america this morning. good morning columbia. thanks for joining us. i'm eric weisfeld.33 and i'm rochelle dean. we're live from main and

we're waking up to yet another morning of freezing cold temperatures... so you'll want to bundle up to stay warm. yeah... it's cold out there... and it looks like it may stat that way... for more on what you can expect for the remainder of todays forecast... lets turn things

kennedy. 33 we want to give you a morning. and good news at the top of the hour... there

or around the capital city... but as always... we will continue to keep our eyes on the road and update you if anything pops up for that morning commute. a-b-c columbia wants to help you jump start your day. we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. governor nikki haley is set to give her state of the state address tonight. her speech on the current state of south carolina is set to begin at seven o'clock at the state house. earlier this month... haley gave the g-o-p response to president barrack obama's state of the union. haley will likely touch on shooting.... the shooting death of walter scott.... and october's historic flood. house democratic leader todd rutherford announced that state representative mandy powers norrell will deliver the democratic response to governor haley's state of the state address. representativ e norrell represents lancaster county... district 44 in the south carolina house of representatives. and it's a call for prayer out of the state house. this morning... the palmetto family council and legislators will gather to support the launch of the south carolina

organizers say the caucus is a bipartisan and bicameral group of state legislators united to defend american's right to trust in god. attorney general alan wilson will speak on the history of religious freedom in america... and the role of the legislature in its defense... at today's event. that's this morning at ten... on the north steps of the state house. lawmakers are set to hear more on a a pair of proposals that would limit the amount of syrian refugees in south carolina. one bill would require a public database of refugees and hold their sponsors liable for damages if they committed an act of terrorism. a second resolution calls for a ban on state agencies taking in new refugees until the federal government can establish new procedures to alleviate

bill 33 heads to the senate full committee today where senators will have the chance to hear public testimony. richland county is asking for your help in order to plan for future natural disasters. they're holding a series of six meetings to gather feedback from residents affected by october's historic flooding. it's all part of the "community input and recovery project." the information gathered will be used to develop a flood mitigation study of lower richland and the gills creek and stoop creek watersheds. residents we spoke with at yesterday's first meeting brought up concerns about the county's storm water runoff. there will 33 be two more meetings today. one at gadsden park, starting at noon. and a second starting at four at the garners ferry adult activity center. for a list of

locations... visit our website, abc columbia dot com. of course, last year's devastating flooding has left many homes in our state in dis- repair. it is a harsh reality for those neighbors living in the pine glen area. janet dubeau's home is one of them. she says.... sixty one inches of water flooded her home. her family is coming to grips with the decision to demolish the house... and start all over. at least 33 two other homes on that street are set to be demolished in the coming months. despite the damage, some homeowners say they're determined to rebuild, seeing an opportunity

still to 33 come... it's a comeback for carolina. we're headed to the basketball court and looking at that match up against ole miss.partly cloudy and cold to start your wednesday forecast.mostly cloudy skies and cool temps

live from main and gervais. 33 here's a quick look at stories that are making headlines across the country. the g-o-p front-runners are seeking out major endorsements. .. less than two weeks before iowans head to the polls... in the first vote of 20-16.

latest. it's carolina 33 comeback on the court. eric, what can you tell us? gamecock fans may not need as much coffee to get going this morning if they saw u-s-c basketball's big comeback last night. tim hill has those highlights and more in this

it. still to 33 come... you can start your

it's a reason to fill up your tank... without emptying your wallet.partly cloudy and cold to start your wednesday forecast.mostly cloudy skies and cool temps this afternoon.

and gervais. welcome should an emergency arise at this time... the organization tells a-b-c columbia their supplies are at critically low levels. donors of all types are needed...especially those with types a-b and oh blood...as well as types b-negative and a-negative. for more on how you can donate to the red cross... go to a-b-c columbia dot com. and you've got a chance to get a great deal on gas this morning... beginning at seven a-m... americans for prosperity will pay the gas tax for drivers at the exxon on west main street in lexington. that adds up to forty five cents a gallon. the event is a protest against

hike. 33 we're checking out what will be making headlines later today. here's eric with your "look ahead." in orangeburg... the south carolina state university board of trustees is holding a special called meeting today. according to the agenda... board of trustee members will be discussing the upcoming meeting with the house ways and means higher education budget subcommittee. you may remember the university has struggled to get out of the red... and has been working to get out of millions of dollars worth of debt.

morning at 10:30. and we may soon know the fate of a vacant four-acre lot in west columbia that's sat empty for decades. members of the west columbia council will be having a second reading consideration of the "brookland" development... at tonight's special council meeting. the reading has been tabled twice... council members deciding to allow the developer "estates and companies", to sit down with the public before making a decision. the site in question is the lot at the intersection of meeting and state streets. 33 still to come... the bourbon market is exploding. and now, it's bringing jobs to the palmetto state. how one small town is getting

main and gervais. from new white oak... meaning there's a serious need for coopers, or barrel makers. and one such maker has chosen a rural south carolina county to fill the need... investing 3-point-6 million dollars in little bamberg.

