academy, after a threatening message was posted on social media last week. where the investigation stands now. virginia's supreme court is saying no to a request for an appeal for the man accused of killing nelson county teenager alexis murphy. plus, there will be no extra pay for montgomery county's circuit court clerk. what other employment issues have surfaced within that office. good morning, it's just after 5 o'clock on tuesday. i'm kimberly mcbroom. i'm garrett turner. and i'm leo hirsbrunner. rain this morning followed by heavier rain wednesday. flooding concerns increase by

as an investigation continues, students at hargrave military academy are back to their normal schedule. after an threatening message was recieved over social media last week with possible ties to isis, the campus shut down for the weekend. law enforcement spent the weekend patroling the area and students were allowed to go home. school leaders say

to normal and there are no updates on the investigation. pittsylvania county sheriff's officers say they are aggressively following up on many different leads. the man accused of abducting and killing teenager nicole lovell now has a new attorney. david eisenhauer hired tony anderson from roanoke to represent him in court. the montgomery county juvenile and domestric relations court confirmed the change yesterday morning. eisenhauer was first appointed christiansburg attorney chris tuck by the court. natalie keepers is also charged in lovell's death. both eisenhauer and keepers are in the western virginia regional jail. the supreme court of virginia has denied an appeal for the man convicted of killing alexis murphy. the high court will not hear from randy taylor's counsel on why he wants a new trial. the appeal was filed in april and refused on friday. taylor is serving two life sentences for murphy's murder in 2013. he has continued to say he's innocent. a man charged in a double murder in roanoke from a year ago has taken a plea deal in court.

pleaded no contest yesterday to felony murder for shooting ronald ramey and lenard hamlett. four others were injured in the shooting on shenandoah avenue at what prosecutors called a nip joint. several other felony charges against wade were dismissed. another man, christopher cabbler, already pleaded guilty for his role in the murders. montgomery county has voted to stop paying its circuit court clerk. the decision follows some controversy after erica williams did not re-hire four clerks and another one quit. wdbj7's eamon o'meara was at last night's meeting, and has details on how the board made the decision. just after nine p-m monday, the montgomery county board of supervisors voted to stop giving erica williams a supplement to her salary of more than 20-thousand dollars. that's 4 i's and 3 nays. the vote was down the party line, 4 republicans to 3 democrats. (darrell sheppard, district e) i hate that this is a split issue. it's not my intent at all because i can assure you that there's a lot of democrats in district e that feel the same way. (chris tuck, district

if you fire half your staff and then we have to get folks in, i'm not going to be voting for you to have a supplement, and any other constitutional officer. we have to pay them a certain amount but if we're going to pay them extra, we expect exrra. (stand up) but the issue took so long because some believed erica williams may have been within her rights to not rehire those employees. (annette perkins, district a) we have no right because we really don't know what really transpired. (mary biggs, district f) i think it sets a precedent that can possibly be challenged in court and i would suggest if our board wants to pursue a discussion of supplements, we do so at budget time. williams will still get 120-thousand dollars from the state, but here in montgomery county, the issue appears to be closed. (annette perkins, district a) this is probably the most unusual situation i have ever encountered in my 18 years on this board.

wdbj7. ((cold toss to leo)) agood morning kimberly good morning everyone see a lot of green on our radar mapping that is rain all across erie if you look really close up toward pocahontas county maybe a little area of freezing rain sleet or snow but that will transition to rain little accumulation there expected most of what will looking out late to moderate rain streaming through the area but every way get those little pockets a yellow maybe a heavier downpour we'll have to watch upper some ponding of water out on the roadways this will be with us throughout the morning this afternoon will get a little bit of aloft that this area in right june here and then here comes the major storm system that's can be cranking in our region on wednesday that's can a bring us rain falling heavily at times even some thunderstorms not out of the question and

