caucus goer. now," today's iowa caucuses. >> after months of posturing, debates and controversial comment, the republicans and democrats of iowa make the first decisions in the race for the white house. we are live in des moines with extensive coverage. tough questions about the southern california escapees. who helped the three men break out of the maximum security jails and how was one of the inmate's teachers involved? airline outrage. profits are up while the cost of fuel is down. why are ticket prices still so high? and later, diversity on stage at the s.a.g. awards. winners of all races and backgrounds speaking out about the oscars controversy. it's monday, february 1st. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now."

good morning on a business monday. i'm phillip mena. >> good to have you here. i'm reena ninan. you were saying -- we were talking about the caucuses starting up. big day in iowa, huh? >> everybody has been waiting for it. we've been talking about it for months and months. today is the big day. >> they're saying it might be snowing. they're trying to push people to get out and vote and get there. it's the nation's first presidential nominating contest hours away. after months of hectic campaigning, the latest polls are really showing a tight race. it's your voice, your vote. our coverage begins in des moines with brandi hitt. morning to you, brandi. >> reporter: good morning reena and phillip. i agree with you. monday is finally here. we've been talking about if it for so long. the caucus day is finally here. we're in the media center where the vote totals will be slowly coming in much later this evening. as you mentioned, reena, weather

could be a factor. but this weekend, man, these candidates have been so busy crisscrossing this state, staying up late, into the evening with their campaigns and still both races right now are too close to predict. in this final push for iowa votes -- >> thank you, bill, thank you chelsea. >> reporter: both hillary clinton and donald trump are bringing out the big guns. their families. >> he will be unbelievable. the best dealmaker, the best master negotiator. >> thank you. >> reporter: that includes trump's wife melania and clinton's daughter chelsea. >> so please join me in welcoming, i hope, our next president. >> reporter: the latest poll shows trump leading the gop race, now five points ahead of ted cruz. >> i don't care if you're feeling horrible, you have 104 temperature, get out of bed and caucus! >> reporter: on the democratic side, it's a tight race between clinton and bernie sanders. >> what our job is in the next 24 hours is to make sure that

there is a large voter turnout. >> reporter: sanders volunteers knocking on 75,000 doors this weekend alone. cruz attended church in iowa. >> did you pray for victory? >> i prayed that god's will be done. >> reporter: his rival senator marco rubio casting cruz as the favorite. >> ted cruz is clearly the front-runner. >> clearly the favorite. >> he has 10,000 volunteers. he spent millions of dollars. >> reporter: speaking of millions of dollars, "the des moines register" says all of these candidates have spent more than $33 million combined right here in iowa on television ads. we have been seeing them nonstop here this weekend, reena and phillip. >> for anyone who needs a refresher, can you walk us through the caucus process? how does that work. >> reporter: it's complicated. bear with me as we go through this. at 7:00 tonight, yes, only at 7:00, you're going to see roughly 1600 what we would normally calling places open, these are caucus houses. a lot of them are public buildings, libraries. on the republican side f you're

going to caucus on the republican side, you walk in, in a large group of people. you may hear pitches from the candidates at the last minute. then you either write down a name on a scratch piece of paper in some of these caucus houses or possibly a ballot, who you're going to choose. then you secretly drop it into a binn and that is your vote. on the democratic side, though, it's much more different, much more public. you go to your caucus place. you decide to group with your neighbors, might be 100, 200, sometimes 300 people there. and you must physically get into groups. if you're a bernie sanders supporter, you go into one area of the room. clinton, o'malley, in other areas of the room. if you don't have at least 15% support of that room in your group -- let's say o'malley only had 10%, it doesn't count. it's considered void in a way. so those people in the o'malley group can then decide in front of everyone, do i want to support sanders or clinton or nobody. and then they can join in. it's going to be a very fluid

