here on abc. live coverage starting at 7:00 sunday eas good morning columbia. thanks for joining us. i'm eric weisfeld. and i'm dean. we're live from main and

it's the calm before the storm outside this morning. nice warm temperatures right now... but we are in for a nasty day. yeah... you'll want to be very cautious out lets turn things over meteorologist

33 we want to give you a quick traffic update as you head out and about this morning. good news. there are no trouble spots to repopo in or around the capital city. but we will continue to keep our eyes on the road and update you if anything changes for your morning commute. a-b-c columbia wants to help you jump start your day. we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. so, let's get started. severe weather is sweeping the deep south. the national weather service has confirmed reports of tornadoes in louisiana, mississippi, alabama and florida. at least three people have been killed. this is the system that meteorologist jonathan kennedy will be tracking throughout the morning. stay with a- b-c columbia for the latest and any severe weather updates. turning our attention to vote 20-16... donald trump... is taking home another win. he is the projected winner of the republican presidential caucuses in nevada. preliminary entrance polls taken of republican caucus-goers show that nearly

the way the government is working. and seven in 10 say they want a candidate who is an outsider... over one with political experience. with a third win under his belt... the billionaire businessman has a wide lead over the other republican candidates in the delegate votes stand so far. with about 94-percent of the votes accountetefor in nevada... trump takes 45-percent of the vote. rubio and cruz come in at 23 and 21-percent... leaving ben carson and john kasich trailing far behind... with less than five-percent each. on the other side of the political fence... hillary clinton has been busy hosting a series of town-hall style meetings at churches across the palmetto state... ahead of saturday's primary. she'll be attending one of those "breaking down barriers" forums today in sumter. that's at the garrick-boykin human development center at morris college.... today at 5:15. doors open at 3:45. clinton will also be the speaking at the alpha kappa alpha sorority state wide

today. clinton and her competition... bernie sanders... have been busy trying to gain those last minute votes here in the capital city. c-n-n hosted a town hall with the two presidential hopefuls last night at the u-s-c school of law. during it... the presidential hopefuls spoke about supporting president barack obama's effort to close the detention center at guantanamo bay. clinton says moving prisoners to charleston is still up for negotiation. the 33 the president's plan to close guantanamo bay is

congress. the plan calls for transferring the remaining detainees to the united states. and, it seeks nearly 500 million in construction costs. the proposal faces opposition in the g-o-p led congress and right here in south carolina. 33 south carolina republicans in congress say they're bracing for a fight on gitmo detainee relocation plans. and on the democratic side... in a conference call with our a-b-c affiliate in charleston... representative jim clyburn says he doesn't have a position on obama's's gitmtmplan. lexington county solicitor donnie myers told troopers investigating

driver ran him off the road and he only had one drink. in an incident report from the highway patrol....troopers say they could smell alcohol in myers' car when they found it empty around 8 o'clock monday night... after it crashed... into a utility pole. the report says a trooper went to myers' home and he told them he had not had a drink since he'd been there.... but add that myers failed sobriety tests. the report says myers also left a gun behind in the driver's side floorboard of his wrecked car. back in 2005... the 70-year-old pleaded guilty to drunken driving following an arrest near asheville, north carolina. he served one year of probation. then in 2012... myers paid a fine after being charged with having an open container of alcohol in his car. still to come... our coverage of vote 20-16 continues. it's another

heading into super tuesday. 33 here's a quick look at stories that are making headlines across the country. with nevada in the rear view mirror... it's full steam ahead to super tuesday.

latest on vote 20-16. 33 there's a lot on the line at colonial life arena tonight. eric, what us? carolina basketball can take another step towards 2nd place in the s-e-c with a win at home tonight. tim hill has more in this morning's sports

to 33 come... the show must go on. it's a grand reopening for one ballet studio... following october's hisisric flooding.

from main and gervais. during the storm. pavlovich's is a dance studio and school... located along the gills creek watershed. the studio was submerged... everything inside... destroyed. but after month's of working with the insurance companies and fema... they're finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. the studio is now preparing for the school's

