home of the nba finals.a deadly blizzard crippling the east coast emergency... and travel

highways even commuter trains. good evening, i'm kendra kostelecky. thanks for joining us here tonight. the blizzard of 2016 is here... and it's already creating a massive mess. there have already been 18 storm related deaths. states of emergency declared by several east coast states. and the snow is still coming down. abc's karla bar-guia- rena is in new york city with the latest. no hype here? the blizzard of 2016 hitting hard? nats new york city nearly doubling its expected snow totals? officials forced to ban travel on streets, highways, bridges and commuter rails? even some of the city's subway system - frozen. sot - mayor bill de blasio / new york city "if you have taken your car out for any reason, turn around and go home right now." in west virginia - white out conditions - nearly

snow buried police cruisers? the national guard sending in soldiers to travel by air - crippled? no planes going in or out of new york, washington or philadelphia. instead, equipment lined up to clear the nats people in the d-c and virginia area - expecting accumulation. sot - brian pittack / homeowner "a few feet's okay. but once you pass 24 and they're calling for 36 or 40, you start wondering nats snow?. from long island to queens, new york? to the jersey shore? neighborhoods overrun with icy ocean water. governor chris christie reassuring his state - control. sot - gov. chris christie / new jersey "this is my 17th snow emergency in 6 years? // this is not superstorm sandy." but it's not misery for everyone? these deer enjoyed the empty streets of washington dc?. and giant panda "tian tian" frolicked at the national zoo? while a few brave

kids enjoy this historic blizzard. karla barguiarena oncam close: officials here in new york confirming at least three people died from shoveling snow. they are asking everyone to be extra cautious... especially considering more snow is expected to fall - at least until midnight. karla barguiarena, abc news, new york. some wintry weather in the sierras today - but down here in the valley warm and mild. dick stoddard has a look at what's happening in your weather now forecast. a moderate winter storm system and cold front passage today will create gusty winds and periods of moderate to heavy snow in the sierra. a mix of rain and snow is expected for the lower valleys. early next week, drier weather returns with near average temperatures. there is chance wet weather will return by next weekend. short term...

shows the cold front located near the sierra crest. it will continue to move east, passing across the tahoe basin and sierra foothills over the next couple of hours and across western nv during the rest of the morning. the snow level is currently above 6,000 feet in the tahoe basin but will continue to lower and rain should change to snow at lake level before sunrise. a winter weather advisory remains in effect through 4 pm today for travel impacts above 5000 feet in northeast ca today, including at yuba and fredonyer passes, and for all roads in the tahoe basin and mono county. gusty south winds increased after midnight as expected with peak the suspected robber now behind bars.

atlantis casino just after two this afternoon. casino security held the suspect and a woman until police arrived. the man, who has not been identified, faces charges of battery with a deadly weapon. the woman who was with him is being held on unrelated charges. teh victim was taken to renown, and is expected to be ok. the las vegas police department is investigating the first officer involved shooting of the year. it happened around 7:30 last night - several calls to 9-1-1 reporting an armed man walking in and out of traffic on south las vegas boulevard - pointing a gun at people. officers found the suspect near the fountain area of the bellagio hotel casino. they demanded he drop his weapon, but the man refused. a patrol officer fired his gun, but missed the suspect. the bullet grazed a child's leg. a man was also in the path of the bullet, which caused a hole in his clothing, but did not

into custody - and charged with multiple felonies for aiming a firearm at a person. the reno police department is helping southwest reno get a neighborhood watch program going again... jenny brekhus organized at meeting for residents at the mckinley arts and culture center... after hearing from concerned neighbors. there were several car and home break-ins in the area over the holidays, and now the reno police department is helping to re-establish a neighborhood watch program there. the idea is for residents to be more vigilant and involved in their neighborhoods... and that king of awareness... can help prevent crime. "a lot of neighborhood watch meetings that i do, there's neighbors that live next to each other for 0 to 15 years and they don't even know each others names, this brings the together for a common cause of protecting themselves." if you're interested in starting a neighborhood

