s most pressing issue. >> there is definitely a growing need for these families and the children. tom: how one group is coming together to help support the families taking in children being affected by substance abuse. shelley: plus, the first confirmed case of zika virus right here in new hampshire. how the person was infected and why it is not a threat to the public. tom: and, it' s super tuesday. how presidential candidates on both the republican and democratic sides are faring tonight. >> no one covers new hampshire like we do. now, wmur news 9 tonight. re waiting for a storm to bring snow and a m tom griffith. m shelley walcott. which area will see a rain and snow mix? chief meteorologist mike haddad is here to explain.

are, temperatures lining up right around freezing in many spots north and west of concord but also in the upper valley, temperatures beginning to creep up a little bit. same story in whitefield. more rain and then snow. you can start to see there, most of it not reaching the ground. more filling in behind it during the overnight and for the morning commute tomorrow. jumping ahead the next couple of hours, there it is. manchester to the coast, maybe a touch of sleep to the north and west, and farther to the north, all snow at the beginning before we see a transition over to sleet and eventually rain. how much to expect and more big

tom: the latest poll shows 40% of those surveyed say it' s the number one issue in the state. that' s up 15 points since the fall and nearly three times higher than the next biggest issue, which is the economy. a new group is hoping to help families affected by addiction. mike cronin joins us with more on the story. mike: a grassroots group is helping to get this new organization going with the goal of helping more people affected by addiction. jennifer paone has been caring for her 7-year-old niece emma. >> she has lost her father to addiction and her mother is no longer in her life because of her own struggles with her addiction. mike: her story is the inspiration for a new support group called emma' s circle which is open to caregivers of children who' s parents struggle or have died from addiction. >> there is definitely a growing need for these families and the children. mike: the group' s first meeting was tonight at keene serenity center. it' ll get together every other

environment for those who are taking in other people' s children. >> the people that are raising them don' t have a lot of resources and don' t have a lot of support so that was my goal. i' ve been through this and if i can offer some help to other families, that makes what i' ve gone through a little easier to cope with. mike: in a new wmur granite state poll more than half of new hampshire residents know someone who has abused heroin or similar deadly drugs. during news9' s 5:00 newscast manchester' s police chief said they' re losing the battle. >> i don' t think i' ve ever been as disheartened as a police officer in any endeavor or issue i' ve ever tried to tackle professionally. mike: while addressing the problem is complex organizers of emma' s circle hope to provide some assistance. >> this is available for them. the support is here. and hopefully there will be other things that grow out of it for other needs that come about through this. mike: it was a small turnout at tonight' s meeting but organizers say they' ve heard from others

about the issue. they are hoping to get -- grow the organization and get funding for the future. live in keene, mike cronin, wmur news9. tom: tonight, the new fda commission is fully backing efforts to make painkillers harder to abuse. dr. robert califf laid out this strategy to address the opioid crisis nationwide. he told fda advisors today that the agency alone cannot fix prescription drug abuse but can do everything possible under its authority to prevent abuse. in 2014, more than 28,000 people died nationwide from opioid overdoses. another big topic in our latest wmur granite state poll, the legalization of marijuana for recreational use. coming up in a few minutes, how people are supporting legalizing it. shelley: tonight, new hampshire has its first confirmed case of the zika virus. quickly spreading through latin america. health officials tell us the new hampshire patient contracted the virus through sexual contact. this is a new one for new hampshire.

first case of zika infection identified in a new hampshire resident. shelley: new hampshire state epidemeologist, dr. benjamin chan, says the patient is a woman who contracted zika through sex with her male partner, who traveled to a country where mosquitoes are spreading the virus. >> zika virus is mainly transmitted through the bite of an infected mosquito. and specifically there is a specific type of mosquito, the aedes mosquito, which we do not have in new hampshire so individuals are primarily going to contract this by travel to affected areas. shelley: those areas include south america, central america and the caribbean. the big concern is that zika may be linked to microcephaly, which causes severe birth defects. because of this, dr. chan says there are specific recommendations for pregnant women, and those who could become pregnant. >> anyone who travels should take strict precautions about preventing mosquito bites. that includes using an epa registered insect repellant, wearing long sleeves and pants. you know, staying indoors where there' s screens and mosquito