13-th. and it's almost time for the the big saint pats celebration in five points. the event features a number of popular bands... and you have the chance to vote for your favorite local band to take the big stage. all you have to do is go to the saint pats website to pick which band you'd like to see. voting starts today... and ends at midnight on march third. the lucky

march fourth. 33 we're 33 checking out what will be making headlines later today. here's eric with your "look ahead." roads continue to be a hot topic at the state house. yesterday, senators once again debated sending more money to state roads. they say it could be some time before there's actual movement on any proposals. senator tom davis of beaufort blocked action on the bill last week... he's seeking to change the board that oversees the department

it's been nearly half a year since the confederate flag was removed from the statehouse grounds... the flag has since been placed at the "confederate relic room and military museum" here in columbia.. but proposals to change its location to a museum in charleston are advancing. yesterday, the house ways and means committee unanimously advanced a proposal requiring an analysis of available museum space... and a cost estimate for moving the flag.33 still to come... we're getting "red carpet ready" and taking a look at a best picture nomimie before this weekends oscars. stay with

and gervais. it's the calm before the storm outside this morning. nice warm temperatures right now... but we are in for a nasty day. yeah... you'll want to be very cautious out there today. lets turn things over to meteorologist jonathan kennedy for more on what we can expect

weather warning. 33 we want to give you a quick traffic update as you head out and about this morning. good news. there are no trouble spots to report in or around the capital city. but we will continue to keep our eyes on the road and update you if anything changes for your morningommute. a-b-c columbia wants to help you jump start your day. we have a quick your top morning headlines. so, let's get started. severe weather is sweeping the deep south. the national weather service has confirmed reports of tornadoes in louisiana, mississippi, alabama and florida. at least three people have been killed. this is the system that meteorologist jonathan kennedy will be tracking throughout the morning. stay with a- b-c columbia for the latest and any severe weather updates. turning our attention to vote 20-16... donald trump... is taking home another win. he is the projected winner of the republican presidential

preliminary entrance polls taken of republican caucus-goers show that nearly six in 10 voters are angry at the way the government is working. and seven in 10 say they want a candidate who is an outsider... over one with political experience. with a third win under his belt... the billionaire businessman has a wide lead over the other republican candidates in the delegate count. here's how the votes stand so far: with about 96-percent of the votes accounted for in nevada... trump takes 45-percent of the vote. rubio and cruz come in at 23 and 21-percent... leaving ben carson and john kasich trailing far behind... with less than five-percent each. the republicans have now moved on to super tuesday, but the democrats still have the first in the south primary to worry about. c-n-n hosted a town hall with the two presidential hopefuls last night at the u-s-c school of law. it was a chance for undecided voters to ask hillary clinton and bernie

show clinton up an average of 24 points over sanders here in the state. with 59 delegates up for grabs in saturday's vote... it's the largest amount at stake thus far. leading up to saturday's vote... a-b-c columbia is bringing you profiles of each of the candidates vying to be the next president of the united states. our jennifer ready has more on front-runner hillary clinton and her

coming off a 33 still to come... we're keeping a close eye on some

south. we're takina closer look at the damage left by the storm system heading this way. severe hey, there. good morning.

good news about housing. >> home prices were up 5.5% in december. that's the fastest pace in a year and half. >> supply is so low. audi tops the consumer reports annual rankings of the best phew cars. followed by subaru, lexus. >> the top ranking domestic brand is buick. they consider performance and reliability. some notable new figures in lego's new city set. mom is holding a bobole but dresed for the office. a bearded dad is pushing a stroller the. on the right, a boy in a wheelchair. lego calls it an attempt to stay in tune with the world around us. well done. >> as they've always done.

>> have a great day.33 weather warnings in place for most of the southeast... and in florida they're already taking the brunt of the storm. yeah... in pensacola... storms are spawning tornadoes... leaving several people injured. yesterday, utility poles were brought down and cars were flipped over. these conditions are spreading... as weather officials are forecasting at least 20-million people across the southeast could face the risk of sever storms and tornadoes today. 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.

have you wondering how safe the water is from your own faucet at home... in today's health minute, seth kovar has some tips on how you

lead free. 33 still to come... the battle for justice between apple and the fbi continues... how the conflict is now hitting the streets nationwide...

from main and gervais. creating an intense battle between apple c-e-o tim cook... and f-b-i director, james comey. cook believes the data security of hundres of millions of law abiding citizens are at stake... but comey claims the f-b-i only wants encryption for the one i- phone.. and not to "set a master key loose on the land" back here at home... richland one is beginning a new online student registration process. families seeking to enroll their children in richland ones 20-16... 20-17... pre-

to apply online. a li will be placed on the district's website at richland one dot org when enrollment opens on march first. but parents must first attend an information meeting to provide documentation and to schedule a screening for your child. the last meeting to attend is today at a-c flora high school at six p-m. the american chocolate maker "mars" is announcing a recall in 55 countries. the recall includes millions of mars, snickers and milky way chocolate bars produced in the netherlands. the company says... mars, snickers and milky way bars with "best before" dates between june and october 20-16 should not be eaten. celebration and variety candy packs are also being recalled. now lets turn things over to eric for a look at what's making headlines in hollywood. reporter erin andrews is civil filing a lawsuit that is expected to take two weeks. the 75-million-dollar suit is against the nashville

