how you can help them send off in style. watching "wncn today", i'm gonzalez. >> glad to have you on this friday morning. >> happy to be here on a friday. >> good morning to you as well, a check on traffic. first let's find out more about the weekend. meteorologist alyssa corfont's here, good morning. >> good morning, guys and speaking of the weekend, it's looking perfect. plenty of sunshine and temperatures near 60s. but this morning, while we're starting off with clear and cold conditions, here's our satellite radar composite, nothing going on, no rain, the current temperatures, 35 in raleigh, 35 in clayton, 34 lillington, fwlo freezing in sanford, also as we look towards siler city at 28, freezing in roxboro at 32. let's get to your fast forecast. if you're getting ready to head out the door this morning. some fog, south of the triangle, 35. 45 at lunch time and then the

high, normal high is 52, we should top out right around 51, back in the low 40s by 6:00 p.m. this evening, the weekend ahead in your complete forecast, right now though, time to check in with traffic. here's i-440 and athens drive, not a lot going on as we start off our friday morning. it looks like it may be slower than normal as far as how many car are out there, have a sief drive as -- safe drive as you head out. here's your life drive conditions, i-40 along your morning commute, i-40 eastbound moving at 65 miles per hour, if you're heading westbound, 64 miles per hour, very similar speeds in either direction, more on your traffic and weather throughout the rest of the morning. here on "wncn today". >> alyssa, thank you. 5:31 on your friday morning, the carolina panthers will soon head to the west coast to prepare for super bowl l. >> a lot of people excited about that, the team will get a huge sendoff from fans this afternoon in charlotte. wncn's emma wright joins us live in the studio with the story.

>> well, fans have been prepared to send the panthers off in style. the team has been preparing for one of their biggest games ever. they say right now they're just focusing on practice using these two, this two-week break to rest up. >> reporter: on the practice field, the panthers say it's business as usual. >> coach still has the same routine, as always. um, you're working. got no time off. [ laughter ] >> reporter: off of it, corner back josh said he's trying to drown out the noise. >> i know there's going to be a lot of lights and hype, going down to san fran, haven't seen it yet but i've been hearing about it. anticipating. >> reporter: charlotte sending the team off in style, painting the town blue for today's big send off rally. >> for us older guys, nice to get a longer break, rest up and recharge a little bit. i'm not complaining for the extra time. >> reporter: the team says

can get when they go up against the broncos and their legendary quarterback, peyton manning. >> if i can get the ball from him, if he throw, you know, an interception or something, you know, the guy allow me to be there for it, probably going to, you know, bow to him. because, i, um, that's how much i really think about the guy. >> it's happening today at noon, uptown charlotte, the panthers leave tore california on -- for california on sunday. maggie? right now, the search is on for a would-be bank robber whose crime was cut short by a quick thinking manager. at the pnc branch in zebulon, see it unfold on surveillance video. pretty incredible, the bank manager saw the armed suspect and held the door shut so he couldn't enter. the suspect then began to hit the door with the gun, still the manager would not budge. the man finally gave up and ran off, investigators believe he

vehicle with black rims if you know anything, call zebulon police. heading back to a hoke county animal shelter to rescue dozens of animals. serving a search warrant at the haven shelter after complaints, they found 600 animals, many showing signs of neglect and some in need of medical care. they also found at least 15 dead dogs bury ted shelter. but one 'd' -- bryed -- buried at the shelter, but one volunteer says she was shocked by the claims and never noticed any neglect. >> to me, it's a shelter that does great care in caring for the animals and not the way it's been portrayed. >> the owners, joseph and linda spear were arrested on cruelty charges, they've since posted bond and released from jail. deputies in wilson county searching for these two, jimmy and patricia williams accused of animal cruelty. investigators say they found 21

