breaking news tonight. the first major clues coming in right now. the super tuesday showdown. exit polls are in. what the voters are saying. polls. can donald trump be stopped? the high stakes battle across a dozen states. trump and his 11th hour pitch. >> i can do practically anything. >> marco rubio and ted cruz, battling to take trump cown. >> donald trump will be an embarrassment to america. >> donald trump could be a disaster. and hillary clinton tonight, and her pivot to the national race. how she would take on trump and the republicans. >> they're now running their campaigns based on insults. long lines at this hour. will there be record-setting turnout? and scout voercould voters be sending

course this november? abc's powerhouse political team on it all. it's your voice, your vote. "world news tonight" begins now. good evening. and it's great to have you with us on this super tuesday. and let's get right to it. the single biggest day of voting in the presidential primaries. at this hour, voting still under way. long lines. the stakes enormous. a record turnout is expected tonight. straight to the pictures coming in at this hour from arlington, virginia, lining up at a fire station there. steady turnout at a church in atlanta, the south playing a major role tonight. and in ft. worth, texas, that state possibly pivotal on the republican side. the line snaking out the door. in all, voters weighing in in 12 states. here is what we're just learning in from republican voters in that key state of texas. preliminary exit polls coming in now shong 45% say they are looking for a political outsider. that's fewer than other states we've seen so far.

republicans favor building that wall along the border. our political team covering it all tonight. the winners, as soon as we get them. and we begin with abc's tom llamas on donald trump's final pitch, trying to seal the deal. >> reporter: tonight, the biggest moment yet in the republican race for president and donald trump feeling invincible. >> every poll shows i can do practically anything, maybe even anything and nobody's going to leave. >> reporter: in ohio state, trump gushing about his throngs of supporters. >> there is such love in those rooms and those stadiums and those areas that i speak. it's actually easy. there's love. it's like a family. it's love. >> reporter: but love, not a word to describe the nasty current running through some trump rallies. in virginia, the billionaire asking one protester if she's mexican. >> are you from mexico? are you from mexico? right smack in the middle of my punch line.

photographer trying to capture the protests thrown to the ground by a secret service agent. the agent claiming the photographer wasn't following the rules. the agency still investigating. and on the trail, campaign rhetoric hitting a new low, for trump and marco rubio, the road to super tuesday winding right through the playground. >> i watched this lightweight marco rubio, total lightweight, little mouth on him. bung, bing, bing, bing. bing, bing, bing, bing. >> i don't understand why his hands are so small, have you seen his hands? you know what they say about a man with small hands. you can't trust them. >> i never heard that one before. i've always had people say, donald, you have the most beautiful hands. right? >> reporter: but the moment that's jolted the republican party? trump's response to receiving

klan grand wizard david duke. trump, first saying this. >> i didn't even know he endorsed me. okay, all right. i disavow, okay? >> reporter: but then, saying this. >> i don't know -- honestly, i don't know david duke. i don't believe i've ever met him. i'm pretty sure i didn't meet him. i just don't know anything about him. >> reporter: now, the country's two most powerful republicans saying they've heard enough. delivering an extraordinary rebuke of their party's front-runner. >> let me make it perfectly clear. senate republicans condemn david duke, the kkk and his racism. >> if a person wants to be the nominee of the republican party, there can be no evasion and no games. they must reject any group or cause that is built on bigotry. >> translator: on the stump, trump's rivals joining the chorus. senator ted cruz speaking with abc's byron pitts. >> i think anyone should have been willing to immediately denounce the klan, and it was unfortunate that he didn't do so. he's better than that. >> reporter: rubio vowing to fight trump until the bitter

truck and drive around this country if i have to, before i allow the hair by of lincoln and reagan to fall into the hands of a conman. >> reporter: the only candidate who doesn't sound rattled, trump himself. brushing all criticism, in an interview with "gma." >> there's nobody that's done so much for equality as i have. you take a look at palm beach, florida, i built the mar-a-lago club. totally open to everybody. a club that frankly set a new standard. a new standard in clubs and a new standard in palm beach. >> donald trump on "gma" this morning. tom llamas live in times square tonight. and tom, we saw it from marco rubio there and from ted cruz, both trying to take down donald trump. but the question, is it too late? >> reporter: david, we'll know in just a few hours. now, senator rubio's closing argument was that donald trump was a conman, who has conned the republican party. and senator ted cruz saying he's the only person who has beat trump in the past, and he will beat him in the future. but so many states had early

