>> no nod good morning columbia. thanks for joining us. i'm

rochelle 33 dean. we're live from main and gervais.33 the time's now 5:00. waking up this morning, there's some good news... no more rain. those warm temperatures are still settling in the midlands as

light jacket today. 33 we want to 33 give you a quick traffic update as you head out and

good news at the top of the hour... there are no trouble spots to report in or around the capital city. but as always we will continue to update you if anything changes for your morning commute.. a-b-c columbia wants to help u jump start your day. we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. so, let's get started. we're facing a wet and dreary morning... but, of course, nothing compared to the wicked weather we saw yesterday. the national weather service has confirmed an e-f-zero tornado touched down near the intersection of charleston highway and dixiana road. take a look at this amazing video taken of the tornado. this was given to us by a-b-b- columbia viewer mark creighton. creighton tells us he wasn't looking for a tornado...he saw rain headed toward him and

so, he started recording. 33 creighton told us that he's a weather fanatic, but he's never seen a tornado in real life. while a tornado can occur any time of year... the most active time for seeing them is in march. many of you sent us video and pictures of what you were seeing during the storm. while officials have found no structural damage in west columbia... there were several cars damaged in the storm. take a look at this auto sales distributor... just off highway 321. you can see from this video...the powerful storm broke several vehicle windows and even flipped over some cars. damaged cars and downed tree limbs... were a common sight across the midlands following yesterday's storm. we received this video from nick johnson. nick, had just gotten off work in the dixiana area.... and walked out to the parking lot to see this. he then pulled out his cell phone and took

overturned... some limbs down. according to the lexington county sheriff's department... there is scattered damage to out buildings, small structures, and fallen trees in southern lexington county. officials with the national weather service will be out this morning trying to confirm if a second tornado touched down in batesburg-leesville. these twitter pictures from misty dyer near the north edisto road south of batesburg- leesville. it looks like some stadium seating was damaged... as well as shed... completely collapsed. if you see weather or news happening in your neighborhood, share your viewer video with us. we may useseit on air or on line. you can also watch any of our team coverage of the severe weather stories on our website... abc columbia dot com. you can also find us on twitter and facebook. we're turning our attention to the race to the white house. democrats have finalized an agreement with the campaigns of hillary clinton and bernie sanders to hold a presidential debate tonight in new hampshire. clinton and

university of new hampshire just days before tuesday's first-in-the-nation primary. three more debates will follow in the spring. after barely getting by in iowa monday, hillary clinton is trailing behind senator bernie sanders ahead of tuesday's new hampshire primary. it's a different story here in south carolina. a washington post-abc news poll shows clinton leading sanders 55 percent to 36 percent here in the palmetto state. hillary clinton's husband president bill clinton... is out on the campaign trial hoping to help extend her lead. the 42nd president of the united states campaigned for his wife at

33 the event was aimed at getting african-american voters excited. the african- american vote is crucial to the success of the candidates campaign in the palmetto state, where black voters make up more than half the electorate. the clinton campaign says over the next month, more than 170 black woman, from grass-roots activists to elected officials and movie stars, will stump for the candidate in south carolina and the greater south. on the other side of the political spectrum... the number of republican presidential hopefuls is slowly whittling down. former pennsylvania senator rick santorum has ended his white house bid. santorum says he's now throwing his support behind florida senator macro rubio's campaign. kentucky senator rand paul...

still to 33 come... our coverage of vote 20-16 continues. we're taking a closer look at last night's heated democratic town hall.scattered showers and mild temps as you start your thursday.expect a rainy and cool afternoon.details next.

here's a 33 quick look at stories that are making headlines across the country. it's round two for the democratic presidential hopefuls. they're heading into a debate tonight... just a day after a heated new hampshire town hall.

latest. 33 super bowl fever... taking the sidelines for national signing day. eric tells us what's in store for the gamecocks this upcoming season. like most of the college football world, gamecock fans wake up this morning with even more hope about the future after national signing day. tim hill has more in this

it. 33 still to come... we're hoping the carolina panthers

home the big win on sunday. but we're asking a "shelled" super bowl expert about who could come out on top in super bowl 50.scattered showers and mild temps as you start your thursday.expect a rainy and cool afternoon.details next.

welcome the denver broncos...

go against the crowd and pick the denver broncos to win super bowl 50. but don't go "shelling" out your savings on a bet on the broncos. gabby has made her super bowl predictions for the past five years... and until last year... has been wrong every time... which in this case, is

fans. 33 33 we're checking out what will be making headlines later today. here's eric with your "look ahead." from ripley's aquarium... to the midlands... to our neighbors to the north... it's two states... pulling for one team. and while the team has their sights set on those super bowl rings... panthers head coach, ron rivera, has his mind on the fans back here at home. rivera says, win or lose, one of the most important things is how both

their panther pride. 33 rivera says the players really appreciate the support from their fans. still to 33 come... we have an update on the charleston church shooting... what court proposal is being granted for a the friend of the suspect in the case. stay with us.

