time for the weekend. i'll have the details up next. 3 3 pattie 3 good morning virginia. it is thursday, february 18th. i'm pattie martin. mona and, i'm mona kosar abdi. thanks for starting your day with us. when it comes to the weather we've seen a lot of ups and downs, this week. but the bitter cold temps may be behind us.. at least for the weekend. let's send it over to melissa le fevre in the weather center for the latest... melissa? 3 3you'll want the coat this morning as temperatures are starting out in the mid 20 to lower 30s. thursday will be mostly sunny, dry and cool with highs reaching the mid 40s this afternoon. quiet weather continues tonight with temperatures in the mid to upper 20s by friday morning. we end the workweek with a mix of sun and clouds. temperatures begin to warm up and we'll see highs in the lower 50s. 3pattie the presidential candidates are stumping for votes in the south. several republican candidates are taking part in south carolina taking part in candidates are republican several in the south.stumping

3in the lower 50s. 3 3pattie3 the presidential candidates are stumping for votes in the south. several republican candidates are taking part in south carolina townhalls.mona with the primary just days away -- and new polling numbers -- the presidential hopefulls keep swinging and punching at one another. ray raimundi reports. 3 3the clash of the republican candidates....now going into overdrive. the battle ground: south carolina -- where four of the six republican candidates -- participated in town hall forums across two cable

people when i'm attacked republican front-runner donald trump....all alone on m-s-n-b- c ... where he attacked his fellow counterparts...and defended his fiery temperment sot-trump "in a year from now, people will respect what i did // you're so worried about being nice and being politically correct. so what would you rather have me do? be nice to everybody"over on c-n-n...senators ted cruz and marco rubio....along with dr. ben carson....all got their chance to address questions from south carolina voters. cruz...whipping out the hammer on trump...after receiving a cease and desist letter. sot-sen cruz cooper: what did you think when 3you actually got the letter? cruz :i'll confess, i laughed out loud.//and i don't think anyone is surprised that donald is threatening to sue people. rubio...with a more personal message...nats: cheering from nikki haley endorsing marco rubio rally ...smiling from ear-to-ear on govenor nikki haley's endorsementsot-sen rubioin my campaign for president i got the endorsement of a candidate of indian descent and tomorrow

african-american member. that says a lot about south carolina on the democratic side? hillary clinton and bernie sanders are battling it out in nevada.. ahead of that state's caucuses this weekend. new polls show the race in nevada at a virtual dead heat. ray tag:and with the south carolina g-o-p primaries and the nevada democratic caucuses just 48 hours away.... all presidential hopefulls are desperate for a win. a win...they hope...will have them soaring into super tuesday... which is just 12 days away. ray raimundi, abc news, new york.3 3pattie box and donald trump is planning to return to virginia ahead of the march 1st primary. the gop front-runner is set to appear at an event at regent university on february 24th in virginia beach. john kasich is scheduled to host a town hall meeting monday at vcu in richmond. and ben carson will be at regent on february 29th.

states holding a primary contest on so-called super tuesday. 3mona hillary clinton's campaign is launching a television ad campaign. her campaign announced that it's running its first tv ads in the richmond market. the 30 second spots.. which highlight clinton's record on foreign policy, women's rights, and other issues, are part of an initial 6-figure ad buy. the campaign didn't disclose exactly how much it will spend. right now -- clinton is leading the polls in virginia.. and has the support of both senators and gov. terry mcauliffe. 3pattie also in richmond- the house has approved a bill that would protect people who oppose same-sex marriage and extra-marital sex. the bill would prohibit the state from punishing those who refuse services to same-sex couples, transgender people, or someone who has sex outside of marriage. opponents say.. the measure would open the door to discrimination. but supporters say.. the state must protect same-sex marriage opponents.. who find themselves "constantly under attack by shifting cultural

to the senate. 3mona tight attorney general mark herring is parterning with the virginia department of veterans services.. and the virginia state bar.. to provide free legal services to low-income veterans and their families. "we are always looking for ways that we can repay them and the tremendous service they've given us defending our freedoms here in virginia and america. and like a lot of americans, many veterans can't afford these basic estate planning documents, and they can provide people with a lot of peace of mind."mona3 vounteers will help draft wills, powers of attorney, and advance medical directives during a series of four clinics. the state is home to many military members with unique financial and consumer needs. and estate planning services can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars. the goal of the first series of clinics is to serve more than 100 veterans across the commonwealth. 3pattie this morning, a

