te marav up next, details about a deadly crash in russia and what authorities believe played a role in the crash. and thousands are in town for the st. patrick's day parade and festival this weekend. >> and plenty of cloud cover across the carolinas this afternoon. but showers will return throughout the rest of your satu we are tracking rain and a drop in temperatures heading our way. good afternoon and thank you

i'm britney johnson, here in severe weather center 9 with meteorologist christine labp tracking a line of showers. >> we had a line we were tracking this morning. it's moved off to the east here. we are starting to see some west wind. that's actually warming us um a little more than originally expected. as you can see, more blue skies as well. we are up to 68 degrees here this afternoon. you can see the wind out of the southwest about 5 to 10 miles an hour this afternoon. it's sticky out there but we're now. we're at 50 in boone, 47 in statesville, and our chance of rain is not done for today. we'll still track a few scattered showers heading throughout the afternoon and evening hours. minutes. happening now, thousands

day parade and charlotte goes green festival. >> reporter: thousands are made their way here to uptown to take part in the festivities and watch more than 100 participants in today's parade. this is video of some of the festivities about an hour ago. the parade featured more than a dozen floats and the grand marshall was states, ann anderson. she wasn't just here for the parade, but also spent time the mayor. she spoke with us about more serious topics including immigration reform. >> we have a bad record of irish undocumented here, some visa overstays from many years ago. those people now are living tough lives in thshadows. >> reporter: a group of

topic of immigration later today. they will be protesting several raids in our area and we'll tell you more tonight at 6:00. >> today dozens of students and teachers are expected to march to the government center in uptown charlotte, saying immigration enforcement agents are targeting students for deportation. they will begin march at 4:30 p.m. and begin a rally at the government center at 6:00.

if you're heading uptown today, you need to be aware of several streets that will be closed all day today. they include tryon street, mlk and levine avenue of the arts. they will open again at 8:00 tonight. we are gathering new details and video about a dubai airliner that crashed and killed everyone on board. this is video of the scene in southern russia. you can see all the debris from fly dubai flight fz981. officials reported winds of 90 miles an hour at the time of the crash. both flight recorders have now been recovered. this is video of the crash. all 62 on board were killed. the radar suggested the pilot circle the airport several times before attempting to land

new information in the last hour, a lawyer for a paris terror suspect arrested in belgium says his client will fight efforts to extradite him to france. the lawyer for salah abdeslam says his client will refuse the extradition. he spent four months on the run after the november terror attacks that killed 130 people. police captured him yesterday in belgium after he was shot in the leg during a gun battle with authorities in brussells. four others were also arrested. former cia director david petraeus is expected to appear before a house committee on benghazi. he led the cia when a terror attack killed four americans in benghazi in 2012. sources say he agreed to come back because his prior testimony was cut short. police are looking for a man who robbed a charlotte man at gunpoint weeks after moving into his apartment.

block of kings gate drive, the suspects took off with cash, his credit cards and driver's license. the victim told us he was just thankful he was not hurt. >> the only thing i thought, better let me give it to them. >> so far police haven't made any arrests. this million-dollar yacht stuck in the middle of lake norman for a week is finally free. we got new pictures of the 50- foot yacht now on its way the mooresville. the owner says the electronic gps failed and that's why he got stuck in the shallow water. yesterday crews used a crane to help. the irs says they have seen a 400% surge in tax scams already this year. coming up, who the scammers are claiming to be to get your information.

coming to charlotte, bringing

three reasons paypal major changes are coming to help people get work. this week board members voted to approve an initiative called ban the box. they are taking the box off job applications that asks about a person's criminal record. background checks. the move will give people second chances. >> we are going to be welcoming to people and we're not going to be judgmental and we're not going to let implicit bias prevent us from hiring someone.

