the attorney general to step in in the roger stone case, after the president criticized the harsh sentence requested by federal prosecutors. tonight, we've learned four prosecutors now withdrawing from the case. the coronavirus tonight. the deadliest 24 hours yet. 108 deaths in a single day. and tonight, the cruise ship nightmare. we take you inside the room with an american couple, retirees, allowed fresh air only every four days. tonight, he's now come down with a fever. the major storm and flood concerns this evening from texas all the way up to pennsylvania. the stunning allegations. the college student's father who authorities say moved into his daughter's dorm room and allegedly preyed on her friends. tonight, among the charges, sex trafficking and forced labor. the desperate search for a missing 6-year-old girl last seen getting off the school bus. authorities just moments ago. and just in tonight, actor jussie smollett indicted by special prosecutors in chicago. and good evening from new hampshire as we come on the air in the west tonight. the first results in at this hour, in the first in the nation primary. the polls are now closed and tonight, based on our analysis, abc news can say it is a three-way race between bernie sanders, pete buttigieg and amy klobuchar. look at the numbers at this hour. with about 27% of the vote in, bernie sanders leading and pete buttigieg and amy klobuchar vying for second. joe biden and elizabeth warren competing for fourth and fifth place at this hour. and what the exit polls are revealing at this hour. asked, when did you decide, 50%, a full half said today or in the last few days. and when they were asked how important was friday's abc news debate, 71% said it was a factor. and amy klobuchar appears to have benefitted significantly from her debate performance. of those who pointed to that debate, 27% voted for klobuchar. 24% for sanders, 22% for buttigieg. and when voters were asked their priorities, a candidate that can beat donald trump or one who appe agrees with their issue us, 62% said beating the president. and tonight, the first candidate to drop out. andrew yang revealing he is suspending his campaign. a big night, a big battle between sanders, buttigieg and klobuchar at this hour, and abc's mary bruce leads us off. >> reporter: he was the candidate to beat here in new hampshire. >> how you feeling? great. how are you? >> reporter: today, senator bernie sanders out rallying his supporters, hoping for a repeat of 2016, when he won this state by 22 points. >> we have a chance to do really, really well here. >> reporter: the senator now fending off mounting attacks from one of his rivals. pete buttigieg declaring it would be, quote, very difficult for sanders to beat donald trump. >> buttigieg! buttigieg! >> reporter: today, the former south bend mayor raising the roof and riding momentum from his strong finish in iowa. mr. mayor, you going to win here today? >> we think so. it feels fantastic. >> mr. biden, why aren't you staying in new hampshire tonight? >> reporter: but one candidate didn't wait around to see the results. >> we're still mildly hopeful here in new hampshire. and we'll see what happens. >> reporter: former vice president joe biden took off for south carolina, where he hopes his support among african-americans will deliver a much-needed win. >> we're heading down to south carolina. this is just the beginning. we have an entire nation to vote yet. >> reporter: other candidates are hoping a strong finish here will help them soar. >> amy! >> reporter: senator amy klobuchar is surging after her breakout debate performance. overnight, she won the most votes in the tiny townships that cast the first ballots. >> something's happening here and we just want to seize the moment. so i'm going to work my heart out all day. >> reporter: someone who could use a shot of momentum, senator elizabeth warren. she's hoping to shake up the race with a solid showing on her home turf. >> all right, so, leetma gs brus hour. and mary, the results still coming in this evening, but tonight, one candidate has announced he's dropping out, suspending his campaign. andrew yang making the announcement just a short time ago? >> reporter: david, he is the newcomer who outlasted many other established politicians in this race. andrew yang built a cult following and a movement around this idea to give $1,000 a month to every american. tonight, yang says this is not an ending, david, he says he's just getting started. >> all right, mary bruce leading us off tonight. mary, thank you. former new york city mayor mike bloomberg made early headlines right here in new hampshire. not even on the ballot here, but what he did that convinced some voters to go with him anyway in dixville notch. it's really a tiny sliver of a sample, but it's part of the tradition here, and bloom beber came in first. but the former mayor is also being forced to respond tonight to audio that's newly surfaced. on the recording, you can hear bloomberg talking about the controversial police practice called stop and frisk. here's abc's chief white house correspondent jonathan karl tonight, also right here in new hampshire. >> reporter: michael bloomberg isn't even on the ballot here in new hampshire, but he scored a p.r. coup by coming in first in the tiny, tiny town of dixville notch. there are only five voters in dixville notch. and bloomberg called most of them directly. >> he called several of us and talked to us and answered questions. >> reporter: after spending some $200 million on tv ads, bloomberg is surging in national polls, even gaining support among african-american voters, up to 22% in