increase as we head toward wednesday also the watch upper pockets of dense fog like yesterday up toward the highlands little bit of fog through the roanoke valley other areas seeing a little bit of fog heading south on interstate 77 be aware that temperatures overall upper thirties low forties and what you see is pretty much what would in a get all day long we get that cool air wedge temperatures pretty much locked in place with the patchy fog rain likely the first part of the day and a couple stray showers us afternoon before that next enters that neck storm enters the region you notice a marginal risk for our area for some stronger storms as we head toward tomorrow afternoon main issue there would be torrential downpours low-pressure number one and there comes that major low-pressure center tomorrow they'll give us the rain falling heavily at times today rain likely this morning temperatures in the low forties had toward lynchburg center virginia rain this morning low forties low to mid forties southern virginia rain likely early on head through the newer valley southwest rain likely temperature upper

really moving much today had up toward the highlands greenbrier valley west virginia 30s and low 40s with rain likely first alert wtvj seven day planner rain falling heavily times wednesday maybe couple stronger storms flooding concerns really increase during the day thursday friday saturday into sunday will start to see that dryer weather building and we really do need that time to we've learned two western part of the state are was found on school property. the russell county career and tech center on february 2nd. the 22-caliber pistol belonged to a school board member. the students found the gun in his car, which was brought in to be worked on. authorities say they handled the gun and pointed it at another student. leaders in danville decided against privatizing the water plant in the city. the danville utilities commission looked at proposals from two different companies yesterday afternoon. water department leaders say going private has its benefits and they wanted to make sure costs are kept as low

treatment plant was made private in 1998. yesterday, the commission decided against the sale. it was a packed house at the northside high school auditorium, expressed their concerns nearly a week after a threat against the school. media post, there was an increased police presense at the school. classes were not canceled, because police could not verify the threats. some parents say they didn't find out until the day after the threat was made, or found out through social media first. school board member tom mccracken says parents should know their their kids are protected at school. tom mccracken: "i want them to be able to feel their kids are safe. they're secure, they can get refocused and this is a great environment. we just need to have confidence in the leadership and get our kids back on track off of social media and focus on upcoming testing. " school leaders said they will look into revising their crisis plan and how they notify parents if a similar threat is made in the future. make sure you pack your umbrella this morning, sa rain will stick around for most

your first i-hometown traffic report, next. plus, what new state budget proposals could mean for the future of a roanoke county hospital. good morning, i'm amanda kenney. it's national entrepreneurship week. and in honor of that, we'll show you how the colab is heping entrepreneurs, coming up on wdbj7. flooding concerns increase as we head toward wednesday geico for your boat.

flooding concerns increase as we head toward wednesday with rain falling heavily at times. two roads are flooded in giles county right now. trivett farm lane is blocked near wolf creek highway. the morehead road

closed. underground electrical work will cause delays in lexington this week. the intersection of north randolph street and east washington street will be blocked off. that's happening from nine a-m to three p-m today through friday. construction could slow you down in amherst county. both directions of geddes mountain road are closed from roses mill road to patrick henry highway. the project is expected to finish on march 18-th. we're taking a live look at i-77 in bland county from a virginia department of transportation camera. there are no major issues on that highway so far this morning. today the process of moving two former slaves homes on the greenfield plantation in botetourt county will begin. one home is set to be moved this morning between 9 a.m. and noon. the second will be moved this thursday, weather permitting. the relocation will cause a change in traffic patterns in the area, and some restrictions. you can read more

it now appears state lawmakers will grant a reprieve to catawba hospital. spending plans from virginia's house and senate would keep the mental health facility open. governor mcauliffe included money in his budget to begin planning for the hospital's closure. but both the house appropriations committee and the senate finance committee stripped that funding from their proposals. roanoke county supervisor martha hooker says she is pleased the hospital will remain open, at least for now. martha hooker/(r) catawba supervisor: it's a growing need. and we need to have community-based services in place. and i know that that's a growing effort, but we also need to have those beds in place for acute psychiatric care, and also for the specialized geriatric care. the house and senate will approve their budget proposals later this week. then it will fall to budget negotiators to resolve the differences, before lawmakers approve a final two-year budget in mid-march. virginia's general assembly has given final approval to gun compromise legislation. it would allow more concealed-weapon permit holders to

