senator ted cruz, in the upstate tonight following yesterday's big win in iowa. carol: as candidates hit the grha cruz turned his attention to the south, campaigning tonight in the upstate. he spoke to a packed room at the td convention center in greenville. >> south carolina is going to play such a pivotal role in the next 3 weeks. south carolina's role, historically, has been choosing presidents. and south carolina, this year, is going to ensure the next republican nominee, and the next president of the united states, is a true conservative. michael: and after addressing the crowd tonight, cruz talked to news 4's nigel robertson. here is senator ted cruz, one on one. nigel: when you look at the history of the republican party in iowa, how did you do it? sen. cruz: well, this was the victory for the grassroots. what we saw on the ground was courageous conservatives, coming totother.

of pastors, republican women, young people, college students, of small business owners, of people just passionate to turn our country around. you know, i don't think anyone will win iowa, or anyone will win south carolina, from a tv studio in manhattan or d.c. i think you win on the grassroots. i think you win with meeting with people one on one, doing what we just did here, which is talking to people directly, looking them in the eyes, answering their questions. this is a job interview. and i think there was something else that was really powerful that we saw yesterday in iowa, is we saw that, old reagan coalition coming together. we saw conservatives and evangelicals and libertarians together. nigel: but with all as senator, did you unite the party? sen. cruz: well, it depends on where you look. if you look at the american people, absolutely, yes. listen. i've said many times, the biggest divide we have in politics is not between democrats and republicans.

between career politicians in washington, in both parties. nigel: from here, the senator flies back to new hampshire, where he and his staff will cont ready for the primary there. in greenville, nigel robertson, wyff news 4. michael: tonight, we also heard from some people in the carol: john lyon was listening to what voters>> welcome, courageous conservatives. john: over 1500 people came to the td convention center to welc cruz. >> god bless the state of south carolina while the crowd was enthusiastic, recent polls suggest thundecideds, and those with soft support for other cand, in the audience. >> i just really just came to see what he believed in, and his personal views on everything. >> trying to find answers, figure out who i can get behind

john: others listening to the texas senator are leaning towards him, and are here taking a closer look to help cement their decision after his triumph >> i was just so impressed with the obvious ground game that he had to have, covered iowa so well. >> last night was a convincing factor. i heard his acceptance speech. i liked what he said. it impressed me. john: most of the other republican candidates are spending the day in new hampcr is doing a two-fer, spending part of the day there before the rally here. hoping to gain ground on donald trump, who he trails here in south carolina. >> i think everybody wanted trump to win, just because he's trump, and doesn't care about the money. he's going to try of debt and all that. but then, ted has better ideas about what he wants to do with the country. >> i'd say right now, i am in between rubio and cruz. those are my top two candidates. john: cruz, trump, rubio, and the rest of the field will be criss-crossing the state before the greenville debate in 11

with the republican primary election following a week after that. john lyon, wyff news 4, greenville. michael: and then there are the endorsements.congressman jeff duncan announced toda his support behind ted cruz. duncan says ted cruz is a proven leader, and a consistent conservative who will fight the washington cartel, and stand up for the american people. he went on to say, quote, "i believe ted's record sets him apart on this race, and it is why i am proud to support him for the president of the united states." end quote. carol: senator tim scott announced today, he's endorsing marco rubio in the presidential race. >> here's what i've learned over the past 5.5 years of knowing marco. that he is an amazing politician but honestly marco rubio is it better father and a better husband than he is a politician. that says a lot ab is, which tells me a lot about what he will do. cas a solid conservative, and

it's a three-man race between cruz, trump, and rubio. michael: the chairman of the south carolina republican party weighed in on last night's iowa caucus. >> donald trump has garnered some of the biggest crowds we've ever seen in the party's history here south carolina. last night, we saw two things. one is, pollsters and pundits have led this race around by the nose for six or eight months, and voters got a choice. but we also saw last night, the campaign fundamentals matter very much, and the traditional rules of politics still apply. i encourage the trump campaign, and many other campaigns, focus on those ground games, those traditional voter contact apparatuses that win elections. michael: lots of voting left. new hampshire's next, t analysts say most eyes will turn to the southern primaries. we're less than three weeks away from the south carolina republican primary, on february 20th. the democratic primary, a week later, on february 27th. carol: throughout this election season, you can keep tabs on how many delegates each candidate has won. the delegate tracker on