gervais. the battle between taboo and the city has been going on for several years. officials argued taboo would discourage other businesses from coming to the area. in a hearing last year... taboo argued the city of columbia violated their first

a judge ruled in favor of the city. out of the lowcountry...a federal judge has granted a delay in the trial for joey meek... the friend of suspected charleston church shooter... dylann roof. the motion was sought by meek's attorney. she had asked that the trial be delayed at least until may so the defense would have more time to review evidence in the case. back here at home... both chambers of the south carolina legislature are taking a break the week after easter. the house is also taking two more weeks off. house speaker... jay lucas... says that they will not meet the week leading up to the republican presidential election on february 20th. and there's a new chief judge in town... that's right... the legislators elected judge john few yesterday to fill the vacancy left by december's retirement of chief justice jean toal. it's few's third attempt at a seat on the high court. he says he's

vote. still to come... it's a force of nature tearing through the midlands... we're taking a look at the

light jacket today. 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 trouble spots to report in or around the capital city. but as always we will continue to 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. we're facing a wet and dreary morning... but, of course, nothing compared to the wicked weather we saw yesterday. the national weather service has confirmed an e-f-zero tornado touched down near the intersection of charleston highway and dixiana road. take a look at this amazing video taken of the tornado. this was given to us by a-b-c columbia viewer mark creighton. creighton tells us he wasn't

rain headed toward him and thought it looked strange. so, he started recording. 33 creighton told us that he's a weather fanatic, but he's never seen a tornado in real life. while a tornado can occur any time of year... the most active time for seeing them is in march. many of you sent us video and pictures of what you were seeing during the storm. while officials have found no structural damage in west columbia... there were several cars damaged in the storm. take a look at this auto sales distributor... just off highway 321. you can see from this video...the powerful storm broke several vehicle

some cars. a lot of the damage in lexington county happened in dixiana and charleston highway. you can see crews already hard at work trying to clean up those downed trees off the side of the road. lexington county officials tell us there were no reports of widespread damage or injuries. officials with the national weather service will be out this morning trying to confirm if a second tornado touched down in batesburg-leesville. these twitter pictures from misty dyer near the north edisto road south of batesburg- leesville. it looks like some stadium seating was damaged... as well as shed... completely collapsed. if you see weather or news happening in your neighborhood, share your viewer video with us. we may use it on air or on line. you can also watch any of our team coverage of the severe weather stories on our website... abc columbia dot com. you can also find us on twitter and facebook. we're turning our attention to the race to the white house. democrats have finalized an agreement with the campaigns

sanders to hold a presidential debate tonight in new hampshire. clinton and sanders will face off at the university of new hampshire just days before tuesday's first-in-the-nation primary. three more debates will follow in the spring. the debate comes a day after clinton and sanders squared off in a new hampshire town hall. sanders slammed clinton for having a super pac and accepting huge donations from wall street. he also decried her previous support of the iraq war. sanders says his rival is only a progressive "some days." 33 clinton called the statement a "low blow." clinton says she is, quote, "a

things done," and went on to list a series of accomplishme nts she considers "progressive," such as advocating for women and gay rights. on the other side of the political fence... it doesn't look like republican presidential hopeful donald trump is taking his second place finish in iowa... in stride. you may remember that gracious speech donald trump made when he lost in iowa monday. but now, trump apparently is no longer holding back. over twitter... trump is accusing senator ted cruz of stealing the iowa caucus. cruz came in first in iowa.... even though polls showed trump with a sizable lead over the other republican candidates going into the caucus. trump tweeted... "that cruz committed fraud in iowa." trump's calling for a new election or for cruz's results to be nullified. cruz's campaign dismissed trump's

trying to get attention.33 still to come... we aren't the only ones cleaning up after some severe weather. more on the line of storms... and the damage left behind in other parts of the nation. scattered showers and mild temps as you start your thursday.expect a rainy and

live from main and gervais. 33 tornadoes are bringing all kinds of damage not only here in the midlands... but also in georgia in fort stewart. yeah... a tornado touched down there yesterday afternoon. several buildings and cars were damaged... and power lines downed. one woman's roof was even ripped from her home. thankfully, no injuries are reported. officials at fort stewart are w saying that people with damaged homes can stay at "army lodging" in the mean time... and their pets are welcome as well. 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. many jobs require you to sit

and now research is showing there may be dangerous side effects with being sedentary. with more... here's abc's doctor timothy johnson. script: sedentary jobs? millions of americans have them.and when we come home - we sit there, too. like it or heard that sitting around has consequences for your health. now a new study? suggesting that the desk chair? and the recliner? may be tied to a higher risk of its cousin, metabolic syndrome. researchers in the netherlands tracked the activity levels of nearly 25 hundred subjects using accelerometers - similar to a fitbit.they wore these devices

presidential hopefuls.33 still to 33 come... we're talking prices at the pump... what you can expect as you head out on those roadways this morning.