20-08... michael david barrett booked a room next to andrews in the hotel and recorded her through a room door peephole. andrews is now suing the hotel and its managers who she claims gave her room number to barrett and let him book a room next to her. the suit claims invasion of privacy and infliction of emotional distress. the raleigh police union is not boycotting beyonce's upcoming concert. after her super bowl half-time act and new video... some unions are saying they contain "anti- police" messages. but multiple media outlets report that the "raleigh police protective association" took a unanimous vote not to boycott the concert in a meeting last night. beyonce is scheduled to perform in raleigh on may third. and a "house of cards" portrait is going on display at the smithsonian national portrait gallery. the new portrait features actor kevin spacey in his role as president frank underwood in the television series. "house of cards" is a popular netflix drama dealing with the dark side of politics in washington d-c. the image will hang in the

still to come... we're spreading the act of kindness for your hump day... and giving you a reason to put others before yourself... next in your day in history.

from main and gervais. 33 let's check out the day in history. -marbury vs. madison establishes judicial review in

help in 1836-president andrew johnson is impeached in 1868 today is... national tortilla chip day.... and " 33 inconvenience yourself day"33 that's all the time that we have for the first hour of good morning columbia. but we're coming right back. so be sure to stay with us.

gervais. good morning columbia. today is wednesday, february 24. we may be in store for more than wet roads for that morning commute. we're tracking the threat of severe weather. plus it's another win for donald trump. we're taking a look at the results from the nevada caucus as the gop presidential hopefuls turn their attention to super tuesday. and the democratic presidential hopefuls a a throwing their support behind the president.

bay. "good morning, columbia" starts right now. captioning provided by caption associates, llc www.captionassociates.com. >> eric: we're glad you are starting your wednesday withs. good morning, columbia. i'm eric weisfeld. >> rochelle: and i'm rochelle dean. we're live from main and gervais. the time's now 6:00. >> eric: you want to pay attention, it could be a rocky day in the world of weather. >> rochelle: we have nasty weather coming at us. as i came in, the roads were dry. thing are going to get worse before they are better. let's turn things over to meteorologist jonathan kennedy on the weather he has been tracking. >> jonathan: we do have some pretty strong storms to our south at the moment. we are seeing rain spread over the localized area as well. let's look at the satellite and radar, we are seeing more rain

notice how impressive it is, it is slightly slowing down as it comes closer to home in the columbia metro which is good news. we were looking at heavy rain, we saw a nice cell to our south and southwest into edgewood county, that cell right there, that will be what we will be watching over the next little bit. it has a lot of strong, heavy winds within that system there. looking at the current radar, zooming in on that area, there is a severe thunderstorm warning for aiken and edgeville county just to the south of it, a severe thunderstorm warning until 6:30 or aiken and

no immediate problem. warm air pushes in from the south, that will fuel more of the storms, that is what makes more, quote, unquote, impressive storms. as the warm front pushes through that will give us a better chance of seeing strong storms and possibly severe storms at that. looking at the rain encompassing the entire map, whether you are out toward tennessee, georgia, alabama, it is slowing down but there is a cold front, that ills the primary of concern, several tornado watches, pretty much along the line but only in georgia. no tornado threat for us as of right now. no watches or warnings out, but a lot of it will stay to the south, the system does have a strong tornadic history, considering we saw 3 dozen last night.