following the primaries. you can find it in the "media" window on the home page. you can feel it. fog and drizzle. carol: a system is on the way. john cessarich is trackijohn: heavy rain later tonight. severe weaththe tornado watch box has been canceled for nashville to huntsville.front. a tornado watch continues from birmingham into southeastern mississiwe have had showers develop across the area. some of the rain was moderate. for the most part, fog and drizzle across the area's. this is ahead of the cold front. the individual cells are racing northe the severe weather threat is high to the west. the storm prediction center says, for wednesday, we are in the marginal rk of severe weather. the main reason for that would

a of 10 severe weather threat, 40% for us across the area. the main threat will be flash flooding in certain areas and spotty wind damage with the individual cells. the timing, 2:00 a.m. until 2:00 p.m. tomorrow, moving from west-east. as far as the severe twind elevated, moderate for flooding, flash flooding. no watches right now. we are monitoring the situation. as far as the wind, spotty wind damage possible from some of the cells, and a very slight chance of maybe a brief tornado. more about the system later out west tonight, the panthers survived media night. for the gametime atmosphere. ca super bowl 50 is days away. brad and marc are in california. brad: there is certainly a lot to do in the bay area during super bowl week.

san jose. the panthers say this is a : some of the players say media obligations have been distractions. the opening night on monday, press conference is tuesday, wednesday, and thursday. players get free time, but the panthers say this is a business trip, and that is how it is being approached. >> we are reason, to win a ballgame. we are not here to party. the balance is, nobody has been down to san francisco. everybody understands that we are here to win a game. we come out here like it is a, and we get our butts whooped. nobody remembers who went to the super bowl lead lost. : they want to do something nobody in the franchise has donebrad: lots of coverage still ahead. follow us on twitter, facebook,

to spartanburg, where a dry cleaners found a message in a jacket pocket. he believes coach ron rivera share the agpanthers during the championship game against the cardinals. fowlers brothers clean spartanburg has cleaned the panthers' uniforms for years. after the big championship game, they got the jacket coach rivera was wearing when he got a gatorade bath. the owner of the cleaners says he found a handwritten note in the pocket. it reads, quote, "the best team has a great sense of family. the best family has a great culture. within that culture, there is tremendous character." >> this is a very, very important note, and it makes that team a family, which is hard to come by in a professional team. michael: bill fowler says he hopes to get the note autographed when the team returns to spartanburg for training camp. our sports team will bring you a preview of the big game live from california, just a few days from now. you can catch "chasing a championship" at 8:00 friday night. carol: tomorrow is national signing day. hundreds of athletes around the upstate will sign national letters of intent, including the number one

gary. he will choose from a number of schools, including clemson, tomorrow afternoon at 1:10. also, the top-rated athlete in the country, elbert county high's mecole hardman, will make his announcement at 8:30 in the morning. so if recruiting and signing day is your thing, you need two things tomorrow, your smartphone, and our app. we will have up-to-the-minute updates all day long. michael: it was a birthday at the greenville zoo, welcoming the newest member. so much. john: showers spreading across the area quickly from the south.

we will talk about he was rated a+ by the nra. not for his promises, but for defending the second amendment... he's a man of deep faith, who fought time and again for the right to life. he laid out a plan to destroy isis months before paris. he'll strengthen our border and use conservative principles to put washington's broken fiscal house back in order. jeb bush. he's the conservative you can trust,

right to rise usa is responsible for the content of this message. what's america's best-selling brand of trucks? you're in for a big surprise, pal. actually, you're not. it's ford f-series, again. and, it wasn't even close. same trucks that have been leading the industry for 39 straight years. why? game changin' innovation. like f-150's high-strength, military-grade aluminum alloy. which helps make it stronger, more capable and more efficient than ever.

