33 we want to 33 give you a quick traffic update as you head out and about this morning. and good news. there are no trouble spots to report out on the roads in or around the capital city. but we'll be sure to keep an eye on the roads and keep you updated for your morning commute. a-b-c columbia wants to help you jump start your day. we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. the democratic presidential hopefuls have their sights set on south carolina ahead of saturday's primary. both hillary clinton and bernie sanders will be in columbia hall hosted by c-n-n. t's a chance for the democratic candidates to answer questions from palmetto state voters. the event runs from eight until ten... at the university of south carolina school of law auditorium. ahead of tonight's town hall, hillary clinton has a busy day of campaigning in the capital city. clinton will be attending the "breaking down barriers" town hall today at central baptist church. clinton will be joined by five mothers who lost their children to gun violence and police incidents... as they discuss how to break down the barriers, they say, hold south carolinians back. that's set to start at 6:15... doors open at 4:45. and bernie sanders wife, jane sanders, will be trying to shore up support for her husband today. she'll be leading an education forum at the cecil a. tillis nter... right here in columbia. that's set for five. when it comes to saturday's vote... not everyone can make it out to the polls. but that doesn't heard. today is the deadline for those voting in the democratic presidential primary to return their completed absentee application. the application must be returned totoour county elections office no later than five today. you can get an absentee application online or request an application from your county voter registration office. once you receive your absentee ballot in the mail... be sure to return it to your county voter registration office by seven.... saturday night. for more information... be sure to head to s-c-votes-dot- org. meanwhile the republican presidential hopefuls are waiting to see where the chips fall in nevada... for today's caucus. and going into today's vote... g-o-p front-runner donald trump is blasting his competition. trump is calling for texas senator ted cruz to apologize to marco rubio and ben carson for what he calls "dirty tricks." it comes on the heels of cruz asking his campaign spokesperson... rick tyler... to resign for tweeti a story that falsely alleged that rubio insulted the bible. back... saying the cruz campaign is infected with a culture of deceit. rubio says tyler is simply being used as the "fall guy" and that cruz is responsible for "creating a culture of misleading people and saying things that aren't true." new this morning... the south carolina department of public safety is releasing information on the arrest of eleventh circuit solicitor donnie myers.... for driving under the influence. officials say the highway patrol was called to the scene of old chapin road and beech creek road in lexington last night... to investigate a single vehicle collision. troopers say the vehicle has run off the roadway... and hit a utility pole. no occupant was found in the vehicle. troopers were able to determine myers was the driver of the car... and that was driving under the influence. myers was placed under arrest... and this morning is at the alvin s. glenn detention center. we want to give you a warning for this next story. it contains adult content in it....in case you have authorities say a former camden police officer has been arrested after he watched pornography and fondled himself while in his patrol car...at a park. the state law enforcement division says 41-year-old marshall hardin the second was charged friday with misconduct in office. agents say someone saw hardin park his cruiser at a camden park while on duty back in december.... and touch himself sexually while watching the video on his personal cell phone. sled says hardin then exposed himself and went to a bathroom. new details are emerging about the reported shooting at columbiana mall. police are now saying that incident... may not have involved any gunshots at all. investigators with the columbia police department say they haven't found any shell casings at the scene... and tnesses who originally reported seeing two men fire in the air after a fist-fight confident about their stories. hundreds of people either ran away or hid in stores after people said they saw men shooting near the food court. no one was injured. authorities say they found a book bag in the woods with airsoft guns, which look like real guns and fire tiny bb-size pellets. some of the guns make popping sounds when fired. police are seeking more surveillance video from stores.33 still to 33 come... our coverage of vote 20-16 continues. we're taking a closer look at the heated battle between the g- o-p rivals in nevada.cloudy and mild for now but more rain live from main and gervais. 