from main and gervais. trader says millennial buyers... who are scion's target age today... are less interested in standing out, and would rather buy cars from known and trusted brands the japanese manufacturer is expanding their huge recall of deadly takata airbags to

the airbags are at risk for exploding as they inflate, firing out shards of metal and causing serious injuries. the defect has prompted the largest auto recall in american history. so far, more than 20-million older cars have been recalled due to the risk of violent airbag explosions. we've got good news for those of you hitting the roadways... according to triple-a... the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gas is now a dollar and 78-cents. and better news for us here in the midlands... our average is at a dollar 61 cents. for drivers in states like missouri and oklahoma.. filling costs are even less than that. they're under one dollar and 50 cents looks like a fan favorite is here to stay... eric can you tell us more... the "fast and furious" movie franchise just keeps on cruising forward. the series is getting ninth and tenth installments. the ninth addition isn't hitting theaters until april of 20-19 though. two years after that, fans are being treated to the tenth film in the series. no

or their titles. the "fast and furious" series is one of the most successful blockbuster franchises in hollywood today. this nobel peace prize nominee is catching some by surprise... donald trump. a source tells c-n-n the republican presidential candidate has been nominated for the 2016 nobel peace prize by a mystery patron. however... many are expecting trump's nomination to fall by the wayside... like those received by adolf hitler, benito mussolini, vladimir putin and henry kissinger. and the university of south carolina is inviting you to their announcement of the winning couple for the 22nd u-s-c love story. the top three couples and the wedding planning class are meeting outside the mccutchen house on the horseshoe at six tonight. the winning couple will receive a free wedding that is planned out entirely by the class. still to come... we've got a way to warm you up this thursday... it's a homemade remedy fit for the season. stay with us.

gervais. 33 out the day in history. -george washington is elected president in 1789-ford buys lincoln in 1922-the symbionese liberation army abducts patty hearst in 1974 today is... rosa parks day... world

homemade soup 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. good morning, columbia. today is thursday, february 4. severe weather sweeps through the south. the latest as officals work to determine if more than one tornado touched down here in the midlands. plus it's round two for the democratic presidential hopefuls. just a day after a heated new hampshire town hall we have the latest as the candidates prepare to take the stage for tonight's debate. and two states, one team. how panther pride is bringing the carolinas together. "good morning, columbia" starts right now. captioning provided by caption associates, llc www.captionassociates.com. eric: good morning, columbia. we're glad you are starting your thursday right here.

dean. we're live from main and gervais. the time's now 6:00. >> eric: 6:00 a.m., good news, no rain out there right now. warm temperatures are there settling into the midlands, may need the light jacket. as you were saying in the 5:00 hour, always have the umbrella. >> rochelle: always keep it on you. even though the rain is leaving, it may not be the case for the whole day. let's turn to jonathan kennedy with what you can expect this morning. >> jonathan: the break from rain play be short lived. we are seeing rain in and out through the morning. as we check on the current conditions. obviously things a lot quieter yesterday, myself and john farley were here yesterday afternoon, we had warnings across the state, especially in the midlands and had one confirmation of a tornado by the farmer's market south of

no tornadic activity this morning, no thunderstorm activity, great news. we are looking at pretty solid rain, most moving to the east, notice there is an extension to the south that is coming our way. rain fall pretty soiled, 4.4 in manning. inch and a half in columbia and 2 inches east of columbia. solid rain fall totals across the board from the totals, we'll add to that, east of i-95 will see a lot more rain than we do, we will see a tenth to a quarter inch of rain, but you go further to the east and you are looking at an inch to inch and a half. temperatures mid-50s to upper 50s, bishopville, manning, 63 and 64 and 24 hour temperature change, it is starting to cool down for us, we are seeing cooler and drier air move in the system. that won't preclude us in the rain entirely but will likely keep a good deal of the rain showers at bay.

