. >> and now, joining us from charleston, south carolina, sarah murray, there is little doubt that the so-called trump/cruz bromance is over. >> yes, wolf, it is absolutely off. and we are too close for candidates to not be making jabs and returning them. that is what we saw on the debate stage, and the chat here at the rnc meeting is is that ted cruz got the better of 2kr678, but donald trump got the better of him when he invoked the new york value. and donald trump invoking 9/11. and today, the mayor of new york de blasio and hillary clinton agreeing with him and they are saying that he is drawing some interesting bedfellows on the new york values issue. >> and now, is the republican party accepting or embracing that donald trump could wind up as the republican presidential nominee? >> i think that a number of the republicans that i talked to today were impressed with donald trump's debate performance and they felt that he delved in deeper on the issues and different side than the bombast on the campaign trail, and the the reality is that while many of the establishment republicans b

thank you, sarah murray. happy '16 for you. >> yes, you, too. >>> and investigators ri ing too to figure out what caused a fire to rip through in hotel in dubai. and a forever who was posted 64 floors up, pleaed for help on the social media as he planned to repel down the building. the whole thing caught on camera. we will play it for you after this. announcer: it's time to make room for the new mattress models-- during sleep train's huge year end clearance sale. for a limited time, save hundreds on tempur-pedic mattresses. get the most highly recommended bed in america at closeout prices. plus, get interest-free financing and same-day delivery. why wait for the new models? sleep train's year end clearance sale is on now! superior service, best selection, lowest price-- guaranteed! ♪ sleep train [train horn] ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ >>> smoke was wafting from the 63-story building when the sun came up in dubai, and this fire broke out about this time yesterday, and we getting the first

i want to begin with sarah murray. is this any sign skipping the debate is going to stall trump's momentum in these final hours? >> erin, today donald trump seemed almost gleeful to skip this last gop debate in iowa. even voters don't think it's going to hurt him. >> what happened last night that was amazing because i wasn't treated right. i did something that was very risky and i think it turned out great because i'm on the front page of every paper. >> reporter: today, donald trump showing no signs of regret after skipping last night's debate. >> he got really pummelled last night. he got pummelled. >> reporter: instead, piling on ted cruz. >> ted cruz may not be a u.s. citizen, right? but he's an anchor baby. ted cruz is an anchor baby in canada. >> reporter: after the des moines register's front page declared the debate a rough night for cruz. trump's absence left a target on cruz's back. >> i would note the last four questions have been rand, please attack ted, marco, please attack ted, jeb, please attack ted. >>

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