33 here's a quick look at stories that are making headlines across the country. g-o-p front runner donald trump's name may hover above the las vegas strip... atop his hotel... but will that be enough for him to win big in nevada? a-b-c's kenneth 20-16. it looks like 33 carolina basketball may be feeling festive. eric, what can you tell us? it's two months past christmas, but usc basketball might be writing a new classic...a carolina carol. no ghosts involved but tim hill has gamecock basketball past, present and future in minute to win it. 33 still to come... we're going green. it's a chance to save the planet... while also saving a few bucks. stay with us. we're live welcome olunteers are planting trees at owens park today. this is their commitment to the environment in order to enhance community and economic development. the trees are adding much needed green infrastructure to the park by providing shade and establishing a more welcome environment for the community. the tree planting begins at nine- thirty this morning at owens park. and the state today... along with museum is partnering with representatives from "solarize south carolina" for a free workshop designed to help columbia residents go solar and save electricity costs in their homes. the workshop is taking place in the museum's east gallery from five-thirty to seven-thirty tonight. and while you're at the museum... you can also enjoy the sounds of blue grass jams for "second boeing observatory will also be open later hours tonight the moon. 33 33 we're checking out what will be making headlines later today. here's eric with your "look ahead." art students across south carolina are getting a chance to have their work displayed in the nation's capital. wilson kicked off the at irmo high school winners will be selected from every congressional district in the country. wilson, who co-chairs the competition, says art has a tremendous impact on our lives. students 33 have until april 22nd to turn in their submissions.33 still to 33 come... we're getting "red carpet ready" and taking a look at a best picture nominee before this weekends oscars... stay with us. gervais. at umbrella before you head out the door... yeah for more on what we can expect for r the remainder of the day... lets turn things over to kennedy. 33 we want to 33 give you a quick traffic update as you head out and about this morning. and good news. there are no trouble spots to report out on the roads in or around the capital city. but we'll be sure to keep an eye on the your morning commute. a-b-c columbia wants to help you jump start your day.y. we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. so, let's get started. the democratic presidential hopefuls have their sights set on south carolina ahead of saturday's primary. both hillary clinton and bernie sanders will be in columbia tonight for a democratic town hall hosted by c-n-n. it's a chance for the democratic candidates to answer questions from palmetto state voters. the event runs from eight until ten... at the university of south carolina school of law auditorium. ahead of tonight's town hall, hillary clinton has a busy day ahead of her campaigning in the capital city. clinton will be attending the "breaking down barriers" town hall today at central baptist church. clinton will be joined by five mothers who lost their children to gun violence and police incidents... as they discuss how to break down the barriers, they say, hold south carolinians back. that's set to start at 6:15... doors open at 4:45. going into saturday's vote... polls show hillary clinton still holds a double-digit lead over bernie professor bob oldendick...cli nton's win this past weekend in nevada will give her an edge over sanders heading into south carolina's primary. oldendick says the key for both clinton and sanders will be gaining support from the african american community across the palmetto state. those votes could make the difference in saturday's outcome... because of the large block of votes the demographic makes up. 33 oldendick says sanders will also have to maintain support from the young voters in south carolina... which makes up a major part of sanders support nationwide. meanwhile the republican waiting to see where the chips fall in nevada... for today's caucus. and going into today's vote... g-o-p front-runner donald trump is blasting his competition. trump is calling for texas senator ted cruz to apologize to marco rubio and ben carson for what he calls "dirty tricks." it comes on the heels of cruz ousting a top campaign spokesman... rick tyler... for tweeting a story that falsely alleged rubio had insulted the bible. rubio's campaign says that cruz is the one responsible for this campaign "infected with a culture of deceit." residents in 33 lower richland county are still fired up over a multi- million dollar sewer project. county leaders want to break ground by may. the department of health and environmental control held a public meeting about the sewer line last night. residents voiced their frustrations over costs and over how the sewer project of life. the county's 13- million dollar plan would offer an alternative to the wells and septic tanks currently serving the area. 33 officials say there is a four-thousand dollar tap fee and a 38-dollar monthly charge for using the system. the county says residents are not required to connect to the new system unless mandated by d- hec. still to come... it's a messy morning commute in paradise. we're talking high tide on the highway in hawaii.cloudy and mild for now but more rain is on the way. and gervais. these good morning. topping "america's money" -- sthars of lumber liquid daters could be under pressure again today after new warnings. >> the cdc says the cancer risk from certain types of lam gnat flooring is three times greater than original estimates. the company believes the cdc is overstating potential health risks. >here may be more recalls of the takata air bags. in they can explode and send shrapnel inside the car. there is a downside to being a millionaire. you could be audited. >> a significant increase in audits from the year before. it's ten time more than the average for all returns. >> i'm willing to take my chances. >> yes, we are. and that's "america's money." >> have a great day. at hillshire farm, spice is the spice of life. that's why our craftsmen season every sausage perfectly. so you can coax out great flavor effortlessly. hillshire farm. because it's worth doing right. at hillshire farm, there's a reason our slow roasted turkey taste so fresh seconds after carving, we not only seal every slice, we double seal it. the results are something to savor. 