>> those stories in just a moment. vicki graf is with us to track these cooler temperatures. morning >> yeah. you'll notice that difference morning. you might want a light jacket. it is cooler in a few spots. albemarle. 35 degrees in boone. as we go throughout the day today, it is going to be warmer yet again and temperatures compared to this time yesterday about 20 degrees warmer in some spots. come. so as we head through the morning hours, by 7:00 mid-40s, warming into the low 50s by 9:00 and highs for today getting into the mid-70s under lots of sunshine. i am tracking rain on the way. i'll show you when it arrives coming up. in the breaking news center right now following an overnight crime spree in charlotte. thieves tried to break into a popular west charlotte gun store. then moved on to a nearby family dollar. now we're asking if those two could be related to a third break-in. eyewitness news reporter brittany johnson is in west charlotte for us right now outside of one of those scenes.

>>reporter: john, there's still heavy police presence. their cars are park outside of the shopping center. there is a family dollar here and also hyatt gun shop. police believe the thieves tried to break into both this morning. we were on the scene around 3:00 this morning when the call went out. cmpd officers were at the gun shop where they tell us thieves went around the back, tried to break into that store through the back with a car, but instead hit a gas line. so charlotte fire crews were also here to turn off that gas. they say the same thieves also tried to get into the family dollar store, but they were unable to get into both of these stores. now, the owner of hyatt gun shop is here. we also just talked to police on the scene. they told us that they're looking for a chrysler sebring break-ins here. but this has also been a very busy morning for cmpd. right now officers are on the scene about 12 miles away on north tryon at another gun shop where we do know that thieves

we have live pictures on that scene there where you can see this is the store on north tryon where police say thieves were able to get away with about 20 assault rifles. so a lot of concern from the gun shop owner here about whether or not those two crimes are connected. we are still working to learn whether or not there is a connection with these crimes. people tried to break in here around 3:00 a.m. they were able to get into that other gun store on north tryon around 2:00 a.m. and, again, cmpd actively investigating all three of these scenes right now. we'll be here, we'll continue to give you updates on their search for that suspect vehicle, that chrysler sebring and will bring you any new developments on all three of these investigations throughout 0 the newscast. live in west charlotte, brittany johnson, channel 9 eyewitness news. >> all right, brittany, thank you so much. at 10:00 this morning north carolina lawmakers will convene a special session in raleigh to try to overturn charlotte's lgbt non-discrimination ordinance. it's expected to cost taxpayers $42,000 a day. officials are expected to take

parts of charlotte's ordinance. this morning we're learning more details about the current drought. officials say it would prevent local governments from passing similar registration and allows schools to make sure they use bathrooms based on their biological sex. the bathroom ordinance allows transgender men and women to use the bedroom of their choice. some -- the bathroom of their choice. it could allow criminals to prey on women and girls. the ordinance is scheduled to take effect on april 1st. eyewitness news reporter jim bradley will be in raleigh for this morning's special session. follow jim on twitter for updates and watch eyewitness news at 5:00 p.m. for complete coverage. back in the breaking news center right now with some new details about the suspect in yesterday's deadly terror attacks in brussels. in the last two hours investigators started releasing the names of the three people they believe are involve. here's a look at them. police identified the brothers

elbakraoui as the suicide bombers at the brussels intrcial airport. you can see them dressed in black there. the other man is believed to have escape. a belgian federal prosecutor identified that man as fredrick van lua. we brought you this story as breaking news yesterday starting at 4:30. now we know isis has claimed responsibility. at least 10 more were killed after two blasts at the brussels airport, 20 people were killed in an explosion at the maalbeek metro station, that's not far from the united nations. nearly 200 -- 250 were hurt, that includes nine americans. the department of homeland security says right now there's no specific or credible threat to the united states, but you can expect to see increased security at airports and major u.s. landmarks. now, the brussels airport will remain closed again today while they still investigate all this. now, happening today as well, the prime suspect from the paris attacks last november,

