this morning on "world news now," defiant donald trump. he's refusing to take the stage at tonight's gop debate. his dispute with fox news and how he's speaking out overnight. >> january twisters. the frightening storms flipping cars, ripping through property, tearing up a college campus. the survival stories and the threat today. and new this half hour, turning breast milk into art. >> jewelry created by a mom for other moms. finding beauty in a very unusual concept. would you buy it? and later, who is playing michael jackson in an upcoming movie? there's controversy over this role because the actor is not black. that's in "the skinny" on this thursday, january 28th. >> announcer: from abc news,

this is "world news now." we do say good morning to you, everybody. i'm kendis gibson. >> always good to start a mornings with mj. >> michael jackson, absolutely. there's controversy. you know, about who they selected for this role. >> kind of interesting, yeah. >> one of the oscar controversies we've been talking about is there are no good roles for black actors. >> oh, kendis. >> and apparently, this is a good role for a black actor. >> interesting story though. we'll get to that in a bit. but another controversy that is surrounding tonight's gop debate on fox news. >> yeah. donald trump insisting he will not take part in tonight's debate pushing senator teds are you into center stage surrounded by the six other republicans. trump spoke out again last night. here's abc's david wright. >> reporter: in iowa, a high stakes game of chicken. donald trump insists he's ducking the last gop debate before the caucuses, for reasons he outlined to bill o'reilly. >> i was not treated well by fox.

they came out with this ridiculous pr statement. it was like drawn up by a child. >> reporter: the donald apparently not swayed by o'reilly's appeals. >> in your christian faith, there is a very significant tenet, and that's of forgiveness. >> it's called an eye for an eye also, you can look at it that way. >> reporter: instead of the debate, rumph's camp officially announced they'll be hosting a benefit for veterans. ted cruz threw in the gauntlet offering to debate trump man know a man know. >> groups backing cruz are proposing $1.5 million for vets if he'll accept the challenge. trump tweeted back suggesting they'd do it in canada. cruz's birthplace. what it all comes down to is an unprecedented battle between the front running republican candidate -- >> we love trump, and the front running republican news outlet. >> there's a new campaign to try and take down donald trump. >> reporter: bottom line, trump doesn't like the moderator. >> i'm not a fan of megyn kelly. i think she's a third rate reporter.

>> reporter: oh, how the times have changed. >> do you really think that you're a better moderator than i am? >> no, i could never beat you. there would be no contest. you have done a great job by the way and i mean it. >> reporter: that's from a fox news interview four years ago when donald trump, then the host of the "celebrity apprentice." >> you're fired. >> reporter: was actually scheduled to moderate a republican presidential debate in iowa. but the candidates didn't like that idea. rand paul even put out a statement saying the selection of a reality television personality to host a presidential debate is beneath the office of the presidency and flies in the face of that office's history and dignity. now, megyn kelly told e.t. she's not convinced trump won't blink. >> i'll be surprised if he doesn't come. i know he says he doesn't want to now, but i'll really be surprised because i feel like the people of iowa are still persuadable. >> reporter: the art of the deal meets the ultimate reality show. i'm david wright in new york. >> on the democratic side, the race is tightening between

bernie sanders and hillary clinton three days before the iowa caucuses. the latest puts sanders just four points ahead of clinton in iowa. which candidate will president obama back on the campaign trail, clinton has been playing the obama card, but off the trail, sanders met privately with the man he's hoping to replace. >> the president and i discussed this morning a number of issues, foreign policy issues, domestic issues, occasionally a little bit of politics. >> the meeting comes just after the president seemed to tilt towards hillary clinton in an interview with politico but sanders dismissed suggestions that president obama was leaning towards his former secretary of state. >> what should have been a routine traffic stop along a busy atlanta area highway turned deadly. a georgia state trooper tried stopping a speeding pickup truck but the driver took off triggering a ten-mile chase and a traffic backup. when the truck finally stopped, the driver stepped out and fired a handgun.