situation. that's why sometimes with these results, it's hard to know who is declared the victor or not for the state. >> it sounds like it could be a very long night for you, brandi hitt. >> reporter: it will be fun. i can't wait. >> she's so excited about this. we love it. brandi hitt reporting live from des moines. thank you so much. and abc's jonathan karl is also in des moines where he's finding that voss are the key to getting voters to the caucuses. >> one of the many hillary clinton offices in iowa right here. >> reporter: it's boots on the ground time in iowa. these hillary volunteers are armed with detailed information on every door they'll knock. >> sometimes you show up at someone's door and they're on your list as a hillary or bernie supporter and they've switched over to trump. >> reporter: we're at rubio supporters, calling people to make sure they know where to go to caucus. >> this location is sergeant bluff community center. >> reporter: this volunteer is a student at iowa state. in addition to the visits and

the calls, iowans have been bombarded with 60,000 campaign ads. 17,000 this month alone. >> marco rubio, just another washington politician. >> donald trump, new york values. >> clinton and bush, two names dpr the past. >> reporter: and then there's the junk mail. some iowans received this ominous envelope, election alerted, voter violation. underneath, the person's voting score, whether they've voted in recent elections. and information about their neighbors. caucus on monday to improve your score, it says, warning of a follow-up notice after the vote. not a government document but a mailer from the cruz campaign. iowa's secretary of state denounced it as deceptive. over at the ankeny diner, these folks are still truly undecided. when are you going to make that decision? >> maybe 7:00 tomorrow. i don't know. >> reporter: the deciding factor in this race could be people who have never been to a caucus

before. on the democratic side, bernie sanders, and on the republican side, donald trump r counting on a big turnout of first-time caucusgoers to put them over the top. jonathan karl, abc news, des moines. >> our live coverage from iowa continues in our next half hour as well as on "good morning america" with george and robin in des moines. look for more coverage from iowa on "world news tonight" and call night long. another major headline. a second virginia tech student has been arrested in connection with the abduction and murder of a 13-year-old girl. police in blacksburg announced yesterday that natalie marie keepers has been charged in the case. earlier david eisenhauer was charged with first-degree murder and abduction. investigators say he and the victim knew each other. >> based on evidence collected to date, we have determined that eisenhauer and nicole were acquainted prior to her disappearance. he used this relationship to his advantage to abduct and then kill her. >> both students are being held

without bond. the investigation is still ongoing. yesterday a state police search and recovery team searched a pond on the virginia tech campus. all three of the southern california jail escapees are behind bars this morning. one surrendered on friday and the other two were captured saturday night thanks to an alert citizen. now authorities are trying to determine who helped them. abc's matt gutman has the latest details. >> reporter: they rappelled out of the jail from the roof. but with a groan were hauled back to the front door. with all three fugitives now in custody -- >> we're actively investigating other suspects that may have helped. >> reporter: it was a citizen's tip that helped to the capture of hossain nayeri in san francisco. police chasing nayeri. >> reporter: the three had a doggy door in this steel grating and then navigated the tunnels

behind their ward to the roof of this maximum security jail. nooshafarian ravaghi they say provided them with maps. a source tells us the teacher who penned books also penned love letters. >> he's been described as a psychopath. is that something you would say is a fitting description? >> i think it is. >> reporter: the three have been held in this same maximum jail they broke out of. this one has a more modern layout. this time the three of them are being held separately. matt gutman, abc news, santa ana, california. to the northeast now and a mystery fireball in the sky. the paerpt white hot fiber ball was caught on dash cam video soaring across the heavens saturday evening. it was seen as far as away as the washington, d.c. area. there's no official word on whether it was a meteor. observers described the fireball as having colorful fragments and looking like it fell apart or exploded. well, the rival super bowl teams are spending their first night in california. >> yep. and the first to land in san jose, the broncos led by

quarterback peyton manning. the broncos are playing in their second super bowl in three years. >> an hour later the carolina panthers arrived headed by, of course, cam newton. if you can look closely, folks, he was rocking some very, very wild versace pants. got to look closely for that one. >> i don't think he's come down quite yet. you'll see it sooner or later. >> there you go. looks like cam and half zebra mated together for that outfit. but none of the players spoke to reporters there, saving that for the much-anticipated media day, which actually happens tonight. no word if he'll be wearing those pants or not. >> he can wear whatever he wants. he's cam newton. >> you're probably right. coming up in the micti"the campaign humor and a fashion statement featuring who else but bernie sanders. also ahead, airlines cashing in as fuel prices keep dropping. when will passengers finally get a break when buying tickets.

