the desert for next monday's national championship game in arizona. >> how about them tigers! >> tim: behind two 100 yard rushers and 500 yards in total offense for the tenth time in season, clemson runs it's way to a national championship just like dabo swinney had it planned. >> coach: seven years ago when i got this job, i knew that we would be here. it's just a matter of when. you know, this is year seven and we were able to kind of knock the roof off of it. >> it's just an awesome feeling. to see the things we've done in the past, how we've built up the program in the past seven years and finally have a chance to be on top and win it all, it's just a crazy feeling. i haven't wrapped my head around it yet. [ fans chanting ] >> we're on top of the world. it's just like a dream come true for us. every kid that goes to play in dream to play for the national championship and we have the opportunity. >> tim: and the opportunity comes, ironically against swinney's alma mater, the school he won a national championship with as a player, alabama, clem's opponent january 11th. dabo disagrees with the thought that his team as underdog. >> coach: that's 17 in a row for us, and, you know, it's the longest winning streak in the country and we made a lot of good teams in those 17 games. i'm just so proud of our team. >> tim: certainly a huge season for clemson. a lot of gamecock fans now pulling especially hard for the sec to win the national championship this year against their in-state rivals. more that clemson and today's bowl blowouts coming up later in sports. >> eric: south carolina department of transportation crews report 43 roads in 21 counties are closed tonight due to flooding. we're also keeping an eye on the saluda river. anyone living along its banks the second time in two days. earlier today, sce&g opened one of the spillways into the river at the lake murray dam. sce&g officials say recent heavy rains prompted the decision to open the flood gate to keep the lake below its maximum height. speaking of rising waters, the deadline for flood victims to apply for federal aid is rapidly approaching. the last day to sign up for assistance from fema is january 4th at midnight. the original deadline was november 30th, but that date was extended to this monday. flood survivors can ask fema for help with renting a temporary home or repairing their homes. >> we're looking to those people that may have had some damage, uninsured, but they're not sure if they qualify. the easiest way to do is to register first and then we can take a look at the documentation that's required later on. >> eric: according to the governor's office, so far fema has provided $300 million in public assistance and more than 165 million in assistance for some businesses here in the midlands are getting off to a fresh start following the floods. abc columbia's jennifer ready tells us the story of one business looking forward to a new year. >> jennifer: schiano's pizza and pasta restaurant is back in business after october's floods brought water levels up to here on the front post. >> frank schiano: all in all, what we found when we got in here was probably about two to ree feet of water had been in the building. >> jennifer: water from gills creek submerged several feet of the restaurant, leaving owner frank schiano with a mess to clean up. >> schiano: we tooooall of our furniture out and got it re-upholstered and got all the walls gutted and taken out from four feet on down and wound up in a situation where we had to use dehumidifiers and treat it for mold before we could close the walls back up. >> jennifer: an eight-week clcln-up and renovation process to get the restaurant open in time for the holidays. what inspired him to keep going despite the flood's devastation. >> schiano: we got in here and basically saw what we were dealing with, and our neighborhood was full of people who were trying to help us, and that just gave us more energy to keep going. >> jennifer: now open in time for the new year, schiano is optimistic about the new beginnings 2016 will bring. >> schiano: we are trying to put 2015 behind us. we had some fond memories, but it didn't end up really really well, so we're just regrouping and coming out to fight another day. >> jennifer: from forest acres, jennifer read, abc columbia news. time now f f a check of the forecast. chief meteorologist john farley joins me now. and definitely cooler as we start the new year, john. >> john: certainly is, eric, and that's where we're headed over the next several days. here's a look at temperatures, 50s and even 40s showing up. compare that toast night. last night, ten degrees in some places, 14 degrees warmer last we're a lot cooler tonight and we're going to continue that trend as we go overnight, which will happen as the skies clear out. they're starting to thin out now, but they're actually clear out. by tomorrow morning, we see temperatures dipping down to