the secondary roads having issues. the main roads are okay. you will find a flew flurries flying this morning. the sprinkles are about to finish here in charlotte as well. just a little bit of a fine mist still in place. near freezing in boone in jefferson. the salted roads working all right. but go up in elevation and you will get into the 20 assumed. these numbers will warm up through the later part of the day but still a damp morning out there. the roads are still wet. and they are drying out. 9:00, we should break into sunshine. and the upper 30s, back in the mid-50s with more sun this afternoon. i will have the time line for what your neighborhood breaks back into the sunshine in a moment. first up, 6:00 a.m., let's go back to mark taylor and see what traffic issues are arising. looking on i-77 in south charlotte, up from the state line, the traffic volume is picking up just a bit but not seeing big delays. in fact, just checked with highway patrol northbound into

york city accidents or stalled vehicle -- charlotte from york county, no accidents or stalled vehicles. here back in charlotte, no issues and that includes south out of irondale. and 485, all on schedule this morning. i am in the breaking news center. police are pouring over surveillance video at a northwest charlotte rite-aid to find out who crashed through the doors here and stole items from inside. you can see the damage it did to the doors. it is barely hanging on right there and the glass is on the ground. only channel 9 was at the store on bell haven boulevard around 4:30 this morning as officers picked through the evidence that was left at the scene. they do say that there were several car parts that were left behind in the parking lot. we are asking right now for a description of that car and for the surveillance video they are looking through right now. we will update you here in the breaking news center just as soon as we get any of that

today the matthews mayor will host a meeting about possibly splitting away from charlotte schools. this is something the towns are considering as cms reviews its student assignment plan. we are live outside the government center to explain. >> reporter: well, the mayor of matthews, well, he has holding a strategy meeting today to discuss what it would take to break away from cms schools. and at the same time, an online survey is circulating around mint hill regarding student assignment. circulated in certain neighborhoods in mint hill. and it was created by a community member in mint hill. it asks just one question, should mint hill explore the possibility of splitting from cms. the mayor said he is considering it but also wants to see what the final student assignment plan is before making any decisions.

the idea of breaking away from cms schools. >> it would probably turn out to have a better impact on the education of the kids in this area. >> reporter: the legislature would have to approve any towns that want to leave cms. and while the school leaders are discussing student assignments, they're also having to deal with an increase in violence at cms schools. in the next 30 minute, i will break down the new numbers that show that increase -- there's an increase of violence within schools. reporting in uptown, channel 9 eyewitness news. >> thank you. cms is taking the first steps toward finding a new superintendent. the school board created a three-person committee to find a search firm. the board member will chair it. she told us they'll skip community engagement and go straight to the search. >> we are more than happy to hear from anybody that wants to share but i don't think we need to spend the taxpayer dollars

same questions we've asked for the last 10 years. >> a former school board member is serving as a consultant for that search. this morning, the parent company in charge of the controversial i-77 toll lane project will host a meeting about the future of transportation in the charlotte area. >> this comes as criticism of the project grows because of financial concerns. we are live along i-77 to explain. >> reporter: the charlotte transportation leaders still think that tolls are the best option and fastest option to manage i-77. but that doesn't mean the company has to manage the project. channel 9 spoke with jim taylor, the chair of the board. he says it is possible the state's turnpike authority will take over the project if the contract is canceled. local town leaders and citizens have been fighting the state to break up the relationship with the company for years. they say the failure of

should be a warning sign for lake norman. >> it appears to be the business model of the company to essentially bankrupt these infrastructure facilities after a certain amount of time. >> reporter: and you're looking live right now at i-77. as you can see, there is a sign still saying that there is construction that's going to happen this weekend. so the project is moving forward for now. coming up in 30 minutes, the political pressure on the governor to cancer it will contract and start over. -- to cancel the contract and start over. >> thank you. today these two men will face a judge charged with trying to rob an east charlotte 7-eleven. we brought you the first live pictures from the scene from our breaking news center yesterday morning. channel 9 had the only crew there as police took them into custody. you can see we are blurring their faces because the third suspect is only 13 years old. >> it's not good. obvious leagued -- it's

neighborhood. especially that age. >> the suspect took money and cigars but dropped most of them on the way out. cmpd used k-9s to track the suspects to a nearby car. a inmate is back in jail awaiting extradition. police captured him in georgia on wednesday. once he is returned to south carolina, he will be charged with escape and other crimes. investigators say he committed while he was on the run additional crimes. deputies believe he stole a gun hours after he left the prerelease center. friends and family will say their final good-byes to a cleveland county couple killed in a tragic accident. they died sunday night. investigators say a pickup truck crashed into their home and hit the propane tank and caused an explosion. both later died from their injuries. today at 2:00, family members will receive friends. the funeral service will start at 4:00.

