latest sparring from the last republican presidential debate of 2015. the simple reason some school officials in the nation's biggest cities dismissed a threat as a hoax while others canceled classes. the response from one of the state's most controversial education officials after what he calls an "off the cuff" remark at a meeting. welcome to cbs two this morning...i'm kevin barry. barry.and i'm kelly d'ambrosio.

there are about 7 weeks until the caucuses in iowa, iowa,and the fifth republican debate is now over.last night -- candidates focused on national security and thear on terror. terror.this was the very first g-o-p debate since the attacks in san bernardino california and paris france. france.before the primetime debate began, several experts were expecting the two main leaders at the polls, donald trump and ted cruz, to clash but it was jeb bush that went head to head with trump.jeb made several comments about trump, questioning the seriousness of his campaign. "donald, you know,#is great at the one liners, but he's a chaos s candidate, and d he'd be a aos president. he would not be the commander in chief we need to keep our country safe."

42 and you're at three, so so far, i'm doing better."(jeb bush/(r) presidential candidate) "doesn't matter. doesn't matter."(donald trump/(r) presidential candidate) "so far, i'm doing better. you know, you started over here, jeb. you're moving over further and further. pretty soon, you're going to be off the end." end."trump also defended his cokments about a temporary ban on muslims entering the united states, saying it's not about isolation, but rather security. and even though cruz didn't really spar with trump, he was involved in more than a few heated exchanges with florida senator marco rubio. rubio.the two clashed o or u-s military intervention and the government using surveillance on americans.but most notably -- cruz tried to distance himself from rubio on immigration -- after rubio co- authored legislation in 20-13 that uld've created comprehensive immigration reform.cruz's poll numbers have been on the rise -- especially in iowa -- where he's in a dead heat for first place.the next republican debate will be mid-january. for the democrats -- a new poll out tuesday afternoon shows hillary clinton still at the front of the race -- but her lead is shrinking in iowa. iowa.the latest figus from quinnipiac university show clinton leading vermont

points.martin o'malley is still in third with just six percent.their next debate will be held saturday night in new hampshire. hillary clinton will be in the corridor today.she's hosting a town hall meeting in iowa city at the old brick church and community center.doors open at 1:15.after that she'll be heading north for another town hall meeting -- in mason city at 4-30. for all the political headlines this week -- be sure to join me this weekend on iowa in focus.it airs every sunday morning at 10:30, and also on our sister station fox 28 at 9-30. hundreds of thousands of students will return to hool today, after being kept home yesterday.on tuesday morning someone made a threat against a number of los angeles schools, prompting officials to cancel class. class.but now the leaders who made the decision are taking some heat since the same threat in new york city, was dismissed as a hoax.the digital threat allegedly spoke about devices inside backpacks. 700-thousand students stayed home.authorities in new york said it looked like whoever sent the threat had been watching the terrorism tv

show, "homeland." so the assumption of the nypd and the assumption of the department of education were immediately exactly the same, that in fact it would be a huge disservice to our nation to close down our school system." system."when they make a decision they have to take in to account the safety of the children of los angeles. i think its irresponsible to based on facts that have yet to be determined, to criticize that decision at this point" point"the los angeles school district says the city takes threats against it schools very seriously, especially after the recent attack in san bernardino, california. a baltimore jury will enter a third thirdday of deliberations after returning without a veveict tuesday.williaiaporter is charged with manslaughter in the death of freddie gray. he's the first of six officers who are set to go to trial. trial.at one point the jury told a judge they were deadlocked, but the judge told them to continue deliberating. gray suffered a broken neck while in police custody and later died from his injuries.

acted negligent, when they didn't get him medical help. in a massachusetts c crtroom, 16-year-old philip chism was found guilty of raping and murdering his high school math teacher.chism was just 14 when he committed the crime.his lawyer admitted his ient killed her but said he was suffering from severe mental illness at the time.a psychiatrist testified that he was in the middle of a psychotic episode when he killed her.chism will be eligible for parole i iabout 15 years. new this morning... morning...officials say 3 people were hospitalized after a southwest airplane skidded off the runway in nashville late last night.witnesses say the flight from houston went into a ditch while taxiing at nashville international airport.passengers were removed from the plane and taken to the gate.it's not yet clear what happened. d marengo man is deaafter a crash with a semi in amana.the iowa state patrol tells cbs 2 news a pick up driven by 43-year-old johnny bagwell junior crossed the center line

