tonight, the race for the white house and donald trump's bold prediction. the republican front-runner and what he said is coming, if he wins south carolina. just as his feud with jeb bush takes a new turn tonight. hillary clinton set to face off battle for the south. get ready for the deep freeze. the arctic blast across more than 20 states. the dangerous commute already. it will feel well below zero across much of this country. tonight, the fbi ordering armed protesters to surrender. >> i'm a free man, i will die a free man.

dramatic turn, and we're there. the deadly gas explosion and now the charges tonight. two people killed, three buildings leveled. and prosecutors this evening arguing, it was all because of greed. and we have breaking news involving bill cosby's wife. and gas prices dropping to 99 crepts a gallon. is your town next? good evening. and it's great to have you with us here on a thursday night. and we begin with a new turn in the race for president. on both sides, it is now a battle for the south. and donald trump now saying, if he wins in south carolina, he's going to, quote, run the table. on the democratic side, hillary clinton and bernie sanders set to battle tonight on that stage. many eyes on clinton. will she change her strategy after a bruising loss in new hampshire? abc's jonathan karl in south carolina tonight, where trump now says there is something you will not see from him.

rivals, donald trump is declaring if they can't beat him here in south carolina, they won't beat him anywhere. >> we win here, we're going to run the table. if we win here, after winning so big in new hampshire, all of these characters are going to give it up. we're going to run the table and we will make america great again. that i can tell you, okay? >> reporter: trump campaign so confident, says it is only going to run positive tv ads. >> he wants to make america great. >> reporter: but there's one candidate trump still can't resist attacking. >> you have a guy like bush, who has this big fund -- it's terrible. i'll be honest. the last thing we need is another bush. that i can tell you. >> reporter: we traveled to florence, south carolina, to meet up with governor bush, as he went into the venus restaurant, he seemed irritated by the mere mention of trump's name. are you going to be able to stop donald trump here. >> i hope so. >> reporter: inside, he hit back.

chief? someone who will say whatever he wants to, you know, to make it all about him? insult people, divide people? basically just talk trash on his way to the republican nomination? >> reporter: south carolina presidential politics is known for its brass knuckle attacks. ted cruz is out with this video, ridiculing trump. >> look, i got the trump action figure figure! >> no way, it's huge! >> what does he do? >> he pretends to be a republican! >> reporter: and today, marco rubio launched his own grenade at trump. >> donald trump has zero fosh policy experience. negotiating a hotel deal in another country is not foreign policy expeer yerns. >> reporter: rubio is still haunted by his bad debate. those mocking rubio robots following him to south carolina. but at a town hall meeting today, a vote of confidence. >> as far as the robot stuff, you haven't brought that up, but just keep in mind that the

governor of california. >> reporter: that won governor schwarzenegger, of course. >> and jon karl live in south carolina tonight. and jon, there has been so much talk on the republican side about whether former president george w. bush would be a help or not. if he campaigned for his brother, jeb. and they're about to give it a shot? >> reporter: that's right. former president bush will be at a big campaign rally with his brother in charleston on monday. it's the latest indication, david, that jeb bush, who started the campaign saying i am my own man, is now banking on the bush name to help save his campaign. >> jonathan karl in south carolina. jon, thank you. meantime, to major developments on the democratic side tonight. hillary clinton and bernie sanders, and the showdown this evening. they're in wisconsin now, their first debate since bernie sanders trounced hillary clinton in new hampshire. both now looking to nevada and south carolina. polls in that state have shown clinton with a lead, but sanders, of course, with new momentum. tonight, both courting black

one-on-one with bernie sanders, ask asking, does clinton's ground game give her an advantage in this next round? and here's what he said. >> reporter: tonight, a debate stage showdown. the first since bernie sanders' sweeping new hampshire win. and the first since the candidates' most heated clash. >> i think it's time to end the very artful smear that you and your campaign have been carrying out in recent weeks and let's talk -- let's talk about the issues. >> let's talk about issues. >> and so let's talk about issues. >> let's talk about issues. >> reporter: sanders and hillary clinton hunkered down all day, but their campaigns in overdrive -- rolling out key african-american endorsements with an eye towards the south carolina primary. in clinton's corner -- members of the congressional black caucus. slamming sanders, saying he wasn't on the front lines of the civil rights struggle. >> but i never saw him. i never met him. i was involved in the sit-ins, the freedom rides, the march on

to montgomery. but i met hillary clinton. i met president clinton. >> reporter: but sanders today, winning the support of another civil rights icon -- super star harry belafonte. >> i think he represents opportunity. i think he represents a moral imperative. >> reporter: all signs the campaign is moving to a new battlefield. the democratic vote, more than 90% white in iowa and new hampshire. but in south carolina, more than half of the democratic vote could come from african-americans. and in nevada, blacks and latinos could make up a third. but sanders acknowledging clinton has a head start. >> she's got the instra tuck sure, the name, the ground game. >> i agree. >> reporter: you bring? >> she's ahead of us. but we're moving quickly. she was ahead of us in iowa and new hampshire. but we caught up. >> and cecilia vega with us live. clinton and sanders both heighting hard for south carolina.