carolina, myrtle beach, towards the p. d., some stormy conditions for us as well. don't let your guard down at any point. we will see temperatures cool down significantly tomorrow, we'll be in the upper 50s, much calmer and sunnier forecast after a very unsettled week that will come to a climax. >> eric: we will need calm conditions. >> rochelle: thanks, jonathan. >> eric: we are looking for calm conditions. >> rochelle: still good news, no trouble spots to report in and around the capital city. we are keeping our eyes on the road, if anything changes we will pass it along to you. rochelle: abc columbia wants to help you jump start your day. >> eric: we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. severe weather is sweeping the deep south. the national weather service has confirmed reports of tornadoes in louisiana, mississippi, alabama and florida. >>8rochelle: at least seven hit southeat louisiana and southwest

people have been killed. this is the system that meteorologist jonathan kennedy has been tracking throughout the morning. stay with abc columbia for the latest and any severe weather updates. rochelle: turning our attention to vote 2016, donald trump is taking home another win. he is the projected winner of the republican presidential caucuses in nevada. preliminary entrance polls taken of republican caucus-goers show that nearly six in 10 voters are angry at the way the government is working. and 7 in 10 say they want a candidate who is an outsider over one with political experience. with a third win under his belt, the billionaire businessman has a wide lead over the other republican candidates in the delegate count. here's how the votes stand so far: with about 96% of the votes accounted for in nevada, trump takes 45% of the vote. rubio and cruz come in at 23%

john kasich trailing far behind with less than 5% each. rochelle: on the other side of the political fence, hillary clinton has been busy hosting a series of town-hall style meetings at churches across the palmetto state ahead of saturday's primary. >> eric: she'll be attending one of those "breaking down barriers" forums today in sumter. that's at the garrick-boykin human development center at morris college today at 5:15. doors open at 3:45. clinton will also be speaking at the alpha kappa alpha sorority state wide luncheon in west columbia today. clinton and her competition bernie sanders have been busy trying to gain those last minute votes here in the capital city. cnn hosted a town hall with the two presidential hopefuls last night at the usc school of law. during it the presididtial hopefuls spoke about supporting president barack obama's effort to close the detention center at guantanamo bay. clinton says moving prisoners to charleston is still up for negotiation. >> i hope some of the republicans will understand that

terrorism, we have to defeat it, we don't need to have guantanamo hanging over our heads. >> if people are terrorists, they need to be confined and need to make sure they stay in jail until whatever happens, but i think the president is right, i think we should shut down guantanamo, i think in the long run it wilil help us significantly. eric: the president's plan to close guantanamo bay is creating a firestorm in congress. >> rochelle: the plan calls for transferring the remaining detainees to the united states. and it seeks nearly 500 million in construction costs. the proposal faces opposition in the gop-led congress and right hereren south carolina. >> what we saw is that he doubled down again on something that we won't accept. we have said that time and time again, the last thing you do in a country that has terrorism all around it is bring these detainees to south carolina or

continue to fight it. we don't want it in south carolina, we don't want it in kansas or any other state in the country. >> rochelle: south carolina republicans in congress say they're bracing for a fight on gitmo detanee relocation plans. and on the democratic side in a conference call with our abc affiliate in charleston representative jim clyburn says he doesn't have a position on obama's gitmo plan. rochelle: lexington county solicitor donnie myers told troopers investigating his car wreck that another driver ran him off the road and that at the time he only had one drink. >> eric: in an incident report from the highway patrol troopers say they could smell alcohol in myers'ar when they found it empty around 8:00 monday night after it crashed into a utility pole. the report says a trooper went to myers' home and he told them he had not had a drink since he'd been there but add that myers failed sobriety tests. the report says myers also left a gun behind in the driver's side floorboard of his wrecked car. back in 2005 the 70-year-old pleaded guilty to drunken

asheville, north carolina. he served one year of probation. then in 2012 myers paid a fine after being charged with having an open container of alcohol in his car. eric: columbia police say they are investigating a series of vehicle thefts across the city after multiple victims left their keys in the ignition with the engines running. between january 1st and february 15th, 31 cars have been stolen. investigators say they have issued arrest warrantsfor chasity henry and william taylor wanted in connection to the thefts. police remind you to not leave your vehicle unattended while it is running and ask that if you have any information on these car thefts you're asked to call crime stoppers at 1-888-crime-sc. authorities can't tell you that enough, certainly don't leave your keys in the car and the car running. >> rochelle: 30 cars? that puts a face on what police are warning people about. eric: still to come, remembering the victims of the kalamazoo shootings. >> rochelle: what's being done to honor the victims and the new

investigation. >> jonathan: and waking up to temperatates right at 60 degrees, it's a rainy, stormy start to your day. potential for severe weather is still coming our way. i'll have details next.

main and gervais. there was something missing and i want to tell you that something missing is jesus. it was the beginning of a road of redemption for me.

