family in virginia. more about the search for a suspect who police say held them hostage and kidnapped a beloved grandmother. and world health officals are warning pregnant women about a dangerous virus. a variety of weather today from clouds to sun. any plenty of snow melt expected in your first alert forecast good evening i'm jean jadhon. our top story tonight: liberty university president jerry falwell junior has endorsed donald trump for president. in a release from the trump campaign this afternoon, falwell described the republican candidate as a successful executive and entrepreneur, a wonderful father and a man who can lead the country to greatness again. wdbj7's joe dashiell is following that story. joe, what could falwell's endorsement mean for the trump campaign? jean, we're now just days away from the iowa caucuses. the trump campaign hopes falwell's endorsement will boost trump's standing among evangelical voters as the primary season

falwell was not available for an interview today. the release said his support is a personal endorsement, not on behalf of liberty university. but he came close last monday when trump visited liberty. falwell told the audience he sees parellels between his father and donald trump. jerry falwell jr: he honors his fiduciary responsibilities to his corporations. he makes tough decision to ensure his businesses' success. he speaks the truth publicly even if it is uncomfortable for people to hear, yet he treats his friends, his employees and those in need with the greatest respect, loyalty and generosity. falwell's endorsement of trump is a blow to ted cruz, who announced his campaign for president at liberty university last spring, and who is counting on the support of christian conservatives to win the early primaries. we won't have long to wait to see if the falwell endorsement will make a difference. the iowa caucuses lead off the primary schedule on

joe dashiell wdbj7 and the latest poll out this morning shows trump has now regained a lead in iowa - but ted cruz is within the margin of error so trump is continuing to attack the texas senator. cruz is firing back, saying there's a reason the republican establishment is supporting trump so much. sen. ted cruz/(r- tx) presidential candidate "trump will cut a deal. trump will expand government spending, expand the debt, continue the cronie -ism the democratic side is just as tight with hillary clinton and bernie sanders in a dead heat - but sanders has been gaining ground on clinton in iowa. clinton trails sanders for young voters - but historically that's a group that doesn't show up to caucus. forecastwhat a little more melting done today the clouds started rollback in a now funny some scattered showers on first alert doppler radar it's all associated with the cold front that pretty much stretches from the northeast all the way back into the mountains of west virginia will to give luba

of the showers are very very spotty i developing right along the mountain chains most areas in the forties and even some fifties soaks no problems as far as any kind of wintry precipitation but i dictated in the hillcity there still some lighter showers also tore the allegheny highlands back of zoom in luba closer to this one little pockets of heavy rain in parts of eastern bedford county moving over towards lynchburg right now getting some other showers but very very hit in this this evening and there's not a lotta rain with these mostly a 10th of an inch or last as we go through the overnight we are expecting partly cloudy to mostly cloudy skies warming up close to forty degrees tomorrow afternoon at a cool see quite a bit more sunshine as well the we goes on will talk about that and maybe some 50s and 60s by the jennifer braaten is planning to retire this summer. braaten is the school's 10th president. she has led the school since 2002. enrollment increased during her tenure, and two capital campaigns raised 45 million dollars. the school says a search committee is

braaten's successor. republicans in the house of delegates rolled out their education agenda today, and charter schools are at the top of the list. they are promoting a constitutional amendment that would give the board of education the authority to establish charter schools in virginia. if the legislation passes this year it will go to the voters in a statewide referendum, but it faces strong opposition from democrats and the virginia education association. the search continues in virginia tonight: for a man authorities are calling very dangerous- and the woman he's accused of abducting. deputies in amelia county, near richmond say dana william held a family hostage in their home, then took off with their grandmother. jon burkett from our cbs affiliate in richmond sat down with the family. shawntae smith/granddaughter 10:19 "i'm sorry i didn't do enough to make you free." a granddaughter feeling guilty about her grandmother who is now a hostage and missing deputies believe this

william is holding olene brooks against her will 10:38 "please please keep fighting like you did for me." the family drama started with these three and another man held at gun point on thursday night after they say william broke a window out, climbed in nats: and waited for them to come home 2:58 "he told me in order for me to save my family-i would have to call my mom to the house." smith refused - and things intensified 3:31 "tied shawntae with zip ties and tied my friend up with zip ties , then tied me and my son up." smith says william then swiped her cell phone and sent a text to brooks asking her to bring over a thermometer because the four year old was sick...a lie that lured 10:29 "happy birthday! when's her birthday? today! (cries) the now 68 year old grandmother to the poorhouse road home. deputies say william snatched brooks and went back to her home where they later found her husband woodell brooks dead- law enforcement sources say he was murdered 5:03 "pop was a family guy, he loved all of us..he