shelley: and he says any woman who is pregnant should consider postponing her trip to these areas because of the risk to the fetus. >> additionally if a woman has a male partner that traveled, the recommendation from the centers from disease control is to either abstain from sex, or to use a condom, correctly and consistently every time a sexual encounter occurs to try to prevent the mother from getting infected with the virus. shelley: doctors say the new hampshire woman who contracted zika has already completely recovered, and poses no health threat to others. tom: now to a developing story from massachusetts. two people are dead and seven hurt after an suv crashed into a restaurant today. witnesses say the vehicle came speeding down the street and never slowed down. that driver is among those hurt and has just been released from the hospital.

happened near exit 16 in infield just before 4:15 this afternoon. troopers and witnesses tried to pull the driver from the car but it was fully engulfed. the driver was found dead inside after the fire was put out. the highway was closed for almost an hour. the name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of next of kin. shelley: law enforcement from across the country, including from here in new hampashire, paid their respects today to a police officer who was shot and killed in virginia during her first shift on the job. a long line of officers in full uniform waited to go into the church in woodridge virginia joined by family and friends of officer ashley guindon. guindon had responded to a domestic call saturday night, when the suspect fired at officers killing guindon. guindon is was a marine reservist. her death touched many. >> she was a member of our closer knit merrimack family and we represent the community of merrimack coming down here it is -- coming down here for that purpose. it is a much more tragic thing for us to reconcile and get our arms around and we certainly

who is dealing with this in a much more difficult light. tom: chief doyle says he didn' t know guindon personally but says many in town did and the loss goes deep. tonight, new hampshire is saying goodbye to the former deputy speaker, linda foster. foster was a state legislator for nearly two decades. governor maggie hassan released this statement tonight on her passing. it read in part, her service helped build on the tradition of strong female leadership in new hampshire. linda was also a friend who was easy to work with, fun to be around, and always willing to lend a helping hand, and tom and i join her family, loved ones, and people across the state in mourning her loss. tom the biggest night in the : presidential campaign so far, super tuesday. we are showing new state-by-state results at the bottom of your screen, and donald trump just picked up arkansas to bring his projected total state wins to six. ted cruz is expected to win two states.

clinton is expected to win six states and bernie sanders two -- bernie sanders is now up to three after an unexpected when in colorado. >> the polls now closed and all but one of the 12 super tuesday states. here in texas a loss for donald trump, but that was not the case in almost every other contest. tonight declaring victory, abc news projecting major wins in a majority of states for front runners donald trump and hillary clinton. >> the stakes in this election have never been higher and the rhetoric we' re hearing on the other side has never lower. >> i am a unifier. once we get all of this finished i' m going to go after one person -- that' s hillary clinton. >> among the states projected to be taken by clinton is texas, the powerhouse state with the most delegates, also giving ted cruz a crucial win at home.

divided, donald trump' s path to the nomination remains more likely. and that would be a disaster for republicans. >> a home-state celebration tonight for bernie sanders too- the projected winner in vermont saying he is undeterred by clinton' s overall success tonight. >> it is not winner take all. by the end of tonight, we are going to win many hundreds of delegates. >> and senator marco rubio vowing to stay in, despite not winning any state so far. >> i will campaign as long as it takes and wherever it takes to ensure that i am the next president of the united states. >> a big day with potential record voter turnout in several of the super tuesday states. the candidates now looking ahead to the next big primaries in michigan, ohio and florida. marci gonzalez, abc news,

tom: now you can follow complete results right now on the bottom of your screen. you can also find them on our website, wmur.com. still to come on news 9 tonight, shelley: new numbers show a large number of granite staters support the legalization of recreational marijuana. why manchester' s police chief is concerned. tom: and, a new affiliation in western new hampshire. the two hospitals that now have a working relationships for patients. mike: lots of changes over the next 12-15 hours. the timeline is ahead. it may still be winter but the signs of spring are here. you can submit your pictures and

shelley: our new poll numbers show granite staters inc. the most pressing issue in the state is the drug crisis. tom cole and adults were asked if they support legalizing marijuana for recreational use in the united states. as jean mackin reports, most people in the state said yes. jean: a majority approves of the idea. 62% of randomly selected adults the port legalizing marijuana for recreational use in the state. >> it' s getting more and more support as time goes on. it may be something the