state. it also prohibits people subject to certain protective orders from having guns and requires state police at gun shows for voluntary background checks. governor terry mcauliffe is expected to sign the legislation into law later this week. a new school is finally on its way for students in bedford county. but the new plan to help build it is already causing concern with some residents. and, roanoke mayor david bowers makes a decision

congress. allwe are seeing steady rain moving around the region most of it on the light to moderate side every now and again yellow see a little yellow area that's were finding some heavier downpours watch upper little ponting the water out on the roadways starting opposite brief. of some wintry mix up toward pocahontas county that to will change over to rain that moves through them we get a wall this afternoon and here's the main event this again a push in late tonight and wednesday that will bring

even a chance for stronger thunderstorms to move through you notice the mill mountain camera the clouds are to low can see anything across the roanoke valley temperatures in the forties not really moving much from where they are right now and is you whine out the picture temperatures over toward bristol 46 washington dc 42 richmond coming in at forty degrees not a great time to be outside running or walking this morning with this steady a rain again we get the low then later tonight look sick more rain begins to filtering that's we could see the heavy so the rain low-pressure center number one heads off toward the north and east quarter to a half-inch and then here comes storm system number two that will roll in on wednesday that could give is an inch or two plus some areas even three four inches not out of the question that's why flooding concerns become a main issue on wednesday today rain likely patchy fog temperature upper thirties to low forties for the most part not really moving much from where they are right now cloudy rain developing once again as we head through the overnight hours temperatures dropping down into the upper thirties

alert wtvj seven day planner again flooding concerns on wednesday would all that rain from the snow melt rain showers that we had the good news is by later tuesday will see a slow increasing sunshine weeding to much dryer weather friday saturday and sunday is temperatures begin to warm back up but if you do live near streams rivers creeks anything like that over the next forty eight hours keep very close eye on those plans to build a new school in bedford county has gotten a boost in funding! county supervisors voted to give the school system 44- million dollars for construction of a middle school and high school gymnasium. wdbj7's tim saunders explains why this isn't the first time this vote has come up. pack the house, but supporters of a new middle school in bedford came out in large numbers they urged the to commit what they believe is a necessary amount of money for thomas messier/student: standing for a very long time. for that reason it's important to build it right and build it right the first

to do things the "right way," school leaders say they need no less than 44 million dollars. that amount would build both a new middle school and a competition gym for liberty high school. supervisors voted last june to commit 38-million for the project, and some county residents urged the board monday to stick with that amount. josiah tillett/forest resident: "i don't believe that resolution last year was passed haphazardly or carelessly. i don't think it was a guess." the board voted 5 to 2 in favor of the 44- million dollar commitment. two supervisors, tommy scott and john sharp, voted against the resolution. scott said he worries the school system hasn't nailed down a final cost and will keep asking for more money. supporters emphasized that a lot of planning has already gone into the new middle school, which will be built off centerville road. they say the 44- million dollar amount includes space for student collaboration but not a lot of frills, which some opponents have implied. sarah mayhew/parent: "schools are not prisons. they are no longer one rooms school houses and

starbucks, nor were the plans proposed ever intended to be." tim saunders, wdbj7 with this funding commitment, school leaders say they can now move ahead with architectural planning and design. their goal is to have the middle school open by the fall of 2018. roanoke mayor david bowers says he's decided not to run for the 9th district seat in congress. bowers had raised that possibility last november, when he announced he wasn't going to seek another term as mayor. but yesterday, he said personal and professional concerns will prevent him from seeking the nomination for the david bowers/roanoke mayor: in addition, although i never heard an objection about my not living in the district, i in my heart felt like it was not something that i should do unless i were to live in the district. and it's not likely that the republicans are going to gerrymander me into the district. plans to reopen his law practice full time, and continue to be involved in the civic life of the city. and

roanoke mayor in the future. college basketball highlights from the uva men and the roanoke college women's teams. and, the challenge was to raise money for the american heart association. but one young girl broke a record with her efforts. i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. her life's work has been about breaking barriers. and so would her presidency.

