birthday. good morning, it's just after 5 o'clock on wednesday. i'm kimberly mcbroom. i'm garrett turner. and i'm leo hirsbrunner. skies turn partly sunny today with a high around 47. we'll see 60s by

the warmer weather has been a welcome change, as the deep freeze of the last few days begins to thaw. while we saw more pavement and better driving conditions, thousands of people in central and western virginia are still dealing with power outages. the storm moved on, and made way for blue skies, bright sun and a beautiful winter landscape. as the ice began to melt, the power outages lingered. applachian power crews were on the job, assessing the damage and attacking the problems they found but the layer of ice brought down many tree limbs and power lines in neighborhoods throughout the area, including roanoke's raleigh court. aleta delaplane: actually at 3:45 we woke up to a transformer exploding. it was big green arc light in the back. it was amazing. it was kind of cool. and then the power went out. and then it came back on. and then it went out again, so i think we've been without power since 6:45 this morning.

10-thousand people without power in southwest virginia. the hardest hit areas are roanoke county and franklin county. coming up later in this morning's newsmakers segment, we'll talk with teresa hall from appalachian power about when the lights might come back on. it was a close call for a henry county family after a tree fell on their mobile home. wanda morgan says her grandson was sleeping on the couch where the tree fell, just moments before it happened. she says her family heard what sounded like a frieght train and then a big boom. they do not have home insurance but her son and friends are helping to remove as much debris as they can. wanda morgan/homeowner: "someone could have been hurt really bad or killed in there. that tree should have fell all the way down." in the same area, trees brought down power lines and wind blew over an old gas station overhang. leaders say it could be days before some people in henry county get their power back. if your powers off, there is a safe way to stay comfortable until it comes back on. experts say the best thing to do is wear

powered candles instead of real ones. if you use real candles, you should keep it at least 12 inches away from anything that could burn. you never put gasoline into a kerosine heater and never use a generator indoors. that puts you at risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. experts also say to never burn charcoal indoors or use your oven as a source of heat. tiffany bradbury: "it's important because we never think fire is going to happen to us. we always think we're going to go along a normal day and nothing's going to happen so we want people to be armed with this knowledge so they can keep themselves and their families safe, because we don't want to come out to a house fire, especially in temperatures like this." we have more heat safety tips on wdbj7 dot-com. temperatures are still above freezing but we are expected to get much warmer during the weekend. we go to meteorologist leo hirsbrunner with your forecast. andyeah lunacy nice warming trend over the next several

day late last night early this morning a clipper came through trigger couple rain/ snow showers most of that is arty exited the area where twenty nine bluefield look you roanoke well above freezing thirty seven same down in danville bit below freezing lynchburg thirty one twenty six hot springs thirty one martinsville galax reporting a temperature at this hour of thirty three still finding a little bit of that clipper system bring maybe a couple sprinkles the south eastern parts ofhalifax county but that is about it during the day today might see a few snow showers in the western facing slopes up toward pocahontas and greenbrier county there've a little moisture heading in their direction from the northwest but the rest of us will end up with a mix of sun and clouds flood warnings continue because of the rain and the snow melt along the dan river in danville paces south boston and in the roanoke river over in randolph all expecting some minor to moderate flooding. hopefully by thursday morning all that should come to an end up partly sunny today high temperature mid forties plus

depending on your location one front exits a little system to bring a few snow showers to the mountains other than that a look sick would have relatively quiet conditions over the next several days a very welcome across the area partly sunny a few mountains snow showers you temperatures in the mid forties a little bit warmer down toward the south side of course a little bit cooler as he had back toward the mountains of west virginia for tonight partly cloudy on the chilly side lows dropping back into the twenties and your first alert wtvj seven day planner check that out not one impact day there just lots of sunshine warming temperatures saturday and sunday both in the low sixties can't loud astray sprinkle sunday morning would overall today's looking pretty good better chances showers is you had toward later monday into a former bedford police officer who's facing child pornography charges will get a chance to leave jail before his case goes to trial.

