Headlines. What has been submitted to our lab. They are going to study it. Could it be the murder weapon in the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman or just another sideshow more than 20 years later . Zika warning. A new study shows the zika virus may be even more dangerous than originally thought. Researchers now saying the virus is linked to a host of birth defects al t all stages of pregnancy. And unmasked . The artist known as banksy has spraypainting his work around the world. Now a popular crimefighting is. So, has the artist been revealed . Today, saturday, march 5th, 2016. Announcer from nbc news, this is today live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. And welcome to today on this saturday morning. Im erica hill. Im craig melvin alongside chanel jones, dylan dreyer is here as well. Its nice to have you back in the studio. Youve been on the road a lot. Good to be back. And really talking to voters. Nashville, tennessee to start the week, finished in hamilton county, southern ohio, cincinnati. Let me tell you, wherever you are on the political spectrum, lots of interest in this race. Lots of interest in this race on both sides. Thats good for us, because its our top story this morning. Voters in five states will have their say today. Heres a look at whos voting on this saturday. Kansas residents will caucus on both sides. Republicans will caucus in maine and kentucky, while democrats will caucus in nebraska. Being held today. That one in louisiana, where both republicans and democrats will head to the polls. So much at stake, as both donald trump and Hillary Clinton try to maintain those leads. We have you covered on both sides. We begin this morning with nbcs jacob rascon, whos following the republicans, where the field has now dropped down to four with dr. Ben carson suspending his campaign. Jacob, good morning. Despite desperate and extraordinary efforts by so many to stop trumps momentum, he is the favorite to win in every state out with a poll as some look at his shifting positions and ask and wonder, who is the real donald trump . Donald trump is playing by his own rules again. Skipping the conservative cpac conference for a lastminerally in kansas, where the latest poll shows ted cruz catching up. This after a stunning week in american politics of virtual civil war within the Republican Party. Its former nominee, mitt romney, joining a chorus of establishment leaders condemning the frontrunner and refusing to vote for him. Im going to do everything within the normal political bounds to make sure that we dont nominate donald trump. Reporter the latest complaint, trumps repeated flipflops on immigration, suddenly arguing that highly skilled, Foreign Workers should be able to stay. Im changing. We need highly skilled people in this country. Reporter then releasing a statement, switching back. And on torture if i say do it, theyre going to do it. Reporter trump now telling the wall street journal he will not order a military officer to disobey the law. Now ten days and 13 states before the billionaire business mogul could be unbeatable or a contested convention could be all but inevitable. Once again, its up to voters still flocking to trump rallies in record numbers, followed closely by scores of protesters. And all republicans are Campaign Campaigning in the decisionday states today. Trump is leading in those states by double digits, except for kansas, and he is moving on past today to florida, a mustwin state for marco rubio, where he and ted cruz are now spending big. Erica . Jacob rascon for us this morning. Jacob, thanks. To the democrats now, where Hillary Clinton is looking to Bernie Sanders in todays races. Nbcs Kristen Welker is in detroit, michigan. Kristen, good morning to you. Reporter craig, good morning to you. Senator sanders is hoping to gain some momentum today. His aides tell me the states that vote today and in the coming weeks are actually more favorable to him. Meanwhile, the Clinton Campaign downplaying expectations. Team sanders says they think they have a good shot at winning kansas. They think that nebraska could be a close race. Both states have more of the white, workingclass voters that tend to favor sanders. Clinton is looking strong in louisiana and that could be part of her southern firewall with a large africanamerican population. Meanwhile, clinton pressed again on her emails after her former staffer, bryan pagliano, struck an immunity deal with the fbi and told investigators her server was never hacked. Heres clinton in an exclusive harwood. This is the same security review that has been going on since last spring. Been cooperating and giving information, because i think that will finally end this and show that only appropriate steps were taken. Reporter clinton and sanders will face off in a debate in flint, michigan, tomorrow night. Sanders aides tell me he is going to go on the attack over trade issues. That resonates here in the nations heartland. Secretary clinton previewing her possible line of attack. On friday she called on sanders and gop frontrunner donald trump to release credible economic plans. Craig, erica, back to you. Kristen welker for us this morning in detroit. Thank you. Harold ford jr. Is a former tennessee congressman and nbc news political analyst. Josh barro is a Senior Editor at Business Insider as well as an nbc news contributor. Always good to have you both with us this morning. Good morning. Good morning. As we look at whats happening today, we ran through at the top of the show the five states where voters will be making their voices heard today. Trump won 7 of the 11 contests on super tuesday but traditionally has not done as well when it comes to a caucus theres only one primary today. Is there a window here today for a marco rubio, a ted cruz, a john kasich somewhere . I think so. Kansas is a state that should be demographically favorable for either marco rubio or for ted cruz. And as you note, auctions are more difficult to vote in, donald trump is more reliant on weekly attached voters, its easier to get them out in primary. That said, polling shows