17% of american children whose parents are separated or divorced have "shared parenting".. according to the us census bureau.mona yet most of the research for the last 30 years shows kids thrive when they're parented equally by both mom and dad.. sheila gray reports on one group that is fighting for shared parenting. :19font: jessica barger/mother :31-:35font: :45-:57font: don hubin/national parents organization 1:08-1:14 1:37:35 gets times greg - i shouldn't have to prove i'm a good dad. greg gross wishes he could spend every sons hunter and miles. 2:39 nats- push. like that. you try. but greg's no longer with decides how often he can see his kids.super greg gross said you get these days. if you don't like it, you're not basically, she has what they call legal custody because we weren't married.7:10 what do you think about this color? jessica barger and the father of her son aren't together either, but they're committed to parenting jordan equally.super jessica barger 00:00:46 jessica - i think it's important for him growing up to see that you know we do get along.01:54 jessica - i think he's very lucky to have his dad so involved and have such a great relationship with his dad. super sheila gray 2:31:00 the number of

been declining for decades.. so now about 40 percent of the country's children are born out of wedlock - four times the number about 40 years ago. for the most part, laws treat those parents like divorced parents when it comes to child custody.1:49:27 don - i think there's still a bias in many courts. don hubin is with the national parents organization. the group's pushing for laws in every state to make shared parenting routine.super don hubin1:45:21 children get to see both parents in the parenting role. it breaks down the gender role that moms are the parents and dads have the money and send the child support. kids should see both parents cooking dinner, booking breakfast, getting ready for school, helping with homework. hubin says having both parents 3involved is also better for kids' financial well-being. his group would like to see the end of temporary custody orders when parents head to court.8:05 this is gonna take awhile both parents we talked to agree the laws

lot of dads out there who do really try and who do wnat to be involved, and i think that mom and dads as along as they're both equally willing to parent and do it the right way that they should be looked at equally in court as well. 1:45:04 not only dads that are in this situation right now, but dads who have been in this situation. we all need to come together. 1:45:16 and it needs to change. until it does, spend every minute he's allowed with because these moments...yeah. changed his life. 1:37:53 i know that my kids. (cut) i adore my kids. 3pattie tight3 right now 20 states are considering legislation that will push for more equal shared parenting. and it's an uphill battle, national parents organization says many judges and domestic relations attorneys like the system the way it is. 3mona box lynchburg city schools will now put a cap on gpa scores. the school board voted 5 to 4 tuesday

some board members believe limiting the amount of a-p courses students can take.. limits their achievement. but others say it allows them to take elective courses.. without worrying about lowering their gpa. under the new rules, only 5 a-p courses will count towards a high school student's gpa. they can still take seven courses, if they want, but only the 5 will actually count. 3pattie still to come on good morning virginia... think your kitchen is the most dangerous room in your house? we'll tell you if you're right, just ahead. mona and... >> i have been told for years i

>> rachael: before she was quinn on "scandal," katie lowe did what? >> brad pitt ordered a martini, he my computer's dying again. you'll need to email us so we can issue you a ticket. but you're right here. it's protocol.

next day guarantee. it's fast and done right. i'll do that instead. that's not protocol marsha. in by noon, out by 5 the next day.

3 3 3 3you'll want the coat this morning as temperatures are starting out in the mid 20 to lower 30s. thursday will be mostly sunny, dry and cool with highs reaching the mid 40s this afternoon. quiet es tonight with temperatures in the mid to upper 20s by friday morning. we end the workweek with a mix of sun and clouds. temperatures begin to warm up and we'll see highs in the lower 50s. the weekend looks mild and pleasant. highs reach the lower 60s on saturday and sunday. overnight lows will be in the upper 30s to near 40. saturday will be dry, while a few scattered showers may be possible for monday, highs reach the mid 50s with the continued chance for a few showers. we'll cool down for tuesday and wednesday. highs drop back into the 40s. both days will be very is likely. a winter storm is possible along the east coast, but it is way

stay tuned. 3 3pattie some fire officials are calling it the most dangerous room in your house.mona more than 15-

a laundry room every year. april molina shows you what you can do to prevent it. 3"the san antonio fire department set up this mock laundry room to simulate a dryer fire...they're igniting the lint inside the vent hose, which is the most likely culprit in this type of fire." "the lint and the dryer cloths that we use to make our clothes smell good, those are all flammable, very flammable." as are laundry baskets full of clothes often left sitting next to or on top of the dryer. "things are gonna smolder for a while and it'll take a little time for it to heat up and catch everything." in this case it wasn't a quick burning fire...but the smoke came quick and spread fast. "the fire is a very small percentage of what kills people. it's the smoke, the smoke creates cyanides and gases that just put you to sleep and you don't wake up." san antonio fire 3department instructor bennie marberry says what makes dryer fires so dangerous is that they usually go unnoticed for too long."biggest thing is don't leave them unattended. don't start the dryer and go to bed, don't start the dryer

