this morning on "world news now," south carolina battle with hillary clinton and donald trump leading in the polls, which candidates are promising political surprises before the primaries? the latest bombshells from the campaign. courtroom drama. the notorious suspected serial killer now on trial in california. the investigation going back decades leading up to the case. and new this half hour, the scary scene at a famous ski resort. >> the 11-year-old boy dangling from a chair lift. what led up to this heart stopping scene and what happened next. >> and later ronda rousey's personal battle. the champion fighter shares something very private and emotional on national tv. the tearful moments in "the skinny" on this wednesday, february 17th. >> announcer: from abc news,

hi, everyone. good morning on this wednesday. i'm kendis gibson. >> and i'm reena ninan. we begin with the latest appeal on the campaign trail. candidates scrambling for support before voters in two states ahead of the polls. >> first up, hillary clinton is holding a commanding lead over bernie sanders in south carolina, but the race is much closer in nevada and donald trump is at the top of the republican field. take a look at the latest numbers. ted cruz a distant second followed by marco rubio and jeb bush. abc's lana zak is covering the candidates on both sides. >> we have come a long way here in south carolina. i think we're going to surprise people here. >> reporter: for republicans and democrats, it was back to their bases on the campaign trail. >> you can't just show up at election time and say the right things and think that's enough.

sanders and hillary clinton battling over the african-american vote. while the republicans were focused on the second amendment and the military. >> as president, you know, you can talk a good game. every word is listened to, but if you don't have a military to back it up, it's dangerous. >> reporter: bush tweeting this photo of a gun with his name printed on it along with one word, america. the gop candidates also lobbing rhetorical grenades at one another. marco rubio taking on ted cruz. >> ted vote ford rand paul's budget which reduced defense spending. i'm not going to do that when i'm president. >> reporter: ted cruz taking on donald trump. >> when radical islamic terrorists waged jihad on the united states of america, the answer is not to tweet insults at them. >> reporter: donald trump taking on everyone, including president obama who said this earlier. >> i continue to believe mr. trump will not be president. and the reason is because i have a lot of faith in the american people. >> this man has done such a bad job. he has set us back so far, and for him to say that actually is

to know the truth. >> reporter: the biggest bombshell on the campaign trail came from donald trump. he fanned the fire of some conspiracy theorists by suggesting that the death of supreme court justice antonin scalia may have been caused by foul play. >> lana, thank you. >> speaking of supreme court justice antonin scalia, he will be laid to rest on saturday as the political bickering intensifies up over his replacement. the seat scalia occupied for 30 years now draped in black. scalia will lie in repose at the supreme court friday and a private funeral mass will be held the next morning. senate republicans still want the next president to nominate a replacement, but president obama isn't backing down. >> i intend to nominate somebody to present them to the american people, to present them to the senate. i expect them to hold hearings. i expect there to be a vote. >> reporter: when he was asked if he was leaning toward leaning toward a moderate to

scalia, the president bluntly said no. but he promised it will be somebody who is well qualified. new signs of the growing tension between north and south korea and a show of force. four american f-22s stealth fighters have flown over south korea. north korea is expected to view the arrival of the planes as a direct threat. tensions between the two countries boiled over after the north fired a long-range rocket earlier this month. and we're learning this morning that the obama administration had a fal back -- fall back plan if the iran nuclear talks fell through. according to "the new york times," the u.s. had an elaborate cyberattack planned. nitro zeus as it was called would have disabled iran's air defenses. communications, even the power grid and it would have given president obama alternatives to war if the talks had not been successful. >> a coast guard hearing into the sinking of the el faro cargo ship resumes this morning in florida. the ship went down last october with 33 people on board. during yesterday's testimony it was revealed that the capt