appear before a belgian judge in brussels. this is video of his arrest. this was just last week. police say that he was found only a short distance away from the metro station that was targeted in yesterday's attack. new this morning, the results of primaries in utah, arizona and idaho are in. on the republican side, abc news has declared donald trump the winner in arizona and senator ted cruz won in utah. on the democratic side, hillary clinton was declared the winner in arizona, while bernie sanders won in utah and idaho. new this morning firefighters are working to figure out what caused an early morning house fire in huntersville. it happened just after 1:00 this morning at the home on grapper hall drive. medic tells us they treated two people for smoke inhalation. firefighters believe it start in the bedroom, but, again, are working to determine a cause. around the same time another house fire was reported on king george drive in northeast charlotte. firefighters tell us it start in the attic. a man, his wife and two

thankfully no one was hurt. firefighters have not said what exactly started this fire. the red cross is assisting the family. the charlotte hornets are making history, but it has nothing to do with the players. ahead at 4:55, the team member breaking down barriers off the court. people terrified to drink their water are demanding the state take action to shut down duke energy's coal ash pond. >> anything less than a complete cleanup of this toxic cancer-causing elements will be a disgrace. >> heyed at 4:45, the specific factor that will determine when coal ash upons are closed and the community's concerns -- ponds are closed an the city's

ahead at 4:40, the ahead at 4:40, th know you can deposit checks right from your phone. transfer money to someone quickly and easily. speak to a financial professional when it's convenient. and pay for things using android pay. know that with pnc's convenient solutions,

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or double dozen shrimp. or our grilled menu, featuring new tuscan tilapia. each with two sides and hush puppies. for full meals starting at $4.99, it's gotta be d's. 20 minutes until 5:00 now. today the metropolitan transit commission will hold a public hearing to discuss three options to increase fares starting this july. the first option would remove the 10-ride pass discount. another would increase all fares by 10 cents and restructure weekly passes. the last would increase fares by five cents, restructure weekly passes and remove the 10- ride pass discount.

needed to offset a $2.8 million operating budget shortfall that's projected for 2017. a lincoln county man is behind bars, accused of shooting his girlfriend, then trying to run from police. ahead at 4:45, the action deputies say his friend took to try and cover up this crime. people living in an east charlotte neighborhood are furious they haven't gotten their mail delivered in more than a month. ahead at 4:45, the specific reason the postal service is refusing to deliver to the neighborhood. lots of sunshine expected today and it will be about 10 degrees warmer than average, but i'm tracking rain on the way.

i'll take you throug breaking news center right now following an overnight crime spree in charlotte at a shopping center on wilkinson boulevard right now, as we look at live pictures. at is the owner larry hyatt right there of the hyatt gun shop, a place that was targeted this morning, but apparently they didn't get inside. they did break a gas line, though, trying to get in. you just noticed the light that went off behind him there, that's the family dollar. that was also a target this morning as well and it didn't sound like they got in there either. now, different live pictures we want to show you this. is about 12 miles away. cmpd still there on the scene there at the gun outlet on north tryon and east way as they investigate a smash and grab there.

away with guns from this store right here. we are monitoring this story. we're trying to find out if there's a connection since the hyatt gun shop was targeted and this gun shop was targeted as well. we are keeping an eye on this. we are in contact with investigators this morning. hundreds of belmont residents are raising concerns with house state leaders handling a nearby coal ash pond >> many of them still don't drink their tap water even though the state and duke energy says it is safe. people discussed when the allen steam station would close at a meeting last night. if the state designates that station as high risk, coal ash ponds would have to be closed by the end of 2019. if it's low risk, they wouldn't be shut down until the end of 2029. one woman call this is a life- or-death decision. she says her husband who lived nearby died from lung cancer, although he never smoked. >> i feel that it was definitely something that had to do with our water.

about how the coal ash pond will close. some say if it's just capped or covered, the ground water will still be impacted for at least 100 years and lead to the same kinds of problems. if you missed last night's meeting, you can still send the state's department of environmental quality written comments. they'll take those until april 18th. the department will issue a final risk classification by may 18th. this morning police in west charlotte are investigating a homicide. police say they found a man shot to death at a home off west ridge drive near freedom drive. they don't believe this was random. we first brought you this story as breaking news last night at 11:00. since then we've asked investigators what led to the shooting and if they have a suspect. we are still waiting to hear back. police arrested a 15-year- old accused of robbing several people at gunpoint. chopper 9 flew over west mecklenberg high school where the robbery happened yesterday afternoon. for weeks we've been reporting about the increase in young teens involved in violent crimes in charlotte. in the latest case, police say

