erin: now on daybreak, there is another republican presidential debate tonight and donald trump seems to be solidifying his front-runner status with a new coal showing his highest support yet. bernie sanders is also searching on the democratic side. he told a crowd he thinks he can win in new hampshire. kevin: as the december rain winds down, the wind picks up in the afternoon. >> you, michael dixon, took away a wonderful human being. erin: emotional statements in court after a man learns his

fate after admitting to causing a deadly crash while driving drunk earlier this year. >> no one covers new hampshire like we do. now, wmur news 9 daybreak. erin: good morning, new hampshire. thanks for joining us. i' m erin fehlau. we are waking up to a very rainy morning out there. kevin skarupa joins us. how much longer is the rain going to last? kevin: maybe on and off through the afternoon. at least a couple more hours. we may have a few wind gusts over 40 miles per hour. the last of the rain showers pull through in the next couple hours. highs going from the mid-40' s to the upper 50' s today. wind advisory posted for parts of the state through 6:00 this evening.

a look at your ride this morning. we are joined live by 95.7 wzid' s deb davidson. good tuesday morning. deb: good tuesday morning. wet roadways are going to slow things down a bit. all major roadways in new hampshire are moving well. we are not seeing any problems from the tilton area to the hooksett tolls and from manchester down into salem. 293 is looking good. 101, 111, and the spalding are up to speed. no problems or delays into and around boston. this report is being brought to you by minuteman health. affordable health insurance is here, new hampshire. minuteman health -- join the revolution. from the wzid traffic network, i' m deb davidson for 95.7 wzid. erin: thank you so much. get ready for round five.

the race for the republican nomination for president will take the stage in las vegas tonight. it is the first gop debate since the attacks in paris and california. stephanie: the stage is set for the last gop debate of 2015. nine candidates will stand on stage for the most critical event heading into the iowa caucuses. >> i expect to win iowa. stephanie: trump took aim at' s main sticking points. like mexico and the wall. >> folks, you are killing us. you are making too much money. the wall is going to cost $9 billion. stephanie: brand-new numbers out showing trump hitting 41% with republicans, the highest support

this debate may now be a two-man race between trump and senator ted cruz. on the debate stage, trump will be flanked by ted cruz and ben carson. carson recently called coverage of him and his campaign dishonest. t find any scandals. s see if we can make this guy look crazy. stephanie: marco rubio, jeb bush, carly fiorina, john kasich, rand paul, and chris christie round out the cr field. trump says -- >> it is going to be good. stephanie: trump offered a short note from his doctor saying, "trump' s physical strength and stamina are extraordinary."

start a new series looking at some of the biggest issues the new president will likely face. today, we will look a national security and the fight against terrorism. open his campaign office in town hall in hampton. the latest granite state poll shows the vermont senator has a 10 point lead over hillary clinton. race is much closer, he was confident last night during a town hall in hollis. >> i' m here in new hampshire to ask for your vote, for your support to help us win in new hampshire and i think we have an excellent chance to do that. erin: last night' s gathering was part town hall, part promotional shoot for sanders. a derry man will spend seven years behind bars after drinking eight beers and getting behind

the wheel and killing a man, kevin o' donnell. emotions were rob. -- emotions were raw in yesterday' s hearing. ray: they were. michael dixon pled guilty yesterday. family members of kevin o' donnell, who died in the crash, say they hope is seven years -- his seven years behind bars feel like a lifetime. dixon did not stop at the scene. he fled the scene and hid in a tree. >> i will never forget turning my father' s lifeless body over. >> i hate you with every ounce of my being. you disgust me.

dixon may not be a bad person, he is deserving of a long sentence, especially considering a prior dui conviction in texas. ray brewer, wmur news 9. erin: a man accused of pointing a gun at a man over the weekend and firing at a house in dover is due in court. police arrested jeremy jackson last night and charged with criminal threatening, reckless conduct, and of being a felon in possession of a firearm. he got in a fight before pulling a gun. no one was hurt. a keene man accused of selling drugs is due in court. police seized cash, 120 grams of heroin, and cocaine from 28-year-old christopher foster jr.' s home. officers arrested several other people as part of their drug investigation over the weekend. jury deliberations continue in

the philip chism murder trial. the jury must decide if he was insane when he killed his teacher, colleen ritzer, inside danvers high school in 2013. he faces first-degree murder and aggravated rape charges, among others. his defense team claims he was in the throes of a psychotic episode when he killed colleen ritzer. still ahead, a local high school principal is helping a former student battling cancer. and courtney vashaw has some great news of her own, too. start teaching kids early. that was the message in concord yesterday. officials say it could save our schools a lot of money. a manchester teen saved a

