batch of rain that will be with us until 7:00 or 8:00. lifting north into the foothills and the mountains later on tonight. if you're outside this evening, umbrellas for sure. not enough rain to cause any flooding just yet. thank you, steve. meteorologist john ahrens is in our storm cam for us now. this is a live look from i 277 outside of uptown charlotte where you can see the roads are wet, drivers are moving along very carefully. so you take it easy if you have to head out tonight. track that rain right down to your doorstep with our interactive radar. it's on our wsoc-tv weather app, free to download for android and apple devices. now to uptown charlotte, about an hour from now, charlotte city council will vote again on a controversial nondiscrimination ordinance. >> the battle over this has now lasted for more than a year. eyewitness news reporter blake hanson is live with the growing crowd out there. emotions have been running high about this all day.

been here since 10:00 this morning when we got here. this event is going on behind us. these are people that are against the ordinance. at an event against the ordinance. there are also people supporting it inside as both sides try to get their message out hours before this crucial vote. >> faith and business leaders supporting the lgbt ordinance met outside the government center this morning. equipped with boxes of petitions and letters ready to hand deliver to council. >> we need to step up to the plate and say all of god's children need to be equally respected and protected. >> they couldn't get outside without an opponent crashing their photo opp. hoping to sway the public against an ordinance they call un-christian. >> it's not going to stop here. this is another steppingstone in the wrong direction. >> you can't make a moral wrong a civil right. >> the tension today is just a

lightning rod issue from an ordinance presented as a means to protect the lgbt community from discrimination in various places. >> it's an incremental step in to getting christianity and free speech outloud. >> this is a legitimate concern and something we need to respond to. >> back out live here as this crowd continues to grow ahead of the meeting tonight, another big question is if it passes, will the state step in? the governor hinted that might happen. i asked the mayor about that. her reaction, we're putting that part of the story together. we'll show you that on eyewitness news at 6:00. blake hanson, channel 9 eyewitness news. >> the ordinance famed with a vote of 6-5 after more than 100 people spoke out about it. channel 9 learned one of those no votes has been replaced with

there are nearly 150 speakers signed up to talk in front of council tonight. coming up ahead at 5:30, how those speakers plan to get their messages across in 60 seconds. the number of mumps cases in the area grew over the weekend. >> we told you last week that two of the confirmed cases are employees at lowe's corporate headquarters in iredell county. allison latos is joining us with the latest numbers. >> 12 cases spanning mecklenburg, cabarrus, and iredell counties, the department of health and human services reports three of those are confirmed. we know two are in iredell. one is in mecklenburg county. the number of probable cases has increased to nine. it's not clear exactly where the cases are located. channel 9 broke news that two of the confirmed cases were connected to lowe's headquarters in mooresville.

employees at the support center tested positive for the month. the company is working to make sure the employees are safe. it took extra steps to clean the building and add more sanitizers on campus. the health department did note that some people included in the number of cases have recovered and are no longer infectious. the next update will be on thursday. >> for more information on what you need to know about mumps, go to wsoctv.com. it's on the home page. now to a tragic scene in gaston county, this logging truck flipped on its side here. and some of the logs actually pierced the front window of a pickup truck, killing the driver. it could be until 8:00 tonight before ferguson ridge road is back open. eyewitness news reporter ken lemon is live with more on how this crash happened. ken? >> they did quick work here, erica. is road opened a few minutes ago.

for witnesses who tried to help that man as logs rolled on to his truck. they tried to get to him. flames kept them away. the pickup truck was headed north on ferguson ridge road. the logging truck headed south. they collided just a few yards away from the state line. almost hit the road sign there. chopper 9 flew over the crash site minutes after it was reported. witnesses say the driver of the truck veered across the center line and couldn't get back on to the correct side of the road. it crashed head-on with the pickup truck. and the logs fell on it. witnesses heard a man in the truck calling for help. but it burst into flames before they could get to him. >> he was pinned in to the vehicle. and unfortunately -- we don't know if he would have survived the crash regardless, but we would have liked to see if he would have without the fire. >> that man died on the scene. the driver of the logging

to the hospital with nonlife- threatening injuries. troopers tell us right now they're focused on trying to find the answer to one question, why the logging truck crossed the center line. live in gaston county, ken lemon, channel 9 eyewitness news. four people have been charged in the murder of a father in monroe. officers arrested and charged dustin belk, darius baret and randy thompson, charging them all with first-degree murder in the death of carol griffin in july of last year. sasha tyson is facing accessory after the fact charges. the original arrest of cole last year led to the new arrests. griffin's body was found near a car in a parking lot on east hudson street. he was robbed and shot. new developments as prosecutors say a michigan man admitted to shooting eight people this weekend. jason dalton now faces six counts of murder and two counts of attempted murder. police say he shot people at an apartment complex, car dealership, and restaurant

dalton is an uber driver. one man says that he road with dalton in between the shootings. >> i halfheartedly joked at him and said you're not the shooter are you? and he said no. and i said are you sure? and he said no, i'm just really tired. >> dalton has no previous criminal record. police are still trying to figure out a motive. new redistricting maps are getting more backlash tonight. critics of the redistricting process filed a brief in federal court saying they don't like the new map either. the same group over turned the 2011 maps based on racial gerrymandering. they want to know if the new map is valid. they're asking the court to make a determination by march 18th. the legislature drew new maps. this dramatically effects mecklenburg county.

