hampshire. a late night town hall. taxes, health care, religion, a wide range of questions from voters and a new line of attack. plus, drama on the gop campaign trail. donald trump's plane making an emergency landing with the billionaire on board. the awkward moment for jeb bush and two more republicans dropping out. armed and dangerous, a man holding a woman hostage. a split-second decision by police officers. the dramatic ending. gorgeous on the gridiron, , tobrady, cam newton, the list goes on and on. finally the ququestion awered, just why are quarterbacks so doggone handsome? oh, good thursday morning. we begin with the gloves coming off in new hampshire. >> just five days away from the

vermont senator bernie sanders taking aim on hillary clinton's progressive credentials as he defends his plan to raise taxes to pay for health care. and on the republican side, sparks are flying between donald trump and texas senator ted cruz amid charg of fraud and dirty trtricks. abc's bazi kanani has the latest now from washington. good morning, bazi. >> reporter: good morning, phillip. good morning, reena. hillary clinton and bernie sanders appeared separately at that televised town hall last night where we may have gotten a preview of the points they'll try make in their debate tonight. the democrats lay out eir differences in new hampshire. >> i think an objective assessment would say that there is more excitement and energy in our mpaign. >> reporter: bernie sanders argues he is more electable than hillary clinton, defends his plans to raise taxes to pay for universal health care. >> so we're going to pay a little more in taxes but you're no longer going to h have to p private health insurance premiums. >> reporter: and promises a progressive political revolution. >> we will raise the minimum

we will have health care for all people. >> it's very hard to see how any of his proposals could ever be achievable. >> reporter: clinton fights back against sanders' charges that progressive. to get things done. >> reporter: fielding questions abouout those eakiking fees. >> did you have to be paid $675,000? >> well, i don't know. that's what they offered so -- >> reporter: even that famous old theory from the '90s. >> do you still believe there is a vast right wing conspiracy? >> don't you? >> reporter: the leading republicans in a new battle. ted cruz fires back after donald trump accuses him of fraud for sending this e-mail to supporters on caucus day suggesting ben carson was dropping out of the race and cruz told h team t to spread the word to the carson supporters. trump tweets, "ted cruz didn't't win iowa, he stole it." cruz accuses trumpf a nasty temper. >> i don't know anyone who would be comfortable with someone who

finger on the button. i mean, we're liable to wake up one morning and donald if he were president would have nuked denmark. >> reporter: and the republican field is a little smaller this morning with both rick santorum and rand paul dropping out. reena,hillip. >> bazi kanani live in washington. bazi, thank you. donald trump hit a major road bump on the campaign trail yeststerday fr about 30,000 feet up. >> his private jet was forced to make an emergency landing in nashville after the pilot reported engine problems. there are details on what exactly went wrong with the boeing 757. the faa is investigating, but trump did manage to make it to an event in little rock, arkansas, minutes late. and earlier in the campaign, trump accused republican rival jeb bush of being, quote, low energy. >> bush will be campaigning today in new hampshire. he has a town hall meeting scheduled in the town of dairy, and we would think he's probably hoping to avoid d another ment like what happened tuesday in hanover.

needs to be a lot quieter but send a signal that we're prepared to act in the national security interests of this country to get back in the business of creating a more peaceful world. please clap. >> ouch. >> oh, boy. >> yeah, no one said winning over the voters was going to be easy. >> we got to remind yoyou of the republican debate before the new hampshire primaries this saturday on abc, 8:00 p.m. eastern. it'll be moderated by our own david muir and martha raddatz. the lineup will be announced later day. this week's severe storm system is now marching through georgia. it spawned a tornado last night that loomed over this subdivision. tornado sirens clearly heard in the neighborhood. at twister left a trail of damage at an army base in southeastern georgia >> trees were knocked out and vehicles and buildings were damaged. one them, an elementary school, is closed today. there are no reports of any injuries. and take a look at the radar here. that storm system now is along

from northern florida up into new england. the heaviest rain will be in the south and some flash flooding is also possible. the sexual assault case against bill cosby is moving forward. a judge refused to throw out the case against the comedian and he allowed the current district attorney to remain involved. a former d.a. who testified for cosby claimed he had granted cosby immunity ithe case. the judge ignored that. cosby's attorneys sasay they will appeal the decision. well, emotions ran high on capitol hill in the first congressional hearings over the water crisis in flint. the chairman of the house oversit committee called on the u.s. marshals to hunt down the city's former emergency manager who failed to show for the hearing. and representative elijah cummings accused the governor of poisoning the children of flint. >> i want everybody who is responsible for this fiasco to be held accountable. we are the lasline of defense,

going to do it. >> he got caught red-handed poising children in flint and the residents of flint. >> well, an attorney for that former flint emergency manager says his client will testify but he didn't have the time to prepare for the hearing. the syrian peace talks are on hold with each side claiming the other doesn't want an end to the fighting. well, one thing is clear, five years of civil war has taken its toll on the country as h shows block after block reduced to ruins. once the third largest homs has se fierce fighting between the two sides. this drone video was taken by a group with ties to the kremlin. from the fog of war to the fog of washington now, a week after the nation's capital was still digging out from a blizzard right now it's 57 degrees and that abrupt change producing heavy fog.

