record high yesterday in concord. today about 30 degrees colder. right now many 20's showing up around the heart of the lakes region and it's the lower 20's, the wind that's been quite gusty, feels like the single dinl and it's teens and there's a lot of cold air to our north and west that will continue to build on in. so for the start of this weekend across the lakes region, it's mostly sunny, a high of about 30 to 35, breezy during the afternoon. and then despite some clouds and some breaks of sunshine, it warms up on sunday, we're heading back into the 44 to 47 range from laconia through meredith and points east. what about the rest of new hampshire and will the mild weather linger into next week, all of that straight ahead. jennifer: despite the ice concerns, organizers of the great meredith rotary ice fishing derby say there are safe places to hold the event. but they are warning anyone on the ice right now to be careful. mike cronin live in meredith tonight with more on that.

busier locations because the ice is thicker here. there are about a dozen bob houses and the people who are using them know that they are to take extra precautions this weekend. for die-hard fishermen, this winter hasn't been the same. >> it's tough, this year is very tough to find some ice. reporter: mark gear drilled the holes for this weekend's ice fishing derby. several others have found safe spots on the lake, but down the road in meredith bay it's a different story. this was the scene last year with dozens of bob houses on the ice. today, it's completely different. >> people need to be safe. use your head. reporter: rain and warmer temperatures have weakened the ice. this week the meredith rotary club met with fish and game and considered the weather forecast, ultimately choosing to hold the annual event. >> we made the decision that we would go forward based on the fact that there still is plenty of ice in other locations that

long as you know where you're going. >> certainly this year we have greater safety concerns than we might have in any particular year. reporter: fish and game says people need to check the ice frequently as conditions vary across the state. >> some of the smaller pond may be good to support ice fishing activity, certainly some of the larger lakes and portions of some of the larger lakes are not. reporter: officials recommend fishers wear life jackets, carry an ice pick and safety rope, and they advise against using snowmobiles on the ice. >> even experienced fishermen need to remember they need to make really good common sense decisions this weekend. reporter: they know the turnout will be down in year, but say there's been a good crowd for the first day what was is a tradition for many. >> if you can get aaway from work, it's worth it. reporter: generally fish and game says you need 6 to 8-inch eggs of thick ice in order for it to the be safe to be on. they will have extra patrol this is weekend, that's something

mike cronin, wmur news 9. jennifer: thank you. thin ice is a concern even if you aren't participating the the derby. a u local user just shared this no to with us, can you see the bob house is falling right through the ice on this lake in brookline. remember to check out the ice conditions before you venture out onto them. tom: how to commitment 2016, a surprise endorsement for donald trump. he now has the backing of a former presidential race rival, christie. shelley walcott joins us live here in the studio with the latest developments from the campaign trail. shelley: what a development this is, tom. donald trump says he and chris christie have been friend for years, and that this is the him. christie showed up unannounced in texas today, surprising reporters. he called donald trump the best person to beat hillary clinton in a race for the white house. then trump and christie took turns sticking it to marco

cnn debate last night. today the new york billionaire struck back by making fun of rubio. >> when they put marco onto refute president obama's speech, you remember that catastrophe? he's like i need water. >> a lot of republicans are realizing that there's a real chance that trump will be the nominee, and if that's the case, then when it means to be a republican changes. i think this is christie trying to get in on the ground floor of that. shelley: and the professor says governor christie could be trying to position himself for a v.p. nod from trump, or maybe some other type of cabinet position in the event that donald trump is elected president. shelley walcott, wmur news 9. jennifer: happening right now, people are gathering at portsmouth city hall to remember former mayor eileen foley.

jennifer crompton is in portsmouth tonight with how the eight-term mayor is being remembered. reporter: those calling hours started at 3:00, but people were lining up inside just after 2:00. the line winding through the halls of city hall at this hour. so many turning out to pay their respects to eileen foley, a true legend in this community. it was six former mayors who were among the first to arrive, calling hours at the chamber named in her honor. foley was 97 when she passed away, regarded as the ultimate public servant. she was mayor for an unprecedented 16 years, a state senator for 14. she served on the school board and is an ambassador to sister cities in retirement. she's remembered as a kind, compassionate leader who cared deeply about others. >> eileen had a great

with her she was listening to you, and had had everything focused on you. >> very accessible to everyone as a mayor, as a community person, was always very available, and kind of the mother of the community. >> anywhere you went with her you always had a good time. but she really did enjoy doing her work for the people. reporter: she really did. eileen's funeral is tomorrow morning at 10:00. the procession, though, afterwards will roll through the complex here, at city hall for a final farewell. jennifer crompton, wmur news 9. tom: a former police chief of bartlett is facing prison time after his indictment on felony counts, grand jury just indicted timothy connifey of personalry and witness tampering, accused of prosecuting the case of a woman with whom he was having an affair.

