one would be taken from our lives by a bullet from a gun, every time i think about those kids, it gets me mad. gabrielle: president obama, getting emotional today as he spoke about his new executive orders to curb gun violence in the united states. nigel: president obama spoke at length, for close to 45 minutes, as he laid out what he calls common-sense measures for gun control. gabrielle: wyff news 4's patrick hussion is here, with more on today's speech. patrick? patrick: the emotion there came from mentioning the 20 children killed at sandy hook elementary school, back in december of 2012. the father of one of the children killed at sandy hook introduced the president today. >> so the gun lobby may be holding congress hostage right

america hostage. we do not have to accept this carnage as the price of freedom. patrick: advocates for increased gun control stood in applause multiple times today at the white house. but gun lobbyists, and some republicans on the hill and on the campaign trail, say the president wants to make buying guns nearly impossible. part of the plan, to expand background checks. >> if they wanna add some more questions to it, parameters that we have to go through, i can't see that would hinder anything, other than just slow down the process. patrick: president obama also wants to spend more than $500 million to expand treatment for the mentally ill, add more atf agents, and criminally prosecute unlicensed sellers. the south carolina chapter of "moms demand action for gun sense in america" reacted to the speech. >> we respect the 2nd amendment. we're not anti-gun, we're anti-gun violence. and we believe there are common sense gun laws that will respect

patrick: a big part of the president's plan is to close the which is getting support from both sides of the issue. you the gun, and we part company. that's it. that, i'd like to see changed to where, if you can buy a gun at a gun show, you gotta go to a central station and have a background check run on you before you're able to purchase that gun from that individual. patrick: president obama became visibly emotional as he listed out some of the deadly school shootings. >> those rights were stripped from college kids in blacksburg and santa barbara, and from high schoolers in columbine, and from first-graders in newtown. first-graders. >> to show that emotion really

to how we feel about the situation and the lack of progress on it. patrick: right now, if a background check is not completed within three days, a gun seller has the right, under law, to go ahead and sell that gun. however, south carolina state senator gerald malloy is proposing a bill that would expand that to 28 days, to allow more time for a background check. gabrielle: thanks, patrick. we want to know what you think. take our now poll, and let us know if you think the president's executive actions will reduce the number of mass shootings in the united states. the poll is on the wyff facebook, twitter, and website home page. here's a look so far at your answers. 3% of you say yes, 90% of you say no. 70 -- 7% say time will tell. go ahead and vote, there is still time. nigel: just into the newsroom tonight, governor nikki haley has been tapped to give the republican response to president obama's

the president will speak to the nation next haley says she is tuesday. honored to deliver the response. she says she will talk about the great challenges and opportunities the country has right now. in a release, house speaker paul ryan says haley is the right choice to lay out a positive vision, and alternative to the status quo. gabrielle: officials say one u.s. soldier was killed, and two others were wounded, during a joint u.s.-afghan special operations mission in afghanistan. the defense officials say a medical helicopter was hit by a mortar while on the ground, but was able to take off. the fighting is part of the intensified efforts to push back against recent taliban gains. nigel: a civil rights group is demanding former officer michael slager be sent back to jail. slager was released from jail in charleston last night, after posting bond. he is charged in the shooting death of walter scott. cell phone video of the incident shows slager shooting scott while he was running away, unarmed. the national action network wants him back behind bars.

charleston. we want slager back in jail. we want him back in jail. we demand him being back in jail. nigel: slager was fired from his post, and arrested in april. his next trial date is set at october 31st. gabrielle: a 24-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a fatal shooting in greenville. deputies say marqual griffin shot nathan lee crouch in the chest. this happened on december 27th, at a home on perry road in the san souci area. griffin faces multiple charges, including murder. he is being held without bond in the greenville county detention center. now to georgia. a hostage situation lead to an almost five-hour standoff in the atlanta area this morning. 36-year-old korrie thomas held 11 children and his girlfriend hostage at knifepoint during a domestic dispute the standoff was at a motel in dekalb county. the children and the girlfriend were rescued. authorities say the suspect stabbed himself in the neck. he is now in critical condition.