s people are working harder than ever, but the everyday cost of perscriptions, child care, or even just buying groceries can be a stretch for too many families. hillary's plan: raise the minimum wage, get equal pay for women, cut taxes for the middle class, and new incentives for business to share profits with employees instead of just rewarding ceos. those at the top are doing just fine. it's your family that needs a raise. i'm hillary clinton, and i

kevin: it is tuesday morning, december 15. it is going to be a changeable day as the rain winds down in southern areas. we will talk about the details for the rest of the week and the cooldown that eventually comes in in time for the weekend coming up. erin: governor maggie hassan and the state delegation are pledging to make early education a priority. spark new hampshire is the early childhood advisory. the goal is to highlight the number of granite staters who have taken a pledge for the children of new hampshire. >> my mom, when she and i used to talk about what kids needed more than anything else, she would say, kids need to know they have a grown-up in their corner. i' m looking out at a room of adults that have pledged to be that grown up in the corner for new hampshire'

s children. erin: spark new hampshire says start reduces health problems and special education costs. a local high school principal is helping to return the generosity of her students. last spring, the senior class at profile junior high school donated all the money they raised for their class trip to their principal courtney vashaw, after she was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer. she is returning the favor. 18-year-old aurora brown learned that she has kidney cancer, so courtney vashaw worked with her former classmates to raise more than $4000. courtney vashaw herself was declared cancer-free last week. wonderful news there. coming up, the force awakens! the new "star wars" movie

erin: more than four years have passed since tropical storm irene swamped new england, but the rebuilding process continues. after $130 million in upgrades, the state government complex in waterbury, vermont is finally updated. fc is rolling out a new vending machine offering healthy options -- pepsi is rolling out a new vending machine offering healthy options and no actual pepsi. the hello goodness vending machine has touch to display nutritional information and will even suggest food and drink pairings based on the time of day. >> it is so great. >> it is amazing. wonderful.

"the force awakens" premiered last night in hollywood. guarded. the reporters who were there reveal spoilers. at the reviews are good. -- but the reviews are good. lauren: storm troopers and r2-d2 close behind. john boyega, starring in the lead role of . >> it is great to be here. lauren: they all hit the red carpet for a highly anticipated film people know little about -- until now. and more. a lot of surprises. >> there was a really big plot a little bit. >> it exceeded. done. >> it was so good. lauren: "the force awakens" will

open later this week on over 4000 screens across the country. back in 1977, star wars opened in less than 50 theaters, no red carpet premiere, and the director was so sure it would flop, he was vacationing in hawaii. back then, harrison ford says when he first played the role of han solo, he could not have imagined the success of series would have now. >> i' m really sick cited to get this movie -- excited to get this movie out there for the audience. lauren: the highest grossing star wars movie ever was "the phantom menace." abc news, hollywood. erin: i don' t know. i' m one of those that is so excited to see this movie. i cannot wait. you, not so much. [laughter] kevin: i just never saw it as a kid. i guess i' m one of the few.

erin: there are people out there. kevin: i' m the exception to the rule. [laughter] erin: i can' t wait! kevin: let me know how it is. erin: i will. kevin: we start off with the rain shower activity. some spots, over 0.75 inches of rainfall. the leading edge of the windier conditions are located with the last line that you are seeing back over albany, new york. we will see some gusts over 45 miles per hour into the afternoon. we start off the day with some shower activity. it likely hangs on through the afternoon. central and southern areas likely clear out to partial sunshine into the afternoon. temperatures starting off in the low and mid 40' s. you will notice the cooler air

that will eventually be editing in -- ebbing in. we are nine degrees above normal for the first couple weeks of this month. we will be cooling down over the next couple of days and getting back closer to the averages over the weekend. if we get to 58 in concord today, that is a record high. you can see how this plays out. by 1:00, still a few more showers up north. central and southern areas, a back-and-forth between clouds and sun. the wind will be gusting into the afternoon. the last of the showers up north early this evening. the breeze will diminish overnight. cooler temperatures tomorrow, highs upper 30' s to mid 40' s. we start adding clouds ahead of the next system. thursday afternoon and thursday

night, we will have more showers making their way through. here are the gusts by later on today. we are talking gusts near 40 miles per hour. especially in the higher terrain. high temperatures today just about statewide will be into the 50' s. upper 40' s in the north country. the winds will be gusting through about 8:00 or 9:00 this evening. there will be a lighter wind with sunshine out there tomorrow. low and mid 40' s for highs on thursday morning. showers developing thursday afternoon and winding down on friday. then some much colder conditions. this weekend is going to feel a lot more like december. gusty winds and highs only in the 30' s.