intotohe semi.the busy highway was shutdown for several hours following the crash.the semi driver was not hurt. at the university of iowa.. iowa..there are new calls for president bruce harreld to resign following controversial comments he made last week during a meeting with university staff council. council.president harreld said "instructors who are not ready to teach their classes should be shot."he has since apologised for the comments after an employee complained. harreld called the remarks unfortunate and off the cuff. he said he didn't mean to offend anyone or imply support for gun violence.the calls for his the calls for his the calls for his resignation are from a union representing graduate student teaching and research assistants. it's still to come... come...the group that stepped up when one dolphin got

in your cbs 2 announcer: a horrific terror attack in paris. then, a brutal act of terror here at home. it's time for a tested and proven leader who won't try to contain isis. jeb bush has a plan... to destroy them. and keep america safe. jeb bush: the united states should not delay in leading a global coalition to take out isis with overwhelming force. announcer:2tested and proven leadership matters. jeb bush. right to rise usa is responsible

after being rescued from the san diego bay...a dolphin was returned to the open ocean. ocean.seaworld rescuers took the creature in sunday after it got stuck in some mud. mud.brandon lewis has more on how they helped the dolphin recover. recover. after nearly a day of

nearly a day of recovering at seaworld san diego, a dolphin was returned to the wild on sunday. the dolphin first became a the dolphin sunday. the wild on sunday. the dolphin first became a spectacle on thursday when he became stuck in a canal off san diego bay. the dolphin was freed, but he became stuck again saturday in thick mud while chasing food as the tide went out. seaworld rrcue, san diego lifegegrds diego rescue, san seaworld rescue, san diego lifeguards and witnesses stepped in to help the dolphin. "it's going on my top five most memorable rescues so far. if he had gotten stranded any further out, the outcome might have been different," said seaworld rescucu jody westberg. rescuers h h to wade through waist hihi mud to reach the dolphin and then slowly get him into a truck. "we grabbed a log, laid it out in the mud and got him on his belly until he could get some help," said dj mcdougle. the dolphin was temporarily housed in a tank at seaworld ere it underwent a series of tests. after getting a clean bill of health and cleaned of t t mud, the dolphin was placed back in the ocean. the dolphin it's now wiwi. return to the enouou to recovered enough to return to

it's now on this morning. morning.after the break... break...the perfect timing that one iowa t-v ation reporter had just hours after a nearby robbery .

- it's now we're taking a look at your_______ your_______ anything can happen on live anything can happen on live t-v. t-v.deedee stiepan explains why one reporter was caught by surprise in the middle of his live report. reportrt a banknkrobbery suspect is behind bars it's information."good us with some he's provided to adam and "we've talked sadauskis. adds lt. very unusual," yesterday but, story for getting the story for yesterday but, very unusual," adds lt. sadauskis. "we've talked to adam and he's provided us with some good information."

information."gd us with some he's provid to adam and he's provided us with some good information."

after the break... break...the special discovery that some researchers think is two centuries old. old.in your cbs 2 weather rst forecast we have... haha... cbs-2 news connects with the corridor.call us with your story tips at 1-800-222-kganor email us at news at cbs2iowa.comor connect with us

here's a look at some of eastern iowa's top stories -- on this morning... more lay-offs are on the way for the local john deere plant in waterloo.45 more positions will be eliminated effective january 18th.those employees will join nearly 600 others who have been laid off at the waterloo facility in the past 18 months.this comes as deere continues to see its stock prices fall as more farmers cut back on non-essential spending. the value of iowa's farm-land has dropped for the second consecutive year.a survey from iowa state university says the average value has fallen four- percent to roughly 76-hundred dollars an acre.the two years of decline follow a record- breaking 20-13 -- when values peaked at nearly 87-hundred dollars.experts are not expecting a rebound soon -- because of lower farm income and flat commodity prices. the kingston village apartments will officially be

opened in cedar rapids today. this is video of when crews point-seven million dollar project in january.it features 64-units, all meant to create more affordable housing.a ribbon cutting ceremony will start at three this afternoon. a rare giant salamander was found in a cave in southwest china! china!it's 4 feet 7 inches long and weighs 104 pounds! pounds!in captivity they are expectededo live to be about 50 years old...but experts think this salamander is over 200 years old!this species is critically endangered so they've moved it to a research facility to take care of it. it.the chinese salamander is the biggest amphibian in the world, slow moving, poor eyesight and nocturnal.they live in lakes and streams in mountainous areas. it's

coming up next... next...the legendary basketball coach in the midwest who's calling it quits

cbs 2 this morning...the proposed changes to how someone would get a visa in the united states. the specific education statistic where iowa is leading the rest of the nation. the region of the country that got slammed by winter storms -- and the delays it caused. welcome to cbs two this morning...i'm kevin barry.

