shelley: now it 11, new data showing the deadly toll state' substance abuse crisis is taking. s capitol. the owen labrie case leads to a big change at one high school. cancelled indefinitely in exeter. s more rain on the way. we check futurecast to see when it arrives in new hampshire. shelley: for the first time in nine years the federal reserve is raising interest rates. financial analyst explains whether this will affect your budget. the newest star wars movie opens tomorrow but leave your lightsaber at home. the items banned from local movie theaters. >> no one covers new hampshire like we do. shelley: with a little more than

new hampshire is likely to finish 2015 having averaged at least one drug overdose death per day. good evening, i' m shelley walcott. the grim toll of heroin and fentanyl abuse currently stands at 292 lives in the state this year. adam sexton joins us now with a look inside the numbers and at new funding headed this way to help. adam: this started out being called the heroin epidemic but fentanyl is driving the overdose deaths this year having played a role in 177 fatalities. and those are just the confirmed numbers. there are still dozens of toxicology reports still pending. new hampshire drug overdose deaths have already set a new record this year, and the tally continues to mount. according to the office of the chief medical examiner, the current confirmed total is 342. 292 of those lost their lives to an opioid overdose. and the state says there are 73 cases pending, awaiting final toxicology reports.

total is it will be far higher 2014. but some help is on the way in the budget bill on its way to passing congress includes a $91 million or 284% increase in combating opioid abuse. plus a big bump in the dollars dedicated to the substance abuse prevention and treatment block grant. >> really more resources and support for prevention and treatment and support for 1st responders and law enforcement to go after the high level drug dealers and get help for those who are addicted. adam: senators are calling the s fight against the heroin epidemic. money will also go to research and law enforcement but the emphasis is on helping those struggling with addiction to get we' treatment and that' challenge that we' s additional funding that will help states like new

drug courts. adam: no specifics yet on how much new hampshire will receive, but a wide range of services should be getting much needed help. we did attempt to reach embattled new hampshire drug czar jack wozmak late this afternoon for comment on this new funding heading to the state . but the governor' s office declined to make him available for comment this evening. officials say they expect to have more information once the funding is fully approved by congress. adam sexton, wmur news 9. shelley: the superintendent of exeter schools calls the owen labrie case the tipping point that prompted the cancellation of nearly all dances at the high school. the high school principal says dances are cancelled indefinitely, with the exception of junior and senior prom, because quote respectful behavior has not been present. students were notified today. labrie was found guilty of sexually assaulting another student at saint paul' s school in concord. the morning commute could be a little messy for some drivers. the rain we' re seeing overnight

part of the state by morning. meteorologist josh judge is here with a timeline. josh: it is dry out there right we' overnight especially as we get closer to dawn. they are below the 32 degree freezing mark in areas of the north country. from about central new hampshire on southward still above 32, but look at the seacoast a bit of an exception. manchester at 36 degrees and staying in the 30' s. but you get closer to the seacoast and it is a different story. you can see a little bit of drizzle starting to work its way in from the seacoast towards our east and more rain the west. we will watch the morning commute for tomorrow. more details on that and the

shelley: you can download our free storm watch app to take the forecast with you. you can get a video forecast, regional weather information, and the seven day outlook. today, the federal reserve raised interest rates for the first time in nearly a decade. it announced that short term interest rates will go from near zero levels to a range of a quarter percent to a half of a percent. our stephanie woods is live in the studio with how manchester business owners think this will affect holiday shoppers. stephanie: the fed says that the first interest rate hike since 2008 reflects their confidence that the economy will continue to strengthen but are holiday shoppers as confident? a manchester car dealer and jeweler say customers will continue to buy big ticket items to put under the tree or park in the driveway. janet yellen: this action marks the end of an extraordinary

