the animal rescue league of iowa is taking the iowa department of agriculture to court. find out why the arl says the state isn't following the law when it comes to wild animals. another day, another new wrinkle in the battle over replacing antonin scalia on the supreme court. find out when charles grassley will meet with president obama ... and the one word grassley used to sum up the whole controversy today. and will the south rise again? it could in an eastern iowa man's basement. we'll play along with the meticulous civil war game he's created in his home. news at four front door open good afternoon ... i'm sonya heitshusen. .and i'm dan winters ... thanks for joining us. a des moines man accused of killing his wife and daughter

out a des moines hospital last night ... and walked right into the polk county jail. we learned late last night that barney fraaken had finally been booked into jail and charged with two counts of first degree murder. fraaken allegedly shot and killed his wife, amy, and the couple's 16-year old daughter, amber, at their des moines home last november. he then turned the gun on himself ... but he survived that gunshot wound to the head. he's been recovering at a des moines hospital since. last night he was finally released from the hospital and into police custody. he is being held on a two million bond. a retired iowa state trooper has been given probation and a suspended two- year prison sentence for possessing child pornography. 67-year-old david hubbard, of garner was sentenced tuesday in a garner courtroom. at the hearing hubbard said, ''what i did was inexcusable.'

photographs and one video, each involving a minor, in november 2013. he eventually pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. the patrol says hubbard retired in 2004 after nearly 30 years with the department. here's another reminder before ... metro law enforcement officers are out in force on i-235 this enforcing all traffic laws ... but are especially watching for speeders. if you're hitting the freeway still today, buckle up and take your foot off the gas. ames police say the city has been "slammed" with phone scams from people claiming to represent the internal revenue service over the past few weeks. they say the latest scam seems to be targeting students at iowa state. "but oftentimes what these scammers will do, they will call some of our international students - or some of our elderly people, especially - and theyll tell them they owe an outstanding fine or theres a warrant for their arrest because they havent paid some type of fee to

commander tuttle says at least three people have fallen victim to these scams in the last couple of weeks. each of those victims lost "several thousand dollars." police say the scammers are asking students to pay with a pre-paid credit card, or through a wire transfer at western union bank. western union bank tellers are trying to catch these scams in action and stop customers from wiring the money, but they tell police some people seem determined to send the money to stay out of trouble. "one of the factors that affects that is, this is tax filing season. and so, many of these scammers will hit us at strategic times when they know some of these people are thinking about filing taxes. so we believe that's why we're getting hit right now with these scams." :01-:14 ames police say if you believe you've been a victim of one of these scams, or if you receive a suspicious call, you should hang up and report it immediately. last year johnson county voted to rasie its minimum wage. the new wage doesn't apply to university of iowa jobs ... but the school says it is

22 20 students are telling us they can work more hours and get paid more by working off campus. so concurrent with this johnson co is increasing min wage. and they are encouraging cities to do that as well. so starting june 1st were going to be increasing out minimum wage to out students to $9.50 an hour todayat the iowa board of regents meeting in ames the university reported that the increased wages will cost the university an additional $750 thousand dollars. the university employs 1300 students in the housing and dining area. regent larry mckibben said johnson county has effectively raised the cost of tuition at the school. 'i specifically disagree with increasing..matching johnson co i can tell you that the only county in the 99 counties thats doing that i think thats out of bounds,' "the notion of johnson countys minimum wage considerations for increased minimum wage is not an issue that has been determined at the university of iowa with respect to that matter,' "multiple considerations to be made and discussions to be hand,at the shared governance, presidential cabinet levels for that.' the school says it is still

hike on its finances. university of iowa president this week's contentious meeting with iowa city residents deter him from his job. on tuesday harreld held a town campus. he was met by groups of protestors calling for him to resign. today at the board of regents meeting harreld shrugged off those protestors and said he will continue to speak openly with everyone in hopes of creating a stronger university. "while it was contentious at tiemes it was and will continue to be an important way of engaging our campus and how we can continue to improve and i look forward to continuing that conversation not olnly with the campus but with you, our board, iowans and quite frankly