nine republican presidential debate stage prime-time showdown of 20-15. and much of the focus was on on terror.

terror.this was the very first g-o-p debate since the attacks in san bernardino and paris. paris.before the debate started -- many people were expectctg the two main leaders in the polls -- donald trump and ted cruz -- to clash.but it was jeb bush who first went head to head with trump.bush made several comments about trump -- questioning the seriousness of his campaign. "donald, you know, is great at the one liners, but he's a chaos candidate, and he'd be a chaos president. he would not be the commander in chief we need to keep our country safe." safe.""so, let's see, i'm at 42 and you're at three, so so far, i'm doing better."(jeb bush/(r) presidential candidate) "doesn't matter. doesn't matter."(donald trump/(r) presidential candidide) "so far, i'm doinin better. you know, you starard over here, jeb. you're moving over further and further. pretty soon, you're going to be off the end." end."jeb's early attack was one of the top social media moments of the debate on facebook.trump also defended his comments about a temporary ban on muslims entering the ited states -- saying it's not about isolation -- but security. before that -- four other candidates took to the stage

around national security and the continued fight against terrorism.the four candidates at tt bottom of the polls argued about the best strategy to defeat isis.south carolina senator lindsay graham said he would send 10-thousand u-s troops into syria while rick santoror said u-s troops should only be training fighters in the war-torn country. at the capitol, capitol,members of congress agreed on a spending bill to avert a government shutdown. shutdown.house speaker paul ryan announced an agreement st night.the massive one-point-one-trillion-dollar bill would keep the government funded through september. lawmakers also struck a deal on tax breaks worth nearly 800- billion dollars.they will vote on the bill next week. members in congress are also pushing the obama administration to immediately require background checks of social media for people seeking a u-s visa. visa.it's a move they believe could've helped prevent the e san bebeardino attack.tashfeen malik used a psydeunom online to post jihadist statements. g-o-p senator john mccain has already introduced legislation that would require social

media checks. in cedar rapids, voters in the college community school district are going to the polls february second.district leaders say they need to meet enrollment challenges wi a 49-point- five million dollar bond referendum.this will be the second time in less an a year that voters ararbeing asked to vote on this kind of referendum.in april -- a similar vote failed by only 58 votes.if the new measure passes -- it will raise property taxes in the district by about 32-percent. iowa leads the nation with its high school graduation rate. the u.s. department of education says iowa graduates 90-point-5 percent of its students.that's well above the national average of about 82- percent.the feds also say the graduation gap between white students and minority groups is shrinking. in johnson county there's another group of graduates. graduates.but this group completed a course designed to get them *back on track.this was the graduation ceremony for the johnson county drug treatment court program.there are a number of requirements that participants have to complete before graduating. those who complete the program

say they're grateful for getting their life back. "i've lived the same way for 20 years and these people are gracious enough to show me how to do it right, and they cared enough, they cared. cared.and it's a win-win for law enforement.statistics show each day spent in this program rather than prison, saves taxpayers nearly 60-dollars per participant. nearly a third of all americans are expected to avel this holiday season. season.triple-a says more than 100-million people will travel between december 23rd and january 3rd.that's an all-time high for holiday travel.the agency also says rising incomes and lower gas prices are fueling people's desires and abilities to travel.90 percent of travelers are expected to drive to their destination. a western storm dumped up to 24 inches of snow in the colorado mountains yesterday. yesterery.it caused airlines to cancel more than 400 flights at the airport in denver and canceled schools in four states.few highways closed down, despite being snow-packed and icy.the storm

