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.

good monday morning. the wait is over. it's decision day in iowa. the 2016 presidential nomination process kicking off today. >> and the candidates are spending the night crisscrossing the state hoping to win the first in the nation caucuses. >> the new poll on the republican side showing donald trump taking the lead back from senator ted cruz. senator marco rubio in third. and for the democrats the newest poll from the des moines register has hillary clinton and bernie sanders neck and neck in a statistical tie. >> abc's lana zak is live in des moines. good morning. >> reporter: good morning. happy caucus day, phillip and reena. we're so excited to be here. you know, at 7:00 central time, iowans are going to gather together with their neighbors in church basements, school auditoriums as they try to pick the next president of the united states. >> it sounds like you want to make a political revolution.

>> i am a better candidate and thanks to you, i'll be a better president and i want you to know that. >> reporter: this is it. time is up for the three democrats and the 11 republicans running for president. he'll be administering a caucus in western des moines. >> i think a lot of people are going to be making that decision when they're listening to their neighbors. >> reporter: the last iowa poll found 5 points or less separating first and second place. with about a third of voters still wavering in their support, campaigns can influence the results up to the last second. >> i pray to god's will. >> reporter: in their final day on the trail, ted cruz attended church on the final day. he said he prayed for donald trump and marco rubio who made this appeal. >> if i'm the president of the united states, when i'm the president of the united states, we will confront the challenges of our time. >> reporter: rubio fighting hard for an upset second-place finish or better.

>> get out of bed and caucus. >> reporter: and donald trump long the man in the lead gave melania the mike to close the deal. >> he will be unbelievable. >> reporter: and we'll expect to see results from the republicans pretty soon after 7:00 local time here tonight. but for the democrats, it tends to take a little bit longer since those caucuses unfold like a game of red rover. with campaigns trying to sway voters from the less viable candidates over to their side. phillip, reena. >> red rover, i like that one. well said. lana, after the final push last night, what do the candidates all have planned for today? >> well, usually on election days candidates tend to lay pretty low. iowa, they tend to come out a little bit more than they do at other places. but still we see very little events. most of the events are from those candidates who are further behind in the polls. hillary clinton has one event tonight which they're dubbing

optimistically perhaps, a victory party. but jeb bush is already heading to new hampshire later this afternoon. >> oh, it's a big day for everyone. lana zak live in des moines. lana, thanks so much. and ted cruz is coming under fire for sending mailers to iowa voters designed to look like official documents that accused them of a voting violation. >> so, the envelopes are labeled election alert. the document inside includes the recipient's voting score, even information about their neighbors. >> iowa's secretary of the state is calling the mailer deceptive. cruz is refusing to apologize for what some are calling voter intimidation. and stay with abc news as the first nominating event gets under way today. later this morning, george and robin will be live from iowa on "good morning america." and david muir will report from des moines on "world news tonight." and of course, you can count on abcnews.com with updates throughout the night. and the next republican debate right here on abc, folks, this saturday after iowa and

just days before the new hampshire primaries, moderated by david muir and co-anchor martha raddatz of "this week." and iowa is bracing for a major snowmaker expected to ramp up just after tonight's caucuses. that storm has already pummelled california and parts of the southwest. parts of flagstaff, arizona, could see as much as 15 inches of snow. yes, that is lightning you see there. strong winds could also trigger whiteout conditions. in southern california, high winds gusting up to 40 miles per hour, uprooting trees. one of those falling trees killed a driver in san diego. heavy rains flooded lanes on the 101 and the pacific coast highway. the latest radar shows those powerful storms now headed northeast. impacting the central rockies and central plains, eventually taking aim at the great plains and the midwest. also in southern california, all three of those escaped inmates are back behind bars after an eight-day saga. now, authorities are trying to

determine how the trio pulled off such a brazen escape. one man surrendered friday. the two others were captured saturday 300 miles north in san francisco. thanks to an alert citizen who tipped off police. police say a jailhouse english teacher supplied the inmates with google images that helped their escape. isis has claimed responsibility for triple bombings that have killed at least 50 near a revered shrine in syria. more than a hundred others were wounded. the attack comes as factions are gathering for peace talks in geneva. peace talks have yet to get under way. but there is a some movement. a u.n. mediator has met for the the first time with syrian rebels. also overseas, the world health organization meets to in an emergency session over the zika virus. they could declare the outbreak a global health emergency. it has been linked to thousands of serious birth defects mainly in south america. the two nfl conference champions have arrived in california ahead of sunday's big