release brian mcalexander on a 20-thousand dollar bond. mcalexander was arrested earlier this month when a grand jury indicted him on six felony counts of possessing child pornography. a hearing in his case is scheduled for friday. big changes for blacksburg's planned parenthood. a representative says it's now referring new and current patients to roanoke for medical services because it won't be provided at the center anymore. the blacksburg location is instead, focusing on community outreach and educational programs. read more about the decision on wdbj7-dot-com. we're learning more about why prosecutors charged a northern virginia man with perjury in connection with a bedford county murder case. leslie engleking entered a "no contest" plea to perjury yesterday. prosecutors say, at two separate times he knowingly gave false testimony when asked about the disappearance of katherine and sheila lyon, two girls who went missing from a maryland shopping mall in 19-75. they say he was

sister, patricia welch, who is also charged with perjury in the case. engleking faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted at a hearing june 7th. we've introduced you to her several times here on wdbj7, and this morning, we're sad to report to you that alpha averill has died. people knew her as "granny" averill and she died monday night in her sleep at the brian center in low moor. she ran averill's country store in low moor for decades, and even calculated your bill in her head or on paper until she turned 100. her 109th birthday was just a few weeks ago on january 30th. yesterday we talked to her son, wayne. she died on his birthday, but wayne was able to see her a few hours before she died. his last words to her were " i love you". be careful out on the roads this morning as there are still a few troublesome spots in our area. your i-hometown traffic report is next. african-americans are being arrested at a higher rate than the rest of our country's population. how police departments in our

figure out what's causig that trend in southwest virginia. if you sustained damage from this most recent winter storm do you know what your insurance covers and doesn't cover? the answers that may surprise you coming up in about thirty minutes.

showers last night i think we should've taken a left at the river. tarzan know where tarzan go! tarzan does not know where tarzan go. hey, excuse me, do you know where the waterfall is?

no, me tarzan, king of jungle. why don't you want to just ask somebody? if you're a couple, you fight over directions. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. oh ohhhhh it's what you do. ohhhhhh! do you have to do that right in my ear? rain & snow showers last night will lead to partly sunny skies today. highs near 47. ice and downed ice and downed trees continue to cause problems throughout our area. roanoke, craig, wythe and botetourt counties have the worst conditions right now. a fallen tree is blocking route two-20 north in botetourt county near old fincastle road. also in that county, lee highway is closed at bryant road because of a downed tree. we're seeing some flooding in pittsylvania and

well. we're taking a live look at i-81 in christiansburg from a virginia department of transportation camera. expect some isolated slippery patches on the highways this morning. bridge work is scheduled to start this morning in bedford county. stoney creek road will be closed just north of wheats valley road until 4- 30 this afternoon. across the nation, more african- americans are being arrested at a higher rate than their overall population. we wanted to know if that was also happening here in southwest and central virginia. wdbj7 anchor chris hurst found out, and explains how departments hope to change the numbers. when a citizen of danville asked city council to address the racial disparity of drug charges, police chief philip broadfoot took it seriously. philip broadfoot, danville police chief: and that's why we acted when we did. we had a citizen who came to council and said this is a problem. in 2014, he had a light duty officer spend weeks going over the paperwork for each drug

to know: were his officers targeting african-americans more than whites? philip broadfoot, danville police chief: we could find no institutional bias in the danville police department for that disparity. we could not find any reason for the disparity but the location where the officer was and what the assignment was. in danville, about half the city is white and half is african-american. but blacks make up nearly three quarters of all marijuana arrests. wdbj7 compiled numbers for pot posession arrests for every law enforcement agency in the viewing area from 2012 to 2014 most had higher numbers of african-americans arrested when compared to overall the largest gaps were in our three largest cities: danville, roanoke and lynchburg. it's no reason when the population is so different in lynchburg. lynchburg naacp

suprised at the data and wonders if some kind of bias is at play. gerald cheatham, president lynchburg naacp: clearly you have got to look at some human behavior as to why that happens. that can't be all objective like something stupid like standing on the street puffing on a joint. those areas where we recieve the highest number of calls for service are the places where we have the highest populations of color. the minority community is so hopeful new police chief raul diaz will address concerns in lynchburg, he is on the cover of colors virginia magazine. he says arrest rates in general impact the poor and more minorities live in poor areas. bottom line is all the studies i've ever seen show people living in poverty commit more street crime than people who are not. that's of little reassurance to cheatham because marijuana offenses can severely limit one's potential to

