they're obviously watching tonight very closely but they weren't expecting anything too shocking. one is an associate professor of political science and african- american studies at the university of south carolina. another is a political expert here in south carolina now but was executive director of the new hampshire republican party back in the late-80's. first question to the experts -- is too much emphasis placed on iowa? political expert scott malyerck... "we put way too much emphasis on the caucuses, i think, because it's really a test of organization ability. can you organize your folks? can you get them to go out and caucus in somebody's home and stick with you?" malyerck points to past g-o-p winners like huckabee and santorum, who ultimately failed to

shaw has a bit of a different take. "iowa is not bellwether in all cases, but let's keep in mind that iowa sort of set a tone for obama's election in 2008 that, if he had lost iowa, then the voters in south carolina would have been a little less sanguine about his chances." next question -- could the group of candidates in the south carolina primary be smaller than in iowa and new hampshire? "probably by new hampshire you'll begin to see candidates, particularly, you know, folks who keep making it to the second debate, really think about their chances." "you have to ask yourself, 'do we stick it out? do we hope against all hope that we're going to do well in new hampshire?' i think after new hampshire, you'll definitely start to see people drop out before they get to south carolina." a few other points, shaw says south carolina will become very important to hillary clinton if she does poorly in iowa and new hampshire. "south carolina has to become her firewall, and because south carolina has a large, you know, african-american population, of course, and that population is critical to the democratic party

some indication about that coalition or that coalition partner being on her side." an observation from malerck, he expects trump to do well in all three of the first states, especially south carolina. "polls are a snapshot of what people are thinking right then and there. we've done polls in south carolina in conservative senate districts in the upstate that show trump really far ahead. we've done polls along the coast that show trump ahead, so he seems to be attracting conservative republicans, and evangelicals, so he's running the gauntlet." shaw also talked about trump's strong lead in state's like south carolina. he says that support seems so strong that it's transcending questions of whether or not trump is actually a rino, or republican in name only. after a better-than- expected showing in iowa tonight, senator marco rubio

endorsement in the palmetto state. cnn reports that senator tim scott plans to endorse rubio tomorrow. this potential endorsement could be key as the candidates start focusing more attention on south carolina. rubio, showed he's far from out--placing third in tonight's iowa caucuses. and, we'll continue to keep you posted on the latest results throughout the night on wistv dot com. tune in tomorrow to wis sunrise for a break down of tonight's vote in iowa.

now turning to you weather-- meteorologist von gaskin is in the weather center with your overnight forecast. a "backdoor" cold front coming in from the north will move through tonight, not expecting much change to the forecast until a much strong front arrives wednesday. lows tonight in the middle 40s. tuesday, partly cloudy, breezy and warm, highs in the low to middle 70s. increasing clouds by evening with showers developing late. wednesday, cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms, highs in the lower 70s. rain chance 80% few showers around thursday. cooler highs near 60 clearing skies much cooler friday,

columbia police want to talk to this man who was caught on surveillance footage. investigators tell us he is a "person-of-interest" in a sexual assault case. say a woman reported being sexually assaulted by a man in the 800 block of barnwell street--in between the usc campus and five points. police have not named the man as a suspect--but are asking anyone that can identify him to call crimestoppers at 1-888- crime-sc.

two people are facing charges in connection with the trafficking of two teenagers for sex in richland county. deputies with the richland county sheriff's department say investigators rescued a teenage victim inside the suspects' home after another teenage victim--who was being treated at the hospital gave them information about the assault. quincy bright is charged with two counts of human trafficking and two counts of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. brittany gray-bright is also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. the victims were taken into protective custody. ahead of the "first in the south" primary here in south carolina later this month--presidential candidates from both parties have been invited to weigh in on issues of faith. the conservative leadership project says the 2016 "faith and family presidential forum" will be on february 12th at bob jones university in greenville. that's just over a week before voters will go to the polls for the gop primary. the forum will be moderated by attorney general alan wilson and oran smith of the palmetto

lawmakers in the state house are being challenged to step up to better health. nearly 200 legislators, state house staff, and lobbyists are logging their steps and tracking their colleagues' activity on fitbits. the "healthier state house challenge" represents fitbit's first partnership giving politicians the devices, which record steps, calories burned, and hours slept. the south carolina hospital association's nonprofit further subsidized the company's discounted cost. elected officials paid 20 dollars, while other participants paid 58 dollars. the explosive spread of the mosquito-borne zika virus in the americas is now considered an international emergency. mark barger reports health experts are offering recommendations to stop it. the world health organization today declared an international emergency over the spread of zika. the disease has been linked to microcephaly in brazil.