and diversity in spotlight at the s.a.g. awards. performers from all races and backgrounds lashing out about the oscars controversy. >> and remember, find us on facebook wnnfans.com and twitter @abcwnn. you're watching "world news now." @abcwnn. you're watching "world news now." your clever moves won't stop the but disinfecting with lysol can. because lysol wipes and spray are approved

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experts are making one final attempt today to salvage that capsized cargo ship stranded off the coast of france. high winds and rough seas hampered efforts over the weekend. the ship has been adrift for five days. and if today's attempt fails,

the vessel will run aground tomorrow night. 22 crew members were evacuated by helicopter last week. high in the sky, frightening moments played out on a british airways flight. two hours into the flight from london to chicago, the boeing 747 had to dump full and return to heathrow airport after two of the five sets of landing gear wheels broke midflight. it crippled the jet. they made a safe landing and passengers had to get off one row at a time to avoid tipping the unstable aircraft. i've never heard of anything like this before. >> last year the major airlines reported record profits, cashing in on low fuel costs and baggage fees, but despite discounts, fares keep going up. >> there are still bargains to be had. you have to do your homework. luckily for us, we've got rebecca jarvis with three ways to fly cheaper. >> reporter: airline profits are flying high. benefiting from the dramatic decline in oil prices.

the cost of fuel down as much as 40% from last year. but if you're expecting to find similar savings in the price of your ticket, that's just pie in the sky. >> the consumers had their thumb on that scale for over a decade. now the airlines have their thumb on that scale. >> reporter: the airlines say the record profits are going back into the business. but overall, ticket costs are up 1.5% since last year. so, how do you get the best deal on your next trip? >> use airfarewatchdog.com. pick all the routes you fly regularly, and input them to the site. whenever a sale comes up, you receive an e-mail. bingo. big deal. >> reporter: plus, even if you're traveling as a group, book seats individually. >> if there's one bargain seat, the search engine won't see it if you look for two. it's real easy. link them afterwards and then pick your seat assignment. >> reporter: finally, the closest airport might not be the cheapest. instead look for the popular airports, the hubs when you book your travel, and you could save as much as 15%. rebecca jarvis, abc news, new york.

>> great tips. >> rebecca jarvis coming through. coming up in our next half hour, we go from the air to the road with an american favorite, the drive-through, being utilized by the emerging marijuana market. picking up your cannabis in your car. it's a growing trend across many states. first, hollywood's biggest stars coming together and honoring each other, but this weekend's s.a.g. awards were a very different affair than what you'll see at the oscars. you're watching "world news now."

♪ well, this past weekend, movie fans got another round, big round of clues on who will take home this year's oscars >> the screen actors guild doled out plenty of awards, with some surprise for those who were hoping to make some oscar predictions. abc's chris connelly was there for it all. >> reporter: oscar so white, perhaps. >> queen latifah. >> viola davis. >> reporter: the s.a.g. awards, yeah, not so much. >> welcome to diverse tv. >> reporter: not even nominated for an oscar, idris elba, winning best supporting male actor for "beast of no nation," emblematic of the way s.a.g. actors only voters flip the script to reward a wide spectrum of work. >> you build your own boxes. not people. knock that thing away.

