security being an issue on the forefront it's no surprise here at the venetian - security measures have been robust. this is the scene outside of the self parking garage today. whether youre attending or a part of the debate or just a hotel guest - guards with k9 are taking a good look at everyone - looking into cars and even checking your trunks. a lot of vigilance on the busy strip right now - we spoke earlier with locals watching from the comfort of their own home - this is a debate many are paying attention to whether youre republican - democrat or independent. whether you love him "i have my eyes on a businessman...who do you think that businessman can be? mr. trump." or you hate him "donald trump needs to be stopped" all eyes and ears on the frontrunner - donald trump - for this gop debate... "whats surprising is he one of the few candidates that ive seen that has been honest over the last few years though i dont believe in a lot of this ideas per say." not every local agrees with him - but many say the

serves as a good spring-board for the topics that matter to them. "how theyre goign to solve the problems on international front and things that are going on overseas." "jobs is probably number one and its never been adressed properly we talked about it 6 7 years ago and its never happened and terrorism is number 2." "i work at a gun store so of course the second amendment issue is goign to be a big issue." "id like to see some definite issue on forieign policy i think abortion is kind of a hot button topic." national defense and homeland security are grabbing the headlines now - in the wake of recent terror attacks - but some want to see other topics discused as well. "im more interested in education actually thats one of the big things that been going on for years and soemthign that hasn't been discussed

no matter what party - whose supporter - what topics -some will watch it from work - most from home - few from the strip. "too cold to go outside and make it all the way over there like im freezing right now.." so there is a lot of curiosity for the gop candidates - whether you want more from trump or more from a viable alternative - all are looking forward to an exciting entertaining debate. this afternoon before the debate i caught up with doctor ben carson here in the spin room. in light of the terror threat in los angeles today - the conversation turned to national security. carson said he's not a loud guy, but that doesn't mean he's not passionate or qualified. i'm considered a

tough enough to deal with those things, hopefully i can demonstrate tonight i'm a nice guy but can deal with those things. do you have a strategy to illustrate that tonight at the debate? well, when i'm asked how i'm going to deal with it i will talk about and demonstrate that. i've been talking about that for quite a while. since you guys are investigators, go back and look at what i've been talking about for a year, same thing everyone else is picking up on now. it's not something i'm weak on, it's just that people assume if you don't shout and jump up and gesticulate, taht somehow you don't mean it. doctor carson said you need resolve and tenacity to deal with national security, not just a loud voice. even though he didn't name him, that's a shot at donald trump, so i asked doctor carson if he'd support trump if trump becomes the gop nominee.

thirteen republican candidates are still vyying for the nomination. the main focus is on the main debate where the top nine contenders will take the stage. but right now, four candidates are already facing off in the undercard debate. they're the candidates with the lowest poll numbers: former arkansas governor mike huckabee, former pennsylvania senator rick santorum, south carolina senator lindsey graham and former new york governor george pataki. nearly the entire deabte focused on national security and the battle against isis. "we have to kill some terrorists and kill everyone we can to make it clear that to take action againt the united

signed your death warrant. " troops with allies and supporters wherever it is destroy the training centers, recuriting centers, planning hubs of isis." new jersey governor chris downgraded to undercard debate but tonight returns to the after a small boost in the polls and a strong newspaper endorsement in the early primary state of new hampshire. joining me now is fox5's kevin bolinger... to talk about how this event is a big night not just for the party, but also to las vegas. walking around the venetian

just those you'll see on camera. we're surrounded by politicians and international media. earlier we spoke with lieutenant governor mark hutchison about our state having the spotlight.... and what he hopes to see from tonight's squaring off. you know, we talk about gaming tourism, sometimes we talk about medical tourism but there will be an element of political tourism coming to las vegas that we're very excited about. lieutenant governor mark hutchison says nevada has the spotlight like never before. not just for the candidate debates, but for the presidential debate unlv will host... the last one before the general election. tonight, the native nevadan hopes to hear more about how candidates will

in the west. talk about things like water, ownership of federal land, talk about things like endangered species act that have impacts on our economy. our mining economy, our agricultural economy, our ranching economy, there are some things that are really important to western states that maybe the rest of the country doesn't really understand. but overshadowing those issues are recent challenges that have moved to the forefront since the attacks in paris and the shooting in san bernardino. national security has become more prominent as the election has progressed and more and more debates have progressed because of what has happened recently. as chair of senator marco rubio's campaign in nevada, hutchison says people respect rubio for confronting the issues. but with low turnout at state caucuses, they're depending on their 'ground game.' so the key is going to be which candidates can get out their ground game, can the candidates get out their voters who

even though they may have good poll numbers, does that translate then into people going on caucus night, spending the time there, it's not just pushing a button or pulling a lever, it's actually caucusing with your neighbors in your precinct. the lieutenant governor is among those here tonight.... and we'll be out and about talking to more state leaders to bring you their reaction tonight at ten. great, kevin, we'll see you at 10. you heard kevin mention lieutenant governor hutchison's endorsement for senator marco rubio.