imprisonment and obstruction. nigel: in georgia, the governor has rescinded his executive order that barred state agencies from assisting syrian refugees. governor nathan deal announced the order monday, just days after attorney general sam olens said georgia can't legally stop the resettlement of syrian refugees. in november, following the paris terror attacks, deal joined other governors who halted any involvement in the acceptance of syrian refugees. we're taking a live look outside at asheville, through our asheville sky cam. it is called out there, blue skies. a few clouds. however, it is cold. gabrielle: nice to see the sunshine, but it is not doing a lot to warm things up. john cessarich joins us. do you see these temperatures sticking around? john: looks like it. look how cold.

tv and your family room, looking at that live shott in a with clear skies, it looks so beautiful. but it is cold. 40's in the mountains. low 40's in the upstate into northeastern georgia. the good news, we have much lighter winds. yesterday, we had a strong wind making it feel colder than the actual temperatures with the wind chills overnight in the the mountains. right now, 28 in boone, ready six in asheville and hendersonville, 39 in greenville, 37 and spartanburg, 42 in toccoa. in the upstate and upper 40's in the mountains. temperatures below average for this time of year. a bit of a warm-up, then we wait for the next storm system to come in. now back to you. nigel: officials in macon county are already totaling the damage

officials with north carolina emergency management say initial estimates are around $700,000. they say damages to homes are estimated to be around $263,000, and damage to private roads and bridges are around $440,000. officials say more damage still needs to be looked over. gabrielle: we're five days into the new year, and big things are already happening in spartanburg. leaders there say the success is unmatched. wyff news 4's mike mccormick is live and local downtown. he has more. mike? mike: multiple historic buildings in this block alone are getting major upgrades, and city leaders say they can't wait to be able to talk about even more businesses that are coming here. >> spartanburg is the biggest economic development story, not just in the upstate, but in the state of south carolina, one of the biggest in the southeast. that's not hype, that's fact. mike: spartanburg city leaders say they've welcomed 57 new businesses, and 500 new jobs, since 2013. more are coming. >> we're trying to get the word

mike: the growler haus started opening for lunch this week. inside it, you'll find papi's tacos, a project of greenville's table 301 group. both businesses felt like an extra lunch option should be on tap in the city's momentum. >> i've been here for a year and a half, and i've seen the huge change just in that time, not only with us, but with other businesses downtown. everything's growing so fast. mike: miyako sushi group is expanding by moving into the building next door. they will offer a rooftop bar, and so will the new highrise ac by marriott hotel, which is under construction. the hub city co-op grocery store is getting closer and closer to openeng. workers put in all the windows, and big refrigeration equipment will be inside in the coming weeks. >> that's a long way from where spartanburg was 10 or 15 years ago. mike: coming up tonight at 6:00, will talk about one of the

live in spartanburg. nigel: clemson will play alabama -- championship on and today, dabo swinney met with the media. gabrielle: lots of stories to tell about the connections between clemson's head coach and the crimson tide. sports director brad fralick is here. brad: coach swinney answered questions for over an hour today , and a lot of it had to do the connections are incredible. first of all, swinney played at championship there. he coached there, was born and raised in pelham, alabama. he told all kinds of stories today about growing up, dreaming of playing for the crimson tide. so when it was set that clemson and alabama would play for the title, he said he wouldn't have it any other way. >> this is the way it ought to be. if you're going to play for a championship, and you have the opportunity to play against the team that has been kind of the standard, you know, i think that we're excited about that. we embrace that, and look

them. brad: swinney said alabama is the best defense they have seen this season. at 6:00, more from swinney, and his thoughts on alabama. and in sports, we will hear from the orange bowl mvp himself, deshaun watson, as clemson's road to the title continues. nigel? nigel: i cannot wait. what a game it will be. before the national championship don't forget to check out our , live wire. it's a collection of the latest tweets about the tigers, and fun posts from our staff. plus, you can even watch some retro highlights from the 1982 orange bowl, when clemson last claimed a national title. gabrielle: i thought was 1981. nigel: it was 81. go to the wyff 4 app, or wyff4.com, and look in the "right now" bar. >> a new political ad hits the air in south carolina. this one takes aim at marco rubio. but are the claims in this ad true? we're going to put