afterward in the church cemetery. today supporters of a plan to remove the question about felony convictions from county charlotte. supporters of the ban the box movement say removing it gives felons a fair chance of starting over. county leaders will consider the change in two weeks. our partners at the hickory daily record report the fbi is getting involved in the investigation into the firing administrator. he worked for the town for nearly 14 years. last month, channel 9 got a copy of a confidential letter accusing him of possibly forging the the town alderman's signature in order to get hundreds of hours of sick time. channel 9 obtained new research warrants on a student charged with making a bomb threat. detectives searched his cellphone back in january while he was at school.

permission to search his phone after he made a bomb threat and claimed that he tried to join isis. officers said they found images and videos of children engaged in sexual activity. the search warrant also states that he admitted to trading the videos and pictures with people online. the images led detectives to search his home and computer where detectives say they found another explicit video. he will be back in court next week. new for daybreak, the husband of one of the san bernardino shooting victims says he supports apple in its fight to protect the shooter's privacy. he wrote a letter to the judge saying he and his wife who survived do not want to raise their children in the world where privacy is trade-off for security. and a new u.s. house bill would forbid taxpayer money from being sent on apple products until the tech giant allows the fbi to unlock the phone. it's not clear how much support that bill has.

president barack obama and congress should handle the supreme court opening. 58% want president barack obama to nominate a supreme court justice to replace the late antonin scalia. 66% say the nominee should get a hearing in the senate and 48% say republicans are justified in preventing a vote. president barack obama has said he plans to nominate someone next week. sources say the white house is vetting a federal judge from iowa named jane kelly. she has earned praise in the past from a republican senator who is on the senate judiciary committee. that would put him in a tough spot since he has said that he will block any nominee. but the new york times reports he said wednesday, he won't change his mind. we have weather and traffic every 10 minutes. starting off with a little mist. >> yes, but it's going to get nice for the weekend. good morning. >> yeah, better weather on the way for everybody. a little snowy in the mountains. this is king street in boone, a

right about 2 inches of snow fall. you see that on the roof tops here. no big travel issues in the mountains, although we have school delays and cancellations because of secondary roads that still may be icy. not seeing additional accumulation but still slick travel here and there. the time line of the futurecast and when this will wind down and how much sunshine we will see later today. that's coming up. let's get you to mark checking things. 277 looking great. we want to look around uptown charlotte with the traffic flow. this is the freeway heading over towards independence. this is towards on the inner loop wilkins boulevard and freedom drive and i of 77. if you're heading out, we're in good shape this morning. we had damp roadways earlier. and we have been watching things closely as we see the slicker conditions but we haven't had reports of big problems in the mountain counties. east charlotte, checking the

matthews commuters into uptown charlotte as well, that's providence road and near highway 51 towards uptown. and in from mint hill using 74, your average speed is almost 50 miles per hour. reports claim this raleigh man was reaching for a gun when an officer shot and killed him. ahead at 6:30, the evidence investigators are pushing for so they can give answers to the man's family and protesters. car buyers are borrowing more than ever before. the option some are turning to to avoid getting into debt. but first, this charlotte restaurant's controversial sign to customers is getting national attention. >> we're getting calls from people we don't know. >> the actions other business

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the owners of a northeast charlotte restaurant say they have gotten several calls from people supporting their controversial signs. >> we first told you about the signs outside the restaurant wednesday. they read, take your hoodie down, pull your pants up, finish your phone conversations and marijuana smell not aloud.