e-mailed superiors asking whether he should change routes because of the storm. the hearing is expected to last two weeks. >> now under way in los angeles, the trial of a notorious murder suspect known as the grim sleeper. lonie franklin junior is accused of killing ten women. here's abc's matt gutman. >> reporter: in court today, the prosecution claimed the bespectacled lonnie franklin was something other than an affable l.a. auto mechanic. >> evidence in this case will tell a story. a story of a serial killer who stalked the streets of south los angeles. >> reporter: he's accused of violating then murdering ten women since 1985. he is now allegedly linked to six more deaths. he has pleaded not guilty. between 1988 and 2002, the alleged serial murderer went dormant, earning the moniker "the grim sleeper." monique alexander was only 18 when her father last saw her walk to the store. >> why couldn't she come home? who kept her from coming home? >> reporter: what finally led police to franklin

door was dna, but not his own. his dna was not in databases, but his son's was. so, investigators trailed franklin until they got a sample. >> slice of pizza, i think a fork, there was a napkin. >> reporter: when they raided his home in 2010, they found pictures of hundreds of other women. cold case investigators say that among the women he photographed were several others he's suspected of killing. now police have managed to identify some of those women but not all of them. if convicted, franklin faces the death penalty. matt gutman, abc news, los angeles. it appears the sexual assault case against bill cosby is going to proceed. a suburban philadelphia judge has denied the comedian's appeal of the judge's refusal to dismiss the case. cosby's lawyers insist he had a promise from a previous district attorney that he would never be charged. cosby could get ten years in prison if he's convicted. a new recommendation this morning in the effort to detect autism early.

a leading u.s. advisory panel has concluded that there's no need to screen all children between 1 and 30 months old. the group of experts say more research is needed to assess the benefits and harms of universal screening. but parents are advised to keep an eye out for the early signs of autism. and despite all the attention the tap water in flint, michigan still isn't safe. recent tests show lead levels in hundreds of homes are twice as high as hazardous waste and investigators warn that may be too high for filters to handle. flint residents have ever been paying the highest rates in the country for their unsafe water. for some folks in florida life will never be the same when the florida lottery introduces another winner of last month's massive powerball jackpot. the jackpot gret to just under $1.6 billion for the january 13th drawing. today we're going to learn the identity of the second of three winners. whoever it i

more than $528 million. in the meantime, john and lisa robinson of tennessee were the first to claim their share of the jackpot. their check said nearly $529 million. but they took the lump sum which came into $328 million. john robinson tells us their lives have been chaotic since going public. he says they've received lots of letters asking for money. robinson says he's looking forward to do some traveling, buying a farm and a horse for his daughter. >> it was really moving when they came forward because they said they're going to live in their same house. i believe they said their daughter had a lot of student loans that they wanted to help pay off and seemed very down to earth. >> i think the loans will be just fine. >> there's a new best in dog at the nation's most prestigious dog show, cj beat out more than 2700 other dogs to claim the title. this by the way is the 18th time

in his career he's won a top show prize. >> winning runs in his family, grandma carly was one of two previous german short-haired pointers to win at the westminster kennel club and cj will be on "good morning america" this morning and also have the traditional winner's lunch at sardi's right here in new york. >> maybe he could go to disneyland. >> i didn't know that's on the -- i'm curious to know at "good morning america" if they have doggie treats. what do you have in the glean room when the big dog comes? >> and who picks up his poop over there, as well. >> didn't think of that one. interview interrupted, unforgettable moments. involving ryan reynolds and hugh jackman. >> also ahead, oprah winfrey's diet plans and her secret weapons. it is not weight watchers. and it does not involve exercise or food. can't wait for this one. the latest uproar involving the carrier air conditioner plant leaving indiana for mexico. the lost jobs and the political outrage after today's forecast

we should tell you that jack's "bachelor" update has now received nearly 2,000 views. >> very good. nice going, jack. going, jack. human coronavirus... hepati- >>c virus. there are a lot of different kinds of yucky germs. but not all disinfecting wipes... are approved to kill the same number of them. lysol wipes are approved to kill more types of germs than clorox. don't pick just any wipe. try that one! this cold and flu season lysol that.

