and i have different policy issues. for example, on health care. right now today, donald supports bernie sanders-syle socialized medicine." ==gfx== a new abc news washington post poll shows 64 percent of republicans expect donald trump to win the nomination. trump is leading in the polls nationally... (vo) but in iowa-- a statistical tie. ted cruz.... threatening to block trump's momentum. (sot dowd) "donald trump has an opportunity to do something no gop candidate for president who isn't an incumbent has ever done, which is to win iowa and new hampshire. on the democratic side-- a final face-off before the first caucuses. (sot clinton) "it's a tough campaign. and it should be, because it's the hardest job in the world." frontrunners hillary clinton and bernie sanders taking on the issues, and each other, at last night's iowa town hall. (sot sanders) i led the effort against wall street de-rulation. see whe hillary clinton was on this issue." bazi kani standup close: "sanders admitted he would ve to raise taxes to pay for his universal healthcare plan. all three democrats and most of the republican candidates are back on the trail in iowa today. bazi kanani, abc news, washington." tim: a new cnn-orc

clinton leading the field among democratic voters. she tops her nearest rival, bernie sanders ... 52-percent to 38- percent ... but there are strong signs sanders is moving in . . the lead clininn enjoys is now the smalleleit has been since the field of candidates was reduced to three. tim: that same poll then shows donald trump i not just leading in the republican presidential race... he is dominating it. more than four in ten republican voters nationwide now say they back the billionaire. cruz is following right behind him in popularity and both are the only ones receiving double digit numbers in the polls.

senator marco endorsement. george pataki is florida senator for president.the former new york govererr announcement on he dropped his own bid in december. rubio has the and intelligence for the job. tim: and while actual voters are still 6 days away from caucusing, some local elementary school students are learning the process of voting and the importance of doing so. state wide young students are casting ballots and that includes these students at sunnyside elementary. all grade levels are choosing their favorite candidate in a mock straw poll. one of the goals of the program is to s sr conversationon between kids and parents at home. coming up at 6, you'll hear from some of the students that participated in the event. tim: iowa democrat lawmakers announced their proposal for the coming state budget and the total is lower than what governor branstad recommended.

down of those numbers, those on the left side of the aisle are looking for a budget just under 7-point 4 million dollars. that's about 4- point-7 million under the state's 99 per-cent expenditure limit. lawmakes say is budget will expand iowa's middle class. state democrats are hoping the early release of their budget proposal will prevent a gridlock this legislative session. tim: a norfolk man faces charges of felony child abuse following an investigation at a local elementary school. 27 year old marco jacobo-vetter was arrested..... after workers at washington elementary in norfolk last month noticed several suspicious bruises and marks on various areas of a 7 year old child's body. police determined some of the marks were caused by a belt. jacobo-vetteis being held in the madison countyjail. tim: mid american energy is offering a free program to help cut costs to customers' monthly bill all while lowering energy usage. abc 9's bria bell

tim, mid american has an energy assesment program for customers in which an energy expert will inspect every inch of your home to determine how you can save money. the progm better known as a "home check" is at no costs for mid american customers as long as your home was built before january first of 2006. an energy expert will go throughout your home to check instillation, light bulbs and more. "it's actually very popular, so last year we did approximately 6,500 home checks just in iowa so it's a very popular program and again it's free so it's a really great thing to take advantage of. it's also kind of the foundation of our energy efficiency program so it allows customers to figure out where they can save and what they can do to make their home more energy efficient," newman. modifications made by the expert can include power strips or showerer heads... which not only saves

but helps to preserve energy usuage. bria: if you are interested in mid american's program, you can go to our website at sioux landmatters dot com. reporting live in studio, bria bell abc 9 news. tim: big buisnesses are coming to sioux city! today the iowa association of buisness and industry hosted a press conference at the hard rock downtown sioux city discussing the details of its 20-16 iowa business conference, which will be hosted right here in sioux city this june. sisix city hasn't hosted the cocoerence since 2020. the a-b-i has more thth 14 hundred companies representing 3 hundred thousand employees. tim: iowa poultry producers are doing everything they can to protect their flocks from another outbreak of the avian flu. prior to the recent avian influenza outbreak in indiana the u-s-d-a was stockpiling nearly 5 hundred million doses of the new vaccine for bird flu. however, some iowa poultry industry officials oppose vaccinating because of export market consequences. the executive

