great friday. good morning columbia. thanks for joining us. i'm crysty vaughan. and i'm rochelle dean. we're live from main and gervais. the time's now 5:00. temperatures seem to be a lot warmer this morning than they have been earlier this week... still a little chilly though... yeah... it's not as bad as it has been out there... but might still need a jacket before you head out. for more on what we can expect for the remainder of the day...

33 we want to give you a quick traffic update as you head out and about this morning. and good news at the top of the hour... there are no incidents to report in or around the capital city... but as always we will continue to keep our eyes on the road and update you if anything changes for your morning commute. a-b-c columbia wants to help you jump start your day. we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. so, let's get started. republican presidential candidates donald trump and ted cruz have publicly ended their campaign truce. the g-o-p presidential hopefuls clashed

last night's debate. trump says questions remain about cruz's eligibility because of his birth in canada... despite the fact that his mother is american. cruz suggested trump was only turning on him now... because polls show the race to the white house has tightened. 33 cruz went on to say the problem with trump is his, quote, "new york values," saying, "not a lot of conservatives come out of manhattan"... a statement trump calls "insulting." and cruz is continuing his campaign in south carolina today... following last night's debate. that's right. senator cruz will be right here in the capital city... sitting down with

as a part of his presidential forum series. that's going to be at the u-s-c alumni center. doors open at two. cruz will also make stops in the upstate this weekend. the democratic presidential hopefuls will be going head- to-head next in the lowcountry. martin o'malley, bernie sanders and hillary clinton will all take part in the democratic presidential debate this sunday in charleston. o'malley almost missing this next debate. the democratic presidential hopeful only averages 4- point-six percent in iowa. the debate's host, n-b-c had said in order to participate, candidates would have to average at least five percent nationally or in one of the states with an upcoming contest. o'malley barely made it, thanks to the network's willingness to round up his percentage. both hillary clinton and bernie sanders called on n-b-c to include o'malley in the debate. o'malley will be here in columbia tomorrow... holding a pre-debate town hall discussion on equal opportunity and justice at benedict college. that

another busy day across the street from us... at the state house. as lawmakers focus on education and infrastructur e for this year's legislative agenda.... governor nikki haley is taking time to focus on finance. governor haley is set to unveil her executive budget for 2016-2017. that's this morning at 11:00.... at the state house. also inside the state house... a bipartisan group is fighting for a five percent cost of living raise for state employees. the number of state employees on the payroll has gone down... and employees have only received pay increases two of the last seven years. and now lawmakers are hoping to reverse the trend. lawmakers 33 say they hope the house will

into their appropriations bill to keep it in the senate. if it passes... state employees could see the boost in their pay come july. still to 33 come... the republican presidential clash in the lowcountry. we're taking a closer look at the first presidential debate of 20-16. mostly cloudy and dry to kick off your friday.expect a rainy day with highs in the mid 50's

main and gervais. here's a 33 quick look at stories that are making headlines across the country. the gloves are coming off in the latest g-o-p presidential debate in north charleston. a-b-c's stephanie ramos has all the

debate. 33 the carolina panthers... just keep pounding. crysty has more on the playoffs. the carolina panthers gearing up for another playoff run starting sunday against a familiar opponent. and the gamecock women on the road last night at kentucky.

minute to win it. 33 still to come... some still waking up bitter about not being billionaires. but some south carolinians are celebrating a win.mostly cloudy and dry to kick off your friday.expect a rainy day with highs in the mid 50's

main and gervais. welcome singers... jenny gill and patrick davis... are also making performances as the opening acts. and its all for a good cause... proceeds made at this event are going towards u-s-c's mens baseball coach... reece holbrook's "win anyway foundation"...

fighting pediatric cancers. and you can also join the columbia city ballet studio for some fun this weekend... they're opening their studios for a "ballet uncorked series"... wine tasting... and a behind-the scenes rehearsal from their upcoming ballet will be a part of the event. this is five dollars and starts at five-thirty tonight. all proceeds will go towards

educational outreach series. 33 we're checking out what will be making headlines later today. here's crysty vaughan with your "look ahead." we're still waiting to learn who the three big winners are in wednesday's one-and-a-half billion dollar powerball jackpot. but some south carolinian's are still walking away with quiet the consolation prize. five lucky winners will be taking home 100-thousand dollars.

won 50-thousand dollars. but lottery officials are warning... take caution when claiming those winnings. lottery 33 officials say about 366- thousand tickets were sold ahead of wednesday's drawing. and remember... about 43- percent of the money that went towards all those tickets... will now go towards education.33 still to come... if you'd like to add a furry friend to your

got just the little guy for you. stay with us...

gervais. week... still a little chilly though...

