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

. >>> 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

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

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

. >> 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