545 people in colorado died last year in car crashes. the national highway safety administration says all of these fatalities could have been prevented. they have a new strategy to reduce the people dying out on the roads. >> well, we've been talking about this story for weeks, a surgical technician accused of switching needles to steal narcotics. it led to thousands of people being tested for hiv and hepatitis. today we learn if the suspect is going to get out of jail. from ballpark to ice rink, coors field has transformed. it is ready to host its first ever hockey game tomorrow night. >> this is big. so looking forward to it.

happy friday. amelia earhart is joining us. >> so it's not going to be as warm as yesterday. temperatures in the 60s, can you complain about 60s. everybody wants to know about these crazy winds. it's been canceled across colorado. a windy start in and around the foothills up to 40 miles per hour. northeast colorado, up to 46 miles per hour. now, the winds will decrease out on the plains, but it could be gusty at times in the foothills and the high country. the travel advisories we had in the mountains because of the snow, those have been expired because the snow has ended. we're leftover with those clouds and icy conditions along i-70. take your time if you're traveling there. 30s and 40s. the highs are going to be in the low to mid-60s. this is still above the normal high for this time of year.

it's clear out there right now, but once the sun comes out, it's going to be bright. temperatures 42 when you're dropping kids off at school. right now, a look at the roads. good morning, amelia. >> friday is off to a very nice start. we're checking out our commute here across sixth avenue. knox court is the location and speeds are still in the 60s. you're going to find drives like this across golden. no complaints there. metro wide, we're looking excellent. i-70 and c-470. 63 near santa fe and 62 as you press over towards quebec in the eastbound direction. of course we're still closed out across i-70. all of our alternate routes are up on our website. 9news.com. as for our travel time, not too bad. in my next update, we're going to talk about your drive out to dia. >> all right.

5:32 right now. the former surgical tech accused of stealing drugs is going to face a judge today. prosecutors say his actions may have exposed thousands of people to hiv or hepatitis. 9news reporter tarhonda thomas is here with the story. he was arrested on tuesday. >> he was. he's still in federal custody. he's charged with federal crimes. we'll learn today if he'll be eligible for bond. he stole a syringe full of narcotic from swedish hospital. he's no long we are the hospital. he was also fired from two hospitals in arizona, though we don't know the reason. in the case of swedish, police say he replaced the syringe with a mystery substance. 2900 patients are now being tested. one of them has tested positive for help b. if that's

actions, he could face a punishment. he faces up to 20 years in prison. if someone dies, he faces life in prison. allen could enter a plea in court today. swedish hospital has issued a statement. they say they're constantly working to improve security around medications. they say the alleged acts of one former employee don't characterize the thousands of people people who work there. the man accused of killing his ex-wife and leaving her in a burning home is in court today. he was arrested in october. firefighters found his wife's body in the garage of her burn strasburg home. each day brings more disturbing details in the trial. it's day three as prosecutors work to convict a woman accused of using a shard of glass to mother.

she did not find any search involving c section or operations. but the surgeon who treated her said it look like she had knowledge. 5:34 right now, a new bill that would make it a little easier for transgender people to change their birth certificate is heading to the full house for approval now. a colorado house committee passed the proposal yesterday. the bill would allow transgenders to update their birth certificate to the gender that they now identify with. >> pretty soon, denver could see millions of dollars to trees all because of a little insect. the colorado forest service says an evasive beetle that kills ash trees could become, quote, the most devastating insect ever seen in our city. the beetle has been affecting trees in boulder. it could cost $82 million. at any one time there are

colorado roads. when cars collide, there are often terrible outcomes. 545 people died from fatal car crashes in our state just last year. that's a 12% increase from just the year before. the national highway safety administration is working on a strategy to try to prevent more crashes. colleen ferreira sat down exclusively with them. an important plan to so many people. >> they say that they have two goals this year, cheryl. one is just to make cars out there safer. so emergency breaks and lane departure warnings. the other one, the most important one is getting us, the driver, to have some type of behavioral change so we make better choices, before putting ourselves in that huge vehicle and getting on the road. let's lock at the breakdown of all the fatal crashes in colorado of 2015.