kevin: and those numbers are normal for this time of year. erin: back to average. we do want to check our top stories. here is ray brewer. ray: michael dixon pled guilty to dui negligent homicide, aggravated dui, and conduct after an accident. family members of kevin o' donnell, who died in the crash , said his seven years behind bars feels like a life sentence. erin: a man charged with a -- in connection with a shooting in dover will appear in court. jeremy jackson pulled a gun during a fight and fired a shot into a home. of cash, heroin, and cocaine foster jr.' s home. still ahead, people are always

paris: there's a lot to do on a dairy farm. nobody's gonna do it for you. you have to get out there and do it yourself. bernie sanders is a well-known friend of family farms. bernie cannot be bought out by big money. bernie's opinion cannot be purchased. it's time for our next president to get in there, roll up his sleeves, take off the gloves, and take on wall street, take on big business, take on big money, and get the working class back to where they should be. he's a rock. sanders: i'm bernie sanders

erin: the salvation army red kettles are filling up with cash these days. organizers in massachusetts have received half a dozen pieces of jewelry in the last week, mostly diamond rings. one even came with a note saying it was given in memory of a loving fiance . kevin: someone dropped a vintage woman' s watch. someone left a ring and necklace set with diamonds and emeralds. three silver dollars from the 1800s were donated. erin: a lot of people might not have cash on hand, but they have these old pieces of jewelry and they want them to do some good. an architect in kazakhstan has a unique plan for his apartment

building. he wants to build a ski slope on the 21-story building named "the slalom house." it would run about 1000 feet long. kevin: the architect says it would cost about $70 million to build, but has heard of several people who are interesting in making it a reality. erin: interesting. let' s just hope there are lots of barriers for anyone who is just learning. [laughter] kevin: local risktakers may have fun with that. erin: preserving the history of now you have a chance to contribute, showing how you interact with the candidates. class, -- plus, paralympic champion victoria arlen has a performance reporting at the special olympics over the

>> no one covers new hampshire like we do. now, wmur news 9 daybreak. lauren: good morning to you -- erin: good morning to you. thanks for joining us. we are going to take a look at how long the rain showers are going to last. a man from derry will spend seven years in prison for causing a deadly accident while drunk. michael dixon admitted to drinking eight years before getting behind the wheel in may and hitting kevin o' donnell' s motorcycle. new hampshire state police are warning people to not drink and drive this holiday season. the plea comes after several

arrests were drunk driving over the last few days. a manchester student is honored for saving a man' s life. 17-year-old desmond powell found the man sitting on the edge of a bridge, thinking about jumping, and he managed to talk him down. we are seeing all this rain falling out there. kevin: anything that we have been seeing has been in rain form because it has been mild. on area roadways. still some more showers to get there -- out there between 8:30 and 9:00. the wind will pick up and will be the big story through the day. erin: it is strange to have the rain in december and not the snow. we do want to check the roads. they are going to be very wet for you this morning. here is a live look at the 93

kevin: for a look at the morning drive, we are joined live by 95.7 wzid' s deb davidson. good morning. deb: good morning. the wet roads are going to slow things down just a bit. there are patches of fog that we may need to watch out for. it is moving well on 93 through the entire state. delays as you make your way through the bedford tolls and through the lane drop. 95 is moving well in both directions. we are seeing some sluggish traffic in massachusetts as you make your way through somerville. from the wzid traffic network, i' m deb davidson for 95.7 wzid. --

erin: michael dixon admitted to drinking eight beers before getting behind the wheel in may. ray brewer joins us with more. donnell' s family packed the courtroom on monday. while they are satisfied with the seven years dixon will spend like a life sentence. >> i will never forget the feeling of hitting the pavement and running to my father' s lifeless body and turning him still breathing. ray: through tears, she addressed the man who took the life of her father. she was on the back of her dad' s motorcycle when michael dixon turned in front of them. kevin o' donnell had no time to stop and was thrown off the bike. dixon never stopped after the crash. instead, he ditched his car and hid in a tree until police found him. >> because of you, i now know the meaning of hate. i hate you with every ounce of my being.

ray: o' donnell' s son colby spoke about carrying his father' s casket. dixon sobbed when he spoke. >> i remind myself that i don' t have to -- the right to miss my kids because kevin cannot miss his. i' m truly sorry. and i ask for forgiveness, not for myself, but for yourselves. ray: his blood-alcohol level was 0.19 four hours after the accident. that coupled with his dui conviction in texas previously makes the accident more disturbing. erin: two families in a lot of pain right now.