what they're worth... who's held back by student debt or a system tilted against them- and there are far too many of you- she understands that our country can't reach it's potential... unless we all do. together.

rain this morning followed by heavier rain this morning followed by heavier rain wednesday. flooding concerns increase by

uva's men's basketball team goes down to the wire against miami, plus we've got post- season high school basketball to get to as well. here's karen loftus with the highlights. good morning everyone, i'm karen loftus sports. uva's men's basketball team is back in the top-5 in the rankings, as they night to take-on a tough miami team. the third-ranked cavaliers up against hurricanes. both acc play. 1st half, miami up 5. late in malcolm brogdon hits the corner 3, but miami quickly inbounds, and sheldon mcclellan pushes it up the court and launches the running 3 that goes to end the half. miami up 30-25 at

the second, miami still up by 5, when davon reed comes-off the screen and rattles-in the 3. he led the hurricanes with 21 points. uva still fighting from behind with just over 2 minutes to play. brogdon again. 3 more of his 28 points, and the hoos are with-in 3. same deficit now with 4 seconds left. london perrantes, the guy you want taking the last shot if it's gotta be deep. he lets it fly but it's no good. miami hangs-on to win it 64- 61. in women's d3 basketball, we're already in the post- season with roanoke college hosting virginia wesleyan in the first round of the odac tournament. the maroons coming out of the gate strong. kelsey smith connects on the long 2. roanoke continuing to shoot it well throughout the first quarter. bridget holleran hitting a jumper of her own. they lead by double digits in this one, but virginia wesleyan comes back to beat roanoke, 68-65. onto high school hoops. william fleming hosting kettle run in regionals. fleming up 6 in the 2nd quarter, and looking to build on that lead. the three-pointer is off, but james hagins is there for

putback. the lead is up to eight, with the colonels scoring with relative ease in the paint. tyrell adams whips it into christian watson for the wide-open lay-up. then adams, doing it himself, splashing- down the three from the wing. fleming goes-on to win it, 53-34 3a west girls regional quarterfinals. lord botetourt hosting turner ashby monday night. the knights waste no time getting rolling, as kaleigh roadcap knocks-down the 3- ball just 10 seconds into the game. they open-up an 8-oh lead before lb gets on the board. katie klimczak getting the cavs' first field goal of the game. then check-out the moves from jenna alam. crossing-up her defender and finishing underneath. botetourt goes-on a 7-oh run to close the gap. they take the lead by the half and go-on to win it 67-54 that's your tuesday morning look at sports. an elementary much more money teacher was expecting during a recent fundraiser. fifth grade student macy williams from eastern montgomery elementary school raised more than one thousand dollars for the annual jump

by the american heart association - that's the most money ever raised by one student for the event. macy williams/5th grade student: "the reason i decided to go big this year was to help people in need. so i could actually help and save somebody's life maybe." kelley sutphin/p.e. teacher: "it really warms your heart. it makes you feel good. we have a lot of other students here too that it's really not about the prizes for them." students were given about a month to collect money. previously, the most that was raised by one student was 300 dollars. williams says she had lots of help from her dad's work. republicans are turning their attention to nevada for their party's caucus. why ted cruz is heading into today's contest without one of his top aides. fellow gop presidential candidate john kasich spent some time in our state. why some women didn't like the way he expressed his appreciation for their support on the campaign trail. and, apple's ceo is calling on congress to create a commission to look

