as of 6-30 tonight... "duke energy" reports .... greenville and spartanburg county each have about 11- hundred customers without power... anderson county has less than a hundred without power ... in north carolina ... in north power ...without power ... in north carolina ... duke says just over 15-thousand are without power... and late this afternoon... in north carolina... governor pat mccrory declared a "state of emergency" ... to speed up... fixing outages there. the same windy weather... that caused outages across the upstate... also slowed down some utility crews today. they were working hard... to trim trees ... and get the power back on. "duke energy" tells us... it brought

and help. we found them working... to get trees off the power lines... so the utility crews... could then repair those lines. along carolyn drive in spartanburg ... people were waiting.. for their electricity to be restored.. they couldn't have been happier...to see the utility truck... turn onto their street: ----- 00:02:19:23 "i'm thankful they're working on it no y, cae d y don't knohoyomiss power until it's gone." ----- a lot of these outages... were sporadic... and scattered. in some places...only -1- customer was affected... or a few houses... on a street. people along the east coast... are cleaning up the mess ... left by yesterday's storms. amish residents came out... to help their neighbors...after tornadoes ripped apart homes... in lancaster county, pennsylvania. about -50- buildings are damaged ... including an amish school house. no injuries...were reported. -3- people died ... in waverly, virginia... when a tornado slammed into a mobile home park. forecasters say ... the tornado had wind speeds... over 100-miles per hour...and cut a path of destruction 9-miles long and

in waverly... was just 2-years old. the family of an upstate man is suing greenville county deputies .. for killing him .. while responding to a robbery *he* called in. when deputies showed up .. charles rosemond thought it was the robbers returning. so he started shooting - and was killed by police. the wrongful death lawsuit .. filed today.. says deputies came into the home without saying who they were... and left rosemond's gunshot wound untreated. thieves...targeting copper wire ... are causing problems... in one anderson county neighborhood residents say...they've been hit -7- times... this month. the "anderson county sheriff's office" says... the crooks are cutting a-t-and-t telephone lines... along "camellia drive". the cut wires...can still be seen... hanging from the road while the temporary gray wires... line the ground. "7 news" spoke with a resident, peggy hamilton mills along with sheriff john skipper... and county administrator rusty burns. skipper says... they're aware of the issue and are working to stop it but the county administrator notes...crooked buyers... are making things easier ... for thieves: ---- 29:33 "somebody is

ooy ind well becauyou know trbe ceih state where people have try tsteal r they ended up getting themselves electrocuted." ----- we examined the laws while both georgia and south carolina... require permits... registered with sheriff's offices to sell copper at designated places ... a georgia law enacted in 20-12 makes it illegal to buy copper wire...that's been burned or heated... to conceal identity. right now... the "upstate warriors solution" is working with the spartanburg county sheriff's office... to get help ... for a veteran with mental issues... who was arrested. due to the sensitivity of their work... we've chosen ... not to name him. many people in spartanburg county filed police reports with the spartanburg county sheriff's office... after a new neighbor started hiding in the woods... and shining lights and lasers... into their homes. that man was arrested by the spartanburg county sheriff's office for trespassing

the veteran needed more help. "upstate warrior solution" is now working to get this man to the v-a... and create a long-term solution: ----- 16:36:45,19 "it's what we wake up monday through friday to do, think about itatda and sunday...it'shawei awake at night thinking o.-- 17:02:16,26 "you can't keep going out there trying to band aid, it because eventually the situation will escalate." ----- if you know a veteran who needs help we've linked to the "crisis hotline" ... as well as a number for "upstate warriors"... at w-s-p-a dot-com. south carolina lawmakers are taking steps... to better inform parents and students... about university "greek life" in our state. a new bill being proposed... is inspired by and named after... tucker hipps ... the clemson student who died in 20-14... while pledging a fraternity. dawn logg spoke with his parents...about what this new legislation could mean ... in a "7 news" statehouse watch: ------ gary hipps father of clemson student tucker hipps who died while pledging a

wife didn't know about allegations of hazing sexual assault and alcohol abuse against several fraternities at clemson until two days after their son died.) "had we known the dangers based on allegations of misconduct, we would have pulled our son from this organization, thereby saving his life." hipps died after falling from a bridge into lake hartwell in 20-14 during an early morning run with members of the fraternity he was pledging. after losing their son gary and cindy hipps feel the public has the right to know all infractions made by any university organization so they came up with the "tucker hipps transparency act". the purpose of the bill sponsored by representative joshua putnam is to make information violations readily accessable to the public. ) "what this bill would allow is for students and parents to have the information tmake the best choices." whether it be criminal or code of conduct related this bill would make

