Disease. Where does the league go from here, and what does it mean for the future of americas most popular sport . Weighing in. Oj simpson and the mini series. People are, oh, the acting is riveting and this is a great plot line. Im thinking, this is murder. This morning, what they say youre not seeing on the show. Rose garden rap. The creator of hamilton enlists the help of the president for a free style performance performance. You think thats going viral . One for the history books today, tuesday, march 15th, 2016. Announcer from nbc news, this is today with matt lauer and savannah guthrie, live from studio 1a in rockefeller plaza. Good morning. Election day in many states. Free style rapping seems hard by itself. In front of the president hamilton taking over the white house. You said this reminded you of 1965, when bob dillon came out with subterranean home sick blues. You mentioned 80s ripping off on that. Well talk about that in a moment. Election day, president ial race, voters in five states are heading to the polls today. Headlined by the winner take all contests in florida and ohio. Well break that down and talk to donald trump live. First, Peter Alexander is in the Buckeye State. Good morning. Good morning. This is the day that so Many Republican candidates had circled on their calendar for months. So much riding on the state of ohio. What was today will go a long way in determining whether this race becomes a coronation for donald trump or were headed to Buckeye State this summer. Well have a great day. Well have a phenomenal day. Reporter donald trump, confident and undeterred. Get him out of here. Reporter dismissing protesters in tampa with the help of sarah palin. What we dont have time for is all that petty [ bleep ] thuggery stuff thats been going on with these quote, unquote, protesters. Reporter the former Alaska Governor heading home to be with her husband todd, seriously injured in a snow machine accident. Day. Home. I win ohio and continue to take this program forward, its going to send a positive message to the world. It comes down to florida. This state will elect 99 delegates to one person. And i want it to be me, and i need you to help it to be me. Reporter rubio later survive a loss in florida. I never said my campaign is built on the outcome of any special state. Kasich alongside mitt romney, looking for his first win. Hoping his popularity with Ohio Republicans translates into an ohio victory. Why is it neck and neck with trump here . I dont think it is. Were ahead. Reporter what he calls a toxic environment at trump rallies. Its lowering a bar and creating a bad image for america. Reporter a North CarolinaSheriffs Office told nbc news it wont file charges against trump after an investigation into whether trumps statements at a rally last week where a protester was sucker punched, constituted a riot. But it keeps coming. Bimbo. Dog. Fat pig. Real quotes by donald trump about women. Women, you have to treat them reporter still, the rhetoric is con stage tagious. Sir, one difference between this and a donald trump rally. Im not asking anyone to punch you in the face. For mainstream republicans, the socalled establishment, this is the last stand in ohio and florida. I was struck by what mitt romney said campaigning alongside john kasich yesterday. He said to his supporters, america is counting on you. Matt and savannah . Peter alexander, thank you. Donald trump joins us by phone now. Good morning to you. Morning. Tim used to have a saying about elections. Hed hold up the board and itd say, ohio, ohio, ohio. If you win florida and ohio, you could be on your way to the nomination. Youre going against the sitting governor, john kasich. Hes never lost a statewide election. Well, hes 220 in terms of losing. He has lost every single state hes been in. Ill tell you what in terms of the president ial, hes done very, very poorly. Ive spent a lot of time in ohio. I was there last night in youngstown. He is not a popular guy. He approved nafta. Hes trying to approve tpp, which is a total disaster. Nafta destroyed ohio, took the businesses out, and he voted for it. Look what hes done. In favor of common core. Hes just now come out in favor of amnesty and open borders. I think the man is not very popular. I dont. He has not won one race in terms of president ial. I guess hes 0 for 22. I dont see it happening. Ive been with the people of ohio. They hate the fact their coal and Steel Industries are gone. I think were going to do well in ohio. Mr. Trump, if you are able to win in ohio, win in florida, looks like youre on track to get the 1,237 delegates, do you expect republican leaders, the republican party, to fall in line behind you as the presumptive nominee . I do. Theyre already calling. I have the biggest people in the party, if there is such a thing because im not sure whether to use the word establishment, what it means. Mitt romney, by the way, ran the worst race perhaps in the history of president ial politics. Who is calling . Hes campaigning now for kasich. I think people are not digging mitt romney too much. Thats for sure. Theyll send him the signal. The biggest people in the party are calling. They want to sit down. They want to make things right. A lot of people are calling because they see whats happening. Savannah, we brought millions of people, millions its the biggest story in politics worldwide we brought millions of people in, and theyre voting in the primaries. The democrats are down 35 . Theres no enthusiasm for hillary, especially. I mean, no enthusiasm. Let me jump . Millions of people are going to give us a tremendous victory in november. Let me ask you about the comment on the ad