this morning on "world news now," republican candidates last chance. >> overnight, the republican white house hopefuls making their final appeal before the iowa caucuses. and donald trump keeping his promise to sit this one out. we have live team coverage and analysis just ahead. and the fbi releasing video from oregon of their standoff with militia members that turned dead flip. the latest on the situation on the ground including the leader telling everyone to go home. >> and later help me help you. testing out those virtual assistants that tech companies promise will change your life. what each friendly voice is actual good at. >> and new year, new barbie. the doll getting a makeover coming in all shapes and sizes. reactions on the look later in the mix" on this friday, january

29th. from abc news, this is "world news now." >> hey, good morning. happy happy friday, everyone. we're going to get to our top story. last night's presidential debate. what did you think? >> it was interesting. they actually talked a lot of policies and there was an actual debate that took place and not one candidate dominating. > imagine that. >> seven of the top eight candidates shared the stage for the final debate before monday's high stakes iowa caucuses. but the front-runner was not there. >> donald trump, a few miles away. his hastily set up event planet to raise money for wounded veterans and helping him counter program the cable debate. >> brandi hitt was at the main stage detainee and joins us from iowa. good morning to ow, brandi. >> good morning, reena and kendis. there was clearly a different feeling during last night's debate with fewer attacks. more debating. donald trump making a clear point to not show up yesterday

and yet, still his name came up several times. >> let's address the elephant not in the room tonight. >> a republican showdown like no other in iowa. >> i kind of miss donald trump. >> i have not insulted donald personally and i don't intend to. >> reporter: front-runner donald trump boycotting the fox news debate. >> has anyone seen trump? where's trump. >> reporter: and instead holding his own rally for veterans at the exact same time. >> we raised over $5 million in one day. donald trump gave $1 million. okay? >> trump clearly still upset over his feud with comoderator megyn kelly. >> i'm not going to do the debate out of respect for myself. >> reporter: across town, tremp's closest competitor in iowa ted cruz move front and center on the debate stage. >> everyone on then stage is stupid, fat and ugly and ben, you're a terrible surgeon. now that we've gotten the donald trump portion out of the way ---ing. >. >> reporter: cruz also came

under attack as a flip-flopper on amnesty for illegal immigrants. >> i was for amnesty. so was ted but now he said it wasn't so. that's not true. >> the truth is, throughout this campaign, you've been willing to say or do anything to get votes. >> stop the washington bull and xwae let's get things done! >> this was a healthy debate here last night. tonight's dueling events were apparently a little too much to resist for mike huckabee and rick santorum. they packed things up and ended up going to the trump rally, reena and kendis, and standing with donald on stage. >> it was kind of weird to see santorum standing near the trump sign in front of him. i guess it was a party they couldn't miss. brandi, any truth to what trump said that fox news made a last-minute effort to try to get him there? >> reporter: yeah, according to fox news in a statement they released yesterday, they had three conversations with donald trump leading up to last night's

debate and according to the network, they claim that trump asked this em for $5 million to contribute to his charities for him to then show up. and fox news roger ailes said no. we can't do exchange money for you to show up to a debate. this is not going to happen and they copied to say they stick by megyn kelly and think she did a great job last night, reena and kendis. >> bill o'reilly oo even offered milk shakes to donald trump and he said no. thanks a lot. we'll talk with you soon. >> of course the debate and rumph's boycott comes just four days before the iowa caucuses. >> so how did this play out for each of the candidates? abc's deputy political director shushannah walshe joining us now. what a fun night. >> yes, what a night, shush. >> it was a bit tamer than usual. the candidates bd were landing blows later in the evening instead of right out of the gate which we're used to with donald trump. >> with trump out of the way, ted cruz was the next candidate in the lead. how did he fare in the debate.

