Slippery slope . The tech world lining up behind apple as a government tries to get the company to hack into the iphone of this San Bernardino shooter. The epic battle over principle, privacy and protecting america. And speaking out. Why the sister of Nicole Brown Simpson is furious about the new o. J. Simpson mini series and one star in particular. Today is thursday, february 18, 2016. From nbc news this is today with matt lauer and Savannah Guthrie live from studio 1 a in rockefeller plaza. And good morning. Welcome to today. Im Savannah Guthrie. We have willie in for matt this week. A lot of people are talking about the new poll. And if it holds up it is a real shift in the race. A lot of eyebrows raised. First place over donald trump. This is a different story than what is told by many other National Polls where trump had a big lead. We have a new poll for South Carolina to talk about. Our top story, president obama plans to travel to cuba next month. Ron allen is on white house duty this morning. Good morning to you. Reporter the white house is expected to announce the president s trip to cuba sometime later today. It has been just over a year since mr. Obama said he would begin normalizing relations. Many critics are saying it is much too soon to reward the castro regime. A Senior Administration official telling nbc news that president obama will visit cuba in march marking the first time in 88 years a sitting president will visit cuba. These 50 years have shown it is time for a new approach. Reporter warming relations began after facetoface meetings. The pair announcing in late 2014 that they would begin normalizing ties. Over time it is possible for us to turn the page and develop a new relationship between our countries. Reporter last august the American Embassy was open. Since then secretary of state john kerry travelled to the island and this week signed a deal to resume air traffic. Still there are hurdles. Tourists cannot visit the island and trade cannot resume until an embargo is lifted. Ted cruz and marco rubio were quick to pounce on the announcement. Rubio saying he would not go if he were president. Just communist dictatorship but antiamerican. I am saddened to hear i wasnt surprised. Reporter mr. Obama said he wouldnt go to cuba unless there was progress on human rights. Unclear whether that will happen but the number of dissidents arrested in jail by the cuban regime is increasing. Thank you. You heard some republican candidates talking about cuba. Our new poll shows ted cruz leading nationally. We have the complete coverage of that race beginning with nbc national correspondentder. Reporter donald trump is holding on to a commanding lead here in north carolina. Race reached a the wall street journal pollted cruz leading donald trump. Here in South Carolina ted cruz is favoring. The sounds you are hearing of screams coming from washington, d. C. Reporter with the gop lineup shrinking after the new ry the wall street journal poll shows dramatic shift from last dropping seven. I think somebody at wall street journal doesnt like me. And yet he tells fibs, reporter the trump cruz feudcalating. I am pro choice. We cannot trust donald trump with these serious decisions. Ter trumps lawyers opposes abortion. E had Great Success in business, Great Success with lawsuits, Great Success in things we ow if we will have a lawsuit but we want to keep somebody honest. Reporter trump stillith cruz behind. Marco rubio is picking up speed and another critical endorsement from governor nikki we say that every day is a great day in South Carolina. Ladies and gentlemen, if we elect marco rubio every day will be a great day in america. Ter not a great day for jeb bush who 24 hours earlier told nbc news haleysement would be the most powerful in the state. Its all been decided apparently. The pundits have made it all we dont have to vote it is all finished. Its all done. Democracy works. Reporter here is something you dont see every day. Jeb bush chest bumping his back stage after w. s endorsement part of a new campaign video. Ing thanks, i love you. I dont think the president was ready for that chest bump. Hillary clinton and Bernie Sanders working overtime to Court Minority voters ahead of saturdays nevada caucus. Tonight las vegas at a town hall event. Andrea mitchell is already in position. Good eporter with reports that clintons top donors have complained about a grasseffort Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders facing off in nevada, a state she needs to win after losing to sanders ine. Sanders will be appealing to nevada voters during a democratic town hall on msnbc. With just two days caucuses clintons lead has disappeared. A new poll has her justver sanders. Nationally things could be getting worse. Once holding a commanding lead among women clintonsbility is shrinking just six points ahead compared to her double digit lead a couple weeks both candidates are reaching out to africanamerican and latino voters. Clinton on the south side of on racial