33 waves may be gnarly... but they're not fit for a surfer looking to hang ten... yeah... officials actually had to close a 12-mile stretch the gigantic waves were washing over the roads. some of those waves are even carrying big rocks with them. only emergency vehicles... city buses and residents are allowed to pass this morning. but officials are still warning them to be careful. beach officials say this is the biggest "swell" they've seen in a decade. 33 we're now going to turn our attention to your health. rochelle dean has a look at what is making headlines in the medical community. we know that cell phones and driving are two things that don't mix. but now... new research is highlighting just how dangerous using your phone is when you're behind the wheel. with more... here's still to 33 come... we're taking a look at those prices at the pump... there may be some good news for that morning commute. from main and gervais. -cents a gallon. this compares with the national average that has increased by one-point-nine cents per gallon in the past week.... bringing the average to a dollar... 71-ceces a gallon. it's a switch-up at starbucks. the coffee giant is overhauling its rewards program... hoping to speed up service at the checkout. this new program is based on how much a customer spends... compare that to the old program, which was based on guests will now receive two points for each dollar spent. starbucks says despite the change... it still expects customer payouts will stay about the same. "free shipping" with amazon just got a little harder. amazon consumers were able to receive free shipping if they spent 35-dollars. but amazon is raising the minimum amount... so now you'll have to shell out 49- dollars before an order ships for free. it's not clear when amazon made the change. amazon prime memberships... which cost 99- bucks a year... are not affected. still to come... we're going bananas over this celebration... it's a delicious start for the most important meal of the day... from main and gervais. 33 let's check out the day in history. -u.s. flag raised on iwo jima in 1945-children receive first polio vaccine in 1954-eric heiden speed skates into olympic history in 1980 today is... play tennis day... and 33 national banana bread day.33 that's all the time that we have for the first hour of good morning columbia. but we're coming right back. gervais. good morning, columbia. today is tuesday, february 23. the democratic presidential hopefuls are taking the stage and answering your questionsns hall in the capital city. plus the republican presidential hopefuls are waiting to see where the chips fall in nevada. our vote 2016 coverage continues as we head into today's nevada caucus. and from the red carpet to the red scare. we're tatang a closer look at another best picture nominee leading up to this weekend's oscars. "good morning, columbia" starts right now. captioning provided by caption associates, llc www.captionassociates.com. >> eric: it must be 6:00 because we are sitting here talk about breakfast. good morning, columbia. thanks for joining us. i'm eric weisfeld. >> rochelle: and i'm rochelle dean. we're live from main and gervais. the time's now 6:00. >> eric: and more warm temperatures but ate lot of the wet stuff heading our way. >> rochelle: warm but wet, keep your umbrella handy. let's turn things over to for when you take the little ones to the bus and you get ready to head to work. >> jonathan: not actively raining, we are watching a couple things. a lot of moisture left over from yesterday is providing us with fog which is not ideal. that will reduce the visibility for a lot of locations. 57 degrees, wind out of the east 8 miles a hour and dewpoints 54. not too much of a spread. anytime the air temperature and dewpoint get close together that means we are seeing near saturationonn the atmosphere and that's when you get the fog going. that's something to watch as you head out. rain not a big issue as we see towards manning and towards lake marion. up to the north i-85 and west of there, that's where the rain is. we are sitting pretty in between butt i mentioned visibility not ideal for a lot 60 locations. only three quarters of a mile in bishopville. half a mile in camden. spots with diminished visibility. 10 miles is perfect, we are half that in columbia with five miles. with the wind staying around 5 and 10, that should prevent us from seeing the dense fog throughout the morning. 24 hour rain fall pretty impressive at home, almost 2 inches. most areas less than an inch. we are looking at a nice warm start so we are seeing warm temperatures, a lot of moisture in the air, that's a good recipe for rain and thunderstorms. we are not seeing thunder right now, we are seeing thunderstorms around charleston. there are your thunderstorms popping up around charleston, see the yellows and oranges. more than rain obviously alongs the appalachean mop tens, i-85 and toward the moak i mountains, seeing good heave -- smoky mountains. pressure system to head in, we have one toward texas, this will be the one that will be the main weather maker, this you will hear about throughout the day today and tomorrow morning. don't be surprised if we tomorrow talk about a couple tornadoes in the deep south, from new orleans to tallahassee, that's the epicenter where we will see the nasty weather later today. this system eventually comes our way so we will be watching that over the next little bit but right now rain chances, a little scattered at the moment but we will pick them up later today and into tomorrow. have the umbrella