tough to tell if those attacks will stick. david? >> all right, tom, we'll be coming back to you as soon as results come in. tom, thank you. now, to the m theic icdeckic icic icic democratic side. a signal hillary clinton is pivoting to donald trump today. what she said about trump and the republicans, as senator bernie sanders vows to take this all the way to the convention. abc's cecilia vega with the candidates' final sprint. >> , everybody. >> reporter: hillary clinton making her final push today in the super tuesday battle ground of minnesota. >> i'll work really hard for you, okay? >> reporter: shaking every last hand. taking every last selfie. >> you want to get a selfie? >> i would love to. >> let's do it. >> reporter: she may be running against bernie sanders, but clinton's strategy now, taking on the gop, namely donald trump. >> i'm just speaking out against bigotry and bullying wherever i het, and i hear a lot of it from the republican candidates.

forgotten about issues and they are running their campaigns based on isults. >> reporter: clinton even ripping on trump's campaign slogan. >> what we need to do together is make america whole again. >> reporter: but the man on the receiving end, saying bring it on. >> but i haven't even started on hillary yet. hillary cannot make america great. she was talking about something yesterday, making america whole. whole. no, no. i don't want whole. i want great again. >> reporter: back home in vermont, sanders and his wife, jane, casting their votes today, hoping for some surprise victories tonight and vowing to stay in the fight. >> this is a campaign that's going to the philadelphia convention in july. >> reporter: but now, it all comes down to the voters. >> it is a very tough choice, but today is voting day and i have to make a decision, so, i've got to vote for one candidate. >> reporter: which way are you leaning? >> i am leaning towards hillary. >> reporter: in this virginia

their minds made up. the prediction in virginia, who wins? hillary or bernie? >> hillary. >> close margin. >> the laughter on super tuesday. cecilia vega live in our election headquarters as well tonight. you've been talking to your sources inside the clinton camp. tempering expectations, saying there will be some losses tonight? >> reporter: that's right, david. they believe bernie sanders will win some states, but they are feeling confident. we have learned that bernie sanders has raised a stunning $42 million in the month of february alone. that is more than marco rubio has raised this entire campaign so far. but one clinton aide telling me tonight, it is not about raising money tonight, it is about winning tell gases. >> all right, cecilia say fwa with us. thank you. let's get right to george stephanopoulos, who will be leading our coverage in primetime tonight, and george, first up, the republicans. so many asking, is trump unstoppable? so, bottom line, what are we watching tonight? >> reporter: no question, david, he's going to win most of the states and most of the delegates tonight. but the question is, are marco

in some states to find a reason to stay in and then what kind of signal is that going to send to the rest of the republican party? we've seen the party really splitting apart over the trump question. some coming around to accepting the fact he's going to be the nominee. some resisting it, being partal of this never trump movement. trump will be the front-runner at the end of the night, b will he be firmly in command of the gop? big question, and a similar one for hillary clinton. what are you watching there? >> reporter: she'll have big wins in the south, no question about that. strong with the african-american vote. and cecilia just talked about, though, would bernie sanders do well enough in those other states outside of the south, places like massachusetts, minnesota, maybe even oklahoma, well enough to give him momenm and prevent hillary clinton from turning her sights fully on dounld donald trump or the republicans after tonight? >> all right, george, we'll see you at 10:00 p.m. eastern. you heard me talking about turnout earlier. they are expecting a record

nearly 14 million people expected to cast a vote. abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl standing by with us tonight at the super tuesday wall, and jon, first of all, for the republicans, you've got the map what are you watching on that side? >> reporter: well, the biggest thing to watch is the state of texas. the single biggest delegate prize tonight. 155 delegates. that's ted cruz's home state. he absolutely must win there. but it is also an essential state for marco rubio. if he falls below 20%, he can be shut out and not get a single degasde delegate out of texas. they have to find somewhere else to beat trump. the best prospects for that will be somewhere in the south, for ted cruz, he's predicated his whole campaign on winning in the south. for marco rubio, he's worked very hard in the state of virginia, campaigned there in the final days. and also in the state of minnesota. the only state on here, david, that donald trump did not even visit. so, that's the look on the republican side. >> all right, but the big state of texas, we'll be watching for

meantime, on the democratic side, jon, what are you watching? >> reporter: well, the democratic side, bernie sanders can't afford to watch hillary clinton romp through the south the way she did in south carolina. she trounced him in south carolina, and now, you have all south carolina's neighbors voting. she needs to find a way to either beat hillary clinton down there or at least remain close. >> all right, jonathan karl with us tonight. jon, we'll be back with you throughout the night. our thanks to you. in the meantime, we want to get to abc's paula faris at trump headquarters in palm beach, florida, tonight. what is the mood there? you have word about a tweet sent by trump? >> reporter: yes, we do. and to give you a sense how confident donald trump is today, he was in ohio before heading to florida, a little bit later tonight. david, none of these are super tuesday states. so, that should tell you, he's forward thinking. trump got in hot water earlier this week, if you remember, for

