3 3 happening today. The Richland CountySheriffs Department is offering free womens self defense class. From 9 am until 1pm women can learn how to defend themselves in a dangerous situtation. The class is being held at the North Springs park located on clemson road. 3 and gamers listen up. Today the 2016 South Carolina role players and board Gamers Convention kicks off. The 4 Day Convention will feature hundreds of board games. Minutatures. Along with role playing games. Its being held at the medallion center. On garners ferry road. In columbia through monday. 3 and today ted cruz will be in columbia. He is taking part in the conservative leadership projects forum. It the usc alumni center. Then he is holding a rally at 7 45 at north greenville university. 3 3 senators will continue talks on the roads bill on tuesday. After not being able to reach a compromise. That group has been meeting throughout the week. And they say theyve made significant progress from when they first started. President pro tem, senator hugh leatherman. Said he hopes to have a plan by the end of the day on tuesday. But others say it could be another week or two. Before they bring their bill to the floor. 3 we can agree in that room among 8 people. But when you get out on that floor, yoou have different factions, you have different agendas,we cant guarantee that. However, i think that an apetite for a roads bill is so strong that those who are opposed to it just for politics will be overwhelmed with the support get something done 3 the group. Which meets behind closed doors. Will continue their discusson tuesday at 1pm. 3 also at the state house. Their is now an effort underway to give state employees a raise. A Bipartisan Group of senators is advocating for a 5 percent costofliving increase. They say many employees takehome pay has actually declined since the great recession, due to increased Health Care Costs and pension contributions. Last fall, employees making less than 100,000 received a one time, 800 bonus. Otherwise, employees have received two acrosstheboard raises in seven years. Senator john courson says its time to change that. 3 3 the issues will be debated by lawmakers in the coming weeks. Raises would begin july 1st. 3 meanwihile. The South Carolina house passed a bill to put new restrictions on mopeds. Drivers would have to register their mopeds. Have insurance. And wear reflective vests. And it would become illegal to ride a moped. If youve lost your drivers license. Because of a dui. They say so many people with duis ride mopeds now. That some people call them dui cycles. 3 00. 05. 16. 17 if you get caught with a dui, they put you in jail, the next morning you come back out and get on your moped and go where you wanna go. They have the privileges that other people dont have. You cant do that as a Motor Vehicle driver or a motorcycle driver or Something Like that. 00. 05. 33. 08 that bill now goes to the state senate. 3 about 11 percent of the Homeless People you see are veterans. But there is an effort in the midlands to get rid of homelessness amongst servicemen and women by the end of 2016. News 19 janae 3 k. R. Life been an adventure for me, 27 07 it just uh this time in my life, it i e run out of money, that my biggest crime, i don have any money laughs i don have the drugs or the alcohol problem, it i don have any money so here i am. 27 23 k. R. Is a proud vietnam veteran whose not too proud about where he is in life k. R. 21 32. I ended up on the street, and was trying to find places on the street to sleep, driveways and things like that so i real grateful to have the bed, and then during the day i spend all my days online to find work, 21 55 he been homeless and is trying to find a construction job. He blames his age and medical issues for his lack of opportunityk. R. 28 40 it a sad state of affairs and it a sense of helplessness,sadly,k. R. Is not the only veteran whose fallen on hard times. That why organizations across the midlands are joining together to be a part of an effort called zero 2016. An initiative to eliminate homelessness amongst veterans and to eliminate chronic homelessness Jennifer Moore 41 50 these are folks who have served our country and they deserve not to be on the streets, that just the bottom line, united way Jennifer Moore says several organizations have banned together to streamline services that directly help vets who may have fallen moore 45 00 we e developed a name list, and we e working on that right now and what that is is we e working with our street outreach workers and our Housing Providers to get a list of every veteran on the street right now, 45 11 get their name, get their exact situation, we e actually screening them for vulnerability to see how quickly we need to get them into housing and to see how vulnerable they are, k. R. 27 30 everyday is a new day and partners involved in zero 2016 and k. R. Hope there comes a new day where homelessness amongst veterans is erased. Janae frazier. News 19. Wltx. 3 k. R. Is currently being helped and housed by an Organization Called transitions. Which is one of the several groups involved in zero 2016. 3 3 winners of wednesday nights 1 point 6 billion dollar jackpot have not come forward. Those tickets were sold in california, florida and tennesse. And while there wasnt a jackpot winner here. A Record Number of Winning Tickets were sold in our state. Five players won 100,000 and another 11 3 one of those winners. Is an employee. Right here at wltx. Keith smith works in our Sales Department and says he didnt check his ticket until he got to work yesterday morning. And as you can imagine. He was very happy. 