iowa poultry association, says it's good to have that supply of vaccine if it's needed, despite the concerns. he also said that instead of relying on vaccine, iowa's poultry producers are ramping up their biosecurity efforts to prevent the disease from reoccurring the spring. a total of 77 poultry operations statewide had bird flu outbreaks last year and more than 31 million chickens and turkeys were wiped out in iowa, which was by far the worst-hit state. losses in iowa are estimated near one-billion dollars. tim: taco johns is making a largege donanaon to special olympics iowa. this is th6th year that the franchise is partnering with the special olympics, donating nearly 11 thousand dollars in the past four fundraising campaigns.this past fundraiser was their nachos navidad fundraiser. participating locations included sioux city, nort and south sioux city, lemars, sheldon, strom lake,

tim: more than six million bottles of water are being sent to students hit by the flint michigan water crisis. the bottles donated by walmart, coke, pepsi and nestle ll provide flinins 10- thousand udents with clean water throughout 2016. flint gained national attention after their tap water was found to be ntaminated with toxic levels of lead. state and federal officials have struggled to provide clean water for residents. tim: tim: transgender athletes could be set to compete in this summer's olympic games -- without having gender reassignment surgery. the proposed rule change by international olympic committee medical chiefs would be a milestone in olympic history tranender athletes have been allowed in the olympics since 20-04, but only after surgery and two years of hormone therapy. the rule change establishes hormone-based criteria. anatomically male

testosterone levels have been benchmark for a year to compete in female divisions. they must also declare their female gender. i-o-c medical chiefs also proposed a rule change that allows female- to-male transgender athletes to compete in the male category without striction. tim: the u-s has taken another step to improve its relationship with cuba. the treasury department announced tuesday it is doing away with more of its restrictions on cuba. starting wednesday, it will get rid of financing restrictions on most exports. the u-s will also allow more cuban commodities to be exported. and while americans still can only travel to cuba under 12- specific guidelines... they will now be allowed to do more while in the country. the changes come because of direct talks between the u-s and cuba... which began about a year ago. tim: still to come... hear from a teen who's impromptue piano playing is turning heads everywhere.

(fred) it will be a cooler night, with fog after midnight. warmer weather is ahead, but accumulating snow could be coming tuesday. " " tim: an everett, , michigan high school student

inside the lansing mall is now an online sensation. " piano playing" a friend took this video of 18-year old monntel west on friday and then posted it to facebook. it has been liked

thousands of times. west says he has never been formally taught how to play...doesn't read music, and doesn't have a piano at home. he says he learned on an electronic keyboard and from watching videos on youtube. west says he's now getting plenty of offers for free piano lessons and even free pianos. west says he has even been contacted by a record label in los angeles. fred: jenna: tim: (tim) fred, what can we expect? (fred) pleasantly warm temperatures for now, but a chance of accumulating snow next tuesday. fred: (fred) (fred) road conditions are now fine in siouxland. the port neal welding company skycam hd shows cloudy skies in downtown sioux city. 34 was the high today and 28 the low. normals are starting to move up! in sioux city, the temperature is 32. local temperatures are in the 20s and 30s. wind chills are in the teens and 20s. winds are st/northwest at 5

dense fog is possible after mimiight. low pressure over the great lakes is moving east, and will be taking our clouds away this evening. the stormcast hd shows very quiet weather over the next few days. for tonight, look for decreasing clouds and a low of 11. dense fog is possible after midnight. tomorrow, expect dense fog early, then partly cloudy with a warmer high of 37. the 7-day shows 40s fridaynd saturday, a chance of snow late monday, then better chance of accumulating snow tuesday with strong winds. this could be a significant system, but it's still a week away to stay tuned as we track the storm's changes. send in a weather question to ask fred for a chance to win 4 tickets to king of the cage a a winnavegas! fred: tim: jenna:

tim: new treatments for depression offer new hope for patients. we'll take a look at two of them... coming up. tim:

adults. depression can be mild ---or it can be so severe that it prevents a person from functioning. the good news is depression can be successfully treated. in today's health minute, linda ciampa shows us emerging treatments that may offer even more promise. " " jerrie spencer has dealt with depression most of her life but, she says a few years ago, it became almost debilitating. jerri didn't want to use medication, so she enrolled in a clinical trial at mass general hospital in boston that's testing a new and promising non-drug treatment called 'near infrared light' (dr. paolo cassano, psychiatrist, massachusetts general hospital) "the near infra-red light thru the forehead gets to the powerhouse of the the cell which are the mitochondria and leads to more energy in the brain area that are close to the source of light." dr. cassano says the light also decreases inflammation in the brain and increases connections between neurons- all of which seems to help a person feel better. it's still experimental, but jerrie believes the treatment works. (jerrie spencer/patient) "now, i'm functioning, i'm working, i'm busy" another novel approach to treating depression at mass general.the use of small doses of the anesthetic drug- ketamine. depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the u.s. and it's likely caused in part by chemical imbalances in the brain. (dr. cristina cusin, psychiatrist, massachusetts general hospital) "they don't realize this is a treatable condition, they don't realize they can feel better sometimes in as just a few weeks. in boston i'm lindia

of the most common mental disorders in the u.s. and it's likely imbalances in the include. mood -loss of interert in activities -fatigue-difficulty with concentation, sleep or weight after the break... well be take a look at an event that looks to bring smiles to iowa children..stay with us

with....kim mitchell a dental hygenist for give kids a smile, dr. dona w. prince, dds 4220 sergeant rd

sioux city, ia 51106 contact info dds 4220 sergeant rd ste 100 sioux city, ia 51106 contact info 712-274-2228 free dental services will be provided to local children from low-w-come families. . is event is part of the give kids a smile national children's access day. last year, over 29,000 dentists and their staff participated nation wide. call for an appointment. walk-ins also welcome dr. dona w. prince, dds 4220 sergeant rd ste 100 sioux city, ia 51106 contact info 712-274-2228 free dental services will be provided to local children from low-income families. this event is part of the give kids a smile national children's access day. last year, over 29,000 dentists and their staff participated nation wide. call for an appointment.

dr. dona w. prince, dds 4220 sergeant rd ste 100 sioux city, ia 51106 contact info 712-274-2228 free dental services will be provided to local children from low-income families. this event is part of the give kids a smile national children's access day. last year, over 29,000 dentists and their staff f rticipated nation wide. call for an appointment. walk-ins also welcome dr. dona w. prince, dds 4220 sergeant rd ste 100 sioux city, ia 51106 contact info 712-274-2228 free dental services will be provided to local children from low-income families. this event is part of the give kids a smile national children's access day. last year, over 29,000 dentists and their staff participated nation wide. call for an appointment.

dr. dona w. prince, dds 4220 sergeant rd ste 100 sioux city, ia 51106 contact info 712-274-2228 free dental services will be provided to local children from low-income families. this event is part of the give kids a smile national children's access day. last year, over 29,000 dentists and their staff participated nation wide. call for r appointment.

for decreasing clouds and a low of 11. dense fog is possible after midnight. tomorrow, expect dense fog early, then partly cloudy with a warmer high of 37. the 7-day shows 40s friday and saturday, a chance of snow late monday, then better chance of accumulatingngnow tuesday with strong winds. this could be a significant system, but it's still a week away to stay tuned as we track the storm's changes. send in a weather question to ask fred for a chance to win 4 tickets to king of the cage at winnavegas!