person to the point where no you can't get public housing if you need financial aid if you need it to go to school. both chiefs diaz and broadfoot are empathetic to the consequences and agree more can be done to help first time offenders. an addiction treatment-focused coming to lynchburg and chief broadfoot wants reforms to the state's first time offender program. all races is the goal, isn't just a task for police. philip broadfoot, danville police chief: i think there is a desire to have more parity not only for drug charges but for all charges. chris hurst, wdbj7 a spokesperson for roanoke police says use patterns could be a factor too. the department says white people tend to consume marijuana indoors while more african- americans consume it outdoors. chief diaz in lynchburg also says a different approach may be slowly helping perceived injustice. a few years ago, a street crimes unit was reassigned and changes were made to increase the threshold for an

person or their car. memorial hospital of martinsville and henry county is looking to former patients on how to improve their facility. and nearly 2 dozen students have moved to virginia from africa to get an education and help their home communities. why some of them

virginiawill looking out live through our mill mountain camera across the beautiful roanoke valley this morning no real concerns relatively quiet conditions everyone sunlight can see the roanoke blacksburg regional airport control tower beacon right there showing you the visibility's ninety two would all this morning thirty seven roanoke a bit colder visibility is not natured all this morning 37 roanoke a bit colder lynchburg 3137 danville blacksburg coming in at thirty three broader picture bristol thirty four charlottesville thirty six washington dc right at the freezing mark and richmond coming in at thirty nine still a few leftover showers would that clipper outside of our region we do

rain showers. last night that is exiting we should end up with a partly sunny day today because few little areas of snow showers back toward ohio northern kentucky that could clip the mountains of west virginia as you maker way through the afternoon severe heading up skiing maybe might see a few snow showers drive through the area from time to time the rest of us not much going on again average winter snowfall for the roanoke valley eighteen. five inches in january we had the bigger storm thirteen. five inches fell and then this month of course recently couple days ago we had 18 a half inches fall so far this winter we of 22 inches so far last winter or we had last winter of twenty one. two so pretty close so far we get any more time will tell you fitness forecast better data had out this morning for walker jog than yesterday morning we should get some sunshine. highs in the low to mid 40s sunrise coming up at 707 sunset at six oh one you forecast model gets rid of

the snow showers in the mountains other than that not much going on you forecast across the area would talk about high temperatures today in the forties plus and minus a little bit colder as you maker way over toward the mountains a west virginia with a couple snow showers partly cloudy chilly tonight lows dropping back into the 20s seven day planner mix of sun and clouds mopes lease sunny by say friday and saturday maybe astray sprinkle early sunday morning a better chance for couple showers on monday but still highs harboring in the 50s and memorial hospital of martinsville and henry county wants to hear from you on how to improve treatment. hospital leaders have started the patient family community advisory council. it's a diverse group made up of people who have been treated at the hospital. the members are supposed to be another set of eyes and ears for the

from patients. liz harris, marketing director, memorial hospital of martinsville and henry county: " we wanted to give patients a voice and that i think it something that can get lost day to day. that patient experience is so, so important." the group is working to create better communication for everything from marketing for the hospital to how well patients understand their medications. students from tanzania, africa are now getting an education here in virginia to become successful leaders back home. the city of hope organization has helped move 23 students so far to the mountain mission school in grundy. yesterday, the students traveled to the new river valley to meet with others who support their education. the kids all say this opportunity is a dream come true. esther simion/10-years old: "i prayed for god that i can come to america to study in a school, a christian school, and he blessed me with the mountain mission school. i'm so happy." ty hopkins, chairman, city of hope: "them being here is investing in them, and they take that investment back to their communities and be a positive influence there." each child will

and many will go on to a college here in the united states. the daytona 500 is this weekend, and nascar drivers are getting ready to start their engines. in sports, highlights from media day, ahead of the big race. plus, your child can have a car just like yours, only a lot smaller. the model s that companies tesla and radio flyer are

release soon. skies turn partly sunny today with a high around 47. we'll see 60s by

