Criticism over his decision not to attend tomorrows funeral. Moment of impact. A sightseeing helicopter crashes near pearl harbor. Why the pilots actions saved lives. An alarming surge. The dramatic increase in flu cases around the country. What you can do to ward off the virus. Today, friday, february 19th, 2016. Announcer from nbc brks krrksbc news, this is today with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning. Its friday morning. Im savannah alongside willie geist. We talked earlier about how remarkable it is we had george w bush, president obama and president clinton entering in on the race. Enter the pope. Dont miss religion and politics, not applying to this race. The president ial candidates are making their final pitches ahead of tomorrows Democratic Caucus in nevada, and the republican primary in South Carolina. As willie mentioned, this election has taken another strange twist, with this back and forth between donald trump and the pope. We will talk to mr. Trump live in a moment. We want to begin our decision 2016 coverage this morning with nbc National Correspondent peter alexander. Good morning. Good morning to you. South carolina, of course, famous for a Good Spirited debate. The fighting has gone from surprising to surreal. Heres where things stand on the republican side. You can see the race is tightening. Donald trump, according to the new nbc news wall street journal poll out this morning, up five points over ted cruz. Down to a 16point advantage he had one month ago. Marco rubio and jeb bush in a statistical tie for third. Reporter donald trump now diffusing what began as a holy war of words. I dont Like Fighting with i think hes doing a very good job. The pope is a wonderful guy. Reporter the donald versus the pope started hours earlier. For a religious leader to question a persons faith is disgraceful. Reporter pope francis after praying on the mexican side of the u. S. Border responded by challenging the republican front runners proposal to build a wall. A person who thinks only about building walls and not bridges, he told reporters, is not christian. Trump arguing the pope would be blessed to have him in the white house. If and when the vatican is attacked by isis, which as everyone knows, is isis ultimate trophy, i can promise you that the pope will have only wished and prayed that donald trump would have been president. Reporter a top trump aide tweeting this picture, showing walls. Vatican. Reporter trump is also howard stern interview, in which he said he supported the war in iraq, despite the recent claims that he opposed it. Are you for invading iraq . Yeah, i guess so. Um, you know, i wish it was i wish the first time, it was dont correctly. Reporter he tried to clarify his remarks. Probably the first time anybody asked me that question. By the time the war started, i was against the war. Reporter for all the Campaign Seasons nastiness, emotional moments, too. I would hope in the lord and in my friends, and now i found it in my president ial candidate that i support. Id really appreciate one of those hugs youve been talking about. [ applause ] reporter like john kasich, comforting a supporter struggling with hardship and depression. A powerful and moving moment there. 24 hours ago. No room for error for these candidates. Stops, including jeb bush, whose mom, barbara bush, 90 years old, will be back on the trail today. Back to you. Peter, thank you so much. Donald trump is with us now on the phone. Mr. Trump, good morning. Good morning. Lets see if we can clear something up that has become an issue in South Carolina. The question is whether or not you said that the Bush Administration lied to get us into the war in iraq. Here is exactly what you said at the debate on saturday night. We will roll the tape. They lied. They said there were weapons of mass destruction. There were none. Heres what you said last night at a cnn town hall when asked by a voter, who didnt like the sentiment, whether youd be willing to reconsider. Well roll that tape. Would you be willing to rethink that . A lot of people agree with what i said. Im not talking about lying. Im not talking about not lying. Which is it, mr. Trump . It seemed like you backed off night. Are you still saying that the im not saying anything one way or the other. You did. Savannah, im saying that as far as im concerned, the decision to go into iraq was probably one of the worst decisions ever made in the history of our country. It led to the total de destabilization of the middle east and everything now. Im sorry to interrupt but to this specific issue, there are voters in South Carolina that are seizing on this. Whether or not you accused the Bush Administration of lying. I think youre aseizing on it. I dont think the voters are seizing on it. I dont know if he lied or not. He could have. Maybe he did and maybe he didnt. I guess youd have to ask him. Whatever, the decision to go into the middle east, iraq, was one of the worst decisions in the history of our country. We lost thousands of lives and we have wounded ware your eded warriors who i love all over the place. Iran is taking over iraq. We lost and have been humiliated there. If you go in, you go in to win. But the war in iraq was one of the worst decisions. Why he made it, there were no weapons of mass destruction. He said there were weapons of mass destruction. There were no weapons of mass destruction. Its been a horrible decision. Maybe the worst decision ever made by the United States. Mr. Trump, its willie geist. Lets take up that question of iraq. You have said as one of the pillars of your Foreign Policy credentials that you had the wisdom to know it would be a bad idea to invade iraq. And 2004. Last