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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. so somehow, a young boy ended up dangling from a chair lift at the whistler ski resort in british columbia. and as terrified onlookers watched, he was slipping out of his clothes getting closer -- it's frightening. >> the tiny feet. >> boom, falls down 30 feet to the ground. the operator shut down the lift. he and others grabbed a tarp just in time to catch the 11-year-old boy. thankfully he wasn't injured.

in fact, he was smiling. which is something i would not have ever been if it was me or my child. >> oh, no, not at all. i'd be so terrified. >> this is why i don't skiing, kendis. >> that's the reason? >> it was this and one of the kennedys who had an unfortunate accident on the slopes and then there was sonny. remember sonny? >> wow, you're such a downer about it. well, thank you for that uplifting note this morning. opening arguments begin today in a trial related to the huge gulf oil spill nearly six years ago. a former rig supervisor faces a pollution charge for the millions of gallons of oil that poured into the gulf of mexico. prosecutors say that he and another supervisor missed signs of trouble before the well blowout. charges for the 11 workers who died were withdrawn. >> now to another operation in the crosshairs over a theme resonating across the campaign trail. >> carrier is facing a growing list of companies and individual

102-year-old company over its decision to move 1400 jobs to mexico. abc's clayton sandell with the latest. >> reporter: it is the moment hundreds of indiana factory workers learn they're losing their jobs. >> it became clear that the best way to stay competitive and to protect the business for long-term is to move production from our facility in indianapolis to monterey, mexico. >> reporter: recorded and posted on facebook by an employee of heating and air conditioning company carrier being told they're just too expensive. our people make a little bit better than $20 an hour on average. the wages they're going to pay in mexico is $3 an hour. >> reporter: 1400 carrier positions are about to join a two-decade manufacturing exodus that's seen 1 million jobs move south of the border. >> i want to be clear. this is strictly a business decision. >> reporter: that decision is now drawing fire fm

>> we're going to tax you when those air-conditioners come so stay where you are or build in the united states. >> carrier says it's offering benefits, severance packages, even money for college trying to soften the blow. >> i'm just trying to support my family. you know, i'm just trying to survive. >> reporter: for workers who starting next year will be phased out. clayton sandell, abc news, denver. >> sad story for so many of these people. when we come back, why ronda rousey broke down in tears on tv. >> and why vanessa hudgens is now under criminal investigation. "the skinny" is next. hudgens is now under criminal investigation. "the skinny" is next.

♪ skinny, so skinny >> topping our "skinny" headlines this morning, ronda rousey's breakdown on "ellen." >> in an interview that aired yesterday, the former ufc champion admitted that she took her brutal loss to holly holm last november much harder than anyone could have suspected. >> in the medical room and i was down in the corner. i was in the corner and i was like, what am i anymore if i'm not this and i was literally sitting there and like thinking about killing myself and in that exact second, i'm like i'm nothing. i'm like, what do i do anymore. no one gives a [ bleeped ] about

meanymore. to be honest, i saw my man travis standing there and i looked up at him and i was just like i need to have his babies. i need to stay alive. >> rousy continues to recover from her injuries and is expected to return to the octagon in november. and she tells ellen that i want to fight holly. i want to beat her and make everything right again. >> you don't think about how serious these athletes take their sport and suicide, that's very serious. >> i've got to tell you. she posted a photo of her appearance on "ellen" on instagram and i was looking at some of the 3,000 comments. people are hateful. there was a lot of hate against her. >> she was on "ellen." ellen handled that so beautifully. >> they both did. next to a couple actors making headlines. >> ryan reynolds crashed hugh jackman's press junket for eddie the eagle grabbing the interview area's chair and, of course, asking only the most important questions. >> do you ever age? >> not since 2009.