>> reporter: from queen la fee that honored for hbo's "bessie," to "orange is the new black," winner of two awards. jason bateman presenting the best tv comedy male actor to the man who played his father on "arrested development" jeffrey tambor for his transgender character on "transparent." >> i'm going to stop shaking. >> for supporting female actor alicia vikander awarded for "danish girl," winning meant hitting the road. >> i want to go out and celebrate. >> how did it feel? >> i'm going to sit on a plane and get really drunk by myself and ask everyone in the cabin to cans with me. >> the cast of "spotlight." >> reporter: game on with a win for outstanding motion picture cast, "spotlight," chimed back into the oscar's best picture race. >> did you know this was something special you were doing? >> from the minute i read it, i felt in my heart it was a special thing that had to be shown and told. >> reporter: best male actor winner leonardo dicaprio recalled his childhood. >> to my parents, thank you for

listening to an overly ambitious slightly annoying 13-year-old kid. >> reporter: and for brie larson, her best female actor win for "room," a culmination. why is it right to come now in your life? >> i'm really grateful to have had so much life, so many trials and tribulations. >> reporter: breadth of experience, the key to success for any actor. just ask "how to get away with murder's" viola davis, a four-time s.a.g. award winner. you just deliver these powerful, emotional moments. from where do you derive that kind of power? >> i think when you observe life, you see so many things that you would not even expect. i'm always watching. >> thank you. >> reporter: chris connelly, abc news, los angeles. carol burnett, she won the -- she was given a lifetime achievement award. >> yeah. and uzo aduba won for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series. check out her date. she tweeted a picture of the guy who asked her to the high school

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and i enjoy it. feel the difference with k-y ultragel. all right. it's time for "the mix" and since it is the big day, iowa caucus, we thought we would start with politics. we wanted to show you a t-shirt that is going viral in iowa. it features one of the candidates, larry david. there it is. bernie sanders. that is him. look at that. all these bernie heads. this guy from iowa, he bought it and he wore it at a couple of rallies and, you know, lots of cameras around, of course. all of his supporters started retweeting it. that's the new fashion trend of the season. >> very cool. feel the burn and sport the burn. >> feel the burn. there you go. all the different emotions that bernie sanders conveys all there on a t-shirt. >> that's pretty funny. >> he came up and saw the shirt. like, you can tell, he's like,

perplexed. like, oh, my god, my face is on this shirt. you can tell he thinks it's weird. and, like, his photographer for the campaign, like, told me, he's, like, bernie thinks the shirt is really creepy. >> it's interesting. you know? >> yeah, it is. i guess it is kind of creepy if it's your face on it. i like it, though. it's funny. from t-shirts to tractors. we found the most patriotic tractor in america. of course, it's in iowa. take a look at this one. hand-created. look at that. got the bald eagle and everything. that's gary loeffler of west des moines. he is a big backer of mike huckabee. he likes his positions on guns, abortion and god. he believes huckabee is a man of god. so he created this tractor and he's kind of following around huckabee. and you may remember huckabee won the state in 2008. so he believes that huckabee is the one who can stand up to what he calls the clinton machine. >> okay. >> by the way, he also put a

snake on there because he says that stands for isis, al qaeda and the taliban. >> all-american. >> well thought out, huh? >> sure is. let's switch gears a little bit. we are going to show you a surfer that took on a little bit maybe more than he could handle it. they call it jaws, this huge wave in mu we maui because it eats surfers up. look at that fall. 40 feet. >> whoa. >> thankfully we're showing this to you because this is not faces of death. he did come out on top and he is okay. in fact, he said that he was going to ride it again the next day. >> very cool. >> there it is. >> talk about death defying. how about a slightly terrifying for me as a mom, a young kid got a loose tooth. what does he do? takes his race car toy. ties it up. >> oh, no way! >> and he pushes the button. >> everyone ready? >> we're ready. >> oh! >> what happened? >> oh, my goodness.