years and would always help people." now his family is asking for a favor from the ems community and everyone else watching... begging the public to be on the look out for this man dana william and a 2010 silver dodge caravan with virginia handicap license plates 433114. "please be on alert for that van and if you see him call police. and help to save my mom. dana william is known by the brooks and smith family and is said to be brooks' former son in law. the "u.s marshal fugitive task force" is working this case around the clock. if you see dana william-you are urged to call police. we're learning more about the men who escaped in a southern california jailbreak. one of the escapees, who is facing murder charges, is linked to a vietnamese gang. another man was

gang ties and was being held on attempted murder charges. the other, was accused of kidnapping and torture. people who live in the community near the jail are frightened "if these people are that badhow did they get out of jail?" authorities believe the men escaped from the jail in orange county friday morning. they cut their way through a steel screen and entered the building's plumbing tunnels. investigators are trying to find out how they got their tools, and if they had help getting out. so far, no one here at the sheriff's department has been put on leave or suspended in relation to the escape. new tonight-the all clear has been given at a naval medical facility san diego. earlier today, there were reports of gun shots around 8 this morning. nearby schools were put on lockdown and workers were told to find shelter. navy units with dogs and first responders searched the building, but found no active shooter. officials say no one was hurt. halifax county leaders say they have almost finalized

and they want you to see them. the board of supervisors chairman says the designs are 99 percent complete and in agreement with the leaders involved. the county has been under court order to improve the court house since 2012. the county's attorney and architect will be presenting the plans at a public meeting tomorrow night. dennis witt, board of supervisors chairman "we think they deserve the opportunity to see the plan and to make comments about it. so, it's kind of a big time in this very long drawn out process we've been through." the public meeting starts tomorrow night at 5:30. if there is a positive response, leaders will move forward with the next steps. construction is to start in the fall of 20-16. a local high school is looking for help from the pros to update their football stadium. galax high school is in the middle of their capital fundraising campaign to put turf down at their football field. they have made a request of the miami dolphins alumni association to make a 700-thousand dollar donation to

head football coach mark dixon played for the dolphins from 1998 to 2003 making him eligible to ask for the donation. the school does not know when the association's board of director's will make a decision. tonight people in hollywood are mourning the loss of a well-known character actor. it's an illness spread by mosquitos that's now affecting more than 20 countries. we talk to a roanoke doctor about the dangers of the zika virus. and it's a mickey d's makeover. what business experts are saying

profits. has confirmed an adult resident of virginia has tested positive for the zika virus. this comes as a warning goes out to pregnant women or those trying to get

travel to several countries including parts of the caribbean. there is concern that the mosquito borne zika virus iin brazil is linked to an increase in cases of babies born with microcephaly a condition where the babies brain and skull do not develop properly. carilion clinic's chief of infectious disease told me this aftenroon- while it is scary- it also should be put in perspective. dr. thomas kerkering: the issue is more for women of child bearing age who think they could or might or want to get pregnant and these countries not until we know more the c-d-c is advising pregnant women to avoid travel to 14 countries and territories in latin american and the caribbean including puerto rico, mexico and haiti dr. kerkering said the virus is spread through mosqitores not person to person. because it's winter there is less concern of any

virginia department of health today in richmond- i'm told a letter will be going out to all physicians this week with guidelines on the zika virus. character actor abe vigoda has died. vigoda's daughter says he died in new jersey this morning in his sleep. his sunken-eyed face made him ideal for playing his two most noted roles, the over-the-hill detective phil fish in the 1970s tv series "barney miller" and the doomed mafia soldier in "the godfather." he was 94 . iran's president visited pope francis at the vatican today the 40-minute discussion kicked off a european tour which president hassan rouhani hopes will position iran as a key player in middle east peace efforts. rouhani says his country is now the safest and most stable in the region. he says he wants to end decades of diplomatic distance with the west over its controversial nuclear program. iran recently agreed to limit the program in exchange for sanction relief. pope francis told rouhani he "hopes

pope to pray for him. more than six million bottles of water are being sent to students hit by the flint, michigan water crisis. the bottles donated by walmart, coke, pepsi and nestle will provide flint's 10- thousand students with clean water throughout 2016. flint gained national attention after their tap water was found to be contaminated with toxic levels of lead. state and federal officials have struggled to provide clean water for residents. mcdonald's says it is making a comeback, thanks to the most important meal of the day. the fast food giant credits the "all-day breakfast" for a big jump in sales. but vinita nair found the fast food giant has other changes in store. (nats - mcdonald's ad) "no way. savor breakfast anytime you like." more than three months after mcdonald's made breakfast an all day affair (nats) "all day breakfast. sooooooo good." the move appears to be satisfying customer cravings and wall street's appetite for profits.

on monday that u-s same- store sales jumped nearly six percent in the fourth quarter of 2015...making (sot: mellody hobson/ cbs news financial contributor) "this is an organization that is closing in on servicing something like 70 million people a day. those issues have included criticism for the restaurant's "super-sized" menu and allegations over using unhealthy and unethically raised ingredients facing stiff competition from more premium chains like shake shack and chipotle. since ceo steve easterbrook took over mcdonald's in march, the company has become more transparent about ingredi ents(mcdonald's video) simplified its menuand "beefed" up how customers can use it. (nat-mcdonald's ad) "there's one and there's two." rolling out a revamped value menua digital app to help find deals and (quick music nats from ad) kiosks that let you create your own burger. (sot: mellody hobson/ cbs news financial contributor) "the idea of customization suggests that food is fresher."

