A new mode of transportation today, friday, january 22nd, 2016. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning, everybody. Welcome to today. Its friday morning. Weve got willie in for matt. Its a combination of feelings, excitement and terror about this snow storm thats bearing down on the east. In technical meteorological terms this thing is a beast. This is the live conditions in christiansburg, virginia, 35 miles south of roanoke. We could have taken any one of a number of pictures across the east coast. Its ugly out there. How will it look in 24 hours . Of course, its our top story because more than 88 million americans are in the path of this storm. At least 20 states from arkansas to new york are already covered by warnings and watches. With more than two feet expected in washington, d. C. , a snow emergency going into effect there this morning. Government offices will shut down at noon. And Flight Cancellations already mounting. Nearly 5,000 today and tomorrow. Weve got this storm covered from all angles so lets start with dylan dryer in virginia this morning. Dylan, good morning to you. Hey, savannah. My marching orders yesterday were go find snow and, boy, have we found it. Were in southwestern virginia outside of roanoke. It started snowing at 5 00 this morning and its accumulating quickly. Up until last night the biggest threats with this storm have been rain, severe storms and patchy ice, but now the focus is the heavy snow and from now through saturday conditions are only going to get worse. Overnight a possible tornado touched down near hattiesburg, mississippi, downing trees and power lines and destroying a mobile home. Part of a monster storm system slamming the south and east. This morning 88 Million People could be impacted by some form of nasty Winter Weather, thats americans. This winter storm is only going to get worse. Reporter all along the east coast from North Carolina to new york people are bracing for the worst. This caravan of power crews drove from florida to North Carolina preparing for up to half an inch of ice and the Power Outages almost certain to follow. Our goal is to be overprepared and hopefully underwhelmed. Reporter a state of emergency is already in effect in five states, maryland and d. C. s kick in this morning. Starting later today and through the weekend the washington, d. C. Area will be the winter storm capital of the nation, anticipating two feet or more. Tropical Storm Force Winds and a lot of misery. Its reminiscent of the 2010 snow they called snowmageddon or snowpocalypse which paralyzed the city for days. This one is likely to be worse. Earlier i had 18 to 24. Snow, plus its going to take a long time for us to clean up from that. So our plan today is to make it back to washington, d. C. If the storm is moving at about 40 Miles Per Hour and we can do about 41, maybe well get there before the snow does, but its going to be a slow go on i81. Were watching the time here to go 25 miles. Its already going to take about 40 minutes. Its going to be a rough ride today. Hopefully most people just stay home. Willie and savannah. I see that wetness on your face. I hope its snow and not tears. Going to be a tough one. Its a little of both. Dylan, thanks a lot. Lets focus on the storms impact on the capital city. Officials in washington are to prepare. Nbc National CorrespondentMiguel Almaguer is there for us. Miguel, whats it looking like . Reporter hey, willie, so far just cold but certainly expect to be in the bullseye. They are expecting upwards of two feet of snow here in the district of columbia. That number will climb in the outside areas, and they could i want to show you what it looked like earlier this week. We got just a dusting, less than an inch of snow on wednesday, and it brought the region to its knees. There were long traffic delays and we expect bigger problems this afternoon when the first snow rolls in. Governors in five different states and in more than 14 counties have already declared states of emergency. The federal government says they will shutdown today at noon. Schools are also closed. Transportation problems are going to be an issue. Some 2,200 flights all across this region have already been cancelled. They are prepping for a major storm here. Take a look at what it looked like inside grocery stars and Hardware Stores earlier yesterday. They have been scrambling to get their hands on anything they can. Folks say they will hunker down it will right right into the weekend and everyone here trying to prepare as best as they can for a major storm anticipated to hit us in the next few hours. Willie . Thank you so much. Lets turn to al. Is it going to be as bad as advertised. We have the caveat if the storm moves in any direction that will affect what we show you, but right now 1,200 miles worth of Winter Weather advisories, from northern louisiana all the way to new england, and we have blizzard warnings in effect stretching from washington, baltimore, dover, philadelphia, new york city. So weve got a severe situation starting to develop. We also have Severe Weather down through the southeast. Weve got to keep an eye on that because of severe thunderstorms and isolated tornadoes, so well watch that as well. Now, as we go into our accumulations, heres what were looking for, because weve already seen snow and ice in memphis. 