life, everything in trusting gogo take thaha one step. that is all it takes. i felt like a new person, a

i f >> jonathan::12 on your wednesday morning, steady to heavy rain for us, locally looking to the south, notice this is a gust, this is mainly

reference, the blue is the severe thunderstorm warning for the augusta area, that's aiken and edgefield county, we are seeing a tornado warning near douglas, you see allendale county is under a tornado watch. that is well to our south at the moment, but seeing a couple watches and warnings closer to home in the last 30 minutes or so, so we will keep you abreast of what is going on with the situation, but mainly just steady rain in the metro area. >> rochelle: thanks, jonathan. rochelle: here's a quick look at stories that are making headlines across the country. a community is coming together to remember the lives lost in the kalamazoo shootings. a crowd gathered outside the restaurant where that was the scene of that weekend rampage in michigan. dozens of people attended the prayer event and memorial outside cracker barrel where authorities say 45-year-old jason dalton shot four women inside their cars. a father and son were also killed in that rampage at a car

two more victims remain in the hospital including a 14-year-old listed in critical condition. more details are emerging about suspected shooter jason dalton. authorities say dalton visited a gun store on the day of the attacks and bought a jacket designed to conceal a handgun. here you see surveillance photos of him inside that store. dalton is charged with six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. rochelle: there's a lot on the line at colonial life arena tonight. eric, what can you tell us? >> eric: carolina basketball can take another step towards 2nd place in the sec with a win at home tonight. tim hill has more in this morning's sports minute to win it. >> gamecock basketball gets back at it tonight against tennessee, the vols expected to be without leading scorer kevin punter, with a stress fracture in his foot. game time tonight is 9:00.

the sec, vandy at florida, wow, josh penderson to beat the buzzer at half time. vandy wins 87-74. clemson basketball in action, acc a must win against georgia tech. all 16 of his points coming in the second half but marcus georgia hunt draws the foul, hits two free throws. clemson falls. big carolina debut for freshman adam hill, the gamecocks won 5-nothing, they go 4-nothing on the season. that's your columbia minute to win it. hope it gets your day off to a good start. eric: still to come, the show must go on. it's a grand reopening for one ballet studio following october's historic flooding. you will want to stay with us,

gervais.33 welcome back. the time is now...6:19 rochelle: welcome back to good morning, columbia. thanks for waking up with us on this hump day. your time is now 6:19. >> jonathan: let's take a bite out of your r rning menu, spspsored by bojangles'. midlands residents continue to pick up the pieces following octobers historic flood. and one area business in particular redenko pavlovich's took a big hit during the storm. pavlovich's is a dance studio and school located along the

the studio was submerged and everything inside was destroyed. but after month's of working with the insurance companies and fema they're finally seeing some light at the end of the tunnel. the studio is now preparing for the school's grand reopening on march 13th. >> rochelle: not all bad news, silver lining in the clouds. rochelle: and it's almost time for the big st. pat's celebration in five points. the event features a number of popular bands and you have the chance to vote for your favorite local band to take the big stage. all you have to do is go to the st. pat's website to pick which band you'd like to see. voting starts today and ends at midnight on march 3rd. the lucky winners will be announced march 4th. they have multiple stages there so you have the options to see different people throughout the day, gets really cruded, sometimes you are stucco oh gets really crowded, sometimes you are stuck, but it's great.

numbers the next day and you will hear tens of thousands are there and you think, holy cow. >> rochelle: but the weather is when you feel spring-like temperatures. we have those temperatures today but rain. >> jonathan: we are seeing the negative impact. spring is severe weather active time of the year, w are seeing severe weather close to home. we have the severe weather warning for edgeville and aiken county, heads upon that. highs in the mid-70s, tonight i think we will see a drier set up but will be very windy the next day or two. we will see things change over, that will cool us down, 74 and 43 for the high and low today. i think be weather aware this morning and early this afternoon. >> rochelle: the morning commute can get nasty. >> jonathan: yes. rochelle: we're checking out what will be making headlines later today. >> jonathan: here's eric with your "look ahead."

women is recognizing leaders in our community for their annual luncheon. it serves to recognize women whose outstanding achievements distinguish them as leaders and role models. since the inception of the awards ceremony in 1980, more than 700 women have been honored. among the recipients this year paula harper bethea, patricia moore-pastides and nikki haley. eric: and speaking of nikki haley, she is speaking at the south carolina cyber announcement today. this is taking place at the usc alumni center at 10:00 this morning. so look for the governor there. >> rochelle: so many women being honored, congratulations to them. thanks, eric. rochelle: still to come, we are just days away from the south carolina democratic primary. but first we're taking a look at where candidates stand rarding some hot button issues. that's coming up next. stay with us. we're live from main and

hey, there. in today's "techbytes" -- going for a drive? there's an app for that. >> volvo plans to replace car keys with a smartphone app, possibly as soon as next year. traditional cease would be available only on request. the momole world congress in barcelona has more head looips. lenovo has a new phone with 3-d sensors. and htc has its own virtual reality headset. bundled with controllers and a hefty $800 price tag. check out the newest version of a walking robot. it's created by boston dynamics. for the first time, it walks on two legs. >> it can bend down. lift ten-pound weights, and place them on shelves.