media day is always a fun one down in daytona, as we continue to count down to the great american race. here's zac glover with more in sports. good morning, i'm zac glover with your look at sports. defending daytona 500 champ joey logano drew a crowd yesterday at media day leading up to sunday's race. sports director, travis wells had a front row seat for all the festivities at the world center of racing. travis: joey logano's season last year began with a win here in the daytona 500, but it ended in disappointment as he came up short in his championship. as he tries to go back to back in the 500 here this week, logano was in the spotlight on media day. joey logano/ defending daytona 500 champ: maybe i'm just one of those guys that likes to look forward and doesn't take the time to look back but it's really cool that we won the daytona 500. that's a great accomplish ment. but it's last year and it's in the past now. we've got to look forward. you want to have your name on that thing twice. you don't want to have it once and that's it. you want to keep

logano is proud to call himself a daytona 500 champ, but his boss, roger penske has refused to allow him to become complacent. joey: he has the ability to motivate people without saying a word. just because of his presence that happens when he walks into a room. you know he wants to win because you've seen him win his whole life. while the 25 year old won the 500 in just his 7th start, a win in the great american race can be elusive. several drivers will try to validate their resume on sunday. danica patrick/making fifth daytona 500 start: the older i get, the more i recognize how important history is and events that have been around for a long time. when i think of the word daytona 500, i feel like you use the word legendary because legends come out of this race. the ones that have won this race will be remembered forever. so it's the history that makes things special. otherwise it's just another thing. daytona international speedway president, joie

questions tuesday morning as well, announcing that sunday's race is a complete sellout. one hundred one thousand, five hundred permanent seat tickets, although passes still remain for the infield. joie chitwood/ daytona international speedway president: it's been close to ten years since we could announce a sellout for the daytona 500 and so at 9am this morning we pushed out the release that we have sold out of stadium seating. the goal for our team as part of this rennovation was to sellout the daytona 500 and we're trending well. travis: sunday's daytona 500 will be the first big event since the daytona rising rennovation project was completed, a 400 million dollar endeavor that was two and a half years in the making. at the daytona international speedway, travis wells, wdbj7. that's your look at sports, have a great day. tesla and radio flyer are teaming up on an electric model s for kids. pre-orders are now open and the cars will ship in may. the one-seater cars were created for kids between the ages of three to eight. they include working headlights, a "spacious interior"

front of the car. it can also reach a top speed of six miles per hour. presidential candidates are continuing to go back and forth, looking for an edge in south carolina. what a new poll says about who looks to be in control ahead of that state's upcoming primary. plus, the u-s and cuba are finding business opportunities with each other, along with better relations. why both countries are benefitting from renewed relations, after 50 years of tension. and police officers in roanoke county want to improve their relationship with you. we'll preview a

they hope will help. good morning, i'm garrett turner. and i'm kimberly

as the south carolina primary inches closer, a new c-n-n/o-r-c poll shows that donald trump is ahead in the republican race for president. as don champion reports, on the democratic side, hilary clinton has a significant lead over bernie sanders. donald trump took aim at president obama in south carolina tuesday night.... moments after the commander-in-chief said this: (sot obama) "i continue to believe that mr. trump will not be president. and the reason is because i have a lot of faith in the american people." (sot trump) "you're lucky i didn't run last time when romney ran because you would've been a one-term president." trump still commands a double-digit lead in south carolina. yesterday he and marco rubio bashed rival ted cruz for being dishonest: (sot trump) "i've never seen a human being lie so much. he lies about everything." (sot rubio) he didn't tell the truth about ben carson in iowa. he's not telling the truth about my position on marriage." the texas senator fired back: (sot cruz) they don't respond on substance they just scream liar liar liar. on the democratic side - hillary clinton is trying to maintain a lead in south carolina.