one poll. but he is facing new criticism after a recording from 2015 surfaced of the former mayor defending his controversial stop and frisk policy. it gave police authority to detain people suspected of committing a crime and searching them for weapons. the targets? overwhelmingly black and latino. >> 95% of your murders and murderers and murder victims fit one m.o. you can just take the description, xerox it and pass it out to all the cops. they are male, minorities, 15 to 25. >> reporter: bloomberg then bluntly described his policy. >> we put all the cops in minority neighborhoods, yes, that's true. why do we do it? because that's where all the crime is. and the way you get the guns out of the kids' hands is to throw them up against the wall and frisk them. >> reporter: today, one of bloomberg's democratic opponents took aim. some people are saying, flatly, it's racist. have you -- what's your take? >> well, yeah, certainly any law enforcement strategy that seems to regard people as profile rather than as human beings, especially seeing how this has disproportionately impacted black and brown americans, is something that just has no place in an equitable future. >> reporter: even president trump tweeted out the audio with the caption, "wow, bloomberg is a total racist," before deleting the tweet. although trump himself has repeatedly promoted stop and frisk. >> it worked very well in new york. it brought the crime rate way down. >> reporter: bloomberg himself apologized for his policy months ago, just after launching his presidential campaign. >> i now see that we could and should have acted sooner and acted faster to cut the stops. i wish we had. i'm sorry that we didn't. >> so, let's get to jon karl, with us live tonight, as well, from pete buttigieg headquarters. and jon, we saw you there with mayor buttigieg today. what's bloomberg's team saying tonight? >> reporter: well, bloomberg has a statement out today, several paragraphs long, about this. he notes that he had previously apologized for how he handled stop and frisk as mayor. but david, there is no apology whatsoever from mayor bloomberg for his words, in fact, much of that statement on this is attacking donald trump. he gives a message to the president, saying, i will do everything i can to defeat you. david? >> all right, jon karl at pete buttigieg headquarters. a three-way race at this hour. sanders, buttigieg and klobuchar. our entire political team right here in new hampshire tonight. it's going to be a very important night for the democrats as this race moves forward. we'll bring you the results as they come in, live coverage right here on abc and abc news live, right into the night. but we do move on tonight, as we're on the air in the west, breaking news involving president trump, as well. a stunning reversal in the sentencing recommendation for trump confidant roger stone. prosecutors had recommended seven to nine years for stone's seven-count conviction in the mueller investigation. but just 24 hours later, and after criticism from president trump, the department of justice called that sentencing request, quote, extreme and excessive. tonight, four federal prosecutors have now withdrawn from the case, amid questions, who was involved in this sudden shift? here's our chief justice correspondent pierre thomas. >> reporter: tonight, at least four prosecutors stepping down from the roger stone case, after a dramatic decision to overrule their recommendation that he spend seven to nine years in prison. the stunning rebuke from the justice department leadership came just hours after president trump tweeted that the prosecutor's suggested sentence for stone was, quote, horrible and very unfair. a miscarriage of justice. >> for the attorney general to step in, in this way, at this point, is practically unheard of. >> reporter: a defiant roger stone was convicted last year of lying to congress, witness tampering and obstructing a congressional investigation into russian interference in the 2016 election. >> i believe this is a politically motivated investigation. >> reporter: prosecutors on monday recommended a lengthy sentence, arguing stone "tampered with a witness for months." but a justice department official says leadership was blinded by prosecutors, calling their recommendation "extreme and excessive." the department says the decision to reverse the recommendation came before the president's tweet, insisting there was no white house involvement. >> no, i didn't speak to the justice -- i'd be able to do it if i wanted, i have the absolute right to do it. i stay out of things to a degree that people wouldn't believe. but i didn't speak to them. >> and so pierre thomas joins us tonight from the justice department, and pierre, the justice department late today, in fact, making its final recommendation now for the stone sentencing? >> reporter: david, that's right. they told the court that while the original recommendation was excessive, they do believe stone should be incarcerated. they left it to the judge to decide, but tonight, democrats on capitol hill are calling for an investigation. david? >> pierre thomas tonight. pierre, thank you. and we're going to turn next here to the coronavirus emergency and the deadliest 24 hours yet. this number tonight. 