as it has been out there... but might still need a jacket before you head out. for more on what we can expect for the remainder of the day... lets turn things over to

33 we want to give you a quick traffic update as you head out and about this morning. and good news ... there are no incidents to report in or around the capital city... but as always we will continue to keep our eyes on the road and update you if anything changes for your morning commute. a-b-c columbia wants to help you jump start your day. we have

morning headlines. so, let's get started. we start with the g-o-p presidential debate in north charleston. republican presidential candidates donald trump and ted cruz have publicly ended their campaign truce. trump charged that questions remain about cruz's eligibility because of his birth in canada... despite the fact that his mother is american. trump also took the time to acknowledge governor nikki haley and her comments during this week's g-o-p response, that pegged trump as an "angry voice" in politics. trump went 33 on to say that he was not offended by the governor's statement. up next... the democratic presidential hopefuls will be going head- to-head next in the lowcountry.

will all take part in the democratic presidential debate this sunday in charleston. and the reverend jesse jackson has been busy encouraging people to head to the polls next month. he's spend multiple days in the midlands helping people register to vote... and talking poverty and medicare. he'll be back here in columbia today speaking on medicaid expansion during the martin luther king birthday breakfast. that's going to be at the first nazareth baptist church... this morning at nine. and it's another busy day across the street from us... at the state house. as lawmakers focus on education and infrastructure for this year's legislative agenda.... governor nikki haley is taking time to focus on finance. governor haley is set to unveil her executive budget for 2016-2017. that's this morning at 11:00.... at the state house. turning to the crime beat... we have an update on a deadly weekend shooting near a downtown restaurant. columbia police have charged michael robinson with

rodney according to investigators... around three-thirty saturday morning... francis was leaving club rue 77 on assembly street with several other people... when he was shot multiple times. officers found him lying in the one thousand block of lady street. he died a short time later at a local hospital. police believe the shooting may have stemmed from an earlier altercation between the victim and the suspect. a 39-year-old sumter man is charged tonight with 15 counts of child pornography. according to investigators... william phillips was sharing files containing child pornography over the internet. and an alleged jewel thief is denied bond. an atlanta judge denied bond for 24-year-old abigail kemp. prosecutors the diamonds and watches she stole... are still missing. kemp is accused of six jewelry stores across the southeast.... including one in bluffton. and the u-s

your help this morning. andrew williams is a fugitive. officials say he could have south carolina ties. williams was arrested in virginia back in 20-14... for possession with intent to distribute drugs... and fire arm related charges. officials say he should be considered armed in dangerous. if you've seen williams... you're asked to call the u-33 s marshals service at... 1- 877-926-8332. still to come... it's a force of nature churning out in the atlantic... during an unusual time of the year. we have the latest on hurricane alex. mostly cloudy and dry to kick off your friday.expect a rainy day with highs in the mid 50's

main and gervais. good morning. topping "america's money" -- goldman sachs tentative deal with the government. >> it has agreed to pay more 5$5 billion for peddling toxic mortgages.

the country's history. and chipotle taking a drastic step. >> the chain will close all of its stores for one day, february, 8th, to talk to employees about food safety, the closure is expected to last several hours. driverless cars, the government plans to spend 4$4 billion to develop the technology. >> the cars could eliminate most deadly crashes and could lessen grid lock. >> this is going to save parents so much time during drop offs and pickoffs. that's "america's money." when i lay in my tempur pedic contour then i slowly feel it start to kind of wrap itself around me. my mind just kind of goes blank. then the next thing i know it's morning. with tempur-flex you've got the spring and bounce of a

my cloud feels so comfortable. it feels like somebody's hugging you. how can a bed do that? this is the best investment of your life because this is where dreams are made. (vo) this year, change your life with your best night's sleep. change to tempur-pedic. i try hard to get a great shape. this... i can do easily. benefiber healthy shape helps curb cravings. it's a clear, taste-free daily supplement... ...that's clinically proven to help keep me fuller longer. benefiber healthy shape. this, i can do. find us in the fiber aisle. still not feeling well? no...you know when i got sick my mom used to make me chicken noodle soup. aw, ok... you should call your mom. bye. campbell's chicken noodle soup. there when no one else is.