stephanie: chairwoman janet yellen announced today that the federal reserve would raise interest rates for the first time since the great recession. financial analyst marc hebert says the economy has rebounded since then however. >> a recession is due at some time in the future. the fed needs to raise rates in my opinion in order to have some ammo in the gun where they can lower them again to stimulate the economy again if the economy goes back into a recession. stephanie: hebert says the rate increase only controls bank to bank lending and is unlikely to affect auto loans and credit card interest rates. >> you know as far as the auto industry is concerned, they' ve been doing these zero interest incentive rates for a long period of time, and i don' t think this small increase is going to affect their deal. >> i don' t think it' s really going to have much of an effect i mean .25? you know, there' s a lot of zero percent interest rates, at our dealership we offer zero percent interest rates, so i mean how much lower can you go than that? stephanie: ernie galarza of autofair hyundai says his dealership' s interest rates are still at zero and many more

year end deals. >> it' s been excellent, it' s been excellent. >> taking out a loan to buy jewelry usually isn' t a large amount of money. stephnaie: david bellman has owned bellman jewelers for 30 years. he says although interest rates are up so are stocks on wall street and that' s good for his business on elm street. >> a lot of people are working, things are good, people have that extra spending money to go out and buy themselves something nice for the holidays. stephanie: hebert says the fed' s move is necessary to raise inflation. in the wake of the fed increase several major banks have increased or will soon increase their prime lending rate to 3.5 % including bank of america, citibank, and m&t bank. live in the studio stephanie woods wmur news nine. shelley: a woman from lyndeborough is facing charges for two separate crimes in two towns. mount vernon police say lauryn mont called them yesterday morning and claimed she' d been kidnapped and held at knifepoint for hours. investigators later found evidence that she wasn' t even in mont vernon at the time of the

today, milford police got a call about a purse, car keys, and an suv that had been stolen from a cafe. police found the suv with mont inside. she' s charged with making a false report and theft. the mbta has fired the operator of last week' s unmanned train. mass dot announced that david vazquez no longer works for the mbta just one day after he was suspended for 30 days. vazquez got off the train in braintree last thursday morning to check a problem. the red line train went through several stops before power was cut. the city of baltimore braced for protests today after a mistrial was declared in the first case against a police officer for the death of freddie gray. while protestors have gathered in some areas, any demonstrations have been peaceful. a jury announced today it unable to reach a verdict. abc'

bazi: a new round of protests in baltimore. deputies forming a line around the courthouse after a judge declares a mistrial in the case of the first police officer tried in the death of freddie gray. >> obviously the legal process is flawed. this is about saving black lives. bazi: jurors told the judge they were deadlocked yesterday, but he ordered them to continue deliberations. today, they still could make no progess toward a verdict on any of the four charges against officer william porter for the death of 25 year old gray. gray died after suffering a severe spinal injury in police custody back in april. his death sparking weeks of violent protests. prosecutors say porter refused to put a seatbelt on gray when he was transported in the back of this police van and ignored gray' s repeated requests for medical help. >> i' ll do we do get a

bazi: whether prosecutors will force porter to take the stand again in a retrial is not yet known. some legal analysts speculate, porter might be given immunity for his testimony against the five other officers who are also facing charges and whose cases could be affected by the prosecution' s failure in this first attempt. in the meantime, baltimore leaders and gray' s family are urging a peaceful response. >> we asked the public to remain con -- remain calm. because we are confident there will be another trial. shelley: tonight a judge has granted a seacoast woman a final order of protection against a ballet director, after she accused him of sexually assaulting her while on a trip to an international competition in 2014. in a petition filed in district court in dover, lissa curtis alleges that cosmin marculetiu, the ballet director of new england movement arts in massachusetts, sexually

over ten days in romania. the fbi would not confirm or deny to news nine if they are investigating, but curtis has said they are. marculetiu did not show up for today' s hearing. movie theaters are asking star wars fans to leave a few things at home when they come out to see the new movie, which opens tomorrow night. costumes are allowed at most theaters, but cinemagic and o' neill cinemas are asking fans not to wear masks. cinemagic, o' neill cinemas, and chunky' s will not be allowing weapons including lightsabers or blasters into their buildings. the force awakens is the seventh movie in the star wars franchise. the u.s. and cuba have taken a big step toward making it easier to travel between the two countries. coming up, the agreement in place that make a much easier to travel between the two countries. the average price of a gallon of

than this time last year. josh: we' re watching the rain aged little closer. take a look at when it starts and how it will affect the rest of your week. >> i never realized there be this many toys. shelley: they' re asked to help and a community answered the call. the touching display of holiday generosity. now to our u local hotshot, this little one just can' t get enough of this beautiful christmas tree. it is beautiful. you can submit your pictures and video and join the thousands of

praised as one of america's best mayors who governed as a pragmatist. bernie sanders passed more amendments in a republican congress 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. for lynn's family, 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,

