on this sunday night, new year's battleground. with 29 days to iowa, the war of words heats up between the front runners. what trump is saying about both hillary and bill clinton. and that terror recruitment video that uses trump's comments about muslims. the standoff at a federal building occupied by armed anti-government activists in oregon. tonight, why they're outraged and vowing to continue their occupation for years. day of rage in the muslim world over the execution of a prominent clergyman, all part of a bigger struggle between

and saving the sea. the oceans drowning in plastic, but now a novel idea to collect all that garbage before it washes ashore. "nightly news" begins now. from nbc news world headquarters in new york, this is "nbc nightly news" with kate snow. good evening. there's been no letup this weekend in donald trump's sharp attacks on his top democratic rival, and he's not just going after hillary clinton but her husband, the former president. bill clinton is due in new hampshire tomorrow, his first solo appearance to campaign for his wife. with the iowa caucuses four weeks from tomorrow, trump also found himself answering questions about a terrorist recruiting message that uses video of trump. we get all the latest tonight from kristen welker. >> reporter: trump increasingly looking beyond his gop rivals and taking aim at the democratic

>> they've created isis. hillary clinton created isis with obama. >> reporter: hillary clinton firing back today in new hampshire. >> you know, the republicans seem to have a particular fixation on blaming president obama and me for everything that happens in the world. >> reporter: trump is also tying clinton to her husband's past sexual infidelities. >> it hasn't been a very pretty pick for her or bill. i'm the only one that's willing to talk about his problems. i mean, what he did and what he has gone through, i think, is frankly terrible, especially if she wants to play the woman card. >> reporter: clinton now counting on the former president to bolster her campaign on monday in new hampshire. >> he is so excited about coming back to the granite state. >> reporter: but today, the issue went beyond trump when a republican state lawmaker heckled clinton about her husband's alleged past sexual misconduct. >> you are very rude, and i'm not going to ever call on you. >> reporter: but trump is also

shabaab, the al qaeda affiliate based in africa, used trump's muslim ban in a recruiting video. >> they use other people too. what am i going to do? i have to say what i have to say. >> reporter: fodder for clinton, who continues to slam trump's inflammatory rhetoric. >> it's not only shameful and offensive, which it is, it is counterproductive and dangerous. >> reporter: but trump's republican rivals largely giving the front runner a pass today. >> those radical gee jihadists do not exist because of donald trump or any other campaign. >> let's not get so concerned are. >> reporter: as the war of words heatings up between the two candidates in iowa and new hampshire, both states pivotal. >> front runners have to keep winning. expectations for clinton are sky high. now expectations for trump are sky high. >> reporter: and political analysts say it's classic front runner strategy to look beyond your own party and start attacking your opponent on the other side.

hillary clinton far ahead in the national polls, expect to hear a lot more heated rhetoric with just weeks until voters weigh in. kate? >> all right, kristen welker, thanks. there's a standoff tonight in oregon, where anti-government activists are occupying a federal office building at a wildlife refuge. they're protesting the impending imprisonment of two local ranchers and what they call the tyranny of the federal government. we get details front kristen dahlgren. >> reporter: from the remote and frozen oregon wilderness, a call to arms. >> this will become a base place for patriots from all over the country to come and to be housed here and live here. and we're planning on staying here for several years. >> reporter: the group of armed protesters taking over the mallard national wildlife refuge, led by son of cliven bundy, the nevada rancher known for his 2014 standoff with federal authorities over grazing rights.

>> we're here only to promote the constitution, the supreme law of the land, and to help the people re-establish their rights. >> reporter: this latest standoff started after weeks of tension and a peaceful protest on saturday. dozens rallying in support of dwight and steve hammond, two oregon ranchers facing jail time for lighting fires on federal land. >> i'm going to jail. seems like a bit of an overkill. >> reporter: they already served time before a judge ruled it wasn't enough. >> they wanted to stand up for their rights. we would be right there by their side. >> reporter: their attorney says they will report to federal prison on monday, and that the bundys don't speak for them. but that hasn't stopped the standoff. one member posting a good-bye video to his family. >> and i am 100% willing to lay my life down. >> reporter: the sheriff has warned people to stay away from the refuge, but so far officials, including the fbi,