with armed robbery. they say he and the victim were skipping school at the time. this morning we're asking lincoln county deputies if a friend of a shooting suspect will face any charges. they say he removed a gun from the scene of the crime. this all started yesterday. deputies say ronnie whitworth shot his girlfriend, brandi eisenhower in the shoulder on gilbert road. then they say he drove off and crashed a few miles away on highway 27. woodworth was charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. more permanent changes are coming for pageland's police department. chief larry brown announced he will retire. brown has been on leave for four months because of a sled investigation that is still open. despite our questions, officials still have not said what the investigation is about. earlier this month the city named county sheriff jay brooks as the interim police chief. chief brown has been working under sheriff brooks. today charlotte city council will meet to talk about the plan to turn the old

the charlotte-mecklenberg school district wants to buy the land and build a kindergarten through eighth grade school. last week city leaders decided to delay the vote on the sale until april. today's meeting is at noon. turning to weather now, you might notice it feels a little bit better out there when you head out. vicki graf is here now with a look at that forecast and just where things will top out today with the temperatures. >> temperatures as you head out the door this morning, we're running almost 20 degrees warmer than this time yesterday. you don't need the heavy winter coat, maybe a light layer. it's 54 in charlotte, 55 in concord, 52 in statesville and 44 degrees in jefferson. so already a fairly warmer start to the day. by 9:00 low 50s, lots of sunshine expected as we go throughout the afternoon. by midday 66 degrees. might be a good afternoon to enjoy your lunch break outdoors. it is going to be fairly windy, though, and with warmer temperatures, dry air in place, that's going to make way for a fire danger threat for today. so just be aware of that.

degrees today, and that's about 10 degrees warmer than average. your neighborhood forecast for matthews, again, not so bad early on. by midday 66 degrees and highs for today in the mid-70s. as we head through tonight, changes are on the way. we're dry right now on live early warning doppler 9, but i am tracking a system out to the west, and this is going to bring us the threat for some rain on thursday. however, it's not going to get here until late in the day. so to time it all out for you on futurecast, some clouds early on, by lunchtime still holding off on the rain, and then as we head towards the evening hours, that's when we're tracking this line of downpours that will approach the mountains first, closer to around 7:00, 8:00 in the evening. this will be approaching quickly, so by 10:00 that's when we'll see the rain pushing through charlotte, and it will move through as we head through the overnight hours. so waking up friday morning, the rain should be east of here for your morning drive. so it's going to be a quick- moving system. and behind that slightly cooler.

as we head towards friday on into the weekend upper 60s, but that's right where we should be this time of year. so not so bad there. we won't have to be dealing with temperatures about 20 degrees cooler than average like we did earlier in the week. so your five-day forecast shows today will be nice and dry, tomorrow still warmer, but we are tracking the threat for rain overnight thursday into friday. keep in mind you can track the rain as it arrives with our wsoc-tv weather app. that's available at the app store and google play. by saturday looking good. could see some more showers by sunday. and if you do have plans this evening, i know a lot of stuff going on around town, i'll have your hour-by-hour forecast coming up in the next half hour >> so are we done with the 30s? is that safe to say? >> you know, i'm not going to count on it just yet, but at least we don't have it in our five-day forecast. >> thank you. 10 minutes until 5:00 now. the postal service is refusing to deliver to an east charlotte neighborhood until they can track down a dangerous dog. we obtained a letter from the

it says a dog attacked a carrier february 17th and service was being suspended for safety reasons. we talked to an 81-year-old veteran who says his medicine comes in the mail and he has trouble going to get t. >> i'm a veteran. i can't get out and do things like other people. i sacrifice my body -- sacrificed my body for this country, at least i could get my blessing mail. >> the dog's owner told us the dog ran away the day of the attack and has not been seen since. we call the postmaster to ask service. we are waiting to hear back. a cumberland county man accused -- a ka talk a county man could take a plea deal that could save his life. ahead at 5:00, the reason the victim's sister says she hopes he takes it. a woman is making history as the first full-time female analyst for the charlotte hornets.