>> it wasn't his strongest night. he's very close in the polls in iowa with donald trump. and he really needsed to land a blow on donald trump who wasn't there. instead, it was marco rubio who took cruz on and even accused him of being able to do -- willing to do or say anything to get elected. so that was a pretty tough hit. >> now i secretly think jim gilmore is a dark horse in this race that's going to come back and get there. >> he was in the undercard debate. >> finally twitter went crazy. did any of the other candidates take advantage of the trumpless debate. >> i think marco rubio did. he was table to talk longer about foreign policy. the moderators showed some previous statements on immigration about ted cruz also. and, of course, immigration is a critical issue in iowa. >> sure is. speaking of iowa, does trump's boycott of this debate impact his iowa campaign? is there any signs of this? >> i think we're only going to know monday night.

if he wins, we can a maybe it was a brilliant strategy. what donald trump is trying to do is trying to freeze the field. now, of course that isn't how time works. but if he's successful monday night, it may look like a good move. if not, people will say why did he decide to skip it. >> it was interesting to see him not there on stage. as for the democrats, sanders is hoping for a large turnout, as well, correct. >> yes. as is donald trump, they need the first-time caucusgoers to turn out. if you're seeing a large or larger crowd on monday evening, it may be a good sign for both bernie sanders and donald trump. >> that's so interesting. we've been talking so much about iowa.about right around the corner, next stop is new hampshire. what's really the key in new hampshire? what do we need to look out for here? >> new hampshire is a critical state. i think that after the new hampshire primary we're going to see a winnowing of the field. it's a very different electorate than iowa. you're going to see the more

establishment, usually the person that leads there. but we're seeing donald trump, as well. >> fascinating times though in the campaign cycle i think. >> absolutely. >> the primary season about to kick into high gear. thank you very much. abc deputy political director shu shanna walsh. >> after all this time, we're down to three days before the final votes get under way. let's move on now, thank you. to the latest on the zika virus. the head of the world health organization sounding the alarm saying it's spreading explosively. and an emergency w.h.o. committee will meet monday to decide in the outbreak should be declared an international health emergency. here in the u.s., at least 31 cases in 11 states and late last night, the first cases in boston. all contracted before coming back to the u.s. this map showing the parts of the country authorities say are most vulnerable.

the secretary of defense taking steps to make the military more family friendly. ash carter saying that he will double the length of fully paid maternity leave to 12 weeks. carter also says that he intends to work with congress to expand time off for new fathers and for those who are adopting. he's directing the military services to expand the hours that military child care facilities are open. the detroit teachers union is suing the school district for what it calls deplorable conditions. the union's demanding immediate funding to fix crumbling buildings, accusing the district of neect. student and teacher safety. the system has also been plagued by rolling teacher sickouts forcing dozens of schools to close on any given day. classes are canceled today at a texas middle school because of a suspected carbon monoxide leak from a faulty boiler. at least 145 people were made sick from the leak yesterday. they were treated at the hospital and then released. and a mystery solved this

morning after the new york area was rattled by what felt like an earthquake. did you feel this. >> i didn't feel it. the shaking was felt from southern new jersey to connecticut and even some people in long island mentioned this he felt it. military officials now say it was a series of sonic booms caused by fighter jets conducting supersonic defts off the coast which broke the sound barrier. >> as you can imagine, 911 operators were overwhelmed with calls and social media buzzing with speculation. >> i guess i didn't realize that it's an unusual thing for you to it over land. >> it happens daily. they do these flights all the time. >> it's very customary for it to happen over the ocean but you know, for us to feel it and hear it so close to land, interesting into you're not troubled neither one of us heard it. >> no, that just means our sleeping pills had kicked in. that's all. coming up, the new development in that deadly militia standoff in oregon. what we're seeing this morning from the fbi. the video just released is

shedding new light on tuesday's shooting death of the militia spokesman. >> what happened to this would be bank robber in north carolina who showed up just as the bank manager happened to be looking his way. remember, folks find us on facebook at wnnfans.com and twitter @abcwnm. you're watching "world news now." day. you're not coming. i took mucinex to help get rid of my mucusy congestion. oh, right then i'll swing by in like 4 hours. forget the tacos! one pill lasts 12 hours. i'm good all day. wait! your loss. i was going to wear a sombrero. only mucinex has a bi-layer tablet that starts fast, and keeps working. not 4, not 6, but 12 full hours. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this. moisture so i can get into it ao enhance mbit quicker. ral and when i know she's into it, i get into it and...