33 hurricanes 33 don't usually start until the beginning of june... but far out in the atlantic... hurricane season is starting a little early this year... yeah... hurricane alex is the first hurricane to form in january since 1938. alex is currently at category one strength, with winds of about 80 miles an hour. the national hurricane center is issuing hurricane warnings

expected to hit today. 33 we're now going to turn our attention to your health. rochelle dean has a look at what is making headlines in the medical community. your mom most likely told you to eat your vegetables growing up... and as it turns out... she may have been on to something. with more...

johnson... still to 33 come... we've got a reason for you to shop till you drop... and you can do it all from the comfort of your home...

from main and gervais. sachs says it will provide 1-point-8 billion- dollars in consumer relief... this will include loan forgiveness for underwater homeowners and distressed borrowers, as well as support for affordable housing. a-t-m and overdraft fees are costing americans so much money... they're becoming a presidential campaign issue morgan chase... bank of america... and wells fargo made more than six-billion dollars last year in a-t-m and overdraft fees alone. presidential candidates are even expressing frustration over the fees. hillary clinton called a-t-m fees "usurious."... and bernie sanders vowed that if he's elected president, he will cap them at two-dollars... instead of the average four dollars being charged. and good news for those of you looking to do some weekend shopping... amazon is offering a huge discount for its prime membership this weekend. the

from 99 to 73-dollars. the promotion starts tonight at nine but you better hurry... it ends sunday at noon. only new customers can take advantage of the deal. looks like a member of a popular boy-group-band is getting into some trouble... crysty can you tell us more. it's a flashback to the past... backstreet boy nick carter is making headlines... but not in a good way... police say they arrested carter wednesday night after he punched a bouncer at the hog's breath saloon in key west. investigators say carter was upset because a bartender refused to serve him and his friend due to their level of intoxication. carter was released from jail... after posting a 15-hundred dollar bail. and some sad news this morning... singer, celine dion's husband has died. dion's publicists confirmed the death of rene angelil...and released a statement saying... "rene angelil, 73, passed away this morning at his home in las vegas after a long and

cancer.... the family requests their privacy be respected at the moment." dion and angelil met when she was 12 years-old... they married in 1994. the couple has three children together... a 14-year-old and five-year-old twins. and people continue to pay their respect... after learning about the death of english actor alan rickman. rickman... is best known for roles in films "die hard" and as professor snape in the harry potter series. author of the popular book series, j- k rowling... took to twitter saying, "he was a magnificent actor and wonderful man." and daniel radcliffe... who played harry potter... is reflecting on his work with rickman. he released a statement on his google plus account saying... "i will carry the lessons he taught me e for the rest of my life and career." rickman died after a short battle with cancer. he was 69 years old. more

come... including another look at your day in history.

from main and gervais. 33 let's check out the day in history. -first appearance of the democratic donkey in 1870 -packers beat the chiefs in first super bowl in 1967 -"american pie" hits #1 on the pop charts in 1972 today is... national fresh squeezed juice day... national hat

ice cream day.33 that's all 33 the time that we have for the first hour of good morning columbia. but we're coming

good morning, columbia. today is friday, january 15. the gop presidential hopefuls clash in north charleston. we're taking a closer look at last night's debate. plus more presidential hopefuls are making their way to the lowcountry. the candidates preparing to hit the stage for the democratic debate. and it's another busy day at the state house. we're waiting to hear from the governor about what the budget will look like for 2016. "good morning, columbia" starts right now. captioning provided by caption associates, llc www.captionassociates.com. crysty: good morning columbia. thanks for waking up with us on this friday morning. i'm crysty vaughan. >> rochelle: you can tell it's friday, we are all smile. i'm rochelle dean. we're live from main and gervais. the time's now 6:00.

starting your day with us and we'll start with the forecast. good news, temperatures are not below freezing. >> rochelle: all week long we have dealt with those hovering over the freezing mark but you still need a coat. for what you can expect, let's turn things over to jonathan kennedy. >> jonathan: it's 10 degrees warmer, we started out in the 20s every single morning this week and thankfully we are in the upper 30s. cloud cover moved in and that will keep us warmer. acts as a blanket, insulation to hang onto more of the heat than we normally would. we saw a nice warmth yesterday heat. 64 for the high yesterday, cooler today. cloud cover will hang around, the rain just starting to approach the savannah river to our south and southwest. rain on the way but no sign of it here at home yet. temperatures are a little chilly, certainly want the

door and you head out the door where ever you are heading, but as of right now not much to cover. not seeing fog, winds are light mild temperatures. so, all in all we are awaiting the rain but not seeing much to worry about in the short-term. notice the cold air, as you shift over in the mountains, you cross over from georgia to tennessee, starting to see icy conditions south of knoxville, the blue mixed in, that's the snow. so we are seeing potential system. that will not affect us at home, it's way too warm. temperatures as i mentioned in the upper 30s as of now and we'll only go up from here. no threat of any frozen precipitation for us, plain old rain as we head throughout the day. we will carry the rain chance through the afternoon into the evening hourss tonight. i think by dinner time, it's what you call dinner time but 6:00, 7:00, i think that will be