to people not wearing seat belts. 104 were motorcycle faulties. 14 of those crashes involved motorcyclists. they say drowsy and drunk driving were factors in some of these crashes. now, the national highway safety administration is traveling the country, picking the brains of officers, community leaders, business leaders. they just had a summit in colorado yesterday. they say 90% of crashes crashes are human error and could have been prevented. we just keep making the wrong choices when driving. >> this is not rocket science. it's straightforward. we're having the summit to figure out if there are now techniques we can use to property people to be safer. you want to do this because it saves your life, but the other thing everyone needs to understand, you could be putting your family, your kids, your husband, your parents,

the ones at risk if you're not wearing your seat belt or driving too fast or impaired in any way. >> they tell me they also want to look at enforcing more laws. right now in the country, they say there are 319 traffic laws that are not being used. some of these traffic laws could save time out there. laws like wearing a helmet when you're on a motorcycle, it's not a law here in colorado. >> it's very controversial when we tried to pass it. the highways for the skyways, a mixed bag of performance results in frontier airlines. they finished 2015 with improved on time performance, but there was an increase in consumer complaints. still a frontier spokesman tells the post that the 2nd half of the year is probably a more accurate reflection of how things are going for the carrier right now. the company is optimistic about the future and expects to make more improvements as well.

billion in tax refunds this year from the irs. national retail federation did a survey. they found that more than half of that amount will be put in savings or be used to pay down debt. that's the highest we've seen since 2007. this could be a bad sign for consumer confidence. retail federation is looking at the glass half full, saying money saved now could mean a lot of spending potential down the road. a nerd wallet survey says 40% of taxpayer want to spend their refund on the home improvement or splurge a little bit. >> right now the car size boulders that fell on i-70 in glenwood canyon or still causing problems. cdot says it may be able to get one lane open by tomorrow if weather doesn't cause any delays. damaging the pavement, concrete dividers and a semi. crews are installing new fencing to keep smaller rocks

they're clearing away rocks that are loose. it will cost between 2 and $5 million. they're considering applying for a federal disaster for aid. on highway 550 south of durango, crews have moved the rock to the bottom of the rock face. they're going to keep the inside lane closed until spring. early next week, expect for only one lane to be open through the area. now, getting into the high country along i-70, those travel advisories have expired. doppler 9 showing the snow is all gone. it's dry across the state. that's how it's going to continue. check out these 24-hour snow reports. we'll take anything we can get in these ski resorts. anywhere from 4-7 inches. highlands with seven inches. headed up to steamboat, a small chance for an isolated snow

the high of 40. sunday, 37 degrees and maybe going to check out the collegiate peaks. highs in the 50s. >> so it's not baseball season yet there. 's going to be a lot of action at coors field.

antonin scalia will lie in repose at the supreme court. president obama and the first lady will pay their respects during a private ceremony this morning and then the public will be allowed in. scalia died last saturday. he was the longest serving supreme court justice. he died at the age of 79. ronald reagan appointed him to the bench. he was honored earlier this

supreme court bench was draped in black. >> it's 5:44. virgin galactic is rolling out a spaceship. they will make it public later in california. this comes after the devastating accident that killed one of the company's pilots more than a year ago. the new spaceship 2 listen used a new system. virgin galactic is selling space for tourist flights in the future. among those rumored to have signed up and plopped down money, jolie and brad pitt and stephen hawking. pluto's primary moon may have had an ocean. the space craft has a lot of

the southwest research institute helped. it's traveled 3 million miles. spend more than 9 years on the mission. >> it's amazing. >> when you think about how far away it is and the detailed pictures. >> i interviewed the guy in charge of that. he said they will be getting pictures in for a long time now. they had to try and do this inexpensively. so they're sending the pictures back just a few at a time. took so many pictures for years, we're going to be getting pictures back. >> good stuff. >> 5:45 right now. it's being called the battle on the blade. the first ever collegiate hockey game is happening tomorrow night. >> pioneers are facing off against colorado college in their first outdoor game. >> 9news reporter noel brennan joining us from coors field. noel is hoping for a repeat of their game last night.

get -- to get to play on that ice behind you. >> reporter: definitely a different venue here at coors field. get a look at the ice. we're getting a look at the ice that's ready to go. in fact, the nhl had their ice crew skate on it for the first time last night. both of those teams are going to be able to practice on this ice later this afternoon. check out some highlights from their game last night. du scored three times in the 3 3rd period. the pioneers beat the tigers for the seventh straight time. this is a rivalry that dates back to 1950. they will matchup tomorrow night at coors field. the puck drops at 6:10. the pioneers are going to be wearing special old school sweaters tomorrow night. we had a chance to see them earlier this week. check out the off white crimson letters. those are stripes on both of the sleeves. the battle on the blake. this is just the first of three

be playing right here at coors field. the next one will happen next friday. that's the avs red wings alumni game. the series will be on saturday night. this is just so cool. again, obviously this feels like it's a hockey rink. it is, but we're right in the middle of coors field. you still have that feeling you're right in the middle of a ballpark as well. it is so cool out here, guys. >> it looks pretty neat. >> so looking forward to it. >> noel, thank you. it's 5:47. he's a local mixed martial arts fighter, but it's what he does off the mat is incredible. that story is coming up in three minutes. if you're packing your bags and headed out to dia, we'll have plenty of sunshine once the sun comes out. it's going to be pretty nice in denver. 66. not as nice as yesterday. the winds are strong.