handy and be weather aware as we move through your day today and tomorrow. >> eric: the good news is the grass is so brown, it will help us start spring. >> jonathan: but not ideal tomorrow. >> eric: let's see if the and about. >> rochelle: good news, no trouble spots in and around the capital city. we'll keep our eyes on the roads and update i for the morning commute. rochelle: abc columbia wants to help you jump start your day. >> eric: we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. the democratic presidential hopefuls have their sights set on south carolina ahead of saturday's primary. both hillary clinton and bernie sanders will be in columbia tonight for a democratic town hall hosted by cnn. it's a chance for the democratic candidates to answer questions from you, the palmetto state voters. the event runs from 8:00 until 10:00 at the university of south carolina school of law auditorium. ahead of tonight's town hall, hillary clinton has a busy day ahead of her campaigning in the capital city. >> rochelle: clinton will be attending the "breaking down barriers" town hall today at central baptist church. clinton will be joined by five mothers who lost their children to gun violence and police incidents as they discuss how to back. that event is set to start at 6:15 doors open at 4:45. rochelle: and bernie sanders wife, jane sanders, will be trying to shore up support for her husband today. she'll be leading an education forum at the cecil a. tillis center right here in columbia. that's set for 5:00. rochelle: when it comes to saturday's vote, not everyone can make it out to the polls. you may have things to do, some people heading in and out of town. but that doesn't mean your voice still can't be heard. >> eric: today is the deadline for those voting in the democratic presidential primary absentee application. the application must be returned to your county elections office no later than 5:00 today. you can get an absentee application online or request an application from your county voter registration office. once you receive your absentee ballot in the mail, be sure to return it to your county voter registration office by 7:00 p.m. saturday night. for more information, be sure to head to scvotes.org. eric: meanwhile the republican presidential hopefuls are waiting to see where the chips fall in nevada for today's and going into today's vote gop front-runner donald trump is blasting his competition. we expect nothing else, right? senator ted cruz to apologize to marco rubio and ben carson for what he calls "dirty tricks." it comes on the heels of cruz asking his campaign spokesman rick tyler to resign for tweeting a story that falsely alleged that rubio insulted the bible. the rubio campaign is firing back saying the cruz campaign is infected with a culture of deceit. rubio says tyler is simply being used as the "fall guy" and that cruz is responsible for creating a culture of misleading people and saying things that aren't true. eric: new this morning, the south carolina department of public safety is releasing information on the arrest of eleventh circuit solicitor donnie myers for driving under the influence. >> rochelle: officials say the highway patrol was called to the scene of old chapin road and beech creek road in lexington single vehicle collision. troopers say the vehicle was run off the roadway and hit a utility pole. no occupant was found in the vehicle. troopers were able to determine myers was the driver of the car and that car was being driven by someone under the influence. myers was placed under arrest and this morning is at the alvin s. glenn detention center. rochelle: new details are emerging about the reported shooting at columbiana mall. police are now saying that incident may not have involved any gunshots at all. >> eric: investigators with the columbia police department said they haven't found any shell casings at the scene and witnesses who originally reported seeing two men fire in the air after a fistfight saturday night aren't as confident about their stories. hundreds of people either ran away or hid in stores after people said they saw men shooting near the food court. no one was injured. authorities say they found a airsoft guns, which look like real guns and fired tiny bb-size pellets. somef the guns make popping sounds when fired. police are seeking more surveillance video from stores. hopefully this is a story that we'll get more information. when people have cell phones they are able to help police in the investigation because they have it on their phone. >> rochelle: that's the first thing people do, pull out their phones, technology. eric: still to come, a search for answers. >> rochelle: we're hearing what some of the survivors of the san bernardino attacks say about the plan to hack into one of the gunmen's phone. >> jonathan: and a cloudy and somewhat foggy start to your tuesday. right now no sign of the rain immediately at home but likely to come our way later today. main and gervais. "i knew at that point that god himself rescued me." "god had a reason for her to be there." "it's only because of god's grace that i'm sitting here." "i can only say that the lord from the car." "god can conquer everything, even death itself." "i love god sick." >> rochelle: welcome back to good morning column by a-thanks for waking up with us, your time is 6:12. here's a quick look at stories that are making headlines across the country. the suspected shooter of the kalamazoo rampage has admitted to the killings. jason dalton waived his rights against self-incrimination and confessed to the shootings that left six people dead during a court appearance yesterday. he's been charged with 6 counts of murder and has been denied bail. police maintain the