us, looking at the time stamps. a few clouds hanging around early saturday morning but here's the rain moving through, heavier stuff towards the coast, towards myrtle beach, those areas towards the grand strand heading into north carolina as well. rainy day, high in the mid-60s. sunny tomorrow, take advantage of that, we're back to the rain sunday. we will see sunshshe next week but cooler weather with highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s. cold, more of the same we saw earlier this week. up and down roller coaster but at least we will see nice sunshine to kickoff the week. >> crysty: and you expect the rain to move in before lunch? >> jonathan: depending on the location, between 10:00 and noon we will see it get going, more steady stuff this afternoon. >> rochelle: duly noted. a lot of kids are out today or getting out early today. thanks, jonathan. >> crysty: thank you, jonathan. crysty: we want to give you

head out and about this morning. >> rochelle: good news at the top of the hour, no incidents to report. we're keeping our eye on the road and if anything changes we will pass it along to you for your morning commute. abc columbia wants to help you jump start your day. >> crysty: we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. we'll start with vote 2016. republican presidential candidates donald trump and ted cruz have publicly ended their campaign truce. the gop presidential hopefuls clashed in north charleston during last night's debate. trump says questions remain about cruz's eligibility because of his birth in canada despite the fact that his mother is american. cruz suggested trump was only turning on him now because polls show the race to the white house has tightened. >> back in september my friend donald said he had had his lawyers look at this from every witch way and there was no issue there, nothing to this birther issue.

constitution hasn't changed. but the poll numbers have. >> crysty: cruz went on to say the problem with trump is his, "new york values," saying, "not a lot of conservatives come out of manhattan," a statement trump calls "insulting." cruz is continuing his campaign in south carolina today following last night's debate. >> rochelle: that's right. senator cruz will be right here the capital city sitting down with attorney general alan wilson as a part of his presidential forum series. that's going to be at the usc alumni center. doors open at 2:00. cruz will also make stops in the upstate this weekend. rochelle: the democratic presidential hopefuls will be going head-to-head next in the lowcountry. martin o'malley, bernie sanders and hillary clinton will all take part in the democratic presidential debate this sunday in charleston. and o'malley almost missing this next debate. the democratic presidential

iowa. the debate's host, nbc, had said in order to participate,e, candidates would have to average at least 5% nationally or in one of the states with an upcoming contest. o'malley barely made it, thanks to the n nwork's willingness to round up his percentage. both hillary clinton and bernie sanders called on nbc to include o'malley in the debate. o'malley will be here in columbia tomorrow holding a pre-debate town hall discussion on equal opportunity and justice at benedict college. that starts at noon. rochelle: and it's another busy day across the street from us at the state house. >> crysty: as lawmakers focus on education and infrastructure for this year's legislative agenda, governor nikki haley is taking time to focus on finance. governor haley is set to unveil her executive budget for 2016-2017. that's this morning at 11:00 at the state house. of course you can count on abc columbia, we'll be there and bring you the latest news at 12:30. crysty: also inside the state house, a bipartisan group is fighting for a five percent

employees. >> rochelle: the number of state employees on the payroll has gone down and employees have only received pay increases two of the last seven years. and now lawmakers are hoping to reverse the trend. >> the state employees are the backbone of state services and state government to people of south carolina. they cannot be forgotten as we go forward >> crysty: lawmakers say they hope the house will put the proposed pay raise into their appropriations bill to keep it in the senate. if it passes, state employees could see the boost in their pay come july. something we will keep our eye on since we know state employees are watching it as well. crysty: still to come, three lucky winners still remain unknown. >> rochelle: mum is the word this morning. the latest on that record-breaking powerball drawing.

friday morning but it will be rainy. i'll have details. stay with us, we are live from main and gervais. live from main and gervais, this is good morning columbia with crysty vaughn, rochelle dean, and weather with meteorologist

good morning columbia. >> jonathan: 6:11 on your friday morning, waking up with mostly cloudy skies, temperatures in

certainly a great sight to see those temperatures. we'll warm up to 56 this afternoon, not a ton of warmth but that is spot on average where we should be. not as warm as yesterday, we won't see as much sunshine, good chance of rain later this morning through tonight or at least through dinner time. later on we will see a drier forecast, should see cloudy conditions, lows around 42 later on this evening. >> rochelle: thank you, jonathan. rochelle: here's a quick look at stories that are making headlines across the country. an indonesian police official says an islamic state group flag was found with one of the jakarta attackers who launched an assault on a coffee shop and police post. backers of the extremist group isalmic state have claimed responsibility for yesterday's attack in indonesia. two civilians were injured in that attack. rochelle: defense secretary ash carter says it appears a navigational error caused navy boats to stray into iranian waters. 10 sailors were detained tuesday night by iran.