33 and your heard grace say... black water barrels is bringing 57-jobs to bamberg. from mechanics, to laborers and machine operators, they're looking for employees of all skill levels, who are ready to learn. you can find the email to get in touch with them in the online version of this story at abc-columbia- dot-com.33 still to come... we're seeing how things stand in south carolina. what we can expect from tonight's "state of the state" address.

from main and gervais. what you can expect for the remainder of todays forecast... lets turn things

kennedy. 33 we want to give you a quick traffic update as you head out and about this morning. here are some trouble spots that you might encounter. south carolina highway patrol is

intersection of i-77 and shop road. this is going to be in the northbound lanes... and of course we will continue to keep our eyes on the road and update you if anything else pops up for that morning commute. a-b-c columbia wants to help you jump start your day. we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. governor nikki haley is set to give her state of the state address tonight. her speech on the current state of south carolina is set to begin at seven o'clock at the state house. earlier this month... haley gave the g-o-p response to president barrack obama's state of the union. haley will likely touch on the charleston church shooting.... the shooting death of walter scott.... and october's historic flood. house democratic leader todd rutherford announced that state representative mandy powers norrell will deliver the democratic response to governor haley's state of the state address. representativ e norrell represents lancaster county... district 44 in the south carolina house of representatives. also out of the state house... one state lawmaker wants journalists to be required to

working in south carolina. representative mike pitts introduced the south carolina "responsible journalism registry law." according to the proposal, journalists and media outlets would be required to register with the secretary of state's office, pay registry fees... and face criminal penalties if they fail to do so. and lawmakers are set to hear more on a a pair of proposals that would limit the amount of syrian refugees in south carolina. one bill would require a public database of refugees and hold their sponsors liable for damages if they committed an act of terrorism. a second resolution calls for a ban on state agencies taking in new refugees until the federal government can establish new procedures to alleviate security concerns. 33 the bill heads to the senate full committee today where senators will have the chance to hear public

12-missing marines off the coast of hawaii... has come to an end. the u-s coast guard announced it has suspended its search. the marines were on board two helicopters that collided mid-air last thursday. among the missing... 22-year old sergeant jeffrey sempler of woodruff, south carolina. the marine corps is in charge of the salvage operation and is working to investigate the cause of the accident. back here at home... the richland country sheriff's department is releasing a video... they say could help solve a murder. take a look. officials say this video was taken less than a minute after adrian silva was found murdered. deputies are now looking for the driver of this dark-colored sedan. they think that person may have witnessed the murder. deputies say at first... it looked as though silva had crashed his motorcycle into a tree along churchland road... when in fact, he had been shot in the upper body. investigators believe he turned off killian road headed towards lee road... and was being closely followed by

you have any information that could help investigators solve silva's murder... call crimestoppers... at one- triple-eight-crime-sc. officials have identified the man killed while reportedly running from the lexington sheriff's department. coroner margaret fisher says 26 year old jerrid green died after hitting a tree on harvey berry road. deputies say green and a second suspect were wanted in connection with robberies at two nearby truck stops when the chase ensued. that second suspect... 28- year-old james lee williams has since been arrested and faces multiple charges... including attempted murder and burglary. still to come... looks like we'll dodge some nasty winter weather coming our way. but other parts of the nation... aren't so lucky. partly cloudy and cold to start your wednesday forecast. mostly cloudy skies and cool temps this afternoon.details

gervais. these good morning. topping "america's money" -- profits are soaring for the airlines. >> falling fuel costs contributed to delta to making over $4 billion in profits last year. other airlines are seeing similar wind falls. >> they're pouring the big profits into new planes and the

the specificy fees will stick around. more than who% of americans didn't take any vacation days last year. >> not as many workers are receiving paid vacation time. love french fries and chocolate. >> so, why not combine the two? that's what mcdonald's figured. two types of chocolate sauces. dark and white. >> but here's the catch, folks -- you're going to have cough a lot of money to get these -- only available in japan. >> it looks really good. and this's "america's money." >> ketchup. >> oyuck. coughing...sniffling... and wishing you could stay in bed all day. when your cold is this bad... ...you need new theraflu expressmax. theraflu expressmax combines...

available without a prescription... ...to fight your worst cold and flu symptoms... ...so you can feel better fast and get back to the job at hand. new theraflu expressmax. the power to feel better.tm soup and sandwich and clean and real, and feeling good, sort of. and 500 calories or less. the clean pairings menu. at panera.