harreld says he'll continue to hold town halls every few months. he says the next one will be focused on the university's challenges with diversity and inclusion. some iowa lawmakers are hoping to make the roads safer for bicyclists... lawmakers in the senate passed a bill this week that would require motorists to change lanes to pass a cyclist and wait until they have safely cleared the rider before getting back over. the law would not require motorists to get over if there is an established bike lane. it's a bill the iowa bicycle coalition has been pushing for. 'biking is just going to increase in popularity in iowa and this just makes it safer and encourages people get out on the road and make it a lot more comfortable to be out there.' the coalition says 50-percent of fatal bicycle vs. car crashes have been from a vehicle overtaking a rider. they say this bill would help create more space and keep everyone safer. the bill now heads over to the house

and now to the latest chapter in the soap opera that is the supreme court nomination process. today the republican governor of nevada - brian sandoval removed his name from consideration to replace antonin scalia. sandoval's potential nomination was leaked to the media yesterday. he is a former federal judge who is leaving office in january due to term limits. however he appears to want nothing to do with the drama between the white house and senate judiciary committee. the ranking members of that committee ... along with the two senate caucus leaders ... have now obama to discuss the supreme court vacancy. republicans charles grassley and mitch mc-connell ... as well as democrats pat leahy and harry reid ... will all sit down at the white house next week. yesterday it was reported that grassley had refused the invitation ... but he told us he was still considering it. today on the senate floor over replacing scalia as "malarkey." today political director dave price asked our republican

mike mahaffey about the gamble that republicans in the senate are taking right now ... and how it could blow up in their face in november. 2430-2626 "are you squeamish with the republicans ... like antonin scalia." you can hear more from mike and

sunday morning on "the insiders" starting at 9:30. while grassley and senate president from filling a supreme court vacancy senator is also trying to block the constitutional duties in his final years in office. senator ernst is sponsoring a bill that would block the president from passing regulations in his final three months in office. ernst calls the bill the "midnight rule relief act." it would prevent any president from passing any regulation that costs more than 100-million dollars in the time between the presidential election and the next president's inauguration. the president would still be allowed to repeal exisiting regulations. the irony is this bill, if passed this year, would require president obama's signgnure to become law. so there are some things that ernst is

his final year in office. from lame ducks to caged tigers, moneys and alligators. since 2007 its been illegal for iowans to buy these animals ... but those who owned them before then are still allowed to keep them as long as they are well-cared for. but the arl of iowa says the iowa department of agriculture isn't doing enough to ensure that is the case. coming up ... find how the arl is trying to force the state to follow the law. and coming up next ... a big war is being played out in miniature fashion in an eastern iowa basement. hear the story behind this tiny civil

the civil war ended 150 years ago ... but the battles are still being waged, in an iowa basement. a davenport history buff has shrunk the war down ... and turned it into a game. fran riley rolls the dice ... this is a basement battlefield. this is my man cave. this is johnny reb three. you are facing the enemy and you are making a decision. a civil war table game in bruce kindig's davenport home. you and i will take the union forces. we'll take on the nasty little rebels over there. a roll of the dice. the tale of the tape. ooh. general riley. that is right at twelve inches. so you can fire them. a game of inches. dictating strategies. are you marching in a column? are you in a battlefield line?

are you cavalry? what are you doing. the bridges. and wagons. corn fields and canons. you get a lot of the sense of what it was like as the game unfolds and plays out. are part of the attraction for these civil war reenactors. this is my winter way of re-enacting. the battle lines are drawn. one point for every stand you knock out. you get five points if you knock out a battery. seven. one hit. in this war. where movement rates. and combat effects. could mean the difference between victory or defeat. my love of history. especially civil war history. can be played out here. coming up tonight on the channel 13 news at ten ... andy fales

story of a civil war era iowa icon. samuel merrill fought for the union army in the war ... then went on to become iowa's first post-war governor. tonight at ten andy fales will bring us the story of his life ... how his burial site has fallen into disarray ... and who is coming to the rescue to fix it. if you're tired of the colder

clouds will continue to clear out through the night tonight, paving the way for more sunshine on friday. temperatures will be cool but average tonight with lows in the middle 20s. winds will also die down and become more

combined with the sunshine will help warm temperatures into the upper 40s throughout central iowa. by saturday winds will start to pick up from the southwest, but this will help to warm much of central iowa into the upper 50s and lower 60s.ad lib main weather coming up next ... the iowa

looking out for exotic animals in our state ... but are they doing their

now the group behind the legal challenge to that zoo is joining forces with the animal rescue league of iowa to force the state of iowa to enforce it's own wild animal law and stop further animal abuse in the state. joining us now to break down what exactly they are challenging is josh colvin with the animal rescue league of iowa. the clock is ticking and apple

