Democrats ready to unload on Michael Bloomberg as he takes the debate stage for the first time tonight he doesnt have the right to buy the selection. The latest on the showdown in vegas, including the new poll showing sanders far out in front. Under siege. The south braces for a second round of rain in areas already ravaged by floods. How many people did you have to rescue in this neighborhood six people were evacuated from this neighborhood we have those stories, plus, road to recovery an update on nascar driver ryan newmans condition after that terrifying crash law and order. See how a married couple at dinner, who happened to be offduty cops, sprang into action to take down an armed robber and todays best in show, thousands beat out as finalists to come to our studio for the first canine competition well crown the winner, today, wednesday, february 19th, 2020 announcer from nbc news, this is today with Savannah Guthrie and hoda kotb, live from studio 1a in Rockefeller Plaza good morning, everybody. Welcome to today. Nice to have you with us on this wednesday morning. Theres a big competition today. And it is not the debate tonight in vegas it is not we have a dog competition here we have not gotten this kind of a response to a competition for so long. So many people put in submissions. Were going to narrow it down to the best dog we have a celebrity judge thats one of the ainges. Well do that in a little while. We have to get to the news coming out of washington the president bringing out the pardon pen in a big way. Granting clemency to 11 people convicted from everything from extortion to security fraud. Including former illinois governor, Rod Blagojevich. And nbc news is confirming word that the attorney general, william barr, considered stepping down because of the president s tweets about Justice Department investigations. We have a lot to cover this morning. Lets start with nbc white house correspondent, Peter Alexander peter, good morning to you reporter good morning to you. Rod blagojevich was in prison for paytoplay politics, the kind of corruption that President Trump has vowed to end, with members of the president s own party in illinois urging him not to pardon blagojevich whos who of criminals, busted for corruption and financial crimes this morning, Rod Blagojevich is a free man the disgraced former governor of illinois, walking out of prison overnight, four years sooner than expected, after President Trump signed off on a spree of pardons and commutations President Trump is one who did this like i said, profoundly grateful if youre asking me what my Party Affiliation is, im a trumpocrat reporter blagojevich on Celebrity Apprentice. Rod, youre fired reporter then convicted on corruption charges in 2011 after trying to sell Barack Obamas vacated u. S. Senate seat ive got this thing and its [ bleep ] golden im just not giving it up for [ bleep ] nothing. Reporter his wife had taken her plea to the president on fox news just over a year ago. When he mentioned my husband last may, it did give us a tremendous amount of hope. He will be able to go back with his family after serving eight years in jail. That was a powerful, ridiculous sentence in my opinion reporter among those pardoned, former new York Police Commissioner bernie kerik, who pleaded guilty for eight felony charges, including tax fraud michael milken, socalled junk bond king, locked up for securities fraud he paid a tough price, but hes done an incredible job. Reporter a billionaire advocate for milken, throwing a 10 million fundraiser for the president last saturday. The president using his clemency powers as part of his reelection pitch. I want to thank president donald john trump. Reporter two days before the president s friend, roger stone actually, a day before stone is expected to be sentenced. The president , with those pardons and commutations was sending a clear message, allies tell me regardless of the sentence, President Trump can do whatever he likes to erase anyones criminal record or to set them free peter, back to the reports that the attorney general actually considered resigning and got word to the white house about that, was this for real . How close did he actually come to stepping down, if at all . Reporter good question we know the attorney general has publicly and privately made it clear to the president that he needs to back off and stop tweeting about the Justice Departments criminal cases. The president , again, yesterday, either ignore organize defying that warning now, we learned on tuesday, that barr told people close to the president that he is and has considered resigning over the president s continued tweets, according to an Administration Official the president casting himself as the nations top cop and acknowledging barrs complaints that hes making his job impossible to do i do make his job harder. I do agree with that i do hes a straight shooter. Im allowed to be totally involved im actually, i guess, the chief Law Enforcement officer of the country. But ive chosen not to be involved reporter again, the chief Law Enforcement officer in the country is considered to be the attorney general, someone not motivated by politics. Barrs spokesperson told us last night that the attorney general has no plans to resign peter, a lot going on thank you very much. A showdown is shaping up in las vegas, as the top candidates take the stage for the ninth democratic president ial debate it will be the democrats first chance to challenge the newcomer, former new york city mayor Michael Bloomberg. Kristen welker is in vegas with the latest here. Reporter good morning to you. Six candidates are going to face off here in las vegas later tonight. And it could be a gamechanger, with former new