little more out of the southwest and should be out of the west once this frontal boundary moves through. notice the showers near augusta, the line to our south, that will come through probably during the morning commute for a good portion of the viewing public but likely to see most of the rain move on out as we head to the rain later today. we look for rain throughout the forecast, should be gone tonight, absolutely nothing by friday, perfect sunshine returning but cooler, temperatures only in the low 50s tomorrow and after being in the mid to upper 70s all week, that will be a shock to the system and then as we head into the weekend and then next week, much cooler air on the way, especially middle of next week. i don't think we get out of the 40s for those highs next week with lows in the low 20s -- further did you see his face? he said what? >> jonathan: we are seeing a big swing, more gradual. thankfully not tomorrow but cool

next week. >> eric: that will ease us into it.. >> jonathan: closer to valentine's day but not sure we will love it. >> eric: hopefully we will love what is going on on the roadways. >> rochelle: good news, no trouble spots in and around the capital city, we're keeping our eye on the road and if anything changes we will pass it along to your morning commute. and as always, abc wants to update you on what is going on. >> eric: we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. we're facing a wet and dreary morning but, of course, nothing compared to the wicked weather we saw yesterday. >> rochelle: the national weather service has confirmed an ef-zero tornado touched down near the intersection of charleston highway and dixiana road. take a look at this amazing video of the tornado. this was given to us by abc columbia viewer mark creighton. creighton tells us he wasn't looking for a tornado, he saw rain headed toward him and thought it looked strange, so,

>> it was really disbelieve, was it really a tornado or something. i was in shock, i came running in here and showed everybody the video and said what does it look like to you? they said tornado, so i started sending it out to let everyone see it. >> rochelle: creighton told us that he's a weather fanatic but he's never seen a tornado in real life. while a tornado can occur any time of year, the most active time for seeing them is in march. many of you sent us video and pictures of what you were seeing during the storm. while officials have found no structural damage found in west columbia, there were several cars damaged in the storm. take a look at this auto sales distributor just off highway 321. you can see from this video the powerful storm broke several vehicle windows and even flipped over some cars. damaged cars and downed tree limbs were a common sight across the midlands following

from nick johnson. nick had just gotten off work in the dixiana area and walked out to the parking lot to see this. he then pulled out his cell phone and took this video. there's a car overturned, some limbs down. according to the lexington county sheriff's department, there is scattered damage to outbuildings, small structures, and fallen trees in southern lexington county. officials with the national weather service will be out this morning trying to confirm if a second tornado touched down in batesburg-leesville. these twitter pictures from misty dyer near the north edisto road south of batesburg-leesville area. it looks like some stadium seating was damaged as well asas shed completely collapsed. if you see weather or news happening in your neighborhood, share your viewer video with us. we may use it on air or on line. you can also watch any of our team coverage of the severe weather stories on our website abccolumbia.com. you can also find us on twitter and also on facebook. eric: we're turning our attention to the race to the white house.

agreement with the campaigns of hillary clinton and bernie sanders to hold a presidential debate tonight in new hampshire. >> rochelle: clinton and sanders will face off at the u uversity of new hampshire just days before tuesday's first-in-the- nation primary. three more debates will follow in the spring. rochelle: after barely getting-by in iowa monday, hillary clinton is trailing behind senator bernie sanders ahead of tuesday's new hampshire primary. it's a different story here in south carolina. a washington post-abc news poll shows clinton leading sanders 55% to 36% here in the palmetto state. hillary clinton's husband, bill clinton, is out on the campaign trial hoping to help extend her lead. the 42nd president of the united states campaigned for his wife at allen university last night. >> if you believe that we can repeat the miracle that happened after the tragedy at charleston

somebody tough enough to stand her ground and wise fluff to leave the door open to common ground, she is clearly the best qualified person to be president i have ever had a chance to vote for. [ cheers and applause ] >> rochelle: the event was aimed at getting african-american voters excited. the african-american vote is crucial to the success of the candidate's campaign in the palmetto state, where black voters make up more than half the electorate. the clinton campaign says over the next month, more than 170 black woman, from grass-roots activists to elected officials and movie stars, will stump for the candidate in south carolina and the greater south. rochelle: on the other side of the political spectrum, the number of republican presidential hopefuls is slowly whittling down. >> eric: former pennsylvania senator rick santorum has ended his white house bid. santorum says he's now throwing his support behind florida

kentucky senator rand paul is also suspending his campaign. so the race is getting smaller and smaller. >> rochelle: continuing to change as the days go by. eric: still to come, it's a first for the commander in chief. >> rochelle: the message of tolerance the president is spreading following his visit to a u.s. mosque. >> jonathan: and right now cloudy conditions, temperatures in the upper 50s, nice, mild start, but more rain showers on the way.