sandoval about who he's supporting. here's what he had to say. "i haven't endorsed anyone. i have a lot of friends there who are governors and i know most of them and i want to see what they have to say. i want to see what they have to say for nevada and for the united states." protesters - taking issue with the republican candidates outside the venetian. the "nevada progressive coaltion" - a liberal activist group... held what it's calling a "no hate" debate rally. armed with giant heads - of the candidates - they're calling on the g-o-p to not discriminate against minorities in tonights debates. the president of the latino victory fund called out donald trump for some of his controversial comments he's made about latinos... women... and muslims. 'hes afraid of the

for this country and our vision is a beautiful vision together' the "nevada progressive coaltion" also called on republicans to acknowledge the threat of climate change. the nine candidates taking the stage for tonight's main debate have been fighting for the spotlight in nevada. most of them arrived prior today... a few of them even getting in speaking engagements and rallies ahead of time. marco rubio among them... he held a predebate rally yesterday at the renaissance with a few hundred supporters. rubio, lived in las vegas during his childhood, has been purposeful with his few visits in nevada since announcing his candidacy. we've been tracking the

here's his scorecard. he was here once in july and for a three day tour in october... making for a total of three stops. 'they think we cant be safe unless we give up our privacy but i am going to fight them tooth and nail we will not give up our liberty ' rand paul, who was in danger of being removed from tonight's main stage but showed 11th hour viability.... spoke earlier today just down the road at caesars palace for the las vegas economic club. here's his nevada score card which began in spring and folllowed with more stops over the summer. this week's trip will be his fourth to the silver state. he'll follow up today's events with a trip to washoe county... with a stand with rand metet and greet at republican headquarters up north. for as much as you've heard about donald trump, you might be surprised to hear how many visits he's made to the valley. yesterday he held a rally at the westgate... touting the latest poll showing he has a substantial lead in the race... holding 41-

republican- leading voters. but take a look... according to our records.. that was only his third trip to nevada. his first was in july... then in october... that visit was marked by the woman who took the microphone exclaiming how much she loved him. tomorrow, he heads to mesa, arizona. there couldn't be a better time... to be a student in a political science class - than right

"whether it's the solution or the problem, they are part o oit. " how one professor is teaching his class to find the truth -

school system... at the venetian... with less than an hour to the debate... let's go to the studio now with fox5's elizabeth watts, with the latest local headlines. the clark county school district says they are prepared should a security threat arise on any of their campuses. this comes after school officials in both los angeles and new york say they received an electronic threat that prompted very different responses. fox 5's abby (ted- ros) theodros joins us in the newsroom with more on this mornings threat and how the district prepares for emergencies. abby? all this happened just hours ago when the school districts in both new york and los angeles received an electronic threat. officials in los angeles say the message was "very specific" and

that prompted them to cancel classes today while officials in new york interpreted the message as a "hoax." here in clark county - i spoke with officials with the local district and they told me how they prepare for possible threats and emergencies. in the age of emails and social media - school officials say they're casting a wider net to ensure the safety of their students capt. ken young: over the 24 years that ive been things have changed. where before youd get a phone call and now you'll get things via email via social media. through rumors - there's a lot of different mediums now that threats come in. happened a couple hundred miles away in los angeles tuesday morning - prompting school officials to cancel classes district wide. meanwhile in new york - city officials considered a similar electronic threat a hoax and kept their schools open. while the differing responses could be indicative of the recent attacks in san bernardino - captain young says that as the fifth largest school district in the country - they're constantly

capt. young: we never say that it couldn't happen here. our motto is to prepare for anything that does occur. we are always anticipating that we could receive this type of a threat and we prepare accordingly some of those include crisis police presence on school campuses and staff who are trained to detect and respond to threats. michael wilson- director of the office of emergency management ccsd: - everyday that happen as far as helping schools types of problems that are ocurring. we also help them with drills. but aside from preparation - officials say communication is key. capt young - this is an all out approach - if you hear something, say something. let law enforcement know. captain young also mentioned that they're constantly updating their security measures - particularly before each school year. live in the news room abby theodros fox5 news local las vegas. ccsd also has an automated messaging system that allows school officials

to parents quickly and put out a community alert for the larger public. now fox5 weather 24/7, with chief meterologist ted pretty we'll start around freezing at mccarran for wednesday and thursday morning with some las vegas valley areas seeing low to mid 20s for lows. we'll see a high of 48 on wednesday, then 52 on thursday. by friday we'll start in the upper 30s with high in the upper 50s. the weekend features highs around 60 degrees with afternoon southwest wind to 25 mph saturday, then northwest wind to 20 mph on

high this time of year is 56 degrees. we'll start around freezing at mccarran for wednesday and thursday morning with some las vegas valley areas seeing low to mid 20s for lows. we'll see a high of 48 on wednesday, then 52 on thursday. by friday we'll start in the upper 30s with high in the upper 50s. the weekend features highs around 60 degrees with afternoon

then northwest wind to 20 mph on sunday. average high this time of year is 56 degrees. closed captioning will resume shortly

on his legendary quest jack went looking for a man. known simply as...the onion whisperer. the onion said... "you must prepare me three ways... " "...then put it all on a burger..." "...and make a commercial about it." and that's the legend of the cheddar onion buttery jack. crispy, grilled and caramelized-onion aioli. the cheddar onion buttery jack.

oining us for your only local news at 5:30. you're joining us live from the venetian. joining me now is republican congressman joe heck.... closed captioning will resume shortly

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poll numbers... and we talk to senator dean heller... about why he wants to see a governor -

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