was it an insider attack? shooting rampage. at least 26 people killed, more than 50 hurt, when a soldier opens fire at a military base and a mall, the standoff lasting for hours. and hollywood's biggest night. the oscars are here. stars ready to shine on the red carpet. >> you an actor? >> no, i'm a stuntman. >> the movies, actors and actresses, all hoping to take home oscar. we got all you need to know -- >> it's awesome. it's awesome. >> the awards show overnight, will it predict tonight's winners? is it renee's night? ♪ that you dare to dream will "ford vs ferrari" drive home victorious? or will a "joker" have the last laugh? and good morning. let's take a live look at that red carpet at the dolby theatre, where just hours from now it will be filled with a-list stars heading into a night of suspense. among those hoping to take home an oscar, brad pitt hoping to take home his second oscar of his career for his role in "once upon a time in hollywood." and i didn't know this -- he won his first not for acting but for producing "12 years a slave." >> that's an incredible movie. quite a career. we'll cover everything oscar related later this morning. but we'll start here with some sobering news on the worldwide coronavirus outbreak, now claiming more lives than the sars outbreak back in 2002. >> that virus now blamed for killing more than 800 people in china and infecting over 37,000. dozens sickened on a cruise ship docked in japan and the numbers are rising. abc's maggie rulli joins us now in yokohama, japan. maggie, good morning. >> reporter: hi, whit, good morning. just today, there were new cases of that coronavirus reported on this cruise ship. we spoke to one couple onboard, they said they're trying to remain in good spirits. as more and more people keep getting sick, they're really starting to get scared. this morning, the numbers of the coronavirus soaring above 800. now topping the sars outbreak in 2002. the mad scramble is on for face masks and supplies. passengers onboard the diamond princess cruise ship are on day five of a 14-day quarantine after six new cases of coronavirus were reported just today alone. making it 70 in total. at least 12 of them americans. this couple is spending their honeymoon in quarantine. >> i would say if we weren't together, we probably would have gone crazy. >> just imagine like a knot in your stomach all day every day. >> how is your mental health? how is your head doing? >> our hearts are beating so fast. when we take our temperature, we're like panicking. it's like 98.6, good. >> reporter: that fear is ripping through asia with more than 37,000 infected worldwide, mostly in mainland china. lines for masks wrap around the block in hong kong. authorities checking commuters in wuhan for fever. in wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak, hospital workers in hazmat suits are overwhelmed with patients. workers race to convert a convention center into dorms for the infected. the u.s. embassy confirms a 60-year-old living in wuhan has become the first american to die from the virus. >> i want to send my condolences to the loved ones of the united states citizen who fell victim to the coronavirus in wuhan. >> reporter: in hong kong authorities are now threatening jail time for anyone who breaks quarantine. president xi is under pressure to regain control of the novel coronavirus. alaina and guy aren't taking any chances and not leaving their room. >> i would rather be mentally crazy and catch the virus and be stuck here for six weeks. >> it will be worth it in the end for us to get home and be healthy and clean and that's it. >> reporter: people on board this cruise ship tell us that the u.s. embassy has said once this quarantine is over they'll be able to fly back on a commercial flight. eva? >> maggie, travel is restricted. no exceptions even for healthy people coming from these affected areas like china? >> eva, that's a good point. we're starting to see these real impacts of these travel restrictions. an award-winning actress zhao shuzhen wasn't able to accept her spirit award for best supporting actress, she was stuck in china and not able to travel to the u.s. because of these travel restrictions. >> maggie rulli for us there, thank you. whit? now, to politics and the count down to the next contest, the nation's first presidential primary. democrats blitzing new hampshire this weekend, ahead of tuesday's voting. abc's rachel scott joining us from manchester, and rachel, the candidates are really sharpening their attacks. >> reporter: that's right, whit, good morning. this is a fight for momentum in a debate over which candidate is best fit to take on president trump. former vice president joe biden is on the attack and the target is mayor pete buttigieg. >> elizabeth warren! >> reporter: two days out of the new hampshire primary, joe biden sharpening his attacks on rising mayor, pete buttigieg. >> this guy isn't a barack obama. barack obama was a united