>> anybody for powerball only? elaina: people waited in line with their wallet in hand. some brought in coins. and this guy said, there is no holds barred when it comes to playing the numbers and trying to take home the jackpot. >> i have a bunch of numbers. i have to do what i have to do. elaina: others went the traditional route, joining a work pool or buying as many tickets as possible. >> it's crazy. elaina: the jackpot has reached over $1.5 billion. the odds of getting the money aren't good. the chances are one in 292 million. but if you happen to be that one lucky person to hold the golden ticket, north carolina will have

your personal information will be released to the public. >> it is important that people know that there are winners, and who the winners are. it adds credibility and trust. elaina: some people have a plan for when they win. >> security. that's how you do it. elaina: a man with a plan. if no one wins, saturday's powerball could rise to $2 billion. we have the winning numbers scrolling at the bottom of the screen. i have my ticket out, ready to roll. what are the numbers? tisha: 8, 27, 34, 4, 19, and the powerball is 10. did you win? elaina: i guess not. i have to work tomorrow. tisha: i'm sure somebody probably one somewhere in the

find out if anybody struck it rich tomorrow morning right here on eyewitness news. steve: developing right now, the search for a serial robber intensifying after he struck again in fayetteville. the brazen bandit, so bold he had the same business twice. the crime spree involves two businesses and a gas station. greg shows us the clues he is leaving behind. >> take a good look at these pictures. police say this man is on a four-week crime spree in local convenience stores. >> he demands the money, and takes the money. >> investigators say he held up this convenience store twice, once in december and again last night. he also held at the day night tobacco mart and a speedway gas station. investigators say he wore a hoodie and pulled a rusted

the clerks help to them connect the robber to the holdups. >> the same guy that robbed us. >> he is 5'8" and slim build. if you can help police, call crimestoppers or dial 911. greg barnes, abc 11 eyewitness news. tisha: hillsborough police named two suspects in a bank heist. they are accused of robbing the community one bank on millstone drive monday morning. one suspect is accused of robbing another bank on new year's eve. steve: a man wanted for murder in durham is off the street. marshals arrested jamal xdixon on chapel street. he killed a woman who was found inside a car near the intersection of liberty and peachtree place on november 18.

an 18-year-old was found unresponsive in her room early tuesday morning. she later died at the hospital. she was a senior and middle college high school at durham tech. police ask anyone with information to come forward. steve: friends say goodbye to a high school student who died in a plane crash in wyoming. an overnight vigil going on right now for the 17-year-old in chapel hill. she was known to her friends as kenzie and was a competitive jump rope or. she practiced with the school team. a funeral mass tomorrow at 11:00. tisha: police are looking for a man who stole from a church on new year's eve. he woke up -- broke out a window at the church on south own street. pictures show him going through a side window. the pastor says once he got inside, he's told a television.

steve: an investigation into a system failure at blue cross blue shield. it it enrolled thousands of customers in the wrong insurance. it was a blower is coming forward with what they say is proof the insurance giant new about delays and technical issues for months. phil brown is in the studio. why did blue cross move ahead with the software? >> the company says it was and still is confident in it's now two-year-old piece of software. one blue cross blue shield staffer says the company knew months ago the software had major flaws but moved forward anyway with the expansion, resulting in a system failure. it affected thousands of customers. the i-team got these memos from blue cross, the source said major problems arose 2-3 months ago. leadership decided they were

no matter what the problem. it is a catastrophe. from the company plus 15-year-old software program. it is the system that manages everything from your health insurance id card to making sure your doctor's bill gets paid. power mhs was replaced with a newer program called facet. the program was not ready for the burden of a half million new customers in january. according to the memos, highlighting delays in testing and software processing at risk. the source calls the memos warning signs of a train wreck. >> since january 1, the company suffered its most serious failure in decades. 25,000 customers placed in the wrong plan. many didn't know if they were covered. bank accounts drafted in error. the blue cross says the source is wrong to suggest the memos

