hey candidates. enough talk. give us a plan. 3 the weekend is here at so are the warmer temperatures and the sunshine. good morning and thanks for waking up with us on news19 this morning. i'm deon guillory and i'm savannah levins.it's expected to be a beautiful start to the weekend..let's get a check of what we can expect to see with meteorologist efren afante...good morning efren. 3 3

3 3 the gamecock club will be rolling out the arnet carpetfor its members today. members who want renew their

rice athletics center on heyward street between eight- thirty a-m and six p-m.members who stop by can enjoy refreshments and a visit from mascot cocky himself.parking is located in the athletics village parking garage on heyward street. 3 happening today, the south carolina department of natural resources is opening an express service office in west columbia. you can renew hunting and fishing licenses, permits and tags and get decals and registration cards. the hope is to shorter wait times and enough parking.the new office is at market pavilion and the state farmers market on little brook lane. it's the first building on the left past the guard house.the grand opening is at 11. 3 a live fire simulation will take place at newberry college this afternoon at two.the fire department will set up two mock rooms.these rooms will be set on fire in order to show the importance of sprinklers

event is open to the public 3 3 in richland county..deputies needs your help finding a man wanted on attempted murder charges. he's 19 year old yakiem breeland.deputies say on december 26.... he shot a man at the circle k gas station in the 43-hundred block of hardscrabble road.the victim has since been released from the hospital and is recovering from his injuries. if you know where breeland is you are asked to call crimestoppers at 1-triple-8- crime-sc. 3 this morning... the orangeburg sheriff's department is sending out a scam warning.deputies say they have gotten several calls from concerned citizens who have been targeted for what has become known nationwide as the randparentscam.the victim receives a call explaining their grandchild has been arrested, sometimes in a foreign country....then the caller demands up to $5,000 via a green dot card to clear

grandchild.if you receive a call..do not give them any money and contact law enforcement. 3 3 the three remaining disaster recovery centers in our state will close today. they are at the richland county library on garners ferry road... central carolina technical college in sumter and one in williamsburg county.they will close e at 6pm tonight. many services available at disaster recovery centers are also available by calling the fema helpline. lines are open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. seven days a week .that number can be found on our website wtlx dot com. 3 good news for farmers affected by october's flood. the house ways and means chairman brian white is proposing a plan now that would give some of the state's surplus money to help farmers survive last year's losses.... insead of waiting around for a lawmakers to pass a budget.he has not proposed an amount yet. the bill advanced to a full

commissioner hugh weathers says the flood wiped out $330 million worth of crops at harvest time...and an additional $45 million was lost because farmers couldn't plant winter crops. 3 prayers of flood victims are being answered by a group of amish that have traveled to the midlands.along with a group of mennonites...they're using their skills to help rebuild homes in sumter that were impacted by the flood. news19s chuck ringwalt has the story. 3 "these guys are working on this flooring."for weeks now...lester zimmerman...other mennonites and the amish have been right here in sumter county. "they're in the process of putting it down. and then move on with insulation, drywall and paint." they're fixing seven different homes that were destroyed in the october flood.earl bouder is with the mennonite disaster service and along with sumter united ministries - formed a partenrship. "you don't have to know somebody to help somebody. it's part of the culture of mennonite and amish and other similar anna-baptist groups." "we've been trying to team up with a team to do the disaster recovery and it kind of just clicked."using fema grants and money from the one

for supplies is covered and the amish and mennonites are volunteering their time, so the labor is free.and zimmerman says they're not complaining about leaving the pennsylvania weather for south carolina. "we were down here in shorts sleeves while i'll that happened. just to share the love for what jesus did for us. he gave all. i cannot give what jesus did, but i can do what he leads me too. and this is as close to that as i can get just to reach out here."susan bell thinks he's pretty close.her home is one of the seven being worked on and it's close to being finished. "if these groups wouldn't have come together and if god wouldn't say come down here to sumter and help susan then you wouldn't have a house. and you do."in sumter county, chuck ringwalt, news19 wltx.