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33 the democratic presidential hopefuls are hard >> eric: 6:27 is your time right now, good morning. the democratic presidential hopefuls are hard at work trying to win some last minute votes going into saturday's primary. >> rochelle: and ahead of saturday's vote we want to take

candidates stand on some of the hot-button issues this election. we start with higher education. the democratic presidential hopefuls are hoping to maintain support from young voters in south carolina. political experts day it's a major part of sanders' support nationwide. so with hillary clinton up an average of 24 points over sanders in the polls, could a promise of debt free college be the boost sanders needs to get ahead in south carolina? on his campaign website sanders outlines six steps he would take as president to make college debt free. just to highlight a few, sanders says he would make tuition free at public colleges and universities. he also says he would lower student loans interest rates and allow americans to refinance student loans at today's low interest rates. this move to make college tuition free comes with a $75 billion a year price tag. sanders says his plan would be fully paid by imposing a tax on

hillary clinton has voiced her speculation on sanders' ability to pay for this free tuition plan and is offering up a plan of her own. >> eric: under the "new college compact," clinton says: no student will have to borrow to pay for tuition, books are free. like sanders, americans with existing student loan debt will be able to refinance at current rates. and colleges will be accountable for controlling costs and making tuition affordable. this is a $350 billion plan, one clinton says will be fully paid for by limiting certain tax expenditures for high-income taxpayers. >> eric: both candidates have launched tours at historically black colleges across south carolina. both clinton and sanders say they're committed to increasing funding for hbcu's. >> rochelle: you can find all of the candidates' stances on education on each of the candidates websites. plus this wrap-up of the candidate's views on our website at abccolumbia.com. we've been following the gop candidates and now we are onto

their stances on the hot button issues. eric: still to come, our coverage of vote 2016 continues. >> rochelle: we're taking a closer look at presidential hopeful hillary clinton.

gervais. eric: just one half hour left of your news left. >> rochelle: time flies when you are having fun. >> eric: yes, we are going to wake you up. i'm eric weisfeld. >> rochelle: and i'm rochelle dean.we're live from main and gervais. >> jonathan: we have warmed up five degrees from a hour and a half, we are seeing warm air come in, wind out of the east and steady rain has been continuing to fall for us,

is a big indicator of how much moisture is in the air but also high dewpoints give you both of those, we will look for thunderstorms to develop and grow. the higher the dewpoint not working in our favor. steady rain, you were seeing more yellow and orange earlier but not as much now. steady rain for us as of right now, not the high output of the wind, we still have some strong storms to our south but right now it looks like a lot is dying down. we are seeing a line of storms, all the counties shaded in red, those are the areas to watch. probably just getting ready to expire in age inand edgefield counties, i think they are dying out.

are up to 66 in orangeburg, 60 right here in down up to. a lot of the areas have warmed up in the last hour and a half. we are seeing low level winds from the south, we are seeing turning in wind sheer, that will cause some issues for a lot of locations, that's why we are seeing tornadic threat, we are seeing the winds turn and spin so the wind sheer will give us a slightly enhanced chance to see some potential tornadic activity. all the tornadic activity we have seen has been along the gulf coast and these cells in georgia, nothing that close to home but we will continue to keep an eye, this is small and large scale rotation. they have us in the slight risk, this is not only tornadoes but straight line winds, damaging winds, heavy downpours and severe weather.

primary area of concern, it will be ideal because it won't be quite as warm, still we will keep an eye on a lot of the stuff, 74 for the high, that is irrelevant, it will be warm and humid, good environment for thunderstorms to grow and thrive. this is an ever developing situatioio but as of right now we have kind of missed out on a lot of it so hopefully that will be the case but things can change for us. >> eric: very good, jonathan. it's been a safe situation so far on the roads. >> rochelle: good news, still no problems in and around the capital city, but if it changes we will pass it along to you for the morning commute. and abc columbia wants to help you jump start your day. >> eric: we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. severe weather is sweeping the deep south. the national weather service has confirmed reports of tornadoes in louisiana, mississippi, alabama and florida.