on a covert mission and were simply making their way from kuwait to bahrain. defense officials say it remains unclear if the crew made a mistake or if the navigational equipment was to blame for the incident. rochelle: still no word this morning on who holds the three winning tickets from wednesday's powerball drawing. but lottery officals say it makes sense to wait before coming forward. he says the winners should line up lawyers, accountants and financial planners first. lucky ticket holders in california, florida and tennessee will split the winnings from the $1.6 billion jackpot. rochelle: the carolina panthers just keep pounding. crysty has more on the playoffs. >> crysty: the carolina panthers are gearing up for another playoff run starting sunday against a familiar opponent. and the gamecock women on the road last night at kentucky. mike gillespie has your sports minute to win it. >> let's start with basketball. wilson and the gamecocks at kentucky last night, a place

just 1 in 6 but they get the win. wilson with 26 points, that's a game high, 13 boards as well. carolina off to a 16-0 start, 4-0 in conference play. >> a lot of times you see triple doubles in blow outs but when you are able to get close to it in a game of this magnitude, it's really shows how special a player wilson is. >> another playoff, head coach rivera is looking forward to round 2. >> i like the attitude playing the best, i think josh said it well, if you want to be the champs you have to be able to beat them. >> watson honored with the manning trophy for best collegiate quarterback of the year.

>> crysty: thank you, mike. crysty: still to come, it's what's known as one of the coolest festivals in the world coming back to the capital city. we have the latest on this year's indie grits festival. >> jonathan: and mostly cloudy but a dry start to kickoff your friday but a rainy forecast. i'll let you know what to expect from the rain fall next.

rochelle: welcome back to good morning columbia on this friday morning. thanks for waking up with us, your times 6:18. >> jonathan: let's take a bite out of your morning menu, sponsored by bojangles'. get ready for a taste of south carolinas cuisine. restaurant week continues here in the midland, we talked about all the things we've taken part of, just in time for a tasty weekend. restaurant week gives all you food lovers the opportunity to sample new restaurants or visit old favorites while enjoying tasty food at a great value. and the best part you're helping out local businesses while you're at it. the special food offerings of restaurant week end this sunday so you'll want to take advantage fast. for a full list of restaurants that are taking part you can visit our website, abccolumbia.com. >> rochelle: i think i will do so. >> jonathan: i've been to a couple places and there are good deals. ev places you go to all the time, they have good deals, especially if you are going as a couple, pretty solid deals out there. >> rochelle: take advantage of it. and you can also adventure to the riverbanks zoo tonight for some wild good deals. it's the return of free fridays

every friday through february the zoo will offer free admission to all richland and lexington county residents. if you want to take advantage of the deal, the zoo only asks that you bring either your drivers license, property tax statement, or proof of residency. that will get you inside for all of the fun. pretty cool you can get in there, just bring your family, have a night out and all you have to do is prove you live here. >> jonathan: maybe not the ideal forecast for the zoo. >> rochelle: but you still have the weekend. >> jonathan: yes. we're looking at a little rainy day, not raining at the moment downtown. if you are heading out in the next hour you will be fine, wait longer in the morning hours, the rain will settle in and it settles in by this afternoon, near 100% chance of steady rain later today. highs of 56 later, lows i ithe 40s. the rain slows down after dinner

it will be okay after the rain moves out. 65 tomorrow, beautiful day, but the rain returns sunday. >> rochelle: i have a feeling you will be back on the golf course. >> jonathan: i did hit some balls yesterday, i may have to hit some. >> rochelle: you know who else is in the zone? crysty. she's checking out what will be making headlines later today. >> crysty: spring is not here, not yet. april is the return of a festival that's known as one of the twenty coolest festivals in the world. we're talking about columbia's annual film festival, indie grits. this year's theme is "water lines." it allows the festival and its artists to document and interpret october's historic flooding through the festival. the folks with indie grits tells us this year's event promises to

>> we've made a plan of expanding the festival to a wide range of elements of southern culture, music, food, puppetry, crafts, all kinds of things. >> crysty: new this year all movies and events will be free with the help of a $50,000 grant. indie grits runs april 14th through the 17th. so mark it on your dale calendar, check it out, they are tieing it in with a historic event. >> rochelle: they were asking people to take pictures from their perspective. it will be great. >> crysty: and it's free. >> rochelle: thanks, crysty. rochelle: still to come, if you'd like to add a furry friend to your home this new year vo we've got just the little guy for you.

gervais. in today's "techbytes" net users are complaining about using left in the cold. >> ever since they got a software update last month. >> nest said the problem has been resolved for over 99%. and amazon is celebrating its golden globes success. >> get amazon prime for $76. and espn getting serious about gaming. >> abc's sister network has launched a new division, espn esports. >> a special hub on espn website will cover the world of competitive gaming, top gamers

>> that's a a lot of money. >> for just playing around. those are your "techbytes."

the doctor put me on a bayer aspirin regimen. be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. go talk to your doctor.