continue to help until the end of may and are beginning construction on their eighth home today. 3 3 yesterday lawmakers discussed how to keep teachers in rural districts throughout our state. senators think incentives like financial assistance for teacher cadet programs and graduate course work will convince teachers to stay in rural school districts. right now, teachers seem to be leaving rural districts at a fast rate. 3 ((sot:10//jane turner/cerra))- they might have a missionary zeal for it, but they get there and they discover that it just so different than what they e used to, that they don feel like they can be successful there.low teacher pay in general may be a factor in the turn-over rate. senators said once a budget is set they will have a better idea of what incentives will work for these schools. 3 hundreds of military veterans are students at midlands tech....and now there is an opportunity for even more to further their education. the college has designated 100-thousand

veteran students we spoke with say learning a trade and advancing education is essential for those returning back to civilian life. 3 david peacock: "as you go through your classes, it slowly but surely eases you through and then you e able to make that transition into a job where if you were to jump straight from the military straight to a job, you know what you may have a very very hard time adjusting." midlands tech will have a veterans resource fair on wednesday at the northeast campus from 6 to 8. vets will have an opportunity to learn about all of the resources available to them. 3 teachers and families are invited to come out to panera this evening.classical conversations of irmo will host an information meeting as part of school choice week.the meeting is to teach parents how to make homeschooling through high school possible, and even rewarding. grades k through high school will be covered.the event will take place from four to six p-m at panera on bower parkway. 3

makeover. mattel just lauched it's new line of the popular dolls with different body types. news 19's loren thomas has more on how the toy company is looking to change an image that it's had for more than 50 years. 3 "it's nice that these dolls 3 are different and show that it's okay."since her creation more than 50 years ago, barbie has gone through many looks, but never quite like this. matel now says that barbie can now come in different body shapes...curvy, tall, petite and the original barbie. "it kind of broadens what we consider culturally appropriate or the ideals out there."jennifer barnoud, campus dietitian at the university of south carolina, says body image plays a big role in today's society....and by simply changing the shape of a doll, young girls can begin to be more comfortable with their own bodies. "81 percent of 10 year old girls are afraid of becoming fat. so one of the things that's great about these new barbies is

bodies. the proportions are closer to what a normal human looks like."nat: there are several different skin tones right there...barbie isn't the first doll to adapt a more realistic look. ziamara wilson of be beep toys in forest acres says she's seen other toys like the lottie doll that cater to all kinds of ethnicities and personalities. wilson says sometimes parents may be more concerned about the doll's image than their children. "the mom's don't really want their kids to grow up and see this perfect image of women and feel like they have to be like that. so the kids, we don't know they will respond to it yet, but the parents are really happy about this new barbie that's coming out."along with the different body types, the new barbie also comes in seven different skin tones, 22 eye colors and two dozen different hair styles.in columbia, loren thomas news 19 wltx.

new dolls yesterday, you 3 won't see them on the shelves until the spring.chat 3 we've all been there, now a new survey shows just how often we are late to work. we have the numbers and the outrageous excuses. later at 5:30, gop candidates square off in the last debate before the iowa caucuses. why the candidate who wasn't there got

3 but first, hello sunshine. meteorologist efren afante has your forecast before you head out the door.

3 we have breaking news of an apartment fire at hunters

apartment is located at 1079 3 springhouse 3 drivewe'll update you as more information becomes available. 3 3 last weekend's big snowstorm was the fourth-worst to hit the northeast united states in more than 60 years.noaa gave the storm a rating of 7-point-66 on the northeast snowfall impact scale, which ranks storms according to inches of snowfall ... geographic reach and population affected. the worst ranked storm was 13-point-2.last weekend's snowstorm was responsible for 4 deaths right here in south

across the country.3 chat

3 the superbowl is just 9 days away...and panther fans are getting pretty excited but..you might want to meet ricky woods.. he lives in charlotte and you may notice he's painted blue.that's

the panthers wouldn't make it to the super bowl.of course that didn't go as planned for him so he took to the street to honor his word.you would thinkg he stop making bets ... but he has another one ... if the carolina wins the big game he'll stand out in front of bank of america stadium wearing a tutu.chat 3 - 3 in the next two weeks... you will be swarmed with stories about valentine's day. but valentine's...might not be the most romantic day. a new survey by an internet services company... shows most women ranked it as the third most romantic day.the first -- is

second -- is their birthday. the survey found that only 1o percent ranked valentine's day as the most romantic day in the year.the survey also found that a man typically spends more on a woman... when she is his 3 wife... rather than a fiance or girlfriend.chat 3 running late happens to all of us. whether it's bad traffic or hitting that tempting snooze button too

finds 25% of us are late to work at least once a month. workers come up with all kind of excuses, but this survey reveals some outrageous ones. one says the blow dryer set their hair on fire, another says homeland security detained them.the survey found more than 50 percent actually get tied up in traffic, a third oversleep and 15 percent were delayed dropping their kids at work or daycare. more than a third of employers say they don't care if you're late