to stay safe this holiday season by not drinking and driving. authorities made several arrests over the last few days. some are accused of being under the influence while they drove the wrong way on new hampshire highways. >> these impaired drivers are really taking other people' s lives in their hands. if it was not for the public quickly calling in and reporting wrong way driver' s, it probably would have ended in tragedy. erin: in one of the recent wrong way driving incidents, the police say the person travel for 16 miles before she was stopped with spike strips. manchester police took a man in custody for robbery and ended up charging him with another crime. gerard dionne was taken into custody by loss prevention officers in macy' s. police say he punched one of the officers. they gathered enough probable cause to charge him with an

credit union last month. a manchester man faces charges veterans park. 25-year-old anthony sierra last month. the victim suffered serious injuries to his head and torso. an update to a story we have been following the past few days. the nashua teen missing over the weekend is now safe. reported missing by his family on friday. nashua police say he was found safe in another community. if you own a drone or a small airplane, you are going to have to register with the faa. the faa and amounts to the requirement -- announced the drones flying near airports. current drone owners must

register by february 19. registration costs five dollars, but will be waived for the first 30 days. the new hampshire department of education has released the first results of a pilot program aimed at reducing standardized testing. under the pilot program, students are taking statewide tests in three grades instead of seven grades. 48% met or achieved achievement levels in language arts. a manchester teen is being called a hero for what he did when he saw someone who needed help. he is being credited for saving a stranger' s life. he was walking home at night on the granite street bridge and came across a suicidal man who was sitting on the edge. he convinced him not to jump. the man said he was addicted to heroin and was overwhelmed by

he brought him to dunkin donuts, gave him money for food and a drink. >> he asked me if i want to change and i said, keep it. he started crying and said it was a good person. erin: what an amazing thing. he never even learned the man' s name. so glad he is getting recognition. if you ever snapped a picture at a new hampshire political event, you could be part of a new exhibit. the museum in manchester has a manchester' s role in the new hampshire primary. there is a special focus on the jfk campaign in 1960. the museum is also calling on members of the public to submit possible display. >> we believe this exhibit is a living exhibit.

we were sparse and our array of candidates for the 2016 primary your viewers to send us their photos interacting with the candidates. selfies are fine. [laughter] erin: the exhibit is slated to run through the new hampshire presidential primary. coming up, we are eight weeks away from the new hampshire primary. we will take a look at one of the biggest issues the new president will face -- national security. bill cosby countersuit. why the comedian is suing seven women who sued him. kevin: today is the last of the really mild days for the next few.

the big stress is paying in medical and drug costs for aidan. for other families it's higher deductibles, premiums and co-pays that keep adding up. that's why we've got to crack down on price gouging, cap out-of-pocket costs, and fast track approval of less expensive

generic drugs. because we've got to get health care costs under control for lynn's family and for yours. i'm hillary clinton and i

>> you were watching wmur news 9 daybreak with erin fehlau, sean kevin skarupa. now, news 9 continues. 15. s. morning. we are going to continue to see country today.

for southern areas, a gradual clearing. all of the details on the cooler weather making its way back into the forecast coming up. erin: we are eight weeks away from the new hampshire primary. between now and then, we will be taking a look at the eight biggest issues that the new president is going to face. today, we begin with national security and the fight against terrorism. here is sally kidd from our washington bureau. sally: san bernardino. harris, egypt, and tunisia. beyond iraq and syria. eliminating isis or preventing the next attack is viewed by many as the greatest national security challenge the next president will face. >> there is a strategy and it is clear. >> our isis strategy is not working.

candidate for the terrorists -- a key question for the candidates. >> paris underscores the degree of homer ability -- vul nerability in europe and the united states. sally: americans seem to agree. concerns and questions about strategy extend to the homeland. >> indications of radicalization. sally: an apparent isis-inspired attack left 14 dead in san bernardino. the fbi has nearly 1000 active investigations in all 50 states about terrorist sympathizers. >> despite our best efforts, we' ve got to accept that. sally: from the terrorist threat to nuclear concerns, whoever takes over the white house will oversee the implementation of

dealing with north korea' s nuclear ambitions. another threat, cyber terrorism. >> they could bring our economy and our financial system to a halt. sally: analysts say that is why the next president will need to develop better defenses to deter ciber-attackers -- cyber -attackers before they destroy things. reporting from washington, i' m sally kidd. erin: president obama has stepped up calls in congress to approve an authorization for the use of military force against isis. lawmakers are divided over a proposal he sent to congress. check out our issue grid on wmur.com. you can compare each of the

issue of national security. bill cosby is now suing seven women who sued him for defamation in a lawsuit filed in federal court in massachusetts. he accuses them of making false accusations of sexual misconduct for financial gain. the women claim he defamed them after they went public with misconduct and allowed his liars. seattle is the first city in the country to allow uber and lyft drivers to unionize. the city council passed a measure that will allow companies like uber and lyft to bargain with their drivers if a represented. uber said the federal labor laws prevent cities from regulating collective-bargaining. erin: in sports, the bruins were after their third straight win last night, hosting the edmonton oilers at the td garden.