live from main and gervais. >> jonathan: 6:12 on your

a little dry weather, we saw rain earlier this morning, more rain throughout the day, highs in the upper 50s to 60 and that's pretty much where we are right now. i think today will be the warmest temperatures we see, might be the warmest air for the next seven days. it will be much cooler, more february-like and below average heading into next week. enjoy the warmish weather we see today and have the umbrella handy. >> rochelle: sound good, jonathan, thank you. here's a quick look at stories that are making headlines across the country. president barack obama is preaching tolerance during his first visit to a u.s. mosque. president obama spoke at the islamic society of baltimore. obama said muslim americans keep the nation safe, crediting contributions muslims have made to communities. the president say he hopes to counter what he calls a "hugely distorted impression" of muslims in america. >> pres. obama: if we are

religion -- i'm speaking now to my fellow christians who remain the majority in this country -- we have to understand an attack on one faith is an attack on all our faiths. >> rochelle: the president has visited mosques overseas but waited until his final year in office to make a visit at home. rochelle: super bowl fever taking the sidelines for national signing day. eric tells us what's in store for the tigers this upcoming season. >> eric: clemson's head football coach is hoping to build on a near perfect season. mike gillespie has more from the tiger press conference. >> national signing day for will muschamp, six of the new 24 players enrolled in mid-year including malcowayne. muschamp taking the long view on his new class. >> i'm very pleased with where we are, i really am. i don't think i'm ever

kind of look at things, but i just think this is a two or three year process that you are going to look back, reflect back, that was a really good class for us. winning on signing day is not really important to me, it's about two years down the line, three years, where are these guys? how much do they contribute? how productive are they for us. >> i'm tim hill, that's your abc columbia minute to win it, hope it gets your thursday off to a good start. eric: still to come, we're hoping the carolina panthers can "keep pounding" and bring home the big win on sunday. but we're asking a "shelled" super bowl expert about who could come out on top in super bowl 50. you will want to stay with us.

gervais. rochelle: welcome back to good morning, columbia. thanks for waking up with us on this thursday morning. your time is 6:18. >> jonathan: let's take a bite out of your morning menu, sponsored by bojangles'. some sea creatures at ripley's aquarium are getting in on super bowl madness. >> rochelle: aren't we all? they're taking their pick on sundays winning team and it looks like it may be a toss up between the carolina panthers

take a look. super bowl theme song >> rochelle: everybody has their own picks, the penguin -- >> jonathan: the penguin looked confused. >> rochelle: maybe it thought it was ice. >> jonathan: they jumped out of the stand and coming in the back of the end zone. >> rochelle: the other win you saw was gabb, the green sea

she did pick the denver broncos to win super bowl 50. but don't go "shelling" out your savings on a bet on the broncos. gabby has made her super bowl predictions for the past five years and until last year has been wrong every time which in this case, is good news for carolina panther fans. she may actually pick the win. >> jonathan: we will see. >> rochelle: playing jedi mind things. >> jonathan: if you have ever huge. my grandmother lives near the beach and there is a sea turtle refuge, i didn't know how big they were, they are big. >> rochelle: they look gigantic. >> jonathan: we are doing for cashing here as well. no predictions on the game but it will be nice weather for the game but it will be dry.

the forecast, temperatures much cooler, we were in the mid-70s yesterday before the storms hit, gradually cooled down with the rain falling but today rain in and out, not a wash-out necessarily but have the umbrella handy especially east of columbia, that's where the rain will be, temperatures cool go through the day. we're going from 60 right now to only 55 later. >> rochelle: the temperatures are going down and chance of rain sporadic. >> jonathan: in and out. what will be making headlines >> jonathan: here's eric with your "look ahead." >> rochelle: good morning, eric. >> eric: from ripley's aquarium to the midlands to our neighbors to the north, it's two states and while the team has their sights set on those super bowl rings, panthers head coach, ron rivera, has his mind on the fans back here at home. rivera says win or lose, one of the most important things is how both carolinas are uniting to show their panther pride. >> you have south carolina and clemson right down the road.

programs. to be able to bring them together, the fans, the sports fans in the carolinas, has been kind of neat. >> eric: rivera says the players really appreciate the support from all their fans in both carolinas, nice to see everybody coming together. >> rochelle: everybody rooting for the team. rochelle: still to come, we're taking a look at some of the other stories making headlines here in the midlands. stay with us. we're live from main and gervais. in today's "techbytes," if you had trouble filing your taxes overnight it wasn't you. the irse file system has been down because of a computer hardware failure. >> the where's my refund feature also wasn't working, but the tax

will actually delay your refund. a google engineer put his own spin on a concept of a smart bathroom. >> max brawn posted these images of his high tech bathroom mirror which displays the current date and time, the weather forecast and even the latest news headlines. >> never miss out there. and for those of us who need caffeine to get through the day or night, this wearable will keep feeding the drug directly into your blood. >> there will be no need to keep running to the coffee maker. called jewel, you have to be at least 18 to buy one and it will not be available until this summer. >> i'm going to stick with my

>> have a great day. jane didn't like restrictions. not in life. and not when it came to watching her calories. why settle on taste? jane thought. that's why jane loves light & fit greek nonfat yogurt. bursting with rich creamy awesomeness and 12 grams of protein. all for 80 calories. no settling here. what else does jane love? that you could win a fitbit flex from light & fit. learn more on specially marked packs. light & fit.