jean: we found people with minds made up or still thinking it over. >> i haven' t really given a lot of thought to it, no. >> it' s a lot better for people than alcohol, cigarettes which are legal, and i just think its overall a good idea. >> it doesn' t matter to me because i don' t do any of that anyways. >> i' ve seen over the last 50 years how harmless it is compared to anything called narcotic, including alcohol. jean: but manchester' s police chief is concerned it can be a gateway drug to narcotics like heroin. >> if we make it recreational kids are going to get it more readily and it could be their gateway drug and that' s really my issue with it. jean: here' s another interesting poll number. if recreational marijuana is approved in the granite state 72% of people surveyed say they , would approve of selling it in a licensed retail outlet, like how liquor is sold in new hampshire. in manchester, jean mackin, wmur news9. shelley: new hampshire' s largest hospital is now affiliated with it' s closest neighboring hospital. the attorney general' s office

dartmouth-hitchcock medical center and alice peck day memorial in lebanon. the affiliation allows patients access to resources from both hospitals. it is the 4th affiliation dartmouth hitchcock has created with smaller hospitals. tom: a slippery mess at chicago' s o' hare airport this afternoon. two plane slid off separate runways due to the weather. first a small jet slid off one runway after landing. soon after an american airlines flight requested to be towed to the terminal. federal investigators are looking into the cause. hare in chicago. mike: you get that freezing rain , and it' s all moving this way. take a look at the time lapse at the weirs today, plenty of open water and it was a long time coming before we had that ice build all the way across the big lake.

signs of spring out there. the concord today 45, low in the 20' s and that still running a little above the norm for this time of year. we are seeing the latest system get closer and closer in the form of snow and mixed showers over eastern parts of new york state. it will be accompanied by a southern -- southerly winds because the storm track is off to the west-northwest and that drives in the southern wind ahead of it and brings in milder air. we get in on a little bit of snow and then a quick transition over to sleet and rain. southern parts the state will see a rainy situation overnight tonight. lower to mid 30 central and south. there will be some spots during the overnight when it starts to rain and sleet and snow and eventually goes over to rain. right around 32 degrees

around places like new london and springfield and points north. that' s where they' re maybe a little icing early tomorrow morning so plan on extra time in areas north and west of concord. overnight, we will drop back a few more degrees and then temperatures will rise during the overnight. the winds will crank up to 20-35 miles per hour in extreme southeastern new hampshire during the predawn hours. that will drive temperatures to around 40 so it is all rain along the coast what the lower part of the merrimack valley may see it touch of wet snow and sleet, the rain line makes it all the way into the southern part of the white mountains by the early part of the morning commute. some spots back here will be right around 32 so some of the rain maybe freezing up contact. farther to the north, the snow in' s as a wintry mix of rain and

moving out of here with gusty winds initially out of the south turning around to the west northwest. sunshine and very chilly on thursday. we may get a few flurries are at light snow shower to during the day on friday. little if any snow will fall south of concord. maybe an inch in the higher terrain before it changes over to all rain during the overnight. 2-4 inches farther to the north before it does change over to freezing rain. a real mess in northern and central new hampshire overnight. southern and eastern parts of the state, not a big issue but give yourself a few extra minutes because steady rain could result in major ponding on

the weekend looking good, and next week and other trend starts as early as monday and especially tuesday. tom: marches around the corner. that'

jamie: the boston bruins were on their home ice tonight, taking on the calgary flames. and speaking of home, it had to feel that way to lee stempniak. the former dartmouth star was traded to boston from the devils yesterday, and he lives in boston in the offseason. so this was his bruins debut. he wears the number 20 sweater for the bruins. the bruin score first, in the first period. landon ferraro with a wicked wrister from the center of the zone, his 5th. 1-0 boston thru 2 periods. a shoutout to webster house in manchester. the kids were in boston for the game tonight and picked up some tv time.