>> welcome back to the corner of main and gervais. i'm excited i'm joined by a furry friend named jonathan and also joined by amanda hamilton

thanks for joining us. >> thank you for having us. >> he will do the weather, not likes our own jonathan kennedy, but he's a cutty. tell us about jonathan. >> he's a shepherd mix, he was surrendered by his owner but we don't know why. he's very sweet, as you can see he's very trainable. anything for string cheese. cheese. sit. sit. >> good boy. and how old is jonathan? >> eight months old. he's a teenager we like to say. >> a teen. what type dog? >> a hound shepherd mix, we're not really sure but he will be kind of a medium to large sized dog once he's done fililng out. >> you had the chance to spend a good bit of time with him. can you tell us a little about

>> sure, he got along great with our other younger dog, they were playful, immediately got along. he was interested in the cats and wanted to see if they would play with him. >> but not in a bad way. >> he was very sweet, they were like you are a dog and have to stop. he did a good job. >> if people are interested in adopting jonathan or any of the other aninils at pawmetto life line what do they need to do. >> we have an application online or they can come to our facility and fill out an application, we have a lot of great dogs and cats ready to go. >> with jonathan, you said he is a puppy but you have all ages. >> yes, we have puppies 8 to 10 weeks and we have seniors as old as 16. we have the full range. >> the full range.

>> especially right now in january when it's so cold, it would be nice to have a furry friend to snuggle up with. >> yes, we have some good cuddlers. >> jonathan, is he read i for adoption now? >> yes, he's ready for adoption, i don't know where he's gone but he's ready to go. >> he's enjoying his visit to the news room. you said he's a teenager. >>es, he has good puppy energy but he will sit settle down. he knows sit. best of both world. >> good for people if you want energy in your household. amanda, thanks for joining us. if you would like to adopt

we'll be right back. refugees flee syrian... >> a lot of times they're shoving them into boats that should fit 50 people, but there are 150 people in the boat. >> thousands arrive here every day. >> most of them, they have nothing. they just come with the their clothes only. >> on the beach with volunteers from israel, helping syrian refugees. >> for me, it's looking at my part, what's my responsibility?

friday, crysty: good morning columbia. thank you so much for waking up with us on this friday morning. >> rochelle: and i'm rochelle we're live from main and gervais. it's ourur last half hour, time is 6:32. >> crysty: we're getting ready forecast. good news, it's not freezing but

>> rochelle: this is wintertime, it's january but the weather feels good. for more of what you can expect as you head outlets turn things over to jonathan kennedy. >> jonathan: big improve. s, we saw 20s every day oh, but cloud cover helping us to hang onto some of the 60 degree warmth we saw yesterday. not in the 60s for us, it's cloudy, temperatures in the low 40s. still watching the rain, tracking the rain. this system came from the gulf of mexico, it will bring warm air and solid rain fall. the rain is just now starting to get to the savannah river and it is trending to the west. it's pushed northward and then will slide to the east once the west early wind takes over. temperatures as i mentioned nice and warm. 42 downtown, 43 lexington, 45

the highs we were seeing earlier. nice start to your day. saw 64 yesterday with the sunshine, almost perfect day. if you enjoyed it, probably won't see it, we are back to it for the saturday. mild start but won't be as warm. 56 for the high today. obviously not as much sunshine to go around with the rain moving in. this will continue to filter in from the south and southwest and pretty much encompassing the entire state of georgia. i noticed frozen precipitation towards the mountains of north carolina and in tennessee. maybe the upstate will see a little wintry mix at times, but that will be very short lived here this morning once we warm up here this afternoon there's no chance of any type of froze end stuff here and no chance for us in the midlands. we will stick with the warm conditions as the rain moves through and then back to the dry conditions as early as tonight, shortly after dinner time.

65 and sunny tomorrow, back to the rain sunday and then back to the sunshine next week but cooler. if you missed out on the good weather yesterday, will be rainy today, not too bad, should be okay later on tone and then a beautiful day on tap for tomorrow. >> crysty: looking forward to tomorrow. >> jonathan: it will be saturday, perfect scenario before more rain sunday. >> rochelle: it's all kind overworked out into the perfect equation for saturday. >> jonathan: just have the umbrella handy for today. crysty: we want to give you a quick traffic update as you head out and about this morning. >> rochelle: good news, nothing to report. we're keeping our eye on the roads and if anything happens we will pass it along to you for your morning commute. abc columbia wants to help you jump start your day. >> crysty: we have a quick rundown of your top morning

