news 19's sonia gutierrez with more on that. a lot of people cashing in their votes. >> reporter: that's right. south carolina doesn't have early voting but for those who can make it saturday there is ----ho can't make it saturday there is augustine -- is absentee voting. >> i thought it was my responsibility to come and do what i know i need to do. >> reporter: she added herself to the record breaking absentee votes. >> as of now 50,000 ballots have been returned. that is for both primaries. >> reporter: spokesperson for the commission says the percentage of absentee voters in every election continues to rise. bullet what motivates people to come in early? >> candidates, campaigns. the parties have been pushing absentee voting. >> reporter: that with the fact that both of our neighboring states have early voting and we don't.

want to vote early too. i will go vote early. >> reporter: they cast an absentee ballot. >> we expect, you know, half the voters voting on saturday. >> the primary is on saturday and 33,000 people have already voted for it. the democratic primary is in a week and 14 people have cast that ballot. >> if you want to vote absentee, get it back to the electiti office. if you haven't done it. >> something that we do and take pride in. a lot of sacrifices were made to have the right to do so. >> reporter: even though we had record breaking absentee voting, the patterns for primaries are not very high in the state. it has been 13%. remember, we have a unique opportunity to vote in a

saturday at 7:00 to vote in the republican primary and a week for the democratic one. backcko you. >> thank you. jeb bush campaigning in columbia today. talked about reforming veterans affairs, growing the economy and shifting apower -- power away from washington. he worked with governor nikki haley. many thinks he would get her endorsement but after she went with marco rubio we asked what this means now for his chances in south carolina. >> if endorsements matter, i don't know if they do, hers is the top prize because she is a popular governor. i would rather have governor nikki haley than not. to be honest with you. but i will work hard. i will work hard to make the case that i could be commander in chief. i could serve. >> as we speak of governor

rubio on the campaign trail today in greenville at a town hall meeting joined by senator tim scott. >> if you give me the chance to be your president i will unite this country as best we can. that means i will never ask you to be angry at another group of americans so i can win an election. >> ted cruz is trying to win the race. he made the importance of supreme court appointments a focus since the death of u.s. supreme court justice antonin scalia last weekend. >> i give you my word every justice i put on the supreme court will be a principled constitutionalists. >> today donald trump finds

the pope said a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not christian. it didn't take long for donald trump to respond saying it was disgraceful for the pope to question his religion. >> i am a good christian. the pope said something that maybe donald trump isn't christian. okay? and he is questioning my faith. i was surprised to see it. i am a christian. i am proud of it. >> ben carson was also out today talking about securing america's borders. at south carolina state university he said we need to secure our borders and doing so is not unchristian like. >> do we need to have a barrier? of course we need to have a barrier. we need have a way of establishing that. i don't think that has anything to do with christianity. it has to do with common sense.

in south carolina on saturday night to wait results for the primary, he will be in vermand massachusetts. -- vermont and mass massachusetts -- massachusetts -- mass. -- massachusetts. >> obscurity is nice because then you don't have people bothering you. as people hear more and more of what i have to say and what i have to say, we are all partrtof this orchestra, i just happen to be the leader. >> for all things related to the south carolina primary just head to www.wltx.com and click on sc primaries. full coverage under headlines. now, the midlands most accurate forecast with chief meteorologist jim gandy.

a pleasant day. 57 degrees. calm conditions. tonight clear skies. expecting a low temperature of 31. tomorrow it will be sunny, we will see a high temperature of 63 degrees. but the clouds will be moving in for the weekend. it will be dry. we don't expect to see rain till next week. i will have the forecast coming up. >> thank you. the october flood put many of us in a situation we have never been in before but they also brought communities together. more than 300 rescues, firefighters went from one call to another. each time people from the community chipped into help. faced with a water rescue firefighters found themselves in danger at times too. >> we were trying our best to figure out how to -- as we navigated the waters we stopped one time and just said look, i am going to say a prayer for the whole group. luckily prayers were answered. no loss of life.

at 11:00 p.m. hear from sumter firefighters and those rescued during the floods. two of three deputies injured in a car accident have been released from the hospital. they were responding to a call of a burglary. 9:00 p.m. last night, they crashed into each other. we spoke with a resident who heard the crash and ran out to the scene. >> terrible. i -- the way it looked. they were -- they took the guys to the hospital. i didn't see them. and like i said, i was praying for them all the way. >> the highway patrol is investigating the accident. in richland county the -- an owner has been arrested for breach of trust. investigators say the 58-year- old did not pay people who

valuables. this happened on two occasion in november and december 2014. he agreed to sell $94,000 worth of belongings and never paid the victims or even returned the item. he is under investigation. deputies say he could nase more charges. -- face me charges. the search continues for a man wanted for shooting a man in december. deputies say it happened the day after christmas. 19-year-old shot a man at the circle k gas station. according to authorities he did that. the victim is out of the hospital and recovering. if you know where he is tonight u are asked to call crime stoppers, the number is 1-888- crime-sc. richland county man is suing to block the resettlement of refugees. he warns itbrings the potential for terrorism or violent crime here. the lawsuit names the governor,

the governor asked no senior refugees be reetled. -- resettled. they said they resettled two and have not been told more are coming. dss is reviewing the law enforcement. coming up next on news 19, we will have -- lawsuit. >> coming up next on news 19,

and details on a the temperatures are expected to go up this weekend. you may be planning to head out. news 19's colby gallagher has this week's restaurant report card. >> reporter: following ups. they were visited again february 12 and received a 100. after being reported for dead bugs they were inspected again and scored a 100. el paso got a 98. out of the inspection reports we received this week there

reports of pests. hall of fame, best catch seafood market, tacos in columbia and subway scored perfect 100. enjoy. >> all right. thank you very much. perfect 100s. that is where i like to eat. where i like to eat. nothing like that in the future -- >> good. >> but it is been a beautiful day around the area. satellite. clear skies today. it will stay that way tonight. the only storm system is away from us at this point. it is up in the northern rockies, moving east. it is bringing warm air through the nation's mid-section. high pressure over the northeast is influencing our weather and tonight will be chilly around the area. look at how it is warming up. el paso 84 degrees. 80 degrees into western kansas.