look what he posted today. trump at a huge rally, attached to it, a quote from gandybegangandhi that says, "first they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win." we should say, we're unclear if gandhi even said this, but david, it's become even more clear that trump has a chance to build a huge lead tonight. we're going to be tracking it all here from trump headquarters at the mar-a-lago club. >> a right, mary, thank you. matt gutman is at clinton headquarters. >> reporter: you can see people starting to pack it in. and all day, david, we've been seeing that huge political juggernaut of her steaming into place. they've set up 35 field offices in ten states. 5 million calls made today. there's a toll free number to call if you didn't know how to vote. there's a number to text if you didn't know where to vote. and, for all those super tuesday questions, there was this group around that table, look at those faces, david.

hillary clinton did very well until south carolina, with minorities, now she's stepping into bernie sanders territory, going for that deckmographic of 18 to 29-year-olds. david? >> matt gutman, we'll see you as the evening progresses. in the meantime, the super tuesday storm we're tracking, as well. severe weather making trouble for some voters tonight. a damaging hailstorm in oklahoma, moving across the south at this hour. heavy snow like this near flint, michigan, stretching all the way to new england. in chicago, this plane sliding off the runway, no injuries reported. but meteorologist rob marsciano tracking this for us tonight at the weather wall. rob? >> reporter: good evening, david. we do have a severe weather threat. not a huge outbreak, but it's going to impact some states that are having primaries right now. including alabama, northern georgia, parts of tennessee, maybe even virginia. birmingham to atlanta, chattanooga, knoxville, certainly some cities that'll be impacted over the next few hours. here's the front passing over the appalachian mountain chain, with those showers and thunderstorms. snow is from chicago to detroit, upstate new york.

from new york to dc will be a david? >> all right, rob marciano, tracking the storm tonight. and primetime coverage at 10:00 p.m. eastern. in the meantime, there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this tuesday. today. with the stars" host, breaking down again. suing over an invasion of privacy. also ahead tonight, the police. escaping during a standoff with officers. the manhunt under way at this hour in the west. and, this image, a gift from someone coming back after a long journey from home, and a final shot outside that window before coming back to earth.

continue. i sure had a lot on my mind when i got out of the hospital after a dvt blood clot. what about my family? my li'l buddy? and what if this happened again? i was given warfarin in the hospital but i wondered if this was the right treatment for me. then my doctor told me about eliquis. eliquis treats dvt and pe blood clots and reduces the risk of them happening again. not only does eliquis treat dvt and pe blood clots, but eliquis also had significantly less major bleeding than the standard treatment. knowing eliquis had both... turned around my thinking. don't stop eliquis unless your doctor tells you to. eliquis can cause serious and in rare cases fatal bleeding. don't take eliquis if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. if you had a spinal injection while on eliquis

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this morning on a day that could see record turnout. next tonight, though, new developments in the erin andrews case. the sports reporter and "dancing with the stars" host, facing a grueling cross examination today. suing a hotel and her stalker for $75 million. the defense asking, if secret recordings from her hotel room truly hurt her career. here's abc's eva pilgrim. >> reporter: a second emotional andrews. >> do you believe you will ever >> no. >> reporter: detailing how her life has changed since a stalker posted a naked video of her on the internet. andrews is suing the man who secretly recorded that video, michael david barrett, as well as the owners and managers of million. claiming the hotel made it easy for him to film her as she got out of the shower naked. the hotel maintains barrett is a criminal. the hotels lawyers began their

>> you also got an endorsement for reebok. >> yes. >> reporter: arguing the nude recordings have not had a negative impact on her career. >> you also got an endorsement for diet mountain dew. >> yes. >> for florida orange juice. >> yes. >> reporter: andrews says while her career has done well her anxiety has not diminished. staying in hotels is hard for you. >> ill cover the peephole. i look for lights, i look for red lights, i look to see if there's cameras. i check the bed, i check the alarm clock, i check the phone. >> reporter: david, the defense tried to get the judge to dismiss the case today. he ruled that the trial will continue and a jury will ultimately decide. david? >> eva pilgrim with us tonight. eva, thank you. when we come back on "world news tonight," the passenger airline setting a new record for the world's longest nonstop flight. could you handle it? also the manhunt tonight, the kidnapping suspect leading police on a freeway chase, then escaping in the middle of the standoff, right in front of them.