southeat louisiana and southwest mississippi where at least three pepele have been killed. this is the same system that meteorologist jonathan kennedy has been tracking throughout the morning. stay with abc columbia for the latest and any severe weather updates. on air and online. rochelle: turning our attention to vote 2016, donald trump is taking home another win this morning. he is the projected winner of the republican presidential caucuses in nevada. preliminary entrance polls taken of republican caucus-goers show that nearly six in 10 voters are angry at the way the government is working. and 7 in 10 say they want a candidate who is an outsider over one with political experience. with a third win under his belt, the billionaire businessman has a wide lead over the other republican candidates in the delegate count. here's how the votes stand so far: with about 96% of the votes accounted for in nevada, trump takes 45% of the vote.

and 21% leaving ben carson and john kasich trailing far behind with less than 5% each. the republicans have now moved on to super tuesday, but the democrats still have the first in the south primary to worry about. >> eric: cnn hosted a town hall with the two presidential hopefuls last night at the usc school of law. it was a chance for undecided voters to ask hillary clinton and bernie sanders questions. polls show clinton up an average of 24 points over sanders here in the state. with 59 delegates up for grabs in saturday's vote it's the largest amount at stake thus far. leading up to saturday's vote, abc columbia is bringing you profiles of each of the candidates vying to be the next president of the united states. >> rochelle: our jennifer ready has more on front-runner hillary clinton and her campaign.

so much. >> reporter: coming off a big win in nevada, hillary clinton pushes on in her quest to make history, as the first woman president of the united states. >> some may have doubted us but we never doubted each other. >> reporter: the former secretary of state is the front-runner in the democratic party, focusing her campaign agenda on reforming the criminal justice system and raising american incomes to create more jobs and grow the economy. >> we're going to build ladders of opportunity in their place so that every american can go asfar as your hard work will take yoyo >> reporter: clinton is gaining support from several south carolina politicians including representative jim clyburn and todd rutherford. but the former first lady's campaign's been plagued with questions about her honestly with republicans criticizing her for using a private email server for official business and many also raising questions about the benghazi terrorist attack during her time as secretary of state. >> rubio: you can not lie to the families of the people who died in benghazi and then think you're going to be commander in chief. >> reporter: and her opponent,

is slamming clinton for adopting several of his ideas. >> the people of the university of tennessee at chattanooga need to know the difference between hastily adopted campaign rhetoric and the real record a a the long held ideas of the candidates. >> eric: jennifer ready reporting. eric: still to come, we're keeping a close eye on some severe weather sweeping the south. >> rochelle: we're taking a closer look at the damage left by the storm system heading this way. >> jonathan: yes, heavy rain as you wake up and head out. looks like we still have storms to our south that will be heading our way.

main and gervais. there was something missing and i want to tell you that something missing is jesus. it was the beginning of a road of redemption for me. there is forgiveness, a new life, everything in trusting god. take that one step.

i felt like a new person, a

i f >> jonathan: 6:43 on your wednesday morning, a rainy start in columbia and surrounding area, thankfully we have not seen the impact others have seen. we are watching the thunderstorms down toward jacksonville, you can see the oranges and yellow, those are the strong cells embedded in this storm. haven't seen as much here locally, this is the ideal time of the day, if something will hit, people could be still asleep, it is cooler time of the day so less energy for the storms to thrive. hopefully it will be low impact the rest of the day. eric: no severe weather in the midlands just yet but for those in the lower southeast

>> jonathan: yes, not the case in central louisiana. you can see here that the winds are creating extensive damage for area businesses and homes. the wind has also downed power lines in several areas knocking out power to more than 13,000 customers. several injuries have also been reported. we saw storm reports, i was checking the latest reports, 30 to 36 tornadoes for the system coming here, down in the gulf states, not like that here but rainy start to the day. 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 centers for disease control and prevention are investigating new reports of sexual transmission of the zika virus. the cdc says they are investigating 14 cases in all and that several of them involve pregnant women. zika has been confirmed in 23 u.s. states and the district of columbia. the world health organization says up to 4 million people will be infected in the next year. rochelle: a sheriff's incident report shows nothing

antonin scalia's death. scalia was found dead at a ranch near the mexican border where he had gone on a hunting trip. and according to a letter from a supreme court doctor, health problems including coronary artery disease obesity and diabetes are the likely contributions to his death. rochelle: still to come, a disturbing case involving a who are coming to its aid.

