important it is to vote. >> sometimes, the public reporting of polls, maybe might say my candidate is so far ahead i don't need to come out. but should come out. there is so much at establish. i hope everybody in north carolina votes before the polls closed. >> reporter: coming up at 6:00, how senator sanders feels about his chances in the primary. channel 9, eyewitness news. >> elsa, thank you. and now to reporter blake hanson with the republican presidential candidates. >> reporter: erica, trump has a double-digit lead. he came here twice in the past eight days but a lot is up in the air in terms of the

florida, ohio, home of john kasich and marco rubio. with the number of el debates, both of their futures could be up in the air if they don't both win at home. rubio is shown to be trailing in florida and in ohio, kasich and trump are neck and neck. >> i learned you need to vote for yourself. if you don't, you could lose. it felt nice. >> if we win in florida tomorrow night we don't just get 99 delegates. we get a surge of momentum they will not be able to stop. >> reporter: ted cruz has been pouring cash into every other state except florida tonight. trump will be watching from florida. more on the latest that they are faring in the polls at 6:00. blake happen son, channel 9, eyewitness news. >> blake, new video of a fight that broke

presidential candidate trump. plenty of people were shoving there and in part of this video, you can see our own eyewitness news. >> reporter: dave faherty. police tried to calm the man but all fell to the ground and 6 people were cited yesterday. wall street is watching the primaries with key states of florida and ohio up for grabs. this as the fed will gather again to talk about raising interest rates. the dow was up 22 and the nasdaq down 21. the north carolina board of elections is investigating scattered problems with voting. machines in lumberton weren't accepting ballots and there was no power at a north raleigh polling site earlier in the day. otherwise, voting was going smoothly with some locations reporting a high turnout.

have seen a steady stream of voters since this morning including in dilworth. a live look at that location right now. you can see a couple people sitting outside. one woman told us that she has a specific reason for voting in today's primary. >> coming off the economic cries we had in 2008, it's important to make sure that ourselves as well as our children are taken care are in the long run. >> again, the polls will stay open until 7:30. north carolina voters will see congressional races on the primary bought but the results won't count. the june primary will address the races after voting districts were redrawn, including voting 12 in our area saying that two districts were improperly drawn in 2011. lawmakers redrew the congressional lines but the naacp said they are still

draw the lines instead. our coverage continues over the next 90 minutes. at 5:30, we're breaking down the ballots that were already cast and it's the first election in north carolina where people have to have the photo id. we'll tell you what happens if you don't have one and why the governor said he is more focused on nc bond than the election today. we have more starting at 7:30 with the polls close, and you can watch the vote totals from all the primary races. new developments, police just arrested a second suspect they say kidnapped a papa john's delivery driver. shannon scott is charged with kidnapping and robbery with a deadly weapon. you might remember earlier this month, brayon rhodes was arrested.

kidnapped that driver and droa him uf -- drove him up i-85 and made him withdraw money from atm locations. and a gunman in front of a medical clinic outside the logan family resource center on lincoln street last night shot and killed one person. police said there is no indication it had anything to do with the medical center. crime scene tape in catawba where a mother and father were found shot to death. someone forced their way in the home last night. eyewitness news reporter dave faherty is on scene. >> reporter: we saw sheriffs investigators going in and out of the home trying to collect evidence earlier today, and follow me over here. they searched the area around

we could see the sheriffs investigators search the thick brush directly across the street from the home. it was here that deidre ramseur and mark wilson were found dead. a cell phone was found across the street. people don't know why anyone would target them. their 10-year-old daughter was not home at the time. >> it's heartbreaking. the little girl will have no father or mother. >> reporter: officials are looking at the front door which appears to have been forced open. >> we need this solved. we need this solve -- solved right away. when you see a couple killed and the doors kicked open, we need ton right away. >> it's still early in the investigation.