jennifer: new tonight the state plans to move forward with the appeal for owen labrie. the new hampshire supreme court released a schedule today. labrie's lawyers need to submit a brief by april 26. the state will reply by june 27. the court will then determine if oral arguments will be held, labrie was convicted of sexually assaulting a 15-year-old at st. paul's school. tom: genevieve kelley was released for good behavior. back in 2004 she disappeared with her daughter amid a custody dispute with her ex-husband. last june kelley was sentenced to 12 months in jail. jennifer: a warning from the rochester fire department about the importance of following manufacturers directions for e cigarettes. this after one of them exploded inside a man's rochester apartment this morning. the deputy chief says the e cigarette overheated because the

something other than the usb device which is supplied by the manufacturer. damage was contained to the floor, but could have been much worse. >> it's a great alternative for somebody this may be trying to quit smoking or lessen their habit, as long as it's used correctly. we just want to keep people safe, get the information out there so they understand what could occur if you're using them not to the manufacturers specifications. reporter: the use of e cigarette is on the rice, sparking more incidents like this one. a man's pants bursting into flames. likely didn't lock it -- tom: 54 people have been tested for the zika virus in new hampshire, three came back negative, the rest are pending. there are no confirmed cases in the granite state. yesterday one person in maine tested positive, and there is also a case in the state of

still to come on news 9 tonight, nearly two weeks out of service, we're going to update the work to get the damaged cannon tram back up and running. yesterday and progress in franconia after an ice jam caused flooding and an evacuation. mike: after a clear and cold night, will it stay dry as we move through the weekend? the forecast is coming up. >> and we'll hear from the rock

jennifer: new developments tonight on the tram at cannon mountain. it will be once again be taking skiers to the top tomorrow. the trams has been shut down for two weeks. riders had to be rescued when a

tom: the final test runs are now complete. reporter: it's all systems go for the cannon mountain aerial tram way. it's been nearly two weeks since the motor seized, stranding 48 people in these cars for roughly three hours, while they were evacuated. >> sounds like a shaft welded to the housing, we're not sure exactly why it's a mechanical failure, but it's been repaired and it's back and it's running right now. reporter: the company out of maine repaired the 5200-pound motor, they worked on it for a week and delivered it on wednesday. >> they went through the entire motor, repaired everything that needed to be repaired, also did a complete reconditioning, which is something we would normally do. it was actually scheduled for this fall, but we went through and did the whole thing. reporter: the engine was built in 1980, replacing the original tram from 1930. it carries between 100 to

on a with busy saturday it will take 1500 skiers to the top. >> it all looks to be operating very well and within the proper specifications and the inspectors are pleased with hour it's going. >> we did the install yesterday, ran a few test runs and today we're running it for a full eight hours and making sure everything is good. reporter: by friday afternoon state inspectors gave the tram the green light for passenger travel. first run is saturday morning at 8:15. in franconia, andy hershberger, wmur news 9. mike: it's a lot of fun. looks great up there, a lot of snow as well and it's going to continue at least the snow

tom: tonight a franconia rojas reopened after an ice jam caused flooding and an evacuation. jennifer: the sides of the road are still covered in ice caused by the overflow of the gale river yesterday. one person was evacuated as officials say the water was 6 to 8 feet above its normal level. the ice jam broke in the afternoon and the water did begin to recede. >> the rivers have cleared. there's still ice on the banks and what not, but the river is

where it's supposed to be. the residents have been able to return to their homes. jennifer: officials say the road sustained some damage and highway crews still have repairs to make. mike: record highs across all of southern new hampshire yesterday. today at the coast you can see we started off with quite a few clouds, gusty winds beginning to dry us out by midday and afternoon. right now the winds continue to add an extra bite to the air, right now feels like single digits and teens in many spots as gusty winds do continue. you'll notice clearing out in many spots, a few patchy clouds across the north country, they'll disspate in the next few hours through the great north woods and white mountains. but the those areas below 20 degrees, a good part of the great north woods between 10 and 15, single digits however in