>> you're gorgeous. >> you're a two-time tony winner. you're an oscar nominated actor. how much of hugh jackman's immense success is raw talent and how much is just advantageous bone structure? >> thank you. coming from sexiest man alive 2012? >> 2010. >> we all age. >> we're the old. >> who is hotter? >> it's a tie. it's a tie. >> come on. >> no, it's a tie. but i am partial to hugh jackman. >> he's your hall pass. the two former sexiest man alive title holders continue to gush over each other, and who wouldn't? in recent weeks, they've engaged in their public feud over their comic book characters "deadpool" for ryan and wolverine for hugh. >> next to a valentine's day love message turning very wrong. > vanessa hudgens and austin butler apparently thought it would be cute and a nice idea to do this. scrawl their names into one of

formations of the national forest in sedona, arizona. and then of course, sharing it with millions of followers on social media. >> the problem the federal officials call this vandalism. no charges have ever been filed yet, but there also an investigation under way. the penalty could be a fine up to $5,000, even six months in jail. folks, don't do it. don't go to the lincoln memorial and carve your name on lincoln's foot. >> or to the statue of liberty. finally hello, it's not me. >> 22-year-old eleanor hellborg of sweden insists she didn't see it at first till people started mistaking her on social media for adele. check it out. the side by side comparison. that's hellborg on the left and adele on the right. >> and with the hair and makeup, look at this, they're virtually indistinguishable from each other. except perhaps for adele's more pronounced eyebrow arch and the subtle cleft in her chin. >> while she may have adopted

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♪ i'm every woman it's all in me ♪ ♪ i can read your thoughts right now ♪ >> that's the chaka khan version or the whitney version? >> i think it's whitney. >> was that whitney or chaka? i think it's whitney. i don't know. anyway, we've seen the commercials, oprah showing off her stunning weight loss dropping 26 pounds on weight watchers. she says while still enjoying bread. >> i love that. i love that. but now she says meditation was also a big help. here's abc's linsey davis. >> reporter: oprah winfrey wowing us in a red dress on instagram this weekend. her weight loss efforts showing big results. >> i lost 26 pounds and i have eaten bread every single day. >> reporter: oprah joining spiritual guru and author of

"super genes" deepak chopra on a 21-day meditation challenge called shedding the weight, mind, body and spirit, a method some claim can help with weight loss. >> we're also introducing the idea of shedding emotional baggage which frequently is the cause of weight gain. >> reporter: according to oprah, this discovery program has helped her gain insight into her struggle with weight loss saying i have learned that weight can affect more than just our physical being. researchers continue to study the link between meditation and weight loss and while there is some evidence that meditation can help people lose weight, it's still too early to make solid conclusions. yet deepak chopra claims there's a connection and it works. >> meditation decreases the levels of cortisol which is a stress hormone. when you have stress, then you accumulate belly fat. >> reporter: many nutritionists also say losing weight must include serious changes in diet.

meditation alone will not take off the weight. it's really important to pay attention to the types of food that one is eating, the portion and then you can really, really focus on weight loss. >> reporter: still, anyone can meditate, and this the tenth meditation from chopra and winfrey will be sure to add inspiration to those trying to shed the pounds. >> let's let 2016 be the year of our best bodies. >> reporter: linsey davis, abc news, new york. >> i'm on board, 2016. i love their meditation. a girlfriend of mine -- it's a good one. >> i've been doing it for weeks and i haven't lost a single pound. >> oh, really? even with your buddhist monk outfit on? >> that's a true picture of me meditating. i am still -- it's just to cover all the extra body fat. >> you need to do the -- with it, only that. only that

making news in amicica this morning, pulling ahead. the primary race showing trump and clinton in the lead among south carolina voters with the president weighing in saying trump will not be president. we're live in washington with the latest. the pope in a rare moment scolds people grabbing him telling the crowd not to be selfish while he gets ready for a big day on the border. emotional encore. eagles of death metal play again in paris. friends and fans remembering those lost in the terror attacks last november. and c.j., the top dog at the westminster dog show earning best in show beating out a crowded field of favorites. his human companion overjoyed while c.j. just playing it cool.