>> join us again this year for inspiring superbowl stories from the best teams in the nfl. >> jesus christ has changed my life in so many ways. >> god. family. football. and you've got to keep it in that order. >> as long as you love god, you know that he has a plan for you. >> i'm a true believer that god is in control. >> my identity and my value comes from just

thursday rochelle: welcome back to good morning, columbia, your time is 6:27. a person of interest in a reported sexual assault near usc's campus is now behind bars. >> eric: 21-year-old carlos hernandez turned himself into police. hernandez is charged with criminal sexual conduct in the first degree and kidnapping. the alleged assault happened january 30th. according to investigators, the female victim told officers an armed man forced her to go to the 800 block of barnwell street where he sexually assaulted her.

present problems for law enforcement across the nation. >> rochelle: last year 300 sexual assault cases were reported to richland county sheriff's department alone. officials say 90% of those assaults were committed by someone the victim knew. every scenario is different, but the richland county sheriff's department is offering a few tips on preventing and handling unsafe situations. >> if somebody is walking behind you and they grab you like this, one of the easy ways to get out of it to swing your hand backwards. >> rochelle: the richland county sheriff's office say all too often these cases go unreported. officials urge any victims to report any incidents as soon as possible. the sheriff's department will be holding a four hour self-defense class for women this saturday. we'll have the link to register and all the information you need on our website abccolumbia.com.

i know a lot of people like the mace or the taser, but you have to get really close and if somebody gets you or knocks it out of your hand it's good to have a secondary way to protect yourself. eric: still to come, more on the severe weather that swept through the midlands. >> rochelle: the latest as officals work to determine if more than one tornado touched down. stay with us.

gervais. eric: thanks for waking up with us, columbia, your time is 6:31, we have a half hour left. i'm eric weisfeld. >> rochelle: and i'm rochelle dean. we're live from main and gervais. yesterday was awful, glad we have that portion behind us, more what you can expected as you head out, let's turn things over to meteorologist jonathan kennedy. good morning. >> jonathan: good morning. it's a little rainy start, in and out, not as much rain in the last hour, i will add a few rain

columbia metro area as we are watching the radar, you can see the trend was going to the east, now we are seeing the line fill in back to our south and southwest toward aiken as you get towards edgeville cone and that neck of the wind. anywhere west of lake murray seeing good rain shortly, but as you are heading out today, temperatures right now not too bad, in the upper 50s, should be in the mid-30s but we will be kind of in the same ballpark with temperatures throughout the day today. we might see some oscillation, i

for today, look for highs near 60. pretty much what you are waking up and heading out to, that is what you can expect. rain in and out and temperatures in the 50s. 24 hour temperature change, we are cooler, temperatures in the 60s. we saw highs get up to 76 downtown before the storms really got going, it was able to fuel a lot of the storms but wind shattering to shift out of the southwest and west which will bring in a drier component and push it to the east and cooler air from the west. looking for a gradual cooling effect, drying effect, but rain will be sticking around probably through much of the afternoon, kind of in and out, not necessarily a wash out by any means but i would expect to see some good shower activity for us here very, very soon. after the rain today, we are looking at a drier set up for the weekend, temperatures wills be cooler for us, we will see sunshine, it will be more

sunshine we were seeing in the earlier in the week and a cold coming up, get vitamin c, immune system will be going up and down this next week. eric: we want to give you a quick traffic update as you head out and about this morning. >> rochelle: here are some trouble spots that you might encounter. the south carolina highway patrol is reporting a collision with no injury, that is located at the intersection of i-77 and bluff road. >> eric: that's what we have so far, we will continue to update you for your morning commute. rochelle: as always, abc columbia wants to help you jump start your day.>> eric: we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. we're facing a wet and dreary morning but, of course, nothing compared to the wicked weather we saw yesterday. >> rochelle: the national weather service has confirmed an ef-zero tornado touched down near the intersection of charleston highway and dixiana road. take a look at this amazing