she's getting from fans and she's gettin comments 4:54 right now. more than 207,00 will go to help north carolina workers improve their skills. it's coming from the n.c. works grant which reimburses employers for training costs. $11.000 will go toward employees at an asheville-based brewery. the charlotte hornets are trying to win a playoff series for the first time since 2002. but if they don't, the hornets have already made history this year. stephanie ready is the first full-time female analyst in nba

organization has been supportive in her groundbreaking role, but it's a slightly different story on social media. as for the nasty comments, she ignores most of them, but will comment sometimes. >> i'll always say be nice, you know, and that's kind of my common response, and i find that it works. you know, people who were really negative a year or two ago, now they're all bubbly and fun and sunshine. >> ready says she wants people to think of her as someone who went after what they wanted and worked extremely hard to get it. traffic team 9 is monitoring the roads for you right now this morning. so far good news here. no issues. there is a crash, though, west of rock hill, but no injuries have been reported. it doesn't look like it's slowing traffic down at all. highway patrol responded around 4:15 on mcconnells highway. that's at herndon farm road and we're not seeing much of an issue. so no alternate routes needed at this time. if that changes, we'll let you know. live look here from our d.o.t. camera 77 south of clinton road. traffic pretty light in that area right now.

and some trucks. maybe we'll get through just fine this morning. hey, we needed a coat yesterday morning. not the case today. >> not necessarily the case this morning. and it's going to be a nice and somewhat warmer afternoon, highs getting into the mid-70s, a little bit windy as well. >> thanks. we'll continue our late breaking news coverage of an overnight crime spree across charlotte. we're on the scene right now as police say thieves got away with assault rifles. ahead at 5:00 on "daybreak," the question we're asking police as they investigate. weather and traffic every 10 minutes.

ss news da channel 9 is following multiple breaking news stories overnight. first right now cmpd investigating a burglary at a local gun and pawn shop where sources tell channel 9 thieves made off with nearly two dozen assault rifles. the other overnight burglary attempts that could be connected. and breaking overnight, an international manhunt is under way right now for one of the men suspected in yesterday's terror attacks. the new information we learned overnight about the two men behind the bombings. good morning, thanks for joining us. i'm john paul. >> i'm stephanie maxwell. let's get a check on your first forecast. meteorologist vicki graf is in severe weather center 9. a huge

we'll see them improve as well for the afternoon. >> that's right, stephanie. as soon as you step outside, you will feel the warmth. we're in the mid-to low 50s right now, temperatures just updated within the past couple of minutes. 49 in monroe, 47 in rockingham, 54 in salisbury and 43 degrees in boone. so in some spots you might want a light layer, but compared to this time yesterday, we're running almost 20 degrees warmer. that's a sign of things to come as we go throughout the day today. so for your morning drive, plenty of sunshine, mid-40s by 7:00, and as we go throughout the afternoon, we will keep the sunshine around and highs for today about 10 degrees warmer than average, in the mid-70s. that w wmth will eventually lead to the threat for rain. i'll pinpoint when it arrives coming up. first we have weather and traffic every 10 minutes. let's get a look at the morning drive with john. >> this morning traffic team 9 is monitoring the drive, 45 at graham street in charlotte, so far traffic is moving just fine through this area. no reported issues. let's take a look at the drive times, though, down in south charlotte. you can see carowood boulevard

pineville to uptown 11 minutes, wiley to uptown about five minute the. you can check drive times on our website, we have them posted for you at wsoctv.com. we're following several stories from our breaking news center. first cmpd is investigating after thieves tried to break into two businesses overnight. now, one was a popular gun store. it's over in west charlotte. the other is a nearby family dollar store. eyewitness news reporter brittany johnson is live right in front of that family dollar store. this is on wilkinson boulevard. and, brittany, police are also investigating another break-in, that one at a gun store about 12 miles from there. >>reporter: they are, john. a very, very busy morning for cmpd. you can see there's still an officer staked out in this shopping center on wilkinson boulevard right outside the family dollar. police believe thieves tried to break into this store and the hyatt store which is right next to it in the same shopping center around 3:00 this morning. we haved video of officers on the scene of both. around 3:00 a.m., police say