every other truck brand... history. michael: in greenville county, the coroner has identified the man killed after his overturned. alvin toney of greer died at -- where it happened just after 1:15 this afternoon. it happened at mckittrick and augusta roads. toney was wearing a seatbelt. an autopsy will be performed to tomorrow, to determine if a medical condition played a part in the crash. carol: new details out of hawaii, in the search of a missing upstate marine and his crew. two military helicopters collided off the coast last month. the u.s. marines say they've recovered some of the 12 victims' remains. no word tonight if 22-year-old sergeant jeffrey sempler, of woodruff, is one of them. michael: turning to the tucker hipps case. a judge consolidated two

clemson student's death. he was 19 years old when he died during a turn 80 run in 2014. -- a fraternity run in his 2014. parents say he was forced to walk along the narrow railing of a bridge over lake hartwell. each lawsuit filed by hipps' family seeks 25 million dollars from three members of the fraternity a consolidating the two lawsuits would be quote, "more efficient and convenient for the court." all defendants have denied any responsibility for hipps' death. carol: to the latest in that outbreak of the zika virus. health officials in texas have confirmed that the zika vis can be sexually transmitted. a person who had not traveled to a country affected by the mosquito-borne virus, was infected after having sex with a person who had returned from latin america. health officials suspect the virus was spread through mosquito bites, but since that route involves blood, they also suspect sharing needles and some

the virus has been linked to microcephaly, a birth defect that leaves a child with a small head, and a small brain. michael: an historically black neighborhood, split apart by a torn down bridge, is a step closer to reconnecting. we old hampton avenue bridge. the crumbling bridge was torn down in september of 2012. without the bridge, neighbors here who don't have cars have than walking along the railroad tracks, adding ano mile and a half to get where they need to going greenville. constructionn the $1.3 million is -- pedestrian bridge is scheduled tocarol: a huge day for the greenville zoo. autumn the giraffe gave birth to a healthy baby, but we won't know what the sex of the calf is quite yet, the zoo will do a physical on the little one in the next day or two and figure out its gender, weight and height. autumn gave birth right around 6:15 this morning. this is her the first, kiko in 2012, last year, there was heartbreak when herthis year, both mom and the

there will be a competition to name the new baby. the zoo is currently closed until the 13th for annual maintenance. michael: it's groundhog day. this morning good ole punxsutawney phil was woken up to make his famous prediction. >> there is no shadow to be cast. an early spring is my forecast. michael: he always looks so happy. an early spring. he has only been right 33% of the time since 1880 seven. that is an old grouhundreds of people show up every year to see what the groundhog has to say. carol: and, general beauregard lee the groundhog, also predicting an early spring this year. georgia's famous groundh scampered out of his home, not seeing his shadow this morning. spring is coming. >> now, your live super doppler 4 hd weather forecast. john: and sir walter raleigh in raleigh, north carolina, td not see his shadow.

is around the us meteorologist are not quite so sure. i think we will hathrough february. we could also see maybe at least some snow across the area. it depends on the track. we will watch that for the next month or so. nasty thunderstorms to the west. we are wedged in with a northeasterly wind that is protecting us. hopefully it will stay with us. i think it will stay -- lift northeast. temperatures wil the warm front lifts, leveling for the atmosphere to beco this is where the nasty thunderstorms, these are towatch ox is in birmingham south to mobile, alabama, into the southern part of mississippi. cool down dramatically. the center, the main threat of severe weather i and in parts of alabama.

green area, marginal severe what happens of the system moves in tomorrow, marginal for our entire area. the threat goes down considerably. but there is still a threat, mainly of isolated damaginwinds. the main threat for us overall, heavy rainfall moving across the western carolinas and northeastern georgia. a slight chance, because of the strong w could spin up a brief tornado south of i-85. we will keep you updated in case that hthe live super doppler showing the rain across the area. it continues to at times, moving quickly from southwest-northeast across the area. a rainy night. this is a live shot fromr onto -- in downtown greenville. we are wedged in. 40 in boone, 49 in greenville, 49 in start her, 51 in toccoa. here are the winds out of the east-northeast. that is what is driving in the

the winds will shift late tonight and during the day tomorrow, pushing the cold air to the northeast. n atlanta, heavy thunderstorms later on. cold or whether behind the front. there ir down. severe weather, heavy weather all the way back into minneapolis. they have had heavy snow. minneapolis may edge -- and up with 5-12 inches of snow. 26 degrees with snow there. denver. tomorrow morning, there is the warm front lifting. there is the band of showers with heavy thunderstorms moving through th it moves east around the midlands and heads to the coast at 6:00 tomorrow evening.quiet weather tomorrow night continuing through thursday. another storm system coming out of the gulf may affect us in the latter part of the weekend and early next week. we will keep you updated.