powerful democrat appears to be torn, choosing his words very carefully? >> reporter: very carefully, david. congressman jim claiborne saying that he is undecided in this race. his own family is split. his daughter is for hillary, his grandson is feeling the bern. and listen to this. he says, quote, my heart and head are in different places right now, but we will see. a sign of the tough road ahead for hillary clinton. >> all right, we'll let the viewers interpret that one. cecilia, thank you. to the polar vortex and the arctic air sinking south tonight. the deep freeze on the way for 65 million americans. sub zero temperatures, 20 states, in fact, bracing for record cold and extreme one chills. images already coming in tonight. dangerous roads outside cleveland. pipes bursting. a water main break in scranton, pennsylvania. even florida, that car window in melbourne, covered in frost. let's get right to meteorologist rob marciano, tracking it all, and were saying, the wind chills with this, going to make it very rough.

heat, record-breaking heat to the west. and the cold air to the east. and that cold arctic stuff really going to come down across the great lakes. saturday, daytime highs, 3 in minneapolis, 11 in chicago. overnight saturday into sunday morning, the core of the cold air gets to the northeast. it will be 0 likely in new york. if that's the case, that's the coldest we've seen since '94. these are the wind chills. minus 22 sunday morning in new york. 36 below in albany. that is dangerous k08d, david. try not to go too much. if you do, cover up and certainly protect your pelts and your pipes in your home. >> check on the neighbors. rob, thank you. in the west tonight, a dramatic end to the armed standoff in oregon. the fbi with bull horns and you're about to hear what the protesters were shouting back. all of this in a town taken hostage over a fight over government land. abc's neal karlinsky with oregon with the audio tonight from the final stand. >> reporter: the final hours of the standoff playing out live over an open phone line. >> you're going to come out with your hands up. >> no, we're not!

bizarre standoff that began over government control of land in the west. >> do the right thing, right? >> the right thing is to kill us? >> reporter: three of the final four holdouts finally surrendering this morning. >> sandy and sean both have their hands up in the air. sean's holding an american flag. >> reporter: but inside the federal compound, occupier david fry wouldn't budge. >> unless my greivances are heard, i will not come out! >> david, it's harder to live for liberty than it is to die for it. don't be a coward like that. >> you have no right to call me a coward. >> reporter: his list of grievances varied, from taxation issues to this -- >> all i needed was marijuana. you guys wouldn't even let me have my marijuana. >> reporter: but little by little, activist krisanne hall got through to him. >> if everybody says hallelujah, i'll come out. i'm walking towards them right now. >> can i just cry now, gavin? >> reporter: tonight, those final four are now part of a

federal indictment after 41 days that wreaked havoc out here. david? >> neal karlinsky on the scene from the start. thanks, neal. now, to a breaking headline tonight from georgia. a major prison scandal. officers raiding this prison, more than 40 current and former guards under arrest at this hour. abc's senior justice correspondent pierre thomas on what they are accused of doing while in uniform to avoid >> reporter: georgia state prison guards are the ones wearing handcuffs today, busted in an fbi sting, accused of taking bribes from inmates and drug dealers. they allegedly helped prisoners get drugs into the prison. >> allegations range from smuggling in contraband, but also using their official capacity as officers to protect what they believe to be drug transactions and drug shipments. >> don't overlook anything! >> reporter: raids like this coming as the fbi and state officials vow to clean out

activity inside prison walls. the arrests, the latest example of apparently widescale corruption within georgia prisons. more than 130 inmates, guards and outsiders charged just since september. >> and pierre thomas with us live tonight, as well. pierre, so, these officers are accused of staying in uniform to go undetected and the inmates had cell phones to run their deals? >> reporter: david, it's stunning. 19 georgia corrections officers have been charged with protects inmates who were using cell phones for outrageous scams. enforcement officials and demanding victims pay fines. >> pierre thomas again tonight. thank you. now, to a case we've been reporting on right here. a massive and deadly gas explosion that brought down city. it caused a seven-alarm fire. buildings were reduced to rubble. two people were killed. well, tonight, four people are now charged with manslaughter, and prosecutors say it was all because of greed. abc's ron claiborne from the

>> reporter: it began with a fiery explosion. flames engulching three apartment buildings. and in just a few hours, all of it gone. two lives lost, dozens displaced. today, the building's owner, her son and two contractors were arrested and charged with manslaughter. accused of tampering with gas lines in their rush to rent apartments for up to $6,000 a month each. >> when greed guides the decisions and the respect for human life doesn't, this is the result. >> reporter: nearly one year later, the two people who died are still remembered here at the site. prosecutors say the contractors illegally jerry rigged the gas lines twice. first, with dangerous flexible hoses, shown in this photo, to supply gas to the apartments above. later, by allegedly tapping into the gas lines of the neighboring building, and hiding it all from inspectors. they say the day of the deadly fire, the owner's son and the lead contractor went to investigate the odor of gas in the basement. >> they smelled the gas and then they sprinted out of the building, without alerting people in the restaurant.