couple's property, only nine of the dog were alive. they say the couple abandoned the property and had the utilities cut off more than a week ago. today, johnston county's dss building is set to reopen after a bed bug scare. officials shut down the building when they found a bed bug in the lobby area, a sign posted on the door explaining the closure. pest control came and cleaned out everything, determining there was no active infestation. governor pat mccrory is not giving up on bringing a massive csx shipping facility to our state but the railroad gets to decide when it come and where it should go. saying selma was no longer a viable option, the decision came following fierce opposition from land owners and local officials. yesterday the lieutenant governor says csx needs to find a new spot for the facility. >> it's a great project and i think most in north carolina think it's a great project, the way they go about acquiring that

certainly the next step now. >> csx said in a statement e-mail to us, it's committed to the project and working with stakeholders to move the project forward. hundreds of veterans looking for jobs got a chance to show off their skills. companies like home depot, time warner and the city of raleigh were all at vonn towers at carter finley stadium for a job fair. organizes believe about 150 people who attended the fair will soon be offered a job. >> those come as the number of service members moving to our state is soaring. the north carolina va secretary says north carolina has climbed to number eight in veteran population. the highest number ever for the state. the va has added eight more veteran service locations statewide to help out. in wake county, veteran populations jumped more than 59,000 since september of 2014. on your friday morning, it's just about 5:37. a raleigh woman's attack just feet away from her own home, still to come, the message she

plus, this: >> michael phelps and two non-swimmers. >> that is olympic gold medalist michael phelps, what in the world is he doing? that answer coming up later. >> you never know with him. let's go ahead and talk temperatures, 36 in southern

forecast up next and jus at clorox 2 we've turned removing stains into a science. now pre-treat with clorox 2! watch stains disappear right before your eyes. remove 4 times more stains than detergent alone. and now, your wncn weather forecast. >> welcome back to "wncn today", it's 5:39 right now, here's your out the door forecast. stun -- sun doesn't rise until 7:18 in the morning, temperatures in the 30s, 35

9:00 approaching 40 degrees, clear skies a change from yesterday, tracking the potential for fog south of the triangle this morning. all in all, a lot of us much colder than where we why yesterday -- where we were yesterday, here's the tower view, north raleigh, few cars out on the beltline, 35 degrees. temperatures elsewhere in the mid 30s and louisburg, henderson 33, roxboro 32 siler city you're actually in the upper 20s. now i mentioned a little bit of fog south of the triangle. look at this, visibility at about five miles in dunn, fayetteville, raeford, those instead staedy throughout -- steady throughout the course of the morning, four miles in i'll let you know. here's the forecast for the coming days, 51 today, breezy at types, wind gusts could approach 25 miles per hour, then as we head in to the weekend, you ask me, i call it perfect.

when these 60s hang around in your complete forecast. maggie? >> loving those degrees, alyssa. looking ahead, one of the cars used by pope francis during his visit to philadelphia last fall is available at auction. the pope travelled around the city in two fiat 500 model cars. one of them remaining on display at the philadelphia autoshow, the other is up for auction during a black tie gala held at the auto show today, proceeds benefitting select ministries. a houston bunny the new mascot for trix cereal, cinnabon, the new name, will appear on all trix cereal boxes. beating out 7,500 other rabbits in the nationwide search for a mascot. i think they picked a good one. the so-called affluenza teen is back in the u.s. sxh is -- and is expected in court today. still to come, what today's hearing will determine. plus, talk about dedication. a vet walks two miles in the

cutie, the newest addition to the duke lemur center. later we'll tell you why she

ne wncn today, what you need to know right now. >> 5:44 on your friday, this morning's top stories, super bowl sendoff party takes place today in charlotte for the carolina panthers. the panthers pride rally kicks off at noon. >> thousands of fans are expected to take part. the panthers leave for california on sunday, facing the broncos in the super bowl, february 7. >> keep pounding! right now the search is on for a would be bank robber stopped by a quick thinking manager. this happen ted pnc branch in zebulon, may be driving a small gray vehicle with black rims. if you know anything, contact police. gop presidential front runner donald trump's absence from last night's debate put the spotlight on rivals ted cruz and marco rubio confronted with

changed their positions on immigration, one of the most contentious issues among republicans. thousands of shoppers nationwide are losing their go-to grocery and retail store. walmart is shutting down more than 150 stores nationwide including this one in durham. the move has many communities infewer rated. in one town -- if fewerated -- infuriated, they put one small family business out of business. the people who mugged a woman just feet from her home, the search is on. it happened tuesday evening as she was walking from her car to her home on east davies street. she tells us three thieves hit her on the head, threw her to the ground and grabbed her bag. green card. according to the police report, all of it valued at around $240.