hattie fog and drizzle, showers likely. temper slowly overnight. tomorrow, rain and springlike weather. heavy thunderstorms. 1-3 inches of rain. to-four plus inches possible in the mountains. watches right now, the weather service is monitoring there is the potential for flash flooding with the rain coming down quickly. we will keep you updated overnight entered through morn, dry, not too bad. chilly in the mountains. seasonably chilly over the weekend. sunday and monday, a little iffy of the storm comes out of the gulf.carol: cam newton involved in some historic ricardo: it will be the first time that two kpicked number one in the draft will meet in tm newton involved in a matchup with another player in the same draft class. we will see what happens between the matchup.

vick to this evening.

the son of a polish immigrant who grew up in a brooklyn tenement. he went to public schools, then college, where the work of his life began -- fighting injustice and inequality, speaking truth to power. he moved to vermont, won election and praise as one of america's best mayors. in congress, he stood up for working families and for principle, opposing the iraq war, supporting veterans. now he's taking on wall street and a corrupt political system funded by over two and a half million contributions, tackling climate change to create clean-energy jobs,

and tuition-free public colleges. people are sick and tired of establishment politics, and they want real change! [ cheers and applause ] bernie sanders -- husband, father, grandfather, an honest leader building a movement with you to give us a future to believe in. i'm bernie sanders, and i approve this message. >> now, wyff news 4 sports. ricardo: three-time nascar champion tony stewart is in the hospital with a stewart haas racing spokesman

stewart injured himself in a non-racing accident on sunday. the extend of his injuries are unknown, but he is able to move all extremities. the 44-year-old is scheduled to compete at the daytona 500 february 21st. when the panthers and broncos meet in the super bowl, that will mark the first time to taken number one of the graft have faced off. that would be cam newton and peyton manning. newton will be involved in another historic matchup in the game's history. clara. brad: two of the best players in the super bowl that will play another were the top two picks in the 2011 draft. cam newton and vaughn miller. that is the first time that has ever happened, when the top two picks in a single draft class have faced off in a super bowl. >> we there -- 30 seconds apart. not a huge difference. h had pretty good careers to this point. we have the opportunity to go

guys thei was just happy to be drafted so high. when you look at jj wants, vaughn miller, julio jones, green, it's crazy. brad: a couple he forgot, patrick peterson fcardinals, marcel darius, and smith, the tackle for the co loaded draft, the 2011 class was special. at levi's stadiu clara, brad fralick, wyff news 4 . ricardo: join us on friday night for our hourlong special, "chasing a championship." we'll tell you everything you need te between the panthers and broncos. duke head coach mike krzyzewki missed tonight's game at georgia tech, after falling ill follwing a team meal monday night. doctors at the university hospital in durham advised coach k to stay at home. he is expected to return to the team soon.

tonight. the blue devils -- the blue devils and yellow jackets in atlanta, 80-71. clemson makes the trip to winston-salem to face wake forest. e tigers, opening the contest on an 11-to run. jaron blossomgame knocking down the wi 22-13 for the forward. wake forest led 28-20 at recess. tigers open the second half on a 13-1 run. avery holmes knocks down the triple, tigers in front. later, roper right to the iraqi. the guard scored all of his 16 points the half. putting it away, grant them. clemson scoring 56 in the second half, the mo a half for the tigers this season on the way to the win. a seven-three record in the acc. the gamecocks in athens taking on georgia. south carolina back in the associated press poll at number the dump down to yante maten for

georgia a six point lead, maten led the bulldogs with 18 george tenet the break. gamecoa a comeback. the well with the corner three. notice, the triple from the same spot. gamecocks down two. fraser showing up big for georgia. he drains the three and pushes the lead to nine. the gamecocks lose their third game of the seasongee upstate -- with the upset, national signing day starts injust a few be sure to stay with hours.wyff all day wednesday, as we have nl covered, both on-air and on social media. signings, and a recap of the 2016 classes signed by your favorite school. be sure to follow us. a busy day, but very exciting for the colleges.

michael: a rainy night and tomorrow? john: you may hear a couple claps of thunder tonight. nasty thunderstorms to our w showers, we are stable wind. that will shift. temperatures rising overnight. showery rainfall, potential for flash flooding, slight c thanks for watching. the news contimichael: we are always on wyff4.com.