shootings were random and haven't revealed a motive. two victims of that shooting remain in the hospital this morning. rochelle: some security experts see risk in the fbi unlocking plan. want apple to write a program to break into one of the san bernardino attackers smart phones but others fear that this type of program could fall into the hands of hackers. meanwhile, los angeles attorneys say several families of the victims of the san bernardino attacks along with survivors plan to file court papers in support of a judge's order that asks apple help the fbi hack into the phone. rochelle: it looks like carolina basketball may be feeling festive. eric, what can you tell us? >> eric: it's two months past christmas, but usc basketball might be writing a new classic a carolina carol. no ghosts involved but tim hill has gamecock basketball past, present and future in this morning's sports minute to win it. >> dawn staley looking to keep her career record perfect against alabama, the gamecocks coats career high, they cruised, usc wins it 66-46, the play of the night with defense and the dish. the gamecocks improve to a perfect 14-0 in sec play, still looking for their undefeated season. two regular seasons left. one of the great mckie heading the new athletic hall of fame. now an assistant coach at charleston southern. also ended up breaking the school record. that's your abc columbia minute to win it, hope it gets your tuesday off to a good start. >> eric: tim, thank you. eric: still to come: it's time to make a good impression. all the details on a job expo and who's looking to hire. maybe you. gervais. rochelle: welcome back to good morning, columbia. your time right now is 6:18. >> jonathan: let's take a bite out of your morning menu, sponsored by bojangles'. the palmetto center for women is recognizing the outstanding achievements of women in our community. they are holding a luncheon today to present their "pcw award." this is the highest honor that "pcw" awards annually which recognizes women who they feel are leaders and role models in nikki haley will be among those presented with the award. >> rochelle: and well deserved. >> jonathan: yes. rochelle: fort jackson is holding a moral injury symposium today. officials will be addressing the audience on moral injury and how it impacts soldiers and combat veterans. this is taking place at the armed forces chaplaincy center auditorium at 8:00 this morning. it's designed to help educate those who attend on assisting victims in their recovery process. so, a good way for you to get more information out there if you do have some soldiers in your life. >> jonathan: yes, that's something that is hard for people to understand if they don't have friends or family that have gone to war. >> rochelle: exactly. >> jonathan: it's a good thing to have. the things you need today is an umbrella. >> rochelle: no hard decision. >> jonathan: we probably won't need it i i the next hour, i think we are okay for the rain right now, heading out later today, especially this afternoon and tonight, the rain chances highs around 65, at least it won't be a cold rain for us. 74 tomorrow but that will somewhat work against us, that extra heat in the atmosphere, that is just more fuel for the thunderstorms to grow. this is a similar set up whate saw a couple weeks ago south of downtown. something to look out for, damaging wind, lively tornadoes, not out of the question, we'll be watching this. anytime tomorrow we will be on the look out. now, today i don't really see the severe weather threat for us, wet might see a little lightning and thunder here and there, the severe storms are coming our way. after that lots of sunshine. it will be a little cooler for us. >> rochelle: yesterday was a cold rain, as i was out and about, i thought if this was summer rain it wouldn't be bad so we are expecting much more of e same? >> jonathan: yes. rochelle: we're checking out what will be making headlines later today. >> jonathan: here's eric with your "look ahead." today is the community higher education council career expo over at south carolina state university. recruiters from over 70 businesses will be on hand today looking for prospective employees. and representatives from some of the local school districts will be on hand looking to find a few future educators to fill the classroom. that's going to be in the smith-hammond-middleton center from 9:00 this morning until noon. eric: to the lowcountry now where we're paying tribute to one of the emanuel nine. charleston church shooting victim cynthia hurd will be memorialized with a wall-sized mural on the side of the john l. dart branch library on upper king street. hurd was a branch manager at the library for 21 years. an artist will be there throughout the week painting the mural and is even inviting children to come on thursday to a painting workshop to create their own work that will decorate the book carts in the library. those working on the mural say it will be a daily reminder of charleston. >> rochelle: getting the children involve, it's an art and history lesson combined in one. rochelle: still to come, and taking a look at a best picture nominee before this weekends oscars. stay with us. we're live from main and gervais. hey, there. in today's "techbytes" -- the cost of free shipping on am don just went up. >> the minimum purchase to qualify is now $49. it's seen as a move to promote amazon prime. it's a subscription service. sony has unveiled new innovations. >> it includes an autofocus battery that can go for two days on a single charge. >> and the experia wireless ear piece. > facebook w wts to help you wish your friends a happy birthday. >> it launched the new birthday cam. it allows users to record 15-second messages. you