left snow drifts of up to four feet higig new this morning, for the first time in 14 years -- the wisconsin men's basketball team has a new head coach. coach.right after the badgers won last night -- head coach bo ryan announced he was retiriri, effective immediately.ryan previously said this would be his last season -- but after a rough start to the season -- he said now was the right timeo step away.ryan's top assistant -- greg gard -- will be the coach the rest of the season. wisconsin only plays iowa once this year -- that game is in iowa city in february, check out this amazing shot of italy's mount etna from space. only... you can't actually see the volcano because it's underneath a massive cloud of ash.this picture was taken earlier this month as a nasa's satellite passed over italy.it captures a spectacular very violent and usually brief phase of an erupting volcano. this lasted less than an hour. mount etna is europe's most active volcano.a series of eruptions this month are its first in two years.

still to come comethe roads you'll want to

here's a look at some of eastern iowa's top

the wet weather over the past few days has forced a number of roads to close.in cedar rapids - "j" street southwest at prairie crcrk is shut down because of the rising creek level.a rising cedar river also has otis road southeast shut down from the cargill plant to the prairie creek fishery.both roads will stay closed until further notice. state health officials say half of all potential contracts for medicaid services have been signed.on january first, the medicaid program will become private. four @ompanies will take it over and split 120-thousand potential contracts.right now - about 58-thousand of those contracts have not been signed. recent concerns about fan safety at pro sports stadiums are leading to rule changes. but the cedar rapids kernels say they're on the same page. the new rules require protective netting between the dugouts -- which perfect game field has had since it opened in 2002.the kernels tell cbs 2 news they plan to up-grade stadium signage and public safety videos warning fans about the dangers of foul balls.the kernels open up

thei20-16 home season on april 7th. good morning, it's on this mornrng, we'll have a look at some of today's top stories, right

cbs-2 news - it's now we're taking a look at your_______

there are about 7 weeks there are about 7 weeks until the caucuses in iowa, iowa,and the fifth republican debate is now over.last night -- candidates focused on national security and the war on terror. terror.this was the very first g-o-p debate since the attacks in san bernardino california and paris france. france.before the primetime debate began, several experts were expecting the two main leaders at the polls, donana trump and ted cruz, to clash. but it was jeb bush that went head to head with trump.jeb made several comments about trump, questioning the seriousness of his campaign. trump also defended his comments about a temporary ban on muslims entering the united states, saying it's not about isolation, but rather security. and even though cruz didn't really spar with trump, he was involved in more than a few heated exchanges with florida senator marco rubio. rubio.the two clashed over u-s military intervention and the government using surveillance on americans.but most notably -- cruz tried to distance himself from rubio on immigration -- after rubio co- authored legislation in 20-13 that would've created comprehensive immigration

reform.cruz's poll numbers have been on the rise -- especially in iowa -- where hehe in a dead heat for first place.theheext republican debate will be in mid-january. for the democrats -- a new poll out tuesday afternoon shows hillary clinton still at the front of the race -- but her lead is shrinking in iowa. iowa.the latest figures from quinnipiac uninirsity show clinton leading vermont senator bernie sanders by 11 points.martin o'malley is still in third with just six percent.their next debate will be held saturday night in new hampshire. hillary clinton will be in the corridor today.she's hosting a town hall meeting in iowa city at the old brick church and community center.doors open at 1:15.after that she'll be after that 1:15.after that she'll be heading north for another town halalmeeting -- in mason city at 4-30. for all the political headlines this week -- be sure to join me this weekend on iowa in focus.it airs every sunday morning at 10:30, and also on our sister station fox 28 at 9-30. hundreds of thousands of students will return to school today, after being kept home yesterday.on tuesday morning someone made a threat against a number of los angeles

schools, prompting officials to cancel class. class.but now the leaders who made the decision are taking some heat since the same threat in new york city, was dismissed as a hoax.the digital threat allegedly spoke about devices inside backpacks. 700-thousand students stayed homemeauthorities in new york said it looked like whoever sent the threat had been watching the terrorism tv show, "homeland." so the assumption of the nypd anthe assumption of the department of education were immediately exactly the same, that in fact it would be a huge disservice to our nation to close down our school system." system."when they make a decision they have to take in to account the sasaty of the children of los angeles. i think its irresponsible to based on facts that have yet to be determined, to criticize that decision at this point" point"the los angeles school district says the city takes threats against it schools very seriously, especially after the recent attack in san bernardino, california. a baltimore jury today will enter a third