bernie sanders courted minority voters. (sot clinton) it's not enough for your economic plan to be break up the banks. you need a plan to address the generations of under investment and neglect. (sot sanders) we need to provide substantial help to hbcus that have done a great job. democrats hold their primary in south carolina a week from this saturday. don champion cbs news. controversy over who should be the newest supreme court justice continues just days after antonin scalia's death. his bench and chair at the supreme court are draped in black in remembrance of his service. he died saturday during a hunting trip. president obama plans to nominate a replacement. but republicans say they will block any nomination, insisting the next president should be the one to do it. (chris edelson/professor): "it could play into this theme, republicans as obstructionists. this isn't the first time this has happened, the government shutdown, debt ceiling." the senate

technically are allowed to do that but many say it will create even more tension. pope francis continues his journey in mexico and will become the first pope to visit the u-s mexican border. today he will hold mass in juarez, which is only about fifty yards away from the border with texas. it's costing mexico an estimated 10- million dollars to host the pope, and some people are complaining. a new twitter hashtag "i don't want the pope to come" has surfaced, and one person said the money should instead be spent on education, health, and employment. we're finally getting a break from the cold and wet weather over the next few days. leo, the temperatures will really warm up for the weekend. heryeah live be topping out near sixty degrees saturday and sunday we does have a get there first we do have a clipper system moves through late last night early this morning did dump a half-inch or so as he head over toward glades road the sent in by body lines gray picture their showing in the moisture did race through not everyone saw it of course

moisture work with and he quickly exited the area right now 37 roanoke and danville twenty six hot springs thirty three blacksburg thirty two with bill and the galax area bluefield coming in at twenty nine degrees erie got in see that clipper system exit off the coastline some remnant moisture down into north carolina for the rest of us when and up partly sunny but see this little thin line right here the white the snow showers that could clip the mountains a west virginia as we make our way through the afternoon don't forget because all the snow now the snow melt and the heavy rain we had yesterday flood warnings along the dan river danville south boston paces and the roanoke river in randolph minor to moderate flooding expected there but that should improve over the next couple of days hour by hour would a be warming up to around forty one by one o'clock through the afternoon low to mid forties depending on your location and then cooling back down to around 31 at midnight overnight lows will be dropping into the twenties as that front can a bring some snow showers to the mountains

area roanoke smith mountlake lexington mid to upper forties partly sunny lynchburg appomattox loving stint upper forties down toward southern virginia gretna danville south boston where in the upper 40s to low 50s newer valley southwest more like the upper thirties to low forties a little warmer toward stuart area highlands greenbrier valley west virginia thirties 30s and low 40s you have a chance for few mountains snow showers especially back toward morrilton in the louisburg area seven day planner shows thursday and friday we warm from the forties back up to near fifty degrees on friday and then as you maker way into the we can would a be back up to right around sixty degrees with a chance for couple astray showers here and there go temperatures like that you'll have to worry about the liquid former precipitati the united states and cuba are getting closer in their attempt to mend their relationship. u-s airlines can now apply for as many as 100-flights a day to the caribbean destination. starting yesterday, airlines have 15-days to submit requests to

new flights could start as early as the fall. also allowed an american company to build a factory in it will be the first u-s factory to be built and operated in that country in more than 50 years. the investigation into the el faro sinking is now under way in florida. there will be 10 days of coast guard hearings, which will be streamed online. the cargo ship sank in october on the way to puerto rico when it sailed right into the path of a hurricane. all 33 crew members were killed. the coast guard captain aims to find out what really happened in the incident. last week the national transportation safety board said it will begin a new search for el faro's data recorder in april. the company interested in merging with norfolk southern says it will ask federal regulators for preliminary approval of the structure of its proposed takeover. canadian pacific ceo hunter harrison says the railroad is doing this because shareholders of both companies recommended it. canadian pacific has proposed installing harrison as norfolk southern ceo while the deal

norfolk southern has rejected canadian pacific's offers, which have been upwards of 30-billion dollars, remained grossly inadequate. roanoke county officials are working to help flint, michigan get through its water crisis. the local fraternal order of police donated this pallet of bottled water to be sent to folks there. the ultimate goal is to fill a semi full of water for flint by february 26th. anyone interested in donating can drop off cases at the roanoke county sheriff's office until friday. icy patches and some flooded areas could make travel a little tricky this morning. which areas you need to watch out for, in your i- hometown traffic report is just ahead after the break. if you were un-lucky enough to have house or car damage from this most recent winter storm, do you know what your insurance covers and doesn't cover? we'll have the answer coming up next on wdbj-7 mornin'. rain & snow

