and freezing conditions shouldn't be an issue. early in the morning a few places in northern iowa may experience freezing drizzle affecting mainly side walk and parking lots, but most of us will just be dealing with a wet drizzle during the early morning hours. rain is expected to move across the state from the south starting in the late morning but really getting going through the afternoon. highs today should remain fairly steady in the mid to upper 30s with a on local five news midday.... republican presidential candidate donald trump now going after opponent ted cruz, american citizenship. elias: 17 miners trapped in an elevator in upstate new york. rescue crews still trying to get them out. elias: a new sales tax is being proposed by governor branstad to help out schools, but the benefits may not be as long-lasting as some would hope. "local 5 news midday in hd starts now. we are iowa" elias: good morning and thanks for joining us for local 5 news midday...i'm elias johnson. elias: new at midday today--

found. elias: late last night, 12-year-old charlene brown was found at a rest area near victor, iowa. after she was reported missing on christmas eve. she was believed to be traveling with her mother, misty shaver, and her mother's boyfriend -- kevin carlton. there was a protective order preventing her mother from having contact with charlene at the time she disappeared. shaver and carlton were arrested last night. carlton has been charged with child stealing, and charlene's mother is being held as a material witness. charges are pending. elias: about 45 iowa national guard soldiers are back home after helping provide clean water to flood victims in missouri. they returned wednesday from high ridge, which is just southwest of st. louis. members helped purify drinking water after extensive contaminated the plant there. soldiers who's based in cedar the daily routine.

elias: provided more thousand days, the soldiers provided more than 174- thousand gallons of water. elias: a group of good samaritans in the quad cities is making sure everyone has clean laundry. love q-c meets the first wednesday of every month. anyone who shows up gets quarters and detergent for free -- no questions asked. they typically give away around 14-hundred dollars each time they host the event. " most people they tell us when we're there, like when we're doing laundry, and i'm doing laundry here instead of doing it in my bathtub at home. and i'm like man i never even thought of that. i didn't know that was a thing. so i'm learning so much. learning about different perspectives. aspects of life, and getting to

elias: the group has helped hundreds of families in the quad cities.. and say there's a definite need. elias: just a few days until the start of the 20-16 legislative session....and governor branstad has put forth a controversial proposal. elias: state lawmakers will begin the 20-16 legislative session on monday... and if you go shopping, have kids in school, or drink water from your tap this new proposal political correspondent amanda krenz has the details. (east village) let's start in 2008. that's said a 1 percent sales every dollar, that you pay when you go out iowa schools. this one cent sales tax helps schools with their infastructure needs. but this source of funding isn't permanent - it's set to expire in the year 2029. (statehouse) governor a plan that will keep

20 years until 2049. with the expectation that shoppers will spend more and more money each year, generating more of this source of revenue. but his new plan isn't for schools to get all that money, he wants to start divying up that expected growth. (water faucet) branstad wants part of that money to start going to improve iowa's water quality. the plan will scrape some revenue off the top of that one percent sales tax money, so schools still get help for infastructure, and the state also gets some funding to help make sure rivers and lakes aren't polluted and this is safe for you to drink. amanda krenz, local five news, we are iowa. elias: so far,the governor's plan has had mixed reviews from both democrats and republicans. we'll have more on the legislative session coming up today. local 5's amanda krenz will have a one-on-one interview with governor branstad to discuss his legislative

session begins on monday. elias: and as the state of iowa prepares for the change over of its medicaid program in march, those looking for information or help enrolling can get it today... the iowa department of human services will be set up this evening at the polk county river place. iowans wanting to know more about the transition can ask the d-h-s staff directly and receive in- person assistance with enrollment. elias: the rains brought into the west coast by el nino are causing a continuing threat of mudflows in emergency crews have been roads of mud and debris, trying to make it safe for travel. remains in effect for as many as 70 homes in one area that was hit 20-14. elias: meteorologist sam schrier

sam schrier joins us again with a look at your forecast. sam weather adlib: today is going to be warmer than yesterday, but if you're going to be outside there won't be much chance to really enjoy it. we are expecting a very wet day right from the start, but fortunately for everyone we should be warm enough where snow and freezing conditions shouldn't be an issue. early in the morning a few places in northern iowa may experience freezing drizzle affecting mainly side walk and parking lots, but most of us will just be dealing with a wet drizzle during the early morning hours. rain is expected to move across the state from the south starting in the late morning but really getting going through the afternoon. highs today should remain fairly steady in the mid to upper 30s with a gentle southeast and east wind. tonight we'll see continued light scattered rain showers with lows staying above freezing the whole time. friday is going to be wet again with morning showers turning into a scattered mix of rain and snow by the afternoon when our