the warm air made its way up into the dakotas, rapid city, 71 degrees. the colder air at the moment is with the high-pressure system over the northeast. new york it is 34. we have been on the cool side but we warmed up today. 50 florence. 51 degrees sumter. 55 orangeburg. 57 columbia and augusta. here is our computer model. tonight clear skies. tomorrow we will see sunshine. it will be warmer than today. over night, tomorrow night, clouds develop. mostly cloudy saturday morning. and it is likely to be mostly cloudy skies for the weekend. you might see sunshine but we are not expecting any rain. for tonight, though, it will be chilly. a low of 29 in newberry. camden, bishopville 30 degrees. 31 columbia. 32 sumter and 54 in orangeburg.

up to 59 newberry. 62 winnsboro. 63 degrees columbia. 61 aiken. our seven-day forecast, clouds come in for the weekend. it warms up to 69 degrees on saturday. 73 degrees on sunday. but then a weather system comes in from the west. showers develop on monday. high temperature of 67. we will see most of our rain monday night into tuesday. with a high of 57. and chance of a shower wednesday morning. otherwise mostly cloudy skies. 55 degrees. we dry out by thursday. high temperature of 58. >> all right. we will start the work week off with rain but that will be okay because we will be flying high from the great weather over the weekend.

in sports, usc men now news 19 sports director reggie anderson. >> welcome back. talking hoops with the hall of fame alec english. this week's english lesson. a big lesson for the gamecocks and any team that gogo on the road. nothing guaranteed. >> worse team in the league and they beat them. you know, gamecocks could have won the game. they came back, you know, they came back strong. i felt like they would -- they would win the game but they

turnovers, didn't get back in transition. one thing coach is getting back to is getting the team back to basics. you know, our trade mark was rebounding, post ups and, you know, just playing tough defense. that is what they are working on today in practice. >> what was the mood in practice? >> the players are pumped up. coach is ready to play. he has to back off. they are fragile right now but he has them working hard, they worked on the things they worked on, defense, rebounding, post up, trying to get the ball inside. i look for them to do that this next game. >> he knows how to handle a team. they have work to do to shore up the bid. right now they are in. they have the cushion -- it has gone down with the loss. >> three home games, two away game. if they could win three, you know, it would be easy. and they can.

they ever to play but they have to hold home court when teams come in here they have to beat them. the way to do that is the signature defense, rebounding and get more guys contributing offensively. >> yeah. the sec tournament as well. they could get a game or two now. the usc women, they could win the title with a win tonight over georgia. for a program that has been okay but they elevated. >> the way they came back from the connecticut loss, they won two games now. two strong games. and, you know, i look for them to win tonight's game as well. and going into the sec tournament they will get a bye or two and it will be not easy for them but it will be an easier road. if there is one problem that they may have, the outside shooting. they have to make sure that they have got, great if they get asia back.

when she gets open shots. roy, her shot has been consistent. inthey have the strong play -- if they have the strong play they will do very well. mitchell is one of the best. >> absolutely. absolutely. the hall of fame alex english. back to you. >> all right.

there is here is what is coming up on tv tonight right here on wltx. 8:00 p.m., life and pieces at 8:30 p.m., mom at 9:00 p.m., angel from hell at 9:30 p.m., elementary at 10:00 p.m. and then news 19 at 11:00 p.m. last night's cash 5 drawing produced a $200,000 winner. the ticket was sold that quick k

the ticket matched all five numbers. and they powered up. the top prize was doubled. the winning numbers were, 11, 14, 22, 32, 34, power up was 2. 11, 14, 22, 32, 34, power up was 2. and we have the winning numbers on our website on just head to our website www.wltx.com. remember, winners have 180 days from the day of the drawing to claim their prize. >> 200,000 bucks. >> were you in sumter last night? >> no. no. >> darn. i know you would have given me $15. >> at least. 15. maybe 20. >> generous man. >> we are out of time. but we are coming back at 7:00 p.m.

the cbs evening news is next. "tell them, to go **** themselves..." he's not a reckless blowhard, or a scripted robot. he's a conservative governor with proven results. he led the nation in job creation and beat the teachers union to enact massive reform. jeb bush. over 40 retired generals and admirals and 12 medal of honor recipients know he's the commander in chief we need now. conservative, proven and prepared. jeb bush for president.

ofhis message. >> pelley: now it's a holy war between trump and the pope.

question a person's faith is disgraceful. >> pelley: also tonight, two days before the nevada caucus, a personal side of hillary clinton. >> my mother met me at the door, and she said, "there is no room for cowards in this house." >> pelley: a hospital pays ransom to hackers to get its computers back. and from football to footlights. >> i got good feet. >> pelley: a former nfl star pulls off the play of a lifetime it may sound odd, but all i care about is love captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" with scott pelley. reporting tonight from las vegas. >> pelley: the odds-makers here at ceasar's palace never bet on this, but in a campaign that has seen just about everything, we now have donald trump feuding with the pope.