area... the easist way to get started is to call the reno rodeo foundation... handing out brand new clothes to hundreds of kids in need today. it's a big help to area foster parents... many who go above and beyond to provide safe homes to children. kolo 8 news nows chris buckley has new clothes for a near year. the reno rodeo foundation collects donations and several times a year, invites foster families to shop for kids in their care. "it's a wonderful experience i just had a mom come up to me and tell me how much it means to support the foster familie it's our heats since 2007 so we're happy to give back to a community that's been so generous to us." volunteers of all ages help with the shopping. they don't have really anything so you help them out." and the new clothes go a long way for families providing care. donna bawcom and her 18 children in the last five years. "we raised our own ten children we felt the lord would have us to go out to the hoeless and the children that have been abandoned and really nurture life into them, help them redefine themselves. its a lot of work but its the work that seems to give my husband and i much purpose and we can see the constant improvement

gives us a big purpose in life when we see that kind of growth in the children." they're adopting three more... and keep in contact with many that move on. "its wonderful they're either reunited or adopted, excited to go on we always keep that in front of the that they are going to be somewhere." and the need ... is always buckley kolo 8 news now. the first lego league robotics championships taking place today at u- n-r. elementary and middle

participating in the competition. teams of up to ten members use science, engineering and math concepts - in addition to their imagination to develop solutions to the teams earning the most points progress state title. great minds came to reno to shared their ideas at ted-x university of nevada today. center stage at a sold- out pioneer theater. 13 of them local... these speaks specialize in the fields of science, technology, business, culture and art. each speaker had about 18 minutes to spread big ideas worth spreading. they actually go back and do a little research or maybe it's something that they discover a new passion, something that will get them engaged into conintual learning because that's what it's really all about. if you missed the ted x event today... videos of each speaker will be posted next month. there will be a tedx

hundreds of people standing out in the rain last night in hopes of seeing bill clinton speaking in support of his wife's presidential bid. the former president making an impromptu stop in the biggest little city. the event taking place at the boys and girls club on foster drive. he spoke on hillary's ideas for expanding clean energy... treating america's growing prescription drug problem... and plans for making college affordable for everyone... "by making sure every body going forward can have the lowest possible interest rates and a fixed limit on how much they can pay per month so they know it when they're in college they never have to drop out and we can build this country for them and they can be a part of it instead of worrying about a future that will never materialize." hillary clinton is speaking in iowa this weekend.. ahead of their democratic caucus - which takes place december first. nevada's democratic caucus is scheduled for feburary 20th. a special event honoring local ladies... we'll take you to the second annual

the eldorado. plus -- nevada and u-n-l-v renewing their rivalry on the basketball court progress highlights sports

wednesdays and thursdays. all the weekend days have been out. we've gone from not enough winter weather last year - to too much this year. for the second week in a row, sky tavern ski program has delayed the start of their season. participants got an email this morning explaining that wind gusts of up to 70-miles- an hour were expected. meanwhile, crews have been busy all day to clear snow off the parking lots and making pathways for visitors. they hope to open tomorrow, after this storm wave has passed. a moderate winter

front passage today will periods of moderate to heavy snow in the sierra. a mix of rain and snow is expected for the lower valleys. early next week, drier near average temperatures. there is chance wet weather will return by next weekend. short term... current radar imagery shows the cold front located near the sierra crest. it will continue to move east, passing across the tahoe basin and sierra foothills over the next couple of hours and across western nv during the rest of the morning. the snow

above 6,000 feet in the tahoe basin but will continue to lower and rain should change to snow at lake level before sunrise. a winter weather advisory remains in effect through 4 pm today for travel impacts above 5000 feet in northeast ca today, including at yuba and fredonyer passes, and for all roads in the tahoe basin and mono county. gusty south winds increased after midnight as expected with peak valley gusts currently 35-50 mph. winds will become southwest-west after the cold front passage and peak gusts should remain at similar speeds through the morning hours before showing a decreasing trend this

rates are likely this morning along the front, but upper level support for lift and afternoon instability are likely to keep areas of showers going during the afternoon. snow levels will fall to 4,500 feet in the afternoon but by that time precipitation rates are expected to taper off. several of our model simulations have trended westward with a potential slider system sunday-night monday morning. however, there remains a lot of diversity both in timing and intensity with this system. it looks like snow flurries are more likely than significant accumulations, but some simulations do show potential

commute hassles. the farther west track could also bring northerly ridgetop wind gusts 30- 45 mph sunday night and monday. jcm long term......tuesday through friday... main changes were made to friday to increase winds/precip chance as models are consistent showing a strong jet by poisoned drinking water. now concerned citizens from across the country are pitching in to help with everything from the cost of testing to temporary relief. the 2nd annual

