tornadoes. flood watches are in effect. the damaging winds we'll have the keep an eye on. now is the time to make sure cell phones are charged tomorrow. download the free app. stay on top of the rain and warnings issued for the area. download the free app for weather updates. live stream our news casts for the latest on the storm. it's free to download for apple or android. less than 24 hours after charlotte passed a controversial nondiscrimination ordinance, we're sitting down with governor pat mccrory who is vowing to use his power in raleigh to fight the measure. >> can you imagine a north carolina where every town and city has different standards for restrooms and locker rooms. >> eyewitness news anchor brittney johnson traveled to the governor's mansion to interview the governor one on one. >> he told you how far he's willing to go to stop charlotte from making its own rules on bathrooms. >> the governor told me in a there's all ready lobbying

state trying to pass the same type of nondiscrimination ordinance and lawmakers are working to reverse it in charlotte and stop it from happening any where else. >> all those in favor raise your hand. >> with that vote, charlotte city leaders made it against the law for businesses and taxis to discriminate against members of the lgbt community and use the bathrooms of their choice. they also went against the governor. >> what are you going to do now. >> as i warned and as i expected, we all ready have state legislators working on legislation for april to reverse what the city council did. >> in a one on one interview, governor pat mccrory said he believes allowing trans gender people to use the bathroom of their choice is a violation of privacy and over reach so he's stepping in. >> i think they cross the common sense threshold of

sense of privacy and security. that we all expect. >> we learned the state could take four routes. strike the entire ordinance, strike part of it. pass a conflicting law or put it before voters in a referendum. political experts say a referendum would draw more voters. but the governor argues that would take too much time. >> i think we need to correct this very misguided ordinance as quick as possible and move on to the higher priorities that we are working on in north carolina. >> opponents of this ordinance expect to meet in the coming days to discuss whether to take legal action or wait for lawmakers to act. in law goes into effect april 1st. the governor expects lawmakers will likely file a bill later that month. live in raleigh, brittney johnson, channel 9 eyewitness news. >> today charlotte mayor

the city looks more welcoming after passing the non- discrimination ordinance last night. she says the measure is all about equal rights. >> i think anything that makes charlotte a more welcoming city is a great thick for our future. >> we have extensive coverage of the non-discrimination ordinance online. look for the story on the home page. charlotte based bank of america is getting back in the business of offering mortgages for as little as 3% down. b of a saying the new low program is designed to help low income families get mortgages of up to $417,000. borrowers will need a credit score of at least 660. and they can't make more than the median income for the area. the program doesn't require the borrower to pay for mortgage insurance. bank of america says there will be checks and balances in place to protect the bank. >> turning to a case that prosecutors say involves lies

this local man is accused of trying to ship dozens of guns to africa. today a judge sent him back to jail. anchor liz foster sat down for an exclusive interview with a u.s. attorney for a closer look at this investigation that stretches from charlotte all the way to the country of ghana. >> scott, the scope of this investigation is huge. it includes authorities from federal agencies, ghana, and four states in the u.s. earlier today here at the federal courthouse, the judge called the allegations quote, alarming, and ordered richmond held in jail without bond. >> new information tonight about an international gun smuggling investigation that federal prosecutors say revolves around a theme of lies. prosecutors claim richmond told all of them. prosecutors say he bought 63 guns, lied on the federal applications and came back from a trip to ghana with $30,000 hidden in his shoe. atf agents started

they claim he went to a shipping company in this office to ship a washer and dryer to ghana. but investigators say inside the washing machine, 27 firearms were hidden. investigators confiscated the guns as well as 3,500 rounds of ammunition. >> once they're outside the country, we have no control over in whose hands they eventually end up. they could be criminals. they could be terrorists. >> u.s. attorney jill rose sat down exclusively with channel 9 today. his attorney countered the allegations saying the lies remain to be seen and the prosecution can't dispute with unknown factors. his father was too upset to talk today but last week we spoke only with channel 9. >> he's a good guy. >> prosecutors admit they don't know who the guns were going to. but westmoreland rose says they don't have to proof that. >> the fact remains he was not