3 state lottery director Paula Harper Bethea says the last couple days have been busy but she wouldnt change it for anything. And while she says she cant predict when we could see another jackpot this big. She knows they are great 3 3 the next Powerball Jackpot is saturday night and it is now back down to 40 million dollars. 3 3 one mother and grandmother in the saint Louis Missouri area. Didnt win the lottery. But yesterday both hit the jackpot thats because they welcomed a new baby into the family. But its her birthdate that has many saying shes one in a million. 3 on january 14th 2016 this precious bundle of joy was born but her story begins 22 1994 when her mother Brittni Davis was born. It just was the most amazing experience of my life, and then i had her and shes the best thing i ever had. But brittnis story begins 18 years earlier when her mother, angela white was born. On january 14th 1976. Its been awesome just having a birthday with my mom, but now my baby girl will have the same birthday. Oddly enough none of this was planned. It took days for angela to give birth and it didnt hit her until after brittni was already here. It was just a very long and exhausting experience. And brittni has been in the hospital since tuesday. The only reason amiyah came today was because her heart rate dropped not once but twice. Next thing you know, they said, csection, you know, were going to roll her out. And i was nervous but i was breathing but i was breathing and i was praying. Turns out amiyah is just fine and her family is shared birthdays. I think as shes growing up well find different activities that we can all do together and its just gonna make it really special, you know . As for today brittni and angela received the best Birthday Gift any mother or grandmother can ask for, a healthy complication free birth. 3 chat 3 and if youre still feeling lucky well we here at a winner. Starting next tuesday. We will be placing 19 golden wltx signed footballs at several different public landmarks across 11 counties. Then everyday at noon. We will post those secret locations through pictures posted on wltxs instagram, twitter and facebook accounts. So be sure to follow us if you find a golden football bring it to the wltx studios to win 50. And then register for our grand price of 519. Keep in mind you can only win once so please dont try and find all 19 footballs. The grand prize winner will be announced live on friends at five on tuesday, january 26th. 3 would you do if you saw a turkey on a plane . Believe it or not, that actually happened. Well tell you how it got. Coming up in whats brewing. 3 but first. The skies are clear now but rain could be rolling in soon. Meterologist efren afante will tell us exactly what to expect in your full weather forecast, after the break. 3 former boy band star. Nick carter. Is under arrest. The former back street boy was arrested at a bar in key west florida. According to reports. He got into some type of scuffle. In the hogs breath saloon. Its not clear what led to the fight or if anyone else was arrested. But we know Police Arrested carter. Recently carter has appeared on dancing with the stars and there are also rumors of a 3 Backstreet Boys reunion 3 tour. With the spice girls. Chat 3 if you are trying to eat healtheir it may not be how much you eat. But what you are eating an article on yahoo health lists the foods hungrier take fullscreen on the top of the list cheese. Studies find, the more you have, the more you crave. Take fullscreen low fat yogurtsthe high carbohydrate load and very low fat content. Often leave you looking for more to eat. Instead dieticians say greek yogurt is the way to go. Take fullscreen and while you may think that fat free salad dressing is saving you calories. The salt and sugar in them. Can leave you feeling unsatisfied and craving more take fullscreen another surprise on the list. Eggwhites. Leaving out the 3 yolk also leaves out the part 3 maybe youre trying to be healthier in the new year. We know standing desks are all the rage. Right now but sometimes they can be expensive. So obviously when someone claims theyve created a standing desk equal to the cost of a couple of starbucks drinks people freak out the social Media Company hoot suite unveiled this lowcost version today. 25dollars can buy you all this uh. Two. Cardboard boxes. The oristand brags you can fold it up and 3 finally we all know turkeys cant fly. But thats not the case for this one. Check this out. Its a turkey on a plane thats one way to get this bird to fly. It was brought onto a delta flight as a passengers therapy pet. Heres another photo of it spokesperson from delta says the Company Complies with the air carrier access act that allows customers to travel with service animals. There are no rules on what animals qualify as a therapy 3 pet. Chat 3 3 coming up. The Midlands Community came together to help a little girl and change her life. That hearwarming 3 thanks for waking up with news 19 on this friday morning. You are waking up to another chilly morning. Im savannah levins. And im mary sturgill. Tgif. The last day of the week. But you might want to bundle the kids up this morning. As you head them off to school. Lets check in with meteorologist. Efran efante. 3 3 3 3 in orangeburg county. Two men wanted in connection with what deputies are calling. A Violent Crime spree. Have been arrested. They are 18yearold Derrick James and Christopher Pressley deputies say on january 4th. Several men reported being shot on mango street. Then they say. Last wednesday. A truck driver reported being robbed. At gunpoint. At loves truck stop. And in calhoun county. Investigators believe james robbed a man at gunpoint at the wilco hess station. Both have been charged with Armed Robbery and attempted murder. Bond has alsobeen denied for both suspects. 