of the white house. they were taken about an hour apart, and it's from the famous hay-adams hotel. you see that heavy fog right there. you can barely see the white hoe. >> yeah. well, still ahead, a major malfunction at the irs affecting tax returns. and state of emergency. a governor sounding the alarm where zika cases are surfacing asas new conrns emerge about the upcoming olympics in brazil, the epicenter of thehe current outbreak. plus, a car plunges into a pond. the driv's dramatic rescue caught on camera. on camera. does the smell of a freshly bound presentation fill you with optimism? do you love your wireless keyboard more than certain family members? is your success due to a filing system only you understand? does printing from your tablet to your wireless printer give you a jolt of confidence? if so, you may be gearcentric. someone who knows that the right office gear helps you do great things.

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quote, getting justice for steven, it's believed to be steven avery, the convicted murderer who is the subject of the netflix documentary "making a murderer." it suggestshe possibility that deputies planted evidence. no device was found. well, the face of corporate greed is keeping his mouth shut. martin shkreli plans to plead the fifth when he appears at a congressional hearing today on high drug prices. shkreli has de no bones about jacking up the prices of prescription drugs just to make more profit. but at a court hearing on securities fraud yesterday, his new attorney said the 32-year-old will no longer be giving interviews or posting on social media. real estate heir robert durst has pleaded guilty to a weapons charge in new orleans. durst has been in custody since last year just as an hbo documentary series was airing. it detailed his links to several murders. in yesterday's deal durst agreed to an 85-month prison sentence. if a judge approves the deal, it could clear the way for durst's extradition to california to face charges for the murder of a

well, don't bother trying to file your taxes this morning, the irs tax processing computer system has had a hardware failure and the e-file service is offline until at least later today. the tax agency says it doesn't expect major disruptions in service or significant delays in processing refunds, but if you file through a service, go ahead. the service wiwill hold to your return until the irs is ready for it. and attention, subway sandwich fans. next time you go, bring another dollar with you. we say that because subway is adding a buck to the price of its famous $5 footlong. will now be $6. subway says the price hike comes down to economics and says the costs have gone up since the $5 footlong debuted nine years ago. >> you could always just go with a six-inch. >> you could, you could, but the $5 ones had such a ring to it. >> you liked the jingle that went wh it. >> uh-huh. when we come back, a life and death standoff. a man holding a woman hostage

car end up like this? of mental health problems, which could get worse or of seizures. don't take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to it. if you have these, stop chantix and call your doctor right away as some can be life-threatening. tell your doctor if you have heart or blood vessel problems, or develop new or worse symptoms. get medical help right away if you have symptoms of a heart attack or stroke. decrease alcohol use while taking chantix. use caution when driving or operating machinery. most common side-affect is nausea. being a non-smoker feels great. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. t this is not a natural disaer. the avalanche in southwestern colorado's san juan mountains was intentionally set off to prevent an accident later.

outdoorsmen who sometimes trigger avalanches. this controlled avalanche made sure a k road sys open. other roads in the northern rockies and cascades are likely to be snow covered this morning. drivers can expect wet roads in the northwest and along the eastern seaboard, possibly even flooding in the south. a littlee slippery from know near the northern great lakes. if you're flying, airport delays are likeliest in boston. now to the latest on the zika virus outbreak. the governor of florida has declared a health emergency in four counties because of the virus. >> at least nine cases of the mosquito-borne illness detected in florida. health officials believe all of the cases are from people who contracted the disease elsewhere. and the president of brazil says the virus has gone from a distant nightmare to a real threat against the brazilian people. >> some are saying that health threat in brazil should force the cancellation of the olympics. one medical ethicist says it would be irresponsible for brazil to host the summer games in the middle of a public health

the u.s. olympic committee tells abc news it keeping a close eye on the situation. now to that frightening explosion on board a jetliner over somalia. the pilot ss a bomb blew the hole in the aircraft but officials have not confirmed that was the cause. the body of a man who might have been blown out of the jet was found on the ground not far away. if it was a bomb no group has claimed responsisibility. here at home a terrifying police standoff played out in irvi, texas. it was all caught on camera. 29-year-old ex-con christopher dew trying to rob a check cashing store grabbed a female employee and gun to her head as police arrived on the scene. he tried to force her int a car. that's when police fired. killing him on the spot. his hostage was thankfully not hurt well, roh parking spaces, no, that's not because they're hard to find but in the losos angeles area, this lexus ended up on the roof after a collision on the road above this house.