>> prosecutors said when atf agents questioned him, he said his uncle was shipping guns. if he's convicted on all charges, he faces 85 years in prison. prosecutors say they don't know where 36 of the guns he bought are right now. reporting live from the federal courthouse, liz foster, channel 9 eyewitness news. tonight we're asking police how long this murder suspect from halifax county was living in the area. officers in northwest mecklenburg county arrested tyquan powell over night. they say he barricaded himself in a home. police blocked off the neighborhood until he gave himself up at 3:30 this morning. he's accused of killing a man in january. authorities arrested and charged this statesville man with attempted murder. he shot sam nickels in the chest and lug sunday on green briar road. nickels is still being treated at cmc main. today president obama shared his plan to close down guantanamo bay. he wants congress to sign off

detainees there to a facility on u.s. soil. the president says gitmo is being used a a recruiting tool by terrorists and it's too costly to maintain. congress has opposed previous plans to shut the prison down. many local critics are worried dangerous terrorists could end up at the navel brig in charleston south carolina. we sent eyewitness news reporter greg suskin to columbia today to ask lawmakers about the president's plan. he's live now in rock hill. >> reporter: you might expect that state lawmakers would be divided on this controversy along party lines. that's not what we found when we went to columbia to ask them about it. president obama has long promised to close gitmo but the controversy is over where some detainees will be sent. a plan calls for possibly transferring some to a navy brig in charleston. reaction was quick.

to weigh in on this. i think it has no place in south carolina. >> even some democratics don't back the president on this issue. jerry thinks bringing maximum security prisoners here is a bad idea. he says the federal government is always dumping on south carolina. >> it's like with the nuclear waste issue. i think south carolinians are tired of being targeted. >> representative todd rutherford says prisoners have constitutional rights and he says the threat they pose is no different than they face all ready. he supports the plan. >> security plans are everywhere. it doesn't mean we get to do things and act like we don't have a constitution. >> lawmakers say the state is powerless to stop prisoners from moving here but public opinion could be the best weapon. politicians have made their opinions clear on this issue including pat mccrory and nikki haley who came out against the president's plan.

ignoring the danger these inmates represent. live in rock hill, greg suskin, channel 9 eyewitness news. the burke count town of hildebrand has set up a temporary town hall after a massive fire happened near its offices. flames swept through the old hildebrand high school this morning. in the last two hours, investigators began tearing down the walls in hopes of uncovering what started the fire. they used a ladder truck to photograph some of the damage today. the town offices have been moved to the western piedmont council of government building in hickory. local, small, and minority business owners are using this week to network. at the extravaganza depot in charlotte, roberts calls them the key to charlotte being a world class city. >> we want to help support the growth of our small businesses and our minority businesses through these efforts.

corporations to out source more services to local small business. >> with powerful thunderstorms battering the gulf coast, christine rapp will join me to look at the damage all ready in. and i'll show you parameters i'm looking at to measure the

carolinas. e a live look at the radar. live early warning doppler 1 showing 9 showing a huge amount of rain headed this way. action 9 confronted this mooresville flooring contractor about the criminal charges and new lawsuit he's facing. customers say he took their money and took measurements but never started the job. jason stoogenke followed the criminal and civil cases and he's live in uptown charlotte with more. >> reporter: well scott, right here is the lawsuit. and here are the arrest warrants. i spoke with both of those alleged victims. they have similar stories. they say they've waited months for the work.