>> oh.

this morning on "world news now," all eyes on iowa for today's caucuses with hillary clinton barely leading the democrats and a new poll showing donald trump as the gop front-runner. can we expect political surprise tonight? extreme weather. the deadly storm that slammed southern california is about to bring heavy snow to the middle of the country. today's warning from accuweather. and new this half hour, krooif drive up can and drive away for pot. >> it's a new trend for recreational marijuana. exposure for anthony weiner who wins prestigious awards for his film. that's in "the skinny" on this

monday, february 1st. >> announcer: from abc news, this is "world news now." good monday morning. i'm reena happy caucus day. >> and groundhog's day eve as well. big decisions on the cusp. it's coming. some iowa voters might see their shadow, get them confused. we'll see. that's where we start. it's the presidential candidates facing their first test at the ballot box in today's caucuses. >> the tight race there with both parties as the candidates squeeze in last-minute rallies and events. on the republican side, donald trump has retaken the lead from senator ted cruz with marco rubio in a distant third place. our coverage begins with abc's >> reporter: in iowa, donald trump and his family trying to close their biggest deal of all. >> he will be unbelievable. the best dealmaker, the best master negotiator. >> reporter: shaking hands, signing autographs, even holding babies. an all-out push to turn those

big poll numbers into real vote. >> i don't care if you're feeling horrible, you have a 104 temperature, the doctor says you cannot leave. it will be the end of you if you leave bed. you can't leave, you won't be able to make it. get out of bed and caucus. >> reporter: the man who wants to win iowa, his wife melania by his side. the whole trump family involved. daughter ivanka with this how to caucus video. >> just write down the name trump and you are done. that's it. very exciting. >> reporter: trump's sons, don jr. and eric, at a shooting range, sounding a lot look their dad. >> there was a great poll that came out a little while ago where he's doing very, very well. i think you all saw that. fingers crossed. >> reporter: trump in church receiving a blessing from the pastor. senator ted cruz also attending church, both candidates competing for those key evangelical votes. >> senator, happy sunday. did you pray for victory? >> i prayed that god's will be done. >> did you pray for donald trump or senator rubio? >> you know what, i actually did. i'm lifting up in prayers all

the candidates who are running, that god's blessing and peace and love be upon them. >> reporter: in the final days, cruz slipping under heavy fire from trump. but another rival, senator marco rubio, with the political play, casting cruz as the favorite, setting expectations sky high. >> ted cruz is clearly the front-runner. >> he's one of the favorites. >> he has 10,000 volunteers. he spent millions of dollars. >> reporter: rubio polling in third place, hoping for a cruz crash and leaving iowa voters with this promise. -- >> i will never embarrass you. you'll never cringe and say, i can't believe i voted for him. >> reporter: as for the trump family, melania tells me she's excited as the entire family stays here in iowa. as for the campaign itself, staffers are anxious but confident. one top-level aide telling me, few people have won the iowa caucuses. tom llamas, adair, iowa. on the democratic side, hillary clinton's final push for votes has turned into a full-fledged family affair. both daughter chelsea and former president bill clinton hit up the crowds as candidate hillary clinton continued to downplay questions about whether she broke the law with government

e-mails on her private server. yesterday alone clinton traveled nearly 300 miles across iowa, nearly twice the ground covered by her nearest challenge, bernie sanders. the big question today is will that be enough for clinton to outpace sanders at the polls? the latest poll in iowa shows clinton and sanders in a statistical tie. yesterday sanders appeared confident. ♪ this land is your land this land is my land ♪ >> sanders announced yesterday that his campaign has raised more than $20 million in january, asserting that he will continue to match clinton's considerable corporate resources. and stay with abc news all day long and george and robin begin our live coverage from iowa on "good morning america" and the entire political team reporting this evening on "world news tonight." look for an iowa caucus wrap-up on "world news now" tomorrow morning. >> big day. two virginia tech students

are being held without bail, arrested after kidnapping and the murder of a 13-year-old girl. friends say they can't believe the pair would be involved in such a brutal crime. here's abc's eva pilgrim. >> reporter: two virginia tech students under arrest in connection with the death of 13-year-old nicole lovell. >> it was late saturday night when the investigation led us to 18-year-old david e. eisenhauer, a virginia tech student. >> reporter: police say he was charged with kidnapping and murder, knew the victim, and that he used that relationship to his advantage. eisenhauer is an engineering major track star, seen here in a profile by our abc affiliate in baltimore. sophomore natalie keepers charged as an accessory, accused of helping him dispose of the girl's body. lovell's parents say she disappeared after climbing out of her bedroom window. more than 1,000 volunteers searched for days. lovell had a liver transplant as a young child and needed daily medication. >> i didn't think that would happen to her.