2 to 5 inches of snow expected. Nashville, tennessee. Youll see it at 4 to 8 inches. Lexington, kentucky, look for 8 to 14 inches of snow, and as we get closer to the coast with winds and snow we are going to washington and baltimore right now. Were calling for anywhere from 18 to 26 inches of snow. It begins at 4 00 this afternoon and wind gusts at 50 Miles Per Hour, snowfall 2 to 4 inches per hour. In philadelphia and Central New Jersey were looking for the snow starting around 11 00 and wind gusts to 40 Miles Per Hour and snow of 12 to 18 inches. New york city, the surrounding area, long island. Look for 6 to 12 inches. The snow starts early saturday morning. Wind gusts of 55 Miles Per Hour and look at this, were talking about a significant ice storm from knoxville, tennessee, raleigh. Charlotte is the bullseye. We could see almost an inch of ice, and the power outage possibilities from charlotte to washington, d. C. Are very likely because of ice, winds and rain and snow, so this is going to be hours move through will change. The ice and the winds scare me. Thank you, al. Breaking overnight now. An American College student arrested and detained in north korea. Nbcs chief global correspondent bill neely following this story for us. Bill, whats the latest. Reporter good morning, willie. Another american arrested by the North Koreans accusing him of a hostile act though they dont say what that was and entering the country in the guise of a tourist as they put it, but, quote, plotting to undermine the countrys unity, and they say he was manipulated by the u. S. Government. They have named him as Otto Frederick warmbeir, we believe hes from cincinnati, went with a tour group in china and dont know where hes being held but its almost certainly in the capital pyongyang and, of course, we dont know his side of the story. U. S. Diplomats in south korea are working on that. We do know north korea is its recent nuclear test with the u. S. And others weighing up more sanctions, and in the past north korea has arrested foreigners and paraded them on tv admitting to some wrongdoing to try to win concessions or diplomatic room to negotiate. No sign of any tv appearance so far, but the timing and the harshness of this statement, this arrest is no coincidence. The North Koreans may try to use this young man as a bargaining chip. Savannah, willie. We know previously americans have been held for years on end in north korea. Hopefully this is different. New controversy on the republican side. Ten days out from the Iowa Caucuses a National Magazine is calling for all republicans to trump is out with a new attack ad this morning. Nbc news correspondent peter alexander. Peter, good morning to you. Reporter donald trump or ted cruz, even as more and more Establishment Republicans are warming to trump as the lesser of two evils, they say, with a series of blistering editorial calling trump a charleton, a wannabe and worse and trump released his first negative attack ad of the campaign, targeting who else, senator cruz. Want to do if in a humane way. Donald trump on the offensive. Im donald trump and i approve this message. Reporter going after ted cruz with a new ad out this morning using cruzs own words against him on the topic of immigration. Of course i wanted the bill to pass, my amendment to pass. Reporter cruz quickly shooting back with an attack ad of his own. Trump wont change the system. Hes whats wrong with it. Reporter bitter onair exchange comes hours after trump slammed cruz in front of a rowdy las vegas crowd calling the candidate a party pariah. Heres a United States senator, republican. Doesnt have support of one other republican senator. Theres something wrong there, reporter cruz attacking trump on the very same point. We need is more republicans in washington to cut a deal with harry reid and nancy pelosi and Chuck Schumer then i guess donald trump is your guy. Reporter late thursday the conservative Magazine National review released a special issue opposing trumps bid for the presidency with essays from conservatives like Eric Erickson and glenn beck saying trump is a philosophical its a dying newspaper. Circulation is way down. Not many people read it anymore. Reporter trump is looking to widen his net recasting himself as the kumbaya candidate. I will bring our country together. We will be unified. We will be one. Well be happy again. Reporter but according to our most recent poll most americans arent feeling it. Trumps widely disliked by africanamericans, latinos and women, the billionaire so polarizing people weighing in his dying wish, in lieu of flowers, please do not vote for donald trump. As a result of that against trump issue the National Review has been booted from cohosting an upcoming debate as magazines publisher tweets small price to pay for speaking the truth about the donald. Savannah and willie. Peter alexander, thank you. Lets flip over to the democratic side. Hillary clinton bringing in more star power to give her campaign a boost as Bernie Sanders surges at just the right time for him. Nbcs Andrea Mitchell has more on what has become a tight race. Andrea, good morning. Reporter indeed it is, good morning. Willie. Today, both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders will be campaigning in New Hampshire, but its in iowa where the up. With both candidates trying to attract Younger Voters. You get the first chance to decide who should be the next president of the United States reporter with just ten days to go until the Iowa Caucuses shore up support with Younger Voters who have been flocking to Bernie Sanders. Thursday night appearing with singer demi lovato in iowa city. We go forward with confidence. Thank you, demi reporter as race keeps getting tighter a new poll shows sanders could have an eightpoint lead in iowa assuming he can bring new voters to the caucus so