to know what are 3 some of the craziest 3 excuses you've used...tweet at

3 good morning and thanks for

guillory.3 and i'm savannah levins, your time is ___, 3 3

3 we have another traffic note to pass along to you this morning before you hit the roads. the right lane on eye 20 westbound between the 378 and bush river road exit is closed again. it is expected to reopen at 7am. 3 3 3 the 2016 presidential candidates continue to campaign in iowa...ahead of monday's caucuses.republican contenders made their case to iowa voters last night - during their seventh debate in

not present -- ted cruz became the biggest target....while the other candidates fielded tough questions on immigration and national security. 3 with just days to go until the first votes are cast in the 2016 presidential election the candidates hit the campaign trail in iowa today to make their closing arguments to voters. for the republicans, the final pitch started last night in the gop's seventh debate. but as marlie hall reports from des moines -- the event was dominated by one candidate, not even on stage

3 3 in the final hours -- a spokesman for fox says trump offered to appear at the debate...only if the network contributed five-million dollars to his charities...whic h they refused. one million of the money raised for vets came from trump himself 3 3 in sumter county...deputies needs your help in finding two people caught on camera stealing an atm from a gas station. it happened sometime between one and 5:00 am wednesday morning at the exxon on highway 76 in mayesville deputies say that two people broke into the store, and took a stand alone atm, watches, and timberland brand boots. ...if you know have any information that help them find these suspects call crimestoppers that number one -triple-8-crime-sc. 3 in newberry county...three

morning after a nearly year long drug investigation.they are 22 year old raheem jackson, 30 year old telly jones, and 22 year old jermetres kirkland.authorities say arrested yesterday at a home on taylor street. they say the three men sold drugs to investigators who were undercover at the home over the last sevreal months. all three are now facing a number of drug and gun charges. 3 3 if you received a new smartphone or tablet this holiday season, it tempting to clear out old gadgets. in this tech minute, lexy savvides explains what you need to do before selling or donating that old phone so your data stays safe. 3

3 lots to get to on news 19 this morning... grab your coffee and keep it right here... coming up, rebuilding after october's floods.from amish country to the palmetto state... how others are lending a hand.

seriously? where do you think you're going? to work, with you. it's taco tuesday. you're not coming. i took mucinex to help get rid of my mucusy congestion.

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.

3 3 3 3

3 3 today a pep rally is taking place for the carolina panthers.the pep rally is taking place at romare bearden park...that is located on south street in charlotte.some players will be there, along with "sir purr" and "the top cats".it starts at noon. the panthers depart for california on sunday. they play the

levi stadium in santa clara. a panthers win would be the first super bowl title in franchise history.of course you can only see the super bowl right here on wltx. 3 how would you like to go to the super bowl to cheer on the carolina panthers?ellen degeneres wants to send you there.she is looking for the biggest panthers fans around. she is asking people to send in there stories.the winners could end up cheering on their teams during the superbowl. to register for the search just go to our website wltx dot com. of course you can see ellen each weekday at 3pm right here on wltx. 3 this week's highest and lowest dhec scores coming up in

mcdonald's is trying something new--- a waitstaff. hwo it will work and when it will start next.

3 if you're looking for something good to eat this weekend. the villiage idiot pizza is celebrating their third location in the olympia neighborhood with an all day family friendly festival on saturday. for the kids... there will be a bouncy castle... face painter... balloon artist and arts and crafts....and one dollar pizza slices all day.miss south carolina daja dial will be on hand to help cut the ribbon at noon. and the first 200 people through the door will be granted special access to the new "club iot" and will receive a 20% off at the olympia at the mills location for life!! 3 if wings are more of your thing...a new wingstop just opened in columbia.its located at 106 percival road in the jackson sqaure shopping center right off forest drive.their hours are 11am to 11pm, sunday to thursday and 11am to midnight, friday and saturday. 3 one of america's favorite fast food restaurants is rolling out table service. mcdonald's says it will soon

customers and pay for their meals at and pay for would order and pay for their meals at a touch-screen kiosk. minutes later, a waiter would bring their food to their table.the rollout will happen over the next few months. 3 and speaking of food...it's time to award our golden spatula to a midlands restaurant that scored a perfect 100 on their dhec routine inspection. 3 news19's colby gallagher is in batesburg-leesville with this

3 3 we have lots ahead on news 19 this morning at 6 am.. efren has your neighborhood and travel forecast.plus, the zika virus is prompting world wide concern-- we talk to a doctor