about 40 degrees. here's a look at the forecasas for saturday. a crisp winter someday. we start out at 40 and end at 57, sunshine from start to finish. we'll have more on the weekend forecast. also, this being the first day of the new year, i thought it would be a good time to look back, so we're going to look back at the temperature and rain from last year and you probe don't need me to tell you it was warm. i'll tell you just how warm and just how wet in a few minutes. >> eric: very good. thank you, john. remember, you can stay connected to the weekend forecast in your neighborhood with our free abc columbia app. it's available in the app store and on google play. we are officially in an election year. some candidates are switching up their strategies to attract more voters. mary moloney explains. >> mary: at the rose bowl parade, sky writers weren't focused on football. instead, set sights a republican presidential front runner donald trump. the message, america is great, trump is disgusting. trump, known for his biting insults, hasn't been shy on the trail or on twitter, writing people ask why do you tweet and retweet to millions about jeb bush when he's so low in the polls? because of his big dollar hit ads on me. those ads irritate trump. >> it bothers me when i see a guy stenzing $60 million on ads against me, a lot of it, right? >> mary: trump vowing to start spending about $2 million a week to ensure victory. >> i don't want to take any chances. >> mary: for his part, jeb bush cancelled pricey ad buys, moved staff to early voting states, and insisted trump will fail. >> we're living in there reality tv kind of political environment where he fills the space by saying outrageous things. and now will subside. >> mary: ben carson overhauled his staff, losing three top aids. they say his campaign is ganeg energy. on the other side of the political aisle, hillary clinton will bring her not to secret wep pop, president bill clinton on the campaign trail, but she may not change much in the flew year. friday, her campaign announced it raised $112 million for the primaries since officially jumping got race in april. both republican and democratic candidates hit the trail monday, marking a new phase in the new year. i'm mary moloney reporting. >> eric: i iless than two weeks, the state house will be buzzing as lawmakers return for their second session of the legislative year. on top of the priority list, several proposals on how to help those devastated by october's flood. the massacre at emanuel ame in charleston also resulted in a wide array of measures. subjects range from a monument honoring the nine victims to new rules for rallying on statehouse grounds. denying allegations made in lawsuits about the death of a student who died in a fraternity run in 2014. the greenville news reports the university filed documents in the past week refuting allegations made by the parents of tucker hipps. hipps did in september of 2014. his family filed two lawsuits each seeking at least $25 million in damages. health officials say at least eight south carolinians died of the flu as 2015 came to a close. according to figures from the department of health and environmental control, seven of ose who died were 65 years old or older. that's the group most at risk. flu season typically runs from october to march, peaking in february. president barack obama is expected to announce a new executive order on gun control, possibly during his state of the union address set for january 12th. white house sources say the goal is to close the so-called gun show loophole. it allows certain gun sellers to the measure is also expected to provide funding for local law enforcement to enforce existing gun laws. natalie cole has died. her r mily says the singer passed late hursday in los aneles due to complications from ongoing health issues. she was the daughter of the legendary nat king cole, but rose to make her own mark in the music world. but while cole's songs were beautiful, her life she admits sometimes wasn't. here's jeremy roth. unforgettable in every way >> jeremy: she was the daughter of a singing legend who found her own musical success. as the child of nat king cole and orchestra singer marie ha hawkins ellington, she was exposed to a rich tradition from a young age. her 1991 version of her fate father's standard unforgettable of copies and win six grammys in 1992. keel was open about a year's long struggle with drug abuse. she was diagnosed in 2008 with hepatitis c and went on a public search for a kidney transplant. here's cole on cnn's larry king live in 2009. >> it's like a virus, you know, and they treat it very aggressively, but i've had it forever. i had it from, from drug use. >> jeremy: a nurse at the hospital where cold was being treated, was so moved by the star's struggle that when her niece sudden i did died, she arranged for cole to receive her kidney. in her absence, the family says they're