company is trying to stop a court order ... and how they are reportedly working to make all iphones hack free. it could be the last chance for gop contenders to knock donald trump off his perch atop their party. we'll show you what at stakes in tonight's pre-super tuesday debate. and it was another night of severe weather in the eastern u-s. we'll show you who was hit the hardest ... and if the severe weather threat is gone. news at four front door apple today asked a federal court to throw out an order requiring the company to unlock a terrorist's phone....apple charging the fbi is seeking what it calls "dangerous power." but the fbi director told congress the fbi is not backing down. steve handelsman has the latest

with the apple battle being fought in public, the fbi director made his case... james comey telling congress he loves privacy and encryption "part of me thinks - that's great! i don't want anybody looking at my stuff. but then i step back and say - ya know - law enforcement - which i'm part of - really does -- save peoples' lives." that's why ... after san bernardino ... looking for others who would kill for isis knowing terrorists rely on text, email, twitter, facebook, and other apps the fbi got a court to order apple to unlock the iphone of san bernardino killer syed farook. "what apple's objecting to here is that the government wants them to write brand new software that doesn't exist right now that would give them the access to the phone." apple ceo tim cook told abc the new code could get stolen and spread nelson grafik of the quotes sort of the equivalent of cancer... we would never write it." "think about what else they could ask us to write. "... our job is to protect our customers." =============== graphic out

======== ======= comey said law enforcement's job is to protect the public "with lawful court orders -read the communications of terrorists, gang bangers, pedophiles, all different kinds of other bad people." but, in its filing today, apple to turn on iphone microphones or cameras for surveillance and apple is fighting 12 other court orders to unlock audio outcue: i'm steve handelsman, nbc news, washington. some in congress are now backing a new law requiring backdoors to smart phones. apple is reportedly working on a new operating system that could never be unlocked by apple or law enforcement. the field is dwindling.. but the intensity and stakes are not.. as the remaining republican presidential contenders gather to debate tonight in houston.. a showdown that could go a long way toward deciding the republican nominee.. jay gray is at the university of houston with a closer look at tonight's debate.. front runner donald trump travels to texas with growing

"we might not even need the two months to be honest folks" and the rest of the republican field desperately trying to slow him down. "his three chief opponents all have to run in their home states and trump could beat them all." which means the stakes.. and tension in tonight's debate will be high.. with marco rubio.. "the vast and overwhelming majority of republicans don't want donald trump to be the nominee." and ted cruz.. taking shots at the front runner.. "we can't be fooled by pt barnum. but many analysts warn the time for other candidates to block a trump nomination is running out.. you've got the washington post with a stunning editorial about stopping trump. they feel there is some urgency now to stop trump, and that would create some historic rush towards them in the final weeks." history that - either way- will begin to play out when the republicans walk on to this stage at the university of houston in just a few hours.. jay gray - nbc news - houston. former president george w-w bush

attend tonight's debate ... the first since their son jeb dropped out of the race. a powerful winter storm system that impacted about half the country is now a powerful winter storm system

that impacted about half thmoving offshore and into canada. but not before killing at least eight people and leaving behind a trail of destruction. nbc's chris pollone reports. s/ david kelly / found injured man :57 - 1:03 s/ chris pollone / nbc news / raleigh, nc the powerful storm system which brought tornadoes to the deep south tuesday, barreled into the northeast overnight. in lancaster county, pennsylvania, 50 homes damaged. high winds brought down branches, toppled trees, and left thousands without power... "our trampoline is wrapped around the telephone pole and our swingset is in their yard." those gusts are blamed for knocking over a tractor trailer and snarling traffic on the george washington bridge... the world's busiest! central north carolina had more than 20 tornado warnings... more than last year alone, in one day... and it's only february. virginia took a deadly punch. two men and a toddler died wednesday in waverly, virginia when they were tossed 300 yards from a trailer. "i saw the roofs flying

just - you're just caught up in it." and a man in south carolina, killed by a falling tree. "the guy he was laying down and the tree was on top of him, and he was hurt, he was hurt, tree was on top of him." the storm dumped snow across the nation's midsection and then in new york and new england. thousands of flights delayed or canceled. a rare and powerful winter storm, fueled by the strongest el nino on record. leaving thousands of americans wondering which piece to pick up first... chris pollone, nbc news, raleigh. if you're tired of the colder

clouds will continue to clear out through the night tonight, paving the way for more sunshine on friday. temperatures will be cool but average tonight with lows in the middle 20s. winds will also die down and become more southwesterly for friday. this combined with the sunshine will help warm temperatures into the upper 40s throughout central iowa. by saturday winds will start to pick up from the southwest, but this will help to warm much of central iowa into the upper 50s and lower 60s.