trump ahead in kansas. What ill be watching is, is trump able to win in kansas in a way he couldnt win in iowa, minnesota or oklahoma . And looking at louisiana, the one primary state, the polls have trump ahead anywhere from 12 to 20 points. If he puts up a really solid margin like that, it will continue the margins he had on super tuesday and if he continues them across the map, he will win the nomination with the majority of delegates. If its narrow, it will be a sign of trouble for trump. Im wondering if the other republicans take advantage of a tough week for trump, the optics around him. Speech that a democratic opponent would give. It was scathing and compelling. Well see that in ads in november, make no mistake about it. And counter from trump was not nearly as tough as its been in the past when people come after him. I think josh is right, the caucuses favor him, he should do well in louisiana, but for the first time in this race, this last week i got the feeling that there was a wound with trump. Whether it manifests itself today is unclear, but clearly, as we get to florida and ohio, if rubio and kasich can win those respective states, their home states, i think this idea that trump could find some trouble may be gaining some steam. But the datas got to be shown to date to joshs point. I spent a lot of time talking to trump voters in your home state, tennessee, this week, and ohio as well. And i pick up the times this morning, and theres a person in louisiana that seemed to echo the sentiment that i heard. Ill read a snippet of it. This is from a woman down in louisiana. She said theres nothing short of trump shooting my daughter in the street and my grandchildren there is to dissuade me from voting for trump. This is a woman named Louise Butler here. Have you ever seen a candidate with this kind of hold over his supporters . No. This is the weirdest campaign, i think not just of my lifetime but going back a ways before i was born. You know, this was the 11th debate. Ive given up on saying donald trump damaged himself in this debate, donald trump went too far this time. I think weve learned that lesson. Obviously, there is theoretically something donald trump can do that would shake his voters away from him, but im not convinced that any of the things that happened this week i mean, sort of people that were inclined to listen to mitt romney when he says you have to be grown up and not vote for this guy, they were already not going to vote for trump. And this woman who voted for romney last time around said she found his speech she was disgusted and found it disgraceful, the way he was coming out. The key will be whether or not if you look at the vote outside of what trump has gotten, the 60, 70 , wherever it might have been, whatever the state will that vote im not sure it will, but it didnt feel right for him this week. And youre right, ive felt he performed poorly debate after debate, but hes come back and the numbers have gone up, but today well get more data and well see. But i have to say, mrs. Clinton has to be feeling that some of the stuff said about trump in that speech by mitt romney can be used with some independents and independent republicans, if you know the difference between the two and what im saying. Nice to have you with us. Harold ford jr. And josh barro, appreciate your insight this morning. Meantime, police in los angeles are scouring a new piece of potential evidence today possibly connected to o. J. Simpson. On friday, l. A. Police revealed that a knife had been found buried on simpsons former property and was not turned over until recently. Could it possibly be the murder weapon . Nbcs Steve Patterson is outside o. J. s former home with more on what police are saying about that knife. Steve, good morning. Reporter hey, craig, good morning to you. So, the officer who originally received that knife decided to turning it over to the lapd, leading a lot of people to ask, why . Well, i spoke to his attorney, who said his client tried to do the right thing. O. J. Simpson is inside the car. Reporter its back, all the drama from the o. J. Simpson saga. If it doesnt fit, you must acquit. Reporter the case already back in pop culture. The new tenpart fx miniseries getting big ratings. We need to bring in Johnnie Cochran and we need to do it now. No. Reporter now once again, the story in reallife headlines. The latest chapter, the tale of a knife found years ago on the land where simpson once lived. So, it has been submitted to our lab. They are going to study it. Reporter Law Enforcement sources tell nbc news it is described as a small utilitystyle knife, commonly used in construction or landscaping. The knife, they say, is not consistent with the weapon used in the 1994 murders of nicole brown and ron goldman, but this is a double homicide that is still open and ongoing. Reporter Los Angeles Police say one of their nowretired officers got the knife from a construction worker on simpsons former property while working offduty at a movie shoot across the street. The officers attorney, trent the right thing. He did what i think every person would have done under the circumstances, is that you call lapd and you let them make the call, and they made the call. And the call was, look, this doesnt have any value to us, its not useful. Reporter retired detective tom lang, who worked on the original murder case, doesnt by it. Why would someone sit on a knife, especially a cop who should know better . Reporter Carter Douglas was part of simpsons defense team. Thats pure fantasy. Id rather be talking about the easter bunny instead. Reporter and in a statement, doubt from the family of ron goldman goldman, saying in part, the validity of the knife as it relates to ron and nicoles in on this, and even if there is a link proven between this knife and the 1994 murders, they would still say that it would be impossible, nearly impossible, for o. J. To be retried because of the countrys double jeopardy protections under the fifth amendment. Yet, its work that is still being done, investigators looking into this. Its work that could take some craig . Steve patterson for us in los angeles this morning. Steve, thank you. Ari melber is msnbcs chief Legal Correspondent and joins us this morning with more. As steve just pointed out, because of double jeopardy, o. J. Simpson could not be charged again with murder. Are there any other charges, though, that could stem from this discovery, potentially . This is a fascinating and downright weird development in the o. J. Simpson case. It is unlikely that anything would happen to him, as you say. It is possible that if this knife was used in the underlying double homicide in any way, that it could lead to charges for someone else or some sort of is already known. George maycot, this is the officer who says that he called the lapd that knight, talked to the watch commander. Watch commander essentially says, theres nothing we can do, we cant prosecute him again, and sends him on his merry way. Is this officer in any sort of potential legal trouble . Well, this officer definitely made a mistake at minimum, because you dont want any evidence, let alone a potential murder weapon, just sitting around. So, thats why this is another example where this case had so much in it, its captivated people, but it also has opened up all the questions about how policing works and how the mistakes are made, and if this is what happens in a case with high scrutiny, whats happening the rest of the time . Yes, if there was any malice or malfeasance, a deliberate idea of obstructing justice, that could potentially come down the line, but i doubt it. Ill also say, look, in any murder investigation, the things you want to look at are motive, physical evidence at the scene of the crime and a murder weapon. It was always an issue that no murder weapon was found in this case. Unlikely that this is the actual murder weapon. Ari melber, we enjoy having you around so much, well bring you back next hour and talk about that highprofile case involving hulk hogan thats heading to court over a sex tape. Thank you, craig. Bestselling Author Pat Conroy has died. Conroy turned his troubled childhood into emotional novels like the prince of tides, the great san teenie and the lords of discipline. All three of those were turned into major movies. His life story, like his books, centered around surviving a brutal father who beat him, his mother and six siblings. When the 70yearold announced he had pancreatic cancer just three weeks ago, he wrote ive spent my whole writing life trying to find out who i am, and close. In tennessee, it is now up to a jury to decide if popular sportscaster erin andrews should get 75 million after a stalker videotaped her naked in her hotel room and then posted it on the internet. Nbcs morgan the areaford has morgan, good morning. Reporter good morning, craig. Were standing outside of the courthouse here in nashville. And after yesterdays closing arguments, the case is now with the jury, who could have a verdict as early as monday. After two weeks of trial and emotional closing arguments shes living a nightmare. Reporter for sportscaster erin andrews, it all comes down to this. We wont begin deliberations until monday morning at 9 00. Reporter shes suing for 75 million, and now the jury must consider seven days of testimony, 22 witnesses and 49 pieces of evidence, all to decide if the manager and former owner of the Vanderbilt Marriott nashville should pay andrews for her emotional distress. This will always be there. There will always be a reminder every single day. Reporter after she was secretly filmed eight years ago by convicted stalker michael barrett. They embrace barrett the same way they enabled barrett. Counsels trying to tie my they had nothing to do with that guy. Reporter at the heart of the issue, whether the hotel did enough to stop him. This could have been stopped. Reporter andrews lawyers say the reservations confirmed andrews was staying there, even accommodating barretts request. And she typed in yes, request to room next to erin andrews. Reporter the hotel says they did not give barrett her room number and was manipulated to give him the room next door. Criminals find ways to get around systems and exploit systems, and thats what happened here. Reporter now its up to the jury of seven women and five men to decide if andrews should be paid. Its a difficult process for a juror to determine these kind of damages because theres no formula for it. Reporter for emotional damages. For emotional damages. Its just its difficult, but thats their job. Reporter a job to come up with a verdict that should be quite reporter and possibly a number. Comes down, the jury will have to say, one, if erin andrews should be paid, and two, if so, how much, and three, by whom. Back to you. Morgan radford for us this morning in tennessee. Morgan, thank you. There is scary news this morning about the zika virus. A new study in the new england journal of medicine reports the disease may actually be worse than scientists imagined. According to that study, zika may cause more birth defects than microcephaly and it is believed it causes defects more than just in the beginning as first believed. Well go through this with the director of allergy and Infectious Diseases next hour. Dylan dreyers here. Out west theyre dealing with some wet stuff. Yeah, they had a bit of a dry spell, but were going to get more wet weather moving in, a series of storms. You can see them developing over the pacific. You can see the swirls, the areas of low pressure. These will be the reasons why well see heavy rain, especially from Washington State through oregon and into northern and we do have some heavier pockets of rain moving east of seattle and stretching down into San Francisco where we could see a couple of inches of rain, but its not just rain, its heavy mountain snow with 2 to 4 feet possible in the sierra. And look at all this brown here. Those are your wind advisories and high Wind Warnings. 60 miles per hour. So, as we go through the day well see thisto round of rain move in later on today, lasting through sunday morning. Well get a break before the next storm system moves in as we morning. The majority o