a spokesman said, this is not a new system. we are in the second year of the transition. with any transition, there are challenges, which is why we prepared documents that proactively identify risks and mitigate customer risks. the company refutes the source's claim that it did not have a backup plan. "we have looked at ways to medicate customer impact and moderate the plan accordingly." >> while we field calls with frustrated customers since january 1, the company insists the success rate of the software transition is more than 90%. steve: joel brown, thank you. just getting started tonight, forced to apologize. 10 american sailors on display, the interrogation splashed on a rainy and tv. what one sailor said to the

plus, high heel. an old woman doesn't live in the shoe. a town built cinderella's slipper. first, a live look outside our studio. chris, dry right now but rain to end the week? chris: dry and chilly right now. temperatures into the 20's and low 30's. cold, but look how it warms up tomorrow as we head towards the noon hour. a milder day tomorrow, but rain gets here friday. i will tell you about your weekend and when temperatures get cold again coming up in the first alert forecast. steve: the winning powerball numbers tonight, here they are. one more time, 8, 27, 34, 4, 19, and the powerball tonight is 10. we got an update from powerball

jackpot tonight is now up t>> abc 11 is keeping you connected. find us on facebook for the latest eyewitness news updates. tisha: now to the tense situation in the persian gulf. the sailors were freed after their small navy boats drifted into iranian waters. iranian television broke the video showing the terrifying moments they endured. soldiers boarded the boat's and american sailors, with their hands up and firearms inspected by iranians. later, one sailor apologized on iranian tv. >> it was a mistake. we apologize for our mistake. there was a misunderstanding. we did not mean to go into iranian waters. >> the iranians were fantastic while we were here.

tisha: the 10 sailors are back in the u.s. facilities in bahrain, their original destination. john kerry said the situation would likely have ended differently a few years ago. steve: chipotle is confident the e. coli crisis is coming to an end. the ceo and executives met with the cdc last week, and they say the chain's health of the cbc will cut -- declare the outbreak over. they are taking measures to make sure the food is safe and watching a new marketing campaign. tisha: the ice car in buffalo has been freed from its frozen shell. a local car dealership was able to dig the car out. although the shell outlined at the front of the car remained, the car was told to a garage to be thought out. the mitsubishi had been stuck in the parking lots and sunday. the owner left it behind because he went out drinking with

steve: must-see video, a wild one in baltimore. check out these guys stealing an atm. this shows these guys pulling and shaking the atm before it comes out of the wall. when they free it, they are able to drag it out the front door of the store. police do not know how much cash they got away with. now to australia, and check out this. the moment a driver makes a split-second decision to stop a thief trying to steal his car. this was caught on camera. the driver right here goes sprinting towards the car. watch the ninja kick through the window. the thief is then seen running away from the car. you see him there, there he is. that is the bad guy, taking off. he did not get the car, thankfully. check out this church in taiwan. it has come up with a unique way to attract women. it has built in the shape of a giant high-heeled shoe. it is constructed from blue glass.

feet wide. it includes what it calls 100 female oriented features. the huge shoe is due to open on february 8. they are trying to attract visitors there. it is a catholic church. a new tank. tisha: i need to find out what female oriented features are. steve: we need to find out more. tisha: that is very unusual. chris: if it gets people coming, that is awesome. steve: happy birthday, chris. chris: not even an hour left. they had a cake for me, a chocolate cake in the newsroom. my favorite. thanks, guys. i appreciate it. let us sunshine, temperatures on the chilly side, but quiet weather. it will stay quiet through the evening hours into the early morning hours.