for her, it's already raised more than $9,500. she says she's incredibly grateful but as for those thieves. . >> i hope they're caught, i want my day in court with them. i want their parents to know what they do at night when they're out. >> she's pretty upset. officers are canvassing the area for the suspects. if you have any information, again, please call police. no charges are expected in an incident that sent a sorority pledge to the hospital. a case of underage drinking. a duke spokesperson says a 19-year-old was rushed to the e.r. late tuesday after a party in randolph hall on east campus. now duke partially lifted a ban on sorority activities, blasted by robert and anne champion, the anti-hazing advocates whose son was killed at an famu hazing ritual. >> this tells me the university is not taking it seriously.

of urgency. >> duke says the victim is expected to make a full recovery. elsewhere across the country today a court hearing is taking place for a chicago mrir -- police officer for murder, shooting a black teenager 16 times, killing him. the indictment alleges he acted without lawful justification when he shot mcdonald. van dike has pleaded not guilty. todayethan couch, now 18, arrived from mexico yesterday morning. authorities tracked down couch and his mom after an international manhunt. he missed a probation hearing after killing four people in a drunk driving accident in 2013. today's hearing will determine whether couch will receive bond or be moved to an adult prison. right now, we're getting an inside look at the deadly shooting during a traffic stop of an armed occupier of a national wildlife refuge in oregon. an fbi plane captured the

officials say finicum's vehicle tried to maneuver around the roadblock and got stuck in a snow bank. officials say when he got out of the trunk, he reached toward his pocket and was shot. the fbi says there was a loaded 9 millimeter semiautomatic handgun in his pocket, fou^ people still in the refuge at this time paul kantner has passed away, from jefferson airplane. they're known for the classics "somebody to love" and white rabbit. >> big loss for the music industry. two sinkholes opened up in the same street in southwest oregon. the larnl eft of the -- largest of the two took out two line lains of a highway, one across the street. both opened up within a short period of time. last weekend's monster blizzard one of the worst on record.

-- it was the fourth most powerful snowstorm to hit the east in a decade, from louisiana to maine, hitting parts of the northwest and causing flooding along the jersey coastline. down to the precious video of the day, take a look at this, going to make you smile. a baby lemur born during last week's storm is doing well at the duke lemur center. and get this, a vet had to walk two miles and all that snow to check in on the newborn. she said the first month out of a lemur's life is critical and she wanted to make sure the little guy was doing a-okay. okay, so you know what, it doesn't have a name just yet. do we have any good suggestions yet, alyssa? >> i said earlier, i think you go with the wintry weather, maybe icy, snowy, i don't know. >> eholding -- he's holding a penguin, he loves the cold. >> weigh in on twitter for us as well. 36 at 8:00 a.m., 41 at 10:00 a.m. this morning, noon today, 45. that's close to where we were

it gets warmer though today. 48 at 2:00, 51 just a cloud or two here and there overall i think you're going to remember the breezier conditions kndz -- conditions because wind gusts could be 25 miles per hour. 35 degrees, a live picture from the raleigh durham international airport. you can see one of the first flights of the day getting ready to head towards the runway this morning. now, temperatures elsewhere, some of you colder, some of you pretty much exactly where you were. down around the sand hills is where we're seeing colder temperatures. 37 fayetteville, 37 clinton. raleigh 35. not a big change from where we were, 36 durham, 36 louisburg and right around roxboro, you're at freezing. here's what i'm thinking will shape up over the coming days. lots of sunshine, a nice little problem to have as we approach the weekend; right? sunshine at lunch time today, just a cloud or two throughout the afternoon, sunsets and we're looking at clear skies. now we talk about this a lot, clear skies during the winter