states senator in a really large state. >> reporter: in this blistering new ad, the former vp ripping into buttigieg's experience as a small-town mayor. >> joe biden helped save the automobile industry. that revitalized the economy of the midwest. pete buttigieg revitalized the sidewalks of downtown south bend by laying out decorative brick. >> reporter: and calling out buttigieg's lack of support among african-american voters. >> here's what he never mentions, the only democrats to win the presidency is where we have overwhelming support from the african-american community. and don't take it for granted. >> reporter: buttigieg said it's time for the next generation to step in. >> we're tired of being reduced to a punch line by washington politicians. who want to see themselves and their stories in the future. >> reporter: out on the trail, brushing off concerns about his resume. >> some folks are out there saying, what business does a mayor of a south bend have running for the presidency? you don't have an office in washington. that's exactly the point. >> reporter: senator bernie sanders at top of the polls here in new hampshire, rallying volunteers and feeling confident. >> if you read these articles, the establishment is beginning to get nervous. >> reporter: and senator bernie sanders will be hoping to use his backyard advantage. the vermont senator won this state in the 2016 democratic primary, but mayor pete buttigieg is on the rise and right behind him in the polls. dan? >> rachel scott on the ground in new hampshire. rachel, thank you. for more on all of this, let's bring in our chief white house correspondent jon karl. good morning to you. mayor pete isn't the only attack that joe biden is attacking. i want to play you a moment from an interview that joe biden gave our george stephanopoulos recently in which biden goes after bernie sanders. >> so you think flat-out democrats can't defeat trump if they have to defend socialism? >> i think it's going to be incredibly more difficult. i'm not going to say -- look, if i don't get the nomination and bernie gets it, i'm going to work like hell for him. but i tell you what, it's a bigger uphill climb. running as a senator, on a ticket that calls itself a democratic socialist ticket. >> okay, that attack is slightly less hard than the ones he's been leveling against buttigieg. but these kind of attacks are generally off-brand for biden. he's long cautioned against democratic infighting. so, is there a possibility that this new approach is going to backfire for him? >> oh, absolutely. and they are off brand. biden got into this race as the front-runner who said he wasn't going to go after his fellow democrats. all of his fire was aimed directly at donald trump. now he finds himself trailing and trailing badly. his campaign calculated that he simply has no choice and they're probably right. that doesn't mean it's going to work. >> what are stakes for biden if he delivers another fourth place or third place showing in new hampshire after the fourth place in iowa? >> reporter: well, on one hand he still looks strong in south carolina, he still leads many of the national polls. but, dan, this is not his only problem. fourth place in iowa, a bad finish here, he's also running out of money. even before this, he was fourth place in fund-raising, less money in the bank. fourth place finish here or worse in new hampshire might not be a knock-out, but it would be close. >> crunch time for joe biden. let me loop back on biden's attacks on mayor pete. duj vo do you think voters care right now about experience? or in today's political marketplace, is it more about feelings and emotions that a candidate evokes? >> reporter: well, my sense is they do care about experience and they also care about finding a candidate who they believe understands them, cares about them. but, look, democrats in 2020 care about beating donald trump above all things, electability. it's hard to say you're the most electable when you're coming in fourth place. >> jon karl, always appreciate your analysis. thank you very much. >> tune in later this morning to "this week" when our chief anchor george stephanopoulos goes on one one with democratic presidential candidates joe biden, pete buttigieg and elizabeth warren. and the powerhouse roundtable. all coming up on "this week" later this morning. and a reminder, we still have continuing coverage leading up to the new hampshire primary right here on abc news and 24/7 on abc news live, our streaming channel, available right now, breaking news and analysis around the clock. eva, over to you. now to some breaking news overnight. at least two u.s. service members killed in afghanistan in a shoot-out with soldiers involved in joint military operations. abc's david wright joins us from washington with more. good morning, david. >> reporter: good morning, eva. this was a shoot-out between afghan and american forces in eastern afghanistan, two u.s. soldiers