we'll start with the campaign 2016. republican presidential candidates donald trump and ted cruz have publicly ended their campaign truce. the gop presidential hopefuls clashed in north charleston during last night's debate. trump says questions remain about cruz's eligibility because of his birth in canada despite the fact that his mother is american. trump went on to say that he was not offended by the governor's statement. >> wherever you are, nicking, we're still good friends. she said i was angry. i was not angry. >> crysty: trump went on to say that he was not offended by the governor's statement. crysty: up next the democratic presidential hopefuls will be going head-to-head next in the lowcountry. martin o'malley, bernie sanders and hillary clinton will all take part in the democratic presidential debate this sunday in charleston. crysty: and the reverend jesse jackson has been busy

the polls next month. >> rochelle: he's spend the last few days in the midlands helping people register to vote and talking poverty and medicare. he'll be back here in columbia today speaking on medicaid expansion during the martin luther king birthday breakfast. that's going to be at the first nazareth baptist church this morning at 9:00. be rochelle: and it's another busy day across the street from us at the state house. as lawmakers focus on education and infrastructure for this year's legislative agenda, governor nikki haley is taking time to focus on finance. be governor haley is set to unveil her executive budget for 2016-2017. that's this morning at 11:00 at the state house. rochelle: turning to the crime beat, we have an update on a weekend shooting near a downtown restaurant. >> crysty: columbia police have charged michael robinson with murder in the death of rodney francis. according to investigators around 3:30 saturday morning francis was leaving club rue 77 on assembly street with several other people when he was shot multiple times.

1000 block of lady street. he died a short time later at a hospital. police believe the shooting may have stemmed from a fight between the victim and the suspect. crysty: a 39-year-old sumter man is charged with 15 counts of child pornography. according to investigators, william phillips was sharing files containing child pornography over the internet. crysty: an alleged jewel thief is still in jail this morning after being denied bond. >> rochelle: she still has the handcuff bracelets. a judge denied bond for 24-year-old abigail kemp. prosecutors the diamonds and watches she stole are still missing. kemp is accused of six jewelry stores across the southeast including one in bluffton. rochelle: and the u.s. marshals service is asking for your help this morning. andrew williams is a fugitive. officials say he could have south carolina ties. williams was arrested in

possession with intent to distribute drugs and firearm related charges. officials say he should be considered armed in dangerous. if you've seen williams you're asked to call the u.s. marshals service at 1-877-926-8332. you. >> crysty: we have more to come on good morning columbia including a sight that is out of this world. >> rochelle: we're taking a look at the brightest star explosion ever. >> jonathan: it will be a rainy day for us later this afternoon. i'll have the details next. stay with us, we are live from main and gervais. >> announcer: live from main and gervais, this is good morning columbia. with crysty vaughn, rochelle dean and weather with

good morning, columbia. >> fugees flee syrian... >> a lot of times they're shoving them into boats that should fit 50 people, but there are 150 people in the boat. >> thousands arrive here every day. >> most of them, they have nothing. they just come with the their clothes only. >> on the beach with volunteers from israel, helping syrian refugees. >> for me, it's looking at my part, what's my responsibility?

friday, >> jonathan: good friday morning, your time is 6:43, waking up with dry conditions here at home but we are tracking a weather system moving up through the deep south over the next couple hours. if you look, it's parallelling the savannah river, not making its way across the border yet. south carolina nice and dry across the board. but look at the snow in the north carolina line. but it's way too warm for us to see anything frozen. we will stick with rain through the afternoon and dinner time but after dinner i think the rain moves on out. once it gets to us it looks like

>> crysty: not a lot of rain on the radar, pack the umbrella. >> jonathan: that's right. crysty: this next story give's the saying, "star light, star bright," a whole new meaning. astronomers say they've discovered the brightest star explosion ever. >> jonathan: yeah, those may just seem like blurry white dots but they're no ordinary stars. the supernova was 570 billion times brighter than our sun. and get this, the blast produced light 20 times brighter than all the stars in the milky way galaxy combined. it only appears like blurry dots because it happened in another galaxy nearly 4 billion light years away from us here on earth. >> crysty: that is something else, isn't it? >> jonathan: that's a lot of math and lot of craziness. it's fathom to try to wrap your head around some of that stuff but cool stuff. >> crysty: it is cool stuff. god's wide creation there. >> jonathan: absolutely. crysty: we're now going to turn our attention to your health. >> jonathan: rochelle dean has a look at what is making headlines in the medical community. good morning, rochelle.