jakub nakladal with his first but a late penalty on calgary for too many men on the ice, and patrice bergeron makes them pay on the power play. a one timer for his 24th goal and the game winner. boston wins 2-1. s great. i heard great rings from the guys who played here. i' m really excited. it' s something special playing for team like that. i' m excited for the stretch run. jamie: semifinals of their league tournament. plymouth state hockey hosting fitchburg state. 3rd period, panthers in white. zach fox from sandown over to ryan callahan from londonderry for the goal. 4-1 plymouth state. they weren't done. josh woody sets up andrew wigg for another goal, 5-1. wigg had 2 assists. and then it's ian mcgilvray and colby lanceleve passing it

goal. they win 6-2. they will play at salem state saturday at 2:00. >> the offense will be wide open. jamie merrimack valley coach : dave huckins. his pride hosted windham in the girls division two playoffs. pride in white. abby grandmaison with a step-back jumper on the baseline. freshman stephanie davis grabs the rebound and takes it in to score. remember that name, davis, for coach anne haky and the jags. here comes megan johnson right at us. great job to get control and score on the fly for valley. nice baseline jumper for kelsey kendzulak of windham. merrimack valley wins 62-45. the pride advance to play the goffstown grizz in the quarterfinals. all of tonight's tournament scores are on our sports ticker at the bottom of your screen. we dropped in on unh basketball practice this afternoon. the wildcats are part of a big

hampshire tomorrow night. saint anselm college and snhu square off in their conference semifinals. 1993. wildcats get a home game in the first round of the america east they host binghamton tomorrow night. >> now the work begins. every lower division wants to -- it comes down to three games in march. now we have the biggest game of our lives tomorrow night against income to. >> last year was a good season. this year solidify that we are a good team. jamie this is crazy from rhode : island with a state championship on the line. the team in blue is winning, and throws the ball in the air to run out the clock and then the celebration is on. the other team caught the ball and called timeout before the clock expired, and then they were able to score quickly right

title. look what happens, a tremendous alley-oop there for a layup and then the victory. the chariho chargers beat the burrville broncos at the buzzer. a very tough life lesson to learn, no doubt about it. tom: still to come on news 9 tonight. shelley: a new technology lab for rochester middle school. how the boston celtics helped

shelley: abc news is now projecting that hillary clinton will win the democratic primary in massachusetts. that brings her total for the night to seven states. sanders has just picked up minnesota. his total is now four. a brand new technology lab at rochester middle school will help kids learn with new technologies. tom: its all thanks to the boston celtics and southern new hampshire university. the lab includes 13 apple imacs and apple ipads, one apple tv, and many more supplies. the room will be used by students and teachers during and after school. celtics center tyler zeller was helping the kids with basketball themed projects using various technologies to accomplish goals. >> this could be the first time

of this technology. they may have a passion for it and they take it from there and it may end up being one of their careers. >> i think that it's not only incredible that we got this lab, but we were able to share it with our entire student body and staff today. tom: the kids are participating in activities using the new technology and will interact with zeller and snhu to learn the importance of technology and education. we have a little bit of a mix out there tonight. mike: no to the north and a mix central. primarily rain in southern new hampshire. temperatures back into the 40' s by midmorning tomorrow. it clears out as early as midday . give yourself a few extra minutes because of a few icy spots north and west of concord early in the morning.

tom: jimmy kimmel live is next, followed by night line.

>> announcer: the following is a paid advertisement for tai cheng, brought to you by beachbody. >> wow, joy, look at these people! they love you! [ cheers and applause ] thank you! it's regis, joy, and i've got big news for you.

balance are slowing you down, keep watching this show because we're gonna tell you about an incredible new program that's gonna fix everything. [ cheers and applause ] yeah! >> announcer: the facts are frightening. 1 out of 3 people over 65 fall each year, resulting in expensive hospital stays, loss of independence, or worse. >> i broke my hip. "oh, my god. what in the world am i going to do now?" >> announcer: the major cause -- aches and pains, which lead to immobility and poor balance. >> i am really afraid of falling again. >> announcer: but falling and losing your independence doesn't have to be a fact of life. did you know medical experts around the world have been recommending gentle exercises like tai chi for years to help reduce aches and pains and to improve balance and mobility? the problem is, most americans find it difficult to learn -- until now. introducing tai cheng, the breakthrough new program specially designed so anyone at