game. the first to land in san jose, the denver broncos led by quarterback peyton manning. who might be playing his last game. >> and an hour later the carolina panthers arrived, headed up by of course cam newton. none of the players spoke to reporters. s saying it all up for the much-anticipated media day tonight. and still ahead, what wall street could be telling us about the presidential election. and under arrest, two virginia tech students accused in the death of a 13-year-old girl. this morning, investigators laying out the details in this bizarre case. plus, caught on camera. a drummer getting into a song when he suddenly falls through a window. when he suddenly falls through a window.

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these are some frightening moments on a british airways flight from london to chicago. two hours into the flight the boeing 747 had to dump fuel and returned to heathrow airport after two of the five sets of landing gear wheels broke in flight. but the pilot managed to land the crippled jet safely. well, a new month of trading begins today following the worst january in seven years. the dow fell more than 5% last month. wall street's slow start in 2016 could be big for the republicans. since 1960, every election year with a negative january and no incumbent running the white house has changed parties. gas prices continue their downward trend toward their lowest level in six years. the average price for a gallon of gas nationwide is now $1.80.

that's down four cents from last year and down a quarter since this time last year. the national average has been below $2. because of increased supply of crude oil. americans were in the mood for lighter fare at the movies this weekend. "kung fu panda 3" brought in a lot of cash. the third installment pulled in $41 million, more than three times as much as the revenant. star wars the force awakens came in third. >> we love our fast-food news this hour. burger wars heating up today. new burger out today, burger king extra long buttery cheeseburger. extra long. drenched in buttery garlic sauce. the cheeseburger will featured on the 2 for $5 menu. >> that's a big burger. when we come back -- trapped under a tree. a man saved by a nun. and going viral.

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observers described the fireball as having colorful fragments and looked like it fell apart or exploded. now a look at your morning road conditions. wet roads stretched from the mid-atlantic coast down to the tennessee valley and alabama. rain and snow will make for slippery roads across the midwest and plains states as well as the southwest, and roads will be wet in the pacific northwest. and if you're flying, airport delays are possible in salt lake city, denver and miami. well, there's shock this morning on the campus of virginia tech, now that two engineering students are charged in the kidnapping and murder of a 13-year-old girl. >> police in blacksburg announced yesterday that natalie marie keepers had been arrested for helping to dispose of the body. earlier david eisenhauer was charged with first-degree murder and abduction. invest gators said eisenhauer and the victim knew each other. >> based on evidence collected to date, we have determined they were acquainted prior to her disappearance. eisenhauer used this

relationship to his advantage to abduct and then kill her. >> the victim's heartbroken mother said her daughter had survived mersa, a life transplant and lymphoma at age 5. only to lose her life to a murderer. an investigation is under way in denver. a deadly shooting this weekend involving rival motorcycle gangs in denver. an attorney said one of the club members fired a gun during the melee on saturday saying it was in self-defense. a member of the rival gang was killed. a drummer in a nashville band made quite an exit and it was all caught on camera. the don kelly band was winding up its set saturday night. a big finish. when the drummer topples backward through the window. he dropped six feet. he broke a rib in the process. but the show must go on.

he went back in and played another four hours in another club. the man rescued south of boston could be considered an about of divine intervention. doug goldman was cutting down a tree in the woods when it fell on top of him, severely injuring his legs and trapping him for hours. his cries were finally answered by a nun who just happened to be praying in the woods. >> the patient told us himself that he had been for about two hours. luckily that someone had heard him screaming for help. >> fire officials said if not for that nun running back to their nearby convent to call for help, goldman would not have lasted through the night. well, time now for sports. the best athletes in the nba, the nfl and the nhl in action now. >> highlights from the johns at espn. super bowl week is here. of course, it's next sunday, north of san francisco. meantime other sports news.

