with the state health department which will handle the release of confirmed, probable, and suspected cases from now on. state officials just revealing that they are looking at eight probable cases now. they would not say exactly where they are. and there's still one confirmed case in mecklenburg county. two confirmed cases in iredell county. the iredell county health department says it's now working with lowe's to make sure that the 4,000 employees at its corporate office are safe. health officials say they're actively seeking out any person who might have had contact with one of the mumps patients and those who might be showing any symptoms. >> we are in the place we've provided staff, they're available to anyone. we're there working with them closely to make sure that this stays contained. >> now, lowe's sent a letter to employees and even held a question and answer session last week once those mumps cases were confirmed. scott?

we're pushing the story forward tonight at 6:00, tina terry is asking that since lowe's headquarters is so big, if it's possible to contain the out break. >> they're dedicated to helping charlotte families. but thieves are targeting local firefighters while they're out on life saving calls. >> it's just wrong that this is what they're coming back to. >> reporter: their car windows smashed, everything from ipads, to money, even guns stolen. and just this morning, firefighters vehicles at two charlotte stations were broken into and ransacked. >> all this happening when they were out on a call. thieves have targeted at least five fire stations across the city. you see them here. similar drives have been reported in china grove, kannapolis, and mooresville. police told eyewitness news anchor john paul how they think the thieves know when to strike. >> these firefighters are out trying to protect lives and property. and it's just wrong that this is what they're coming back to. >> reporter: they're coming

damaged and stolen. this morning while first responders were called out to this crash at little rock road in tuckaseegee, someone jumped the fence at this station down the road, broke into cars and stole personal items. it's happening more and more. also hit today was fire station number 26. that makes at least five in our area targeted within two weeks. and officials want to put a stop to it. that's just in charlotte. three other stations were hit in china grove, kannapolis, and mooresville in that time. least. >> cmpd is investigating to see if there's a link between the break-ins but has narrowed down targeted. thing. they're looking for guns. they're making that assumption that there's going to be a gun in that car. and sadly they're finding one. >> this morning two guns were taken from a vehicle at this station on south trion while crews were on a call.

someone that's monitoring our radio traffic because all of the incidents have occurred while these station's firefighters were out on calls or responding to calls. >> police are stepping up patrols and charlotte fire is looking to upgrade security. >> we're taking additional measures and we're going to get to the bottom of this. >> neighbors are left stunned. >> you're going after the people that could save your lives and children. it's terrible. right now police haven't said if they think the charlotte crimes are connected to others in the area but they say they are in touch with investigators there. now to breaking news, we've been following a crash, traffic is backed up for ten miles on i- 85 in concord. a tractor trailer flipped over before noon today and it's still causing a mess. a good sign, we now see a tow truck there on scene. one southbound lane is shut down. near mile marker 60. and you can see all of the back- ups.

troopers say it doesn't look like anyone was hurt in the accident. we'll continue to monitor the delays. we have received surveillance pictures of a suspect holding an employee at gunpoint at an abc store in dallas. detectives say the man went into the store on dallas high sholes highway and pointed a revolver at the cashier, took money and ran off. police believe he had a get away driver nearby. tonight donald trump is trying to untangled his tiff with the pope. we told you yesterday pope francis said trump is not christian if he wants to build a wall at the border with mexico. this unfolding before south carolina's republican primary. suskin asked voters if there's an impact to their pick here? >> reporter: trump seemed to back pedal from comments today. saying he didn't want to get into a fight with the pope and would be willing to meet with him at any time. still some experts say there could be fall out.