jordan eberle scored his seventh goal of the season. it was 2-0 in the second period when the bruins got on the board. brent marsh and ties and ties it with his 15th goal of the season. edmonton wins in overtime, though. the monarchs' next four games will be on the road. sunday, they lost a tough one to the thunder, 2-0. one of the goals was an empty netter. their new goalie stopped 32 shots on sunday. >> i just got here this week. coming in here, they have done a great job. they are letting me do my job or whoever is playing in net. to give us a good chance to stop

it and play well as a team. erin: new hampshire native victoria arlen has a new job. she is joining espn as a feature reporter. she reported for them at the summer special olympics world games in los angeles. espn executives were so impressed by her work that they an expanded role. she will report for games. today. there are not any slick spots due to the temperatures. kevin: temperatures are in the low and mid 40' s statewide. it looks like we have another one more -- we have one more really mild day. afternoon. the record high in portsmouth is 62 degrees. s

we are forecasting 56, 57 today. showers back through albany, new york. behind that, the wind picks up through the west. it will be gusting over 35 miles per hour. we have a wind advisory through 6:00 this evening, where the potential is there for gusts over 45 -- 40 miles per hour. cooler air will rush in. we are talking highs tomorrow s. if you are headed out in the next couple of hours, you may encounter wet highways through 10:00 this morning. in the north country today, north of the white mountains, you will have the wind gusting over 30 miles per hour, you will be on and off with the shower activity through the afternoon

temperatures are in the mid-40' s in southern areas. we are already in the mid-40' s this morning. each day, with any kind of sunshine, you are usually at least at normal or likely above. temperatures making their way to s. the wind will make it feel a little cooler than that this afternoon. the winds will bring in the cooler air late this afternoon and this evening. central and southern areas, partial sunshine. 20' s up north to 30' s elsewhere overnight. tomorrow, we will have a much sunshine. temperatures in the 40' thursday. another chance of rain through

thursday night before eventually diminishing early on friday. that will be the leading edge of cooler air that gets here by friday. it is going to truly feel like december this weekend. wind chills likely in the 20' s by the time we get there. the few snowflakes you see, essentially some flurries up in the mountains. we are talking sunshine thereafter with a chilly breeze on sunday. and sunshine around on monday. the next system wanders in week and looks to be rain activity. a lot of people will be left dreaming of a white christmas, out there. [laughter] kevin: too much mild air and too late in the game for us. erin: those temperatures are going to take a dip for the weekend.

the western u.s. is dealing with snow. residents in utah are dealing out -- digging out of more than a foot of snow. they are happy to see the snow. more than half the state of utah is in a moderate to severe drought. kevin: the snow is a good thing because of the drought. that becomes drinking water by the spring. erin: still ahead, cats and tatas. s -- tats. the creative fundraiser put on by a rescue league. this is baxter helping to decorate a christmas tree.

best mayors who governed as a pragmatist. bernie sanders passed more amendments

than any other member. cracked the gridlock with john mccain to strengthen veterans' healthcare. bernie sanders. a consistent, principled, and effective leader. building a future to believe in. sanders: i'm bernie sanders and i approve this message. kevin: tuesday morning featuring rain shower activity.

gusty winds elsewhere, going over 35 miles per hour into early this evening. erin: finally, a local animal rescue group came up with a unique fundraiser for the holiday season. kevin: it is unique. they created a cats and tats calendar. it features local men with tattoos holding kittens. erin: i think that is mr. february. kevin: the calendars are available at catsand tatscalendar.com. the proceeds go to the building of a new building for the group. erin: this may be the most adorable thing you see this week. the columbus zoo and aquarium released the video of this polar

kevin: she has tried to stand on all fours, especially when ready for her next meal. the cuteness factor continues to climb. erin: coming up in your next half hour, commitment 2016 -- the fifth republican debate is tonight, the first since the devastating attacks in paris and california. ray: you will hear from family members as they confront the man who killed their father during an emotional court hearing. erin: state lawmakers pledging to invest in the next generation of granite staters. the force is back.

s [barks] are those... you there... stormtroopers! halt! turn here. go go! follow them! bb-8! beep, beep! this way! where'd they go? they went that way! that way, they went that way! i can't believe that worked! of course it worked!