of cloudiness. there's also some fog and mist reducing visibility a bit on the roads, otherwise mostly calm outdoors. warmer than yesterday with temperatures warming up closer to the 30 degree mark through the

new numbers out today from loras college show aa deadadocked republican racacin iowa. iowa.we've only got eleven days until the iowa caucuses, and candidates are making their final pushes for support. support.the loras poll has donald trump leading ted cruz by a single point - 26 to 25. it was a wider margin in last month's poll with a different leader.cruz was ahead of the billionare by seven-points.the current one point lead for trump is with-ininhe margin of error, so the race is a virtual tie. c-n-n has also released a new poll showing how the two g-o-p front-runners would fair against the two mocratic front-runners head-to-head. when trump and cruz go against both clinton and sanders - they lose in both cases.but - it's a much tighter race when they face clinton.against cruz, clinton comes s ououon top by six-popots.it's nine points when she faces trump.as for sanders - he wins by 23-points against both republican front- runners. hihiary clinton is bringing

pals to the corridor today. actress and singer, demi lovato will join clinton for her stops today in vinton and the u-of-i campus.you remember, this summer, katy perry joined clinton in des moines.and actress and writer lena dunham came to iowa city to support clinton earlier this month.on sunday, acrtess jamie lee curtis will campaign for her in central iowa. be sure to tune into cbs 2 at 6 tonight for our special live town hall!"your voice, your future - the iowa impact" will take place public space one in iowa city. city.our panel will include both the iowa republican and democratic party *chairs, along with other political experts.the public is welcome to attend and ask questions.. questions..but you'll also be able to watch it live on cbs 2 and fox 28, and our newly re- vamped website cb2 iowa-dot-com.you'll be able to easily find the "watch live" link on the frontpage. ben carson is back on the

taking two days off. off.the republican presidential candidate suspended his campaign when a campaign volunteer died in a western iowa crash.during his time off, he met with the family of braden joplin, the affer who died..two other volunteers were hurt in the crash.it happened when their van flipped and was hit by another vehicle in cass county tuesday morning. the man accused in the hit and run death of a corridor woman in ames, ames,is expected to make his first appearance in court today. today.the latest information into our newsroom is that authorities say after tting emma-lee jacobs, benjamin clauge got out and inspected his bus at the next stop. cy-ride staff told investigators that was unusual for clague, leading them to determine it was him who fataly hit jacobs. jacobs.clauge was charged yesterday in the death of jacobs.investigators say he was driving the cy-ride bus that hiand killed jacobs near the i-s-u campus.jacobs

tuesday's bomb threat at iowa city west high has been linked to similar threats across the u.s. u.s.someone called in the threat during the morning hours, forcing an evacuation. west high officials describe the callers voice as robotic. investigators didn't find anytytng in the buildidi, making the case similar school threats in several other states. a former iowa officer wants his case against governor branstad to move forward. forward.today, the iowa supreme court is hearing arguments for larry hedlund's wrongful termination lawsuit. hedlund was fired from his criminal investigator position in 20-13.that was after he mplained that t tre was s punishment after the governor's motorcade was pulled over for speeding. hedlund claims his firing was out of retaliation, which the iowa department of public safety denies. happening now... now...investororon wall street are bouncing back from what was a rough wednesday.right now - the dow is up 210-points. that's a complete switch from

opened with this morning.at times wednesday - the dow was down more than 550-points, but recovered 300 of it by close. the nasdaq, along with the s-and-p 500 are alal up this afternoon, after opening down. it's cold outside and most people crank up the heat in their homes, but that could be costing you money. money.cbs 2 reporter stephanie johnson is here with some money saving tips. tips.kelly, the colder it is outside the more energy people use to heat their homes. but poor home sulation in addition to other things could increase your energy bills. bills.if you live in a older home you should get your insulation checked, as most older homes lack proper insulation.also if have a space heater running in your home try turning down your thermostat. the energy sources are competing with each other resulting in a higher bill. also if you think closing g off f certaiairooms or vents in your home helps, alliant energy spokesperson, justin foss,