gabrielle: plus, more than a month since the paris terror attacks. troops continue to patrol the streets. >> i would say the state of health care is constantly in flux. nigel: we take a closer look at health care, showing you surprising numbers. john: a live picture from anderson, bright sunshine but it is cold outside. current temperatures 40 degrees with a northeast breeze making i will be right back. gabrielle: there is a look at your from the south carolina education lottery. pick 3, 0, 8, 4. days after the paris attacks, senators came together for a top-secret briefing on the terrorist threat... marco rubio was missing - fundraising in california instead. two weeks later, terrorists struck again in san bernardino... and where was marco? fundraising again in new orleans.

rubio has missed important national security hearings and missed more total votes than any other senator. politics first: that's the rubio way. right to rise usa

this week marks one year since gabrielle: this week marks one year since terrorists stormed charlie hebdo and a kosher supermarket, killing 17 people. today, the french president francois hollande unveiled a plaque, honoring the victims. the newspaper released a special issue this week with the headline "the murderer is still , at large." meanwhile, security is still tight in paris, particularly in shopping centers and supermarkets. this, following the terror attacks over a month ago. authorities said some 2500 soldiers are still deployed on the streets. officials said this operation is costing them over $1.5 million a day. france still remains under a state of emergency. the november 13th attacks in the capital killed 130 people. nigel: a new political ad hit the air this week, attacking republican presidential candidate marco rubio.

bush political action committee, claims rubio has the worst voting record in the senate. but is that true? gabrielle: wyff news 4 investigates' tim waller gets to the bottom of things, in tonight's truth check. tim: it was just a matter of time before marco rubio's political rivals questioned his voting record in a television ad. rubio's missed appearances in the u.s. senate have been used as ammunition in the recent debates. now, right to rise usa, the super pac for republican white house hopeful jeb bush, hits that issue in a 30-second ad. >> days after the paris attacks, senators came together for a top secret briefing on the terrorist threat. marco rubio was missing, fundraising in california instead. two weeks later, terrorists struck again in san bernardino. where was marco? fundraising in new orleans. tim: on the surface, this claim is true. but there is also more to the story. on november 18th, 5 days after the terrorist attacks in paris,

committee, of which rubio is a member, held a closed-door meeting to discuss what role america should play. rubio, as the ad says, was at a fundraising event in newport beach, california, and did not attend the classified hearing. however, rubio, who also serves on the senate intelligence committee, attended a classified briefing on the paris attacks the day before his fundraising trip to california. rubio's campaign says he received more high-level information at that meeting than he would have received at the meeting he missed. >> over the last 3 years, rubio has missed important national security hearings, and missed more total votes, than any other senator. tim: the claim on missing votes in the senate is true, according to government records. in our analysis, we found rubio has missed more roll call votes than any other senator now running for president, missing 13.3% of all votes during his senate career.

missing 12.4% of senate votes. former democratic senator hillary clinton missed 9.5% of votes during her senate career. rand paul of kentucky has missed 4%. bernie sanders of vermont has the lowest number of missed votes among candidates, with 3.6%. in late december, when congress was voting on the year-end budget and tax package, rubio was the only white house hopeful in the senate to stay on the campaign trail and miss the vote. nigel: as soon as a new ad hits the air, truth check will put it to the test. gabrielle: and be sure to check out our other truth check reports. just head to our website, and click on "politics" under the "news" tab on wyff4.com. >> now, your live super doppler 4 hd weather forecast. john: cold, high-pressure locking in, right on top of richmond, virginia. it will slide down further south

we have a northeast breeze outside the mountains, not extremely strong. yesterday, we had strong wind out of the north making it you'll colder. at least we don't have to deal with wind chills tonight. the high will move into the atlantic, and as it does, the wind will shift a little bit. maybe out of the east-southeast as we go through the day tomorrow. a live shot from on top of paris mountain, there is downtown greenville in the background. you can see clear skies, high, thin cirrus clouds ruling into the mountains -- moving into the mountains. look how cold it is. normal high temperatures in the upstate should be in the low 50's this time of year and upper 40's in the mountains. running a good i've-10 degrees below average. in north carolina, colder temperatures. 28 in boone, 28 in spruce pine, 34 in burnsville and waynesville. 30 six in brevard, hendersonville, and asheville. 44, a little bit milder in