because she was always the cutest little thing. >> reporter: saturday, police discovered her body 80 miles away. lovell's father breaking the news on facebook, devastated to learn that my daughter has been found dead. i'm so in shock. i know nothing more to say. i'm broken. both suspects are being held without bail. eva pilgrim, abc news, new york. now overseas to syria, where triple bombings killed at least 50 near a revered shrine. more than 100 others were wounded. isis is claiming responsibility. the attack comes as factions are gathering for peace talks in geneva. those talks have yet to get under way. there was some movement. a u.n. mediator met for the first time with the main opposition delegation. the world health organization is meeting in an emergency session today over ways to battle the growing zika virus outbreak. the group could decide to declare it a global health emergency. which could speed up a coordinated response. the virus has been linked to brain damage in thousands of babies mostly in south america.

here at home, a major winter storm is developing in the southwest and moving across the country. strong winds toppled trees in southern california. killing at least one person in san diego. heavy rains flooded lanes on the 101 and pacific coast highways and to the east, snow has dropped up to nearly a foot of snow in parts of reno with more to come. accuweather's paul williams tells us the storm is taking aim at the great plains and the midwest. good morning, paul. >> thanks, phillip, reena. winter storm brewing with disruptive snow throughout utah, colorado, new mexico and arizona where danger crosswinds, snow-covered roads and treacherous travel. and then the blizzard evolves and is on the move throughout the midwest, hitting hastings, up towards omaha, reaching towards green bay by wednesday morning. we're looking at a combination of blowing and drifting snow, travel being very dangerous. road closures in abundance. so, hold onto your hats, this is a real one. reena, phillip?

>> okay, paul williams, thank you so much. something new coming to oregon. drive-through weed. yep. hear this out. oregon is opening a pot store with a drive-up window kind of like mcdonald's but for pot just across the street from the hospital. local officials are excited, saying it will help boost so-called green -- is that what they call this, green tourism? >> green tourism. >> yeah. sounds like eco-friendly tourism but it's another word for pot. and the drive-through weed is also available in detroit and washington state. so, you know where to go on your weed vacation. >> straight from there to the mcdonald's drive-through. before you go home. >> it's true. pampered pets in brazil have their own parade ahead of carnivale celebrations. >> and you had super heros. one of the dogs dressed as wonder woman. see that? another superman and tiara sporting the olympic rings were among the costumes. every dog gets its day.

>> any excuse to dress up your pup, huh? they're all about it. they get their own birthday parties now. now they have their own carnivale. it is certainly cute to look at. >> i absolutely love dogs. do you have a dog? >> i have a dog that is -- his name is toby. a golden retriever. i don't like to dress him up. he's a boy. i don't know. but toby so, i don't know if i could participate in the carnivale that way. >> where is toby? because you're traveling so much all the time. >> he is in texas being well taken care of. >> you didn't tell abc as part of your deal that toby has to travel with you wherever you go? you should maybe -- >> did you just -- >> talk to the folks upstairs about that. >> toby is coming. there you go. >> thanks, toby. coming up in "the skinny," the personal tragedy just hours before last night's tv musical of "grease." also in the skinny, cindy crawford and what she's refusing

to do. a big decision for the super model. later, unforgettable moments from the iowa campaign. it's been all pork all the time as both parties play up to downhome voters. you are watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" weather brought to you by ridx septic cleaner. brought to you by ridx septic cleaner. a fabulous garden party for her birthday. so i mowed the lawn, put up all the decorations. i thought i got everything. almost everything! you know, 1 in 10 houses could get hit by a septic disaster, and a bill of up to $13,000. but for only $7 a month, rid-x is scientifically proven to break down waste, helping you avoid a septic disaster. rid-x. the #1 brand used by septic professionals in their own tanks. approaching medicare eligibility? you may think you can put off checking out your medicare options until you're sixty-five, but now is a good time to get the ball rolling.