33 cold temperatures may be hard to bare here in the midlands... but in nebraska, it's a case of more serious conditions fueled by a winter storm. yeah... the snow fall in omaha is causing highly dangerous road conditions... it got so bad at a section of one road yesterday... police had to briefly shut it down due to cars being stalled on snow drifts. and forecasters say as much as four more inches of snow could hit the area before the end of the week.33 we're now going to turn our attention to your health. rochelle dean has a look at what is making headlines in

if you're looking to keep your resolution to lose weight or quit smoking this new year... the key to success may be living with you. martha shade explains in

still to 33 come... your morning task may be to change a password or two... we've got a list of 20-15's most stolen passwords. stay with us.

gervais. "password" marks the number two spot. people can't get enough of their sports because... "football" is number seven and "baseball" sits at number 10. and get this...

wars" movie led to "star wars" taking the number 25 spot, "solo"... at 23 and "princess"... at 21. it's national cheese lovers day and you've got a chance at a yummy give away... marco's pizza is celebrating the national holiday by giving away cheesy prizes in return for your vote on the cheesiest song, movie, band, celebrity, politician or pick-up line. to take part... post your vote on marco's facebook page... and you could win a big cheese pizza, cheesy bread or a big cheese party pack. marco's will tally up the posts and report on america's take on cheesiest winners after the results are in. and starbucks and spotify are coming together to keep the coffee house vibe going no matter where you are. there's now a starbucks app that will tell you what song is playing as soon as you walk into any store. the app also lets you create your

listen to them on spotify. starbucks says the new music service is available at more than 75-hundred locations in the u-s. all u-s spotify users also have access to it. looks like a popular rock band is making their way to south can you tell us... alternative rock band pearl jam is making its way to the palmetto state for its 20-16 north american tour. it's announced some dates for the tour that includes stops in greenville and right here in columbia... the concert will be at the colonial life arena april 21- st. prices start at 71- dollars.... tickets go on sale january 29-th. this was no movie scene for actor jamie foxx... it was real life. authorities say a 32-year old man was driving at a high speed in northeast los angeles when his car flipped over and burst into flames monday night. police reports show two witnesses used a tool to break a window, then cut the man out of his seatbelt to free him from the car. a spokesperson for the actor says jamie foxx was one of those witnesses. police

the hospital and later arrested for driving under the influence. still to come... we're taking a breath of fresh air... and giving you a reason to head outdoors... next in your day in history. stay

main and gervais. 33 let's check out the day in history. -franklin delano roosevelt is sworn in as president in 1937.-president john f. kennedy is inaugurated

ends in 1981 today is... take a walk outdoors day... national buttercrunch day... and national cheese lovers day.33 that's all 33 the time that we have for the first hour of good morning columbia. but we're coming right back. so be sure to

from main and gervais. . captioning provided by caption associates, llc www.captionassociates.com. eric: good morning, columbia. we're glad you are waking up with us on a wednesday, your time is 6:00. i'm eric weisfeld. >> rochelle: and i'm rochelle dean. we're live from main and gervais. we're halfway through the week. >> eric: and halfway through the show. you definitely want a winter

cold as it gets around here. >> rochelle: i know jonathan says it's warmer but it is still cold. let's turn things over to meteorologist jonathan kennedy. >> jonathan: it is warmer but still cold. temperatures below freezing and that will be the case for much of your morning. as you head out today, not expecting a lot of warmth and not seeing it here this morning. 26 downtown. we are splitting the highs and morning. 30 in newberry, 28 in windboro. clouds cover is coming in, that's why you see warmer temperatures to our neighbors to the north and west. you are looking at snow tour the north carolina border, not seeing any fall in south carolina as of yet but that could change as we move throughout the day. wind chill temperatures feels quite cold. 21 is what it feels like. 19 in sumter, other areas not

wind chill not a widespread issue but a couple localized spots where the wind is blowing, that will make it feel colder than what the thermometer is feeling. we're seeing this finger of moisture extend across the appalachean mountains, not expecting much to dip southward, this is an isolated pocket, we have high pressure building back in on the high side, you can notice dry air for a good portion of north carolina, you can see the snow hugging the border but as of right now all above the area north of the border, a snowy situation. not a lot of snow out of it but flurries are flying. fun to wake up to but shouldn't cause headaches for the roadways if you are heading that way. here's your low pressure, it drops to rain on the south part of that front. it will sit here, because the placement of the features, high pressure generally over north

arkansas, these will be in a stale mate. the high pressure the win and allow this system to catch up with it and that will cause big implications for today. the snow fall will be impressive over the midwest and parts of tennessee but for us at home not much to worry about, maybe an isolated shower or two, expecting highs to be in the 40s the next couple days and then rain chances pick up thursday night through friday, i think we are dry for the upcoming weekend. certainly looking forward to the weekend for many reasons. looks like we will be back with the sunshine and warmer temperatures. there are a lot of things to watch for the end of the week. things could change significantly but looks like all rain for us in columbia. >> eric: nice to see the sunshine. >> rochelle: keep the snow at bay. >> jonathan: we'll see. >> eric: let's check out the traffic situation this morning. >> rochelle: here are some trouble spots that you might encounter.