else, well, let's take a look at that forecast. temperatures in new york, 36 degrees. a chance of showers in cleveland, 51. if you're headed out to chicago, 65 degrees. 62 out in the ga and los angeles. temperatures at 62 degrees. look at the drive closer to home. here's amelia. >> i'm talking about airport traffic. as we get out to the east side. great speeds. 68 miles per hour as you make the curve. no delays getting into the terminals or parking areas, security wait time is right around 15 minutes. the rest of us, waking up to a clear start as well. here is a live look at 225 and parker. dry roads, not as much wind. today should be a much easier commute. here is your parking info. the puck drops at 6:10.

welcome back. he's 6'3", 265 pounds. he's a big man with an even bigger heart. he's a mixed martial arts fighter, once training for the wrestling team. bigger things that took him off the mat for something greater. >> he's been a fighter for nearly a decade, but years ago, drugs and depression ended his career and almost his life. >> i said, god, what do you want me to do with my life? i just -- i know it sounds crazy, a little out there, a little weird, but i had a vision. >> and that mission turned into a -- they call themselves the forgotten. others know them as the pygmies. >> he's visited the congo half a dozen times, taking five years off of training and fighting and immersing himself in their community for up to a year at a time. he's seen firsthand the

>> the parasites in their bellies, worms, amoebas. i've had those. they will have tuberculosis, hiv, even leprosy. i've held two children. buried them. >> the number one killer is tainted water. >> i don't understand why we all know about some stupid starbucks cup that's red and why we don't know that these children die each and every day at something we have at our fingertips. >> so you're going to get to hear more about justin's story and what he has been able to accomplish. it's really incredible. that's coming up at 8:50 today. you can watch him on spike tv. we put a link on our website at 9news.com. happy friday, everyone. let's look at the forecast. it's causing a lot of problems.

it's still going to remain gusty in the high country. we'll see the weather trend is going to be for improving winds, especially for this afternoon. 6:00, lighter winds. foothills up to 20 miles per hour. into this evening, gusting up to about 40 miles per hour in and around the foothills. so a little gusty at times, but big improvement upon what we've had. plenty of sunshine as we go throughout the day. the warmer temperatures arriving around midday, even 2:00. highs in the low to mid-60s. that snow is over in the high country. dry across the state for the rest of the day and even into tomorrow morning. so if you're planning to get on i-70, head to the high country saturday morning. that drive should be just fine as far as the weather goes. 35 will be the overnight low. gusty in the foothills. winds up to 15 miles per hour. the forecast showing a small chance for showers tomorrow afternoon. we're going to start off sunny, though. the high of 62 degrees. breezy on sunday with a high of 50.

moisture in the city will come monday evening into tuesday morning. 52 on monday, tuesday the high of 40 degrees and on wednesday, the high of 43. let's get social this morning. there's my twitter handle. follow me on twitter if you have any questions about your weather. now, a look at those roads. hopefully it's still a friday, a light situation. >> your freeways right now are just a wide open runway for you. check this out. 25 and washington. very much in the clear. fridays always tend to start out a liter on the later side. out west, though, if you're planning your weekend commute and getting up into the mountains, i-70 still shut down. full list of alternates around gibson closure.

it's a face-off between two black suits. the the tall man is a patriarch of the orthodox church. the patriarch also held mass at the only orthodox place of worship on the continue tent. >> and then the penguin offered a stone to him. >> that's so sweet. >> all right. we're going to take a quick break.

good morning. marijuana could be going in the way of produce. certified organic pot. >> pope francis makes a somewhat controversial statement about birth control in the wake of the zika virus that's spreading throughout the world. somehow, despite all the warm temperatures we've seen in denver lately there's an ice rink in the middle of coors field. the ballpark now ready to host the first ever hockey game tomorrow night. i love seeing that inside the rink. >> they're working on it this morning. >> happy friday, everybody. amelia is watching the traffic