could also send them a card snail mail. >> i like that one better. >> have a great day. when your cold makes you wish... ...you could stay... ...in bed all day... ...you need the power of... new theraflu expressmax. the power to feel better. jane likes to mix things up. that's why she loves new light & fit greek non-fat yogurt mousse. so fluffy and airy it's her new 80 calorie obsession. >> welcome to the beginning of the end at the oscar overview, we've reached day 5 of the best picture oscar. we have reached another true story review in our path so what better than a movie directed by a well-known director and starting an equally well-known actor. let's step into drama "bridge of spice [. the year is 1957 and we are at the height of of the cold war. both the united states and soviet union have spies. spy played by mark rilence. we see him getting information before the fbi raids his home. they want the world to have a solid defense so they bring in tom hanks. he does a good job but without a fair trial he is found guilty. donovan gets the court to spare his life in case a trade is needed. the u.s. is gathering evidence of what is happening in the soviet union. a pilot is shot down and arrested in enemy territory. the fbi realize he has secrets they don't want given. they broker a trade in east berlin. we see donovan seeing some of being a seasoned attorney donovan knows how to play the game and pull a few tricks out of his sleeve. we see how tense things were at that time, we seehe fear of the americans of the soviets and those on the other side of the coin. we wait to see if every one ceases to exist. anytime you hear tom hanks and steven spiel burg's names together you may see an oscar, i should have seen it in the movie theater. but alas i had to see it on blue ray. i found it to be an enjoyable film. the acting is fantastic but what really gets you is how well the cast is able to portray the unease of the time period. during the set up but you have to lay all the cards on the table before the action can commence. as enjoyable, watchi the action of the film play out you have to wonder what it was like for the actual players while this was actually happening. i was also surprised that i had never read about this incident or any of the characters in the film. all in all it's basically what you would expect in a steven spielburg movie starting tom hanks. definitely a must see. this has been your oscar overview. tune in tomorrow for a best picture nominee that is a little himself rescued me." "god had a reason for her to be there." "it's only because of god's grace that i'm sitting here." "i can only say that the lord sent an angel and removed lisa from the car." "god can conquer everything, even death itself." "i love god sick." eric: good morning, columbia. we have one half hour left of your morning news, if you are not awake, we will get you there. i'm eric weisfeld. >> rochelle: and i'm rochelle dean. we're live from main and gervais. the time is 6:33. >> eric: mother nature doing her >> rochelle: the little ones may need a coat heading to the bus stop and exchange it for a raincoat, we are expecting rain. for more what you can expect, let's turn things over to meteorologisis jonathan kennedy. >> jonathan: we are starting off at 60, which is not far off from where our high should be. 57, mostly cloudy, winds out of the east 7 miles a hour. notice the dewpoint 54, air temperature 57. do have fog popping up for many areas. rain not an issue for us at the moment but we are seeing it come closer to home, most of the rain along i-95 towards darlington, florence, down towards lake marion, crossing over the bridge. probably seeing rain but we are looking at mostly dry for us, we will get clipped by a few rain showers early this morning, watching fog, visibility down to a quarter mile in camden, five miles for us downtown, not as see the patchy fog settle in and we saw good solid rain yesterday, there's a lot of moisture left over from the rain from your monday afternoon and monday evening. 24-hour rain fall we are about 1.77, pretty solid total, none yesterday. we are likely to add to that today, not as much today in the rain gauge, maybe a quarter or half inch. upstate they are looking at a couple inches there. cooler to the west as well. upper 40s, we are in the mid to upper 50s, wind out of the east and northeast and that should inject a lot of moisture into the system. we had a lot of rain yesterday and we will add to it from the flow of the system, winds from the east, coming from the atlantic ocean, that will put more moisture available for the system to capitalize on. a pretty heavy rain fall for the locally today but continued chance for rain, watching the low from texas, causing a lot of problems in texas, this will cause havoc through much of the ep, deep south later today. expecting a tornado outbreak, i wouldn't be surprised if we see two dozen tornado reports later today. something to watch for those areas. that comes our way tomorrow. we will be looking at severe weather chances tomorrow, a little warmer, more fuel for the storms to thrive on, something to watch into the wednesday forecast. we will just be tracking rain showers today, maybe a little lightning and thunder, tomorrow is what we will expect. we will keep an eye on it. >> eric: let's see what you can expect on the roadways. >> rochelle: still good news here at the bottom half of the hour, no trouble spots to report in or around the capital city but, of course, we are keeping our eye on the road and if anything changes before 7:00 we the morning commute. rochelle: abc columbia wants to help you jump start your day. >> eric: we have a quick rundown of your top morning headlines. the democratic presidential hopefuls