the north. friday night we'll probably see our wintry mix turning into snow showers as temperatures begin a very harsh slide into deep cold lasting all day saturday into sunday. sunday is the coldest day of the forecast with a low near 4 and a high barely around 10 degrees. next week we'll stay cold in the beginning with warmer air returning by next thursday. elias: in your national headlines now-- elias: 17 miners trapped overnight in an elevator nearly a thousand feet underground emergency crews still desperately trying to rescue them right now abc's ryan smith is here with the latest " emergency crews racing to free 17 miners-trapped in an elevator nearly 900 feet below ground in upstate new york..... cage is stuck 850 feet down with people on it. asha mckenzie a reporter for our local elmira affiliate live on the scene.... reporter: the 17 miners have been trapped for more than 5 hours at this point.....trapping them. local fire departments racing to the scene...... 12:28 attention firefighters. man power needed to backfill out in lansing on a rope rescue.

miners....it will lower a basket to carry out 4-6 miners at a time. sot: they were in high spirits. rescuers have been able to send down blankets and food to the miners who were just starting their shift.... mark klein is the direcotr of corporate communications for the company which runs the mine. we practice mine evacs regularly every year so that practice is coming into play today cayuga salt mine-the deepest salt mine in the united states-is in the finger lakes region of new york state....between the cities of itica and elmira. spread out over 18,000 acres..... the rock salt from the companies, ice cream

. " elias: trending now... elias: the future of technology is on display this week in las vegas for the c-e-s technology expo. one of the most talked about items--an 18 inch high definition t-v you can roll up like a newspaper. l-g says none of these will be sold, it's just a concept. tired of hanging you kids photos on the fridge, samsung has the thing for you. their new smart fridge comes with a 2-foot touchscree and cameras inside. and under armour unveiled it's health-box ....which uses a chest strap, wristband and scale to track you body 24-7. you'll see this on sale later this month. sale later this month. elias: coming up on local 5 news midday... a bomb test in north korea has left the international community wondering just what kind of bomb it was. elias:

swelled again, with no winner announced last night. find out what the iowa lottery says your odds are, coming up. elias: next.... how a liver transplant ended up doing

"your wathcing local 5 news midday in hd with elias johnson and we are iowas most accurate forecast. this is local 5 midday. we are iowa" elias: this morning we story of a life- match... an illinois man decided he part of his liver complete stranger.. however, as the pair got to know liver transplant ended up doing more than just saving a young

karen jordan has their story. "script: chris dempsey fell in or death situation. together. krueger/engaged to 1:19--my whole liver came out and i received 55 percent of his --1:24 heather was diagnosed with stage-4 liver disease in the summer of 20-14. her health continued january of last year, her doctor suggested donor. the village of a co-worker who was heather's cousin.. situation. the ex-marine decided to help.. even though he hadn't met heather. chris dempsey/donated partial liver 2:28--when i heard about it, i just put myself in that position and said i would really want someone to help me --2:33 chris got tested and called heather with the results. it was the first time they talked. (sot-krueger) 4:39--he's like, i'm a match, i'm your donor. let's do this. i'm like, what? --4:44 the surgery was

but already the sparks were flying. after a grueling procedure and a week of recovery in the i-c- u... they knew what they had was real. (sot-krueger) 6:12--getting through this sticking with me through that and then after we get out, wanted to make it official --6:18 but to: 6:29--just there, i knew he was special --6:31 (track 5) chris had some initial complications after the surgery.. but they both bounced back.. and continued to grow closer. (sot-krueger) 10:02--no regrets. i'd do it again in a heartbeat if i had to --10:04 and last month, chris made it official.. he proposed after a day on the town and a carriage ride to the drake. (sot-krueger) 7:35--i thought to myself, this would be a nice way to set it up, but i'm like, don't get yourself too excited --7:41 all: (reax) elias:

this today... elias: an igloo is the newest development project in downtown chicago...and on the median of a busy intersection. the igloo was erected this week. initially, people thought homeless person. actually, a man living nearby built the structure... using a shovel, chisel, and tarp, he assembled the icy home in 15 hours. the cold weather is cooperating to keep the igloo from melting, but it isn't clear how long the city will allow it stand. all: (reax) elias:

sam today is going to be warmer than yesterday, but if you're going to be outside there won't be much chance to really enjoy it. we are expecting a very wet day right from the start, but fortunately for everyone we should be warm enough where snow and freezing conditions shouldn't be an issue.