anything chances, wearing a gun during our interview today. >> i carry my pistol all the time to protect me and my family and we have one at home, and for anybody else, i suggest you go and get one. >> reporter: and sources tell me that the murder most likely happened sometime over the weekend. the 10-year-old was not here when it happened. i'm dave faherty, channel 9, eyewitness news. >> dave has tweeted pictures and updates from the scene all day. you can follow him on twitter for more. a pastor in mooresville is opposed to a shopping center off i-77 including a sporting goods store and costco and other businesses. the pastor said there would be a full scale gun shop at the store placing a major retailer less than 1000 yards from the church and also said that

ordinance against the big box stores. the letter said that the proposed shopping center would have entrances and exits on talbot road. investigators are trying to find out what caused a deadly crash in chester county around 3:00 this afternoon on augusta at catawba river road south of investigators say that the victim was killed in the wreck but have not released their identity. and a house fire in ballantyne was caused by a lightning strike. you can see smoke and fire shooting through the roof of the home in the cell phone video. the gas furnace in the attic exploded after the home was hit by lightning. the fire department said this cost about 415,000 in damage. new tonight at 5:00, two

headed to prison for stealing tax returns. the u.s. attorney's office said that marlow williams and joan clark set up a trust for charitable purposes and filed phony tax returns receiving $600,000 from the federal government. williams was sentenced to 7 months and clark 20, and both very to repay the money. police in maryland say they may never be able to explain why a man shot at drivers and police officers outside of a police station. sunday night, under cover narcotics officer jacai colson was killed outside the police station, hit by a bullet fired by another officer. yesterday, the police chief said he couldn't explain the actions of the shooter, michael ford, or his brothers who filmed the whole thing. and a man charged with assault after surveillance video shows him trying to attack a deputy.

from a gas station last week and resisted arrest, hitting the deputy, putting him on the ground and hitting him multiple times. a new report that happened hads of green cards were mailed to the wrong homes. this is raising concerns about identity theft. this is one of the problems as the attempts to automate the immigration system. today marks 100 days in officer for charlotte mayor jennifer roberts who had a busy first month including the non- discrimination ordnance that bans discrimination against the lgbt community in various places including public bathrooms, and roberts has worked on strengthening ties with the international business community. a near miss thousands of pete in the air because of a drone. the quick action from pilots

>> and we had sunshine and the temperatures today, really warm and close to 80 degrees. i will show you how much longer we'll go before a dose of reality sets back in. >> a road project put on hold

job walked off th just two hours left for voters to get out and cast their ballots.

coming up at 5:30 a breakdown of votes already cast. all new tonight, a site that has set idle for months has a new contractor. channel 9 was the first to break that the company to handle the project walked off the job in february. >> today, eyewitness news anchor brittney johnson has more. >> reporter: today, despite the delay of the company walking off the job, the state said they will stick to the original completion date. loyal customers are liberty east's lifeline, and they say the project is making it difficult. as if three years of construction wasn't hard enough, the contractor stopped working six weeks ago over a

today, a replacement plan to finish this project and another on u.s. 29 with a new contractor. >> we worked with them before and the subcontractors we have worked with before and we feel confident moving forward we can deliver the project. >> reporter: the delay happened outside of the state's typical construction window. so officials are confident that workers can make up for lost time and the original $51 million price tag and completion date of october 2016 remains intact. >> when are they going to be finished? when they going to be finished? and now, it's a little more yay. >> reporter: they are looking at the strategy to pick up where the company left off and finish the project at liberty boulevard.

completed other major projects across the charlotte region. you can see a list of those at wsoctv.com. in the last few weeks, the pollen count has shot through the roof because of the warm weather. >> the worst areas are out west and parts of north carolina. doctors are saying if you have itchy eyes and symptoms that won't go away, it's likely allergies and doctors recommend keeping your windows closed and change your clothes when you come from outdoors. >> check with your doctor, and steroids are a way to prevent the symptoms. >> and you can use nasal washes to help with symptoms. last week, local doctors said they have been busy treating patients already. the carolina asthma and allergy center said it's actually a

the symptoms seem to be worse. you can see our full report about the allergy season by going to our website, wsoctv.com. you can find the story under our news tab. steve said it could be a while before we get relief from the pollen. he is in severe weather center 9 with more. it's going to likely triple in pollen count over the next few weeks, and that's why the carolinas are known for their pollen. and it's the oak tree pollen, the film of yellow all over everything. that's the culprit and because we haven't seen much rain. including last night, a quarter of an everyone of rain and for the first half of march, on track for the 6th dryest march. just fair skies and not a cloud to be found on live early