the troopers fired back. the driver later died in surgery. one trooper was injured but is expected to recover. >> reporter: the widow of a police officer who died in a staged suicide has been indicted by a grand jury. melody gliniewicz faces charges for helping her late husband siphon thousands of dollars from a charity. investigators say they used the money for a trip to hawaii and to dine at restaurants. her lawyer says gliniewicz was a victim of her husband's secret actions. >> well, a candlelight vigil has been held last night in oregon for a militia member killed by authorities. amman bundy along with six others had been denied bond after an appearance in federal court. he issued a statement urging the remaining members still at the wildlife refuge to go home. at least three more arrests were made overnight. more arrests are expected in connectioning with that high profile prison escape in southern california. five people have been taken into custody so far.

it's been nearly a week now since the three men disappeared from a maximum security jail. the jail revised headcount procedures because it took so long to discover the men were missing. public health investigators now say about 200 children have elevated levels of lead in their blood, a new development from the water crisis in flint, michigan. the lead levels in the city's water supply have been trending better but it's still too soon to give the go-ahead for residents to resume drinking unfiltered water. much of south florida will be cleaning up today after tornados tore through the area. the impact was so intense, authorities are saying it's a miracle that no one died. abc's phillip mena is on the scene. >> reporter: tornado warnings just after 9:00 a.m. >> why don't we get under the bridge, kyle? >> reporter: kyle mcafee and his father in their truck, caught in the middle of it. >> we're in the tornado. >> reporter: nowhere to go. taking refuge under this overpass. winds up to 100 miles an hour, tearing through the college campus nearby.

>> there was, like, a tidal wave of clouds and water. >> reporter: this was the scene when it was over. a car dropped on top of another. this truck flipped on its side. roofs shredded off buildings nearby. trees downed. >> i seen that tree just snap like it was a toothpick. i'm still shaken up, i mean, i didn't even know which way to go. >> reporter: back on that highway, this car lifted right up from the southbound lane, landing northbound. the driver still inside. >> that was the one minor injury that we had. so, we're very fortunate. >> reporter: and you can see what the storm did to this gated community. trees ripped out of the ground, the roof blown off and families here are bracing for more. phillip mena, abc news, coconut creek, florida. >> okay, so watch out for storm warnings again todayed from fort myers to west palm beach with up to three inches of rain. dangerous winds and downpours in the pacific northwest. snow around the great lakes, milder in the northeast. >> 70s in los angeles and miami. 50s in atlanta. denver and seattle.

40s in kansas city and boston. 30s in chicago and minneapolis. >> to texas, an artist with an usual creation. >> she has figured out a way to make jewelry out of her own breast milk. it turns out if you add preservatives and let it sit for a week in the refrigerator the milk turns into a solid that can be shaped and molded. and she's not stopping at breast milk. she's also using placenta. >> is that legal? >> why would she do such a thing? >> i don't know. >> i really wanted a special way to commemorate that bond between mother and child and i just wanted a wearable piece of art and i created breast milk jewelry. >> okay. well, for the hundreds of women who purchased her creations, it's been therapeutic. some are dealing with postpartum depression. they say those creations have been life-giving. > that's good if it's helping other women, that's great. i got to tell you, i get a

little jealous when i see this. >> why? >> because i had difficulty breastfeeding, and to see she had so much she could turn it into jewelry makes me a little upset. you don't understand, do you? it's very difficult, the breastfeeding process so -- >> the struggle is real. >> the struggle is real. >> i tried to do it for years. >> you said you wanted one of those necklaces. you thought it was interesting. >> tried it for years. all right. >> coming up, i mean it's tough i guess. i don't know. just the placenta, as well though? >> no. >> that's where we draw the line. >> probably is. >> coming up in "the skinny," controversy as a white actor is chosen to play michael jackson in a movie. >> that was really uncomfortable bracelet milk. also ahead, turning all that junk and hold clothing in your closet into treasure. could you be hanging on to $1,000. >> the treatment that saved pamela anderson's life. why is this medicine not available to so many others who need it? you're watching "world news now." >> announcer: "world news now" weather, brought to you by mucinex. weather, brought to you by mucinex. seriously?