you're waking up in the morning hours. tomorrow morning could be colder than where we are right now, i'm thinking many of you will wake up to the 20s as we head towards saturday afternoon though, all that sunshine hangs around and that is going to lead to a warmer afternoon. now, speaking of warmer, take a look at the temperature trend. today we're very close to average, 51, 55 on saturday, 62 on sunday, it gets even warmer as we head in to early next week, 66 monday, mid 60s hang around by tuesday as well. chance for rain doesn't arrive until next wednesday. not only are we getting unseasonably warm temperatures, we're getting dry weather as well. so 51 our high today in raleigh, 50 durl, and -- durham and 54 fayetteville. heading overnight tonight, we're talking about clear and cold conditions, 29 degrees, winds not going to be a factor for us as we're heading in to the overnight hours. 55 on saturday, sunshine still around, sunday 62 i'm loving these 60s at this time of year,

ground hog day on tuesday, 65 degrees, if punxsutawney phil sees his shadow or not, whether or not he's expecting a longer winter for us. 65 on wednesday, chance for rain arrives and that rain with a cold front is going to cool us down big time as we head towards next thursday. 5:52 right now on this friday morning, let's go ahead and get to our traffic conditions, i-40 south saunders street, we're starting to see more hustle and bustle on the roadways, no slowdowns to report in this direction. i'm showing you your live drive conditions, i-440 westbound moving at about 62 miles per hour on i-540, 65 miles per hour. more on traffic and weather close to 6:00 a.m. how about this cute little face for a friday morning? here is today's pet. this is calley, the watson family rescued the 13 week old from south of the bully rescue. >> oh, a precious picture, yeah, she looks like she's dressed up, santa's helper.

friend, if you've got pictures, send it in to pets@wncn.com. >> reporter: do you hate it when you're talking to your trdz and they take a cell phone call and you can't get their attention? i'm in west virginia, where because of this technology, there's an official federal quiet zone! no cell roast it... roast it... roast it... slice it. new, hand-carved slow-roasted sirloin. perfectly paired, perfectly served... and starting at just $10.99?!

at clorox 2 we've turned removing stains into a science. now pre-treat with clorox 2! watch stains disappear right before your eyes. remove 4 times more stains than detergent alone. welcome back, your time now 5:55. researchers at unc wilmington say they know what may have killed a young humpback whale that washed ashore on carrie -- carry -- cary beach, likely dying from a parasite that attacked its organs, damage to its internal organs, especially its kidneys.

happier news, cam newton's biggest fans is now the envy of his friends. jaden was lucky enough to gek get a -- get a football from newton earlier this year. newton is known for handing out the balls to kids after the panthers score a touchdown. back home in raleigh, jaden has a picture of that incredible moment framed right on his wall. >> i was telling him, cam, cam, come over here, come over here and he gave me the ball and fist pumed me -- pumped me. it was crazy. felt like i won the lottery. >> and you know what, he can also see in the future. he's predicting a blowout win when he they take the broncos at the super bowl. the score will be 50-0, he says. i think those are good odds. right now shoppers are lining up just outside of a chicago nike store to buy the latest pair of air jordan. they lined up days ago, they go

come cheap, they'll set you back $650. so barbie is now getting a big makeover. mattel hopes it will appeal to all of us. the iconic doll now offered in three shapes, tall, petite, curvy. you can purchase the new dolls online as well as the original barbie. she's not going anywhere. mattel has been working to change barbie's look for the past two years to make her more realistic and diverse. the company has not said where hopefully soon. i know a lot of little girls will love to pick up the new ones. >> people come in all shapes and sizes, barbie does too finally. 18 time olympic gold medal winner michael phelps accomplished another goal. >> the goal to get an oregon staitd player to -- state player to miss fizz free throws, behind arizona state university's curtain of distraction with medals draped around his neck,