will to amp up his campaign schedule, saying hell probably spend four or five days a week helping republican democrats, although its unclear if all that time will be spent on the campaign trail. The president said he would avoid endorsing candidates and republican primaries. Joining us from white house, White House Reporter from the associated press, darlene, the president is setting out to campaign for these special elections and midterm republican candidates. The president recently signed the tax bill into law. Thats his first major the achievement. So it will be interesting to see going into this year and the midterms and all the campaigning that will be done, how passage of the tax cut bill will play into these individual races. You had a reliably Republican Senate seat. Is this sort of the beginning of the end for republicans come midterms, come november . Are they sort of bracing for a major shift . Are they looking at wisconsin sort of as the move away from republicans towards democrats . There are certainly those who want to see it as the beginning of the end for republicans, but i think its too early to tell right now. The elections are still more than 10 months away. There is a lot that can happen that will play into this. Lets turn to the big shadow overcast in washington. That is the Government Shutdown. Do you think its going to happen . If so, who will get the brunt of the blame if it does not happen . Well, its certainly trending that way. The clock is ticking, as you know. Both sides appear to be very far apart on the issues. The white house would, of course, like to blame democrats. Democrats would like to blame republicans since they are the ones that control both houses of congress and the white house. And all levels of government, basically. So it remains to be seen. Still ahead, what medical experts have to say about President Trumps recent physical exam. And later, what senator jeff flake had to say on the floor of the senate and how the white house is responding. That plus a check off your weather when we come back. It takes a lot of work but i really love it. Im on the move all day long. And sometimes, i dont eat the way i should. So, i drink boost to get the nutrition im missing. Boost high protein nutritional drink has 15 grams of protein to help maintain muscle and 26 essential vitamins and minerals, including calcium and vitamin d. All with a great taste. Boost gives me everything i need. To be up for doing what i love. Boost high protein be up for it [ click, keyboard clacking ] [ keyboard clacking ] [ click, keyboard clacking ] good questions lead to good answers. Our advisors can help you find both. Talk to one today and see why were bullish on the future. Yours. Welcome back, everybody. In touch magazine has published a years ago interview with Stormy Daniels who detailed her affairs with donald trump. She said trump continued to pursue her and the two met several times, including at his office if trump tower, adding her last call from him was in, quote, late 2009 or early 2010. In touch said daniels story was corroborated by randy spears and is supported by her exhusband, mike mose. Recently, daniels denied having an affair with trump and has not responded to nbc newss questions about the interview. The white house, too, has denied a relationship. Experts are reading between the lines of President Trumps physical exam last friday. The New York Times spoke with cardiologists who says the president s exam reveals several heart concerns. President trump has a real risk of having a heart attack or stroke, especially considering his weight and lack of exercise. In an Oval Office Interview with reuters, President Trump weighed in on his health. He said, quote, i get exercise. I mean, i walk, i this, i that. I run over to a building next door. I get pore exercise than people think. He added, a lot of people go to the gym and theyll work out for two hours and all. Ive seen people, they get their new knees when theyre 55 years old and they get their new hips and they do all those things. I dont have those problems. That was good. That was a really good nice job. Lets get a check on your weather now with nbc meteorologist bill karins. Do you have any good news for us . A lot of good news. If you dont like the cold and snow. It will melt quickly into the weekend in many areas. Right now, the worst of our Winter Weather is all out in eastern north carolina, nearly blizzard conditions for the outer banks. Its just about over with in norfolk. It just stopped in virginia beach. But its ugly out there this morning and thats where im sure schools are closed. As far as snow totals went, raleigh had 6 inches of snow. Just outside raleigh, 12. 5. Up in the berkshires, stockbridge, 11 inches. Albany, 6. 8. And Even Charlotte had 27. 