most acc"now, we are iowa's most accurate forecast with meteorologist sam schreier. certified by weatherrate the independent weather

weather adlib: warmer than outside there won't be enjoy it. we are expecting a very wet day right from the start, but fortunately for everyone we should be warm enough where snow and freezing be an issue. early in the morning a few places in northern iowa may drizzle affecting mainly side walk and of us will just be dealing with a wet drizzle during the early morning hours. rain is expected to from the south starting in the late morning but really getting going through the afternoon. highs today should remain fairly steady in the mid to upper 30s with a gentle southeast and east wind. tonight we'll see continued light scattered rain showers with lows staying above freezing the whole time. friday

showers turning into a scattered mix of rain and snow by the afternoon when our winds switch out of the north. friday night we'll probably see our wintry mix turning into snow showers as temperatures begin a very harsh slide into deep cold lasting all day saturday into sunday. sunday is the coldest day of the forecast with a low near 4 and a high barely around 10 degrees. next week we'll stay cold in the beginning with warmer air returning by next thursday. sam: elias:

sam: elias: elias: still to come on local five news midday... still to come on local five news midday... the animal rescue league is on with a special furry guest. elias: about the arl - about the animal rescue

thleague of iowa (arl) is iowa's largest nonprofit animal shelter, caring for many thousands of pets each year. the arl serves people and pets from across the state of iowa through its

humane education, pet behavior training, spay/neuter, animal cruelty intervention and much more. history the arl has grown dramatically since its founding in 1926 - expanding its programs that serve both people and homeless animals across iowa. the most obvious growth is the number of animals the arl provides shelter and care for each year. intakes have increased from a few thousand animals a decade ago to more than 15,000 animals in 2013. through our proactive community outreach and spay/neuter programs, in the past few years we have begun to see a decrease in the number of animals we care for, but our work is far from over. other areas of growth include the arl's programs designed specifically to address the reasons animals end up in shelters, including spay/neuter, behavior training, and humane education programs. the arl's positive reinforcement training program has expanded to offer year-round classes, as well as free behavior advice for dogs, cats, rabbits and other pets. the shelter continues to spay and neuter all dogs, cats, rabbits, ferrets and pigs that are adopted from our shelter. in addition to the animals that come through the arl's doors, the arl also

iowa through its many services. mission to promote animal welfare, strengthen the human-animal bond, and prevent the overpopulation of pets.

" you're watching local 5 news midday in hd. we are iowa" : elias: on your money now elias: thousands of drones were found under the christmas tree this holiday season....but how many have been registered with the f-a-a? since new

into effect requiring registration for the devices, more than 180- thousand of the aircraft have been rgistered in the last two weeks. but some the last two weeks. but some consumer organizations estimate more than 400- thousand drones were sold this holiday season alone. the f-a-a also launched a new app this week that tells consumers where they can and can't fly their drones. elias: and now netflix is available in 130 more countries... the company says it's working to more countries... the company says it's working to open its service in china... but will likely find challenges. media content in china remains heavily censored by the government and many websites including google and facebook are blocked. elias: the long-awaited virtual reality headset oculus rift is now available for pre-order the company had so many initial pre-orders that the website actually crashed. an oculus rift set retails for about 6-hundred

rift shipments are expected to go out at the end of march. elias: now, a lot of people were hoping they had some lucky numbers last night...but nobody had the right numbers to walk away with the jackpot now swelling to a walk away with the jackpot now swelling to a record-breaking 700-million dollars ahead of saturday's 700-million dollars ahead of saturday's drawing. plenty of people have been out buying up tickets hoping to get lucky in the lotto.... but if you weren't a winner last night... we talked to some experts about how to pick the best numbers to improve your odds... the iowa lottery says there are 292 million different number combinations... only about 40 percent of those combinations were chosen for last nights drawing... which is low -- in the past they've seen as high as 80 percent. the most common combination... is 1-2-3-4-5-6.... and those sentimental dates you choose... may not be as rare of a combination as you think. "some combinations are more popular than

birthdays, anniversarys, signifcant dates like that. those will be numbers of 31 and less obviously because birthdays, anniversarys, signifcant dates like that. those will be numbers of 31 and less obviously because those are the numbers in the calender. elias: when it comes to deciding if you should let the computer pick your numbers, or pick your own.... your numbers, or pick your own.... the iowa lottery says 80 percent of people let the computer pick their numbers.... and in turn... 80 percent of winners had the computer pick their number. elias: coming up on local 5 news midday... donald trump is after senator ted cruz and the question of his american citizenship. american citizenship. elias: next.... a bomb was tested in north korea, but jsut what kind of bomb was it?