right away. paypal is opening its 11th operations center in charlotte. >> we are here because of the engineering talent and because of the people and the labor pool and the opportunity, the economic opportunity that is here in charlotte. >> new positions include customer service, risk operations, engineering and technology. the company plans to advertise for jobs starting in late may or early june and start training in september. a popular tourist destination is on a short list of cities with a high risk of seeing the zika virus. the reason officials say it could be a problem in charleston this summer. >> and we'll have winter-like conditions for the next few

how cold temperatu bravard police say two students found a body in a wooded area behind the bravard college maintenance building. the police haven't said if it is male or female or a student, but they are looking through missing persons reports. the police and fbi are investigating. sled is investigating the death of a decorated south carolina police officer shot and killed in the line of duty. greenville police say officer allen jacobs was gunned down by 17-year-old deontae mackie, a self-described gang member. officers stopped to talk to mackie about a gun when he took off running behind a house. >> mr. mackie fled and we gave pursuit. without demonstrating any force and without exacting any force, our officer was shot and killed, and then mr. mackie took his own life. >> mackie reportedly fired a

the chief says jacobs didn't draw his weapon. the preliminary investigation shows none of the other officers fired their weapons. jacobs was a decorated iraq war veteran and father of two with another child on the way. four officer involved in a shootout with a suspect will be honored. police say a teenager shot an officer when police responded to a call on coachman's's terrace last may. tomorrow the president will visit cuba, marking the first time in nearly 90 years a u.s. president has made that visit. we'll meet with the nation's leader and despite the thaw

trade embargo still stands and is expected to. >> let's not forget the castro regime has been guilt of countless human rights abuses. >> the white house says the president plans to advocate for better respect for respiratory and visit the people previously victimized by the human government. we learned american airlines wants daily flights between charlotte and cuba. the airline applied for 14 daily flights into havana, most coming from miami but one out of the hub here in charlotte. a bill on its way to the senate right now may mean you could get a refund if your bags are delayed. the transportation committee wants mandatory refund for baggage fees if luggage is delayed 6 hours or more. the bill would require a refund for priority boarding, seat collection and other premium options of those services if

the airline industry says the flying. the irs issued a consumer alert and says they have seen about 400% surge in malware incidents this tax season compared to last season. they say more scammers are sending out e-mails and texting and getting your personal information then posing as the irs or tax software companies. getting in the high 60s, but some have seen of rain today. >> and it's muggy out there. if you have plans to be out and about, not complaining too much. it is quite gloomy. this is the lake norman cam here, lots of clouds in the area. we had some showers early this morning, tracked a bunch of showers through salisbury and pushed off to the east.

clouds out there this afternoon. we are going to keep the chance of showers as we head throughout the afternoon hours. we'll walk you through today and tomorrow. starting this afternoon, a few mountain showers possible, some dry conditions in the metro area. about 4:00, 5:00 this evening. this is what it looks like at 6:00. widespread scattered showers. everyone will keep the clouds around but not all of us will see the rain this afternoon. showers will be quick off and on again as we head throughout the afternoon and evening hours. if you have plans to be out tonight, take the rain gear just in case. i think these will be out of the area overnight. this is 6:00 a.m., still with the clouds around, a mild and muggy start. sunday morning similar to this morning. at the lunchtime hour, tomorrow still dry in the metro, a few mountain snow showers possible at or below freezing there tomorrow.

a few showers lined up from hickory out toward shelby and that will push through sunday night into monday morning. they will be quick to clear out of here monday, so not expecting problems for the monday morning drive. but the pollen counts have been very high here, because we have been very dry this month. this is all we could get for today and tomorrow, under a half inch. again, not everyone will see the rain. any shower that forms later today, a rumble of thunder, brief downpour, that's about it. no severe weather with the storms. and we'll be turning cooler for the next couple days. rain chances for today and tomorrow, but into the workweek we'll dry back out. it's a slight chance of showers. we only have about a quarter inch of rain this month and we may finish at the number one

that's something we are watching. temperatures this afternoon, we'll hit the low 70s and upper 60s across the carolinas. for tomorrow, a wind shift out of the north. we'll see temperatures about 10 to 15 degrees cooler, in the 50s. once the clouds clear monday morning, we'll see the big drop in temperatures, at or below freezing monoand tuesday morning. as the kids head out, make sure to get back out the thick winter coats. if you're anxious and started those early spring gardens and planting, be sure your cover those up or bring them in. by the time we hit wednesday, we're back in the 70s. >> another way to welcome spring. new research shows charleston is among a handful of u.s. cities with potential for a high risk of the zika virus outbreak. take a look at this map.