the company

security. good morning, it's just after 5:30 on tuesday. i'm garrett turner. and i'm kimberly mcbroom. voters will choose a presidential nominee in the republican caucus in nevada today. as don champion reports, donald trump is hoping for his third win, but his competitors are pushing back. after winning primaries in south carolina and new hampshire...donald trump is eyeing a big win in nevada tonight. (sot trump) you better get out tomorrow. you gotta vote tomorrow. you gotta vote vote vote on the eve of the state's gop caucuses ...the republican front- runner did not hold back...slamming a protester... (sot trump) " i'd like to punch him in the face, i'll tell you that." ...and bashing rival ted cruz for what he called dishonest campaign ads: (sot trump) this

something wrong with this guy (sot cruz) god bless the great state of nevada after finishing in third place behind marco rubio in south carolina, cruz is going into today's contest without his communications director. rick tyler was asked to resign monday for sharing a false news story on social media that suggested rubio dismissed the bible. (sot cruz) i have made clear in this campaign that we will conduct this campaign with the very highest standards of integrity speaking on a flight to vegas ...rubio called tyler the 'fall guy' for cruz's deceptive campaign. (sot rubio) "you feel bad for the guy rubio is leading cruz in the silver state. both are vying to be the main alternative to trump...with super tuesday just a week away. don champion cbs news. charlottesville was one of three virginia stops for republican presidential

he also spoke in richmond and fairfax yesterday. it was in fairfax that campaign's support from females. happy with the way he said it, as he referred to his republican presidential candidate john kasich: "i didn't have anybody for me. we just got an army of people who, and many women who left their kitchens to out and go door to door and to put yard signs up for me, all the way back when you know, things were different." a woman in the crowd told kasich she would support him, but stressed that she wouldn't be "coming out of the kitchen" to do so. ((cold toss w/stinger)) wednesdaywet forecast be prepared over the next twenty four forty eight hours first soaking rain some rain falling heavily at times forty one right now in roanoke were pretty much locked there for the rest of the day new york city 3659 alanna twenty seven chilly degrees in chicago

school rain out live temperature thirty nine degrees finding some fog in around that region northeast wind around seven miles per hour you can see this range is feeding him from the south this is mainly light to moderate rain but we get these areas of yellow and would getting some heavier downpours be aware that is you heading out on the roadways keep your umbrella with you throughout the next couple days is would and again a little bit of a while then here comes the main event that's can be swinging through as we head toward wednesday rain falling heavily times even a few stronger thunderstorms can't be ruled out by tomorrow afternoon steady rain in the morning temperatures hovering in the low forties we get that wall in the afternoon but already by tonight the rains can a move right back into the region would temperatures still harboring in the mid forties qaeda see that wall coming in here comes that next batch we see the yellows and oranges and this one that's with the rains looks like what it's falling heavily times maybe ending as some snow showers in the mountains a west virginia. how much rain we talk about would talking anywhere from about an inch

before it's all said and done and would tennessee out flood watch that is in effect until 7 pm on wednesday you forecast today low forties a good chance a rain throughout the area and over toward lynchburg center virginia rain likely this morning alone the afternoon southern virginia gretna danville south boston low to mid 40s. rain likely this morning newer valley southwest upper thirties to low forties rain likely as he head up toward the highlands greenbrier valley west virginia thirties and forties today rain likely this morning a little bit of a while this afternoon before more rain moves in on wednesday still a weather impact day wednesday flooding concerns go up that's why we have that flood watch in effect the good news is as we head toward the weekend we begin to dry out but wednesday first off the small streams and creeks low-lying areas poor drainage areas flooding concerns there and then the main rivers lot be watching them later wednesday into thursday to see how far they start to there's a new development in the battle between apple and the f-b-i over privacy and security.