gervais. >> rochelle: welcome back to good morning columbia, thanks for waking up with us on this wednesday morning, your time right now is 6:48. in the upstate a puppy is on the mend this morning after being shot by a bb gun 18 times. the dog, named brody, survived and is on the mend this morning. the alleged teen shooters 17-year old demonte douglas and a 14-year old who's name will not be released are now facing up to five years in jail and fines for the crime. brody isn't ready to be adopted just yet but when he is, he's sure to go to a loving home. there are so many people signing home that the list has had to be shut down. we've got another furry friend morning. meet ann. the 4-year-old tabby cat is the columbia animal sheltes pet of the week. volunteers at the shelter say she's very independent but also loves getting attention. to meet ann or any of the other

sure to visit the animal shelter just off humane. rochelle: actors and actresses are already getting "red carpet ready" but what about all the action behind the scenes. eric, what can you tell us? >> eric: it's almost time for the glitz and glam of this weekends oscars. but before sunday, abc's brandi hitt goes behind the scenes with the people who make sure the secret ballots remain closed until the envelope is opened on the big stage. >> they are the best secret keepers in hollywood. they are setet to carry those famous briefcases again. >> and the oscar goes to ... >> holding the names of this year's oscar winners. >> has there ever been a mistake? >> no, there isn't. >> for 82 years price water house has counted the votes. >> we control everything from the time they go out indicated with security codes and those

those in an undisclosed location. >> inside the secret undisclosed location security is tight, there is a specialized system, no internet access where a small team counts all 24 categories by hand. >> it's up to us to consolidate everything, as they go through their piles counting that and recounting that. we will stuff the envelope, seal it with the red. >> those plus a duplicate set are loaded in two briefcases, both are locked in a vault until sunday when they enter their code and take their briefcase, each taking a different route to the red carpet escorted by the l.a. police. >> do you feel like oo 7? >> a little. >> back stage they only hand the

second before the announcement. >> is this the hardest secret to keep? >> it's a big, important secret. the reality is there is a secret we keep forever and that is who got second. >> brandi hitt, los angeles. eric: still to come, a zoo is welcoming an adorable addition this morning. and the way this little one was delivered may come as a surprise. stay with us.

gervais. >> eric: 6 minutes before 7:00. britain's bristol zoo is celebrating the arrival of the cutest little baby gorilla this morning. >> rochelle: that's right, and this adorable gorilla is a little more unique than most because it was actually delivered by c-section. look at it being fed with a bottle there. zoo officials say this is one of only a handful of times world-wide that a baby gorilla has been delivered through c-section. the decision to use the procedure came earlier this month when the mother showed symptoms of potentially a life-threatening condition. it looks like baby and mother are doing well this morning. >> eric: and very cute. >> rochelle: nice way to get a

eric: still to come: we're spreading the act of kindness for your hump day. >> rochelle: and giving you a reason to put others before yourself next in your day in history. >> jonathan: and good wednesday morning, 64 degrees right now, loloing at some heavy to steady rain across the area but no strong storms as of right now but that could change. i'll have details coming up next.

main and gervais. >> jonathan: just before 7:00, we are watching this line of storms from columbia towards jacksonville, the i-95 corridor is looking at heavy rain. for us we are watching a few cells crossing the border that will skirt to the west and east. we are watching this back in northern georgia, things are shaping up relatively well so far but certainly should not let our guard down anytime today. >> rochelle: well, we will be keeping our eyes to the sky and following jonathan as he continues monitor the weather conditionshat are heading here. rochelle: let's check out the day in history. marbury vs. madison establishes judicial review in 1803. alamo defenders call for help in 1836. and president andrew johnson is impeached in 1868. >> eric: it's one of my favorite days.

day. when is salsa day? thanks for waking upon a wednesday morning. "good morning, america" is next. good morning, america. breaking overnight, donald trump's huge win in nevada. >> now we're winning, winning, winning the country. >> record turnout. trump relishes his victory. >> we won with poorly educated. i love the poorly educated. >> marco rubio second and less than a week from the super and marco rubio are here this morning. oh, my goodness. hoho cow. deadly storms tear through the south. 27 reported tornadoes across the gulf states ripping roofs off buildings, destroying hundreds of homes, flipping over trucks. now new warnings are out this east. erin andrews' emotional day in court, the reporter and "dancing with the stars" favorite takes on a hotel and a