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who showed up just as the bank manager happened to be looking out the front door. the manager just wouldn't let that door go. even when the masked man banged on the door with a semi-automatic handgun. the assailant quickly gives up, then he runs away and police are still looking for him. >> bang-bang into the room. >> yeah. well, a teacher has been arrested for providing material support to those three escapees from a southern california jail. noosh farrian ravaghi taught english as a second language at the jail and is suspected of giving the inmates planning tools like google maps. authorities released pictures of the stolen white van and say the escapees may be living in the white van. >> i'm laep you got to say the name. >> noosh farrian ravaghi. >> wow. there's several syllables in her name. >> let's call her noosh for future reads. >> we'll see if it fwits on her

booking photo. farther north, there's a new development this morning in that deadly militia standoff in the oregon. >> the fbi released video of tuesday's shooting death of the militia's spoke man countering claims the man did nothing to provoke officers. neal karlinksky has the latest. >> reporter: a huge convoy of heavily-armed police could be seen streaming into the compound. those last armed occupiers left inside had been sending out videos on youtube, ranting about the federal government. >> just drop the charges and nobody dies. >> police released a video that shows the moment armed rank rancher lavoy finicum is killed by police. sources say finicum sped away from the police traffic stop that led to the arrest of his fellow occupiers, crashing into a snow bank. once out of his truck, they say he was told to put his arms up, but instead, brought them down and could be seen reaching for a gun. that is when he was shot. now, the standoff that began 26 days ago, when heavily-armed ranchers took over this wildlife refuge, paralyzing a small

community, appears to be almost at its end. >> we never wanted bloodshed. we verbalized this many, many times. and we continue to do so. >> reporter: investigators out here are conducting a full investigation into exactly what happened. meanwhile out at the compound, we now have reports of perhaps as few as five milt tants left raising hopes this long siege may soon be over. neal karlinksky, abc news, burns, oregoning. > incredible video. >> coming up in our next half hour, a major development in the case of the so-called affluenza teen ethan couch back in the u.s. this morning after weeks on the run in mexico. what kind punishment will he face now? >> first, putting those virtual assistants to the test. siri versus core tan nab versus google. the one that came out on top. you're watching

periscope with a new live streaming feature allowing users to broadcast video in realtime directly to friends via their social network account. as of now, it is only available for iphone users in the u.s. a new hi-tech tool is proving to be invaluable to law enforcement. it's called ocular based lie detection technology that uses infrared tracking to monitor eye behavior and the creator says it

works more quickly and accurately than traditional methods to determine whether a person is lying during questioning. >> can you use it on your kids. >> you can use it on your hubby. >> okay. now we're talking, huh. >> it's been five years since sci-fi became science reality for most consumers when apple first bundled siri on its i phones. >> since then, some worthy contenders have been giving siri a run for her money. but how well do these digital assistants really work? gio benitez put them to the test. >> it was supposed to be the future. >> library computer. >> background on actor anton ca riddian. >> but today it's the butt of hollywood jokes. >> siri, how do you perform cpr on a dogging? >> i found four places named starbucks. >>. >> reporter: just about all of us have virtual personal assistants on our smartphones. apple has siri, google has

google, microsoft has core tan fla. reporter brian chen created an experiment. he asked the virtual assistants to complete 16 tasks in categories like music, productivity, travel and commuting, dining, entertainment and sports. >> apple was really good at productivity things like calendar and e-mail. google is much better at commute related tasks like mapping. microsoft was pretty mediocre across the board and alexa which is really, really good at music so despite them all claiming they're all pretty good at everything, they're all pretty focused and concentrated on certain tackles. >> reporter: so we decided to conduct our own experiment putting three virtual assistants up against each other with one of chen's questions about the super bowl. >> hey, siri, who was playing in the super bowl. >> super bowl 50 will be played on february 7. >> but she didn't say who. now we're going to test cortana. who is playing in the super bowl?