night, buzzfeed unearthed a clip of you talking to howard stern september 11th, 2002, where you were asked, should we go into iraq and you said, yeah, i guess so. I guess my question to you, mr. Trump, is, are you exaggerating war . The road that put you out there as someone who was against the road, but are you exaggerating how hard you were against it . No. That was long before the war started. By the time the war started and you have documentation of this, by the time the war started, i was against it. You see articles in 2003 dont forget, i wasnt a politician. Nobody cared about my opinion. That was just a question asked of me. I was a civilian. I was an entrepreneur. At the time, did you think it was a good idea . To go into the war . In 2002. It was a disaster. Because the question was asked in 2002, long before the war started. By the time the war started, i was against it and immediately after it started and for many years, identifyve been against it. I said itll destabilize the middle east and iran will take over the middle east. Thats what happened. Lets talk about the dust up with pope francis. We heard about what you had to maybe pope francis didnt Say Something as initially harsh as you were told. You said yesterday no leader, especially a religious leader, should have a right to question another mans religious and faith. I was struck by that. Over this last week, and even on friday, a week ago, you tweeted about ted cruz. How can ted cruz be an evangelical christian when he lies so much and is so dishonest. You have been questioning another persons faith. No, im not. Ted cruz told many lies. He got caught. Youll be reporting on one in a while, what he did with marco rubio, with a false ad he put out. What he did to ben carson in iowa. You questioned his faith, whether or not the fact you say hes a liar makes him less of a christian. No, i didnt. How can he be an evangelical christian when he lies so much and is dishonest. Im not questioning his faith. I say that ted cruz holds up the bible and then lies. Which is a fraud. He did so many things so bad. Ive never seen anything like it. Marco rubio called him an absolute liar. It. Ted cruz lies. Everybody knows he lies. Its disgraceful and, yet, he says hes an evangelical christian. Thats his im not im just saying he says it. Mr. Trump, thank you so much. I think we cut it out the cell phone signal cut out but i think we got it. Thank you so much. Thank you, mr. Trump. Things are getting tighter on the democratic side. Look at our new poll. Hillary clinton leads Bernie Sanders nationally. 53 42 . A month ago, secretary clinton was up 25 points. Andrea mitchell is following that race. Good morning. Good morning to you, willie. Wb within hours of Bernie Sanders calling bill Clintons Clinton came out swinging against her rival at the msnbc town hall. I dont know where all this comes from because maybe its that senator sanders wasnt really a democrat until he decided to run for president. Reporter it was the first time Hillary Clinton so fiercely attacked Bernie Sanders for not being a real democrat. He doesnt even know what the did. Its true. Reporter firing back at sanders for saying in 2011 that president obama should face a primary challenger. The idea that there can be a primary with different ideas get floated and debated, its not terrible. Reporter and for criticizing bill clinton. I happen to think bill president. Lets be clear, i happen to think our trade agreements from nafta, from tpp, have been a disaster. Reporter many questions focusing on Immigration Reform. Including one woman, a u. S. Deported. Clearly, those are not the policies that i want to see, and i will change those pollicypolicies. How long would it take to change the policies . Ive been waiting six years. I cant we will use our executive office and power as much as we can. Reporter later, unprompted, clinton reached out to her. I will end the three and tenyear bar provision, so you dont have to face that ever again. Reporter both were asked if theyd tackle Immigration Reform in their first 100 days. Not a dictator here. It has to do with cooperation from the congress. Its at the top of this list. Reporter clinton came under fire for not releasing transcripts of her paid speeches. I am happy to release anything i have, when everybody else does the same. Reporter with exit polls showing young women voting for sanders, he embraced his feminine side. I consider myself a strong in fact, gloria steinem, Everybody Knows shes one of the leading feminists of america, made me an honorary woman many, many years ago. On thursday night, both candidates showed up at a union picket line with labor a key factor in the vote for the caucuses tomorrow. They have one day left before the caucuses. It is a critical test of Hillary Clintons campaign. She was once far ahead and now its neck and neck. Senator sanders playing to the honorary woman vote in nevada. Andrea, thank you. Lets bring in chuck mod,todd, moderator of meet the press and moderator of last nights town hall. Lets talk about the town hall and whats happening in the state of nevada. The polling there, i know you said before, polling is unreliable. We dont get a lot of it. It looks tight based on what we know. What was your sense of things in the room with secretary clinton and senator sanders last night . Well, what was fascinating both of them got booed at different points. It was a ruckus room a little bit. I think it tells you something about whats going on in the ground in nevada. The time i spent there, its clear to me that both campaigns agree that sanders has the momentum and the question is whether clintons lead, which she had a week ago here, is big enough to hold for a