Of recordsetting stuff. The gop pack is down to 5 contenders. Jeb bush out. The two cubanamerican freshman senators left to battle it out to become the trump alternative. Sot ted cruz 17 48 26 donald trump has demonstrated that he has a relatively high floor of support but hes also got i think a ceiling. Nevada caucus winner Hillary Clinton is favored in south carolina. Shes already focused on the super tuesday states like texas where she rallied over the weekend. Sot clinton some may have doubted us, but we never doubted each other it was also another big rally for Bernie Sanders in greenville, south carolina. He got some celebrity help from actor danny glover. Sanders is working to court the black vote. Which lead to an awkward, luke warm reception at this predominantly African American church. Tomorrow night, sanders and clinton will hit the stage for a democratic town hall at the university of south carolina. The republicans are spending today rallying in nevada where the latest poll has trump leading by 26 points. As kenneth mentioned. Several of the gop candidates will be making appearances today in the silver state ahead of tomorrows caucuses. Doctor ben carson hosted a. we the people town hall at pipers opera house in Virginia City this morning. In fact it just wrapped up a couple of minutes ago. We will have more on his visit tonight on kolo 8 news now at 4 30 and 5. Ted cruz is holding a rally this afternoon in elko. After that hell be at the boys and girls club in reno for a rally at 7 tonight. Cruz also has rallies planned in fernley, minden and carson city tomorrow. And marco rubio will be in elko for a rally this morning before heading to reno for a rally at the peppermill. That event begins at 12 30. He then heads to minden for another rally this afternoon. And finally, donald trump will speak at a nugget casino resort. Morning. For more information about these campaign date caucus coverage. Com and click on hot topics. Nevada senator dean heller is endorsing marco rubio now that jeb bush had dropped out of the race. Senator heller says hes convinced rubio can unite conservatives to beat the democrats in the general election. Other bush supporters announced that they would also switch to rubios Team Including representative mark amodei and Assembly Majority leader paul anderson. Our community is mourning the loss of nevada senator debbie smith. She passed away yesterday at the age of 60. She began treatment for a malignant brain tumor a year ago. She was was first elected to the state assembly in 2000 and won a seat in the senate in 2012. Politicians from across the state have expressed sorrow over her passing. Sparks mayor geno martini said in part quote she was so brave and strong as she is a great nevadan who will be missed but will never be forgotten. And governor sandoval saying in part. We remember her legacy as a true nevadan with a fierce devotion to her constituents and state, particularly to Public Education and the children of nevada. Governor sandoval ordered flags on all state buildings to be lowered to half staff in her honor. The search is on for the driver who police say was initially involved in a deadly pedestrian accident in northwest reno. 31 year old shilo auble was hit and killed saturday night just before 7. Investigators say it started when two cars were drag racing. Thats when auble got out of his car and started running after the other car. Police say thats when he was hit by a thirdunrelated car. The driver of the car involved in the initial incident took off before police arrived. Its described as a small, dark colored passenger car. If you have any information about this accident, call secret witness at 3224900. The egg roll king in sparks will be closed after a fire broke out at the business yesterday morning. The restaurant was closed at the time, so firefighters had to force their way inside. Firefighters say the fire was in the kitchen cooking hood. No word yet on how it started. An update now on the missing Douglas County woman. Carolyn batchelor has not been seen since last monday. California Highway Patrol found her suv in the area of Inspiration Point overlooking emerald bay. Search and rescue crews from Eldorado County and Douglas County are now searching the area. But the recent snow and steep terrain is making the search difficult. Another mass shooting. This time in kalamazoo, michigan. Now investigators are trying to figure out a motive for the killings. And today crews will be breaking apart a boulder at lake tahoe. And itll be a big job causing some traffic problems. But first. Lindsey matherly will be back with your complete weather now forecast. Announcer youre watching kolo 8 news now midday, with Dave Lawrence and weather with in fiji. The death toll from cyclone winston is now at least 20. The powerful storm hit the South Pacific island nation over the weekend. Fijis Prime Minister says theres widespread damage and flooding. Homes have been levelled. Key services have been cut and remote areas have been shut off. Winds from cyclone winston reached 177 miles per hour. Which according to Weather Underground makes it the strongest storm in the Southern Hemisphere on record. And now your kolo 8 hourbyhour Weather Forecast with Lindsey Matherly. Today sunny, with a high near 57. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the morning. Tonight mostly clear, with a low around 30. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph. Tuesday sunny, with a high mph. Tuesday night partly cloudy, with a low around 33. South wind around 5 mph. Wednesday mostly sunny, with a high near 64. Southeast wind around 5 mph. Wednesday night mostly clear, with a low around 36. Thursday mostly sunny, with a high near 67. Thursday night partly cloudy, with a low around 37. Friday mostly sunny, with a high near 69. Friday night mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. Saturday a slight chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 64. Saturday night partly cloudy, with a low around 37. Sunday mostly sunny, with a high near 64. Today sunny, with a high near 57. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the morning. Tonight mostly clear, with a low around 30. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph. Tuesday sunny, with a high near 53. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Tuesday night partly cloudy, with a low around 33. South wednesday mostly sunny, with a high near 64. Southeast wind around 5 mph. Wednesday night mostly clear, with a low around 36. Thursday mostly sunny, with a high near 67. Thursday night partly cloudy, with a low around 37. Friday mostly sunny, with a high near 69. Friday night mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. Saturday a slight chance of showers. Partly sunny, with a high near 64. Saturday night partly cloudy, with a low around 37. Sunday mostly sunny, with a high near 64. Becoming south in the morning. Tonight mostly clear, with a low around 30. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph. Tuesday sunny, with a high near 53. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Tuesday night partly cloudy, with a low around 33. South wind around 5 mph. Wednesday mostly sunny, with a high near 64. Southeast wind around 5 mph. Problems in the glenbrook area of lake tahoe. Check it out. The boulder rolled onto westbound u. S. 50 saturday night. Its estimated to be 9 feet wide and 6 feet tall. Ndot now plans on breaking the boulder apart tomorrow. Until the boulder is removed, one lane of westbound us 50 will remain closed. A monthsold Vacation Rental ordinance in South Lake Tahoe is in need of revamping. City officials are set to discuss options for enforcing the number of guests per rental. Parking rules. And how land coverage limits could impact permits. Options will then be presented to Council Members for consideration. Since the law went into effect in october, almost two dozen citations have been issued to illegal Vacation Rental operators. A megabus full of passengers catches fire and many onboard say there were early signs of problems plus. Could hoverboards already be a thing of the past . For news while youre on the move, listen to our news an uber driver has been charged with six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder in a series of random shootings in western michigan. Investigators are still not saying what set him off. But were hearing from the passengers he picked up between hits. Abcs Elizabeth Hur has the latest. Pkg script six people are dead. Two others injured. One suspect in custody. But so far. No motive. Police radio shots fired. We have one confirmed victim right now. According to police. The mayhem in michigan started shortly before six saturday evening. In this residential survived. Then about four hours later. In this car dealership parking lot. A father and son were shot and killed. Minutes later. Outside this Cracker Barrel restaurant. Five people were shot. Four of them died including retired teacher mary joe nye. These victims. Apparently selected at random. Sot paul matyas undersheriff this is your worst nightmare. Hours later. The suspect, uber driver jason dalton. Was taken into custody without incident. Police are now looking into reports that dalton was working between shootings. This man who asked to remain anonymous. Says he was one of daltons customers during the ramapge. Sot passenger i half heartedly joked at him and said youre not the shooter are you . And he said no and i said are you sure . And he said no, im just really tired. Matt mellen says he rode with dalton just about an hour before the first shooting. Sot matt mellen passenger we were driving through medians, driving through the lawn, speeding along and when we came to a stop, i jumped out the car and ran away. Sot ed davis ubers Safety Advisory Board theres a full background check done on all driver partners for uber. This individual had the background check completed, and theres nothing in his background to indicate he was a problem. Elizabeth hur oncam close police are holding out hope for the youngest victim . The 14 yearold girl was initially believed to be brain dead but eventually managed to give eh, abc news, ny. Apple is holding firm and refusing to hack the phone of the San Bernardino attack. And this morning the director of the fbi is weighing in on why the tech Company Needs to help them out plus. Why a firearms manufacturer is asking a judge to dismiss a lawsuit stemming from the sandy hook back now with a new warning about hoverboards. Theyre one of the hottest gifts. But officials are now saying no hoverboard is certified as safe. Telling manufacturers and retailers they need to meet standards or face a recall. Abcs gio benitez is here now with what you need to know script could the holidays hottest gift . Be headed toward extinction . Nats this morning . Major retailers are safety commissions stunning announcement that no hoverboard is certified as safe . Sot cpsc it is irresponsible for a company to continue to sell hover boards that they know do not comply with the standard. The cpsc telling retailers hoverboards currently on the market may be subject to recall and consumer should ask for full refunds for those already sold . If the boards are not certified as safe. Toys r us. Now taking hoverboards completely off its website . Amazon had already been offering full refunds . Overstock. Com stopping all sales . This as one of the biggest hover board manufacturers, swagway, says it is working to meet the cpscs latest safety standard . Telling abc news. Swagway is in support of complying with the new guidelines. We are in the belief that we have come up with the technology, where not only will the new standards be met, but where these concerns will be