in south carolina tightening, donald trump is still expected to win the primary tomorrow. still, there was more controversy this week when a reporter in mexico asked pope francis about the idea of building a wall on the u.s. mexico border the pope said it was not christian. trump fired back saying his faith was attacked and calling the pontiff's comments disgraceful. >> i don't see a political advantage to getting into a spiritual fight with the pope. >> says john holder of winthrop university. he says catholics aren't a large voting block but down the road there could be damage to the trump campaign. >> adding to the things that he's said that have not just offended but outraged one group or another. if you put all those people together eventually he'll run out of support. >> today the catholic diocese released a saying, regarding the holy father's -- a core

the idea of welcoming the stranger. david haynes says he doesn't think the pope was singling out trump making the candidate's comments even more upsetting. >> it's very upsetting that the pope, the holy father, a man who is beloved throughout the entire world, his character is called into question. >> and right now you can see voting signs already up here in precincts. the board of elections tomorrow. partly because when they look at absentee voting for the gop primary, it's double what it was in 2012. live in rock hill, greg suskin, channel 9 eyewitness news. and wsoc-tv will have you covered all day in tomorrow's primary, we'll tweet out updates and send breaking news alerts as soon as a winner is declared. a military academy was forced to cancel classes today after it received a possible threat linked to isis. the military academy's president said a direct message was sent on tuesday through

it mentioned today's date, february 19th. the school alerted cadets and employees and allowed students to go home through the weekend. federal and local authorities are investigating to see if it's a hoax. an iphone belonging to one of the san bernardino terrorists has sparked a huge fight between apple and the federal government. north carolina senator richard burr is at the center of it. and next, in a one on one interview, he explains to jason stoogenke why apple's refusal to unlock the phone could put the nation in jeopardy. the irs sending out a renewed alert warning taxpayers about email schemes targeting your money. this comes after the agency saw a 400% surge in fishing and malware incidents. in the first two months of this year, there have been 1300 incidents reported. these emails are designed to trick you into thinking that you received something from the irs.

are taken to a site that imitates irs.gov. the site will also ask for your social security number and other personal information. and it could also carry malware that could infect your computer and allow access to files to get more of your personal information. in fact, your producer at join received one of those fake emails. it tried to get our producer to click on the link inside the email. action 9 has been warning you about these scams for years and we told you the irs will not call or email you. but as an extra effort to protect taxpayers the irs teamed up with the state revenue departments and the tax industry. now, they've created the taxes security together campaign to make sure taxpayers understand all the dangers. tonight federal investigators are trying to figure out what caused this helicopter to crash into pearl harbor. you can see the incredible cell phone video showing yesterday's crash. a 15-year-old is now in critical condition. bystanders jumped into the

look at that there. one man had to cut through the teen's seat belt with a knife. >> it took a long time. six or seven minutes. anybody else would have done the same thing. luckily the helicopter was in only about ten feet of water. >> the helicopter company is not commenting on the crash. the navy is helping to get the chopper out of the harbor tonight. visitors being kept away from this steele creek assisted living center after a norovirus out break. eyewitness news reporter deshawn brown just spoke with the county's medical director virus. >> reporter: the health department says the number of cases here is in double digits. they also say this facility has been inspected and that they're following cdc deadlines by restricting visitors. in the last hour, i spoke to a here. she says she was not notified and says her family has not monday. according to the health

started showing symptoms of norovirus over the weekend. some of those symptoms include nausea, cramping, and diarrhea. the county health director told me they issued guidelines but it's really up to the facility how they choose to deal with it. andy says it can be challenging. >> even with the best fidelity to all of these control measures, it's such an infectious virus, it's really hard to control. >> in the last hour, the facility's ownership group say the health care issued a statement on the out break, they told me they had followed all necessary precautions. they also say they notified the families of the parties involved and told my they'll continue to monitor the situation. reporting in steele creek, deshawn brown, channel 9 eyewitness news. >> we posted information about the norovirus and how to avoid it on wsoctv.com. look for it inside this top story on our home page. the author of the famous book to kill a mocking bird

her book became a best seller and pulitzer prize winning book in the 60s. it gave a child's view of racial injustice in a small southern town in the 30s. it was last year that a follow up to the book go set a watchman was published. lee was 89 years old. they've been gone now for nearly a year but tonight some north carolina soldiers are back with their families. the emotional reunions today and what many cannot wait to do first. reaching the upper 50s this afternoon. most neighborhoods from the mountains to the midlands are warmer than yesterday. i have a future cast to show you how much more we'll warm up as we head through the weekend. that's moonshine liquor. >> moonshining has been around north carolina for decades but it's still illegal. tonight, channel 9 is tracking down the people still behind

enforcement are still zeroing enfo back to breaking news on i- 85 in concord where a tractor trailer crash is causing a ten- mile back up. the tow truck has been on the scene for about 15 minutes but still no progress. the scene has one southbound lane shut down near mile marker 60 and the cars just keep creeping by.