3 a sumter man has been arrested on child porn charges. Hes 39 year old. William hugh phillips. Investigators say that phillips was involved in exchanging child porn on his computer. If convicted. He could face up to 10 years 15 counts he faces. 3 in spartanburg county. A man is facing charges after police say he called 911 over and over. Hes 40 year old denver craven. Dispatchers say he called 9 11. 31 times over a 5 hour time frame. During the calls, they say he would ither sing. Cuss out a dispatcher or just keep rambling on about nothing in particular. 3 3 a little more than two weeks to go. Until the process of electing the next president begins. With the iowa caucuses. Last night in South Carolina. Seven of the republican candidates took the debate stage. It was the Smallest Group of gop hopefuls yet. Weijia jang is in North Charleston with more. 3 3 and today ted cruz will be in columbia. He is taking part in the conservative leadership projects forum. It is taking place at 3 45pm at the usc alumni center. Then he is holding a rally at 7 45 at north greenville university. 3 tomorrow. Gop president ial hopeful Mike Huckabee will be in Chester Countyhe wilbe at the watershed pavilion at 4pm. 3 meanwhile on the democratic side. Martin omalley has now qualified to take part in sundays president ial debate in charleston. Omalley will debate alongside hillary who are locked in a narrow race in iowa and New Hampshire. Omalley was at risk of being excluded based on criteria requiring a candidate to have an erage of 5 percent either in recent national polls. Or in polls in the early voting states of iowa, New Hampshire or South Carolina. 3 3 over at the state house. The house is trying to make sure that a standardized test is in place for 11th graders. Because the state dropped common core. A standardized test is not in place to see how 11thgraders are doing. The house passed an emergency measure today for a oneyear test. Until a new permanent test is in place. House Education Committee chair rita allison of spartanburg says the test is important in setting up students for their futures. 3 00. 03. 42. 25 with the assessment in the 11th grade, we will be able to tell where their strengths and their weaknesses are, and if they have weaknesses they can use remediation and then graduate career and collegeready, 00. 03. 56. 19 she says without the test. A lot of students have to spend their first year or two in college or technical school. Taking remedial classes. 3 3 today is the official birthday of doctor Martin Luther king junior but monday is when many in our state will honor his legacy. One of the largest gatherings in our state is king day at the dome which begins with a 1015 am rally monday at then state house steps. This years theme a call for Education Equity 3 one Midlands Community has been helping out children in need for years. For the first time we get to show you the good they are doing. News19s sonia gutierrez. Has a story about a little girl. Given a gift to help her live a full life 3 i see a fighter, i see a survivor i see joy, of course great and i see love hugand a lifelong bond that was formed from the initiative gift of life. Initially i was a little apprehensive about having strangers come to my home but overtime we fell in love with the familygert wells opened her home to host xochitl and her mom. Meeting at palmetto childrens hopsital after xochitls first surgerya total of 3 visits to the hospital, 3 surgeries at about a week or more a piece medical care that xochitls mother says she might not have received in el salvador, where theyre from. Hay gente muy buena y que esta dispuesta ayudaryou see, xochitl was born with scoliosisyou see her spine was like this and we had to make it go like this. A complicated surgery her doctor said it was best if she had done here. We work with the doctors down there and the gift of life coordinators to try to make arrangements for them to try to get them the medical needs here in the us wayne magee is the chairman of the gift of life program here in sc to see xochitl who literally spent 22 days of the 3 months in the hospital, to see the resilience that she has that demonstrated by a child, her ability to push manage to have a smile on her face has just been very moving the Spring Valley rotary club has been hosting families and helping with medical bills since the mid 80s. Shel go home in a much, much better place than how we received her those who met xochitl, will tell you shes been a gift in their lives. We learned a new word from xochitl while we speak spanish some of the dialect is different xochitl favorite phrase is uchicawhich is the equivalent to oh my godsonia gutierrez news19 wltx 3 two surgeries. Three months and many smiles later. The little girl will go back home to el salvador today. The Spring Valley rotary club has helped about 50 children. Since they started this initiative. 3 coming up on news 19 this morning. You can keep your dream of losing weight and getting in shape alive. All thanks to Martin Luther king day on monday. Well have a guest in studio to talk about that. 3 then. Well introduce you her life. But with the help of adele. Has made several peoples lives a little brighter. Thats coming up a 3 a new Study Suggests eating more spinach, kale, and broccoli may lower your risk percent. Doctors in Boston Report people with chronic optic nerve damage benefit from the nitrates in green leafy vegetables. Which can help blood circulation. 3 people using e cigarettes to help taper off real cigarettes are m