alleviated altogether. Sot cpsc and they are out there in droves . At one point, ebay said it was selling a seconds . But we all saw those videos nats someone falling coast to coast. And those fires . The cpsc, fires in over 24 states. Totalling some 2 million in damages. This home burned to the hoverboard went up in flames. Some blaming those lithium ion batteries from china, but still no firm proof. Now to a big scare on a a vehicle full of passengers catching fire. Then exploding on a highway outside chicago. Fortunately no one was hurt. But many lost their belongings. Abcs linzie janis is here with the latest script it was really scary horrifying moments on an illinois highway. We heard a loud boom and the bus went up in smoke probably 30 feet in the air. This mega bus traveling from chicago to minneapolis exploding just minutes after the 40 people onboard evacuated. It was full of black smoke when i got off to catch my breath the bus blew up. Panicked passengers watching as their belongings go up in flames. I lost everything everything. You can see the charred remains of the bus. Miraculously no one was injured. Many on board said there were signs of problems early some people say they smelled burning. New york times frugal travel columnis Lucas Peterson was onboard doing a story on the bus carrier that offers fares as low as a dollar. Lucas peterson nyt columnist the driver kept pulling over to the side so it seemed clear there was something wrong with the bus. Last year in upstate new york another megabus fire after a tire blew the bus pulling over and then igniting. And in 2012this massive megabus fire in georgia. Nats fire blast a blown tire responsible for ravaging that bus. Pending litigation alleges these buses are carrying too much weight which may cause the tires to blow out. This announcer you wouldnt let money just blow out of your house. So when your ac or heater is on, make sure the doors, windows, and fireplace flue are shut tight. Or lower the heat, by 10 degrees. And always keep your water heater set at 120. A little bit of common sense goes a long way. Announcer youre watching kolo 8 news welcome back to kolo eightnewsnow midday. Im Dave Lawrence. Another tragic story out of michigan where police say a family of 6 was found dead inside their home. They believe from apparent Carbon Monoxide poisoning. A relative found the 2 children and 4 adults yesterday afternoon in their bedrooms in fenton township near the town of flint. The sheriff says a generator was running in the basement likely due to a power outage friday night. The incident reamains under investigation. Lets go to Lindsey Matherly with a look at the forecast. Today sunny, with a high near 57. West wind 5 to 10 mph becoming south in the morning. Tonight mostly clear, with a low around 30. Calm wind becoming north around 5 mph. Tuesday sunny, with a high near 53. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Tuesday night partly cloudy, with a low around 33. South wind around 5 mph. A high near 64. Southeast wind around 5 mph. Wednesday night mostly clear, with a low around 36. Thursday mostly sunny, with a high near 67. Thursday night partly cloudy, with a low around 37. Friday mostly sunny, with a high near 69. Friday night mostly cloudy, with a low around 38. The director of the fbi is weighing in on his agencys legal battle with computer giant apple. Saying the nation owes the victims of the San Bernardino shooting a thorough investigation. The fbi wants apple to help unlock the San Bernardino shooters iphone, but apple is fighting a court order to do so. And apple supporters are planning to rally today in 30 cities across the world. Abcs bazi kanani is in washington with the latest. Script a new plea in the iphone battle pitting security against privacy. The f bi against apple. The fbi director writes we dont want to break anyones encryption or set a master key loose on the land. I hope thoughtful people will director james comey defends his agencys demands that apple help them open the iphone belonging to syed farook. The shooter in San Bernardino who along with his wife killed 14 people. The fbi says his phone might have critical additional clues in the investigationincluding whether others were involved. We cant look the survivors in the eye, or ourselves in the mirror, if we dont follow this lead, writes comey in a new blog post and press release. Apple is also working to rally public opinion. Taking to the airwaves sot ted olson, former solicitor general this week sunday theres no limit to what the government could require apple to do if it succeeds this way attorney ted olsen a former Senior Justice Department official whose wife died on one of the planes used in the 9 11 attacks is helping apple fight a court order to unlock farooks phone. He says creating a way to override a phones passcode would put the privacy and security of all apple customers at risk. Sot olson the terrorists a victory bazi on camera tag some of the victims of the San Bernardino the fbi in this legal battle. Their Attorney Says they will soon file a legal brief with the court. The Supreme Court returned to work today. In the wake of justice antonin scalias death. Chief Justice John Roberts started the day back with a tribute. He called scalia a man for all seasons and with an irrepressible spirit. Scalias funeral took place on saturday. He was 79 years old. A company known for making firearms is expected to ask a connecticut judge to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit in connection with the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The suit was filed against bushmaster firearms. The company that made the rifle used to kill 20 firstgraders and six educators at sandy hook elementary in 2012. Freedom group. The north carolinabased Parent Company of bushmaster firearms. Says its protected by a shields gun manufacturers from most lawsu