>> they're going to have to make some decision at some point that, you know, they can't let people just come in there at will. >> reporter: protesters have said they won't get violent unless the government does, but some locals worry it won't end well. >> people are afraid. >> reporter: as the militants promise they won't back down. kristen dahlgren, nbc news. the debate in this country over gun rights and gun control takes a new turn this coming week as president obama moves toward executive action to tighten federal gun laws, an idea that's being attacked by republicans. peter alexander is at the white house tonight with more. peter? >> reporter: hey, kate. good evening to you. just back from that hawaii vacation, the president is not going to waste any time pushing ahead with a new set of executive actions to tighten gun laws in this country. tonight, nbc news has learned he will announce those actions this tuesday. tomorrow afternoon he's going to meet with his attorney general, that's loretta lynch. they'll meet in the oval office to finalize the steps that he believes he can take legally,

congress, that includes his effort to shrink the so-called gun show loophole. a senior administration official tells me that they want to change, or in their words, clarify who's considered an official gun dealer so that some of those who frequently sell guns at gun shows would have to get a license from the atf, which means that they'd have to run background checks on potential buyers when they sell. president obama also wants to stop people on terror watch lists, those who aren't allowed on planes, from being allowed to buy guns. a lot of gun advocates, including many presidential candidates on the republican side, argue the president is abusing his power. again, the president will announce those plans as early as tuesday. he will pungt ctuate the point about new restrictions at the end of the month. >> all right. a big topic this week. thanks so much. this was a day of demonstrations across the middle eastern and beyond after saudi arabia executed a prominent shiite muslim clergyman.

chapter in the shiite-sunni struggle within the muslim world. late today, saudi arabia announced it is cutting ties with iran. we get the latest tonight from bill neely. >> reporter: after a mass execution, mass protests. iran erupting at the killing of a cleric by its main rival, saudi arabia. crowds burning u.s. flags to protest america's links to saudi leaders. they burned the saudi embassy in tehran. iran's president condemned that, but protests have echoed across the arab world and asia. this was india. rioters clashing with police, accuse saudi arabia of executing a shia cleric as a provocation. in bahrain, more riots and calls for the deaths of the saudi royal family.

47 mostly al qaeda linked sunni men. but number 46 was a cleric known across the shia world. nimr al nimr was a charismatic saudi preacher. he said he preferred words to weapons, words harshly critical of saudi regime, which executed him for inciting unrest among its shia minority. iran's supreme leader warned saudi arabia would face divine revenge for a crime. iran is seething. sectarian tensions between iran and saudi arabia have always been high. now they seem to be boiling over. many iranians from all walks of life see saudi arabia as a threat, determined to hurt iran. the execution has enflamed tensions between shia and sunni muslims. they're already on opposing

their war of words now worse than ever. and tonight, saudi arabia cut off diplomatic relations with iran, giving iranian diplomats there 48 hours to leave the country. and the saudis may already have iran. there's no sign this will boil over into conflict. but iron's an's anger is very real. >> bill, thanks so much. israel tonight. still no sign of the gunman who went on a shooting rampage on friday in tel aviv, killing two people, wounding several others. the public was advised to remain alert and report suspicious activity. fear of the gunman prompted many parents to keep their children home from school today. in mexico, the so-called affluenza teen could spend the next few months in that country. at least that's the view of his new lawyer, who so far has successfully blocked ethan couch's deportation after his

our report tonight from gabe gutierrez. >> reporter: with his mother in a los angeles jail waiting extradition to texas, so-called affluenza teen ethan couch is in this detention center in mexico city mounting a high-profile defense. his tijuana based lawyer confirms to nbc news he's now representing him. my interest is that they're looking for his extradition to the united states that it proceeds only according to the constitution and the law, he told nbc station kxas. known in mexico as a rock star attorney, he had previously managed to get a u.s. marine who had crossed into mexico with three guns out of jail after seven months. benitez says the 18-year-old couch was unlawfully detained mexico. last week he filed paperwork that blocked ethan's deportation deportation. >> it could be as expedient as the next couple of weeks, or it could drag on for a couple months. >> reporter: ethan's mother did not fight deportation.

did not violate any texas law. still, she's being held on $1 million bail for a charge of felon. the pair had been on the run since ethan failed to check in with his probation officer after he killed four people when he drove drunk in 2013. his attorneys argued he didn't know right from wrong because of his affluent upbringing. mother and son were captured last week in this gritty apartment in puerto vallarta when a cell phone call for pizza track them down. >> the couches have legal counsel, and it seems to me that if they wanted to, they could pay them as much money as they want to, to drag this thing out as long as they want to. >> reporter: ethan's new attorney says he plans to meet his client on tuesday to plan his next move. his mother is expected back in texas early this week. gabe gutierrez, nbc news. the world of make believe sports competition is in a real world battle for survival here in new york in a case that could have consequences for the industry far beyond this state.