both campaigns believe the contest is closer. Clinton stepping up his attacks on sanders. In theory, theres a lot to like about some of his ideas, but in theory isnt enough. Reporter echoing how she tried to defeat barack obama in 2008. You are not going to wave a magic wand and have the special interests disappear i wish that we could elect a democratic who could wave a magic wand. Im not interested in ideas that sound good on paper but will never make it in the real world. Reporter and shes slamming sanders as being naive on foreign policy. He suggested we invite that is like asking the arsonist to be the firefighter. Reporter as sanders crisscrossed New Hampshire, hes taking advantage of his momentum, releasing a new ad aimed at inspiring young voters in iowa set to simon and garfunkels. America. For people in iowa the choice is anything but clear. Still a week, a lot of time for candidates to bring up the issues im passionate about, say things that i may or may not agree with the. Reporter earlier this morning Hillary Clintons campaign released a new ad touting her experience as secretary of state. Shes hoping that experience, especially in foreign policy, trumps the economic message thats empowering sanders with his supporters. Both candidates in New Hampshire today and hitting iowa for the weekend. Ten days out and both races still up for grabs. A look at the other headlines, Washington Post his way home to the u. S. This morning. Have left that u. S. Military hospital in landstuhl, germany. Rezaian was released after 18 months in captivity in a prisoner swap between the u. S. And iran. In a statement rezaian said, quote, i am overjoyed to be reconnecting with my family. I plan to relax and enjoy homecooked meals, sports with them over the next few days and weeks. Other news this morning, there are growing concerns about the mosquitoborne zika virus. Public Health Officials in el salvador advising women to put off pregnancies for next two years to avoid passing on the virus. There are now 96 suspected cases in el salvador. Zika has been linked to a rare birth defect causing fetus to not form properly. A disturbing story out of california this morning. A former Alaska Airlines captain was charged this week flying a plane while under the influence the 60yearold flew from Portland Oregon to original orange county, california in june of 2014 and upon arriving was asked to submit to a random drug and alcohol test. Officials say he posted a bloodalcohol reading of at least 0. 13. He was removing from flying duties and later retired. If convicted of these charges, he could face a maximum of 15 years in prison. Wild new video that shows a 2yearold boy running down the middle of a busy oregon highway. Officials say the toddler managed to escape the open door of a Community Center while his parents were cleaning up there. A sheriffs deputy was driving the brakes to avoid hitting the child. Boy and took him to safety. The parents were searching for him. The incident was accidental and no criminal charges were filed. Now to the video we showed you at the top of the show. A miami doctor has been placed on administrative leave after video surfaced of a her uber driver. Slapping the driver and later trying to knee him. The passenger was there to pick up another passenger and she got in the car and threw all the drivers belongings out the wind doe. Window. She was not arrested because the driver did not press charges. Wow. Wow. Thats all you can say is wow on that one. Lets get more on this storm now, al. What else do you have . Active weather is going on around the rest of the country. Weve go the a risk of strong storms in northern florida today and also heavy rain and wind moving into the Pacific Northwest and california. Midsection of the country fairly quiet. Sunshine from the plains all the way down into texas. Were going to get to your local forecast coming up in the next 30 seconds. Does the smell of a freshly bound presentation fill you with optimism . Do you love your wireless keyboard more than certain family members . Is your success due to a filing system only you understand . Does printing from your tablet to your wireless printer if so, you may be gearcentric. Someone who knows that the right office gear helps you do great things. And theres one place that has it all. Office depot officemax. Gear up for great. And thats your latest weather. Savannah . All right, al, thanks. The man accused of killing amanda knoxs roommate. Illfated night and why he says justice has not been done. And the snow and ice beginning as that major storm moves into the east. The trouble its already causing on the roads and at the airport. But, first, this is today on nbc. The world a president has to grapple with, sometimes you cant even imagine. Thats the job. And shes prepared for it like no other. A tireless secretary of state, standing up against the abuse of women and girls. Negotiating a ceasefire in gaza, leading the diplomacy that keeps us out of war. The presidency is the toughest job in the world. And shes the one leader who has what it takes to get every part of the job done. Im Hillary Clinton, and i approve this message. Announcer 3 republican governors. But which governor won national praise for tough leadership handling nine hurricanes . Which governor made his state which governor led the fight to stop obamacare expansion in his state . And which governor laid out a tough plan to destroy isis months before the paris attacks . Jeb bush. Right to rise usa is responsible for the content of this message. 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