businesses are considering putting up similar signs. >> they are 100% behind the sign. great response. we're getting calls from people we don't know saying you guys are doing the right thing. >> north carolina restaurant officials say they don't know of many other restaurants in the state with similar signs but say since it's a private business, they have a right to post them. south carolina lawmakers canceled a meeting to discuss a bill legalizing medical marijuana. they expect the bill will be controversial and it wants to clarify issues first. one concern is what liabilities an employer could face if a worker uses marijuana. and they could decide to more closely regulate cbd oil which was legalized in 2014. a fifth case of zika virus has been confirmed here in north carolina. a wake county woman recently traveled out of the country and contracted the virus. officials are saying they are making sure they have the

virus but at this point, residents do not need to be alarmed. >> it's not contagious in the sense we normally of contagious. many at this point, we are more monitoring. >> according to the centers for disease control, there are more than 100 cases of travel related zika virus in the u.s. some cases have been sexually transmitted. health officials say super germs cause one in every seven hospital infections and those include the staff infection mrsa and five other bacteria. the centers for disease control is warning doctors and hospitals to be more careful about how they prescribe the antibiotics to keep the germs from building up resistance. duke energy has announced plans to bring a large solar project to rowan county. it will be northwest of salisbury. it's big enough to power roughly 6,000 homes.

near the intersection of 801 and old u.s. highway 70. it will be duke energy's third solar farm project built this year. today nasa will talk about the completion of astronaut scott kelly's year in space. they'll talk about the next steps for more than 400 experiments that took place on the international space station. afterward, kelly will share his perspective on the mission and answer questions about his time at the international space station. if you're away from your tv right now, you will want to take a look at this. this incredible video. you can see the shoplifting suspect running out of a south carolina walmart. but look at that, as he dodges the wet floor and sign before bolting out the door, you see him run outside, he trips and he is nearly run over by an suv right there. he gets back up. and he runs away and he is still on the run. the store says he stole about $40 worth of meat. we made it easy for you to watch the video again of the

just log on to wsoctv.com and look under the water cooler section and from there, you can share it with your friends and family. didn't look like it knocked any sense into him. >> well, the timing was lucky by a second. yeah, we have weather and traffic every 10 minutes. >> the sun, it's going to make an appearance soon, right? >> yeah, it will. east. and up towards dc, the snow is ending this morning. and we are seeing our snow in the mountains wrapping up quickly. it will still take a while to get back into the sunshine. the futurecast clears the sky up fast but it may take longer. by 9:00, clouds and sunshine. maybe closer to midday before everybody starts to clear up. mountains snows wrapping up into the afternoon. we will look ahead to more sunshine later in the day today. and all of us will see a fairly clear picture as we get ready for the weekend. out the door with 38 in charlotte. and mist in place for now but drying out.

and near freezing in the mountains and flurries left over. after the morning clouds move along, we will see the temperatures begin to rebound. closer to 50 already by lunchtime. and highs today much better than yesterday, 55. we didn't even get out of the 40s yesterday as the cold rain and even snow flakes mixed in late yesterday afternoon. so a bit warmer today but much warmer as we head into the weekend. 58 tomorrow. and then 60 sunday. you're looking for a brighter, more blue sky day, that would be sunday because more high clouds will filter in late saturday afternoon. and as a matter of fact, we may find a few sprinkles saturday night. no big rainout of this, most -- rain out of this. daylight hours staying dry but maybe sprinkles for the mountains late in the day saturday. metro overnight saturday night. i will show new the time line in the next half hour. keep up with the latest forecast changes throughout the week wednesday our wsoc tv weather app. download it free from the app store and google play.

weekend right around the corner, warm up this weekend and next week, a bigger jump in and mid-60s monday. 70 on tuesday. and may actually enjoy several days in the 0s later next -- in the 70s later next week. not bad. let's get over to mark. still watching things closely. the interstates continue to build but friday is lighter than usual in the morning and heavier in afternoon. and that's the case this morning with green conditions on 85 in from 45. not seeing delays. too early for the congestion issues. southbound, it's about even, hitting 66 down towards huntersville at 65. checking drive times coming in if the west side on 58 north of 485, exit 30, you're at 66 miles per hour. 77 up from the billy graham parkway at 64 miles per hour. and heading here on miles per hour. so all good this morning. heading out on u.s. 47 from

stoplight delay or two. family members say this man admitted to killing his ex- busy mcdonald's parking lot. >> he did the crime and said he shot him. >> the emotional days before the shooting and why the suspect's grandfather didn't think he would go so far. charlotte's mayor is calling out state leaders for fighting the city's new non- discrimination ordinance. the examples she says proves the law is necessary. the average new car loan is now at a record high of nearly $30,000. the new trend that is leading to as drivers try to avoid the high cost. and wall street futures.