will lead to partly sunny skies today. highs near 47. watch out for minor icy patches and downed trees this morning. conditions are worst in roanoke, craig, wythe and botetourt counties. we're seeing some flooding in pittsylvania and bedford counties as well. a fallen tree is blocking route two-20 north in botetourt county near old fincastle road. also in that county, lee highway is closed at bryant road because of a downed tree. this is a live look at i-581 in roanoke from wdbj7's hotel camera. the highways are clear for the most part but you may run into some isolated slick spots. road work could

county. lane is closed near the route 8 exit for another 20 minutes. the roanoke county police officers want you to have coffee with them. later this morning at mill mountain coffee inviting community members in to discuss community issues in hopes it will help build relationships. i'm joined this jeffrey johnson. sgt. johnson thanks for joining us. the most recent storm, you all were pretty busy the past couple of days. what's the police's responsibility when it comes to these types

what are some of the issues that your community is facing? who do you hope comes to coffee with a cop? police officers and they're treatment to members of the community have been top headlines all across the country, has your department learned

situations? tell us when and where you're having coffee with a cop? thank you for joining us this morning, sgt. johnson. many people are still cleaning up from this most recent winter storm. and while some escaped with little to no damage, others are dealing with a major mess. when it comes to getting help with that mess, do you know what insurance covers? wdbj-7's shayne dwyer is live this morning in roanoke with an insurance agent, who has those answers. good morning shayne. good morning kimberly i can't imagine the headache people are having to deal with

those major issues. thankfully there are people like david here to help. david via with us this morning, david is an independet agent here in the roanoke valley. david, when it comes to property claims, what is the biggest concern you see with your clients? when trees fall on homes and property, whose insurance is responsible for clean up? a lot of people still without power, does insurance cover anything resulting from a loss of power to your home from the storm?

freezing? if the snow and ice piles up and there is a collapse, is that covered under insurance? kimberly coming up in the next half hour we'll talk about winter storms and your car, what's covered and what's not covered. police have a new tool to help them catch criminals. how it scores the people they respond to during a call. and someone wants to get rid of the 1-

break the law.he 20stemperature starting off in the twenties and thirties depending on your location we have thirty seven roanoke thirty seven up toward new york city a little bit warmer forty three alanna twenty nine is you had out in chicago temperature taz will middle school other weather bug site their sending is live weather information 27 winds are calm so we still have to deal with that windshield we do have a clipper system comes through late last night early this morning did trigger couple rain showers even a few snow showers most of it now has exited the area we should end up with a quiet day partly sunny but we do have a thin line is and snow showers back toward southern ohio they'll be clipping into west virginia and that could bring some snow showers to the mountains a west virginia as we make our way through the afternoon you go today will be in the mid to

on thursday nearing 50 on friday saturday and sunday. both days hovering right around 60 today hour by hour starting off in the 30s will be warming in the low to mid 40s some upper forties even not out of the question to the ronald valley points south and east there goes the clipper system where quiet snow showers develop in the mountains a west virginia ski country where they could use it other than that dry air continues to pump in over the next several days go you forecast for the area partly sunny today couple mountains snow showers temperatures mainly in the forties a little warmer toward martinsville danville little bit cooler back into the mountains a west virginia for tonight partly cloudy chilly lows dropping back into the twenties throughout seven day planner lots of sunshine for the rest week 60s by the weekend sunday and monday can't loud a couple astr a new piece of crime fighting software is helping police gather information about potential criminal suspects online. it's called beware, and the idea is to

up about who they may encounter when they respond to a call. the software assigns a threat level of red, yellow or green for people at a given address. it's unclear how the score is calculated, even to police. attorneys are also concerned about the program's ability to screen public social media posts. jessica price/ aclu attorney: "people want to be free to post on their social media without fear of government profiling or harrassment just because they did something like post criticism of the police." police in fresno, california are among the first in the country to use the software, and opted out of the threat system and social media screening after a lot of criticism from the public. but the police chief says the program is necessary, saying it helps keep both police and citizens safe. a future where it's not all about the benjamins--that's what former treasury secretary larry summers is proposing. summers wants to get rid of the 100 dollar bill partly because it would make things more difficult for criminals and people who cheat taxes. he also refers to a study that says taking away higher value bills wouldn't