hd. we are iowa" elias: good morning and thanks for joining us for local 5 news midday...i'm elias johnson. elias: our top story....a trench collapse in altoona claims the life of a man wednesday... elias: around 8 am yesterday, a 12 foot deep trench collapsed on top of 30-year-old justin jorgensen : he working near 5th avenue and adventureland drive., building the linden oaks apartment development when police and rescue units arrived, they said jorgensen had already passed away from his injuries. the recovery efforts took six hours because of cold, muddy conditions and continuing collapses.. police don't believe the crew was using police don't believe the crew was using shoring or wall barriers when the collapse happened.

working on infrastructure, mains, sewers , water lines, hooking into the mains that the city has. once the grading is done, stuff like that they were working on"" elias: osha says j-r-s excavating did not have any previous safety violations. the company's website boasts 20 years of experience in construction ground work. elias: the hamilton and webster county sheriff's offices are looking into two bar burglaries. elias: they are looking for any assistance the public may have in solving the crimes... the first took place at rungo's bar in stratford on new years day at 7 in the morning. suspects attempted to break into a machine in the bar... the other burglary happened just hours after at the iron saddle saloon in dayton. authorities say the bar had been burglarized and the suspect took a safe. both sheriff's offices are looking for the

pictured on your screen. elias: and now to north korea's claims that it successfully conducted a hydrogen bomb test, those claims now being called into question. meanwhile, the international community weighs in on the best way to deal with the hermit kingdom. abc's lana zak has more-- " script: not likely a hydrogen bomb...that's the latest word from the intelligence community-- sot: joe cirinccione /it looks like this was more around 6 or 7 kilotons. it's far too small to be even a failed h-bomb. here's why...a hydrogen bomb is a thousand times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped on hiroshima and nagasaki. it has never been used in war. still the north korean government was celebretory on the eve of north korean leader kim jung un's birthday-- nats

condemnation was swift--the un security council holding an emergency meeting and even their closet ally, china, rebuked north korea. the u-s immediately launched "nuclear sniffer" and surveilance planes, to help determine - what was tested..." elias: not all the scenes from california's flooding are bad.... los angeles residents, finding some humor in the flooding that is taking over the state this week.. the flood waters carrying trashcans down city streets with ease--almost look like they are trying to drive down the road themselves. elias: meteorologist

with a look at your forecast. sam weather adlib: today is going to be warmer than yesterday, but if you're going to be outside there won't be much chance to really enjoy it. we are expecting a very wet day right from the start, but fortunately for everyone we should be warm enough where snow and freezing conditions shouldn't be an issue. early in the morning a few places in northern iowa may experience freezing drizzle affecting mainly side walk and parking lots, but most of us will just be dealing with a wet drizzle during the early morning hours. rain is expected to move across the state from the south starting in the late morning but really getting going through the afternoon. highs today should remain fairly steady in the mid to upper 30s with a gentle southeast and east wind. tonight we'll see continued light scattered rain showers with lows staying above freezing the whole time. friday is going to be wet again with morning showers turning into a scattered mix of rain and snow by the afternoon when our winds switch out of the north. friday night we'll probably see our wintry mix turning into snow showers as temperatures begin a

deep cold lasting all day saturday into sunday. sunday is the coldest day of the forecast with a low near 4 and a high barely around 10 degrees. next week we'll stay cold in the beginning with warmer air returning by next thursday. elias: protests in alabama top your national headlines this morning... elias: the l-g-b-t-q community took to courthouses the l-g-b-t-q community took to courthouses in the southern state following an order by the chief justice of the alabama supreme court... in it, judge roy moore directed probate judges to not issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. the order comes months after the u-s supreme court legalized same-sex marriage in

spoke out after one couple was denied a marriage license. " james robinson free2be "for someone to go down and do something that is routine and is recognized nationally and is there right and be denied is an insult." tom willett "it just makes you want to vomit it's just sad that they can hate people so much" elias: judge moore contends that a recent ruling by the u-s court of appeals only invalidated marriage laws in four states...and that alabama's marriage amendment remains in full effect. elias: for the first time, both houses of congress have approved legislation that would repeal obamacare. it would also bar any federal money for planned parenthood. the house approved the bill wednesay, a month after the senate made the same decision. president obama, of course, will veto any bill that dismantles his own health care law. congressional leaders say they'll try to override the veto with a two thirds majority vote.