killed, six others wounded. the details are sketchy at this point, but here's what we do know. the bloody firefight took place late saturday in eastern afghanistan. apparently an insider attack. the u.s. military said someone wearing an afghan uniform opened fire with a machine gun on a group of u.s. and afghan forces, the gunman reportedly killed. the seventh special forces group tweeted, several were injured or killed during combat operations in afghanistan on february 8, 2020. the families of the deceased and wounded are being notified. an afghan defense ministry official claimed the attacker was an afghan army soldier who had argued with the u.s. forces before shooting at them. it's not clear if the gunman was a taliban infiltrator. the u.s. military is investigating. the motive for this attack still unknown. president trump talked in the state of the union about wanting to end america's longest war and bring u.s. troops home. u.s. diplomats have been meeting with taliban in recent weeks but there have been conflicting reports from afghan officials about the progress they're making. whit? >> all right, david wright in washington, our thanks to you. now to the massacre in thailand. this morning, we're learning new details about the suspect who killed at least 26 people, an american surviving that rampage. abc's julia macfarlane is covering that story from our london bureau with more. julia, good morning to you. >> reporter: good morning, whit. the standoff between security forces and the gunman lasted for hours amid fears he may have taken hostages. this morning, at least 26 people killed and more than 50 wounded in a shooting rampage. the suspect, a thai army sergeant, posting on facebook about the carnage in a city 160 miles east of bangkok, as he carried out the bloody attack. the man first killing two people on a military base, stealing an army humvee and weapons, then opening firing on people on the street and at a temple before heading to a popular mall, where shoppers sought cover anywhere they could. there security camera footage shows the lone gunman walking down the hall way with an assault rifle. this, as police worked to evacuate as many civilians as possible. including a u.s. citizen who was rescued. gunfire ringing out as the thai troops giving chase as they push deeper into the mall to confront the gunman. police sharp shooters finally neutralizing the suspect 16 hours after the crisis began. today, thailand's prime minister visiting victims in hospital recovering from wounds in the country's worst shoot spree. [speaking foreign language] the prime minister calling the incident unprecedented and raising questions about the attacker's mental health. and the thai prime minister this morning saying that this incident may have been sparked by a personal dispute, adding that he never wanted to see another crisis like this again. whit? we want to turn to breaking news in new york city. shots ring out in a bronx new york precinct. in what the police commissioner is calling a, quote, attempted assassination of a police officer. he is in custody. the second shooting left two with nonlife threatening wounds. the officer hit in the first incident also expected to make a full recovery. we have dramatic video this morning of a fire that turned a cocountry star's tour bus into inferno. the video shot by the star himself, neil mccoy shooting the whole disaster as it happened. >> old glory. >> reporter: a country star's brush with death. >> on highway 84, i have a tour bus on fire. >> reporter: neal mccoy best known for hits like "no doubt about it" and "shake." ♪ shake to the left shake to the right ♪ >> reporter: watched from the side of the road as massive flames erupted from his tour bus. >> our bus is burning to the ground. >> reporter: the singer who captured the whole incident on facebook live said they were traveling from texas, when he heard a pop. >> our driver pulled over and he came back on the bus and said, guys, we may have a fire. >> reporter: mccoy and his team were unharmed. >> everybody's out. everybody's okay. so don't anybody worry about us. >> reporter: mccoy even introducing the firefighters before rallying them with the pledge of allegiance. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag. >> reporter: something that he's done for the last four years. despite all that, mccoy making a triumphant return to the stage. ♪ they're playing our song on the radio ♪ >> reporter: performing last night at a show in louisiana. mccoy took to facebook thanking everyone for their thoughts, prayers and well wishes. some of his fans asking about donations to replace that bus and things lost in the fire. he said they're all replaceable and most likely covered by insurance. and he goes on to write, encouraging anyone who wants to make a donation instead to do it to the east texas angel network. >> great idea. he's got a great attitude for sure. this morning, we celebrate robert conrad, star of some