>> so this basically came up with a searchern option okay, google. >> denver broncos take on the carolina panthers. >> we got our answer. microsoft and amazon have not commented but google tells us it's great at answering questions about the best flights to your destination, finding out where your next meeting is or fire off a quick message to a friend and apple tells us siri has gotten faster and smarter. >> gio benitez, abc news, new york. >> have a look. >> all right. good details. i didn't know though that you can use siri to beef up your calendar. yeah, i do. >> she heard you talking to her. >> siri, can i have lunch with gio benitez on december 1st, 2016? please put on my calendar. >> she's confused. >> hey, siri, why are you so mean? >> this is a stimulating use of 45 seconds of television. >> i love the fact right before the segment, you didn't know how

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okay. so guess what, after six years, barbie is getting a remake. and they go on sale presales start today. we now have curvelicious barbies. >> really. >> over the years there have been many complaints about her being too skinny. well, now, mattel announced they've come out with different body types and different fashion -- so #the doll evolves has been very popular since the news came out. >> i think it's been long overdue like a lot of women feel that way. i like it starts at about $10 for some of these dolls. stimsz the collection dolls come out and it's expensive but it's reasonable and people can afford it. >> this is not a limited item. it's going to be the new barbie

for everyone. >> i like girls will grow up looking at barbie dolls that don't have unrealistic waist sizes. >> more big boned. >> and hopefully they don't have to wear spanx in the next generation. >> would you ever want to be a panda hugger? >> no. >> it's a real job in china in xang do, and the giant panda protection center, $32,000ed is what this woman gets paid for. the cost of living much higher there so people say this is a great gig. >> polka. >> let's do this thing. ♪ politics and foreign wars, all the weather all the scores ♪ ♪ that's the world news polka >> by george, i think he's got it. >> around your world and up the street the skinny is our gossip street that's the world news polka ♪ it's late at night you're wide awake and you're not wearing pants ♪ ♪ so grab your "world news now" mug and everybody dance ♪ ♪ have some fun be a pal every anchor guy and gal do the world

news polka. >> i'll teach them, all right. >> the no, you won't. >> i'll teach him the world news polka. ♪ that's the world news polka >> insomniacs only ♪ that's the world news polka >> who cares what the bosses think they're a goofy crew and dp your neighbors call the cops here's all you have to do ♪ when they yell it's half past 3:00 tell them hey, it's nuts to me ♪ ♪ that's the world news polka ♪ they make us work the graveyard shift that's why we go for broke so why not tune in abc and join our little joke ♪ ♪ ♪ five holidays every week we're here with our tongue in check that's the world news polka ♪ that's the world news polka ♪ >> he's got it. weird al yank covich, thank you so much. information at weird alp come. have a great weekend. we'll see you monday.

this morning on "world news now," the republican showdown in iowa. like no other. front runner donald trump boycotting the fox news debate, pushing ted cruz front and center. we're live in iowa. >> the alarming new warning about the zika virus. the head of the world health organization describing it as spreading explosively. how it spreads and how you can protect yourself and your family. >> and new this half hour, the new development in that case of the affluenza teen. >> ethan couch is back in the u.s. and set to face a judge this morning in fort worth, texas, the new punishment he's looking at now. >> arguably could be many people's worst nightmare right here. a stage full of donald trumps with two of them making out. the story behind this video ahead on the "skinny."