what's the process been like? >> it's been extremely exasperating. >> mike jackson wanted hardwood floors. in august he paid melvin madrid who owns mooresville carpet and flooring, $8,000. half the total price. >> he didn't do anything. not one thing. he showed up. he looked at the house and took measurements but he says that was all. i'll take care of you. don't worry. everything will be okay. and we'll get it done. and he wouldn't show up. jackson gave it five months and now he's suing. meanwhile prosecutors are going have madrid in criminal court on charges involving jackson and another customer, felony charges. >> i'm jason with channel 9. when i went to madrid's story i found him in the parking lot and asked him about the allegations, he denied doing anything wrong and seemed confident they'll win the criminal and civil cases. >> you're being honest with

money and giving them the run around because it seems that way. >> no, sir. >> he offered to return jackson's money but jackson never picked up the check. jackson says that's a lie and emailed me quote, unbelievable. >> now advice we always give viewers, make sure you always research contractors before you hire them. that means not just checking out their business names but also checking out their personal names. something jackson tells me he wishes he had done. live in uptown, jason stoogenke, channel 9 eyewitness news. for past action 9 investigations and how to contact jason, go to wsoctv.com and scroll over 9 investigates. then click on action 9. a man in alexander county is locked up with a 1 million- dollar bond tonight after being accused of raping an 11-year- old girl. ronnie bird is charged with statutory rape and sex offense along with indecent liberties with a child. deputies say they plan to

looking for more evidence in this case. new tonight, matthews police starting to train with body cameras. they bought those cameras at the beginning of the year. some of the money for the units came from community groups. we're told that every officer will be trained and equipped. and there will also be extra units for other operations. the deadline passed to register a drone. 368,000 drones were on that list as of february 19th. the faa deadline was midnight friday. that's a lot of drones. anybody flying an unregistered drone can get a ticket and face a fine from here on out. outside tonight, it's chilly, and steve udelson our chief meteorologist is checking rain moving into is it area. >> it's light but we're seeing spotty showers break out toward lake norman. light rain on top of the lake about to move toward cornelius, davidson, and mooresville.

mountain, we're seeing light rain, sliding on to northeast, highway 9 corridor, chester toward grape falls. light rain approaching lancaster, but the main batch of rain is well to the west. and it's going to be a while before it gets here. but storms are beginning to get close to the atlanta metro and that's the first sign of things to come as this storm, which is really a strong one, gets its act together and pushes toward the carolinas. it's all ready caused a lot of damage. for more on some of the latest pictures, christine rapp is here to take you through it. >> this is our first look at a tornado that caused extensive damage in areas of living stockton louisiana, 30 miles east of baton rouge. this tornado alone damaged 30 homes in the small town of living stockton. here's prairieville, you can see extensive damage to a gym. people were in the gym at the time. you can see the wall blown over parts of the roof were destroyed. so far there's been 11 reports of tornadoes in areas of

mississippi here this evening. that's three more added in the past hour. still going to be a long night for folks in the deep south. we'll continue to bring you the latest reports and images this evening at 10:00 and 11:00. we'll take a look at the parameters i'm looking at. check out the severe weather threat in the carolinas. all the wind is to the southwest. as we work our way through over night and tomorrow morning the wind pushes into the mountains. by late morning and lunch time, look where it's focused. right on the charlotte metro. we're talking about the shades of white. up to 70 miles per hour winds a couple thousand feet up. any heavy showers will try to drag the winds down to the ground. and that's when the greatest severe weather threat for winds will be. watch the humidity increase. it's relatively dry. i know it's moist. it's humid outside. that will change. the air mass goes from cool to very wet and then it all slides

as i said, this is a very fast moving storm. it comes and it goes. here's a look at the hourly rain chance for the charlotte area. peeking from toward the end of the rush hour through lunch time. and then dropping rapidly as we head through tomorrow afternoon. there's the future cast itself. the showers and storms in the mountains about 8:00 a.m. scattered showers in the charlotte area for the morning drive. keith will keep you on top of that. as we head through lunch time. everything slides east. it's along the highway 52 corridor as quickly as lunch time. by tomorrow night, it's a okay. a couple sprinkles left over. a mix of clouds and sun, your neighborhood forecast, kings mountain, gust y showers and storms. temperatures climb in the mid 60s before cooling late in the day. fort mill, we're talking about temperatures rising close to 70 degrees before we cool off. watch out for gusty storms late morning and up in blowing rock, we'll see a lot of changes, thunder showers in the morning.