the southwestern mountains, little bit warmer although they have high, thin clouds moving in. the wind has shifted out of the south-southeast. either way you slice it, it is cold. 41 in toccoa. 10 miles per hour winds in greenville and anderson, the wind will die down. once the sun goes down, so will the wind. humidity very low. cold air, at the freezing mark in raleigh. they had freezing -- they had flurries yesterday. 37 in charlotte and florence. along the beaches of the cold. 34 in wilmington, the grants grant -- the grand strand cold. 42 in atlanta. high pressure dominates, high, thin cirrus clouds to the west

it will be chilly, not as cold as today but still, below average tomorrow. the storm system in the west will get better organized. it will bring us rain as we get into the end of the week. most of the country is looking like winter. 32 in michigan, 32 in chicago, and cincinnati and in washington dc. the only warm spot in the east, all the way down in miami. 70 degrees. 63 in orlando. that is cool for those people, i'm sure they have their codon right now. clear and cold tonight, light wind, low 22 in the upstate, mid teens in the mountains. fairly light winds. clouds in the afternoon. highs in the 40's. slow warming trend continues. upper 40's to low 50's in thursday, mostly to partly cloudy. it looks like liquid precipitation on friday through the area.

another storm system may come in. clouds and possibly rain over the weekend. congratulations to ronnie lyle, our umbrella winner from anderson. michael: here's what we have coming up on news 4 at 6:00. he was one of the leaders of the '81 national championship team. tonight, we take jeff davis back in time. >> yeah, this is it. there you are. >> that's it. that's it. we number one, baby. we just shocked the world. michael: how about a journey into the locker room the night clemson won it all? it wasn't that long ago. wait until you see his reaction to the wyff news 4 file footage.

in greenville... today was carol: in greenville, today was the first "walk with a doc" event at the bon secours wellness arena. wyff news 4's aly myles chats with this month's doctor, to explain what this event is. aly: hey, everyone. we're here at the bon secours wellness arena. i'm joined here with dr. steve keiser with the bon secours-st. francis health system. and first of all, talk to us a little bit about your specialty. >> well, my speciality is primary care sports medicine, which takes care of athletes and their primary care health problems, but also, active people and their primary care needs. aly: well, today we are obviously walking around the bon secours wellness arena. talk to me about the walk with a doc event. >> so the walk with a doc event is an event we set up here at the wellness arena, to give people an opportunity to get some exercise, any weather condition, here at the well with a nice venue, to be able to

while we're getting some exercise at the same time. aly: i know you specialize in sports injuries and sports medicine. what's your number one advice to people who do get their walk in whenever they can? >> just get started. go ahead and get the exercise in, and make a commitment to yourself to go ahead and keep doing it. aly: you're the specialist here, but you don't want to do too much at once, right? >> i always tell people, don't remember what you used to be able to do when you were 17. go ahead and start from scratch and start with little steps, walking before you run. aly: thank you so much for joining us here today. and keep in mind, this happen once a month. in february, it'll be a cardiologist, a different doctor every month. something really fun to take part in, when you're getting your exercise in, as well. aly myles, wyff news 4, at the bon secours wellness arena. carol: the walk with a doc event may be once a month, but the

secours. days after the paris attacks, senators came together for a top-secret briefing on the terrorist threat... marco rubio was missing - fundraising in california instead. two weeks later, terrorists struck again in san bernardino... and where was marco? fundraising again in new orleans. over the last 3 years, rubio has missed important national security hearings and missed more total votes than any other senator. politics first: that's the rubio way. right to rise usa

gabrielle: we are continuing our "8 weeks, 8 issues" series. tonight, we're looking at the issue of healthcare in the united states, and the state of the affordable care act, now in its third year. nigel: we will also break down the health care issue on a local level, showing you how, in south carolina, many families are just one procedure away from poverty.

look in western north carolina,