never seen anything like this before. both the car and the house suffered extensive damage. the driver was injured, as ll. and luckily no one was injured in this accident in port st. lucie, florida, two bystanders, three police detectives were pulled a 73-year-old man out of his car after he crashed into a pond. he had been hit by another elderly driver. a 77-year-old woman which sent his car ceening into that pond. also caught on camera what conservationists say is the only known wild jaguar in the u.s. they call him el jefe which means the boss seen outside tucson, arizona. they say he's b been leaiving there over three years. the cheapest super bowl ticket we couldd find on stubhub was just under $3,000. >> but the nba highlights, those are free. >> good morning, it's "sportscenter." los angeles,eil everett, stan

a couple of performances from the nba you absolutely have to see. >> wow. look how cool this is. the kids wating him in pregame then look how cool this is, the wizards watching him during the game. steph curry went for 36. in the first half! how about that? 25 in the first quarter. how about 51 for the game and this was a game, john wall had a great game, he made 11 threes. the warriors are 45-4. they're entertaining. only that could upstage this, russell westbrook, his third triple double in a row. his fifth in 11 games. had a career high 19 rebounds. 24 points and 14 assists, he did it all except this, kevin durant took care of this.

magic, oklahoma city, 117-114. 37 for durant. including that one. >> you got the gatest nickname for those two. >> thunder buddies for life. yeah. >> isn't that greaty. >> and he's mine. back to you. >> thunder buddy, thank you. well, up next in "the pulse," cute qbs. an important new study. why quarrbacks are so handsome. plus, plenty of legroom.

all to herself. welco back. time for "the pulse" and we start with a bunch of guys you probably know. we're talking about the guys

the question, are they really the best-looking guys on the field? >> well, popular theory says attractive guys grow up to play quarterback because it's football's highest profile position. but a study in a new book finds signal callers lose out when their looks are compared to the other position players. among those positions found to have betr looking guy, linebacker, wide receiver and defensive back. >> we do love a good quarterback. >> yeah, they get all the attention. pictures of all those good-looking dudes right t there and they have the most swagger. that's why. >> you were saying this. swag, it's not a position, it's the swag that you -- >> don't women like confidence. >> confidence is big. >> there you go and you needs tons of that. bad weather made for the return from the holiday travel period a nightmare this week for tens of thousands of chinese, but not this woman. she passed on being rebooked on an earlier flight and found herself the only passenger left aboard a flight home. look at that.

so she had the entire 737 to herself and the full attention. the china southern airlines ight crew. she said she felt kind of like a rock star. if that weren't enough they didn't en have to pay for her flight because her comny paid for it. >> on a work trip. i wonder where shesat. >> i was curious if she was in economy, was she upgraded to first? >> that would not be cool if they still threw the curtain on her. sorry, rules are rules. hope she got some extra peanut organization something? or the first class meal at least. a glass of champagne. >> we can only hope. hard not to yawn when you see someone else doing it and scientists say women are more susceptible to contagious yawning than men. >> they say itt might be because women are more empathetic and that they're not afraid to yawn in response of others. the women picked up yawns about 55% of the te whereas men, they only did so 40% of the time. i don't know if i agree with this. >> you say when you see someone else yawn you tend to yawn.

i'm not trying to hide a reaction. just a reaction. >> could be that you're empathetic. >> witnessing the birth of a brand-new internet meme. >> it all started out with a reddit user who pososted the orange duke. he posed as the orange duke caught falling asleep on the job the first day working an internship. couldn't resist. they snapped the photo and posted it on reddit. >> that is not cool. >> slumbering intern didn't think it was so funny and posted it to reddit. it did not take long for those clever people over at reddi to add their own embellis manies. >> it turns out the high stakess battle amongraphic artists you see right there. this guy may yet turn into the next internet star. see what sleeping gets you on the job. more news after this. he designs i it to loo fabulous from every angle. and for his collection at kay jewelers... he does the exact. same. thing. yes! neil lane bridal.

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donald trump has accused ted cruz of alleged campaign takes in iowa that could turn into a legal bat. bill cosby's attorneys say they will appeal a judge's decision to allow a sexual assault case against him to go forward. the latest southern tornado took aim at anrmy base in georgia yesterday evening. it tossed around cars and damaged buildings at ft. stewart but no injuries reported. . looking at today's weather, moderate showers in the northwest. hi surf there and in northern california, snow in the rockies, cold in the midwest and heavy rain along the southeast coast. well, finally this morning we've all heard of love at first sight. what about getting married at second sight. >> chalk it up to love in the age of socialmedia. a couple who never met i person holding a spontaneous wededding just seconds after meeting for the first time. kabc's leticia juarez has the story.

year ago on instagram.