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more americans are leasing cars than ever before. usa today reports a third of new car and truck transactions in the last quarter of 2015 were leases. that is up nearly 30% in just four years. and part of the reason is that new car loans average a record $30,000 a year.

over longer periods of time leaving many buyers owing more than their cars are worth before they're paid off. on the down side, people who lease vehicles end up with no equity or vehicle at the end of the term. people in south carolina complained about more car issues last year than about any other issue. the state's department of consumer affairs said it received nearly 4,000 resulted in more than $1 million being given back to customers in the form of credit, refunds and adjustments. utilities and debt collection were also high on the list of complaints. the military is beginning to recruit women for combat jobs in the navy seals. some branches predict only small numbers of women will volunteer or get through train. the marine corp estimates 200 women a year will move into ground combat jobs. the nay said it could see women in entry-level enlisted and

charlotte's mayor is clashing with state leaders who want to stop the city's new non- discrimination law. the damage says she it would have on our economy. there. we will clear this up today. how much of a warm-up we will enjoy through the weekend. a reenergized fight against

the moves being made it appears the i-77 toll project will move forward despite financial concerns about the company behind it. opponents planned this weekend to send a message to leaders that there will be consequences. violent crimes are up at cms schools but short-term suspensions are down. the strategy behind the trend and how the district says it helps students. good friday morning to you. closed today. ash county schools are on a two- hour delay. it is 6:30. we are in severe weather center 9 with your first weather. and we are starting to see a bit of improvement right now. >> a hint of clearing is working its way in.

getting better as the low clouds are starting to erode away. you can free the lake norman camera -- you can see from the lake norman camera, the clouds are breaking up. once the sun gets higher in the sky and warms the atmosphere, we will enjoy more sunshine as the day goes on. all quiet now. maybe a little bit of mist left over south of town. and flurries for the mountains but the activity is pretty much wrapping up quickly. the numbers out the door in the upper 30s in the metro. most folks between 27 and 39 to start the day today. and this afternoon with the sunshine, back into the mid- 50s. and already close to 50 by lunchtime as we get back into sunnier weather. one storm system to the north that's going to get close to us by saturday night. we will see how much of a ran chance for a couple neighborhoods that it will bring in. let's get back to mark taylor in the traffic center.

getting busy down on gold hill road northbound. you can see the volume picking up northbound. southbound as well. for folks into rock hill. it's been quiet, just checked with highway patrol, no accidents on the major thoroughfares and fort mill, rock hill or on the secondary roads. and as we look at the traffic flow, cherry road moving along. not seeing any slow downs here. and anderson road, and downtown rock hill and even 77 right now, it's showing 65 miles per hour. not bad. it's six minutes from 9:01. and moving north -- from 901, moving north, looking great. no delays on 160 looking good as well. and 65 miles per hour to the state line. well this weekend, people against the i-77 toll lanes will be handing out fliers that look like this, urging people to vote against officials who support the tolls. >> the controversy has grown as the sister company behind the company in texas has filed for bankruptcy.

>> reporter: yeah, this comes as no surprise to toll opponents who have been warning the governor that the companies are going to fail. and now they're hoping that the governor will finally listen to them and cancel this contract. the governor is receiving political feedback from both sides from raleigh to charlotte. many lawmakers including the representative are calling on the governor to break off the deal. in charlotte, citizen activists groups have been rallying for years against the i-77 express lanes. this week, members of the i-77 business plan are printing 15,000 copies of this flyer and advertisement to hand out from charlotte to mooresville. they are hoping to get their message out that the fight is far from over. >> the cheapest day to stop this contract is today. the next cheapest day is tomorrow. >> reporter: this has become a major election issue for the governor. he is facing a primary challenger who is running on an

and on the democratic side, the favorite, attorney general roy cooper, he is also on a anti- toll platform. and he has launched an investigation into the company building the express lanes. both candidates are calling for the contract to be canceled. kanye witness news. >> thank you, joe. -- canceled. channel 9 eyewitness news. >> thank you, joe. they are considering striking down charlotte's controversial anti- discrimination ordinance. the mayor said overturning the ordinance that protects the lgbt community would hurt the city's job growth and tourism. she pointed to cities like atlanta and charleston and said they are booming because of their welcoming attitudes. >> i know that there are more than 200 cities and counties around the country who have had these types of ordinances in place for years. >> the most controversial part of the ordinance would allow people to use any bathroom