county between two districts. the ninth in the south and east. and it puts most of district twelve in mecklenburg county. tonight hillary clinton and bernie sanders are focusing on south carolina. ahead of this weekend's democratic primary. clinton won in nevada this past weekend despite a large number of lib rams and first time voters who typically support sanders. in the mean time, donald trump again says that the republican national committee is treating him unfairly. trump won in south carolina this weekend. marco rubio came in second. although ted cruz saying that he is quote effectively tied with rubio. there's excitement building in uptown tonight as the ciaa tournament kicks off for the eleventh straight year tomorrow. thousands of fans will be in uptown. today police acknowledged in past years there's been violence at locations. alexa ashwell learned how police say they'll try to keep the peace this year. >> reporter: organizers are

ticket sales are up 6% the city plans to declare the ciaa an extraordinary event adds they did last year. that means extra security measures and cmpd told me they'll be ready. >> charlotte is pleased and proud and honored to host the ciaa tournament. >> a warm welcome back from charlotte mayor jennifer roberts. tomorrow kicks off the eleventh tournament. a show down on the hardwood at time warner cable arena that's expected to bring upwards of 150,000 people to the area. including this group of men. >> it's a great atmosphere. it's a great vibe. and it brings in a lot of money for the city. >> last year the city pumped money into the local economy. the charlotte regional visitors authority pointed out that the bottom line traditionally has grown each year and helps contribute to the city's growth. >> the hotel tax, rental car tax.

to go back into the community. >> with that many fans expected in charlotte, the city is taking a close look at safety. cmpd said officers will be visible in the streets and paying close attention to clubs and bars. during last year's tournament, duopeople were shot inside a popular club. and two others were stabbed outside another venue. cmpd stressed neither were connected to the ciaa. still they want everyone to be safe. >> we have officers at every one. we make sure we have operations plans for every one. or communications with the management. >> now, this tournament also has a huge educational component. the ciaa provides scholarships every year. on ever reporting live uptown, alexa ashwell, channel 9 eyewitness news. thank you. days after the tournament ended last year, customers who ate or had drinks at the ritz carlton

the commissioner called it an unfortunate yet isolated incident. since then the ritz donated to the scholarship fund and refunded the fee to customers. the official television home for the ciaa to watch the member's quarter finals and semifinals games. we've seen rain ten days so far this february. but we're still below average. i'll show you how much tonight and tomorrow's rain will wipe out that deficit. chemicals linked to cancer found in local water supplies. >> everyone should be concerned about their water. 9 investigates a dangerous chemical potentially unregulated. the local cities with the highest levels. >> some cms schools have ten times the amount of

(phone ringing)you can't deal with something, by ignoring it. but that's how some presidential candidates seem to be dealing with social security. americans work hard, and pay into it. so our next president needs a real plan to keep it strong. (elephant noise) (donkey noise)

the rain is picking up tonight in west charlotte as the storm cam is live driving along i-85 heading toward the belmont area. traffic moving along very carefully. our chief meteorologist steve udelson will be back in just a moment to map out where that rain is moving next. right now as parents come together to talk about the controversial student assignment plan, channel 9 is digging deeper into the numbers that show diversity is a problem in the district. >> some schools have ten times the amount of economically disadvantaged students compared to other schools. >> we looked through the

the latest data available. we found that the number, the percentage of economically disadvantaged students within cms is growing. schools see more than 90% of kids on free or reduced lunch. lataya works with citizen schools. something low income students are less likely to experience. >> by the time a student reaches the sixth grade, if they are from a low income family, they're all ready 6,000 hours behind their more affluent peers. >> urban education professor chance lewis says schools work with outside groups to meet basic needs. >> in many schools you have higher concentrations of teachers who have less experience.

available for the school year and found 54% of students are considered economically disadvantage. that's up from 50% in 2010. when you look at how the students are dispersed, at providence, 4.1% of its students are economically disadvantaged. lewis says it's proof something must change. >> the bigger risk that you have as a district is you create a system of haves and have notes. >> lewis also made a point to say that students are often titled or considered economically disadvantaged for factors that are out of their control. like their parent's income. he doesn't want that to be used as an indicator of their academic ability. tonight is the deadline to

find a link to the survey at wsoctv.com. it's on the home page. fog and rain over uptown now. steve is tracking where the heaviest rain is falling. it's turned into a dreary afternoon out there. >> it started out nice this morning. temperatures in the 60s. cold front took care of that. commute. between lowe'sville and denver, denver. will scoot up the western side of lake norman. south through charlotte airport near mount holly where the storm cam was. and out toward daniel steel garden. that's all lifting to the northeast. rain rates up to an inch and a half an hour. it's going to come down in down pours for a short time. huntersville about a quarter to 6:00.

