police would only tell us this afternoon they're investigating an incident in which an off-duty police officer is alleged to have shot a neighbor's dog with a b.b. gun. it is an open internal investigation. the dog's death was heartbreaking to the family. >> he was my son's best friend. >> elizabeth sandretti says an off-duty milwaukee police officer, a neighbor, shot and fatally wounded her son's dog vinnie. , her son is an adult with a disability, and vinnie was beloved. >> really friendly. liked going to the dog park and socializing with other dogs. loved to play ball. >> it was thanksgiving week when vinnie was wounded with an air rifle. >> he had a bullet hole in his hip. so i was able to stop the bleeding and i got him comfortable and then , i noticed that he had another bullet hole in his side. then overnight while in the care

over. >> and i'm the one who shot your dogs. and i'm here to apologize for my actions. i don't have an explanation for what i did. and i'm sorry and i feel terrible. i'm just astonished for him to have a couple of dogs appear in have a couple of dogs appear in his yard caused him to shoot them with intent. >> elizabeth says the veterinarian bills have reached nearly $3000. she is wondering if there will be criminal charges against the officer and whether she'll be reimbursed. if not, she's consider suing to cover those losses. patrick: we're following breaking news. we now know what evidence will be tested as convicted killer steven avery tries to get that conviction thrown out. avery is serving a life sentence for the murder of teresa halbach. court documents filed in manitowoc county late this

driver seat, passenger seat, and a c.d. case, are among the items being sent to the wisconsin state crime lab in madison for testing. a swab from the ignition area and the key are also being sent. avery's new lawyer says she believes the testing will show avery's blood was planted at the crime scene. joyce: 12 news investigates, he's accused of scamming hundreds of thousands of dollars from would-be investors. now this brown deer man is facing decades in prison. wisn 12 news colleen henry joins us and has the story. >> on facebook, 26-year-old donald kernan junior's dreamertopia investments promised to help clients create your business, build your wealth and live your dreams. , investor spencer paul is living a nightmare. >> it was all smoke and mirrors . there was no money behind it. >> kernan said he was starting up a social media/tech company. >> he just needed our money as capital to get a larger loan and

felonies and paul is out nearly , $200,000. according to the complaint, paul first met kernan at this water street bar where he offered him , a risk-free opportunity to invest in dreamertopia, his company, and for $12,500, he we get a $5,000 profit. paul says kernan soon had another offer, he would pay 25% to 50% return if he could open lines of credit in paul's name prosecutors say kernan racked up $178,000 in charges. >> he was just getting hotels, trips to night clubs and restaurants and all this stuff. >> court records show investors from as far away as new york and washington state gave kernan money to invest and lost everything. prosecutors estimate their total loss near $700,000. still, spencer paul feels lucky. >> me, i'm lucky. i am able-bodied. i can still work and try to

patient, and that poor guy, stole his life savings and retirement fund. that guy has got nothing right now. >> kernan has three felony cases pending here in milwaukee county . he'll be sentenced in february. once he is wrapped up here here , he'll be extradited to illinois, where he faces a felony case there. joyce: thank you. kernan also worked as a media consultant for two local political campaigns. he helped joe s earlier this year. he also served as a consultant for state senator lena taylor. patrick: a hacked database at the uw-law school puts some people at-risk for identity theft. school officials said today a database had been breached. it contained the names and social security numbers of some 1200 applicants. the people affected applied to uw-law school from 2005 to 2006. the school says those people have been offered free credit monitoring for a year to help protect them from identity theft. joyce: milwaukee police tonight are hoping this surveillance

restaurants overnight. the video shows the well-dressed suspect calmly walking into the jimmy john's on 15th and wells on the marquette campus and demanding cash. police say the same man tried to rob the real chili near cathedral square a short time later. this all happened last night. anyone who recognizes him, should call milwaukee police. patrick: ok, get out your hats and boots, the coldest air of the season is moving in as we speak. we are taking a live look outside where temperatures are , falling. meteorologist lindsey slater is here with a look aw it may be dropping into the 20's overnight, but that is not what it will feel like. the current temperatures right now, about 33 degrees. you can see that swirl of low pressure over minnesota, that is the low bringing in this cold air from canada, and the windchill in milwaukee is 23,

in madison, 16, plus chances of snow in the forecast. coming up next, i will talk about when we see snow chances and exactly how cold thursday will be. that is next. joyce: thank you. happening now, day six of the presidential vote recount in wisconsin. as this live-stream shows, volunteers and observers are hard at work in waukesha county. since the recount began in wisconsin last thursday, 23 of the state's 72 counties have finished their tallies. based on those, donald trump has picked up 146 votes on hillary clinton. the recount deadline is next patrick: new at 6:00, you'll notice new billboards popping up around town, aimed at fighting the growing opioid problem in our state. the digital billboards are part of the federal drug enforcement agency's new eight-week campaign to increase the public's awareness of the risks of prescription painkillers. addiction to those can lead to problems with heroin and fentanyl as well. the dea hopes the billboards can help change behavior and attitudes.