york mayor, Michael Bloomberg, set to take the debate stage for the first time the candidates making it clear that the gloves have come off. Theyre ready for a fight. As the democratic president ial candidates prepare to roll the dice tonight in las vegas, all eyes will be on former new york city mayor, Michael Bloomberg, making his debate debut. Mike bloomberg will get it done reporter bloomberg has surged in polls after pouring 400 million into campaign ads he could face tough questions, including about this video resurfacing overnight. First reported by buzzfeed news, it Shows Bloomberg criticizing democrats last year, saying theyre too progressive and too far left, creating an opening for President Trump in 2016. And then, making this comment about the Transgender Community. If your conversation during a president ial election is about some guy wearing a dress and whether he, she or it can go to the locker room with their daughter, thats not a winning formula for most people. Reporter a Campaign Spokesperson telling nbc news, bloomberg was describing how others might view the issue, not his own view adding, mike understands that the Transgender Community has been under attack for decades and the advance of rights has not been equal the candidates have been targeting bloomberg, including Bernie Sanders on cnn overnight. Mr. Bloomberg has every right in the world to run for president. But i dont think he has the right to buy this election reporter Elizabeth Warren calling him an ego maniac billionaire. Pete buttigieg saying hell likely face questions about his experience in business and mayor. Also, hell probably be asked about stop and frisk, which hes been criticized. What does he have to answer for . I think he has to answer for his treatment of others, for his language and for an attitude that seems to have dismissed the humanity of a lot of people. Reporter it comes as an nbc news wall street journal poll, shows Bernie Sanders opening up a doubledigit lead over the democratic field, with 27 support nationwide a virtually fourway tie for second place, with joe biden at 15 , bloomberg and warren at 14 , and buttigieg right behind at 13 all setting up a highstakes night in vegas, just days before nevadas voters have their say our new poll also shows that five Democratic Candidates beat President Trump in a headtohead matchup. Theres good news for the president. His Approval Rating at 74 thats tied for his highest ever in our poll. Hes actually here in nevada, for a series of west coast events hes watching this all closely he engaged in a war of words with bloomberg yesterday, where he accused bloomberg of trying to illegally buy the election. Bloomberg fired back saying, see you in november. And just to clarify, the president s Approval Rating is 47 . Thats tied for his highest ever its early in vegas it sounds like the democrats are ready to unload on bloomberg weve seen poll after poll, including the one you talked about. Our nbc news wall street journal poll, Bernie Sanders is the one to beat. Do you expect them to train some fire on him . Reporter absolutely. Theres no doubt about that, savannah if you talk to establishment democrats, many of them say, sanders could have the nomination locked up by super tuesday. Theyre undoubtedly going to train their fire on sanders, as well Pete Buttigieg in my interview with him signalled as much he said the country is not ready for someone calling for a revolution youll hear more of those jabs on the debate stage tonight. Bottom line, savannah, there are going to be fireworks here in las vegas. No question kristen, thank you very much you can watch tonights debate on nbc news, and msnbc, it starts at 9 00 eastern time, or you can stream it live on nbc news now and nbcnews. Com craig joins the table and were talking severe flooding down south hoda, savannah, good morning. Good morning to you, as well with more rain on the way, folks in the waterlogged south are keeping a weary eye on the sky. Parts of jackson, mississippi, are already flooded. And now, communities farther south are watching and waiting nbcs blayne alexander remains in the flood zone for us with the latest blayne, good morning reporter craig, good morning. That rain started overnight, and its continuing this morning an unwelcome sight for many in jackson who are still waiting for this water to leave their homes. Now, communities further downstream are bracing for the worst. This morning, with whole neighborhoods underwater, much of central mississippi remains under flash flood watch, with storms moving in bringing as much as 2 inches of rain all of it eventually expected to flow downstream. South of jackson, in marion county, a desperate rush to get ready. For many, its already too late. Its a similar scene in the state capital, jackson, while the Mississippi Department of wildlife is on patrol, at the height of the flood, using these boats going doortodoor how many people did you have to rescue in this neighborhood . Six people were evacuated from this neighborhood reporter now, eyes and ears for anxious homeowners it may have gotten over the water. Threshold, so she may have a couple inches of water reporter janet harris is desperate for news on her house. Its unbelievable i had to leave all my belongings, and i just moved in this area. Reporter but officials are warning her and others to stay out of the water, not just because of snakes and contaminants, but another hidden danger. Exposed manholes covers swept away from the current. Youll step on it and fall in there are channels under the manhole cover that will just suck you in. Reporter and theres no coming back from that. No coming back. Reporter from the midwest, down to the gulf, rivers in 14 states are at