participants ranged in age from nine-to-over- 30. many of them also area special olympics athletes. the competition is a partnership between special olympics of nevada and the cinderella pageant organization. and all of the dresses were donated. the state's big casinos are defending governor brian sandoval's one- point-one million dollar tax package. wynn resorts, mgm resorts international... and caesars entertainment are among the supporters donating 242-thousand dollars to the "coalition for nevada's future." the coalition will pay for attorneys trying to stop several repeal efforts. already, they've

proposal to repeal all three parts of the governor's tax package. but... were unsuccessful in stopping a potential ballot measure to repeal the new commerce tax. the mega casinos are supporting the new tax package because is covers a wide range of businesses, not just gambling. people who want to help residents in flint, michigan, cope with the water crisis are flocking to gofundme. since this afternoon.... donors have already given nearly 2-hundred thousand dollars. the money will go toward purchasing bottles of water and water filters.. it will even provide bags of fresh fruit and vegetables. one account is even raising money to offset the costs incurred by the virginia tech researchers who first tested the water and found unsafe levels of lead. in response to the outpouring of support, gofundme itself is making its own contribution -- the campaign that raises the most money will get an extra 10-thousand

if you would like to help... you'll find a link to all those fundraising pages at kolo tv dot com - under hot topics. ben ross is here now with a preview of sports. -nevada vs. unlv at lawlor events center -- in progress plus the n-f-l-p-a collegiate bowl -- a couple of wolf pack alums playing -- but one

little bit more -- nevada and u-n-l-v renewing their rivalry on the basketball court tonight for the first time this season and lawlor events center was absolutely rockin' -- by far the biggest crowd of the

early on -- cam oliver -- the freshman going to work -- showing some range... ties the game at 2... moments later -- tyron criswell -- same spot... he knocks it down... wolf pack down 1... then it's oliver again -- getting to the basket... gives nevada its first lead of the game... how 'bout another freshman -- lindsey drew with the steal... coast- to-coast for the easy 2... wolf pack up 3... rebels answer -- ike nwamu with the thunderous jam... he's a guy eric musselman recruited... but oliver answers back for nevada -- another jumper... he's so versatile... and then in transition -- criswell with the lob -- oliver throws it down... nevada led by 1 at the break... right now -- score update meantime -- the wolf pack women fall at u-n- l-v, 65-59... stephanie

23 pts, including 7 three-pointers in defeat some high school scores to pass along -- beginning with boys basketball... bishop manogue knocks off north valleys... elko beats south tahoe and lowry picks up a 19- point win at fallon in girls hoops -- manogue rips north valleys... elko edges south tahoe and fallon stays undefeated... 19-0 after today's 48-28 win over lowry meanwhile -- 3 wolf pack football alums scheduled to play in today's n-f-l-p-a collegiate bowl... but it turned out to only be two -- according to chris murray of the r- g-j, running back don jackson injured his groin and decided to play it safe and sit this one out that left defensive linemen lenny jones and ian seau representing the pack in carson, california... on team national... 2nd quarter -- jones

from stephen rivers... falls incomplete... later in the 2nd -- rivers -- to the endzone for jaydon mickens... touchdown team american... they take a 17-6 lead... 4th quarter -- travis wilson has the ball knocked out -- he recovers, but look who's there to fall on top of him for the sack-- lenny jones... jones and seau's team national beats team american 18-17 also going on today -- the east-west shrine game in st. petersburg, florida... 2nd quarter -- oregon's vernon adams junior fires it into kivon cartwright, from colorado state... west on the board... later -- adams -- whips it downfield to a wide open danny anthrop -- out of purdue... 93 yards -- adams threw for 3 touchdowns on the afternoon... then in the 3rd quarter -- indiana quarterback nate sudfeld -- younger brother of former wolf pack tight end zach sudfeld -- hits geronimo allison, from illinois for the touchdown... allison's 2nd of the

west goes on to win 29-9

create gusty winds and heavy snow in the sierra. a mix of rain and snow is expected for the lower valleys. early next week, drier weather returns with near average temperatures. therereis chance wet

short term... current radar imagery shows the cold front located near the sierra crest. it will continue to move east, passing across the tahoe basin and sierra foothills over the next couple of hours and across western nv during the rest of the morning. the snow level is currently above 6,000 feet in the tahoe basin but will continue to lower and rain should change to snow at lake level before sunrise. a winter weather advisory remains in effect through 4 pm today for travel impacts above 5000 feet in northeast