news/new york) while overall customer satisfaction is improving, the number of people who actually visit mcdonalds is down. that is why, the company is testing out a few new food items at select locations, like mac-and-cheese in select stores in ohio and sweet potato fries in select stores in texas. vinita nair, cbs news, new york weather changes this week include a little rain, but overall, it's fairly quiet. complete details of your first alert forecast

forecastwe been like in with the clouds were most of a few scattered showers can of moving through ulysses is the a glimpse of some blue skies very very far in the distance

looking to some spotty showers of been rolling through their cold front can see the almost lining up there with the mountains a few lighter showers down across parts of biotite county from say report springwood in by canyon of the lexington approaching buena vista and the and crossing over the blue ridge parkway for traveling say forty three for mccain and over towards bedford may run into a few scattered showers there and a right approaching lynchburg just to the east of the town of effort again some showers there it's all associated with that front so what will dues will why now the picture you can see what's happening you can see easily there's that line of showers right there goes all the way down into the gulf coast states the clouds you back here once we get rid of these will start to clear out late tonight but i we had through a good portion of the of the day tomorrow will keep watch a low that's down here likely developed the latest models look like it's can a sin this thing out to see yesterday some of the models had a cameo will closer to land we had watch it for thursday right now will psych

temperatures in the mid- forties just liquid variety of moisture coming down and could mix with a look of the fuss snow into the higher elevations later on tonight it some of that colder air begins to work him were not expecting any accumulating snow showers early can't rule out some morning fault for your wednesday morning commute is this temperatures to drop into the low thirties to get to the freezing mark tuesday just beware we could have that also wish a the visibility map rossini are and that's were we have some pretty thick fog and you see that by tomorrow morning there are get a be some pockets to the new river valley also along interstate seventy seven 77 corba or three galax were we could have thick fog in the morning so just keep data my it will burn off will have sunshine breaking back out during the afternoon that the other thing what a sherry is the high temperatures over the next couple days right in the forties about where we should be for this time of year but watch what happens by the we get were getting go right up into the fifties can be a very very warm and of the week o'shea why that comes in the plane just a second but

a sprinkle possible in the morning highs upper thirties the low forties notice of the longer-range map showing and of what can happen the for the first week of february right now on the prediction center says hey will psych a good portion of the east coast will be warmer than average while the colder than average temperatures will stay on the west coast inseven-day forecast. we stay cool and then as we approach 1 february. we do warm up quite a bit with high temperatu their first acc road win of the season tonight, plus last night was a big night for a former william fleming star in the nba. travis

sports. fleming star and vcu standout troy daniels, who led the charlotte hornets to a huge victory out west. daniels hit a career high 8 three pointers on his way to a 28 point night against the sacramento kings. that included the game winning 3 with 9 seconds left in double overtime as the hornets won it 129-128. his performance helped charlotte overcome a kings record 56 point ourburst from demarcus cousins in a losing effort. staying in the nba, former hokie erick green from winchester has signed a ten day contract with the utah jazz. green had been playing with the nba developmental league's reno bighorns since being waived by the denver nuggets earlier this season. green averaged nearly 27 points and 4 assists in 23 games with reno. he played for denver in 43 games last season and in three games this season. the virginia cavaliers are in winston-salem tonight to face wake forest. tony bennett's team has shown some versatility in back to back wins at home over clemson and syracuse and now take things on the road, looking for the first acc win of the

charlottesville. london perrantes/ virginia point guard: just having guys that can fill each other's roles is huge. you know with foul trouble and things like that, things can change at the drop of a dime so just having people to be able to step up and do different things is huge for us. nascar released its race times for the upcoming season today. the spring race at martinsville, the stp 500 is set for a 1pm green flag on april 3rd while the goody's 500 gets a 1 o'clock start on october 30th. the food city 500 on april 17th is also a 1pm start while the august 20th night race will start at 8. richmond's spring race is now a sunday afternoon event on april 24th. a positive end to the day on wall street. the dow gained 282. nasdaq rose 49.

survive through the winter? wdbj7's amanda kenney is taking a look at what local businesses are doing at smith mountain lake. jean, some businesses don't always make it through the year at but the ones that in fact, many that we spent the day with tend to be a jack of all trades. one business typically turns into two or three businesses. and it's all to keep the lights on in the winter. tonight at six, we see just how creative

getting. for the latest weather anytime, turn to our webpage at wdbj7.com and be sure to follow us on facebook and twitter for weather headlines and more at wdbj7weather. thank you for choosing your hometown news leader, wdbj7.