good morning, crysty. it's a "landmark day" in liberia. the world health organization says there have been no new cases of ebola in liberia for 42 days. it's the first time since the 2014 outbreak in liberia as well as guinea and sierra leone. libera was mistakenly pronounced "ebola-free" back in may but a number of new cases were diagnosed after that announcement. rochelle: and if you want your "health care.gov" coverage to start on february 1st, today is the last day to enroll in or change plans. the final enrollment deadline for 2016 coverage is actually january 31st but you will have to wait longer than february 1 for it to start if you don't make todays deadline. for those who miss todays deadline and the 31st's you will most likely have to wait another year to sign up for health care insurance and may be required to pay a fee when you file for federal income taxes. rochelle: still to come, we have a few recalls to pass along to you this morning all to ensure the safety of you and

that story is coming up.

gervais. >> rochelle: welcome back to good morning columbia, thanks for waking up with us, your time is 6:48. we have a few recalls to pass along this morning. the first may impact that morning pick-me-up. altar'd state is recalling it's monogrammed coffee mugs. the mugs mislabeled as microwave

but if put in the microwave they actually pose a fire hazard. consumers should immediately stop using the recalled coffee mugs and return them to altar'd star for a full refund. rochelle: this next recall may impact you at the office. steelcase is recalling its "rocky" model swivel chairs. the screws connecting the seat and back to the base of the chair can detach posing a fall hazard. consumers should immediately stop using the chairs and contact steelcase to arrange for a free repair. rochelle: and this last recall involves your little ones. ikea is recalling its toy drums and drumstick set. the rubber ball on the drumsticks can detach or be unscrewed posing a choking hazard. be sure to immediately take the drumset away from your kids and return it to ikea for a full refund. rochelle: will some new releases have the power to silence "the force" at the box office? crysty tells us what's hitting theaters. >> crysty: "star wars: the force awakens" has led the box office for four straight weekends. but some new releases are hoping

showing." >> reporter: ice cube and kevin hart ride back into theaters with "ride along 2." the followup to the successful buddy-cop comedy also stars olivia munn and ken jeong. "variety" says the movie could open with around $40 million, more than enough for first place. the original "ride along" also opened over the martin luther king-weekend, scoring the second biggest debut ever for that period with a $48.6 million opening. expect these cops to clean up. >> reporter: also hitting theaters this weekend is "13 hours: the secret soldiers of benghazi." michael bay's movie chronicling the terrorist attack on the u.s. diplomatic compound in benghazi, libya, is opening on less screens than "ride along 2" but could make $20 million this weekend according to "variety." that's what's now showing. i'm rick damigella. crysty: still to come, we're taking a look at a spectacular

>> jonathan: and mostly cloudy here at home. a dry start to kickoff your friday, temperatures in the low 40s, mild for us at the moment but we will see substantial rain fall across the state. i'll

main and gervais. >> jonathan: 6:53, we are starting off with a warmer start, better than the 20s we were seeing earlier this week. 56 for the high, even though we are starting out warmer the top end is not there due to the cloud cover. rain will encompass most of the day, it's just now starting to work its way across the georgia line. rain moves out by dinner time. we are looking -- shortly after dinner time and then a drier forecast. >> crysty: thanks, jonathan. crysty: overseas paris is usually known as the city of lights. but london is hoping to claim the title at least for the next few days. >> rochelle: that's right. light installations from 30 international artists will illuminate streets and buildings during london's s ggest-ever light festival. for four nights lumiere london will bring 3d projections, interactive installations and

the city. the festival runs until sunday. nice. >> crysty: looks good. >> rochelle: get out there and check out the light shows, it's pretty. i love elephants anyway. i know there will be plenty of things to look at including sunnier weather here this morning. still to come, it's a sweet start to this friday morning. >> crysty: a yummy treat to indulge on next in your day in history. >> jonathan: a cloudy start to your friday. it's mild but rain is on the way. i'll let you know the details what to expect from the rain for

main and gervais. >> jonathan: a rainy friday forecast, not raining at the moment. we're waiting for the rain to move in, it's encompassing georgia, look in north carolina, snow starting to fall jefferson, just on the western side of ashville, not moving into ashville but hugging the savannah river, that will come our way, but look for much of the steady rain to come this way. once we get in the middle of the massive green, it should move out dinner time, maybe sooner, depend how everything plays out.

rain sunday, then back to the sunshine pretty much for the entirety of next week. >> rochelle: at least the rain will move out before people go out and hit the town, that will be dry, it's good news. >> crysty: yes. rochelle: let's check out the day in history. the first appearance of the democratic donkey. packers beat the chiefs in first super bowl in 1967 "american pie" hits #1 on the pop charts in 1972. >> crysty: if you are wondering what to have for breakfast, maybe fresh squeezed juice because today is national fresh squeezed juice day, national hat day, and national strawberry ice cream day. >> jonathan: i like the fruit ice cream best. >> crysty: i will go for the fresh squeezed orange juice. my father was making it yesterday.