the disease "an extraordinary event." the emergency session was called to evaluate the outbreak after a number of cases were linked to the birth defect that results in abnormally small heads. s/ dr. margaret chan / who director-general :22-:31 "all agree on the urgent need to coordinate international efforts to investigate and understand this relationship better." the w-h-o said it could be six months to nine months before the connection is proven or disproven. the group said there could be as many as four million cases of zika in the americas in the next year. w-h-o director general margaret chan said that there are several methods that can be used to avoid getting the disease.. s/ dr. margaret chan / who director-general :58-1:02 "the most important protective measures are the control of mosquito populations and the prevention of mosquito bites in at risk individuals, especially pregnant women." the last time an emergency designation was used was in 2014 over the ebola outbreak. the world health organization

called its slow response to ebola. mark barger nbc news. today marks 57 since since four students at north carolina a and t university defied jim crow laws by refusing to leave a whites-only lunch counter. known as the "greensboro four"--the courage they showed at woolworth's store in greensboro was honored today with a march and a wreath-laying ceremony. historians say the peaceful protests the students put on that day was a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement and sparked many sit-ins for years to come. coming up on the news at 11-- after iowa--what's next for the candidates? we'll get more analysis on where they're setting their sights after the break. i'm joined now by republican strategist joel

he was rated a+ by the nra. not for his promises, but for defending the second amendment... he's a man of deep faith, who fought time and again for the right to life. he laid out a plan to destroy isis months before paris. he'll strengthen our border and use conservative principles to put washington's broken fiscal house back in order. jeb bush. he's the conservative you can trust, to fight for our beliefs. right to rise usa is responsible

change to the forecast until a much strong front arrives wednesday. lows tonight in the middle 40s. tuesday, partly cloudy, breezy and warm, highs in the low to middle 70s. increasing clouds by evening with showers developing

wednesday, cloudy with scattered showers and thunderstorms, highs in the lower 70s. rain chance 80% few showers around thursday. cooler highs near 60 clearing skies much cooler friday, highs lower 50s. change to the forecast until a much strong front arrives wednesday. lows tonight in the middle 40s. tuesday, partly cloudy, breezy and warm, highs in the low to middle 70s. increasing clouds by evening with showers developing late. wednesday, cloudy with scattered

thunderstorms, highs in the lower 70s. rain chance 80% few showers around thursday. cooler highs near 60 clearing skies much cooler friday, highs lower 50s. what will the score come down to in this weekend's super bowl? and how many times will "dab" or

mentioned throughout the game? dedrick russell reports these are just some of the super bowl bets some fans are making. that's dedrick russell

that's dedrick russell reporting... meanwhile--governor nikki haley is not shying away from her pick

today, she said she's all in with the panthers. "i am so excited it is the panthers all the way, we will be cheering in our house hold. we hope both carolinas realize we are two states but we are one team when it comes to the carolina panthers." even though the panthers are based in charlotte, they train every summer at wofford college in spartanburg. coming up in sports... it was opening night at super bowl 50. both teams taking center stage in front of hundreds of media reporters. find out what the panthers and one former gamecock playing for the broncos had to say. plus... what fuels carolina's michael super bowl week's underway.

opening night in san jose to welcome the panthers and broncos to the big stage in cali. for the first time ever the nfl moving super bowl media day to prime time. the panthers and the broncos both seemed to enjoy the spotlight that comes with this type of grand stage. might help when miss universe is the one asking the questions. i'm sure the players might have been a little nervous during that interview. overall... players from both sides handled being in the spotlight well... including the star quarterbacks of each team. broncos qb peyton manning though side stepped questions on his under offensive coordinator mike shula. former gamecock and current denver broncos safety darian stewart told reporters tonight... he will be able to play in the super bowl despite having a sprained knee. stewart also spoke on opening

with wyff out of greenville stewart told reporters tonight... he will be able to play in the super bowl despite having a sprained knee. stewart also spoke on opening night in san jose... with wyff out of greenville about playing on the big stage. while the stewart looks to make the most of his opportunity to play in the super bowl... usc's michael carrera is certainly making the most of his senior season on the hardwood. he's led carolina in scoring in

during this great stretch... he tallied a career high 34 points against mississippi state. in a win over alabama last saturday... he put up 20 points and 11 rebounds. carrera's drive... helps him thrive on the court. the same passion that fuels his success... can sometimes act as his greatest weakness. martin: "we all have challenges as people. when you're coaching him it's not getting him to play hard. it's not getting him to care. it's not get him to believe his team can win. the challenge with him is to make sure emotionally he's putting all his passion where it needs to be. michael's as good a teammate as their has been around. as far as his caring for teammates. his willing to win. willing to work. the harder the moment the taller

ted cruz projected as winner of republican race in iowa. neck-and-neck for the democrats. hillary clinton with a very

these lil' chickies and lil' doggies are small, -but they're intense. -yeah. -it's like my niece, hannah. -and you, uh, take karate? show him how intense you are. -yah! yah! ah! -(karate sounds) hey! now finish him. big flavor in a little package. new lil' chickies and lil' doggies.

two coneys or two burgers, and two tots and two drinks. -yeah. -it's like i'm seeing double. speaking of double. look. (yells) you guys wanna hang out sometime? oh, man. i think i nailed it. now two can eat for $9.99 all month long. (clicks)

rockefeller center in the heart