patrol is assisting a motorist at i-77 and shop road. >> eric: in the northbound lanes. we will keep an eye on the situation, also any other situations as you head out to go to work or school this wednesday morning. rochelle: abc columbia wants to help you jump start your day. >> eric: we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. so, let's get started. governor nikki haley is set to give her state of the state address tonight. >> rochelle: her speech on the current state of south carolina is set to begin at 7:00 at the state house. earlier this month haley gave the gop response to president barrack obama's state of the union. haley will likely touch on the charleston church shooting, the death of walter scott and october's historic flood. house democratic leader todd rutherford announced that state representative mandy powers norrell will deliver the democratic response to governor haley's state of the state address. representative norrell represents lancaster county district 44 in the south carolina house of representatives. rochelle: and it's a call for prayer out of the state

this morning the palmetto family council and legislators will gather to support the launch of the south carolina legislative prayer caucus. organizers say the caucus is a bipartisan and bicameral group of state legislators united to defend american's right to trust in god. attorney general alan wilson will speak on the history of religious freedom in america and the role of the legislature in its defense at today's event. that's this morning at 10:00 on the north steps of the state rochelle: lawmakers are set to hear more on a a pair of amount of syrian refugees in south carolina. >> eric: one bill would require a public database of refugees and hold their sponsors liable for damages if they committed an act of terrorism. a second resolution calls for a ban on state agencies taking in new refugees until the federal government can establish new procedures to alleviate security concerns. >> in some parts of the world, the mentality is the right thing

to kill americans and some of these refugees are coming from some of those parts of the world. >> eric: the bill heads to the senate full committee today where senators will have the chance to hear public testimony. eric: richland county is asking for your help in order to plan for future natural disasters. >> rochelle: they're holding a series of six meetings to gather feedback from residents affected by october's historic flooding. it's all part of the "community input and recovery project." the information gathered will be used to develop a flood mitigation study of lower richland and the gills creek and stoop creek watersheds. residents we spoke with at yesterday's first meeting brought up concerns about the county's storm water runoff. >> hoping to find out that we are going to get some help in cleaning the creek bed out. i think if the creek bed were cleaned out it would handle this storm water and we wouldn't be having the flooding. >> rochelle: there will be two

gadsden park, starting at noon and a second starting at 4:00 at the garners ferry adult activity center. for a list of future meeting times and locations, visit our website, abccolumbia.com. rochelle: of course, last year's devastating flooding has left many homes in our area still in disrepair. >> eric: it is a harsh reality for those neighbors living in the pine glen area. janet dubeau's home is one of them. she says 61 inches of water flooded her home. her family is coming to grips with the decision to demolish the house and start all over. >> it happened and we were not looking for it, we were not prepared for it but, you know, we're going to pull it back together and get it together and just kind of reconstruct. >> it's like a little bit of closure because at least i won't have nightmares about this place anymore because it won't be here. >> eric: at least two other homes on that street are set to be demolished in the coming months. despite the damage, some homeowners say they are determined to rebuild, seeing an

and smarter. we wish them luck. >> rochelle: it will be an undertaking but it will be a step in the right direction because it will give them some sense of normalcy. they have been so busy worrying about everything, this gets them on the path to recovery. eric: still to come, a terror attack at a pakistan university. >> rochelle: we'll have the latest as officials work to determine who's behind the attacks. >> jonathan: and this morning partly cloudy skies, it's still cold. a little warmer but still chilly forecast on the way. i will give you the forecast

main and gervais. >> jonathan: 6:12 on wednesday morning, waking up with another cold start, temperatures in the mid-20s downtown. other areas not as cold but everybody else not as freezing. it's a warmer start than yesterday, we saw bitter cold. it is still cold today, don't forget to bundle up as you head out. highs in the mid-40s. cool day overall, we are seeing snow for parts of the carolinas, none of us here, at least not for right now, could see a rain shower this afternoon but it's a small chance, i will put it on the lower spectrum of what to worry about. we are looking for rain at the end of the week but should be cloudy here. rochelle: here's a quick look at stories that are making headlines across the country. at least 20 people are dead after a terror attack at a university in northwest

and officials say that death toll could rise. officials say gunmen stormed the university shortly after it opened this morning. police and the army exchanged gunfire killing four attackers. so far, there have been no claims of responsibility for the attack. rochelle: mexican druglord "el chapo" is living under unprecedented watch in a maximum-security prison. according to reports there are prison guards wearing helmet cams in his cell videotaping him at all times along with some 400 fixed cameras. the prison is also using guard dogs trained to detect his scent. joaquin "el chapo" guzman broke out of the same prison last year and was just re-captured two weeks ago. this time, guzman is being 30 different high-security cells. motion sensors are checking for any underground activity around the prison and cell floors have been reinforced with