running in many states. Its an antitrump pac. Basically, it takes real women, and they repeat some of the things you have said about women over the course of the last several months or year or so. Its very difficult to watch. Would you like to take back any of these comments youve made . Let me just say about that, it was an ad put up by mitt romneys people. Mitt romney is a sour guy. Its an antitrump pac. No question. Let me tell you, every single poll of every single state ive won, of which ive won, you single poll coming out, the exit polls, i lead with women. I lead with the military. I lead with the vets. I lead with virtually everyone. Would you take back any of the quotes, anything youve said that you think in the light of day, well, maybe that wasnt the greatest thing to say . I have not seen the ad, so id have to seen it. Ive heard about it but i have not seen the ad. Donald trump, a huge day for you and the other candidates on both sides of the spectrum. Thank you for your time this morning. Thank you very much. Lets turn to chuck todd, moderator of meet the press. Lets do the republicans before we turn to the democrats. Weve seen where the delegates stand right now. Lay it out for us, the various scenarios. Most likely, basically, this is the if the polls are right. Trump would win 3 of the 5. Cruz with missouri. Kasich with ohio. This is where we could stand. Delegates but cant get to 1,237. Under this scenario, what happens is, ill go through it, you assume he wins 50 of the delegates for the remaining states. He comes up, at least this is the rosiest scenario if he loses ohio about 50 short. Thats why ohio is important. He gets ohio, they cant stop him. If he loses one of them, i think they stop him. Just being 50 short, i think, is a problem right now for him. If john kasich wins his home state of ohio, does it propel him or just allow him to hang around . I think it could propel him. Next week, you have utah and arizona. Kasich win in ohio, he could win in utah. Cruz could win arizona. Its about puncturing the balloon of trump. I feel like we say, trump could lose this. Its like lucy and the football for the antitrump forces. Oh, this is the night theyre going to get them. Football is yanked away, trump well ask for your take on the democrats in a second. First, Nbcs Kristen Welker is in miami to set the stage for us there. Good morning. Good morning to you. Could be a turning point in the democratic race. Secretary clinton feeling confident here in the delegaterich state of florida and also North Carolina. Senator sanders liking his chances in missouri and also clintons home state of illinois. Ohio could be the state to watch. Polls show clinton with a comfortable lead. Both campaigns think its closer, particularly after sanders surprise win in michigan, which showed his message on trade and the economy is resonating with voters in the midwest. To counter, clinton has been touting her plans to bolster the manufacturing sector. The two have been take ing jabs. Last night at town halls, both saved their sharpest attacks for the gop front runner donald trump. Hes been building this incitement. Jeering protesters. He has been talking about punching people in the face. Hes been encouraging the man handling of both, you know, people who are attending, as well as journalists. This guy has insulted mexicans, muslims, women. Hes insulted veterans. John mccain, a war hero. The American People wont vote for somebody like that. Were getting a snapshot of the race this morning according to the latest nbc news surveymonkey poll. Clinton topped sanders nationally. Its a 13 point lead, down slightly from the 17point lead she had the last time the poll was conducted. If clinton has a strong night, she could all but put this race out of reach if. If senator sanders has a big night, he could have more momentum. Thank you. That sets the table nicely for chuck todd. There is suspense on the sanders is competitive in some states. Take away the super delegates and youre down to a 200 delegate lead here. In the states tonight, we assume that she is going to win the two states. She could win by enough where she could lose the midwestern states here to sanders and still win the night on delegates. Ohio and illinois. First, the illinois stuff, there is a subplot here. Mayor of chicago, rahm emanuel, so unpopular. Sanders has been attacking him. She could lose chicago and thats why she could lose illinois. Missouri looks like oklahoma, which is a state he won. Shape. Moe mentum wise, if he wins 3 of 5, theres the sense of, look at this. After michigan, winning big states. Even if he loses the night on delegates, the next seven contests, Bernie Sanders could win all seven and the momentum could get serious and she could be in trouble. Chance to Gain Momentum back or get back on track . Itll take a month. You have to wait until april, pennsylvania, new york, connecticut, maryland. It could be a while. Arizona and utah next week, she could lose both. Thats why tonight, she needs to win ohio and illinois to truly put this race away. What i take away, ohio, ohio, ohio, on both sides. Yes. Chuck, thank you. Lets turn to major news out of washington and a first for the nfl. A highranking, League Official acknowledging a link between football and a brain disease. Willie has more on that. Good morning. C. T. E. Is a degenerative brain disorder linked to head trauma. While the league settled a Class Action Lawsuit tied to conclusions, it never acknowledged the link definitively. That changed on monday. Reporter a landmark admission from americas biggest league. For the first time in its history, the nfl admitting a link between the brain disorder