108 people have now died in a single day. and tonight, the american couple, retirees, trapped on a cruise ship. the husband who has come down with a fever. they are among the thousands on that cruise ship, right off the coast of japan, confined to their rooms. they have no windows. allowed to get air on an upper deck just once every four days. so, tonight here, we hear from that husband and wife and it's a terrifying portrait of what's playing out for so many. abc's maggie rulli from japan again tonight. >> reporter: tonight, 39 more people from that cruise ship off japan sickened with the coronavirus, making it the largest cluster of cases outside mainland china. fear and frustration building on that cruise ship. >> we haven't been feeling -- our appetite has gone away. >> reporter: melanie and john haering take us inside their cabin where they've been trapped without a window. getting access to fresh air just once every four days. >> this is the first time we've been outside for sun and it's beautiful. >> reporter: but on day seven of their quarantine, their worst fear. the couple telling us john has a fever. >> got a great big bucket of ice and we're doing cold compresses on john. his fever is now 103 again. just trying to keep him cool and comfortable. >> reporter: the virus today given an official name -- covid-19. it's infected over 43,000 and killed more than 1,000 people, nearly all cases in china. in the u.s., a passenger quarantined on base in miramar in california has now tested positive. but tonight, a bright spot. nearly 200 americans under quarantine since flying in from wuhan two weeks ago are now free to go home. and we do have a bit of good news about that couple onboard the ship. melanie tells us her husband's fever has broke, but she says he still feels sick and he still has not been tested for that virus. david? >> all right, maggie, that is welcome news. maggie rulli tonight. we move onto the other news, the desperate search for a missing 6-year-old girl in south carolina tonight. authorities say faye swetlik disappeared shortly after stepping off her school bus, last seen playing in front of her home. font, police are now asking neighbors to search security videos for anything that may help in the search. authorities made a point to say that the girl's mother, father and mother's boyfriend are all cooperating. we turn next to the allegations involving a college student's father. he's accused of preying on his daughter's friends at sarah lawrence college. authorities say he moved into her dorm room. and tonight, among the charges now, sex trafficking and extortion. here's abc's diane macedo. >> reporter: tonight, federal agents call it a crime that shocks the conscience. 60-year-old larry ray accused of manipulating his daughter's college classmates, committing extortion, forced labor and even sex trafficking. >> the conduct alleged here is outrageous. >> reporter: according to the indictment, it started in 2010, when ray got out of prison and moved into his daughter's dorm room at sarah lawrence college in westchester, new york. prosecutors say he started convincing his daughter's roommates they were "broken" and "in need of fixing." >> it was here that he laid the groundwork for psychological conditioning that would eventually lead these young adults to become unwitting victims. >> reporter: prosecutors say he made up lies about his victims, coerced their false confessions, then used those confessions to extort roughly a million dollars from them. even forcing at least one victim into prostitution, and at times, resorting to physical violence. the fbi says it launched the investigation after "new york magazine" details the story in 2019. and david, sarah lawrence says it conducted an internal investigation after that article came out, but could not substantiate those claims. in a statement, they called the charges disturbing. ray faces life in prison if convicted. david? >> diane macedo tonight. diane, thank you. and news just coming in this evening that actor jussie smollett has now been indicted on new charges. a grand jury returning a six-count indictment accusing the former "empire" star of lying to police. the charges come after smollett's claim that he was the target of a racist and homophobic attack in january of 2019. there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this tuesday. tracking that major storm tonight. flood concerns this evening from texas all the way up to pennsylvania. and ginger zee is standing by to time this out for us. also ahead, new images tonight. the mother of two missing children. now we see her marriage on the beach in hawaii, one month after the children vanished. and tonight, a text message from her daughter raising questions with authorities. and the scare onboard a school bus. the bus struck by a car and the children then sent into the air. frightening images. there's a lot more news ahead here. stay tuned. essive. wow, that's... and now the progressive commercial halftime show, featuring smash mouth. ♪ hey now, you're an all star ♪ get your game on, go play thank you! goodnight! [ cheers and applause ] now enjoy the second half of the commercial! even renters can bundle and save! where did that come from? the kitchen. it was halftime. but when allergies attack,f any the excitement fades. allegra helps you say yes with the fastest non-drowsy allergy relief and turning a half hearted yes, into an all in yes. allegra. live your life, not your allergies. aveeno® with prebiotic striple oat complex balances skin's microbiome. so skin looks like this and you feel like this. aveeno® skin relief. get skin healthy™ but when i started seeing i knew aboutthings,emors. i didn't know what was happening... so i kept it in. he started believing things that weren't true. i knew something was wrong... but i didn't say a word. during the course of their disease around 50% of people with parkinson's may experience hallucinations or delusions. but now, doctors are prescribing nuplazid. the only fda approved