above 80. you have to to the mountains to see anything that resembles cooler air. it's also very dry. it's warm now but it will cool off this evening and you can still vote until 7:30. the temperatures will fall back to 70, so the weather won't get in your way of voting. thoughts for --that's for sure. low 60s for hickory and statesville and conover and mid- 40s in the high country. you can see a pattern. now, a slight change tomorrow, a few clouds crooch the mountains and a few showers that will dry up long before they reach charlotte and we will see some midday and afternoon clouds but it won't get in the middle of the warm up. temperatures will rise into the lower 80s tomorrow.

we may challenge that tomorrow afternoon. lower 80s with the afternoon clouds around and gorgeous. the futurecast on thursday, more of the same, basically fair skies and a few unto -- a few mountain clouds. we start spring this summer -- i should say this sunday and it will feel more like winter with temperatures in the 50s. that's quite a fall. more on that at 5:30. here is the 5-day forecast, nice st. patrick's day on thursday and kick in spring this weekend. but it may not look that way. we will see showers, too. >> and people suffering from the allergies, too. >> we really want the rain. >> thank you, steve. voters are casting their ballots today, and up next, we're looking at what the numbers are saying about the race.

>> i think it would be very bad for cms. >> the top options on the fable they break ties with the district. >> a little billion hours wasted sitting in traffic last year. we're breaking down where the

getting stuck and for how long. here's a number for you. americans wasted 8 billion hours in traffic in 2014, and the worst cities, los angeles the worst with an average of 81 hours wasted for person for year. the company said that the cities with the most economic improvement are also dealing with the traffic conditions that are getting worse. for those of you stuck on i-45 in south charlotte, you wasted 21 hours last year between i-77

and i-85 at w.t. harris, you wasted two hours last year and that's worse if you travel down either of those stretches for the evening drive home. a report last august found that drivers were sitting in prask -- traffic wasting 17-gallon of fuel for driver and $963 every year in lost wages and gas. the report highlighted other local communities around charlotte. we have a full report at wsoctv.com. just click on the news tab. new tonight, the obama administration is easing the travel and trade restrictions with cuba. this comes 5 days before president obama's historic trip to havana. it will also be easier for american banks to off more

it was earlier this month that channel 9 first told you that charlotte may soon get a direct flight to cuba. this, after american airlines applied to get a daily flight to havana, 1 of 14 flights that the airline applied more. most of the others would depart out of miami. all new stories next at 5:30. a close call for passengers thousands of feet up in the air, a drone above charlotte/douglas. the quick action by the pilot trying to land at the airport and after dropping the record lows, gas prices are moving back up. how much more you are having to pay. voters heading to polling places, and north carolina is

dramatic races from the state capitol to the white house. tonight, north carolinians will find out how much their votes matter. >> i'm just tired of people going to represent us that don't represent us. >> it's very easy. >> channel 9 is live at the polls as voters across the area

this is a live look at covenant presbyterian church. i'm allison latos. >> and i'm scott wickersham. we will take you through the process with liz foster. liz? >> reporter: polling places like this one have exactly two hours left for people to come in and fill out their ballots. and the results could predict quite an election. >> we need a change. >> reporter: even though jim votes in every election, he said this one may have more weight. >> i'm just tired of people going to represent us that don't represent us. >> reporter: he is one of thousands of people heading to the polls today, and if the early voting numbers are an indication, the number of people casting ballots may surpass the expectation. there is a couple of reasons for that. >> we have two competitor races on both sides of the party

you have the two candidates that seem to be bringing people into the political system who were not voting and not participating. >> reporter: merely 70,000 people voted early across the state, 10.5% of registered voters, significantly more than in 2012. >> it's important to make your that ourselves as well as our children are taken care of in the long run. >> reporter: this is the first time that the state's primary election is in march instead of may and puts more importance on the north carolina primary. thousands of north carolinians have switched political parties that they formally want is. more than 20,000 people changed party affiliations. does that surprise you? >> yes, it does. >> reporter: the bigger question, will we know the republican and democratic nominees for president if donald trump and hillary clinton secure or win all five