hope that we can prevent misuse and addiction to these substances, and hope for those in the grips of dependence, and hope for their families with guidance and treatment. patrick: according to the dea, 262 people have died from overdoses in milwaukee county so far this year. joyce: new at 6:00, the fight over how to fix wisconsin's deteriorating roads takes center stage in madison. transportation secretary mark gottlieb did his best to lay out the positives of the two year budget proposal before the assembly's transportation committee. >> requested funding of $500 million is the lowest level in 15 years and represents a 41% reduction in borrowing. joyce: but even with that reduction, but july of 2019, wisconsin will be spending 23% of its transportation revenues on debt payments, three times as much as the federal government does. the governor has said he won't sign a budget that raises the

the winter weather is affecting the zoo interchange project. construction crews poured the new southbound i-41 concrete bridge deck over i-94 last night. the department of transportation says that was the last deck pour until spring, because of the colder weather. patrick: new at 6:00, u.w. regents will vote thursday whether to raise out of state and graduate school tuition. six four-year campuses, and all of the two-year schools, would be affected. uw-madison non-resident undergrads could see the largest increase, paying $2,000 more next school year. graduate students could see a $5,000 increase. the money would be used to offset the governor's resident undergraduate tuition freeze. regents on thursday will also vote whether to give employees a 2% pay raise in each of the next two years. the money would come from the state's compensation reserve. that's the money the legislature sets aside at the start of every budget to cover unexpected pay or benefit increases. u.w. employees received a 1% increase in the last budget.

walker meets with wisconsin troops while visiting the middle east. the governor posted this picture on his twitter account with the message, "it is such a great honor to speak with wi national guard troops. thank you for your service. scott." walker is part of a delegation of governors invited by the defense department to visit troops in the middle east. they are not saying exactly where in the middle east he is. the governor is scheduled to be gone until friday. patrick: new tonight at 10:00, a local college student is given just months to live. her illness and the goal of a big then, a wisconsin elementary school evacuated and some students quarantined. what one student brought to school that caused the chaos. that's tonight at 10:00. joyce: new at 6:00, a change coming to downtown milwaukee's skyline. according to our partners at biztimes milwaukee, bmo harris plans to build a new milwaukee headquarters. the new office tower would be built at water and wells, where the bank's parking structure currently stands. bmo harris' current 20-story building will be demolished or sold. starting tomorrow, the gas light

brighter thanks to new technology. wisn 12 news able to get a sneak peek at the new led lights. they will make it appear as if the flame-shaped light is actually lit by gas. there's also going to be big differences to the lighting of the entire building. >> so now we have the ability for christmas to make the building red and green, which we did. for new year's, we will be able to do something really special with the entire building through all the different special events we have available to us. joyce: the gas light building flips the switch on its new lights starting tomorrow at 6:15 p.m. patrick: it is a signature site when you look at the skyline. human bones discovered at a popular wisconsin tourist destination. joyce: still ahead, where they were unearthed, and where they might have come from. patrick: then, a christmastime tradition rolls into our area. kathy mykleby joins us live with the turnout to see this year's holiday train and the special

joyce: new tonight, a human skull and bones found on a door county beach. patrick: investigators say kids were playing on a beach near

bones. the door county medical examiner is working to identify where they came from. the skull and fragments were found in the same area where a native american skull was uncovered in 2009. >> it turned out to be the remains of a native american several hundred years old, so consequently we collected the remains and turned them over to the medical examiner. patrick: investigators are not releasing the exact location where the bones were found. they want to keep people from coming to the area to dig for bones. joyce: new at 6:00, thousands of milwaukee public school students receive an earol students at hopkins lloyd community school were just some of the more than 5,000 students across the district who got a free book as part of the my very own library program. the program helps students build up their book collections while developing their reading skills. >> it makes you a better thinker. number two, it improves your concentration. number three, it improves your vocabulary. number four, it teaches you about the world around you. and number five, i discussed it

joyce: mps has handed out more than 34,000 books as part of the my very own library program. a christmas time tradition rolls into milwaukee. newschopper 12 was there as the holiday train arrived in town. patrick: right now the train is , on its way to hartland at this hour. it just made a stop in the tosa village. that's where we find 12 news kathy mykleby. kathy: the thrill outweighed the chill, maybe. some serious canadian air. here is what it sound like when the train rolled in. that was the sound everybody was waiting to hear. thousands of people, all they wanted to see was those beautiful lights all over the train and hear that horn, and also some music and the arrival of a very special guest.