way home if you can. we'll let you know as soon as it clears. moonshine is back in the spotlight tonight and on law enforcement's radar after one of the biggest busts in the area just two months ago. the illegal liquor wasn't just for locals but going to people as far away as pennsylvania. eyewitness news reporter dave faherty tracked down local moonshiners who refused to quick making it. >> the more i sit here, the actual steel sit here. >> dean showed us where he made moonshine in a shed that sits in the shadows of the old speed way near his home. >> it's a heritage. through my family, it was our life. that's the way we were raised. >> you may recognize him. at one time, he was a nascar driver and junior johnson's crew chief. agents say until september, the 64-year-old was producing hundreds of gallons of moonshine, not only for people in north carolina but as far away as pennsylvania. when agents raided the

300-gallon steel along with 2100-gallons of fermenting mash. they left behind jugs used to move the liquor. an undercover agent who worked the case told me the moonshine is illegal because it's untaxed and often ends up in lower income neighborhoods. >> with these low income neighborhoods we usually see this product in liquor houses. around this type of environment, you see an influx in crime. especially violent crime. >> that's moonshine liquor in there. >> he shows us where he keeps his moonshine in his avery county home. he allowed me to climb a ladder to the stop of a shed nearby. for years he says he helped me the copper still into the mountains so others could make the illegal liquor. >> it's still being made up here. >> yes, sir. it's still being made up here. yes, sir. >> and much closer to charlotte. deputies showed us these photos of two busts during the last year. including one in mooresville. sheriff darryn campbell is

caution if they're ever offered a drink. >> some of these things are runed through radiators to remain cool. but there's a lot of bad contaminants in these things just like there are drugs. most people don't know how the do this. >> the charge for manufacturing moonshine is only a misdemeanor. the big e penalty is the state taxes he could be required to pay for making the illegal liquor. agents say that could run in the thousands of dollars. he says he wasn't in it for the money, he wanted to perfect his distillery. he's not sure what will happen now. >> a lot of work just went down the drain, you know, a whole lot of work went down the drain. reporting in wilkes county, dave faherty, channel 9 eyewitness news. to report violations call 877-ale-agent. we put the number on wsoctv.com along with raw video and a slide show of the operations dave found.

well another gorgeous day out there as the sunsets on this friday. what does the weekend hold for us? steve has the answer. >> it's starting out great. things will head downhill through the weekend. this video comes to us from unc charlotte. vicki graf was up there this afternoon. gorgeous carolina blue skies and a gorgeous afternoon with temperatures in the upper 50s. but here's a sign of things to come. tracking clouds approaching over kentucky, west virginia, it'll make a run at the mountains later this evening and fill the skies of the charlotte area. that's what the future cast suggest suggests. by the time you get up tomorrow morning, chances are you'll look at cloud cover. if you're outside this evening, the clouds will slow the temperature fall a little bit compared to what we've seen all week. around 50 at 9:00. upper 40s by 11:00. our future cast drops readings in the low to mid 40s. that's as far as they will go. mountains a little cooler. but not by much.

in the charlotte area, rain chances will remain low. they are higher tomorrow and on sunday up across the high country. here's a look at an event you may want to start out with. the charlotte ten miler benefits girls on the run. should be a pretty nice morning for a run. lower 40s early on. that goes out toward pineville in the mcmullen creek greenway. about 50 or so by 10:00 or so. there's the future cast showing the cloud cover. showers off and on in the mountains. nothing terribly heavy. and again, we will see the clouds thicken up as we head through the day in the charlotte area. but rain chances, i'd say below 20%. our average high is 56. we'll blow by that by lunch time. hour by hour forecast, takes us into the lower to mid 60s tomorrow afternoon. yes, that's inspite of the clouds. better chance of rain on sunday, especially across the country ever but monday night and tuesday we'll all see a steadier rain push across the carolina.