now left with heavy hearts, but add that she died how they lived, with dignity, strength and honor. natalie cole was 65 years old. >> eric: that was jeremy roth with that report. every year, most of us make new year's resolutions, but how resolution to keep us on track. south carolina was represented at this >> eric: south carolina was represented at this morning's rose paradadin pasadena, california. a floral portrait of midlands featured on the donate life float this morning. the recipient of sharon's life-saving donation was also on the floaoa miren ivankovic of clemson. a big party rang in the new year in new york city, and as soon as it ended, sanitation crews got right to work cleaning up times square. after last year's times square party, more than 48 tons of debris was hauled away. wow. some brave souls took part in a new year's tradition this morning. take a look. this was the scene at the north avenue beach at the annual polar plunge. most managed to tough it out for just a few seconds before scrambling back to shore. the plunge raises money to find homes for greyhounds across the midwest. with the coming of a new year, people often make resolutions to lose weight or give up something to be healthy, but all too often we fall short of our goals. what if we made a a w kind of resolution to keep us on track? sara ganim has more in tonight's >> sara: keeping our new year's resolutions may mean adding a little balance to our lives. if you focus on being happy and healthy, maybe you're goals may beme a nice side benefit. if you want to lose weight, instead of subtracting certain foods, add something. eat a serving of vegetables at every kneel or add a glass of water to your daily routine. overtime, these additions will leave no room for unhealthy habits. also, step away from the screen. whether that's the tv, computer, or other devices, being sedentary is not good for the waistline. instead, stenutside and get some fresh air. it's good for the mind and body. and stop multitasking. especially when it comes to eating. when you pay attention to what you put in your mouth, it cuts down on nineless eating and may help you make better food choices. also, try choosing a theme as your new year's resolution. a word or phrase that describes how you want to feel instead of for example, words such as ought then tisity, clarity, or kindness. when you focus on your theme each day, you can have a behavior. for today's health minute, i'm sara ganim. >> eric: coming up, chief meteorologist john farley has your hd seven-day forecast. news at 11. gervais. >> john: happy new year. and before we go forward, let's look back at last year. we start with december and, again, i don't need to be telling you, it was warm in december. let's go through the numbers, though. the average in december, when you take out the -- when you look at the average for all the hours was 60.1 degrees. the 30-year average for december is 46.7, so one way to think about this is if you look at the entire month, every hour on average was 13.4 degrees warmer than normal. so a very warm december, shattered the old record, and records go back 128 years, so this is a very warm december by a long shot. the old record was two degrees cooler, so it just shattered the old record by a long shot. how much rain did we get? this year, we got 66.5 inches -- i'm sorry, the temperature. this year, 66.5 was the average that ties the warmerest for 1990 and 2012, so last year, the warmest on record, at least tied with the two other years, 1992 and 2012, and now let's talk about the rainfall. 63.58 inches. average would be about 44.5. they comes in at the fifth wettest, and again, records go back 128 years, so this is a long period. it was a very wet year and froil it's been a wet fall. remember, the supper was pretty dry. the spring was reasonably wet, but it was the flooding in the fall dhaused the problems. there's still flooding lang out there right now, but right around columbia, things are reseeding. it's downstream that things are rising. let's talk about the weather in terms of the next couple days. notice any rain that's happening is pushing out to sea. the clouds in here are shredding, they're thinning, and behind them, there's a good bit of clearing and that's what the weekend, but several days to come come. so going back to a more typical pattern, crisp days, cold and clearing. we need that certainly to dry out. here's a look at the forecast in terms of the future clouds and radar. here we are at midnight and we still have clouds all over the place, but watch what happens as we go overnight. they continue to kick out to the east and they're gone. tonight's forecast, here you go, clearing out. temperatures dipping down to 40. haven't seen 40 in a while, but still 40 is above average. you'll see on the seven-day forecast that we'll be looking at some 30s, even some 20s. here's a look at tomorrow. if you've been waiting for a