confirming here on cnn with sarah murray, donald trump will not be there thursday night. bill, that means this game of chicken is over. he said it and he meant it. >> apparently. i say, ronald reagan won in 1980 in new hampshire by showing up for a debate. i believe donald trump, if he doesn't show up at this debate, could lose iowa by chickening out of the debate. >> i think roger ales put out a press release that was insulting to donald trump. and, you know, and he walked away from it. he said, if you're going to treat me like this, how do i know i'm not going to be sabotaged in the debate. how do i know you're not going to try to take me down in the debate. you can't expect to come me and help your ratings if you're going to insult me in public. i think he's got a strong argument for not coming. at first i totally agree with bill in the beginning. if it was about he gmegyn kelly had to go. but if they insult you from a news organization, you have ample reasoning to say, to hell with this. >> making fun of you and saying you would be a bad president which is what it sai

. >> let me begin this hour with cnn political reporter sarah murray in marshalltown, iowa. the polls showed among all registered voters, not just republicans, that trump is faring so well. >> brooke, i think one of the biggest things we hear right now is people in iowa, they don't want to throw away their votes. they want to pick a winner. we're seeing that bear out in the poll numbers. you see 56% of folks saying they could see trump as the most likely nominee. 56%. that's compared to 17% for ted cruz. and i can't overstate how important that is in a place like iowa that likes to be first in the process. that wants to feel like they can pick a winner. that's what we're hearing across the state. >> we should point out the poll had a couple negative results for trump. for the most important questions, which were? >> well, the really interesting thing is when you match them up head to head, he actually is getting edged out by the democrats. sanders gets 50% of the post. compare to 47% for trump. if you put him up against clinton, he has a closer race. of course, we know that

our political reporter sarah murray is in ames, iowa, for us tonight at that rally. sarah, the palin endorsement potentially could help trump a lot in iowa. >> reporter: that's right. well, donald trump has said he's not one for big endorsements, but this is a little bit different. sarah palin is a lot like donald trump, part politician and part entertainer, and this will be one of the rare times where donald trump is actually willing to share the stage. tonight donald trump is sharing the spotlight, picking up an endorsement from sarah palin. >> i am a big fan of sarah palin, but i'm not saying who it is. >> reporter: trump spent the day teasing a big endorsement in iowa and taking questions about whether that mystery guest will be palin. >> i think you'll be very impressed. >> reporter: cruz promising his unwavering affection for palin. >> sarah palin is fantastic. without her friendship and support, i wouldn't be in the senate today. so, regardless of what sarah decides to do in 2016, i will always remain a big, big fan of sarah palin's. >> reporter: meanwhile, io

sarah murray, cnn, washington. >>> well, u.s. presidential candidate rand paul says he will not take part in the next republican debate thursday in south carolina. >> the main event will feature ohio governor jon kasich, chris christie, marco rubio, donald trump, ted cruz, retired neurosurgeon ben carson and former florida governor jeb bush. >> carly fiorina and mike huckabee and rick santorum have been invited to the undercard debate. >> we do not believe anybody would characterize our campaign as anything other than first tier. we are going to be in the ballot on every state. and we just announced the other day we have 1,000 precinct chairs in iowa. we think it's a rotten thing to do to designate which candidates have a chance and don't. so we will not participant in anything that's not first tier. >> well, on the other side of things, vermont bernie sanders is gaining ground on the democratic front-runner hillary clinton in iowa. >> he's holding on to his lead in new hampshire. another key early voting state. cnn's brianna dea

. >>> first, let's go to iowa and cnn political reporter sarah murray. the battle for iowa is getting intense. >> that's right, wolf. all the action is happening here in iowa, but donald trump is in new hampshire. that's where he and ted cruz are battling it out in the hawkeye state. it's the final stretch in iowa. and republicans are scrambling to get ahead. >> 177 hours. that's how long we've got until the iowa caucus. >> if you lose your wife, if you lose your husband, i don't care. go caucus. >> with a week of campaigning until the caucuses, trump leads the field. the billionaire businessman is feeling confident. >> i could stand in the middle of fifth avenue and shoot somebody and i wouldn't lose any voters. it's incredible. >> reporter: so confident, he's campaigning in new hampshire today. and slamming the gop establishment. >> the establishment, the media, the special interests, the lobbyists, the donors. they're all against me. >> reporter: while other candidates hunker down in the hawkeye state. this weekend, trump took a shot at traditional ca

we have cnn's sarah murray live in charleston, south carolina. what are the facts and what are the impimplications. >> donald trump has been questioning whether truz is even eligible to run for president because he was born in canada and cruise over the last couple of days has been swiping back hard saying trump embodies new york values suggesting he's too cozy with democrats and cruz suggesting he would be a stronger candidate in the general election. and donald trump says he's noticed ted cruz has been getting a testy. >> really really nice other the last couple of days getting a little testy. i've been waiting. i've been waiting. got a little problem. you know, you got make sure you can run. a lot of lawyers say you can't run if you do that. you can't be born in canada. you can't be a canadian citizen. >> now, right f that, trump says he expects the citizenship issue will come up tonight but it is unclear if he's going bring it up or if he's going to leave it to the moderators. the cruz camp says they are ready for anything. one thing they may

why attorneys for erika murray want the judge to drop system of the charges. >> sarah: and controversy on the campaign trail when sarah palin links her son's arrest to president obama's policies. >> this is 7news "today in new england." >> sarah: good thursday morn, everybody. it's 5:00. thanks for waking up with us. i'm sarah french. >> christa: nice and early. great to have you along today. i'm christa delcamp. all of us are keeping a very close eye on this huge winter storm. it's moving east right now. the track a little tricky to nail down. but we do know we are going to get some snow. i know that chris lambert is watching this storm. >> chris: we're going to have to use some coloring in the hair by the end of the weekend, guys. 23 in boston now. cool start, but the wind less of a factor today. so we'll get today out of the way here. temperatures running close to 30 degrees this afternoon. getting back down into the upper 20s by early this evening. how about a bluable snow. we're talking about two inches or greater. certainly still a possibility from worcester to boston, immediate

our political reporter sara murray has details for us. sarah, donald trump touches on the most controversial stances in his new ad, tell us about it. >> reporter: that's right, wolf. these are the kind of comments that would sink any other normal politician, but donald trump is not a normal politician, instead, he's wrapping up some of his most outlandish controversial statements and putting millions of dollars behind it on the airwaves. >> i'm donald trump and i approve this message. >> reporter: just four weeks out from iowa, gop candidates hitting the trail as donald trump lights up the air waves. >> he's calling for a temporary shut down of muslims entering the united states. >> reporter: trump releasing the first ad aimed at iowa and new hampshire and doubling down with dollars on his most controversial statements and this scene from the ad not actually footage of the u.s. boarder but rather an ocean away at the moroccan border. the trump campaign said the use was intentional to show the impact of an open border. >> keep signing exec