to keep him from breaking out. rochelle: and the supreme court is taking up the immigration fight between congress and the white house. the court will review president barack obama's effort to shield from deportation up to 5 million immigrants living in the u.s. illegally and make them eligible to work. the challenge is being led by rochelle: it's carolina comeback on the court. eric, what can you tell us? >> eric: gamecock fans might not need as much coffee to get going this morning if they saw usc basketball's big comeback last night. tim hill has those highlights and more in this morning's sports minute to win it. >> frank martin making a smart move late against old miss putting in gregory. >> oh, my! holy smokes! >> the 6 foot 2 inch freshman only two points of the game huge helping to spark a big coming back. they score the last 11 points in regulation.

9 rebound. this goes into overtime and carera comes upchurch again from gregarian the gamecocks get the huge bin on the road, 77-74, a carolina come back to remember, they improve 17-1 on the season. clemson looking for the sixth straight win. cut the win down to two late but the cavaliers finish strong and take it 69-62. i'm tim hill, that's your abc columbia sports minute to win it, hope it gets your wednesday off to a good start. eric: still to come, you can start your morning saving some money. it's a reason to fill up your tank without emptying out your wallet. >> jonathan: and partly cloudy and cold to start your wednesday forecast. cloudy skies throughout the day and another day of cool temperatures as well.

main and gervais. rochelle: welcome back to good morning columbia, thanks for joining us on this wednesday morning. your time right now is 6:18. >> jonathan: let's take a bite out of your morning menu, sponsored by bojangles'. it's all about giving back this morning. the american red cross association says they are in urgent need of blood donations and are not sure they would be prepared to help should an emergency arise at this time and the organization tells abc columbia their supplies are at critically low levels. donors of all types are needed

and o blood as well as types b-negative and a-negative. for more on how you can donate to the red cross, go to abccolumbia.com. rochelle: and you've got a chance to cash in on a great deal on gas this morning. beginning at 7:00 a.m. americans for prosperity will pay the gas tax for drivers at the exxon on west main street in lexington. that adds up to 45 cents a gallon. the event is a protest against a proposed 10% gas tax hike. which means good news for us. >> jonathan: i know there will be a long line. >> rochelle: long line of people waiting for people to get in on the deal. if you want to get out there, you probably should have headed out there a couple minutes ago because there will be a line. and the good thing is perhaps if they are paying that you won't have to get out of the car and pump the gas too, it will be chilly. >> jonathan: that might be worth it. it will be cold, temperatures in

cloud cover move in and we could see an isolated shower this afternoon be it rain or snow. i think the snow stays a couple counties to our north. going up 77 you could see snow. charlotte seeing pretty decent snow at the moment and others could see snow later if not sooner. the rain will stay in our forecast, there's a lot of hub unaboutuna-ub about this snow, but i think we will have rain. >> rochelle: right now it's rain but below we are below freezing could it cause problems with the roads maybe? >> jonathan: we are not seeing anything right now. when the rain actually comes it will be warmer than freezing. so as of now there is no frozen implications, no freezing rain. if things change, we will keep up up to date. rochelle: we're checking out

your "look ahead." >> eric: let's begin in orangeburg the south carolina state university board of trustees is holding a special called meeting today. according to the agenda board of trustee members will be discussing the upcoming meeting with the house ways and means higher education budget subcommittee. you'll recall the university has struggled to get out of the red and has been working to get out of millions of dollars worth of debt. that meeting is set for this morning at 10:30. eric: and we may soon know the fate of a vacant 4-acre lot in west columbia that's sat empty for decades. members of the west columbia council will be having a second reading consideration of the "brookland" development at tonight's special council meeting. the reading has been tabled twice, council members deciding to allow the developer "estates and companies" sit down with the public before making a decision. the site in question is the lot at the intersection of meeting and state streets. some people want it there in the name of progress, some people

columbia the way it was, quiet and without businesses coming to town. there's a lot to discuss, traffic is one of the things. >> rochelle: one of the reasons it has been tabled is to give the public to come in and talk to developers, it's giving them a chance to have their thoughts heard. thanks, eric. rochelle: still to come, the first in the south primary is quickly approaching. what you need to know before heading to the polls next month. stay with us, we are live from main and gervais. hey there, in today's "tech bytes" nielsen is tracking more of what you say online about tv. >> the ratings measurement company has decided to track facebook conversations about tv shows that you love and hate. it's been tracking your tweets for a while and plans to watch