rosiles and her boyfriend 3left their dryer unattended. they loaded up the dryer and went to work..."then i got a call from my dad while i was at work around 8:30, that my house was on fire.""there was firetrucks in here, they were all in here and we had to wait literally wait outside for like an hour." what celina saw when she was finally allowed inside....smoke damage to 90 percent of the home...60 thousand dollars in damage. despite this enormous loss, celina is just glad it didn't happen when she was home sleeping. "fire 3department told my father that if it wasn't...if we were here, if and while it happened at night, we wouldn't be here. we probably would've passed away in our sleep." something celina knows now, that she didn't know then, is the number one warning sign your dryer may be in need of maintenance. "the

if we open the dryer 3and our clothes are still wet, that's the number one sign, he said that something is wrong with your dryer and you need to get it checked." "what you may experience is a dryer that you need to run a cycle 2 maybe 3 times to dry the clothes." dryer vent cleaning professional ralph cordero has several recommendations, the first: invest in a flex hose. "slinky hoses are the most common, but they're also the most flammable because they are made out of aluminum and paper. experts say the all metal flex hose is safer." runs=5 "the dryer is producing heat...and as it does that it could ignite that lint that's caught in the system." most people know the importance of cleaning out the dryer's lint basket after each use...it's the lint you can't see that could do the real harm. take sot-42:26 runs=6 "lint accumulates in the transition hose, it accumulates also in the dryer itself." in addition to cleaning the basket, you should also clean the dryer, the vent hose and the wall

outside... it's a service that takes about an hour start to finish, the cost of this annual maintenance and some peace of mind ranges from about 70 to 160 dollars. 3pattie still to come on good morning virginia... it's the kind of good samaritan story that could only come out of new york city. the unusual and funny story of the returned wallet, in the next half hour of gmv. we're back in just a

3good thursday to you, let's get a check of your morning drive. you'll want the coat this morning as temperatures are starting out in the mid 20 to lower 30s. thursday will be mostly sunny, dry and cool with highs reaching the mid 40s this afternoon. quiet weather continues tonight with temperatures in the mid to upper 20s by friday morning. we end the workweek with a mix of sun and clouds. temperatures begin to warm up and we'll see highs in the lower 50s. 3mona tight virginia 3international raceway is in the running for a major national honor.. and you can help them get it. national speed sport news is looking for "america's favorite track." so they're asking everyone to vote. if they win, they'll be featured in a magazine. we have a link at wset.com so you can vote. now over to dennis with a

3 dennis the hokies lost at number 11 miami last night for their seventh loss in eight games. virginia tech played a strong first half, jalen hudson drills a three to break a 10-all tie and put the hokies on top. later in the half, up four, justin bibbs buries another 3 to run tech's lead to 7. but miami outscored the hokies by 17 the second half. 'canes beat tech 65-49. 3 one of the great rivalries in all of sports, duke and north carolina squared off in chapel hill. 75th time they've met as ranked opponents. bryce johnson gets the early jam for the tar heels. carolina led by eight with less than seven minutes left. but duke stormed back to win 74-73. 3 dennis lynchburg and roanoke made odac history at lc, combining for a new-odac-record 316 points. unbelievable battle between the home-standing hornets and second-place roanoke, it was 71-66 at halftime at turner gym.this was a track meet on the

one. roanoke had five players score at least 20 points, led by cameron smith who led the maroons with 32. down 8 early second half, lynchburg charged back. aj hamilton gets the steal and aj is jammin' to draw the hornets within 3.austen arnold poured in 41 for lc. lynchburg wins in double ot 160-156. 3 and high school conference tourneys finally got underway. amherst county's malik woodfolk nailed a three at the end of period three to pull within 15 of e.c. glass entering the fourth. later, cody lang got inside for two of his 14 to draw amherst closer. but the hilltoppers got hot in the fourth. tj jones drove for two of his 21. glass won 76-55 and plays at l.c.a. tonight at 6. more highlights