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 approve this message. shelley: the u.s. and cuba have taken a big step toward making it easier to travel between the two countries. leaders from both nations say they' restoring regularly scheduled commercial flights. since the u.s. and cuba normalized relations. right now, american and cuban travelers must fly on charter flights that are complicated to book. for the first time today, the nation' was utilized. the department of homeland security issued its first advisory bulletin. the two tiered system will issue

today, homeland security added and intermediate level describing general developments or trenton threats. >> dhs is concerned that terrorist inspired individuals and homegrown violent extremists may be encouraged, or inspired, to target public events or places. shelley: the new bulletin will be in effect for the next six months. it does not contain any new information but rather outlines much of what we of heard from the administration sets recent attacks. experts say this year' s lower gas prices of state families a lot of money. the oil price information service says gas prices across the country averaged $2.40 cents a gallon this year. that' s nearly a dollar less than last year' s average. for some perspective, a driver buying about 11 gallons of gas a week spent about $550 less at the pump this year than last. emergency crews in one new

when they put out the call for christmas presents for families in need gifts came flooding in so many, they started running out of room. jean mackin has the story from auburn. jean: police officers and firefighters in auburn have the situation under control now. but for a while the gifts for nearly 2 dozen children in need. were overflowing the safety complex here. >> we took over a couple offices of some of our officials here in the station. we took over a couple stairwells. jean: it all started when auburn' s first responders set up a giving tree with gift tags asking the community to become santa' s helpers for 8 families needing some christmas magic this year. the response, the generosity, was overwhelming. >> i never realized there would be this many toys we had to move

>> every room of the police department had toys and gift wrapping it' s really amazing to see what can happen when the community comes together. >> it' s a tough time of year, and it' s tough to ask for help and we want them to know that we support them. jean: police officers and firefighters were surprised when they saw the children' s lists basic needs like coats and socks but with this generosity they' re going to get so much more. >> they' re going to get a lot of special treats, i feel giddy just thinking about it. >> the town really came through in a way we never expected. jean: the gifts will be delivered in the next few days from auburn' s giving tree to under trees around town come christmas morning. in auburn jean mackin wmur news9. shelley: that is so nice, we were saying how generous people are. josh: exactly, so much more willing to open up. maybe we should start doing that year-round.

josh: actually, i' ve a gift for you that is the gift of much-needed rain. today, with the sunshine out there. you can see the sunshine moving overhead into nighttime. the skies were clear this evening then clouding over. we remain dry right now, but temperatures are cooler than they have been in a while. this is still pretty warm. one thing you know, it felt colder than it felt than a while out there. you could tell the difference even though we were just down into the 30' s. now the temperatures have been holding steady as the 30 pre-much everywhere except areas north of the notches because of the cloud cover that is moved in. it will still continue falling, temperatures not just quite as quickly. northern new hampshire is in the 20' s. tonight, temperatures in the 20' s are important because there is a light rain or jersey lawn

because of a freezing drizzle, or freezing rain advisory and advisory is patient of mine :00 -- 9:00. they will warm up into the 30' s after that through the day tomorrow. early, especially during the morning commute for some parts of southern new hampshire and perhaps until lunchtime some of that light rain and most likely drizzle could land in freeze on the road upon impact. they could make for some icy roads. as we zoom in, you can see some light drizzle beginning to form coming in off the ocean. that is why it is an advisory in this portion of the state. already down below 32 degrees. eventually, we all see some light drizzle moving into the state and the overnight hours thanks to a front to our west. we get sandwiched in from both directions. is heavier rain moves of the coast.