university websites.) "we're not doing this just to have tucker's name on a bill we're doing this because this information is important to parents and students." and so no other parent ever has to say "had we known") "had we known what we know now, tucker would have never been on thabridge thatmorning." n columbia dawn logg seven news. if passed the bill would not expose the identity of students... who committed infractions instead... the goal is to hold the organizations accountable... for their actions. the bill was tabled... it'll be discussed more... in a meeting... next week. south carolina lawmakers are trying to make it easier to open meetings with prayers. today ... a senate subcommittee passed a bill ... that spells out how county and city councils and local school boards ... can start with invocations. the bill would put into state law ...a u-s supreme court ruling from 2014 that says local governments -can- open with prayers. chip campsen: "it doesn't require anyone to do any of this buay fora,r m yo

nitl. the bill says the prayers cannot advance one particular religion ... and no one can be coerced to take part. the national group "freedom -from- religion foundation" ... says the bill goes further than the supreme court ruling ... and could lead local bodies to break the law. "campaign 2016".... with the south carolina democratic primary just two days away...democratic candidates are visiting the upstate ... bill clinton....campaigning on behalf of his wife "hillary clinton"...visited the "golden strip career center" in mauldin... the former president dropped by to see how the school is helping students earn work ready certificates in several fields... he later held a rally to get out the vote at "u-s-c upstate"... "hillary clinton" made several stops in south carolina... one of them was here at this "corridor of opportunity town hall" at the "williamsburg county recreation center" in "kingstree"... rallies were also held in rock hill...

vermont senator "bernie sanders" was not in south carolina ... but spent some time in ohio... he held this rally in "berea".... "sanders" will return to the palmetto state tomorrow for rallies at "claflin university" in orangeburg...a nd at "township auditorium" in columbia... a new poll out today shows a big lead for "hillary clinton" ... in the latest "clemson university palmetto poll"...a survey of 650 likely voters by phone shows 64 percent will likely vote for "clinton"... and 14 percent would vote for "bernie sanders"... 22 percent say they're undecided... the margin of error is plus or minus 3 percent.... a reminder....we'll have complete coverage of the democratic presidential primary this saturday.... beginning with "daybreak" at 6 a-m and continuing at 6 and 11 on "7 news" and at t 10 on "carolina's c-w"...with updates and results... throughout the evening on our website...wspa dot com...and on our 7 news app... on the g-o-p side ...the eyes of texas and the nation turn to the field of five presidential candidates...who will gather tonight for the final time before "super tuesday". "omar

houston...where the debate is just an hour away. after three straight wins...donald trump walks into tonight's debate as the g-o-p's presidential frontrunner. but it's the battle between senators ted cruz and marco rubio...that could turn ugly. those two fighting each other would be pro wrestling. you know, no holds barred." this is the final debate before voters in 12 states head to the polls on super tuesday. nearly 600 delegates are up for grabs...the biggest prize is texas....with 155 delegates. trump leads the delegate count with 81 ....rubio and cruz a bi dt . "the pressure is on cruz to win his home state of texas if he wants to stay in the race. but the polls varyshowing cruz either ahead by 15 pointsor tied with trump." s-m-u political science professor cal jillson says it's risky to go after trump during the debate. as politicians, you're used to counter-punchers. you say

you say something to trump, he knocks you out! the latest person in trump's crosshairs -- former g-o-p presidential candidate mitt romney who questioned the billionaire about his taxes. "frankly, i think we have good reason to believe that the' boslnndtrump' xe e bk otwtethursdaypost t pfmwith hisx tnanaskingyromney doests endoemarco ro tpy his taxarcomplice. omar villafranca, cbs news, houston. there's concern ahead for florida senator "marco rubio". a quinnipiac poll released today shows "trump" ahead 44 percent to "rubio's" 28 percent among likely g-o-p voters in florida. nevada governor "brian sandoval" says he's not interested in replacing late supreme court justice "antonin scalia".... in a statement...sandoval says he notified the white house and says he told the same thing to senators "harry reid", "dean heller" and "mitch mcconnell". wednesday..."reid"

next on 7 news .... many of you are filing your taxes right now... but it's also another chance for scammers to take your money... we'll tell you about the top 12 ways ....they're doing it ...and how to avoid being a victim.... raising a child.. is one of the most trying jobs.. on the planet. but for foster parents.. even getting the kid.. out of a group home. is a struggle. tonight at eleven ....7 news investigator gordon dill.. tells us why

the world a president has to grapple with. sometimes you can't even imagine. that's the job. and she's the one who's proven she can get it done. ...securing a massive reduction in nuclear weapons... ...standing up against the abuse of women... ...protecting social security... ...expanding benefits for the national guardrd. ...and winning health care for 8 million children... the presidency is the toughest job in the world and she's the one who'll make a real difference for you.