surge that theres an expectation that sanders supporters are going to flood at the last minute, reregister and get there. Lets talk about South Carolina. February 27th for the democrats to vote there. We have a poll out of South Carolina on both sides. Where does that shake out . Look, i think a lot depends on nevada. A sanders win, and id argue its a mustwin for sanders, but a sanders win in nevada then allows him to say, see, i can win in a place with a diverse elekctorate electorate. Negative headlines for clinton and it can close the gap in South Carolina. A win in nevada would allow him to make it a single digit race in South Carolina. Thats why saturday is so important for both candidates. Chuck todd on his way home, thank you so much. Thanks, chuck. It is an emotional day at the Supreme Court where the body of Justice Antonin Scalia will lie in repose. A public viewing ahead of funeral ralservices tomorrow. Pete williams is at the court for us this morning. Good morning. Good morning. This will be Justice Scalias final return to the Supreme Court. A building where he was among the longest serving justices in u. S. History. Todays ceremony is one he knew well. Reporter inside the Supreme Courts magnificent great hall, Justice Scalias casket will lie in repose, an honor last given to former chief Justice Rehnquist in 2005. Back then, Justice Scalia escorted president and mrs. George w. Bush as they paid their respects. Today, president and mrs. Obama same for Justice Scalia. Stephen breyer, in the first public appearance of a justice since scalias death, said friends were sad. He was a life force of the court and itll be a grayer place without him. Decent man who has made an enormous impression. Reporter tomorrow, the funeral at the basilica of the National Shrine of the i Immaculate Conception, where his son will celebrate mass. Vice President Biden will attend the funeral but president obama will not, prompting ted cruz to describe mr. Obama this way. Lawless and faithless president. Who is eager to travel to cuba but unwilling to show up at the funeral of Justice Scalia. Reporter with republicans saying the next president should appoint scalias successor, biden told Rachel Maddow the Senate Must Act promptly on get the court back to nine justice is. If we dont nominate someone in the next month or so, start the hearing process, they say nothing is going to happen until the next election, it wont be until next june or july before you have a Supreme Court justice. After a private ceremony this morning with a prayer and a reading, the Supreme Court will be open to the public for those who want to say their final goodbyes. Pete williams outside the Supreme Court, thanks. Pope francis back and forth with donald trump is not the only reason the pope is making news this morning. On his flight back to the vatican, he indicated that contraceptives could be used to prevent the spread of zika, despite the churchs longstanding ban. Ann thampe thompson is at vatican city with more. Good morning. As weve seen with his comments on Donald Trumps border wall, pope francis can be blunt. Even his closest observers were surprised by the exception he opposition to artificial Birth Control. Reporter in pope francis native latin america, the zika virus carried by mosquitos, is being linked to babies born with abnormally small heads. Women are urged to avoid getting pregnant in the region of the world that is enormously catholic. The pope said contraception to prevent zika is the lesser of two evils compared to abortion. He said abortion is a crime, absolute evil, and likened it to what the mafia does. His decision is not the first in church history. In the 60s, the pope allowed nuns in danger of rape to use Birth Control. In that case as in the zika epidemic now, francis said it was a clear exception. That exception has some people in latin america hailing francis as a modern pope who finds solutions. But experts insist this is not a this is not a blanket statement to apply to all forms of contraception at any moment, but this is dealing with a disease thats wreaking havoc in peoples lives. Now, pope francis also talked about the latest gossip here at the vatican concerning a close friendship st. John paul ii had with a female american philosopher. Pope francis said friendship with a woman is not a sin. Popes can have holy and healthy friendships with women, and popes need their input. Without it, he said, men are missing something. Quite the newsy trip back to the vatican. Appreciate it. Lets get a first check of the weather from dylan in for al. Not a week ago, we were talking about record cold. Now, were talking about record warm temperatures across almost the entire country. Look at this ridge in the jet stream thats allowing temperatures to warm up. We saw several record highs midwest yesterday. 20ed today, well see highs across the areas, as well. Especially through the midwest, where temperatures will be running 15 to 25 degrees above average. Look through the weekend. Wichita, 72 today and 74 on saturday. The 60s on sunday. Jackson, mississippi, mid to upper 70s. Memphis, tennessee, top up in the mid to upper 60s. This will start to spread to the east. Temperatures up and down the average. Were looking at highs in washington, d. C. And richmond, virginia, to top out in the mid 60s for the start of the weekend. Even into monday, temperatures well above average. Thats a all year long you worked hard to take care of business and take care of the people who matter most. So when your tax refund arrives, make it go a little further at walmart. From electronics, to home decor, even tires, get low prices on everything you need walmart. Highs in the mid 50s. Saturday. Part