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i live in l.a. we haven't seen any of this. when i arrived in iowa last week, it's been one ad after the next. no break from it. in fact, 60,000 advertisements are going to have aired leading up to today's caucuses. if you can believe that? 17,000 just in the run-up over the last few days. millions of dollars are being spent, and most of these ads are negative. some very entertaining how negative they are but very negative. >> brandi, have those ads helped sway voters? are many voters still undecided going into today? >> reporter: there are a lot of undecided voters. there's a new "des moines register" poll giving the latest numbers on who is leading. what i found interesting about this poll is when democrats and republican likely voters were asked who were going to be caucusing today, could you be persuaded to switch, to change your mind, 30% of democrats said yes, 45% of republicans said yes. so, when they go into those caucuses today, that's a huge

number that might say, i'm voting for this person, but if you convince me and tell me more about this one on the day of, i might go the other way instead. >> and what's the deal? there's some controversy with ted cruz over mailers. what's up with that? >> reporter: over the weekend, this came up leading to today's caucuses. there was a mailer that went out and the words voter violation and official public record were put on the front. what people were finding were their names and neighbors' names on this piece of paper. and it would grade you on your history of voting, giving you an "f" if you haven't been showing up to the caucuses the last few years. election officials really got mad about this because they say there's no voting violation, no official violation that anybody can get. however, the ted cruz campaign did respond and said, hey, we're just trying to encourage people to get out and caucus today. we weren't trying to disrespect anyone. but it did make quite a few people upset. >> we will see how that affects ted cruz today. brandi hitt reporting live this

morning from des moines. thank you. >> thank you, brandi. coming up, a preview of next year's oscars. the best of the sundance film festival. and nature according to snoop dogg. "the skinny" is next. >> announcer: "world news now" continues after from our abc stations.

♪ skinny so skinny ♪ all right.

topping the "skinny" this morning, the best brand-new films being honored at the sundance film festival. >> taking the top two prizes this year are "the birth of a nation" earning both a grand jury prize and the audience award for drama, based on the 1831 slave rebellion led by nat turner. >> and the face of this year's lack of diversity at the oscars, the film's writer, director and star, nate parker said, i made this film for one reason, in the hope of creating change agents. the film was bought by fox searchlight for a record $17.5 million. >> wow. other notable mentions, the top documentary earning the grand jury prize "weiner" based on former new york congressman anthony weiner. >> and a film a lot of people were talking about "swiss army man" for best director even though some audience members walked out over the film's subject. a flatulence corpse. >> moving right along maybe. >> a little awkward.

>> i don't know why they walked out. that's all i'm saying. > latest live tv event delighting fans of the musical. this was a big night. >> we're talking about "grease," the latest broadway favorite to get the small screen treatment. the reviews are still coming in fox's version of the classic, but so far they've been pretty good. the production took some bold, new moves utilizing multiple sound stages as well as a live audience. >> it seems like, you see right there, "dancing with the stars" ju ann julianne hough, there she is, playing sandy, and veteran broadway aaron tava. sandy and danny. stealing the show was rizzo, played by vanessa hudgens. listen to her big number. ♪ shall i sing ♪ and i don't steal and i don't lie ♪ ♪ but i can feel and i can cry ♪ ♪ a fact i'll bet you never knew ♪ ♪ but to cry in front of you ♪ >> boy, she just nails that and

can you believe it, just hours before that, hudgens got the sad news that her father had passed away from cancer. just gives me chills. >> yeah, before the performance hudgens tweeted out she was doing the show in his honor and no doubt would have made her father very, very proud. >> beautiful, beautiful moment. >> and "grease" was in good hands, though. that is directed by the same director tommy cales who does "hamilton," the huge, huge hit here. >> have you seen that yet? >> i have. it's really good. >> lucky guy. it's hard to get tickets in town. >> he was doing that and it's such a big hit. "grease" was in good hands. >> here at abc, the adaptation of the '80s classic "dirty dancing" a taped musical with abigail breslin cast as jennifer grey's iconic role of baby should be a lot of fun. looking forward to that.