barriers and the problem of Police Violence against she also accused sanders of wavering support for president obama in 2012. Even triedne run against him. Reporter sanders looking ahead to South Carolina. Nevada and i believe we are going to do a lot, lot South Carolina. Reporter hoping to pull off an upset and show he can win in states with more minorities thanedominantly white new hampshire. I think on election day people will be surprised about how well we do. Reporter with the race heading to the south and westreleasing a new ad aimed at nevadas hispanic voters taking on the issue ofdeportation. And just a few hours ago clinton stopped along the strip to greet workers on the overnight shift at her whoever wins saturday in nevada will have a lot of momentum Going Forward in South Carolina and beyond to super tuesday, what is clearly a primary battle. Lets turn to mark halpern. Lets talk polls. Here is what trump far and away the leader and this tight race for second or third. Is South Carolina poised to betate that winnowathize field . Donald trump is way ahead our poll and other poll. The real match between marco rubio and jeb bush. The former the two of them before i thought maybe both make it out. Whoever is ahead here in south y is probably going to get to go on into the finals. Whoever is behind can get out quite quickly. We have the new street journal poll showing points behind ted cruz with at 17. We talk about difference that showed trump with a lead from 15 to 20 points. What do you read into thein terms of ted cruz at least . Reporter the nbc wall street journal poll is a good poll it can be off. It doesnt reflect the fact that trump does have the lead. Being hit by donald trump and marco rubio has moved up. He has consolidated a lot of support in the conservative wingparty. I think no doubt ted cruz while still behind trump probably. Lets t democrats saturday a caucus in nevada. We have seen polling suggesting it is a dead heat there. How do has changed her message in the she has honed in on thet andrea talked about that Bernie Sanders is not practical. He didnt support pnd people shouldnt vote for him because his idea cant be made into law and reality. That is a very practical does it appeal to peoples hopes and dreams . That is still an open question. Andrea is quite right thatays caucuses are very important for momentum into South Carolina and into march we see a very long protracted clintb saners Clint ClintonClinton Sanders battle. Thank you. Now to a desperate hunt for Radioactive Material missing in iraq. Officials fearing it could be used as a weapon by reporter Iraqi Security forces have been searching day case the size of a laptopentially deadly Radioactive Material. Exposure can cause death in a matter of hours. The iraqis are worried it couldnto the wrong hands. Its a nightmare, making a socalled dirty bomb. An iraqit confirms a highly dangerous Radioactive Material was stolen from a Storage Facility to Weatherford Oil company in november. Weatherford oil said we do not rate or control sources or the bunker and that a Different Company held the nbc has not been able to reach them for comment. Of material been acquired by terrorist groups in the region. Obviously, we continue to take these reports very seriously. He state Department Said there was no evidence that isis pullede theft. At this point the iraqis dont know who did. Security sources told reuters itike an inside job. Apple is getting support in its industry in a fight against a court order to hack into a phone used by a San Bernardinoshooter, a request that apple opposes and is fighting. As the latest. An iphone like this one that locks after a set period of time and requires a four digit code to open it. Past. Apple says if it helps investigators do that it could create a dangerous precedent for everyone who owns one two months after the terror attack that left 14 dead in burn San Bernardino the iphone is setting off a debate over privacy and i see the fbis point, but you can see apples point of reporter with fbi investigators unable to unlock the federal judge orderedto create new software to unlock the iphone so it can be scoured for evidence. Justice peoples lives were lost y. Feel that is the moral thing to do. Reporter apple says they in an open letter tim cook says creating a back door to by passtion is something he says they donot have and something we consider too dangerous to create. Privacy advocates saye master key to by Pass Security will be exploited and puts your privacy at risk. Google ceo also weighed the issue wednesday tweeting we give Law Enforcement access to database on valid legal orders but that enabling hacking to devices and data. The fbi believes they willhone data permanently after ten failed attempts to open it. For family members of thehere is no debate. When you are dealing with National Security that should come first. Peoples lives apple prepares for appeal in court legislators say law can beoduced to prevent phone companies from protecting data in