flood levels, with many of those areas expecting rain through thursday. Its possible that this could just be round one . Very possible very possible. Reporter and the pearl river is well above flood level this morning. And its expected to remain high through the end of the week. Craig . My goodness blayne alexander there in mississippi for us thank you. Now, to the latest on the coronavirus and some welcome news this morning. The rate of transmission in china appears to be slowing. This crisis is far from over Miguel Almaguer is following this good morning reporter savannah, good morning. With the cases climbing above 70,000 and the death toll above 2,000, theres a travel ban on chinese nationals, joining a lost list of nations with restrictions designed to stem the outbreak here in the u. S. , more people are being quarantined at sea it comes while there still remains problems out at sea. Overnight, the twoweek quarantine is finally coming to an end for that cruise ship in japan. About 500 passengers who tested negative for the disease left the diamond princess overnight, with about 2,000 more still onboard, some with test results pending. More welcome news, as the Chinese Government says, its aggressive measures to contain the outbreak, are showing results, with the rate of transmission slowing but it appears to be gaining steam elsewhere. And officials in the u. S. Are scrambling to limit its impact this morning, Delta Airlines is notifying passengers who shared a flight with a couple from japan, who tested positive after visiting hawaii. Officials in hawaii are trying to track down anyone who may have come into contact with them during their trip earlier this month. The coronavirus, which started in wuhan, china, in december, has reached nearly 30 countries and territories. Over 73,000 cases have been confirmed. China is now restricting the movements of 760 million people, more than double the entire u. S. Population 150 million of them are on lockdown, the largest quarantine in history whether those measures are aggressive or restrictive of people, theres a lot at stake here reporter in cambodia, hundreds of americans from this cruise ship, are being asked to selfquarantine in hotels, while dozens more remain onboard here in the u. S. , nearly 750 people are being held in 5 locations across the country we spoke to yin, who has been trying to get home from china with her two children since december now, reunited with her husband and grateful for the treatment she received in quarantine they were there to help me with the kids and everything reporter a moment of relief, amidst the global outbreak with no known cure. The coronavirus is still considered an emerging virus the cdc says the best way to protect yourself is the same as the flu. Stand six feet away from anyone showing flulike symptoms. Savannah miguel, thank you very much we will turn our eyes to the weather. Wnbcs dave price is in for al this morning morning. Good morning. A little hoarse. Forgive me for that. Lets talk about the southeast at this point and through the gulf we have energy out to the west weve got moisturepacked air coming up. Thats bringing heavy rains. Lets walk out here and talk about what we can expect today the heaviest rains over texas. But all of that moving over alabama and mississippi. Were going to continue to watch for flooding, as we just heard about. Additional rainfall amounts, 1 to 3 inches. But in some areas, we could see up to 3. Thats a quick look at our maps. Heres a look at whats going on right where you are, in just about 30 seconds u unpaid movers and never miss a bedtime parents. We see how you go out your way for others, and that inspires us to go the extra mile for you, every single day. Hertz. Proud to be ranked 1 in Customer Satisfaction by j. D. Power. Good morning. Im meteorologist kari hall. We start out with a clear sky and some light patchy fog in some spots. After we see that clearing out, a lot of sunshine in the forecast for today. And temperatures still well above normal. Reaching the upper 60s and a few low 70s. Well see more weather hike this going into the rest of the week. A few more clouds will move in on friday with the rest of the weekend dry and also well above formal reaching into the upper 60s and low 70s extending into next week. San francisco today reaching 62. And thats our first look at the weather. All right, dave well get there well get there. Looking for perfect attendance coming up, guys, new details on the condition of ryan newman after that horrific crash at the daytona 500. And were going to look at how nascars new Safety Standards may have played a roll in saving his life plus, youve seen all of the campaign ads but how much do you know about Mike BloombergAndrea Mitchell is live in vegas with a look at how he became a billionaire and a candidate. But first, this is today on huge tax breaks for the rich, while the middleclass continues to struggle. Thats what happens when billionaires are able to control the political system. Our campaign is funded by the working people of this country, and those are the people that i will represent. No more tax breaks for billionaires. We are going to guarantee health care to all people and create up to 20 million good paying jobs to save this planet. Im Bernie Sanders and i approve this message because we need an economy that works for all of us, not just wealthy campaign contributors. They traveled far and wide to be here for todays best in show. Now, our finalists are here to impress the celebrity judges for the top prize. You can go to today. Com to vote for your favorite. First, your local news all dogs descend from wolves and for thousands of years theyve shared a love for meat. Blue wilderness is formu