>> in case you missed it, cindy crawford is retiring from the modeling world. so, in case you didn't already think that she was, surprise. >> crawford made the announcement in an interview with united airlines for this month's edition of "hemisphere," an in-flight magazine. she's sure she will have her picture taken for maybe ten more years but just not as a model. >> still looking great though. she did quit modeling full time in 2000 but continued to pose professionally. i don't know what the difference is but that's what they say. finally, some exciting news for fans of hip-hop and nature documentaries. >> i am both, actually. a favorite jimmy kimmel bit featuring snoop dogg and videos of wildlife may soon become a reality. here is the taste. >> is it mongooses? oh. wow. it's about 12 of them. they about to gator up. i ain't never seen a gator get punked by no mongooses. retreat, yeah, back up. >> an online petition very close to being delivered to the folks at animal plant and the folks of

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and i enjoy it. feel the difference with k-y ultragel. you look just like me but a baby. you're like me but old. you're like me but fatter. >> oh, yeah. >> you're like me but -- ewww -- with a hat. >> oh, who doesn't like a good panda. "kung fu panda 3" pulling in plenty of box office bamboo. they took the top spot in weekend. the film industry thankful to get last weekend's blizzard behind it. >> the third installment of the saga pulled in $41 million with "the revenant" trailing over with a little over $12 million and "star wars" just shy of 11 million. meanwhile, in iowa, plenty of drama. >> the first votes in the 2016 race to the white house, but in iowa, they do things a little

differently. that's the word we keep hearing, caucus. so, what is this really all about? well, with some clarity here is abc's cecilia vega. >> reporter: the hawkeye state -- >> what's it like to be greeted by bacon? >> amazing. >> reporter: where politicians come to flip pork chops, pose with a cow made of butter, take a spin in their chopper. did we mention the pork chops? so many pork chops. >> pork chop on a stick. >> reporter: it's enough to make a politician scream. >> ahhh! >> reporter: but it all comes to a head at those caucuses. we came to drake university -- you're the caucus expert -- to ask that burning question. what the heck is a caucus anyway? it's complicated. so, they gave us a demonstration. for the democrats, groups of iowans gather to choose delegates who then go on to

choose their party nominee. one side tries to convince the other side to join their team or break a tie with food or -- >> rock, paper scissors is listed as one possibility. >> reporter: oh, really? the republicans have it a lot easier. they write down a candidate's name on a slip of paper and done. if it sounds like a bunch of song and dance, well, there is a caucus musical. ♪ oh iowa >> reporter: but just remember, iowa launched presidential runs for jimmy carter, two george bushs and barack obama. they may just launch the next leader of the free world. cecilia vega, abc news, council bluffs, iowa. >> the leader of the free world with rock, paper, scissors. there it is. >> i'm curious to know if cecilia has tried the pork chop. >> oh, for sure. she wouldn't have missed that opportunity. >> oh, no. don't miss our updates on facebook @wnnfans.com. >> announcer: this abc's "world news now," informing insomniacs for two decades. . >> announcer: this abc's "world

news now," informing insomni

america" live from making news in america this morning -- first vote. an official kickoff to the primary election season. the pivotal iowa caucuses. the candidates' late-night push sweeping across the hawkeye state. we're live in des moines. extreme weather. blizzard warnings now in effect. the snow falling overnight. a foot of snow expected in some areas. plus, severe weather toppling trees, strong winds and intense rain pummelling the west coast. frightening fall. a drummer's big finish taking a tumble out a window. plus, extremely tight and zebra printed. the nfl player wearing these ferocious pants.