cook wants congress to create a commission to examine civil liberties in the digital age. the government wants apple to help them unlock the iphone of one of the san bernardino shooters who killed 14 people. a judge has ordered the company to help out, but apple plans to appeal. some survivors of the san bernardino shootings may also ask apple to unlock the phone. the stock price of virginia- headquartered lumber liquidators is dropping, after the centers for disease control and prevention said it underestimated the health risks of its flooring. 60 minutes reported last year that lumber liquidators sold flooring made in china that exceeded u.s. health and safety limits for formaldehyde. the c-d-c says people exposed to the flooring are three times more likely to get cancer than the agency previously thought. three-weeks ago, the company was sentenced to pay millions in fines and restitution for illegally trafficking lumber into the u.s. some of the families of the victims of the sandy hook elementary school shooting are suing the maker of the rifle used in the attack. their attorneys claim that the ar-15

weapon made by bushmaster is too dangerous for the general public. 20 first-graders and six adults were killed in the shooting by adam lanza. a mother of one of the victims said lanza chose that gun specifically. (nicole hockley/mother of sandy hook victim) "he didn't choose another weapon. he didn't choose another style of gun. he chose the ar-15, and the manufacturers need to be held responsible for that." lawyers from the defense said federal law protects gun makers from lawsuits -- especially since it was lanza's mother who bought the weapon. a connecticut judge heard both sides from the plaintiffs and defense yesterday, and will decide whether the suit should proceed. the uber driver accused of going on a shooting rampage in kalamazoo, michigan, has admitted to doing part of the attacks. jason dalton was arraigned yesterday and faces six counts of murder. police say he killed six and hurt two others in three separate attacks. dalton began shooting at an apartment complex, continued at a car dealship and then moved on to a cracker barrel restaurant. police found the gun used in the shootings

uber says the driver passed a background check and didn't have any criminal history. a new study released from u-s-c slams hollywood for being whitewashed. researchers at the annenberg school found that every hollywood movie studio, and nearly all t-v networks have a lack of diversity in gender, race, ethnicity and l-g-b-t status. the report comes just as the oscars nominated only white actors for the second year in a row. (stacy smith/usc study co-author) ""i think the prequel to oscars so white is hollywood so white. i think our study makes it really clear. hollywood is a straight, white, boys' the two-year study 400 films and t-v shows across ten major companies. it found that only a third of speaking characters went to females. and overall, just over 28-percent of ethnic minorities. the study also analyzed the executives of 10 top companies, finding that women make up only 20 percent of leadership. basketball season is end folks and it's these last few games that can turn a march

1 seed to a 2. that was never more true than last night when the #3 university of virginia cavaliers visited the #12 miami hurricanes. it was a top ten matchup with huge implications. we start in the second half--uva kept it close throughout in large part due to malcolm brogdon. a dribble drive, step back and swoosh--brogdon would finish with 28 points. on the miami side, this man davon reed had himself a night with 5 three pointers--one right here putting miami up by 8. but brogdon put his team on his back--making eight straight points eventually getting his team within 1 point. after a miami missed free throw, brogdon would get another chance with 22 seconds left but he just missed the mark. in the end miami would get the upset. uva loses 64-61 and according to espn's joe lunardi it may have cost them a 1 seed. uva will plays #7 ranked north carolina on saturday. we're watching the roads for any problem areas this morning.

traffic report. if you're an entrepreneur, there's something going on at the colab this week that you might want to take advantage of. we'll explain, coming up on wdbj7 mornin'

increase as we head toward wednesday with rain falling heavily at times. crews are working on an emergency pothole repair now in pulaski county.