>> netflix says since january its subscribers topped 75 million members. >> most of the subscribers come from overseas. but netflix said it has recently added 1.5 new members right here at home. and a new study confirms too many people are using easy to hack pass word sfls topping the list is still 123456. second is password. >> the third is 123455678 and qwerty. >> i thought that was creative. >> not at all. those are your "techbytes."

there are 16 fresh-picked oranges squeezed into each bottle of tropicana pure premium. and absolutely no space for added sugar, water, or preservatives. tropicana. we put the good in morning. before earning enough cash back from bank of america to help pay for her kids' ice time. before earning 1% cash back everywhere, every time. and 2% back at the grocery store. even before she got 3% back on gas, all with no hoops to jump through. katie used her bankamericard cash rewards credit card to stay warm and toasty during the heat of competition. that's the comfort of rewarding connections. apply online or at

33 the latest national poll may show democratic presidential candidate hillary >> eric: welcome back, it's 6:27. the latest national poll may show democratic presidential candidate hillary clinton with a double-digit lead over rival bernie sanders but when it comes to the granite state it's a different story. >> rochelle: indeed it is. a new cnn/wmur poll shows sanders now has a 27-point lead over his competition in new hampshire. 60% of voters say they support sanders, that's compared to 33% for clinton. on the other side of the political fence, when it comes to picking a presidential candidate here in south

important dates to keep in mind. the deadline to register to vote in the south carolina for the republican presidential preference primary is today. those wanting to take part in the democratic vote still have a little more time to register. that deadline is next wednesday, the 27th. for more information on how to register go to our website and also scvotes.org. rochelle: it's a conservative heavyweight backing billionaire business man and republican presidential hopeful donald trump. >> eric: yes, have you heard about this? former alaska governor and 2008 gop vice presidential sarah palin is throwing her support behind trump. it's the first-high level endorsement of his campaign. trump and palin are set to appear together at a campaign event in oklahoma today. eric: and some sad news on the campaign trail. a student volunteer for republican presidential candidate ben carson had died in an auto accident. the carson campaign says

from his injuries sustained in the car crash. authorities say the driver, a campaign staffer, lost control of a van on icy roads, traveled across the median and was hit by a truck. the driver and two other student volunteers were treated and released from an atlantic hospital. carson announced during a campaigning event in charleston that he was temporary suspending his campaign. carson has cancelled all campaign events at least through today to be with joplin's family. they work long hours and when conditions are not good on the roadways. >> rochelle: the traveling up and down and all the different places on the road. you can see the car was left with nothing but twisted metal. it's very sad. eric: still to come, we're seeing how things stand in south carolina. >> rochelle: what we can expect from tonight's "state of the state" address. that story coming up next.

main and gervais. eric: good morning, columbia. it is wednesday, we're glad you are waking up with us. i'm eric weisfeld. >> rochelle: and i'm rochelle dean. we're live from main and gervais. ish time is 6:32. >> eric: it's a cold 6:32, you

>> rochelle: and it might be a good idea to go out and warm up the car because it is chilly. let's turn things over to jonathan kennedy for a look at the rest of the day. >> jonathan: if you go up and warm up the car or just wait until this afternoon to do it! it is cold this morning. let's look outside what is happening on this wednesday. 26 downtown, a lot of mid-20 temperatures as of now, 21 manning, notice it's warmer back to the north and west. those areas seeing cloud cover for a longer period of time. we are seeing the clouds move in from the north and west. those areas saw the clouds earlier and it allowed them to stay warmer and not cool off as quickly as we are. everybody is freezing to the east. cloud cover as i mentioned, we also are seeing snow but all that is in north carolina at the

seeing areas in the upstate, maybe a few rain showers up in the landry area if you are familiar with that, seeing a little snow. wind chill temperatures not a big deal, not seeing widespread wind, a couple areas cooler than what the thermometer is reading this morning. that's not the big issue, it's coal, whether the win is blowing or not, it will be cold through the start of your day. watching this snow fall keenly because this could easily slide to the south. doesn't look like it will do it as of now, we will stick with the snow in north carolina and across tennessee. watching this low pressure system here, this is stirring up all this action. this high pressure system over north carolina, this will help us stay nice and try. i think we will see a chance for a few showers late this afternoon into the early evening, it's will be a minimal chance of having impact on your day today just because it's not

the moment, but those showers could bring a little rain for us later today, expecting more action as we head into the latter half of your thursday and into your friday forecast with another system that will come and that will be the big snow maker that will be moving through parts of north carolina and into virginia and especially toward the upper northeast. for us as of right now just a rain scenario through the end of the week. rain not that impressive, if we see anything at all, but a good chance thursday night into friday but i think it will be gone mostly by -- certainly by lunchtime saturday. could carry a few showers into saturday morning. if we do, that might be the time we watch out for snow or freezing rain. as of now looks like plain old rain for us for the end of the week. >> eric: we will take it. no or snow or frozen rain. eric: we want to give you a quick traffic update as you head out and about this morning. >> rochelle: good news is there