sports companies, fan dual and draft kings, will appear in court again tomorrow to argue they are not illegal gambling operations, as a lawsuit claims. that's not all they face as we hear from kerry sanders. >> reporter: during today's jets-bills game, fans prepared for a showdown at this new york city sports bar. meanwhile, two of the biggest daily fantasy sports websites are also facing a fight, after the new york state attorney general amended a lawsuit this past week, asking fan duel and draft kings to give back everything they made in the state last year. that's millions of dollars. >> draftkings.com combines one-day fantasy sports with cash. >> reporter: the state attorney general calls the commercials misleading and alleges that both sites operate like casinos,

about 6% to more than 14%. in court documents, it says draft kings data showed that 89.3% of betters lost money in recent years. >> this is really going to come down to a knock-down, drag-out fight in the new york trial court to decide whether or not under the new york statute these companies will be able to survive or not. >> reporter: tonight, fan duel, whose investors include nbc's parent company comcast and nbc sports, says we will fight this meritless amended suit. draft kings says the lawsuit is based on the fundamental misunderstanding of fantasy sports competitions. the outcome of what happens with these lawsuits in new york could impact other states like here in florida, where wagering is as much a part of the game as gathering with friends to watch the game. this new yorker estimates he's lost hundreds of dollars on the websites. >> if you lose money, you lose money. you would definitely like to have it back.

judge in new york to determine whether these sites will be sacked. kerry sanders, nbc news, miami. when "nightly news" continues on this sunday night, the bold new idea to clean up the oceans, capturing all that hey sweetie, it's time. eye of the tiger tv anncr: good afternoon everyone. tv anncr: it's the perfect day for a game of football. tv anncr: this team is having a

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on beaches, but what if there were a way to trap and collect much of it at sea? a plan to do just that is taking shape in the pacific. here's keir simmons. >> reporter: hawaii's beautiful island. few get to visit this protected place. >> a lot of debris in these caves. >> reporter: but arriving by chopper, we find garbage washed up and volunteers struggling to clean up. >> this is just from one day. this was clean yesterday. it's shocking. >> reporter: plastic from the pacific. >> what did you find? >> reporter: every-day items choking hawaii's coastline and the ocean sea life from a floating garbage patch located between the west coast and hawaii. 30 boats crewed by volunteers troll these waters. their initial findings, stunning. the patch is far bigger than they thought. 1.4 million square miles, five

garbage that began accumulating before this 21-year-old was even born. >> you get seasick? >> i do. >> reporter: he's the young brains behind the project. next year, he wants to build the largest floating barrier ever deployed and use the ocean's own currents to capture plastic. >> what we're doing here now has never been done before. this is part of what we pulled out of the ocean. >> reporter: we met up with him again in san francisco. >> everyone is running around saying how are we going to clear up the ocean, and you come along clear it up? >> right, yeah. there's a lot of talk and not a lot of action in the world of plastic pollution. >> reporter: not everyone believes the idea is the right one, but he's determined to find out. to rid the pacific of all this plastic.

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dozens of reporters, editors, and others volunteered to do double duty early this morning, dropping off the paper to home subscribers. in some cases, those who wrote and edited the stories delivered the newspaper as well. and in san antonio, texas, one of the greatest comebacks in college bowl history at the alamo bowl. did you see this last night? the horned frogs of texas christian were down 31-0 as they began the second half against the oregon ducks. then the texas team led by a back-up quarterback who was playing his first start of his college career began to score and score and score. by the end of the second half, they had it tied up. the game went to triple overtime with texas christian finally winning it 47-41. big congrats to them. up next, all together now, a dynamic young woman and her

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finally tonight, much of the music is centuries old, attracting a largely buttoned-up crowd. but in los angeles, there's new excitement in the classical music world thanks to a dynamic young woman who's taken her place on the podium. here's harry smith. >> reporter: walt disney hall in los angeles, home of the los angeles philharmonic. the conductor tonight, a young woman still in her 20s. she is mirga grazinyte, a lithuanian with a lightning baton. but when she moves it, the

mirga and one of the world's great orchestras make a great match. >> i need to let the music carry me, and then it carries all of us. >> reporter: we watched rehearsal. measure by measure, mirga and the orchestra come to an understanding of her vision for the piece. >> we have to, everybody, fall in love with it. >> what do you feel like is the most important thing you need to communicate to the people who are sitting in all those chairs? >> inspiration. i'm quite sure. and then it is about communication between us. >> reporter: she does her homework and often unearths moments of musical beauty buried in the score. >> do you find sometimes when you're studying the score that you have a moment when you just

often all these moments are very precious when sometimes you would just analyze and search. sometimes, yes, this is what the composer was meaning and thinking about. >> reporter: in decades past, a woman on the podium would raise eyebrows. today, it's more a sense of celebration. >> after a kids' concert here, we were having q&a with children and their mothers, and some of those mothers would come to me and say afterwards, it was so you. >> reporter: and for all of us to see. mirga is unapologetically passionate about music and what can happen when a conductor and orchestra work as one. harry smith, nbc news. >> great stuff. that is "nbc nightly news" for this sunday. lester holt will be here tomorrow. i'm kate snow reporting from new york. i'll see you in the afternoon