in your local election headquarters now-- elias: the race for the white house now -- and with ted cruz now the frontrunner in iowa -- donald trump is pulling a page from his obama playbook -- questioning whether cruz is even eligible to be president -- because he was born in canada -- trump's wife melania is also speaking out in a new interview -- and abc's tom llamas is on the trail in storm lake, iowa with all the latest " this morning the bromance between donald trump and senator ted cruz is on the rocks. sot-trump on cnn "do you believe senator ted cruz is a natural born citizen?" dt: "i don't know, to be honest." trump neck and neck with cruz in the battle for iowa-raising questions about cruz's birthplace: canada...suggesting cruz go to court to prove he can run for president. sot-trump on cnn "ted, he should ask for a declaratory judgment because that would clear it all up. i'm doing this for the good of ted." in iowa cruz, whose

" as a legal matter the question is straightforward and settled law that the child of a us citizen born abroad is a natural born citizen." we were with senator cruz in the hawkeye state and on his campaign bus as the trump dust up was growing. sot llamas & cruz tl: he's talking about that you were born in canada, not criticizing it, but saying you could have problems with that. why do you think he's doing that. 13:41:11 tc: i'm not gonna try to psychoanalyze donald trump. my view, if others .. llamas: do you think he sees you as a threat? tc: you'd have to ask him that. cruz says the toughest part of the campaign is being away from his wife and 2 young daughters. (gfx) this as trump's wife tells harper's bazar the decision for him to run was also not easy but now she's offering her advice: "i give him my opinions, and sometimes he takes them in, and sometimes he does not. do i agree with him all the time?

elias: still to come on local 5 news midday... (weather) sam has the details in central iowa's most accurate

"now, we are iowa's most accurate forecast with meteorologist sam schreier. certified by weatherrate the independent weather experts" sam weather adlib: today is going to be warmer than yesterday, but if you're going to be outside there won't be much chance to really enjoy it. we are expecting a very wet

start, but fortunately for everyone we should be warm enough where snow and freezing conditions shouldn't be an issue. early in the morning a few places in northern iowa may experience freezing drizzle affecting mainly side walk and parking lots, but most of us will just be dealing with a wet drizzle during the early morning hours. rain is expected to move across the state from the south starting in the late morning but really getting going through the afternoon. highs today should remain fairly steady in the mid to upper 30s with a gentle southeast and east wind. tonight we'll see continued light scattered rain showers with lows staying above freezing the whole time. friday is going to be wet again with morning showers turning into a scattered mix of rain and snow by the afternoon when our winds switch out of the north. friday night we'll probably see our wintry mix turning into snow showers as temperatures begin a

deep cold lasting all day saturday into sunday. sunday is the coldest day of the forecast with a low near 4 and a high barely around 10 degrees. next week we'll stay cold in the beginning with warmer air returning by next thursday. sam:

elias: you're watching local five news midday. we'll be back you're watching local five news midday. we'll be back after this.

elias: stephanie schneider who plays the white witch. the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe your interviewee will be brian bopp, who plays mr. beaver in "the lion, the witch and the wardrobe." (we may have a second person. i will let you know that person's name when confirmed.) i've attached the press release on the show as well as a press release we just sent yesterday about added shows(!). i shot b-roll at last nights dress rehearsal. i'll let you know when it's in our shared dropbox. there are publicity photos available for download at https: information to consider for the

the wardrobe des moines community playhouse jan. 8-31 tickets: dmplayhouse.com, 515- 277-6261 sam

sam weather adlib: today is going to be warmer than yesterday, but if you're going to be outside there won't be much chance to really enjoy it. we are expecting a very wet day right from the start, but fortunately for everyone we should be warm enough where snow and freezing conditions shouldn't be an issue. early in the morning a few places in northern iowa may experience freezing drizzle affecting mainly side walk and parking lots, but most of us will just be dealing with a wet drizzle during the early morning hours. rain is expected to move across the state from the south

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