"in reality your furnace is trying to heat the whole house. so you get the most efficent amount of performance out of your furnace if you let it heat the whole house and that way then the whole house is warm and you don't have those cold pockets in the area." area."foss says spite what some people think, sealing off areas of your home will not save you money. your energy bill will be the same whether you close some vents in your home or not.stephanie johnson...cbs2 ws. new today, a virus dangerous to pregnant women has mades its way into illinois. illinois.the zika virus is mosquito-born, and has been linked to birth defects.health ficials in illinois say two cases have been confirmed there.there's at least three cases in florida.health officials believe the virus made its way tthe u.s. from south america where it is very prevalent.the c-d-c is now warning women to get screened for the zika virus if they've recently been to latin america or the caribbean. coming up on the cbs 2 news at noon - overnight snow is

east coast.why it's just a taste of what's to come this weekend. weekend. marco rubio. he ran for senate saying he opposed amnesty... then he flipped, and worked with liberal chuck schumer to co-author the path to citizenship bill. he threatened to vote against it. and then voted for it. he supported his own dream act and then he abandoned it. marco rubio.

so you always know where he stands. right to rise usa is responsible for the content of this message. here's the truth -- some have proposed to cut social security r the elderly and disabled vets. i disagree. in fact, not only should we not cut benefits -- we should expand them. my plan for social security increases benefits and costf living adjustmentsts and raises minimum payments for low-income seniors.

can retire with dignity and respect. i'm bernie sanders, and i approve this messasa. the nation's capitol is experiencing traffic headaches after a small aaunt of snow hit the area last night.but as craig boswell shows us - a much bigger storm is on the way. way. nats crashhundreds of crashes across the dc metropolitan area made last night's commute nearly impossible.backups lasted late into the night.the cause a& just an inch of snow that froze over.sot: "it is azy out here. i know it seems like just a little snow but it is really really slick out here."it was a little better this morning but not much.truck drivers who had reached their shift limits had to pull over, blocking lanes of some highways.sot: (no name

north carolina at 7, 12 hours agoa&hit traffic here. i have to go to philly."president obama also got stuck in the mess.. his motorcade skidded along roads as he returned to the white house wednesday.and last night's dusting is nothing compared to what's ahead- a major winter storm that could drop two feet of snow on the city over the next couple days. standup: (craig boswell/washington dc) the mayor of dc apologized for wednesday night's debacle and says the city is prepared for the next storm with nearly 40- thousand tons of sal 800 sanitation workersrsnd abobo 500 plows.sot (muriel bowser/dc mayor ) never seen anything like this in all my yearsa&.much of the northeast is in the blizzard's crosshairs.. storm surge is a big concern along the coastline.washington dc and virginia have already declared a state of emergency before the storm even arrives.

cbs 2 meteoroloist temperatures are in the 20s now across the area, warmer than yesterday by 5 to 10 degrees. through the afternoon temperatures will increase to the mid to upper 20s. otherwise its calm in eastern iowa with systems staying to the south this week and the next system doesn't approach until l nday. a major winter storm will be unfolding in the next 48 hours across the mid atlantic and northeast with snow totals possibly getting to 1 to 3 feet. closer to home, the climate prediction center is projecting near average temperatures over the next week or two and below average precipitation. that's what your day forecast calls for, temperatures warming to neararnd above average this weekekd with a chance for r me

a quirky new trend is going on in minneapolis. minneapolis.locals are freezing their jeans and other pipies of clothes and putting

sculpture.it's been so cold there resident's say they are literally freezing their pants off.it all started when one resident was trying to brighten up his neighbors day by giving them a funny thing to smile at. still ahead on the cbs 2 news at noon - the new report accussing vladimir putin of ordering a fatal hit on a