we will keep our eyes on the road and keep you up to date as you head out. and abc columbia wants to jump start your day. >> eric: we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. so, let's get started. governor nikki haley is set to give her state of the state address tonight. >> rochelle: her speech on the current state of south carolina is set to begin at 7:00 at the state house. earlier this month haley gave the gop response to president barrack obama's state of the union. haley will likely touch on the charleston church shooting, the death of walter scott and october's historic flood. house democratic leader todd representative mandy powers norrell will deliver the democratic response to governor haley's state of the state address. representative norrell represents lancaster county district 44 in the south carolina house of representatives. rochelle: also out of the state house, one state lawmaker to register with the state before working in south carolina. >> eric: representative mike pitts introduced the south carolina "responsible journalism

according to the proposal, journalists and media outlets would be required to register with the secretary of state's office, pay registry fees and face criminal penalties if they fail to do so. eric: and lawmakers are set to hear more on a a pair of amount of syrian refugees in south carolina. one bill would require a public database of refugees and hold damages if they committed an act of terrorism. a second resolution calls for a ban on state agencies taking in new refugees until the federal government can establish new procedures to alleviate security concerns. >> in some parts of the world, the mentality is the right thing to do is to kill christians and to kill americans and some of some of those parts of the world. senate full committee today where senators will have the eric: the search for 12 missing marines off the coast of hawaii has come to an end.

the marines were on board two helicopters that collided mid-air last thursday. among the missing, 22-year-old sergeant jeffrey sempler of woodruff, south carolina. the marine corps is in charge of the salvage operation and is working to investigate the cause of the accident. eric: back here at home, the richland county sheriff's department is releasing a video they say could help solve a murder. rochelle: take a look. officials say this video was taken less than a minute after adrian silva was found murdered. deputies are now looking for the driver of this dark-colored sedan. they think that person may have witnessed the murder. deputies say at first it looked as though silva had crashed his motorcycle into a tree along churchland road when, in fact, he had been shot in the upper body. investigators believe he turned off killian road headed towards lee road and was being closely followed by another vehicle. if you have any information that could help investigators solve

crimestoppers at 1-888-crime-sc. rochelle: officials have identified the man killed while reportedly running from the lexington sheriff's department. coroner margaret fisher says 26-year-old jerrid green died after hitting a tree on harvey berry road. deputies say green and a second suspect were wanted in connection with robberies at two nearby truck stops when the chase ensued. that second suspect, 28-year-old james lee williams, has since been arrested and faces multiple charges including attempted murder and burglary. eric: still to come, early birds, you're in luck. >> rochelle: early bird get the worm. and it quite a sight in the sky that may just be worth it. >> jonathan: colder start to your wednesday, cloudy skies, a cool day as well. i'll let you know what to expect

main and gervais. >> jonathan: 6:42 on your wednesday morning, mostly cloudy skies are filtering in for us and will stick around for much of the day. we will see highs in the mid-40s. starting off with a cool start and not that warm this afternoon especially with the lack of sunshine. we could see a shower or two, we are watching, there's a chance we could see an isolated rain shower for us in the columbia metro area. to the north you are looking rain changing to snow later today and tonight. i don't think there is really any accumulation of rain or snow later today, especially not for us here. >> eric: something else to watch out for. eric: skywatchers are in for a special treat today. a very rare sight that hasn't

>> jonathan: that's right, the five planets mercury, venus, saturn, mars and jupiter will be visible for about 45 minutes before sunrise this morning. so if you want to catch that view, it should be happening right about now. but don't worry if you miss it, this show in the sky will last through february 20th. and if you don't know where to look, you can always check out the u.s. naval observatory's webpage, they have an app that can help or you can also contact the local planetarium. >> eric: there's always an app for that. >> jonathan: of course. eric: 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. >> rochelle: good morning, jonathan. good morning, eric. the nation's largest health insurer expects to lose nearly a billion dollars over two years and it's blaming obamacare. united health says it lost close to half-a-billion last year, and expects to lose even more in 2016. the company is blaming higher than expected claims from enrollees in obamacare exchange programs. united health now says it's

obamacare exchanges in 2017. rochelle: the cdc is recommending some pregnant women should get screened for the zika virus. the mosquito-borne virus has recently been linked to an increase in birth defects. cases of infant microcephaly have skyrocked where the virus is present. it causes babies to be born with seriously underdeveloped heads and brains. the zika virus is spreading in parts of latin america and the caribbean, as well as puerto rico. there's no treatment for the virus. health officials advise pregnant women to postpone travel to rochelle: still to come, find out how one girl is making a difference in a big way

main and gervais. >> rochelle: welcome back to good morning columbia, your time is 6:49. there's nothing "blingy" about this. tiffany and company says they suffered a disappointing holiday season, so disappointing that the luxury jeweler is cutting jobs. it's unclear how many employees will be impacted but tiffany told cnn the cuts will impact a range of functions and take place this month. according to wells fargo, it's the first time tiffany announced job cuts since the great recession. rochelle: america's top spanish-speaking network now has a stake in a well-known fake