have their sights set on south carolina ahead of saturday's primary. both hillary clinton and bernie sanders will be in columbia tonight for a democratic town hall hosted by cnn. it's a chance for the democratic candidates to answer questions from palmetto state voters. the event runs om 8:00 until 10:00 at the university of south carolina school of law auditorium. rochelle: going into saturday's vote, polls show hillary clinton still holds a double digit lead over bernie sanders. according to usc professor bob oldendick, clinton's win this past weekend in nevada will give her an edge over sanders heading into south caroina's primary. oldendick says the key for both clinton and sanders will be gaining support from the african american community across the palmetto state. those votes could make the difference in saturday's outcome votes the demographic makes up. >> hillary's support in that community is very solid, sanders recognizes that and recognizing that there's going to be about 55% of electorate on saturday are going to be african american, that's a huge block they recognize he can't lose that block of voters by a substantial amount if they have any chance of winning or keeping close. >> rochelle: oldendick says sanders will also have to maintain support from the young voters in south carolina which makes up a major part of sanders support nationwide. eric: the republican presidential hopefuls are waiting to see where the chips fall in nevada for today's caucus. and going into today's vote gop front-runner donald trump is blasting his competition. trump is calling for texas senator ted cruz to apologize to marcrcrubio and ben carson for what he calls "dirty tricks." it comes on the heels of cruz ousting a top campaign spokesman that falsely alleged rubio had insulted the bible. rubio's campaign says that cruz is the one responsible for this campaign "infected with a culture of deceit." >> most of the system with thecools, it has saturated the ground so much, it's affecting the quality of the water. >> eric: residents in lower richland county are still fired up over a multi-million dollar sewer project. county leaders want to break ground by may. the department of health and environmental control held a public meeting about the sewer line last night. residents voiced their frustrations over costs and over how the sewer project could disrupt their rural way of life. the county's $13 million plan would offer an alternative to the wells and septic tanks currently serving the area. i don't think they have considered our needs and that's what this is all about, they need to consider our needs. >> eric: officials say there is system. the county says residents are not required to connect to the new system unless mandated by d-hec. eric: still to come: parts of fiji left in ruins. >> rochelle: the latest following the strongest storm ever recorded in the southern hemisphere. >> jonathan: thankfully nothing quite that strong coming our way but we are looking at more rain in the forecast for your day today. a nice warm start. i'll tell what you to expect for main and gervais. >> jonathan: 6:42, waking up with cam conditions, temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. might see it sooner than later, a few showers coming our way later throughout the morning. likely to see a good chance of storms coming our way later tonight. a mild forecast, pretty nice temperatures for february, not a lot of variation from high to low but it will be cloudy and threat of rain throughout the day and evening eric: mild conditions for us here in the midlands but for those on the coast of fiji, it's piles of destruction following a monster storm. >> jonathan: yeah, fiji officials say tropical cyclone winston has killed at least 28 people so far. a state of emergency has been put in place for the next 30 days as emergency crews clean up and assess the widespread damage. the country is no longer under curfew but all schools will be shut down this week as a safety precaution. >> eric: not so beautiful there this morning. eric: we're now going to turn our attention to your health. >> jonathan: rochelle dean has a look at what is making headlines in the medical community. good morning, rochelle. rochelle: good morning, jonathan. good morning, eric. the rates of hpv infection are dropping since the centers for disease control recommended a a study looks at four types of the virus, two of which are responsible for cervical cancer. according to health officials, 10 years of vaccinations has cut infections by 64% among teen girls. there has been a stigma associated with the vaccine because the hpv is most commonly spread through sexual contact. rochelle: and speaking of the cdc, it's also issuing a report that raises its estimate of the cancer risk from formaldehyde in some laminate flooring. the cdc says it could result in between 6 an30 cancer cases per 100,000 people exposed to the flooring. it had previously estimated between two o d nine cases. >> rochelle: still to come, how currency. >> rochelle: welcome back to good morning columbia, your time is 6:48. say cheese! samsung is reveiling its new virtual reality device a camera capable of taking 360-degree pictures and videos. "the gear 360" can shoot vr images and transfer them to samsung phones for editing. the finished product can then be viewed with a gear vr headset. the "gear 360" is set to go on sale this year. no details yet though on the price tag that comes along with samsung also unveiled the galaxy s-7 and s-7 edge. rochelle: you'll have to break out your phone and snap a selfie for this next story. it turns out they can be used for more than just instagram posts. mastercard wants to use selfies to help prevent fraud. they're e unching new