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3 pattie just about everyone is a selfie-pro these days... even this sea lion! a san diego aquarium made an underwater selfie stick for one of their sea lions... and this little guy took it for a wild ride. while the selfie stick trend may be dying down for us land dwellers... it's the latest greatest thing for seas

3 3 thursday will be mostly sunny, dry and cool with highs reaching the mid 40s this afternoon. quiet weather continues tonight with temperatures in the mid to upper 20s by friday morning. we end the workweek with a mix of sun and clouds. temperatures begin to warm up and we'll see highs in the lower 50s. the weekend looks mild and pleasant. highs reach the lower 60s on saturday and sunday. overnight lows will be in the upper 30s to near 40. saturday will be dry, while a few scattered showers may be possible for monday, highs reach the mid 50s with the continued chance for a few showers. we'll cool down for tuesday and wednesday. highs drop back into the 40s. both days will be very is likely. a winter storm is possible along the east coast, but it is way too early for specifics on what could happen locally.

3 pattie coming up in the next half hour of good morning virginia... a lynchburg man is in jail facing a string of charges after sending police on a wild chase in amherst county. we have the details on that story, just ahead. mona plus, lynchburg pd's new chief is on a mission. he is trying to transform the department from the inside out.

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3 new this morning, a lynchburg man is facing charges after authorities in amherst county say he led them on an 8 mile long chase. the amherst county sheriff's office arrested lawrence samuel crank jr. on tuesday after a chase that started on river road and ended near a

madison heights. and the chase didn't stop there, they say crank also ran for a short time on foot. he now faces a range of charges, one of them being possession with intent to distribute. he's in the amherst adult detention facility beng held with no bond. for the full list of charges, head to wset.com 3 3 mona tight today the defense is expected to begin presenting their case..in the murder trial of reserve waynesboro police captain kevin quick . federal prosecutors wrapped up their case, yesterday. the prosecution's last witness, f-b-i special agent jason warren, analyzed cell phone records..that put quick and one of the six defendants near the same location the night he went missing. the last record of quick using his phone was on the same road where his girlfriend lived. but quick never made it to her home -- where his family says he was headed that night to check on his daughter. warren testified one of the defendants -- mersaides shelton's cell phone pinged the same tower on turtle creek road minutes before. 3 pattie the lynchburg police department is trying to attract more minorities to the

police says the department is working toward making sure the police force better reflects the community it's policing. mona and he's focusing on recruitment and community involvement to make that goal a reality. courtney wheaton reports. 3 chief raul diaz" its very important for a police agency to have diversity we need to reflect the community we serve." since being sworn in 3 months 3 ago, chief diaz says one of his goals was to increase diversity within the department. right now, about 88 percent of l-p-d-staff is white. only 8 percent is african american. although blacks make up 30 percent of lynchburg's population."with that being said the department is no where close to that representation." ...as for hispanics.. "that one percent that's other so i assume that's me." he says the first order of business is getting out in the community to make sure all voices are being heard. next -- hiring 3 more women, local residents, and people of color. "no one should ever believe that in order to hire minorities you

not true. it's absolutely a falsehood. chief diaz recently hired two african americans to join the team. one a halifax county native -- officer joe tucker. officer joe tucker " i would like to be somebody the community depends on, and count on if they need something." tucker says he's proud to work within a department that values diversity in it's police force and community. "i think it's important. people want somebody they can relate to, someone they can identify with, somebodywho they think understands them as a person." he says whether they are white, black, brown-- male or female when he's with his coworkers. "you're a part of a family not just a police department. i feel that everyone genuinely cares about your growth not only as a person but as an officer." 3 pattie tight the police department says they're also trying to build stronger ties with the community. that means you may see them in your neighborhood playing basketball, visting with residents, or just hanging

shouldn't only interact with the community when it involves a crime. 3 3 you'll want the coat this morning are starting out in the mid 20 to lower 30s. mostly sunny, dry and cool with highs reaching the mid quiet weather continues tonight in the mid to upper 20s by friday morning. we end a mix of sun and clouds. temperatures and we'll see highs in the lower 50s. mild and pleasant. highs reach the

3 mona tight3 the bedford county fire marshal says two people were hurt in a shed explosion. he says they were trying to saw off a piece of a drum...carrying flammable liquid. it happened saturday night on rexford and goodview drive . fire officials say a teenager and 22-year-old used an "angle slider" to cut the drum so they could make a burn barrel.. not realizing the sparks from the tool would ignite the fumes. both had minor injuries. 3 pattie tight also in bedford county, investigators say a fire that broke out in a home there started from a heat lamp that had been left on for the owner's cats housed in the garage. it happened in the 11-hundred-block of shepherds store road - just off dickerson mill road shortly after four yesterday morning. firefighters from four different units battled the blaze for several hours.. there are no reported injuries. damage from the fire is estimated at 200- thousand-dollars.