5. Montgomery, alabama, around 2 inches and new orleans had a trace. So the cold is with us. This is the worst of it. It gets warmer from here towards the weekend. But we have freeze warnings from south texas down to ft. Myers this morning. Even orlando has dipped well below 30 degrees. Were at 28 in orlando, 20 in mobile and new orleans is at 28. Look at nashville at 8 degrees this morning. It is 23 in houston and it is a similar if not a little warmer in areas of new england than it is in houston. Boston is 1 degree warmer than houston, texas, this morning. In the heart of winter, that doesnt happen very often. 19 in new york and 7 in pittsburgh. You get the idea. Its cold everywhere. But here is the good thing. Its going to be clear. The winds will be light and this afternoon with the sunshine, well head up into the 40s throughout the southeast. So well start doing some of the snow melt. The roads will clear out. North carolina, of course, well probably start doing that cycle where you melt and refreeze later at night. 34 in in new york and 34 in boston is not bad. But the real warmth is in the middle of the country. Denver is at 60. This had is spring break weather in minneapolis. Theyll be 37. Then its 40 in the Northern Plains friday. Look at d. C. , guys, 50 degrees for your friday afternoon. So its on its way and it will stay with us through the weekend. The moral of this story, hang in there for a couple more hours. But if you decide to get away from the cold weather and go to florida, youre not happy. Brutal. Phoenix, 76 degrees. Aggressively above 70 degrees in phoenix, i feel like. Still ahead, the fallout continues from monday nights secret tunnel incident between houston and the l. A. Clippers. Now the league has weighed in, but as you can imagine, anytime they do that, not everyone is happy with the outcome. Sports is next. One is the only number that youll ever need staying ahead isnt about waiting for a chance. Its about the one bold choice you make, that moves you forward. the one and only Cadillac Escalade. Come in now for this exceptional offer on the Cadillac Escalade. Get this lowmileage lease on this 2018 Cadillac Escalade from around 879 per month. Visit your local cadillac dealer. From around 879 per month. Heres the story of Green MountainCoffee Roasters sumatra reserve. Lets go to sumatra. The coffee here is amazing. Because the volcanic soil is amazing. 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For afib patients wellmanaged on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto® compares in reducing the risk of stroke. Dont stop taking xarelto® without talking to your doctor, as this may increase risk of stroke. While taking, you may bruise more easily, or take longer for bleeding to stop. It may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. Xarelto® can cause serious, and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. Get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. If youve had spinal anesthesia, watch for back pain or any nerve or musclerelated signs or symptoms. Do not take xarelto® if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. Tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures. And before starting xarelto®about any conditions, such as kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. Its important to learn all you can. To help protect yourself from a stroke. Talk to your doctor about xarelto®. Theres more to know™. Six seconds, five, four, got it basemore puts atlanta in front, 9493. Neals, using the screen. The roll to the rim, its good. And a foul. La marcus aldridge. Hurdle screens for derosen. Right drive. Wing feed to miles. Top side derosen. Long two is through. Between b the legs and the screen, but lopez. Theyre having fun now. Oh, man. Im telling you, theyre having fun. And you can just feel it. You can see it. The clippers almost turned it over. Instead, Wesley Johnson scoops it up. Welcome back. Time now for sports. If you noticed in one of the highlights we showed you, you can see superstar Blake Griffin in uniform. The reason that is out of the ordinary is griffin was in the mix of heated tensions in a monday night game between houston and the rockets. It was initially reported that griffins formerer teammate, chris paul, jerald ariza went through a back haul and ariza and green have been suspended for two games because of that incident. Meanwhile, harden and paul were outside the clippers locker room trying to diffuse the situation and will face no disciplinary actions. The rockets are shocked and disappointed that both griffin and williams escaped repercussions for their tensions in the leadup. But the rockets say griffin intentionally bumped into the rockets coach mike dantoni in the Fourth Quarter causing the smack that led to ariza and griffins ejections. Im justing going to guess that its going to be a contentious game in late february. Starting in boston, a bruins gave a tribute to Claude Julien who led the team to a stanley cup championship back in 2011, the franchises first since 1972. Oofr the game, the bruins handily defeated