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>> russia declared a flu epidemic and say the influenza virus has spread across the country from eastern europe. hospitals are busy treating patients with high fevers in moscow. as many as 70 deaths are also reported. public health investigators say most cases are h1n1 bird flu. we have new details about the drug that may have saved pamela anderson's life. you recall she made headlines by revealing she's now free of hepatitis c after more than a decade. we're learning more about the treatment that cured her. abc's jim avila with the story. >> reporter: for pamela anderson who saved lives on tv, it seemed

like a real death sentence. >> they told me that i would die in ten years. >> reporter: diagnosed with hepatitis c. >> i just think looking back that i maybe was a little more reckless than i would have been. i think it's always kind of hanging over your head. >> reporter: but then three months ago, the incurable suddenly cured in a 12-week medical miracle. >> 12 weeks and gone, yes. >> reporter: anderson had taken the new drug sovaldi and is back promoting vegan shoes and a new cooking show. she had good health insurance covering the near six-figure price tag. not everyone is so lucky which is why i'm staking out this man. >> i'm fred upton. >> fred upton, congressman from michigan who over the last five years has blocked every bill proposed in congress to change the law that prevents medicare from negotiating the price of prescription drugs. >> the government isn't getting the best prices for their drugs because the government can't negotiate. >> we'll talk a little later.

>> we've been trying to talk to you for two months. >> the congressman says $300,000 he received in donations from drug companies in 2014 has nothing to do with it. and he's working on a bill of his own to fix the problem. >> look to the right. >> for now, only the wealthy and well insured often have access to expensive miracle cures. >> i was really fortunate. >> jim avila, abc news, detroit. do you know having medicare negotiate drug prices is something that donald trump says he agrees, hillary clinton agrees, bernie sanders agree but they also say drug companies would never allow that. >> it's fascinating knowing it's brought them all together. so many people suffer from hep c. >> coming up, the controversial casting choice to play michael jackson. >> plus kanye west's twitter war takes a strange turn. we'll explain in "the skinny." >> announcer: "world news now" continues after this from our abc

♪ skinny, so skinny well, "the skinny" will

sound like sports a little bit because we're going to talk about the qb controversy looming over the upcoming super bowl. >> broncos leader peyton manning under investigation for performance enhancing drugs. >> the nfl says it is constructing a comprehensive review of allegations that manning had human growth hormone delivered to his house. those allegations arose after a pharmacy intern spoke to al jazeera and their reporters there claiming that manning's wife had shipments of hgh sent from an anti-aging clinic. >> the intern has since recanted his story. the nfl investigation not expected to be complete before super bowl 50. >> okay, so let's get to the other quarterback that is playing in the super bowl. the panthers cam newton addressing the criticism that he's faced throughout his career playing a position commonly played by white folks in a league where more than two-thirds of the players are black. >> and newton aware of the criticism he's faced early in his career for his behavior

yesterday addressed his detractors. >> i'm an african-american quarterback that may scare a lot of people because they haven't seen nothing that they can compare me to. >> doug williams? panthers head coach ron rivera defended his quarterback saying i don't think he wants to be known as an african-american quarterback. i think he wants to be known as a quarterback and a great one at that. >> all right. and speaking of race, it's been an interesting casting choice to play michael jackson. despite all the uproar over the racially skewed oscar nominees the british television channel sky hearts has reportedly cast joseph fiennes to play the late king of pop. >> yeah, and in case you're wondering, joseph is white even though jackson was black at one point. >> however, his appearance dollars famously change quite a bit over the latter half of his life, which is when the made for tv movie takes place. it's about the fabled road trip that jackson took with elizabeth