pittsburg and stewartstown. factor in the temperature and the wind, feels even colder. compared to this hour last night, 20 to as much as 36 degrees lower in many areas, just a little lower in terms of the big change in the monadnock region and upper valley. but the win is the big story today because not only is it driving in the cold air but it's providing a wind chill about 10 degrees lower than the number on the thermometer, so the feel-like temperature is down to one in berlin. 50 below over 6,000 feet up atop mount washington. generally 9 to as much as 18 above elsewhere. so we do have the cold air locked in place. tonight the same story, wind will diminish later on and temperatures will off below zero north, single numbers and lower teens elsewhere. one cold day to start the weekend, but it will be seasonably chilly, and the wind much lighter. so fairly nice by late morning and afternoon. then all the mild weather back to our west begins to move on in

right now though the jet stream is locked in with the cold air. tonight, tomorrow the same story. then most of it retreats to the north and northwest by later saturday and sunday, allowing milder weather to take over, not only for the end of the weekend but into early next week. eventually the cold air will return and as it bumps in toward the mild air tuesday night and wednesday, the next storm will move in. right now it appears like it's more rain than snow. how much in the way of snow over the weekend, except in northern areas during saturday night early sunday, that's when the next front will approach from the north and west. a sunny saturday, wind a little bus any the afternoon but nice and quiet during the morning. the front is right over northern new hampshire on sunday morning, so a couple of snow showers, maybe a dusting to a half inch. clouds thick nest the north country on sunday. brighter skies in southern new hampshire, and a big change in those temperatures. upper 30's for highs on sunday

but near 50 in parts of southern new hampshire, and similar temperatures again on monday. the weekend looking fairly nice. sunshine tomorrow, snow showers up north saturday night, early sunday. warms up on sunday. monday a passing sprinkle and will maybe a flurry or two up north. quiet on tuesday. looks like some rain on wednesday, we'll try to fine thune as we get closer. tom: lots of hockey? jamie: yes, we'll be talking about the bruins, monarchs,

jamie: bruins heading into the eye of the storm tonight for some friday night hockey, they skate at the carolina hurricanes, 7:00. boston coming off a most excellent win over the penguins on wednesday night. in the echl, monarchs at the admirals, a matchup of franchises that were both ahl teams last year. they also play tomorrow night, which will close out february for manchester, they'll be at home next friday night answer orlando. in college hockey, u.n.h. and hartford trying to get home ice advantage in the playoffs. this is a big one between dartmouth and st. lawrence, those teams fighting for first round byes in the playoffs. >> it's a fun building to play in, they have great fans, the challenge is that they've got a

their defense men are heavily involved in their offense. they've got an excellent goalie, against. but they play fast. >> yeah, i think our teams doing really well, we've got some really good confidence going into the final regular season couple games, and anything can happen. >> tonight at # 1:00, highlights from the girls high school hoops. cards atop the standings with a 16-1 record. the winner of tonight's game will be the number one seed in the playoffs. red sox workouts continue, but the games are go to begin. sox play northeastern and boston college on monday. one of the guys that you know will be ready to go, the boston all-star from last year, brock holt, he likes where the team is at right now compared to last year. >> i think there's a better vibe

a lot of talent, and the new additions we're able to bring in are going to help a lot. and then keeping the guys that we already had intact. so it a good match and we're pretty deep, and we're all ready to get going. >> that is a really good baseball player right there. two of the top three teams in the western conference go head to head tomorrow night, it's the warriors and the thunder, watch saturday night prime time nba right here on abc 9. tom: should be a good one. right now on wmur.com, looking to work from home? we have a list of of the top 20 work from home employers. jennifer: and baking soda is a must in all homes, we'll take a look at 25 different uses for the kitchen staple. tom: we'll see you back here tonight. jennifer: good night. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its

tonight, right here, the bombshell endorsement. the presidential race turning personal. the new attacks leveled tonight. rubio going after trump. and chris christie tonight, now saying it's time for president trump. breaking news, the motive in the deadly rampage. the video now discovered, and the notice the gunman got 90 minutes before the shootings. the new head line about the zika outbreak, and pregnant women in the u.s.