gas ignited. and prosecutors say the building, which had been here, had already failed one inspection, and the owners wanted to get those renters in as soon as possible, and not wait for the next inspection. david, those four suspects accused of manslaughter, they pleaded not guilty today. >> ron claiborne live right here in new york tonight. ron, thank you. this evening, the u.s. coast guard is now inspecting that royal caribbean cruise ship, back at port after safl iling straight through hurricane-force ones. tonight, the passengers now describing the horror. here's abc's linsey davis. >> reporter: for passengers onboard this rough and tumble cruise that had some fearing for their lives -- >> this is crazy. >> reporter: -- renewed meaning tonight to the saying their ship has finally come in. >> i'm alive. i'm alive. this is insane. >> reporter: finally on dry land, passenger peter aloupis told our robin roberts, anthem of the seas in that storm sunday night felt like being inside a washing machine.

it was absolutely terrifying. we were on the third floor with an ocean view and we literally saw the ocean with dory swimming by. >> reporter: as to why the captain thought it would be safe to sail with those warnings in the forecast, royal caribbean could only apologize, saying, "what happened this week showed that we need to do better." >> we're going to figure out what exactly happened and make sure doesn't happen again. >> reporter: while the coast guard has yet to come meant on its inspection of the ship, in a tweet today, royal caribbean called the damage minor and confirmed anthem of the seas will set sail again on saturday. david? >> linsey davis, thank you. now, to the economy tonight, and a wild day on wall street. the dow on a roller coaster ride yet again. at one point, plummeting more than 400 points. then, leveling out somewhat, closing down 254 points. abc's chief business correspondent rebecca jarvis tonight on the market rocked by lower oil prices, while at the

cents a gallon in parts of this country. rebecca? >> reporter: david, there are gas stations selling below $2 a gallon and suspected prices will continue to fall from here. and take a look at this. it's a station in kansas, now selling gas for 99 cents a gallon. experts predict there is more where that came from, especially in the midwest, where prices could fall in coming weeks below $1 a gallon. now, this is great news for consumer consumers, now paying the lowest amount for gas in more than a decade, but it's been a big problem for energy companies, and energy jobs and we have seen the ripple effect into stocks, as well. david? >> rebecca jarvis with us tonight. rebecca, thank you. there is still much more ahead on "world news tonight" this thursday. the investigation tonight you're about to see the irs agent caught up in an fbi sting. authorities saying this video appearing to show him taking bribes. the moment, and what he said, leading to his arrest. we also have breaking news this evening on bill cosby's

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but kunkel goes to the fbi. a sting secretly records the first meeting at a coffee shop. >> you think we're going to be okay, though? >> i'm 99.99% sure we're good. >> reporter: hurley's attorneys claim the 20 grand wasn't a bribe but was for "a job to perform accounting services." right after this meeting, hurley is busted. he's pleaded not guilty. a jury is now deciding hurley's fight. if he's convicted of bribery, he could go to prison for 15 years. david? >> clayton, thank you. when we come back here tonight, the major scientific break through. it turns out albert einstein was right. and the breaking headline about bill cosby's wife. the judge's decision in tonight. (toilet flush) if you need an opioid to manage your chronic pain, you may be sooo constipated it feels like everyone can go ...except you. tried many things?

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finally, we will never forget the horror of newtown, and one little girl, among the many lost, her beautiful voice, not forgotten. >> ready and go. >> reporter: perhaps you remember the voice of anna marquez green. just 6 years old when she was killed in her classroom at sandy hook elementary in newtown. anna was the daughter of jazz saxophonist jimmy green. >> anna loved to live. chef was a beautiful little girl. above all, she was a very generous and loving child. >> reporter: jimmy turned to his music to deal with his grief. >> music is a language in and of itself. and it's a language, for me,

words leave off. >> reporter: writing a song called "anna's way." anna had a way about her >> reporter: eventually recording an album, "beautiful life" to honor anna's life. with help from more than 40 musicians and technicians who volunteered their time. >> they said, you know, we want to donate 100% donate the production of a recording, at whatever time you feel that you're able to do it. >> reporter: tonight, that album now nominated for two grammys. >> if anna's life had been longer, she would have found herself on records, because she had a beautiful voice, she loved to perform. she loved who she was. she was a very proud little girl. >> reporter: now hoping she'd be

amen >> and much more on the a (phone ringing) you can't deal with something, by ignoring it. but that's how some presidential candidates seem to be dealing with social security. americans work hard, and pay into it. so our next president needs a real plan to keep it strong. (elephant noise) (donkey noise)

answer the call already. this is the "jeopardy!" college championship. here are our three finalists -- a junior at the university of southern california from bethesda, maryland... a sophomore at the university of california, berkeley originally from boise, idaho... and a senior at the university of pittsburgh from jamison, pennsylvania... and now here is the host of "jeopardy!" --