technology so that customers can use selfies to approve online purchases. here's how it works: if you want to use your pic to pay download the mastercard identity check app. it has you take a different selfie each time you buy something online and scans the image to prove it's you spending the money. there's also a fingerprint scanner option. and this is only the beginning. mastercard says they're also looking into ways to use your heartbeat and scans of your eyes to authenticate purchases. rochelle: all the buzz seems to be on this weekends oscar awards show. >> eric: it's one of the most talked-about nominees for this years oscar awards show. but the question is will sylvester stallone bring home the shiny award? brandi hitt has the rundown. >> rocky, an iconic movie hero with strength and heart. created by a man known as one of the most humble in hollywood. >> sylvester stallone. >> back in 1977 he did not win the oscar for best actor or for writing rocky but after shadow boxing with mohammed ali onstage is still appreciative. >> it's something i will remember the rest of my life. >> now 40 years later. >> i never thought i would be able to see, cross this threshold again. >> he is back as rocky, nominated as a best supporting oscar in the movie creed. >> everything i've got has moved on and i'm here.e. side the hollywood heavy weight won his first golden globe and talked about being absent during his rise to fame. >> i was absent, you get one chance and you better take it. >> they want him to win because he's worked so hard and for so long. >> when rocky won the oscar, the producers call him on stage. >> we want to thank you for sharing your dream of rocky. >> this time he may climb the stairs for his own oscar. his star has been on the hollywood walk of fame for more than 30 years, the franchise a huge success grossing more than a billion dollars world wide. brandi hitt, abc news. >> eric: and, remember, the oscars air sunday night, february 28th. you can catch all the glitz and glamor right here on abc columbia. eric: still to come: a visit to the white house is going viral. sparking the attention of many. gervais. rain downtown but a few showers, seeing patchy fog, keep it in mind as you head out. kind of a coastal extension of this, going from essentially the eastern parts of the viewing area towards myrtle beach, towards 36 and north of i-95, from greenville to atlanta. for us we are caught in between, keep the umbrella handy, we are not expecting a wash out this morning. >> eric: thanks, jonathan. eric: it's never too late to make some of your dreams come true and for one lady, she's doing just that. >> rochelle: yeah, meet virginia mclaurin. she's 106 years old and got the chance to take a visit to the white house over the weekend. not only did she meet president obama and the first lady herself, mclaurin was so excited, she took the chance to dance with them. look at her go, you will see it in a minute, she will break out fancy foot work here. the video of her breaking it down with the two is going mclaurin was at the whitithouse celebrating black history month. look at her go, for 106? >> eric: and just so happy. >> rochelle: if you can hear the audio. she said i'm with my president and first lady and she started breaking it down. she's so cute. at 106 years old, she was moving. >> eric: i will have what she is having. >> rochelle: tell us your secret. eric: still to come, we're going bananas over this celebration. it's a delicious start for the most important meal of the day next in your day in history. >> jonathan: and waking up with dry conditions, we are seeing scattered rain across the area, have the umbrella handy. main and gervais. >> jonathan: good tuesday morning, a cloudy and somewhat rainy start for the area today. looking for rain to mainly stay away for the most part until later today. we are seeing everything split around us at the moment, a chance to see showers, a better chance, high near 65, 70 for tomorrow, good chance of rain with 100% chance of seeing strong, possibly severe weather. we'll keep an eye on the weather, big implications we could see nasty weather. we'll keep an eye on it, after that thankfully sunnier weather coming. >> rochelle: we just have to get through the next couple days. the day in history. the u.s. flag raised on iwo jima in 1945. children receive the first polio vaccine in 1954. and eric heiden speed skates into olympic history in 1980. >> eric:c:oday is play tennis day and national banana bread day. work out and then have the bread. >> rochelle: exactly. "good morning, america" is next. good morning, america. donald trump's vegas-size rally last night. his harshest words yet for ted cruz. >> this guy is sick. there's something wrong with this guy. >> and a protester. >> i'd like to pump him in the face, i'll tell you. >> as cruz is forced to fire a key staffer after new allegations of a dirty trick. severe weather alert. a large tornado outbreak expected to hit the gulf coast. damaging winds up to 70 miles an 21 million people in the threat zone. flooding rain and storms from texas to maine. snow hole emergency. this 10-year-old girl falls ten feet below the surface. her father desperately tries to pull her free and we have the rescuers who got there just in time. and are you ready for this? "gma" on safari. an epic event never before attempted on live television. plungeing you into africa's garden of eden. an expedition into one of the wonders of the world. millions of majestic animals on the move as part of the great migration. we're with them from the air to the ground. our drones and trackers following their steps, and you're part of it all with groundbreaking virtual technology at your fingertips. "gma" live on safari in africa