medicine... proven to significantly reduce hallucinations and delusions related to parkinson's. don't take nuplazid if you are allergic to its ingredients. nuplazid can increase the risk of death in elderly people with dementia-related psychosis and is not for treating symptoms unrelated to parkinson's disease. nuplazid can cause changes in heart rhythm and should not be taken if you have certain abnormal heart rhythms or take other drugs that are known to cause changes in heart rhythm. tell your doctor about any changes in medicines you're taking. the most common side effects are swelling of the arms and legs and confusion. we spoke up and it made all the difference. ask your parkinson's specialist about nuplazid. next tonight here, that major storm, snow, heavy rain and flooding from texas all the way up to pennsylvania and right behind it tonight, we're watching severe storms. let's get right to ginger zee, tracking it all. ginger? >> reporter: david, the storm that dropped 6 to 12 inches of snow in new mexico still doing that tonight. it's going to move east. and watch this. dallas, texas, over to say little rock tomorrow morning, heavy rain. two to four inches in places that have been already saturated. damaging winds possible along that cold front. memphis, you are included in that tomorrow afternoon and evening. st. louis to chicago, indianapolis, it's going to be frozen. it will be snow and that will impact your evening commute. and then, it will move into the northeast into the early thursday morning hours and change to rain for most folks at the coast. really cold behind that, too, david. >> all right, ginger, thank you. when we come back here tonight, those new images. the mother of those missing children. she's now seen getting married in hawaii. and the school bus scare. the children thrown from their seats. seats. the index is next. e in, digital transformation never stops. verizon keeps business ready for what's next. an) we weave security into their business... 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[heartbeat] finally tonight here, the battle for best in show. the last-minute preps before their big moment tonight. the brushing. the drying. the teasing. and a high five. the 144th westminster kennel club dog show in new york city. best in show crowned tonight. among with the hopefuls, 3-year-old siba the standard poodle. >> there we go, siba. >> reporter: bono the havanese is 3. >> the havanese has it. >> reporter: winner in his toy group for a second year in a row. bourbon is whippet is 4. >> the whippet. whip it good. >> reporter: she could be the first whippet since 1964 to win the top prize. and 6-year-old conrad the sheepdog, with his owner, tyler crady. >> i'm so excited. >> i'm so happy. i love that dog. >> reporter: more than 2,600 dogs from 49 states and 19 countries competing here. game faces on. hold still, paulie. regina from saylorsburg, pennsylvania, trimming his whiskers. a good luck kiss for amber, a coton de tulear. steven the cavalier king charles spaniel, head up for the blow dry. and just what does it take for these dogs to prep? >> several months-long process to get her in shape for this kind of show. just teaching her how to do it right and at the same time, to have that enthusiasm any athlete needs. >> reporter: athletes like pink, the border collie from pickerton, ohio, with her owner, jennifer crank, jumping over hurdles and through hoops to win the masters agility championship. >> hit it, hit it! >> pink says, i got this, i got this. >> reporter: and the only dog to finish in under 30 seconds. >> yes! >> reporter: just look at the instant replay. >> look at the intensity on pink's eyes. >> reporter: pink and jennifer celebrating after. >> third straight title for pink. >> reporter: the third year in a row pink won that contest. the best in show, later tonight. pretty impressive moves. always so difficult to choose. i'm david muir. we'll be here in new hampshire throughout the night and when we get news of a winner, we'll bring it to you. good night. new findings in a crash that killed an apple engineer. what happened with the driver and the car's autopilot feature seconds before the accident. people are racially profiled for being asian looking, especially if you're wearing a mask. >> coronavirus and concerns, it's something that has happened before. as election results come in from new hampshire tonight, two candidates leave the race for the democratic presidential nominati nomination. we're live with the latest results from the first primary in the nation. blame the cars? blame cal trans? 500 pages of investigation say both are to blame and more. >> we've been waiting nearly two years for the paperwork that was released today on a deadly tragedy here in the bay area. >> the preliminary report by the national transportation safety board is shedding new light on a 2018 crash involving a tesla vehicle that claimed the life of an apple engineer in mountan view. the man left behind a wife and two kids. >> chris is live with new developments tonight. >> reporter: good evening. the ntsb will meet in two weeks to review the case. this right here is part of that 500 page report released earlier today. tesla's autopilot is back in the spotlight with some people calling into question the safety of that feature. an autopilot activated tesla vehicle that slammed into a highway safety barrier two years ago had steered toward the same spot near the highway change on several occasions. the drooiver had to manually ta control of the vehicle during earlier trips to stay in his lane. these documents confirmed some of the concerns that wong's family shared with the