w at noon... noon...a new report suggests russian president vladimir putin ordered the death of a former k-g-b spy.this morning a british judge said it's likely putin told two russian men to give the spy poisoned tea in 2006 during a meeting in london.the spy accused putin f poisoning him just before he died weeks later. an armed militia in oregon has no plans to get off federal land. land.this despite oregon's governor telling them to leave. for the past three weeks, the

wild-life refuge in protest of federally controlled land.now - governor kate brown is fed up with how the situation has been handled.she says its taking a tole on oregon tax- payers - in the form of nearly half-a-million dollars so far. if you bought a hover-board on amazon, you could can get a refund. refund.the comay is now offering a refund because of growing concern the toys are a fire hazzard.consumer safety officials are investigating dozens of cases of hover-boards smoking or bursting into flames.despite the refunds, amazon is not pulling hover-boards from its site. will smith is joining his wife and skipping the academy awards. awards.the smiths, along with director spike lee are boycotting the oscars over a lack of diversity among thth nominees.smith was i ithe running for best actor for his role in "concussion," but was not nominated.this morning, smith said ...."diversity is the american superpower. that's why we're great." he also said he did not know his wife, jada pinkett smith, was

social media announcing her boycott of the ceremony. it's a historic day for the n- f-l.the buffalo bills have the first woman ever to serve as a full-time assistant coach. coach.kathryn smith will be the bills' special teams quality coach when they start play next fall.smith was with the team this season, but on a part time basis.her career in the n-f-l actually began in 20-13 when she was an intern with the new york jets.in her new role, smith will be responsible for gathering video and doing stats analysis on up-coming opponents. coming up on the cbs 2 news at noon - financial expert mike tryon gives us tips on how to save for retirement in the most efficient way possible. the world a president has to grapple with, sometimes you can't even imagine. that's the job. and she's prepared for it like no other. a tireless secretary of state,

negotiating a cease-fire in gaza, leading the diplomacy that keeps us out of war. the presidency is the toughest job in the world... and she's the e e leader who has what it takes to get every part of the job done. i'm hillary clinton, and i approve this message. here's the truth -- some have proposed to cut social security for the elderly and disabled vets. i disagree. in fact, not only should we not cut benefits -- we should expand them. my plan for social security increases benefits and cost of living adjustments d raises minimum payments for low-incoco seniors. it will ensure that all seniors can retire with dignity and respect.

it's time for to your finances.every week our friends from tryon investments join us to answer your questions on money.today mike and andrew are talking to us about how we can betterersave for retirement.how much to save for retirement?aim to

how much to save for retirement?aim to save 15% per year1.start early 2.go for growth3.work longer how do you get there?-let uncle same work-max & match-take the 1% challenge-catch up-size up

rebecca has your weather to go next...but first here's a look at today's markets. markets.

then he flipipd, and worked with liberal chuck schumer to co-author the path to citizenship bill. he threatened to vote against it. and then voted for it. he supported his own dream act and then he abandoned it. rco rubio. just another washington politician you can't trust. jeb bush. he's a leader, so you always know where he stands. right to rise usus

periods of sun and clouds today, high temperatures in the mid to upper 20s this afternoon. the rest of the week will be warmer with teeratures getting clolo to e freezing mark thisis some snow showers on monday and tuesday. that does it for us here on the cbs 2 news at noon.our next newscast is this

afrnoon. (phone ringing) you can't deal with something, by ignoring it. but that's how some presidential candidates seem to be dealing with socl security. americans work hard, and pay into it. so our next president needs a real plan to keep it strong. (elephant noise) (donkey noise) hey candidates, answer the call already. today in america, the top 1/10 of 1% owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90% this great country and our government belong to all of us. wall street, corporate america, wealthy campaign donors have so much influence that the only way they are defeated is when millions of people begin to stand up

i'm bernie sanders, and i approve this message.