the future cast suggesting snow showers by the tennessee line tomorrow night into the day on thursday. charlotte areas fine. we get the sunshine. as far as snow totals in the mountains, an inch in the lower elevations to maybe two inches way up high. not a big one as far as ski country goes. but still some natural snow. five-day forecast keeps us in the 50s as we head through late week and into the weekend. and we'll get the sunshine back. so that's certainly good news. >> we're going to make its through the next couple days and we'll be back on the upswing. thank you steve. illegal liquor houses, this is a problem that channel 9 has investigated for months after cmpd linked these houses to several violent crimes now at 10:00 and 11:00, allison latos road along with police working to shut down the houses the tactic they're using now. a quick look at the day on

down 188. steve: today is your lucky day. woman: (surprised) oh, my goodness mark: you've just won - a thousand dollars! woman: that'amazing! that' amazing! (shrieks) woman: ok, nice job. mark, way better than yesterday. maria, that delivery felt alittle forced. and steve, steve: yeah? woman: i am still missing that raw emotion. woman: pretty awesome for atuesday, but tomorrow is hump day, so let's really bring it! lucky for life. win a thousand dollars a day,

every day, for life. the charlotte hornets recent run. seven wins in the last nine games moved the team back into playoff contention. they're 2.5 games out of the four seed in hosting a playoff series. last night against brooklyn the team was as complete as they've been in months. a determined kemba walker and nick all shinning in a win over the nets. they continued to improve each gamement for steve clippard, there's only so much he can do to inspire the guys. at some point they need to take ownership. >> there's no fiery speeches. you either have guys that believe or understand you have to have the right approach to keep improving or you don't. >> as the charlotte 49ers prepare for the final home stand of the season, the message is simple, get momentum

we'll see what happens. back-to-back road losses. four games remaining in the regular season. they won't be an easy out in the post season. we pretty much have been in every single game that we've played. so the teams know that we're capable of beating them if they don't bring their a game and they know we're a team that can put a lot of points on the board when things are clicking for us. they sit in first place for the acc. a visit to virginia. a game and a half back of first. life was never easy in the acc head coach roy williams is fine with that. >> if it's the other way around and you're playing four teams that are really bad then you're scared to death. and right now you're excited about the opportunities. that's the way i look at it. >> your heels are rolling.

>> you think this holds off until after the morning drive. >> we will dry out quickly. >> thanks for making us your choice for news at 6:00. join us tonight at 11:00. we'll see you then. vo: know you have a dedicatedadvisor and team who understand where you come from. we didn't really have anything, you know. but, we made do. vo: know you can craft an investment plan as strong as your values. al, how you doing. hey, mr. hamilton. vo: know that together you can establish a meaningful legacy. with the guidance and support of your dedicated

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? breaking news tonight. the state of emergency this hour. multiple tornadoes reported already. the devastating damage. we're on the scene. about to power right up the east coast, 45 million in the path. also breaking, the new surveillance images of the alleged uber gunman. where he was in the hours before the rampage. the race for the white house, and tonight, the showdown in nevada. donald trump lashing out at ted cruz. and what trump said when asked why he's not taking on marco rube roe. breaking news on the zika outbreak, right here in the u.s. tonight. authorities now confirming more than a dozen new cases of the

late details coming in now. and the reporter on the field, the "dancing with the stars" favorite, tonight, suing a major hotel. did they allow an alleged stalker to get the room next door to spy on her? good evening. and it's great to have you with us here on a tuesday night. and we begin with the massive and deadly storm system slamming the south, and about to move right up the east coast. several tornadoes striking already. and a state of emergency declared in multiple states, mississippi, alabama. and from louisiana tonight, these images coming in. a triple water spout there, forming in lake pontchartrain. one of those reported tornadoes in prairieville, louisiana, tearing up this shopping district. that storm on the move, heading up the coast. heavy rain, wind and right behind it, sleet and snow. several major cities in the path. a dangerous night ahead. and a travel nightmare tomorrow. we are on it all tonight, and abc's linzie janis leads us off from louisiana tonight. linzie?