thirdday of deliberations afafr returnini withououa verdict tuesday.william porter is charged with manslaughter in the death of freddie gray. he's the first of six officers set to go to trial. trial.at one point the jury told a judge they were deadlocked, but the judge told them to continue deliberating. gray suffered a broken neck while in police custody and later died from his injuries. precutors believe police acted negligent, when they didn't get him medical help. a massachusetts courtroom, 16-year-old philip chism was found guilty of raping and murdering his high school math teacher.chism was just 14 when he committed the crime.his lawyer admitted his client killed her but said he was suffering from severe mental illness at the time.a psychiatrist testified that he was in the middle of a psychotic episode when he killed her.chism will be eligible for parole iabout 15 years. new this morning... morning...officials say 3 people were hospitalized after a southwest airplane skidded off the runway in nashville late last night.witnesses say the flight from houston went into a ditch while taxiing at nashville international

airport.passengers were removed from the plane and taken to the gate.it's not yet clear what happened. a marengo man is dead after a crash with a semi in amana.the iowa state patrol tells cbs 2 news a pickup driven by 43-year-old johnny bagwell junior crossed the center line of highway 151 and slammed into the semi.the busy highway was shutdown for several hours following the crcrh.the semi driver was not hurt. at the university of iowa.. iowa..there are new calls for president bruce harreld to resign following controversial comments he made last week during a meeting with university staff council. council.president harreld sasa "instructors who are not ready to teach their classes should be shot."he has since apologised for the comments after an employee complained. harreld called the remarks unfortunate and off the cuff. he said he didn't mean to offend anynye or imply support for gun violence.the calls for his resignation are from a union representing graduate student teaching and research assistants. iowa health officials say sasahalf of all potential

contracts for medicaid services have been signed ahead of the upcoming switch to privatized care on january first.the four private companies have so far signed a total of 62-thousand contracts with medicalalproviders.medcaid gives care to low-income people including children and the disabled.the governor says this move will give them better care while saving money. some lawmakers lieve the itch is happening too fast. a different kind of treatment is helping people suffering from sleep apnea get some shut eye.sleep apnea starts with symptoms like chronic snoring or uncontrolled breathing. breathing.doctor scott geisler from the physicians clinic of iowa says the traditional treatment is the c-pap machine or a dental device.but now the hospital has a new type of sleep therapy called the inspire therapy -- and patients can ask about it if the c-pap or any other traditional treatment fails. "this is a pacemaker like battery that is under the skin, surgically placed there, and instead of wires going down to the heart muscle, the wires go up towards the neck

nerves."the company says a patient's body mass index needs to be below 32.insurance companies are still reviewing this on a case-by-case basis. it's now on this morning. morning.we'll take a look at the top three stories to know about before you start your wednesday.

here's a look paris: there's a lot to do on a dairy farm. nobody's gonna do it for you. you have to get out there and do it yourself. bernie sanders is a well-known friend of family farms. bernie cannot be bought out by big money. bernie's opinion cannot be purchased. it's time for our next presidentto get in there, roll up his sleeves, take off the gloves, and take on wall street, take on big business, take on big money, and get the working class back to where they should be.

sanders: i'm bernie e nders and i approve this message. at the top three stories you need to know this wednesday morning. morning.the 5-th g-o-p debate was held last night in las vegas.it's the final republican debate of the year. the focus was on national security and the war on terror. this saturday night the candidates on the democratic side of the race will partcipate in their next debate. during the debate last night members of congress agreed on

a spending bill to avert a government shutdown.the massive one-point-one-trillion- dollar bill would keep the government funded through sepetmeber.lawmakers also struck a deal on tax breaks worth nearly 800-billion dollars.they will vote on the bill next week. 700-thousand students will be returning to school in los angeles this morning, after a threat yesterday caused officials to cancel classes.a similar ththat was made to schools ininew york, and school officials there dismissed it as a hoax.now some school leaders in l-a are taking some heat for their decision, but they stood by their call, citing heightened tensions following the nearby weeks ago. austrian authorities are now investigating two men arrested several days ago as possible links to last months attacks in paris that killed 130 people.the two were suspected of particpating in a terrorist organization.authorities couldnt give more details couldnt give authorities organization.authorities couldnt give more details because they said it would