of the most popular television series of the 1960s and 1970s. >> i was thinking about reaching for the shark repellent. then my luck really turned bad. >> reporter: conrad became a familiar face to viewers in "the wild wild west" and "hawaiian eye." he also starred in seven movies and recorded music under the name bob conrad. robert conrad was 84 years old. >> a legend. >> i was obsessed with the black sheep squadron when i was a kid. of course in reruns. i didn't watch it in the '70s. no, but it had a great theme song as did so many tv shows in the '70s. bobby, we'll miss you for sure. show you some video out of georgia. boy, we had some snow there. metro atlanta as well. this is dawsonville, little further north, about 4 inches there. people getting stuck on the roadways. they don't have too many plows down there. it was an issue to say the least. they have freezing fog going on in some spots. all right, minneapolis, just outside of minneapolis, we're seeing live shots now from our abc affiliate kstp, which is showing the roadways, including the interstates, getting enough snow to make for slick spots there. we could see 6 inches to 12 inches of snow in some spots, especially south of minneapolis. winter storm warning posted. winter weather advisories from chicago to detroit. this is a quickly developing system, going to give you a quick thump of snowfall. rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour. and then, this front will get into the northeast with some snow north of i-90, but right around i-40 and parts of the mid-south, heavy rain. flooding potentially. that's a quick check of what's happening nationally. time now for a look at your local forecast. good sunday morning. i'm meteorologist lisa argen. king tides, full moon and gusty winds out there. wind advisory through early foem tomorrow. it's clear, breezy, windy and while the sunny day remains dry throughout the rest of the workweek throughout the holiday to the next weekend. 61 livermore, 59 richmond. upper 50s in san mateo. gusty offshore winds. accuweather seven-day forecast less windy and milder in the middle of the ek. will it rain on the oscars' red carpet today? we'll have that forecast -- >> you're going to make us to wait for that? >> yes, that's the big tease, dan. >> cliff hanger. >> we just want to know everyone's hair is goingsoe're . moving on now to the new report on the sign-stealing scandal involving the houston astros. did an intern with a head for numbers pitch the plan to his top boss? abc 'kaylee hartung has more. >> astros take the lead. >> reporter: this morning, "the wall street journal" reporting steal signs included an algorithm by an intern to their former gm jeff luhnow in 2016. >> essentially, he thought it said.e astros studying for the what was happening in reality, wasn't studying for the test but they were getting the answers in real time. >> reporter: according to a private letter, now obtained by the journal, the commissioner rob manfred, found the astros' sign-stealing began with an excel-based application programmed with an algorithm that could decode the opposing catcher's signs. it was called codebreaker. >> this algorithm decoded the signs, figured out how the signs corresponded with each pitch. >> reporter: the journal reports that it wasn't until a year later the team used the algorithm in real time. using a camera in the outfield stands to steal the catcher's signal to the pitcher. astros' staffers would watch that camera feed at this table. then bang on the garbage can to relay the signal to the batter. alerting the players to the type of pitch that was coming next, leading to hits like these. >> that's going to be a one-hopper to the wall. >> reporter: a nine-page report detailed the league's findings. characterizing the scheme as player driven. the investigation led to a one-year suspension and then the firing of luhnow and a.j. hinch. hinch now breaking his silence in an mlb network interview. >> i feel like i fell short. i learned and i've grown and the bigger stages that i've been on, i know how i would respond today. >> jeff luhnow maintains he has no knowledge of his team's cheating. in that letter that the commissioner wrote to him, he said, quote, there's more than sufficient evidence to support a conclusion that you knew, and overwhelming evidence that you should have known that the astros maintained a sign-stealing program that violated major league basketball rules. eva? >> kaylee, this is a story that a lot of people are going to be talking about. >> we're still waiting to see what happened in boston, that investigation is still under way for the red sox. >> why do you have to bring that up? >> just to get to you this morning. >> still upset about that, dan? >> sports, we know you love them. >> yes. very strong feelings. we have a happier sports story from you. >> an incredible one. dan, i'm sure if you were watching the game. even if you weren't, if you're on twitter, everyon