many spots in the 20's. 30 in the triangle, through the evening hours, upper 20's into the early morning hours. look how fast we rise. by midday, already warmer than we were all day today, which was the upper 30's and low 40's. north hill, 34. other areas, much chillier. 32 at the airport, which humidity at 50%. a southwest wind at three miles per hour. 25 at south hill. it was 21 earlier. 25, roxboro. 29, chapel hill. sandford, 25. fayetteville, 31. we bottomed out and should stay where we are, drop a few more degrees. mid-20's to about 30. clear and cold across the region. unusual -- not unusually cold. a quiet day across the eastern u.s. a few snow showers around the great lakes. tonight, temperatures hold

low to mid 20's, upper 20's to the south with clear skies and scattered frost as usual on a clear, calm night. upper 20's at 8:00, temperatures rise by with mostly sunny skies. 51 degrees heading for the mid 50's tomorrow. raleigh-durham, a great thursday. bright sunshine, light southwest wind come upper 50's around fayetteville. temperatures a few degrees above after -- above average. 56, low 50's in roxboro. rain arrives friday. low-pressure pressure rides up the coast. it will be too warm for anything but rain friday. morning starts out. towards midday, this is around lunchtime. the rain spreading rapidly in the mid to late afternoon. the timing could change a couple days out. dry at first, the second half of the day, wet. moderate rain rolling for rapidly could easily pick up a half inch to an inch of rain. friday evening, especially if you are heading out, it will be

by 11:00 and midnight, we dry out. a quick system that will be out of here by early saturday. saturday looks bright. a lot of people on social media today, picking up intensive snow potentially on sunday. what they are looking at, some people, one computer model. this calls the gfs. sunday at noon, this is the freezing line. anything north or west could fall potentially as snow. the surface temperatures may be above freezing. this model indicates a little bit of snow. earlier, it indicated four inches of snow on sunday. now, it indicates much less. all the other models, including the european, have nothing more than a flurry of two, in many cases nothing during the day sunday. the conditions in the atmosphere will be such that really, not conducive for an east coast snowstorm to develop during the day sunday. that is the thinking now.

facebook, steve and don as well, to get the lowdown on the winter storms. sunday looks to be a dry day. we will keep you updated and don will have more tomorrow morning. mid-50's tomorrow, rain develops friday. it could be a quick hit, but rain on friday afternoon and evening. saturday, dry and mild, 56. chillier sunday, dry for now. all indications that it won't much of anything except clouds. monday and tuesday, much more certain. and that of arctic air will keep temperatures in the 30's and maybe not above freezing by early next week. low teens and low 20's. the sun will be out. tisha: put your layers on, and your sunglasses. steve: breaking powerball news, the california lottery says there is one jackpot winner in southern california outside los angeles. we are waiting for other states to report in.

tisha: at least one winner so far. a first grade class giving football fans a lesson at empathy. steve: white panthers fans in charlotte need to look up for a little inspiration. -- why panther fans and charlotte need to look up for

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tisha: the final play on sunday has been a tough pill to swallow for vikings fans. steve: the kicker missed the field goal with seconds remaining. a teacher has seen the mess, and used it as a learning experience for students. she came up with an assignment for her first grade class. write a letter showing empathy and encouragement. they are mailing letters of encouragement to the vikings. tisha: you can't look up in charlotte without reminding to keep pounding. banners were hung through uptown charlotte today. the battle cry comes from former assistant coach sam mills, who used the phrase in a 2004 speech to the team. steve: we will cover -- you are looking forward to it, and so are we. done. we will talk more about the panthers.

of the matchup this weekend.