columbia viewer mark creighton. creighton tells us he wasn't looking for a tornado, he saw rain headed toward him and thought it looked strange, so, he started recording. >> it was really disbelieve. i didn't know, was that really a tornado or some small thing. i was in shock, actually. i came running in here and showed everybody the video and i said: what does this look like to you? they said looks like a tornado so i started sending it out, letting everybody see it. >> rochelle: creighton told us that he's a weather fanatic but he's never seen a tornado in real life. while a tornado can occur any time of year, the most active time for seeing them is in march. many of you sent us video and pictures of what you were seeing during the storm. while officials have found no structural damage in west columbia, there were several cars damaged in the storm. take a look at this auto sales distributor just off highway 321. you can see from this video the powerful storm broke several

a lot of the damage in lexington charleston highway. >> eric: you can see crews already hard at work trying to clean up those downed trees off the side of the road. lexington county officials tell us there were no reports of widespread damage or injuries. >> eric: officials with the national weather service will be out this morning trying to confirm if a second tornado touched down in batesburg-leesville. these twitter pictures from misty dyer near the north edisto road south of batesburg-leesville. it looks like some stadium seating was damaged as well as shed completely collapsed. if you see weather or news happening in your neighborhood, we ask you share your viewer video with us. eric: we're turning our attention to the race to the white house. democrats have finalized an agreement with the campaigns of hillary clinton and bernie sanders to hold a presidential debate tonight in new hampshire. >> rochelle: clinton and sanders

of new hampshire just days before tuesday's first-in-the- nation primary. three more debates will follow in the spring. the debate comes a day after clinton and sanders squared off in a new hampshire town hall. sanders slammed clinton for having a super pac and accepting huge donations from wall street. he also decried her previous support of the iraq war. sanders says his rival is only a progressive "some days." >> sanders: secretary clinton said -- some people call me -- well, i'm paraphrasing. some people call me a moderate and i proudly say that i am a moderate. that's what she said. so when all i say, you can't go and say you are a moderate on one day and be a progressive on the other day. >> rochelle: clinton called the statement a "low blow." clinton says she is "a progressive who like to get things done," and went on to list a series of accomplishments she considers "progressive" such as advocating for women and gay

of the political fence, it doesn't look like republican presidential hopeful donald trump is taking his second place finish in iowa in stride at all. >> eric: you may remember that gracious speech donald trump made when he lost in iowa monday. but, now, trump apparently is no longer holding back. over twitter trump is accusing senator ted cruz of stealing the iowa caucus. cruz came in first in iowa even though polls showed trump with a sizable lead over the other republican candidates going into the caucus. trump tweeted "that cruz committed fraud in iowa." trump's calling for a new election or for cruz's results to be nullified. cruz's campaign dismissed trump's claim accusing him of trying to just get attention. as we get closer it gets more volatile. >> rochelle: isn't that the point, if you want to be president you want as much attention as you can get? eric: still to come, we aren't the only ones cleaning up after some severe weather. >> rochelle: more on the line of storms and the damage left behind in other parts of the

>> jonathan: and waking up this morning with scattered showers and mild temperatures, we willl expect kind of a rainy and cool forecast for your thursday.

from main and gervais. >> join us again this year for inspiring superbowl stories from the best teams in the nfl. >> jesus christ has changed my life in so many ways. >> god. family. football. and you've got to keep it in that order. >> as long as you love god, you know that he has a plan for you. >> i'm a true believer that god is in control. >> my identity and my value comes from just

thursday >> jonathan: 6:43 on this thursday morning, showers getting much closer to home. we did see rain early this morning, nice little reprieve over the last hour and a half, rain returning to the area very shortly. we will look for temperatures to be a little cooler for us, we are right around 60, we will stay around 60 for much of the rest of the day. i think we will move between 65 and 60 for the daytime hours, not the 70s we have seen all

overnight low of 37 tonight and cooler as you head out. eric: residents in north carolina are picking up the pieces this morning following severe weather that hit their area. >> jonathan: yeah, fortunately, no tornadoes reported for the cities of davidson and randolph counties but the gusts of wind are still leaving a trail of damage. winds reached up to 50 miles an hour in some areas. so far there have been no reports of injuries but multiple trees are down along with power lines leaving many without power. davidsds county is where i grew up and randolph is where my parents live now, i'm familiar with the areas. >> eric: thankfully no president obama leams. >> rochelle: there are more potential health problems associated with flint's toxic water crisis surfacing. health officials are investigating if the lead-tainted water is causing skin rashes. they're planning to personally interview residents who report

in their homes. officials say it's still too early to make a direct connection between skin rashes and flint's water. >> rochelle: florida's governor is reporting a state of emergency. at least nine cases of zika illness have been detected in florida. health officials believe the people contracted the disease while traveling overseas. those affected areas will see more spraying in order to prevent the spread of the virus. rochelle: still to come, job searchers are getting good news. there's a chance for you to take advantage of some new openings at a certain business stay with us.