kathy: what is your favorite part? >> the music. kathy: that is a train? >> it is a train. kathy: what is your favorite part about all this? >> santa. kathy: absolutely santa, number one thing. i think my lips are freezing as i'm standing out here and while were toast, but everybodha they got out of here awfully fast though, and perhaps it will come back next year. that is certainly the hope here in wauwatosa. i missed the 6:00 news, but got to see the train in person, so back to you guys. joyce: the cold air is here. kathy: if you're heading out, bundle up. lindsey: we have to remember to

these are the things you need to think about. the last time we saw temperatures this cold was march 4 of last year, actually, this year, right, 2016. march seems like it was a long time ago. we have not hit temperatures like this in quite a while. we had such a mild november that this is basically a shock to our systems. we are talking single digit windchills. it is all fine and dandy, but it is cold outside. you can deal with that, but when the wind hits you, it becomes miserable to be outside, so layers, scarves, boots, make sure you have everything ready to go. i'm tracking our next chance of accumulating snow, and i will talk about that in just a minute. it's coming. 33 right now.

this big ridge of high pressure and canada coming down here, opening all that cold air, just spilling into much of the united states, and that's why we will be seeing temperatures like this. temperatures in the 20's rolling in. the cold front is out of here now, so it is waiting for the temperatures to continue to draw. 6:00 a.m. wednesday, i do anticipate temperatures feeling like the teens. fast forward is the day that will be the worst one of the week temperature wise. 7:00 a.m., it will feel like to degrees in milwaukee, negative one and waukesha, and zero in lake geneva and janesville, so we will hang on in this part for a while. these are the high temperatures, by the way, not the lows, the highs. 26 thursday. 22 friday, then we bump up ahead of our next weather system,

thursday. saturday night, we will see snow starting to fly. sunday, those chances are starting to creep up. we could see some accumulating snow, so it will be later in the day saturday that the snow showers will be starting, and possible snow accumulation's into sunday. this is still a few days out, now the weather models are in agreement. i'm giving you a head up keep that in mind. remember, it is the wind. that will make the wind chill feel like the teens, so the bus stop tomorrow morning when not be pleasant. the windchill will feel like a 11, then if you are in waukesha, it might feel like single digits. your weatherwatch 12 week ahead forecast does feature freezing

saturday and into sunday, and i think we will see some accumulations. patrick: a snow globe. that was a happy thing when you had -- penguin you had. joyce: packers have the day off, but still making headlines. stephen: yes, for all the wrong reasons. in light of lindsey's forecast, ta randall cobb in our one-on-one. why kevin garnett, what advice he had for giannis antetokounmpo. you're watching wisn 12 news. >> good evening everyone. doing your research before you shop. >> tomorrow on wisn 12 news this morning, the new rules impacting anyone who's giving, or getting, certain high-tech gifts this year. >> and an arctic blast is on the

? stephen: all four of randall cobb's touchdowns this season have come at lambeau field, and

sunday. in our weekly one-on-one. you know have to ask you about it, the touchdown, you see the snow in front of you, the perfect opportunity for a snow angel? >> it was the perfect moment. i caught it, fell, got up, and then i slipped. i just tried to make a snow angel. >> where does the snow angel rank among your best? >> youel that was a fun game to bn. it is the first time i played in a game where it snow the entire time. stephen: conditions were not ideal, but you put together those two touchdown drives. do you feel like the offense is backward needs to be with drives like that? >> yeah, i mean, we have done things consistently over the last couple of weeks to put drives together like that, so i can't say if we are back or not,

stephen: packers defensive tackle mike pennel will end the season just like he started it, with a four-game suspension . after violating the substance abuse policy for the second time this year, pennel faced a year-long suspension, but was able to settle for four games with the nfl today. he would be eligible for the postseason. a busy day for david stearns at the winter meetings. for the third time since last october 2015, the brewers traded a closer. here is announcer: now on wisn 12 stephen: here is tyler thornburg in his new colors. he was traded to boston today, in return, the brewers acquired third baseman travis shaw. the 26-year-old lefty batted 242 with 16 homers and 35 doubles in 145 games with the red sox. the move will likely move jonathan villar to second base. milwaukee also got two of boston's top 25 prospects, cash, and a player to be named later. a very happy birthday to giannis antetokounmpo. i don't know about you, but he's feeling 22, and boy, what a

15-time nba all star kevin garnett was in st. francis this afternoon, working with giannis and the rest of the bucks. he is in town for two days as a consultant to help mentor the young team, specifically giannis, who said he learned a lot about drive and passion from garnett. >> you got have the mentality to be great. but is one thing i keep from him. stephen: and finally, per multiple reports, sandy cohen will transfer to uw-gree finish out his college basketball career. he requested a release from marquette's program and will sit out the rest of the season due to ncaa transfer rules and have a semester of eligibility left to play for the phoenix. joyce: thank you. a little holiday cheer in our nation's capitol. >> 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. look at that. look at that. patrick: this was a couple of

d c, paul ryan helps to light the capitol christmas tree. joyce: looks beautiful, doesn't it? patrick: certainly does.

?? tonight, brangelina's custody agreement revealed. for the first time e're getting an in-depth look at their family life post-split. who is gunning for grammy gold. the snub, the beyonce may make history. plus -- >> madonna goes crazy with corden. >> it was really fun to see it. >> revealing secrets from his -pwildest carpool karaoke yet. >> you want me to kiss and tell, don't you? >> behind the scenes of la la land. the star that taught emma and ryan the dance moves. >> it opened up a whole new world.