taylor and marlon brando in 2001. the trio attempting to drive home from new york to l.a. after 9/11. what do you think of it? >> very interesting. i wonder if marlon brando will be played by a black guy. >> maybe reuben studdard. >> no. >> but clearly, i mean, you know, joseph fiennes has a bigger nose than michael jackson. so i don't know about the casting choice. >> you know, it's interesting. a lot of controversy over that choice. next up, kanye west and his heavy presence on twitter as he gets ready to release his new album. >> yesterday we told you about the provocative hip-hop stars change of heart when it comes to the title of his album opting for "waves" over "swish" and posting a shot of his tentative track listing along with the scribblings of his kardashian family members and other collaborators. apparently another rapper is not a fan of the name change. >> wiz khalifa took to social media citing otherartists who

have used the term. you might imagine kanye did not take kindly to the criticism. >> he hit back with a flurry of tweets that have since been deleted. including you own waves? own your child. oh, smack talk. then he got kind of weird saying i went to look at your twitter and you were wearing cool pants. and then maybe i couldn't be skinny and tall, but i'll settle for being the greatest artist of all time as a consolation. >> right. >> it went back and forth for a little while. >> kept you up. >> kept watching it. by the way, miguel has a new song that came out yesterday that is also called "waves." so kanye doesn't own it. >> okay. and finally, breaking baby news. >> tyra banks is a new mom. the super model and immediate guru announced she and her boyfriend erik asla welcomed a baby boy through surrogacy. thanking the angel of a woman who carried their miracle baby boy for them. >> his name is york banks, congrats to tyra and family. they are all smizing this morning.

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start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this. ♪ >> trapped in the closet by who? oh, r. kelly. all right. we knew that one. finally this half hour, you may have treasure trapped in your closet. >> got it now the? >> packed with unwanted clothing and old gadgets. >> you could have stashed away $1,000 in valuables an selling it all could be easier than you think. here's abc's rebecca jarvis. >> reporter: throw og away money might have worked for leo's character in "the wolf of wall street." for the rest of us, making a few extra dollars sounds a lot more enticing. enter learnvest founder alexa von tobel. >> hi. >> how are you. >> today's goal, show mom eliza

danielson how to spot 1,000 bucks right inside her closet. first up, turn your old clothes into cash. alexa gives us her secret on how to get the most from sites like tradesy and posh mark. senator doing things as an outfit works well for adult clothes just like this. so you can price them together and get a little bit more money and get rid of more stuff. >> pairing this dress with the shoes make an outfit and a quick $100. next, make selling seasonal. >> winter coats, peak time is going to be right in the fall. >> what else have you got for us? >> cash in on old electronics with sites like gazelle and usell. >> new iphone, ipod, whatever it may be, sell the old one immediately. old ipods $20 on ebay. >> ipad mini $70 on new sell. always be sure to clear your personal info. >> it appears you still have calendar invites on this one. >> reporter: finally don't count out that really outdated tech

with sites like declutter. >> you get typically a dollar per dvd. probably $40 worth of dvds. >> and this old boom box. >> on ebay. >> from a pile of trash to a bundle of cash. the clothes selling for $648. plus electronics for $178 and miscellaneous items another $311. >> yea. >> thank you. >> for a grand total of more than $1100 extra bucks for eliza and her family. >> that's incredible. i'm inspired. i'm going to try and sell some stuff. >> i've got an old commodore 64 that would probably get me ten bucks or so out there. >> i do wish i will held on to my parents' record player though. >> i know, loaning some records now. >> don't miss our updates on facebook, wnnfans.com. >> announcer: this is abc's "world news now," informing insomniacs for two decades. "world news now," informing insomniacs for two decades.

making news in america this morning, debate day. with someone missing, the gop front-runner donald trump refusing to go on stage and still taking shots at moderator megyn kelly. plus, bernie sanders and his meeting with president obama. >> breaking overnight more arrests in the oregon standoff plus a new message from the group's leader to his followers who are still holed up on federal land. daring rescue. strangers banding together forming a human chain to save a driver with his truck on the edge of a cliff. and strange surprise for a woman waking up. an animal usually found in the jungle in her bed.