nice, crisp, winter-like day, there you go. maybe some upper 50s, winds out of the north and there's your seven-day forecast. notice, especially monday night, tuesday night, temperatures get down to the 20s here in columbia. wouldn't be surprised to see even some mid to low 20s in the coldest spots, and then next week, we start to warm things back up, but as it looks right now, it is dry through next friday. eric, , er to you. >> eric: also good news that it's a short cooldown and we go right back up to warmer temperatures. coming up, if you like new year's day college football bowl dramam 2016 is not the year for you, but 10 days from nono clemson will get the chance for a national championship. spspts. swinney vision >> coach: seven years ago when i got this job, you know, i knew that we would be here. it's just a matter of when. >> tim: swinney vision sends clemson to the national championship game. hi, i'm tim hill. best new year's eve ever for continues today after last night's big orange bowl crushing of oklahoma. is miami good to clemson? the tigers won the 1981 national championship game at the orange bowl. last night, 37-17, absolute domination over oklahoma put clemson in position to win the national championship number two this year. the stierges rolling up more than 500 yards in total offense for the tenth time this season. that doubles the school record and keeps the perfect season going. for dabo swinney and company. >> this is our fourth bowl win in a row and more importantly, we're 14-0. so it's just -- it's awesome to be in the national championship, to represent, you know, the ac krc and i think this is two out of the last three years our conference has been in the national championship game and hopefully we can hold our end of the deal up. but, you know, it's just a lot of fun. i'm just proud to be a part of it. >> we lost a lot of starters from both side of the ball last year, so this is amazing. you got a group of d-linemen and playing for the national championship. >> tim: and playing an acc/sec battle to do it. it's going to be fun around here to watch. alabama dominates michigan state in the cotton bowl. the tide turn a 10-0 game in the third quarter into an absolute blow out. kristen jones doing it on it on offense. this year's national championship game. it's one week from monday, 8:30 on espn. dabo says it will be, quote, neat to play against his alma mater, the school where he won a national championship as a player. last night's late game starting a blowout bowl trend that bleeds into today. the outback bowl up first. outback bowl, tennessee taking josh dobbs, touchdown run. even when things like they might be tough, dobbs makes them look easy. the best season in eight years to tennessee capped today with a 45-6 win over northwestern. the volumes finish 9-4. another sec team in action today, florida taking on michigan in the citrus bowl in orlando. some bowl game trickeration is always funs in you don't even have to throw the ball overhand. how about that? harris ties the game up at 7, but it's all jim har bow and the wolverines from there. harbaugh says it's the best game of the season for michigan. 34 unanswered, embarrassing florida. the gators lose their last three ball games of the season. 41-7 today's final score. 10-4 in jim mcelwain's first year. oklahoma state at last week, in the third quarter. stanford smashing iowa in the rose bowl 45-16. so a bunch of football. we have certainly seen in the last 48 hours or so and we have basketball coming up tomorrow. the gamecocks are like, hey, whoa, what about me? 12-0 this season and they're hosting memphis tomorrow at 6:00. florida state at clemson. >> eric: thank you, tim. still ahead, chief meteorologist john farley has one last look at your seven-day news at 11. >> john: welcome back. we're walking into the first weekend of 2016 and it's going to feel like winter. how about this? tonight, we dip down to 40, but tomorrow, mid to upper 50s, plenty of sunshine. tomorrow night, down into the 30s. because by the time we get to monday night and tuesday night, here in columbia, we're talking upper 20s, which means some places, you know, mid 20s, maybe even a little bit colder. then as we get into the end of next week, we warm things back up a little bit, closer to 60, but really more importantly is we're going to have at least a little bit of time to dry out. still looking online at some pieces of video and pictures of places like lake wateree. it's crazy. the water is going down, but we need to dry out. >> eric: it was good while it lasted, the warm temperatures. very, very nice. that's all the time we have for abc columbia news at 11. as always, we thank you for making us your choice for news. our next news is tomorrow night at 11:00. have a great weekend and a great 2016. happy new year. captioning provided by caption associates, llc www.captionassociates.com

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