the internal revenue service puts out a list each year of the top 12 tax scams... it's called "the dirty dozen"... and this year - there's one in particular that really hits close to home. "diane lee" shows you what they are....and how to avoid them ...in this "7 news consumer watch".... the dirty dozen tax scams includes both fraud that

theft, and scams where the taxpayer is the perpetrator. "and i send em out the door. there it is, go. i'm not going to have anything to do with this return. i had one guy came in and he had 1099s and he said well i need to add this amount of money to it .. ..."he's asking for me to alter his tax returns for him to give me money, ok so what were your expenses, well i didn't haany. anhk n'let him?" "no!" not all preparseas honest as dan thomas. this month, federal prosecutors hit three liberty tax offices in columbia with a lawsuit. it alleges they prepared false and inflated refunds by giving clients income from fictional jobs.'it just really makes me wonder who is preparing your taxes.really do you homework adon'tutbecause there' sign on yo buildint y leie another tax scam that makes the list... phishing emails that steal the irs logo and try to get your personal information."we've warned you about the irs phone scam where they threaten you if you don't pay up. it is still so prevalent, the sc departmeof consumer affairs sayi scam of the yea and they don' it slowing down then there's inflated deductions. here's what you should do..."i never overstate them, but i

do you have a receipt for everything?" "i have a receipt for everything." but the irs says too many pad their donations, don't have documentation, and some even add dependents who don't even exist. diane lee, 7 news. the i-r-s says i-d theft tops the scam list.. but tax agencies are doing a much better job of stopping false returns this year. so if you are an i-d theft victim... you may have a delayed refund.. but at least the money is less likely to go to someone else. you'll find the full dirty dozen tax scams list at wspa dot com. in a 7 news "crime tracker"....spartanburg county deputies need your help finding a man they say is using a credit card that was cloned... take a good look at these surveillance photos... deputies say this man walked into several stores in the upstate recently....using a card that was cloned from someone's actual card... the victim never lost their card....but deputies say the cloned card was used at a "red lobster" in spartanburg...and

greenville county and on "reidville road"... if you know who this man is.... deputies would like to hear from you.... give them a call ... or call crime stoppers...at 1- 888-crime-s-c....

) ) next on "7 news" ... airlines may be giving you a break... find out why they may waive certain fees ...in a 7 news consumer watch... first... here's a look at your prime-time lineup

a "7 news consumer watch"....the airline industry could give you a break if bad weather changes your plans... airlines may now be willing to waive fees if you change your travel plans to avoid major air traffic snarls. severe winter weather... is causing a number of delays and cancellations.. in and out of major airport hubs... across the country. "united" and "southwest" have already cancelled or delayed... hundreds of flights. travelers are being advised to call their airline... many of them... are temporarily dropping

weather. a dubious distinction for "abercrombie and fitch"... a retail industry study has named the clothing company the "most hated" in america. the study finds the company's efforts to turn around sales ....is not working and customers surveyed have reported negative experiences... "walmart" came in 2nd on the list. one of the most loved. a rochester, new york...based supermarket caled "wegman's". next on "7 news" ... how a young boy ....and huge soccer fan...scored big thanks to a soccer star and a big following online...

(music playing) i feel pretty (west side story) not every cake can be handcrafted in store by skilled decorators layered with fresh berries and frosted to perfection like our publix bakery chantilly cake it'll be remembered for all the right reasons. publix.

hillary clinton: i do not believe we live in a single-issue country. the economy is rigged in favor of the top. americans haven't had a raise in 15 years. but i want to go further. whether it's poison in the water... hardworking immigrant families living in fear... racism holding people back... wall street and big financial interests along with drug companies, insurance companies, big oil companies... the indifference, the negligence. that's what i want to take on. i'm running for president to root out all of these barriers... because i think america can only live up to its potential when we make sure that every american has a chance

i'm hillary clinton, and i approve this message. the young boy...who became an internet sensation... when he was pictured wearing a striped plastic bag...that looked like a soccer jersey... is now the owner... of the real thing. the 5 year old boy wore a replica of a jersey and number of soccer star "lionel messi"... but thanks to the soccer superstar and the "united nations children fund".... the child was given two autographed shirts and a signed football from the iconic player. the boys father says... it was "one of

thanks for joining us. i'll see you at 10 on the carolinas c-w... and we'll be back here at 11. until then... you can get the latest updates by logging-on to w-s-pcom. stay with us for "scene on 7"... coming