the governor is against the ordinance but will not call lawmakers back to raleigh early to debate. lawmakers can come back early on their own if they have a three-fifths majority. so far, there are not enough senators supporting that. channel 9 has been digging through a new report that shows an increase in violence at a number of charlotte schools but the number of short-term suspensions are down. we are live at the cms's offices downtown to break down the numbers and explain the strategy. >> reporter: well, we approached the school board members here yesterday at the government center to ask them about the increase in crime at cms schools but they declined to comment saying they haven't seen the report yet. the new report out takes a look at crime and punishment and shows overall in north carolina crime reports at schools are up 2%. here in charlotte, the number of crime reports rose by 14% but short-term suspension, 10

while long-term suspension, more than 11 day, tripled, up to 318%. the small drop in short-term suspensions shows the effects of an ongoing strategy to keep kids in schools from minor infractions instead of sending them home. many people appreciate that approach. >> you know, you're working with a lot of kids who have problems and you know, they are usually low-income. >> reporter: now according to the report, drop-out rates were down to 1,000 last school year. four years aago, the number was 1400. and while -- years ago, the number was 1400. and while school leaders are also dealing with increased crime, they are discussing the assignment plan. in the next 15 minute, i will tell you what one local community is doing to see if there's an interest in breaking away from cms schools. reporting live in uptown, channel 9 eyewitness news. >> thank you. just this week, investigators say a student brought a gun to school. wednesday.

he is out of jail on bond. today this man will face a judge on felony charges after police say he shot a woman in charlotte. we first brought you the shooting as breaking news tuesday morning as police investigated three separate crime scenes. he is charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. they say he shot the victim on cats hill mine road off of ford road. she was found about a mile and a half away. a man is charged with murder after police say he shot his ex-girlfriend and another man in hickory. both victims were managers at the mcdonald's where the shooting happened. he is accused of killing her and shooting the second man. family members say they dated for years and had two children together but the relationship fell apart. his grandfather says his grandson called prior to the crime.

but he didn't say he was going to kill her. he told us he was going to go kill himself. >> his grandfather said his grandson called him after the shooting and confessed to the crime. autopsy results show that the man was shot four times by police. it does not say if they was shot while facing that officer or away from him. witnesses said the 24-year-old was running away when the officer shot him in the back. but there is no video of what happened. the state bureau of investigation has been talking to witnesses and the district attorney says the medical examiner is looking into how and where the bullets entered his body. >> we will continue to do everything we can to talk to people within the community who might have seen what happened. and also most importantly, any time you have an investigation like this, there will be forensic evidence at the end of the day.

>> the north carolina state crime lab is trying to exindict the analysis of the forensic evidence which could shed more light on what happened. funeral services will be held today. people are giving the police department feedback about a proposal to provide cameras for officers. the department also asked for input on its current policies like in-car cameras. some residents say they came for a better understanding of how police are keeping them safe. >> the better it is to document things that are going on, the safer we are in the community as well as the police department. it's a way the to hold everybody accountable for their actions and future actions. >> if you missed last night's meeting, another public session scheduled for monday at 6:00. donald trump's republican presidential rivals say they'll support him if he wins the nomination. they each said it during last night's debate even though other top establishment

marco rubio said he is committed to the party and therefore would support the nominee. ted cruz says he would prefer trump to either of the democratic candidates. john kasich hesitated the most and said trump makes it hard but he would support him if he is the nominee. but the candidates still went after trump. >> nominating donald would be a disaster. >> you see what happens when you challenge him on a policy issue, you asked him about the economy and the first thing he does is launch an attack about some little guy thing. >> don't worry about it little marco. >> on the democratic side, hillary rodham clinton and bernie sanders are campaigning in michigan ahead of tuesday's primary. early voting is underway in north carolina. more than 4100 people cast a ballot in the county on the first day yesterday. we are all saying tgif this morning and one reason could be charlotte ranks aamong the hardest working cities in the -- ranks aamong the hardest working cities in the country.