>> i thought the iowa caucus -- i thought we vote for cam newton or peyton manning. >> that's not how it works. they're not eligible. we'll do the nba. steph curry. knicks/warriors at msg. warriors started slowly only 18 in the first quarter. green had a triple-double. the warriors won big. 116-95. the old pro bowl was played sunday. in hawaii. michael irvin trying to earn his team a win. that's charles woodson, retiring of course, his ninth pro bowl appearance. tyrod taylor, jarvis landry. yes. nice grab. but team rice would fall to team irvin, 49-27. nhl all-star game in nashville. john scott, big controversy coming in, voted in by the fans, he got traded.

nhl said you can't play in the a all-star game because you're in the minors. the uproar was big. this is like a fantasy camp for him. not an all-star caliber player but his attitude, his likability, he scored a couple of goals, his team won the three-on-three, won the mvp and car. that's it for us. new live "sportscenter" coming your way at 9:00 a.m. eastern. 9:00 a.m. >> i loved that. could not have worked out better for anybody, including the nhl. >> everybody loves a good underdog. >> absolutely. up next in the pulse, wipeout, a surfer's major free fall caught on camera. >> and a bernie sanders shirt and a tricked-out tractor, some of the more colorful moments leading up to the iowa caucuses. to the iowa caucuses. today's biggest stars... ng for

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all right, it's time to check "the pulse." starting with carolina panthers quarterback cam newton's wardrobe choice. it's going viral overnight. check out these pants. zebra-stripped inspiration from versace. >> incredible. >> they're all sold out everywhere. although, that kind of blows my mind. because it's versace and a lot of money. the loafers aren't bad, either. >> well, money is no object when

you got good-looking pants like that. >> cam newton has the swag to pull it off. that's for sure. you need mad swag to pull that off. >> you do. reaction has been pretty swift on social media. fans and nonfans weighing in. cam newton dressed like sean michaels at wrestlemania. here's another one, cam newton -- business above, party below. >> perfect way to describe that. >> sure is. >> ten years from now, he'll probably look back and say, what was i wearing? but cool in 2016. >> ten years from now, those will still be classic. >> we'll see. now to a viral video sensation that has social media going crazy. they're calling it the craziest wipeout ever captured on film. check this out. this is a surfer, he's sent airborne 40 feet on that monster wave. >> i was worry that i'm somehow

going to be trapped in this. it's known jaws a surf break off the coast of maui. he compared the intensity to being in a car crash. >> yeah, that hurts. he has one heck of a profile pic now. look at that. he can freeze that. he lived to tell about it. and surfing still. all right, since he was blinded for a few seconds because of that salty strong sea spray that hit him, remarkably he walked away with just a stiff neck. next to a bit of comic relief on the campaign trail. >> 28-year-old adam peters has become a bit of an internet celebrity all thanks to this t-shirts, covered with bernie sanders hands. he started wearing it to different sanders events. not long before he saw it all over the internet. from the ap to the "the new york times." >> meantime, mike huckabee has the support of the country's most patriotic truck.

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live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> the wild weather is easing. but not the damage it last hype. we are talking, wind, rain and hail all in the bay area over weekend. good morning, it is monday. i am natasha zouves. >> i am "des moines register". -- i am reggie and it is february 1. >> it is trending dry. and good news is our winter weather advisory expired at 4:00, 26 in fairfield, and 18 miles per hour in downtown san francisco and 18 in san carlos and 14 in san jose and ten in oakland. can you see the embarcadero, the trees blowing and when i came across the bay bridge a lot of people were weaving because of the wind.

we are waking up cooler in the 40s a lot of chilled sunshine in the mid-50s and high clouds and sunshine and mid-to-upper 50s this afternoon. sue? >> yes, good morning, everyone. happy monday. c.h.p. has a high wind advisory for several bridges including the san mateo bridge which is light between 880 and 101 at 14 minutes. the bay bridge and the altamont pass, affected with high winds, as well. we have road work in the eastbound direction from portola that will be there until 5:30. more road work in a bit. >> breaking news in the east bay an early morning crash knocked out power to 2000 people in castro valley. a car plowed into this utility pole. there is no word on injuries. at 3:00 a.m. at the peak of the outage 3,000 customers were without power. crews are working to get the

lights on. >> we were at san mateo county with high winds creating a met. roads were littered with debris and tree limbs of the one tree fell across two homes and a car. the owner said he gist bought the car last month. the owner is happy because his house is okay. the tree took out power lines keeping pg&e crews busy. >> lack at this, the national park service tweeted this photo of a 74 miles per hour wind before sun set last night. point reyes is always windy but gusts this strong are unusual. >> a look at super bowl city in super bowl city. it is quiet. the big ever event is in the south bay for the nfl media night. matt keller is at s.a.p. center with a preview. matt? >> good morning, forget the red carpet we