near the route 100 exit at mile marker 89. that work is expected to wrap up in about 20 minutes. bridge work could slow you down on route 58 in pittsylvania county. the eastbound right lane is closed near pounds road. it's scheduled to re-open on saint patrick's day. two roads are flooded in giles county right now. trivett farm lane is blocked near wolf creek highway. the morehead road dead end is also closed. we're looking live at i-64 in covington from a virginia department of transportation camera. roads are slick out there with the rain but there are no major problems to report. it's national entreprenuership week. and to celebrate, wdbj7's amanda kenney is at the colab in grandin village. what's going on over there, amanda? good morning, kimberly. there's always something happening at the colab. i'm with the colab's

us. 1. what is the colab doing this week for national entreprenuership week. colab offering free daytime coworking all week. 2. what does that mean? what exactly do you guys do here? coming up in the next half hour, we'll

coming up in the next half hour, we'll have more on how you can get involved with the colab if you're an aspiring entreprenuer. the department of agriculture wants you to know about invasive species. which plants you shouldn't buy at a nursery. looking at this jeep after it crashed and caught fire, you'd think nothing was left. something did survive, and a witness is calling it a

thursdaywe are seeing a lot a rain moving across the area right now even starting off as a little light

pocahontas county other areas we get the little areas of yellow and orange. maybe some heavier downpours embedded overall light to moderate showers through the morning will get a little bit of a wall this afternoon before the next batch a rain moves in late tonight and tomorrow tennessee the break right here and then there's the next low-pressure center that storm it's can a dive down pick up golf moisture and had in our direction that could give is that one to two inches a rain as we head through wednesday afternoon right now numbers thirties and forties and what you see spring much what would in a get today not really moving much at all is were locked in that cool air wedge so would talking low 30s and 40s and what you see spring much what would in a get today. not really moving much at all is were locked in that cool air wedge so would talking 40s a little warmer wednesday and it will back into the forties thursday friday and saturday as we see some dryer air punch in overall this morning the rain an and we get a little bit of a break for more rain moves in this evening and the overnight hours and some that rain tomorrow falling heavily times first batch a rain would talking quarter to a half-inch with isolated higher amounts and then here comes that next low-pressure center that storm it's can a bring us about an

have everything added up would talking one and a half to two and a half inches plus in some isolated locations that's why flooding becomes a concern as we head through wednesday that's why the national weather service issued a flash flood wall the flood watches through wednesday at seven p.m. you forecast today rain likely patchy fog temperatures in the upper thirties low to mid forties head out tonight mostly cloudy conditions rain developing once again lows in the upper thirties to 30s low 40s again temperatures really not moving much rain falling heavily times wednesday flooding becomes a concern gusty winds thursday with the saturated ground could see some trees come down friday saturday and sunday we dry out with highs hovering pretty much in the 40s and low this week is national invasive species awareness week, a week set aside to highlight our delicate eco-system. invasive species are aggressive plants and animals not

and lack predators. the united states department of agrictulture says there are many concerns but these are three of the biggest; honeysuckle, burning bush, and barberry. it says people un- intentionally make the problem worse by buying these plants at local nurseries. (joanne yousten/usda soil conservationist):"t hey're pretty, if i had a nickel for everytime i heard i love how a honey-suckle smells, they're pretty and everyone sells them and you assume that if someone is selling something it ought to be, it must be ok." you can contact the u-s-d-a or your local cooperative extension to find out what plants to stay away from, and what plants are safe to garden. the hoverboard became popular last year through several viral videos, prompting parents to buy it as christmas gifts. but it's actually more dangerous than it looks -- it was responsible for more than 50 reported fires since december. the consumer product safety commission wants the manufacturers to upgrade their safety standards. this means the company will

hoverboards defective if the devices aren't improved. the fires seem to come from excess heat created by the lithium batteries. when a car in tennessee burst into flames, one thing remained untouched - a bible. (eugene mcneil/witness) "that is god. if you dont believe it. i dont know what to say." after a sideswiping another car, a jeep swerved down a hill and into a pole. it caught fire seconds later, prompting witnesses to pull over and rescue the driver. (corey kilpatrick/witness) "all i could find was a gallon of water so i went back and wet him so maybe it wouldnt burn him and i could keep him as moist as he could possibly be." after a man broke through the window with a jack iron, they pulled the driver out of the car. he was taken to a hospital. starbucks is making some changes to its rewards program, in hopes of speeding up service. members received one star per visit in the old program, and it didn't matter how much money they spent. to get more stars, customers told baristas to scan items as separate transactions, which