workers with multiple jobs, average weekly work hours and commute times. the study found anchorage, alaska was the hardest working study. vermont had the laziest workers. >> anchorage, us with the traffic, i understand. >> we work hard around these parts. weather and traffic every 10 minutes. >> the clouds are thinning out quickly here this morning. it will be closer to midday before everybody is clear but the deeper moisture is along the coastline and still a few flurries left over in the mountains and that is wrapping up. watch for minor icy spots up there. warming back up into the weekend. for the most part, staying sunny. high clouds do take over. i will show you that and the threat for maybe sprinkles as we head into saturday night. and now the time about 20 minutes till 7:00. and still talking about back- ups on 77. yeah, starting to see

right on schedule this morning, almost 6:41. looking at 77 near arrowwood road and you can see brake lights for folks up. no wrecks. fairly quiet but watching things closely and that includes folks on the other end of i-77. we want to check out conditions near griffith street heading south this morning. not seeing big back-ups yet, although traffic thick, heading south into lake norman but no accidents or stalled vehicles. brakes closer towards huntersville. no accidents though south. a mother and child attacked inside of their home. the warning signs the suspect's family members saw weeks aago. and their efforts to stop something like this from happening.

link aspirin and your 6:44 now. back in the breaking news center with an update on the smash and grab burglary. in the last 30 minute, police have left the scene of the ride- aid in northwest charlotte. we were there right after this happened. you can see where the car went right through the front doors of the store and all you see is glass on the ground. police say the suspect got away with several items. they are not saying what exactly. we saw investigators pick up several pieces of the car that fell off there.

very good surveillance video. both of which should help them find those suspects. we have asked for that video. we're going to bring it to you just as soon as we get it. we are following other major stories for your day ahead. the matthews mayor is hosting a meeting to consider splitting away from charlotte schools. it comes as cms reworks its student assignment program. we are live to explain the possibility. >> reporter: well, the mayor is holding a meeting this morning to discuss what it would take to break away from cms schools and this is happening at the same time an online survey is going around some neighborhoods. the survey asks just one question, should mint hill explore the possibility of splitting from cms. the mayor told us he believes the discussion may be a little premature because cms has not said they would be busing

he is considering the possibility of leaving cms but wants to see what the final student assignment plan is first. any town that wants to break away from cms must get legislative approval first. reporting in uptown, channel 9 eyewitness news. >> thank you. in about an hour, leaders will talk about the future of transportation including controversial toll projects. >> the parent company is hosting the meeting days after we learned about financial problems involving the toll project in texas. we are live along 77 to explain joe -- >> reporter: well, the head of the ncdot is flying to texas on monday to discuss the future of the toll lanes being built in lake norman. lawmakers and toll protesters are hoping this means the governor will cancel the contract. residents have been warning the governor and transportation leaders for years about the company and the failure of the company's project in texas

they are currently building the i-77 toll lanes that will stretch from charlotte to mooresville. according to the head of the board that approved the project, even the contract is canceled, it is likely tolls will remain. local leaders still believe they are the best way to manage traffic and congestion. and if that happen, the state could hire another developer to finish the project or have the turnpike authority run it. reporting live, channel 9 eyewitness news. >> thank you, joe. channel 9 will have a crew inside this morning's meeting. watch today at 5:00 for all of those developments. two men accused of robbing this east charlotte convenience store will appear before a judge today. we brought you the first live pictures from the scene from yesterday morning. we had the only crew there as police took them into custody. we are blurring their faces because a third suspect is only 13 years old. within the next couple hour, we will get the u.s. jobs report for february. experts do not expect a change in the unemployment rate which

they predict about 200,000 jobs were added last month. the federal reserve will have its eye on the report as it decides to when to raise the interest rate again. we will bring you the report as soon as it comes out on eyewitness news this morning on tv 64. getting a damp start to the day but things are slowly improving out there. we have weather and traffic every 10 minutes. >> let's go to severe weather center 9. keith -- >> and the mountain snow that fell overnight is wrapping up as well. this is the view. you see the road in front of the school. still covered there on the campus. you will find secondary roads that are still snow-covered this morning. about 3 to 4 inches here from last night. big roads out there, looking okay. that's one of the reasons the county schools are out today. near freezing in boone and jefferson. 38 in charlotte. clouds still in place for now but the sky is clearing and they'll enjoy more sun this