over the noles. clemson rejected>> now, abc 11 eyewitness news

mark: if you are looking for an early surprise team, look at clemson. the tigers opened conference play and entered the game versus duke writing a winning streak. the guys feeding off the football magic to some degree. brandon ingram the first half story. 15 points as he strikes the three. duke of two at the break. foul trouble crippled them. 13 plus minutes to go and ingram picks up his fourth foul. he was a nonfactor from that point. clemson's offense would catch fire. dante grantham with the and one. duke, grayson allen punch out of the corner. this lay-up, two of his 17 points that cuts the deficit to one. lawson game answers emphatically

but matt jones gets a good look, and catches nothing but air. clemson wins and the tigers trail only carolina and pit in league standings. pats staring down the barrel of a chasm in the acc. the first bucket, a three-pointer. he picked up two quick fouls and had to sit. but not before this, what we expected from him. 20 one points, 13 boards. fsu would not relinquish the lead. beasley on the brakes, which seems like a dagger. not quite. rolen hits two late threes to raise everyone's blood pressure but it wasn't meant to be. state false, a -- 85-78. you want panthers talk? i have that, as well. we have the keep pounding crew ahead of the showdown with

>> the highlight of panthers practice today had nothing to do with the actual play. three key starters dressed and participated for the first time since week 16. all are on track to suit up on sunday. >> i haven't played for a month or so. to be back out there, back in the groove, back to normal. >> no limitations. i feel good about everybody. confident about guys showing up ready to roll. >> earning a bye could be huge. carolina players got to heal and recharge mentally for what will be in an honest test. >> as you get older, you realize how hard it is to win in this league. we won a lot of this year. it is hard to get to the mountaintop. anytime you get this close, make sure you are doing everything necessary to give yourself a chance to win the game.

straight super bowl's for a reason. that is why many panthers brands rooted for walsh to knock him what look like a sure thing. cam newton thought the opposite. >> a lot of guys are whispering that we wouldn't have won it any other way. that is kind of the must-see tv, you have good players of -- on both sides. >> this will be the second year in a row. we are talking about the opportunity to play the team that cost -- that is on your radar. >> hopefully, it is not in vain. joe mazur, abc 11 eyewitness news. mark: i will be in charlotte on sunday. tisha: that doesn't for us.

commitment to real health care access for all americans. they also sent around this 2008 clip of clinton blasting her then-opponent barack obama. >> since when do democrats attack one another on universal health care? >> reporter: it wasn't that long ago that sanders was a challenger that clinton barely mentioned by name. now, she is not holding back. attacks that her campaign says we will see a lot more of. cecilia vega, abc news, new york. investigators in ohio now say a house fire and explosion that killed a family of four was arson. they determined what caused the fire but aren't offering other details till they complete their investigation. neighbors say monday the blast shook homes throughout the area. the gas company says testing has confirmed there were no natural gas leaks coming from the home. emergency crews in idaho rescued two skiers after they got caught up in an avalanche. they had started their day at lookout pass, then moved to an area about five miles away.

avalanche center claims the skiers ignored several warnings and triggered the snow slide. a helicopter airlifted them out. one suffered broken bones. a search is under way for a third person who may still be missing in all of that. the snow in the rockies isn't the only system forecasters are watching today. >> many are looking for relief from the freeding cold. justin povick has the latest. good morning. >> thanks and good morning to you, as well. the cold is going to begin to ease its grip, its icy grips in the northeast over the coming days. snow showers in the short term all north and west of new york city, boston and into d.c. now, out west, we are concerned about some major snows over the higher terrain, but no big storminess in the central plains. notice along the gulf coast, there's going to be soaking showers from houston into southern louisiana. and then an even bigger storm system will come about later on

produce heavy snow and also some heavy sleet into interior portions of central and northern new england. reena, kendis, back to you. >> thank you. portland, oregon is tired of being messed -- the mess left behind on its sidewalks by kroez. so the city is going hi-tech with a device called at poop master 6,000. it's sort of like the zambonis that the hockey rinks use. >> except the problem that in the winter, birds like to roost in the trees and you know what that means down below. you'll find the poop master each weekday morning around 7:00 a.m. scrubbing the downtown transit mall. the city's paying a few thousand dollars a month to remove poop. >> but the residents say it is worth every cent . >> it's really a crappy situation for them. i understand. it's just, you know. >> we get it. >> it's the number two problem in all of portland.

dreaming of a better job.