cities may be at risk for a potential outbreak. you can see charlotte, charleston there. the reason includes the type of mosquito that transmits the virus in parts of latin america and the caribbean is going to become more abundant as the weather warms up. a high poverty rate and high number of travelers from countries with the outbreak are factors. there are six confirmed cases of the zika virus here in north carolina. spring officially starts tomorrow. some doctors say they have a spike in the flu and norovirus. health officials say to get rid of the norovirus, you have to kill it with bleach, including wiping down surfaces.

very contagious. doctors say the norovirus is stronger than a lot of hand sanitizers and they recommend using soap and water. channel 9 is asking about charges after a fire was intentionally set in a cms school bathroom and caused hundreds of students to evacuate yesterday morning at walter buyers middle school. the hallway filled with smoke and more than 500 students were evacuated. at this time cms is only saying it was a liquid thrown on the floor that caught fire. mecklenburg county will open its first public beach in may. the reason leaders say it took

and how much it's going toand how hi, guys! spring is almost here and you know what that means! easter is hopping along. so, if you're looking to stretch your dollar this easter holiday, just look at these savings at your local walmart. charlotte, in head-to-head shopping, the total amount saved at walmart vs. bi-lo was $15.47... that's 11% on this week's easter basket. why shop anywhere else? fill your basket with walmart's every day low prices and get big savings. start shopping with walmart's every day low prices today. and see what you could save. d for nearly two decades, residents have called for a

we found out when mecklenburg county's first public beach will open up. >> reporter: for years if you wanted to have fun on lake norman, you needed to either own a boat or know somebody who has one. now that's about to change. all is quiet now but it won't be that way in a couple months. the first public beach opening memorial day weekend. it's been a long time coming. leaders have tried to bring public swimming hire since 1997. >> everybody wanted it. it's something the county needs. and so it's just been a timing issue. >> reporter: had there not been a recession, the beach may have been in place by now. but despite the delay, leaders are expecting a big boost to the local economy. last year more than $21 million came into lake norman.

>> we need to be able to offer the opportunity for our greatest liquid asset to everybody, not only those living here but our guests that come here and stay in the hotels. >> reporter: construction crews are putting the final touches on the beach right now. even people nearby are excited. >> i think the people that live here and know, hopefully people all over the county will take an opportunity to come up here and have some fun. >> reporter: this beach won't be free. officials will charge $3 per car to enter. >> the parks and rec director says the beach can hold act 500 swimmers and the parking lot can accommodate 127 cars. do you plan on going? we have a poll on our facebook page. let us know if you're going to go. still have a few clouds in the sky, but you can see the

christine rapp has a look at

drop in the temperatures, next. the te we still have rain chances about 20, 30%. >> not everyone will see the rain. there are a lot of events going on this afternoon, including a weatherfest at unc charlotte. we'll all be there this afternoon. whatever your afternoon plans, we are keeping a very low chance of showers out there this afternoon. we'll have temperatures in the low 70s. and later this evening, a better chance of rain, really looking like 5:00, 6:00 when

temperatures will drop into the low 60s by 9:00 tonight. not the washout, still holding onto those 70s today. >> and maybe hold that umbrella too. thank you for joining us this midday. >> tune in at 6:00 for the

curving along the famous mullholland highway. see why the view from a helicam is not always so scenic. a parched elephant guzzlels water as villagers try to get it -- >> out of this sticky situation. >> see what it takes to pull off one herculean rescue. cameras show a woman walking down the street. see this vicious sneak attack. >> no! and -- >> how many people were in the family? >> a blonde brit baffled. >> oh. >> figures -- not working it out. >> see if you can solve the riddle that has her stumped. >> oh! many motorcyclists are out in search of that perfect road.