cases like this. We want to know what think. Should apple help fbi unlock the shooters iphone . A big debate on that. A strange story out of los angeles where a hospital paid ransom to hackers that apparently were holding computer hostage. It paid about 17,000 when it fell victim to ransom wear. Bit coin is online is very hard to trade. Hospital ceo called it the most efficient way to end the neither Law Enforcement nor hospital gave indication of who might be behind the attack. A little strange. The next several days. Right now record warm weather today stretching from the upwards of 30 degrees above average. Look for records in denver. Ng into el paso. Amarillo. And well see records incharleston, tallahassee, tampa, memphis and houston and that warmth spreading towards the east coast towards the end of the week. Ures climbing into the 80s throughout the southwest. As we head towards nashville, atlanta, jacksonville. 66 and look at the northeast upwards of 40 to 50 degrees and 60s down into this week. O get coming up a new controversy over the people versus o. J. Mpson why Nicole Browns family is blasting the actor David Schwimmer. He Powerball Jackpot a florida teenager busted for allegeding to be a doctor. M going to share a photo of my eggo waffle when it pops up. 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Get 30 off every guestthe caribbean but hurry, this offer wont last long come seek the Royal Caribbean book today at 7 30. Thursday morning, february 18, that is the view from the top of the rock. Ted cruz has inched ahead of ationally in our new nbc news wall street journal poll. Cruz first choice of town halls in South Carolina last night ahead of saturdays topic of discussion, apples fight against court order byelp unlock the iphone. I think security anytime you are dealing with issues of security and Civil Liberties you have to balance them we can walk and chew gum at the same time, protect ourselves from terrorists. Apples argument is that theorder sets dangerous precedent. Another sign of the Foreign Relations between u. S. And cuba. A plans to travel there next month. This will be the first visit to the island by sitting president since sh controversy tied to as a member of the brown family ut about the show. The sister of Nicole Brown Simpson is furious about the o. J. Mini series and wishathizeers and cast would have reached out to her family before putting the show together and she is directing some comments at onen particular. The people versus o. J. Simpson is drawing huge ratings and critical praise but not everyone is a tonya brown is upset with David Schwimmer who plays roberthian. Being a good person and a loyal friend is more important than being famous. It Means Nothing at all without as heart. Reportedly consulted with kris saying i will say people should have included family members, not just friends. Just tired of our untry. Both fx and schwimmer had no some real life players see the show differently. Im looking at it with tion. Reporter carl dougilous is one of simpsons attorneys and had lunch with the actor playing he told me with rare exception they were directed to not have any the people who they were portraying until after the filming. Reporter according to new after sarah polson reached out to saying she delivered feelings so beautifully with so much nuancefeeling of futillity in the courtroom. Tonya is not watching any of it. She says she keeps forgetting that it is even on. I imagine it tears wound again 20 years later. A lot of people are talking about the show. Meantime, other news now, the second winners of last months 1. 67 billion jackpot have come forward. Now they have rather modest plans for the moment. Took a little more than a month for Maureen Smith their bucks in a row. Absolutely normal. After winning more million in the big powerball lottery. Lost a lot of sleep and over ten worry of what is going to happen. What are you going to do with the money . No. 1. 6 llion. Reporter we knew the jackpot would be divided among three Winning Tickets but who won has been a mystery. Theere chosen in this building a month ago. The couple has been keeping it a secret ever since even from were you looking forward to today or dread tg . Dreading it. They want to make their right here reporter came forward almost immediately. What does this feel like to to mumford, tennessee and out of the public eye. The third winning sold in california where the crowd gathered hoping to get a glimpse of the th later the world is still waiting to find out. The winner has until next january to come forward. Florida. He wants to get a new car. I want to get a massage. As many as she today, janet shamlian, nbc news, tallahassee. I won the he third winner. I was just driving she can get a lot of massages. And he wants a car. Ot of dangerous take a look what winds have brought in southern california,oming down. Sadly, one person killed when a car was crushed by a fallen the other side of the winds going to be a big fire danger. Right now we are look