gervais. rochelle, welcome back to good morning, columbia, your time is 6:48. a popular spot in myrtle beach is getting a makeover. the owners of "broadway at the beach" entertainment, dining and shopping complex are embarking on a multiyear makeover of the 350-acre development. the first phase of the project includes a redevelopment of the nightlife area formerly known as celebrity square. and the hard rock cafe which opened 19 years ago is moving to a location that will serve as an entryway to the entertainment district. rochelle: it's good news for general motors. just six years removed from a

its best profit margin ever. gm's profit margin reached 7.1% up from 4.2% in 2014. it's also the highest it has ever been in gm's 107-year history. rochelle: home depot is looking to hire. they're looking for 80,000 seasonal workers this spring. it's a bold sign that with spring just around the corner the housing market remains strong. home depot has been hiring about 80,000 seasonal workers every year for a decade and about half of them turn into permanent employees. the seasonal hiring means each of home depot's 2,000 stores in the u.s. will hire 40 to 45 workers. rochelle: the country's largest u.s. drug store chain is finding a new home inside one of the country's largest discount retail stores. the first cvs pharmacy inside of a target is opening in charlotte today. the company says it will be the first of many joint locations. cvs agreed last june to pay $1.9 billion to acquire the

now all 1,672 of target's pharmacies will be rebranded under cvs. officials say the pharmacies and clinics will remain open during the revamp and all records will transfer from target to cvs. rochelle: it's a case that dates back for than a decade. now bill cosby is having to race a sexual assault charge. eric, what can you tell us about the case? eric: we have that and super bowl 50 is reaching headlines in hollywood. and reports have it that thoho famous super bowl ads may be in for a change this go-round. with more, here's abc's jason nathanson with the showbiz wrap. >> reporter: criminal charges against bill cosby will go forward. a judge in montgomery county, pennsylvania late wednesday dismissed a motion to throw out three felony aggravated indecent assault charges cosby is facing. his lawyers say a deal was struck over 10 years ago so that cosby would never face charges, the judge says the deal isn't valid. this is the only criminal case cosby currently faces, after dozens of women say he sexually

claims cosby denies. the next step, on the way to trial would be a preliminary hearing next month. reporter: no driving off into the sunset for the "fast and furious franchise," it's sticking around for another five years, at least. universal announced a ninth film coming in 2019, and a tenth in 2021. "fast 8" is due out next year. the franchise has made almost $4 billion worldwide. reporter: helen mirren helen mirren may be done with her part of awards season, but she's pulling for trumbo co-star bryan cranston at the oscars. >> it couldn't be more deserved to be nominated because this is an actor who is, not just for "trumbo," he's wonderful in "trumbo" but he is an extraordinary actor and he's got many more interesting roles to show us. >> reporter: mirren was at the sag awards last weekend with her "trumbo" cast, but says she won't be at the oscars later this month. but you can see her in an anti-drunk driving ad during the super bowl sunday. reporter: about those super bowl ads, you've got jeff goldblum and lil wayne for

hawking avocados. don't expect a lot of shock on sunday. >> i predict this year will be a little bit more tempered in part because of the distraction of the political campaign and because everybody is playing, it seems, a little safe. >> reporter: one of the highlights, she predicts a heinz spot featuring weiner dogs. and that's what's happening in hollywood. i'm jason nathanson, abc news, los angeles. eric: still to come, a case of a missing millionaire. someone could see a $63 million prize slip through their fingers.

gervais. >> eric: welcome back. some of us are still getting over lotto fever after last month's record powerball drawing. and out in california there's $63 million on the line and only hours left to claim it. >> rochelle: can you believe that? it's a case of a missing millionaire. six months have passed and still no one has come forward to claim their prize. the winner has until 5:00 tonight to show up with the winning ticket at a lottery

it just hurts saying that. a lawsuit was filed yesterday by a man who says he turned in the winning ticket but it was rejected as too damaged to be processed. unclaimed winnings automatically go to the state's schools. >> eric: wow. >> rochelle: it won't be for naught, it will go to a case. >> eric: this is a case it's been long enough. >> rochelle: goodness, yes. to lose out on $63 million. i couldn't live with myself. eric: still to come, we've got a way to warm you up this thursday. it's a homemade remedy fit for the season.

main and gervais. >> jonathan: rain returning to the forecast, starting to see more rain to the south. this will stick with us through the morning so have the umbrella through the day. >> rochelle: keeping our umbrella close and eye to the sky. >> jonathan: yes. rochelle: let's check out the day in history. george washington is elected president in 1789. ford buys lincoln in 1922. and the symbionese liberation army abducts patty hearst in 1974. >> eric: today is rosa parks day, world cancer day, and national homemade soup day. >> rochelle: just perfect enough for the weather that starts to

coop,down, you heat up with soup.