except looking at rain totals at 6:00. five-day forecast, we have the clouds coming in tomorrow, but for most neighborhoods in the charlotte area, dry, mountains see a few sprinkles, slightly better chance for both areas on sunday, and rain chances just continue to ramp up. peeking on tuesday. >> starting to get into the spring rhythm all ready. >> a little bit. we'll talk about rights of spring coming up at 6:00 too. i think you'll like it. as state lawmakers redraw the state's political lines, we're asking how it would reshape the race for congress here in mecklenburg county. and who might be running. plus a deadly plane crash in union county stunned neighbors. >> it was almost like a small explosion.

that could one company in our area is behind a product that some

changer for trips to the super market. parents of children with special needs say it will make their lives so much easier. in tonight's family focus, eyewitness news anchor stephanie maxwell found out how this is all coming together. >> this is a true labor of love made in newton. workers are scrambling to produce 1800 shopping carts for target stores but built to carry not just groceries but also people with special needs. caroline's cart is named after caroline who can't walk. her mother drewanne long came up with the idea eight years ago. >> the first time i due i drew it was on a napkin. >> she took her invention to tech ni built. the largest shopping cart manufacturer in north america.

it's not just for children. this seat will fit anyone up to 250-pounds. >> it needed to hold a special needs child/adult. special needs children grow up. i didn't want it to be limited. >> first her cart went to stores in newton. including this one. they're not at stores in canada and australia too. she remembers the first time she saw one at her local super market. >> it was just something that i would go and dream about and talk to store managers about. and when i finally saw it it was almost like a double take. >> she says this cart that caroline inspired was a game changer. it eliminates a major challenge for countless families just like hers, in newton, stephanie maxwell, channel 9 eyewitness news. you can learn more about how she came up with caroline's cart, the safety measures, and the local stores that have them at our website, wsoctv.com. we have all that information

more than 70 fort bragg para troopers are bag home tonight after a nine month deployment to iraq. the 82nd airborne division soldiers arrived just after midnight. they say that it was overwhelming to see their families holding the little ones there. they can't wait to eat a homemade meal and one's excited to work on his car. they have a four-day weekend before they head back to fort bragg for reintegration training. construction for the blue line expansion will shut down service over the weekend. the train will not run from 485's south boulevard station to the sharon road west station saturday or sunday. the blue line will only operate between the arrowwood station and seventh street station in uptown. not too much change on wall street today. but they did post the best week of 2016.

the nasdaq ga with 4,000 workers. for the last eight days the lowe's corporate headquarters battled the spread of the contagious mumps virus. breaking in the last 30 minutes the state's leading public health expert confirmed there are now 11 mumps cases. three confirmed and eight probable. >> we know two of those cases are employees at the lowe's headquarters in mooresville and eyewitness news reporter tina terry learned the possible cases could continue to grow, tina? >> well yeah health officials here in iredell county say that they are also investigating six other unconfirmed cases. we wanted to find out if those people also work at the lowe's corporate center which is right down the street from us.

question just yet. >> news that the mumps has been linked to the lowe's customer support center spread quickly through mooresville today. many here know someone that works there. >> i hate they won't get it and take it to the kids. >> today health workers told us they're working with lowe's to find any employees who may have been exposed to the disease. they're encouraging employees to get vaccinated and say those with symptoms shouldn't come to work. >> absolutely not. it's crucial they stay home from work. stay away from others. that helps mitigate the spread. we recommend they contact their physician beforehand. don't just show up at an urgent care. make sure they know when you get there that you think you may be a possible case. and they'll take the proper precautions to make sure this doesn't spread. >> health workers are investigated six other cases but wouldn't say if those are linked to lowe's as well. across the charlotte area, there's only one other confirmed case in mecklenburg