Another beautiful day with afternoon temps in the upper 70's and partly sunny skies.  We are tracking rain and thunderstorms in spots tomorrow afternoon but otherwise it'll be dry and warm through Saturday. 

Today's interview lineup:

At 6:53 hear Jamie Dupree from Alabama on Newt Gingrich's southern strategy and whether it could pay off.

At 7:23 hear AP National Security Correspondent Sagar Meghani on the U.S. Army soldier linked to a killing spree in Afghanistan, and a prior crash that caused a head injury. 

At 7:53 hear Matt Augustine update the search for a missing Clay County man and his friend who went for an afternoon adventure in the woods and haven't been seen since.

At 8:23 hear Jamie Dupree explain why the long primary fight has state Republican party leaders giddy.

Our Top National Story:  The southern strategy will be put to the test for Newt Gingrich today when voters in Alabama and Mississippi decide who they want to be the Republican nominee.  Polls show how tight this race really is.  Rick Santorum is planning to watch returns from Louisiana, which holds its primary later this month.

Breaking news from Afghanistan, where we may be seeing the first retalliation attack following the killing of 16 civilians by a U.S. soldier.  Militants have attacked a government delegation visiting a site where the attacks happened. We do not have reports of casualties just yet.

Our Top Local Story:  An unbelieveable case of child abuse gets even more disturbing.  Troy Howell is now accused of tampering with witnesses.  He's already in jail for allegedly chaining his 18 year-old nephew to the floor of his bedroom.  Jail house phone conversations that Howell had with his sister had some threatening information that ultimately led to the new charges.

Guests at a Southside hotel were forced to relocate after a meth lab was found.  Police discovering the meth lab in a room at the Homestead Studio Suites on Western Way in Baymeadows.  Two people are arrested, and the entire hotel had to be evacuated.

A WOKV News Investigation update:  The guy who squatted in a Navy family's Clay County home just as it was moving in is now facing charges in Duval County.  We caught up with Marcellous Dunbar's attorney, Reggie Estell, who tells us Dunbar followed the law when claiming adverse possession.  Dunbar is out on bond following his arrest last Thursday.  The organized fraud scheme also led to the arrests of three other people, including former Mayoral candidate Warren Lee.

The weapon of choice in this murder was a sledge hammer.  Jacksonville police say say 19-year-old Enrique Paharo and 26-year-old Maryanne Blake set it up to make Robert Scott's death look like a home invasion-robbery in Springfield Monday.  Scott showed up at Blake's home with cocaine and marijuana. All three did the drugs, and when Scott fell asleep he was attacked with a sledge hammer, then he was strangled.  . When that didn't end his life, Pa-Ha-Ro strangled Scott. When cops showed up early Monday morning, they questioned the pair, and both confessed to the crime. A 3-year-old child was at home and witnessed the murder.

It's Christmas for football fans, as free agency in the NFL starts at 4pm today.  Jaguars fans are watching with keen interest what happens to Peyton Manning and what it could mean for Tim Tebow. 

A $1,000 dollar reward is being offered for the capture of the vandal or vandals that destroyed several old baseball pennants hanging in the Yulee Sports Complex.  Some of the banners were won by teams as far back as the 1970's.

An update on the Caribbean Circle Fire.  Clay County Fire Rescue says significant progress is being made in mopping up 50 to 100 feet around the perimeter of the fire.  It's less than 150 acres in size and is still 60-percent  contained.