"univision" purchased a minority stake in "onion inc" the company behind the satirical news site "the onion." the network's new partnership is its latest attempt to broaden its audience. in 2013 univision partnered with disney to launch "fusion," which features programming aimed at english-speaking hispanics in the united states. rochelle: verizon is turning to "toll-free phone calls" for a new "freebee data" service. verizon announced they will allow third-party companies to pick up the tab for your data usage when you download content from their apps, websites and services. verizon believes the service will give companies a powerful way to market to mobile devices while saving customer's data charges. this service will start next week using companies like hearst magazines, gameday and verizon-owned "aol" rochelle: one of the leading voices for female education in pakistan is spreading her

young activist and 18-year-old nobel prize winner malala yousafzai has designed a scarf with "toms" the footwear and apparel company that helps a person in need with every product purchased. 100% of the sales from the scarf will benefit malala's foundation. the founder of toms, blake mycoskie, said in a statement "this movement is committed to supporting the rights of all girls globally to have access to 12 years of safe and quality education." rochelle: now let's turn things over to eric for a look at what's making headlines in hollywood. >> eric: the calls for a boycott of the oscars are growing, caitlyn jenners transition secrets are coming out, and two recording artists are teaming up for a big tour. with more, here's jason nathanson with today's showbiz wrap. >> reporter: the calls for a boycott of the oscars are growing. reverend al sharpton is now calling on people to -- >> tune out, we do not have to be insulted. that will send a message to advertisers. >> reporter: sharpton had

hollywood about the issue, but now says he doesn't think that will have any effect. but a boycott will. >> sometimes you have to turn up the heat to make it a little uncomfortable for those that are sitting at poolside thinking this will go away. >> reporter: this comes after for a second year in a row all the oscar nominees in the acting category are white. the president of the academy has promised big changes are coming. reporter: we'll soon be able to read all about caitlyn jenner's transition. the former olympian is writing a memoir, with friday night lights author buzz bissinger. we're told the book will chronicle jenner's life from bruce to caitlyn, and her transition into womanhood. expect it in spring of next year. reporter: gabriel and sting and peter gabriel are teaming up for a tour. sting says he got the idea after a successful trek with paul simon, and he wanted to do it again with another artist. >> peter was one of a very short list of people, because i knew him, because we'd worked together before. >> he'd tried every other one. >> everybody said no. >> but i was still available. >> reporter: the rock, paper, scissors tour kicks off in columbus, ohio, in june. and that's what's happening in hollywood.

los angeles. eric: still to come, it's a mix of sweet and salty. what popular fast food giant is getting a tasty, new menu item.

main and gervais. >> jonathan: and a cold start for us at home, thankfully we are not seeing any of the frozen stuff we are seeing elsewhere. this is looking towards charlotte, see the white snow fall, look at the nashville area, getting pounded with snow this morning. a lot of wintry weather trending to the north, i think it will continue to stay to the north but certainly something to watch as we move throughout your wednesday and wednesday night. eric: forget mcflurries, mcdonalds is putting french fries on the dessert menu. >> rochelle: indeed they are. you're sure to get your chocolate fix with the new "mc-choco potato." the french fries are drizzled with both milk chocolate and white chocolate sauce. that's different. if you're feeling adventurous and dare to try the new dessert, there is some bad news you may want to keep in mind. you'll have to go all the way to japan to try what the fast food giant is calling, "a wonderfully

taste." >> eric: i don't know about that. >> rochelle: it might be good, you have the sweet salty mixture. >> eric: when it comes to french fries all i need is catsup. eric: still to come, we're taking a breath of fresh air. >> rochelle: and giving you a reason to head outdoors next in

main and gervais.

and a chilly forecast for wednesday, look for more tomorrow. isolated shower or two, snow showers to the north but that will have little impact. i don't want you to be too worried what will happen later, it might be fun to see flurries but that's it for us. look for rain thursday into friday and finally dry weather by the time we get to the weekend. >> rochelle: we have to get to the weekend. >> jonathan: we will get there. >> rochelle: eventually, right now it's just like it's coal. i like the cold but too much cold. i've been spoiled, beginning of the winter with the mild temperatures, had me hooked. rochelle: let's check out the day in ho toroosevelt is sworn in as president in 1937. president john f. kennedy is inaugurated in 1961. and the iran hostage crisis ends in 1981. >> eric: today is take a walk outdoors day if you can barry. national buttercrunch day, and