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to the index tonight. the manhunt under way this hour in southern california. the suspect leading police on a freeway chase during rush hour, accused of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend and their two chirp. a standoff lasting several hours. the suspect stepping out of his vehicle, holding a child there. somehow escaping on foot. running up that hill. the mother and the children unharmed. new developments tonight in the legal standoff between apple and the justice department. fbi director james comey on capitol hill today admitting agents made a mistake with the iphone belonging to one of the san bernardino killers when they

comey says they still need apple's help. the fbi contends it checked with the nsa and other government agencies to see if they could hack into the phone. they say no one could do it. apple's chief counsel repeating what tim cook told me last week. unlocking that iphone would set an dangerous press department. take a look at this. a fedex worker locked out of a louisiana hardware store, the moment a tornado strikes. she survived the twister and its 140 140-mile-per-hour winds by bracing herself right next to a coke machine. the hardware store destroyed. but she was not injured. that is just incredible. and the new record tonight for the world's longest passenger flight. a new nonstop route dubai to new zealand, listen to this, almost 9,000 miles. fight time, just a mere 17 hours, 15 minutes. they may not hold the record for long, two other airlines considering routes of more than 9,000 miles, and let me know how it goes.

tonight, the american astronaut coming home. his year in space, logging 143 million miles. before i had the shooting, burning, pins-and-needles of diabetic nerve pain, these feet were the first in my family to graduate from college, raised active twin girls, and trained as a nurse. but i couldn't bear my diabetic nerve pain any longer. so i talked to my doctor and he prescribed lyrica. nerve damage from diabetes causes diabetic nerve pain. lyrica is fda approved to treat this pain. lyrica may cause serious allergic reactions or suicidal thoughts or actions. tell your doctor right away if you have these, new or worsening depression, or unusual changes in mood or behavior. or swelling, trouble breathing, rash, hives, blisters, muscle pain with fever, tired feeling or blurry vision. common side effects are dizziness, sleepiness, weight gain and swelling of hands, legs, and feet. don't drink alcohol while taking lyrica. don't drive or use machinery until you know how lyrica affects you. those who have had a drug or alcohol problem may be more likely to misuse lyrica.

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stop taking cialis and get medical help right away. ask your doctor about cialis and a $200 savings card welcome back on this super tuesday. and as soon as the results come in, as the pomes close polls close, we will break in and bring them to you live. in the meantime tonight, american astronaut scott kelly returning to earth font, spending a year in space, tweeting 1,000 photos. in a matter of hours, both feet will beee solid ground. >> and liftoff. the year in space starts now. >> reporter: for 340 days, scott kelly living on board the international space station,

the space walks, the selfies, earth. and the aurora lights. even the first flowers grown in space on board the station. he was there to study the effects of space on the human body. compared to his twin brother, retired astronaut mark kelly, back on earth. along the way, the lighter moments. the carrots. and the game of ping-pong with a ball of water. the hand shake when he first arrived with the crew. and, now, the hugs as he left. closing the hatch, a final image looking out the window. and a final tweet, his last sunrise before returning to earth. ping-pong with water. he's going to be bored back here at home. stay with us for super tuesday results throughout the evening. i'm david muir. i'll be back with george at 10:00 p.m. eastern.

tuesday, im jenna rehnstrom tim and im tim seaman. tonight, results from a dozen states will be rolling in from various primary and caucuses across the nation. jenna: voters in both parties will be attending either a primary election or a caucus in alabama, arkansas, georgia, massachusetts, minnesota, oklahoma, tennessee, texas vermont and virginia. tim: democrats will hold a caucus tonight in colorado and republicans will do the same in alaska....voting ends there at 11pm central time. it takes 1,237 delegates to wrap up a nomination...about a third of that number are on the line for the democratics nearly half for the republicans. jenna: on the republican side of the race, donald trump has had himself a good start to the election. he's won the last four presidential contests. the rest of the field is looking to cut into trump's lead, including senator ted cruz, who won the iowa caucus. he's favored in his home state of texas, tim: on the democratic side of the race, hillary clinton has been leading in the polls, and

back contests in both nevada and south carolina. tonight her rival, bernie sanders, is hoping for a win in his home state of vermont. we now turn you over to abc news' george stephanopoulos for the latest results this super tuesday. -no countdown- george stephanopoulos with super tuesday coverage jenna: as we just heard,