business. the study also calls for the removal of u-k's 50 pound note, the one-thousand swiss franc note, and the 500 euro note being the n-f-l commissioner apparently lands you more money than all but one of the actual football players. roger goodell earned a salary of 34 point 9 million dollars in the 20-13 to 20-14 season. a new tax filing shows he took a nearly 9-million dollar pay cut, but still made more than all the nfl players, except for green bay packers quarterback aaron rodgers. rodgers made 38 point three million dollars during that season. when a woman in massachusetts won the lottery, she used her winnings to help the homeless. sofia andrade won 200-dollars on a but instead of herself, she decided to use it to help glenn williams, a man who has been homeless for three years. ( sofia andrade / helped homeless man ) "i knew that the money never really belonged to me, that this money was meant to help him." ( glenn williams / homeless ) "i somebody like her. she deserves a lot of

am right now." andrade drove williams to a coffee shop and got a motel room for him to stay in. a local barber even gave him a haircut and other people donated clothes to him. she's hoping to raise a lot more money for his long- term benefit, so she started a go-fund- me page for him. it's already raised more than 11- thousand dollars. a new kind of therapy could help people with allergies or asthma. what salt has to do with it. and the f-d-a is giving u-s blood banks a warning. why it says some travelers shouldn't donate blood. (scal): good day, m'lady! i am sir-can-a-lot, here to save you from another breakfast bore. wake up those eggs with glorious spam!

now on wdbj7 mornin', today in history. on this date in 18- 01, thomas jefferson is elected the third president of the united states. in 19-04, the opera madame butterfly premieres. brian wilson rolls the tape on "good vibrations," take one in 19-66. the u-s casualty rate reaches a record high in vietnam in 19-68. and in 19-72, the beetle overtakes the model t as the

car. skies turn partly sunny today with a high around 47. we'll see 60s by the weekend. if you suffer from allergies or asthma, there may be a new solution to your problems. what's known as salt therapy is growing in popularity across the country. salt rooms, like this one in little rock, arkansas, are filled from floor to ceiling with all-natural salt. clear salt covers the walls, rock salt is used on the floors and pharmaceutical- grade sodium

salt-generator. the rooms are considered a natural alternative for people suffering from a variety of respiratory as well as skin conditions. one man with breathing problems says 45 minutes in the salt room at least once a day has drastically changed his life. it's quiet, it's relaxing, and it's healthy (laughs) allergists says it's always best to consult your doctor before trying new forms of therapy. the food and drug administration is recommending u-s blood banks refuse donations from people who have traveled to countries where the zika virus is active in the last four weeks the agency also recommends turning away donors who may have had sexual contact with someone who has traveled to a zika- affected country in the last three months. the recommendations follow similar measures by the red cross, which has asked those travelers to wait at least 28 days before donating. researchers in seattle may have made a new breakthrough in cancer treatments. they announced a new kind of treatment this week based on immuno- therapy. that helps immune systems fight off cancer cells in a way that's similar to

treatment, doctors take white blood cells from cancer patients, genetically modify them, then put them multiply. one study showed that the therapy eliminated all symptoms in 94 percent of participants with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. what's trending on twitter this morning. everyone is talking about #blackpantherspbs. the pbs documentary made its debut last night. the award winning filmmaker stanley nelson dove into the revolutionary history of the black panthers. -------- staying with tv, #thepeoplevso jsimpson is also trending. episode 3 on fx was on last night. reviews have been critics and the public. -------- buzzing about the grammy's. of the performances you can still check them out. for a full recap you can go to our website

coming up after the break, we're learning new details about the lyon sisters case in bedford county as another person faces charges of perjury. and thousands of people are still without power this morning, what you can do to make sure

won't have to stay in jail before he goes to trial how much bond is for brian a henry county family is thankful no one's hurt after a tree home. why they're needing help to clean up the damage.

mornin' newsmakers, a live power outage update from appalachian power spokesperson teresa hall. good morning, it's just after 6 o'clock on wednesday. i'm kimberly mcbroom. i'm garrett turner. and i'm leo hirsbrunner. skies turn partly sunny today with a high around 47. we'll see 60s by the weekend.