master the most fundamental tai chi moves, plus amazing health-boosting routines right in their own home, step by step, in just 90 days. these gentle movements will help improve your balance and mobility, reduce your aches and pains, while strengthening your muscles and joints, making you feel younger and more agile. >> i started doing the exercises, and in the first week i could see the improvement. >> i've gotten stronger. my posture is better, and my balance is a lot better. >> announcer: tai cheng was created by this man -- dr. mark cheng, a world-renowned martial-arts master and a doctor that specializes in modern sports science. >> what tai cheng does is it retrains your muscles to move the right way, putting your body back into proper alignment so you can move better, feel better, and get a more responsive, stronger body. >> i do it every single day because it makes me feel healthy. it makes me feel like i can move, like i'm not gonna walk fall. >> announcer: today america's most beloved tv personality --

prove tai cheng works by showing you amazing success stories... >> this program gave me back my life. i can do whatever i want now. >> i feel so good about myself now that i'm gonna try something i haven't done in 20 years. [ cheers and applause ] >> announcer: ...regis is also going to show you how tai cheng got him off the couch and back on the court even after painful hip-replacement surgery. >> i feel great. i really do. did you see that? that's what you get when you do tai cheng. >> announcer: if you're ready to feel younger, feel stronger and more confident, then keep watching for a special tai cheng offer that will make today the day you take the first step towards a healthy, longer, more independent life. now here's regis and joy philbin. [ cheers and applause ] >> thank you. never had an audience this good, joy. >> i've never seen such energy. they must be on tai cheng. [ laughter ] >> well, we all know everybody's

here's the problem -- a lot of us start to have issues with balance and mobility, and that makes it hard, if not impossible, to stay fit. >> you know, it's sad when somebody works hard all their life... >> mm-hmm. >> ...and then can't enjoy life when they finally have the time. or even worse, they fall and break something. and then forget it. they stop moving forever. >> yeah. you've seen those commercials where the old lady falls down and she can't get up. >> yes. >> so they sell her a speed dial... >> that thing that they wear around -- it's not attractive. >> she wears it around her neck. >> mm. >> well, we didn't want that. we wanted to find something that would keep us strong and improve our balance, and that's when we discovered tai cheng. we were shocked at how easy it was to master. dr. cheng developed a unique teaching method that really explains things in a way we can understand. >> and now you're holding a ball. don't hold this to your body like so, but hold it off your body. >> he really americanized learning tai chi. >> and because you get three viewing angles and an ingenious,

always know where to put your feet. it's foolproof. if regis and i can do it, believe me, anyone can. >> what dr. cheng has created here is truly amazing. tai cheng makes you more flexible. it improves your balance. pains. it makes you feel younger, stronger. it works! joy and i love it. but the big question is, why does it work? to help us with that, please welcome emergency-room physician dr. steve salvatore. welcome to dr. steve! [ applause ] dr. steve. >> how are you? >> good to see you. >> great to have you here. dr. steve, i got to tell you -- tai cheng worked wonders for joy and i, but why does it work so well? >> you know, regis, i'm not surprised it worked for you. tai chi has been around for literally hundreds of years. it's helped millions of people with flexibility and balance problems, make them feel younger and stronger. in fact, it's been clinically proven that doing these gentle movements will not only help strengthen your muscles and

balance and mobility. tai chi is also proven to help relieve pain from arthritis, osteoarthritis, fibromyalgia, low back pain, many different types of joint pains. >> well, how did dr. cheng come up with this in the first place? >> all right, so, dr. cheng is a tai chi master. he's a martial-arts expert, and he has a phd in sports medicine. so he knew about tai chi and he knew the benefits and he thought, "i want to put all these things together." he americanized it and put that into tai cheng, a simple, easy way to learn tai chi. >> here's the bottom line -- tai cheng worked for joy and i, and it could work for anybody. take a look at julie's story. >> i've had a knee injury, and it's been really painful. nothing seems to help. my balance has gotten a little precarious over the years. and i took a fall, and i really hurt my lower back. i want to be more mobile and flexible, and i'm hoping that tai cheng will do that for me. it's amazing, the difference from the first week to now.