c. T. E. And the repeated head trauma Football Players suffer. Congressional committee from the nfls Senior Vice President for health and safety, jeff miller. Mr. Miller, is there a link between football and degenerative Brain Disorders like c. T. E. . Research shows a number of retired nfl players were diagnosed with c. T. E. The answer is yes. But there are a number of questions that come with that. Reporter that research dating back to a Study Released last september found c. T. E. In 87 of 91 former pro players. The autopsy shows former players like those who committed suicide, had the disorder. The broader point and the one your question gets to is what that necessarily means and where do we go from here with that information . Reporter the admission is a departure from years of league policy. In 2013, the nfl settled a Class Action Lawsuit with former pledging future research on the subject. But the league did not admit any wrongdoing. Nor that football was the cause of the retired players disorders. In a statement to nbc news overnight, the league reiterated millers point, that a lot more questions needs to be answered. Adding, we want the facts to develop better solutions. Thats why were committed to advancing medical research on head trauma, including c. T. E. , to let the science go where the science goes. C. T. E. Can only be diagnosed after death. With many athletes suffering diseases like early on set dementia and als, this is looked at as a positive sign for people hoping changes come to the game they love to watch. This is a question parents have been asking, do i let my kids play football . Now that you have the nfl talking about that link, that becomes a more difficult question to answer. Willie, thank you. Also this morning, disturbing story. U. S. Born, isis fighter, detained in northern iraq. Richard engel is on that story for us. Good morning. What can you tell us . Good morning. As far as we can tell, this is the First Time Ever that an alleged american isis member surrendered on the battlefield. Its unclear what will happen to him next. Reporter kurdish fighters say this is a video of an isis fighter just after he surrendered to their position in northern iraq. When they asked where he was from, to their surprise, he said, united states. The kurds say they found the 26yearolds virginia drivers license on him. An uncle confirmed his identity to nbc news and said the family thought the young man was traveling in europe. But there was a different reaction at the family home in alexandria alexandria. Im not talking to nobody. Leave the area. Drive reporters away. Angrily insisting wrong information. Reporter all their information about his son was wrong. A Kurdish News Agency reported that he crossed the Turkish Border a few months ago and joined isis. When the kurds asked where hed been, he answered, mosul, an isil stronghold in iraq. The kurdish fighters say he was trying to leave isis when he stumbled into kurdishheld territory. A bizarre desertion. U. S. Officials say isis is facing growing pressure to keep its fighters loyal, as the group is facing pressure and military attacks from the united states, russia, iran and a whole host of other enemies. Back to you. Richard, thank you very much. Let us make a turn now and get a look at the weather. Al is off today and dylan is . Hi, guys. Louisiana and texas, but the flooding is a major concern. The rivers are still cresting right now. This is some of the worst nonhurricane related flooding ever seen. Homes are underwater, entire towns are underwater. Even though we are starting to see the skies dry out, itll take at least another week before these rivers come below the flood stage. Theyre so high above it, with record flooding in situations, that it is going to be a problem for at least the rest of this week. You can see all these red diamonds. Thats where we still have major flooding occurring, as the water trickles through the rivers. Were looking at the pearl river. Current level, 19. 37 feet, more than hurricane isaac produced way back when. Thats why were seeing this as worst than the flooding weve seen. In the sabine river in texas, still above the record flood stage. We still have the chance, perhaps this week with a couple of isolated showers and storms, of rainfall in louisiana and new orleans. Area of stronger storms, including overnight, isolated tornadoes. Biggest threat is hail and damaging wind gusts, including chicago. It could cause delays at the airports later tonight. Thats a look at the weather across the country. Were holding in the mid 40s now. Clouds are holding tough, too. Temperatures wont rise very quickly early on today. We should get brightening of the sky later on. For the most part, clouds will rule. Exiting storms north and east. Were in between, and that means it stays fairly gray. Temperaturewise, gets into the upper 50s before the day is through. Mild night tonight. Upper 40s. Tomorrow, sun followed by clouds, 62. A shower in the evening. Same on st. Patricks day, scattered, Late Afternoon showers. Mild at 63. Thats your latest forecast. Thank you very much. Just ahead, prosecutors move to revoke the bail of the former prep School Student convicted in a sex assault case. Will he end up behind bars . Plus, why the Goldman Family are slamming the popular people versus o. J. Simpson mini series. First, this is toad on good morning, this is your captain speaking. Its a Beautiful Day with sunny skies and a light tailwind out of the northeast. Blue skies smiling at me nothing but blue skies do i see nothing but bluebirds all day long ive never seen the sun shining so bright. 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