program is based on how much a customer spends. more than 11 million active reward a blind woman saw herself in the mirror years. how a brand new surgery gave her the gift of sight. thousands of people to the hospital. how to protect yourself from getting

now on wdbj7 mornin', today in history. on this date in 18- 61, president-elect abraham lincoln arrives in washington. in 19-45, the u.s. flag is raised on iwo jima. a group of children in pennsylvania receive the first polio vaccine in 19-54. it's a tie for song of the year at the 20th annual grammy awards in 19-78. and in 19-97, schindler's list is shown uncut on

rain this morning followed by heavier rain wednesday. flooding concerns increase by midweek. a woman declared legally blind now has her sight again. in this morning's hometown health, wdbj7's christian heilman met the woman who has a brand-new surgery to thank for her new gift. alright let's take a look . inside this exam room, patricia

the telescope is in good position . after three years of not being able to see anything clearly. patricia maggard " i didn't act like i was having difficulty because nobody wants to hear your problems anyway usually. " people she met didn't know she couldn't read a book, watch television or look them in the eye. patricia maggard "you just play like you can see them. it's how i handled it. " she had dry macular degeneration and cateracts. patricia maggard "i really felt that there was going to be something out there that would fix this vision problem. and there was. " with stuart tim's help at vistar eye center, her sight is back. j. stuart tims, vistar eye center "i believe there have been about three total paitents in the state of virginia so far." chrisitan heilman the procedure took out patricia's cloudy cateract and instead replaced it with a telescope that uses the better part of her eye to see what macular degeneration took away. patricia maggard "i looked through it and i could read the eye chart and they had my husband stand out there and i could

thought bingo. i found a cure. " j. stuart tims, vistar eye center "but it is a new device that's just coming to the forefront right now. " the doctor says her vision is back -- permanently. she's seeing everything more clearly, whether she'd like to or not. patricia maggard "and the thing is i could look in the mirror and not see my face for all those years either. and boy did i age. [laugh] " in roanoke, christian heilman, wdbj7. the doctor says anyone who has severe vision loss from macular degeneration and hasn't had cateract surgery may be a candidate. he says about a dozen patients per year could benefit from this new procedure. tens of thousands of americans die every year from infections picked up at the hospital. doctors can unknowingly put patients at risk and surfaces in hospital rooms can be infested with harmful bacteria. but there are some things you can do to protect yourself. make sure doctors wash their hands and clean their stethescopes before examining you. wipe down the the bed rails, the call button, the t-v remote and other

in a hospital room. now it's time to take a look at what's going on in the twittersphere. hash-tag the bachelor is the main talker. abc's hit show episode 8 premiered last night. i don't watch it but after scanning the tweets jojo is getting a lot of chatter. she must be one of the contestants. -------- hash-tag ted cruz is trending after his communications director misquoted him as saying the bible has few answers. cruz has made some staffing changes since then. -------- and hash-tag warriors as in the golden state warriors is trending ... after they defeated the atlanta hawks 102-92. they now have a 50-5 record, one of the records in nba history.

academty are back on their normal schedules. what the pittsylvania county sheriff's office has to say about the investigation. and, a long-awaited project is finally getting the money it needs in bedford county. but not everyone is

new plan. there's a new attorney for the man accused of abducting and killing blacksburg teenager nicole lovell. the roanoke lawyer who will now represent david eisenhauer. there will be no appeal for the man convicted of killing nelson county teenager alexis murphy. when virginia's supreme court denied randy taylor's appeal for a new trial. and, parents pack the house at northside high school, expressing their concerns after last week's threat against the school. why some are angry that they weren't notified as soon as it happened. good morning, it's just after 6 o'clock on tuesday. i'm kimberly mcbroom.