and already close to 50 by lunchtime. that's not bad. and futurecast estimates put us in the mid-50s. about 55 here in charlotte. and some south may get near 60 today. and the mountains clearing near 40 as we work our way to this afternoon as we get back into more sun after lunchtime for everybody. so a sun/cloud combo. the clouds may thin out faster and we may add a few degrees to the number. chester, middle 50s, close to 60. 58 tomorrow. 60 on sunday. and how about 70 degrees into early next week. a warm stretch for the good part of next week. and this disturbance will dive south saturday evening and that may provide light rain showers up there. and maybe sprinkles coming into charlotte around midnight

so more clouds building up to start saturday but by the time we head to the end of the weekend, look ago head to more sunshine. the five-day forecast, weekend always in view, close to 60 both days this weekend but the brighter of the two days would likely be on sunday. 70 by tuesday. dry skies for several days into next week. as the warmer temperatures work their way back in. stay on top of the weather with our wsoc tv weather app. still chilly this the morning. get the current conditions right there at your fingertips. >> and they're going to work their way in. can they stay though? >> well, it's still early into march so we will probably get a couple cold days but we are making progress. mark taylor is just learning about breaking news on i-40. let's check in with him. this is in statesville. >> that's right. this could involve serious injuries. just came in. so we are working to gather more information. what we know it's been reported

to 77 northbound up in statesville. if you're headed through the area, use 21 back up towards 77 as the alternate. when we flip to tv 64, we will have more information. in sharrie williams let, traffic is picking up. checking wall street futures. the dow is up 2025 points and the nasdaq composite is up 11 points. -- is up 25 points and the nasdaq composite is up 11 points. a family asks why dss did not step in before a man attacks a boy and his mother.

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so let's really bring it! lucky for life. win a thousand dollars a day, every day, for life. this morning, taking aspirin could reduce your risk of developing cancer. >> that's according to researchers. they found aspirin use will reduce the risk of colon cancer for those who take the medicine over several years. they used data on 120,000 adults and say it was tied to a

and now they're trying to decide if higher doses to of aspirin will have more of an effect. and they are looking at the possibility of negative side effects. ahead on "good morning america," the abc chief medical editor will have more on the ties between aspirin and developing cancer right here after daybreak on channel 9. a caldwell county father is accused of stabbing his 2-year- old son and the child's mother and now the family is wondering if it could have been prevented. women pitt's family told us that they contacted dss about pitts this year over concerns of substance abuse issues. they say dss started an investigation and made two visits but never drug tested him. and now the family hopes that he will get the help he needs behind bars. we have weather and traffic every 10 minutes on daybreak. and mark taylor is following a bad wreck. this is breaking news on i-40 near i-77. >> yeah, initially reported on i-40 eastbound, the ramp to i- 77 northbound.

communications center to see if they have arrived on the scene yet to get some more information. for now, we are waiting to hear back. but that's where the accident scene has occurred. i would avoid this. we have first responders headed to the scene. take u.s. 21 and then jump on i- 77. we will have more information on tv 64. still cloudy right now but the clouds will thin out much more after lunchtime. back into a full amount of shine and that will help warm us back up. in the mid-50s. great weather will start to work its way in today. just going to take a little time before it gets here. this weekend, another than high clouds tomorrow, it's completely dry for the weekend plans. should be closer to 60 degrees both days this weekend. and next week, we're talking about temperatures running closer to 70 degrees. so we're going to see a big pattern change next week and more spring-like for the first full week of march. >> patience for today and patience to get to the 70s. >> yeah, a couple days away. but a lot warmer. >> i like this forecast.

your local news continues with eyewitness news this morning on tv 64. >> join us there now as we statesville. we are bringing you alternate

routes. rnate good morning, america. marco rubio and ted cruz team up against donald trump. >> come on. >> the republican presidential candidates did not hold back last night. donald trump firing back against personal attacks. >> referred to my hands, if they're small, something else must be small. i guarantee you, there's no problem. i guarantee you. >> and dishing his own. >> don't worry about it, little marco. >> gentlemen. >> as mitt romney tries to rally the gop with a blistering attack against trump. >> a phony. >> trump responds. >> they've run things for a long time and they've run the country into hell. morning. also this morning, the dangerous morning commute. millions now facing slick roads