pulls away. the center of it is heading up into canada, but it is pulling back around much colder air. weekend. you have been hearing for a get down to about average. in for this weekend. it will be windy and colder for saturday. then we start to ramp the temperatures back up again for christmas week back to about where they were today. looking at for cooler temperatures. here' s the futurecast, some of these areas coming in and could land as some frozen precipitation. the camellia northern new hampshire or easter new hampshire. keep that in mind, then drizzle to the day tomorrow turning into steadier, heavier showers. maybe a downpour or two in the evening all pulling away. drying out on friday as we get into saturday windy and cold. and wind bumping into the mountains, look at what he could do.

that might be the closest we get to the white christmas is some snow showers or flurries on saturday for most of us. tonight and tomorrow we' re back up into the 40' s, there is your weekend. it is just average for this time of year. it will seem cold because were not used to it. shelley: not looking like a white christmas. josh: some flakes in the air and saturday that is the best we can do. shelley: it has been some december. jamie' s here with a preview of sports. anncr: when the ...the person behind this desk will have to protect your family. will he be impulsive and reckless, like donald trump? will he have voted

counter-terrorism surveillance, like ted cruz? will he have skipped crucial national security hearings and votes just to campaign, like marco rubio? 27 generals and admirals support jeb bush. because jeb has the experience and knowledge to protect your family. right to rise usa is responsible for the content

john kasich's an impatient rascal. paces, pushes. but, unlike some, his state is now booming. unlike some, john kasich has proven he can do the job. brought back jobs from mexico and china. keep us safe, make us boom. because he's done it before. only an impatient rascal can bring america back. john kasich. new day for america is responsible for the content of

the high school hockey season begins we have it all covered for you. lets start with the pittsburgh penguins in boston to play the b' s. first of 3 games between the teams this season .former manchester monarch jeff zatkoff in net for the pens. max talbot that lights the lamp on the wrister his first of the year 1-0 boston. its ryan spooner with a pass that goes off the skate of a penguin and then off jimmy hayes, who gets credit for his fifth goal of the year. the bruins caught a break here . a miscommunication on defense leads to a breakaway by chris kunitz but he rings it off the pipe, no goal. boston wins 3-0. tukka rask gets a shutout. these teams play again on friday in pittsburgh. first there the high school hockey season, the rivals hook up in the capital city. city bishop brady and concord at

s leo avakovs with a slap shot. he will have his own rebounded scores are was a 1-1 game. a great crowd in this bradley one. murphy with the shot and alex marceau gets the rebound and it was 3-one concord. they lost to bishop kirton in the jb jim game last jim and look to be good again. opening the for high school hockey, salem and pinkerton in hooksett. colin leighton to patrick hare 1 -0 lead. mitchell mcginn gets the equalizer. christopher gile gets it to shamus doherty who gets it past the goalie. he gets a hat trick. salem' s mcginn gets on the board again for his 2nd goal tying game at 2-2.

will again -- with the glare with the garrett blunt out for the season they signed monte ball to the practice squad and were in talks with stephen jackson. he has not been in the nfl this season. two basketball, brad stevens played at the detroit pistons. both teams with 14 wins. a good start for the visitors with back-to-back three-pointers by avery bradley and amir johnson. bradley with a poor shooting night, only scored 5 points. johnson in the 2nd quarter this time with a dunk and boston was up 39 38 nice play by isiah thomas. you just cant have plays like this boston basically hands the ball to caldwell pope, who goes down and dunks pistons by 4. he had 31. jared sullinger with a 3 but

one. celtics lose on back-to-back nights. c' s host atlanta friday. we just want to say congratulations to the londonderry marching band plays celebration. they have a history of playing in big college football bowl parades like the rose bowl 4 times and orange bowl. on december 30th, they will be marching in the citrus bowl parade, before florida plays michigan. all 245 members of the band are going they also played at the citrus parade in 2001. shelley: that is awesome, i' m are looking for to seeing them. they' re wonderful. congratulations. still to come, we are taking you to one of the brightest houses.

shelley: take a look at this elaborate light display. josh: this house is on bradford drive, the owner has been decorated house for 13 years and

he collects donations and says he raises between $500 to $1000 every year. national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and ac 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

raise. i'm hillary clinton, and i

on a dairy farm. you have to get out there and do it yourself. bernie sanders is a well-known bernie cannot be bought out bernie's opinion cannot be purchased. it's time for our next president roll up his sleeves, take off the gloves, take on big business, take on big money, and get the working class