coming up next ... its the biggest question surrounding

weekend's oscars: how will the academy honor winners while also

the pre-aca... and who will be wearing who ... but this year there's another big question ... how will the academy ... and

controversy over the lack of diversity amongst the nominees? nbc's mark barger has a first look at how politics could effect hollywood's biggest night. nats as if chris rock needed material for his oscar hosting gig... nats let's do this!!! his hashtag "oscars the whitebetawards" teased what may be to come.... as hollywood's diversity controversy will be the elephant in the room sunday night. "the oscarsowhite issue is not a new issue, but it seems to have gained so much intensity this year." fueled by a second straight year without a person of color among oscar's 20 acting nominees.... nats and a best picture snub for the critically acclaimed "straight outta compton". "diversity is not just about black and white, it's about the multiplicity of ethnicities and stories from all over the world." the academy's responded by changing the membership criteria for oscar voters--- an effort to diversify its ranks. "it comes with everyone understanding the situation, which is, we're fighting against something that's been going on a very long time." current circumstances are prompting will smith and wife jada

director spike lee to skip this year's show. but a broader boycott hasn't materialized. "the fact that there's a conversation means that we will see some results and hopefully, they're the best results." to ensure future dreams of gold are color blind. mark barger, nbc news. a number of african-american actors and filmmakers who are boycotting the ceremony will instead hold a fundraiser for residents of flint, michigan. while the acting categories are dominated by caucasians ... the frontrunner for best director is alejandro gonzalez inarritu of mexico. he directed "the revenant". we'll be back in three minutes

with 40 megs of internet speed from centurylink, a family of four can all be online at the same time, streaming, gaming, or downloading movies. yeah, the internet's great, but i think hair and makeup went a little too far. yeah, that's not working. i much prefer the two-day beard, horn-rimmed glasses, just-slept-in-his-car kinda thing. yeah, i miss the rumpled crazy uncle look. okay. be "paul giamatti." that's the essence of this role. feel like a hollywood insider

some iowa lawmakers are hoping new legislation will help make the roads safer for cyclists... the bill up for debate and what local riders think of it. and who can see your personal data stored on your smart phone? it's not just an issue between apple and the f-b-i.. the proposed iowa amendment to the constitution that could set limits on what law enforcement can do with your electronic data. iowa leads the nation in deadly grain bin accidents... how the state is making changes to prevent deaths during an entrapment... officials estimate around 50 percent of all fatal crashes between a bicycle and vehicle in iowa happened

good evening, i'm erin kiernan. and i'm sonya heitshusen. thanks for joining us. some lawmakers are hoping a new bill could help reduce the fatalities... the proposed legislation would require motorists to treat a rider on the road just like they would another vehicle... stephanie moore has reaction from the biking community...first on 13. iowa is already considered bicycle friendly and new legislation is hoping to keep that going... 'its an easy bill to enforce and already aligns with the laws we have for cars so it just makes sense.' the iowa senate passed a bill this week that would require motorists to change lanes to pass a cyclist...it's legislation the iowa bicycle coalition is happy to see moving forward..... 'its already the law defined for vehicles it just makes it clearer for bicycles now that you would give them a full lane of passing when you pass a bicyclist on the road. 'i see a lot of close passing that really isnt necessary, it would take a driver

seconds to wait for traffic to clear so they can change lanes and there are just so many that wont.' avid cyclist and kyle's bike employee bill lorenez says he would feel safer on the roads if this legislation was put on the books... 'its not going to change everybodys behavior but its just something that will be on peoples minds and if it makes an improvement its all for the better.' last year... officials say mat phippen was riding near vinton... when a pick-up buzzed past him.they say the truck got too close... and nearly hit him. the incident was captured on a camera attached to his bicycle, however the driver was never charged. iowa law does not specifically define just how close you can be to a cyclist on the road, so the coalition is hoping if passed this legislation would clear things up.... 'i think it would increase education and make people more aware on how