virginia senate passed a bill that would allow police departments to withhold the names of officers from the public.. even in cases of officer misconduct. pattie the sponsor of the bill says.. it's to protect the safety of officers. others say.. it would be a blow to transparency. suri crowe reports. 3 the senate voted 25 to 15 monday to keep the names of all law enforcement officers secret from the public. in other words the freedom of information act-regularly used by journalists and others to obtain information about officers would no longer be in valid in virginia- should the bill become law. that alarms some-who think government employees should not be shielded from accountability. meghan rhyne, executive director of the virginia coalition for open government, "there are a variety of reasons why you would want to know the names of government employees ranging from most of them having to do with accountability-should anything go wrong-there needs to be a

bill see it differently.dana schrad virginia association of chiefs of police we owe it to our police officers to protect them from any kind of, whether it's credit fraud, or identity theft, or even a threat of retaliation from someone despite several high profile police murders-policing has actually been getting safer over the decades-according to the washington post. dwayne martin says he gets the safety concerns-but where there are cases of officer misconduct he says the public has the right to know.dwayne martin, doesn't support bill,"at the same time if an officer is committing multiple offenses then we should know how many offenses he's committed that type of information should be known to us. we don't want the police department to to cover it up." but mary logwood-is all for it. mary logwood, supports bill, "because they're here for us. they protect us. and they shouldn't be drug through the mud just because somebody thinks they did something

3 mona danville police will now have more officers on patrol. tuesday night city council voted to allow the department to hire four more officers- boosting the number of officers to 135. the move will place one more officer on each shift. danville police chief phillip broadfoot says.. the money will come from what's leftover in the department's budget. 3 pattie tight not every theft from a store involves money. these wisconsin police officers looked like they had to choke back a couple laughs while recovering two giant stuffed teddy bears. the daring rescue was all caught on police dashcam. it happened last week in the town of wauwatosa. authorities there say two women stole the bears, along with chocolates from a local drugstore. police later stopped the suspects' vehicle, arrested the women and saved the bears. it's not clear

3 mona still to come on good morning virginia... fans of harry potter have the chance to hear the movies like never before... the details in today's showbiz news. pattie and... >> i'm alex trebek. if you're age 50 to 85, please listen carefully. the lock i want to talk to you about isn't the one on your door. it's a rate lock for your life insurance that guarantees your rate can never go up at any time, for any reason. many policies don't have one but you can get a lifetime rate lock through the colonial penn program. this plan was designed for people on a fixed income with coverage options for just $9.95 a month. that's less than 35 cents a day.

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with no obligation.3 3 3 quiet and cool for the rest of the workweek, with mild weather on the way just in time for the weekend. you'll want the coat this morning as temperatures are starting out in the mid 20 to lower 30s. thursday will be mostly sunny, dry and cool with highs reaching the mid 40s this afternoon. quiet weather continues tonight with temperatures in the mid to upper 20s by friday morning. we end the workweek with a mix of sun and clouds. temperatures begin to warm up and we'll see highs in the lower 50s. the weekend looks mild and pleasant. highs reach the lower 60s on saturday and sunday. overnight lows will be in the upper 30s to near 40. saturday will be dry, while a few scattered showers may be possible later on sunday. for monday, highs reach the mid 50s with the continued chance down for tuesday and wednesday. highs drop back into the 40s. both days will be very wet and heavy rain is likely. a winter storm is possible along the east coast, but it is way too early for

locally. stay tuned. 3 3 3 good morning. topping

it's good news for anyone with a credit card or auto loan... the federal reserve appears unlikely to raise rates at its meeting next month. the fed seems concerned about what the wild swings in the stock market, and china's troubles, could mean for the u-s economy. and that's a diagram of airbus' new idea for under- seat storage. looks like it would severely cut down on leg room for the passenger behind you. the diagram is part patent application. and pay for babysitters is going up. the national average for watching one child is now 15- dollars, 71 cents an hour... up five percent from last year. for two children, 18 dollars an hour. and nearly 20 percent of sitters get tips on

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>> patti: the henry county sheriff's office is look for a missing person. now they are on the search for 62 year old bernie foster. authorities were tipped off to the situation when a call came in yesterday about her vehicle left alone more old liberty