of the upstate, cherokee, greenville county. bessemer city and cherry cherry bowl. from charlotte.s south. 40 from statesville and hickory and salisbury north. in the 30s to 40 in the mountains. it's what you'll wake up to tomorrow morning. cooler than today. unfortunately noticeably more wet. keith will track a fair amount of rain. build that into the morning commute. allow extra minutes. start earlier. we'll see a breakthrough lunch time. before the next wave of rain arrives tomorrow night. tomorrow really not as big a rainmaker. aside from early on. we'll see temperatures hovering in the upper 40s for a good part of the day. well below the average in the mid to upper 50s. your neighborhood forecast in rock hill, wettest will be

then it dries out through the afternoon. temperatures in the upper 40s. up toward jefferson. pretty gloomy day. clouds, fog, at least it will be rain. not snow at this point. as this system comes by wednesday night, we may see snow in the high country. there's the future cast, more heavy rain late tomorrow night. but the stage is set for wednesday. we'll talk more about this. christine rap joins me at 6:00 to talk about the severe weather risk as a couple batches of rain move through. one around lunch time. another possibly during the afternoon. both of which could produce the risk of severe weather. something we'll keep a close eye on. our five-day forecast. the wettest part of the week. the beginning after we get through wednesday, we're good to go. but we have a lot of rain to sit through. >> if you're going out tonight, have the rain gear with you. >> umbrellas, you'll need it all. yeah. a teen was forced into a strangers car at unpoint as he was walking to school. >> he was going to hurt him or

situation. >> coming up, how he escaped. >> a 50 million-dollar edition for north lake mall is now in the works but many mall store fronts still sit empty. >> i think they need to focus on bringing people back to the mall. tonight i'm asking mall officials if they're worried about landing business for this project too. >> it breaks my heart. >> an historic landmark engulfed in flames.

tonight, investigators are trying to figure out what sparked this massive fire. it destroyed a beloved burke county landmark. now ashes and rubble are all that's left of the historic hildebrand schoolhouse. eyewitness news reporter dave faherty has been with investigators since the flames and smoke started early this morning. >> we learned this afternoon that the atf will help with the investigation into this fire here in hildebrand. from our mass cam high above our live truck you can see down into the old schoolhouse. not only did the roof collapse,

well fire spread from the basement to the upper floors. 40 minutes after we arrived, it broke through the roof. engulfing much of the schoolhouse. >> it's a piece of my heart. that's a piece of my heart. >> it's a sad day for hildebrand. >> for the last year residents fought to save the building from demolition. we could see the mayor being escorted by sheriff deputies this morning after she says she was threatened. she's been vocal that the building needed to go. >> what did people say to you. >> it was said indirectly to me. one of the officers had to calm him down. >> there were concerns over asbestos. many of the people here believed the fire was set because of the recent controversy over whether or not

>> it was arson. they wanted rid of it. this boils down this how much you believe in coincidence. i want to show you something. next door is town hall. firefighters did an excellent job saving that building. minor smoke and water damage. we have all new stories next at 5:30, first channel 9 investigates potentially dangerous chemicals in the water you and your family maybe drinking everyday. >> we want to not fear our water. >> where i found the highest levels of chemicals linked to cancer and i'm asking why the government still calls it safe. live pictures of crowds ahead of a vote aimed to protect the lgbt community.

want to hear before they vote. walking in the morning when a man forced him into the car. >> my son got into the car.

tonight we're tracking a huge system bringing rain across the area. fog, clouds, and rain covers the tower cams from charlotte to gastonia. we can't see much out there. the storm cam is out on the roads tonight monitoring the conditions as drivers head home. i'm allison latos. >> and i'm scott wickersham. chief meteorologist steve udelson is tracking the heaviest down pours in severe weather center 9. >> just in time for the evening drive. we're seeing the heaviest rain move into the charlotte area. focused along the catawba river from like norman. mountain island lake. through rock hill. you're seeing that rain. let's zoom in tighter here. from the south park area, seeing rain rates here. better than an inch an hour. back across steele creek, across 160. toward lake wiley. we'll track the heaviest batch of rain as it slides to the northeast. at only about 10 to 15 miles per hour. it's in no rush to move. through unc charlotte at 5:40.

concord just before 6:00. more rain pushing out of the upstate of south carolina. move through gastonia in the next five minutes. bessemer city at 5:40. shelby at 5:50. cherryville and lincoln on the around 6:00. a heavier band of rain sliding through to the north. things settle down by tomorrow morning but from charlotte points north and east there will be rain for the morning drive tomorrow. we'll also talk severe weather risk when i come back. back to the storm cam with meteorologist john ahrens monitoring conditions. this is i-85 in west charlotte. you can see the rain coming down at a decent clip. you definitely need the windshield wipers. and we've seen a lot of brake lights. be sure to take it slow. track the rain in the palm of your hand on your way home or if you're planning to head out for tomorrow, download wsoc-tv weather app and use our interactive radar. >> tonight a warning from