and welcome back to first at 4:00 i'm jamie boll. >> i'm brigida mack. glad you are with us on this friday. first at 4:00 if you have applied for a job you have probably seen the question: have you been convicted of a felony? advocates in mecklenberg county they are campaigning for the change on county job job applications today. steve crump joins us live from uptown. what impact could this have? >> well, you know when you look at it on the stur fast it appears that mecklenberg county is taking a queue from the city of charlotte that enacted a similar program. and today backers of that ban the box effort gathered here at the government center to get more support for that measure. now, it's all about providing second chances and by getting rid of questions as it relates to criminal histories applicants will have a chance to state their case or what happened to them in front of county employers. however there is something we need to understand. it does not preclude background checks but sponsors feel that the job applicants will get a serious look. >> when

welcome back to first at 4:00 i'm jamie boll. >> i'm brigida mack. thank you for being here on this monday. first at 4:00 three local towneships want the charlotte-mecklenburg school board to know they are fighting for neighborhood schools and believe it should be a priority. tonight two of them will pass a resolution to make their stance official. our education reporter dedrick russell joining us live now from huntersville's town hall. dedrick, what other town is passing this resolution tonight? >> well, brigida, besides huntersville tonight, the town of cornelius will pass a resolution. and we are told that the town of davidson will discuss passing one tomorrow night. parents and politicians in those towns are concerned. they argue since cms did not address the importance of neighborhood schools when it passed goals for student assignment a few weeks ago, anything can happen. carry weight and the school district will listen to them. cms is trying right now to come up with a new student assignment plan that will create more diverse schools and give

wbtv anchor brigida mack has more. >> president obama introduced an emotional merrick garland as his choice to replace antonin scalia on the supreme court. >> for me there could be no higher public service than serving as a member of the united states supreme court. >> he is chief judge on the u.s. court of appeals in washington d.c. and regarded as a moderate. he was born in chicago and graduated from harvard law school. president obama described him as one of america's sharpest legal minds with the spirit of decency, integrity and even handedness. >> these qualities and his long commitment to public service have earned him the respect and admiration of leaders from both sides of the aisle. >> that bipartisan support will be key if the nomination moves forward in the senate. republicans say while it's the president's constitutional right to nominate it's the senate's right to withhold consent. every member of the senate judiciary to discuss the nomination. but for now, the g.o.p. leadership is digging in. saying the appointment should wait until after a new president takes office. >

wbtv on your side anchor brigida mack has the story new on prime time. >> reporter: the cell phone video is grainy, but police say it shows a 16-year-old girl attacked by what appears to be another teenage girl. moments later two other girls join in on the beating. >> this is the first time in her life she's ever been in a fight. she had no idea what was going family friend of mattie , the girl who suffered life-threatening injuries in the fight. he's speaking on behalf of mattie and her family as she recovers from a ruptured spleen, fractured ribs and internal bleeding. >> there's a community responsibility here. parents aren't pay attention to what's going on with their kids. kids have the wrong impression that violence is okay. and if you get facebook likes you're more popular than somebody else. >> reporter: this is the alley way, an area where police say the fight took place. gallon's police chief says multiple people recorded the incident on their cell phones. he calls the fight disturbing on many levels. >> everybody had the cell phone in their hand and was willing to videotape it

good afternoon we thank you for joining us for first at 4:00 on this monday i'm brigida mack. we'll get to those stories in just a moment. first, a storm system moving our way and could bring the possibility for severe storms. >> it bears watching. those storms could bring wind and hail and i've moved to the first alert forecast with meteorologist leigh brock and the timing of this. they are in tennessee right now. >> they have not moved into north carolina yet. the southern mountains facing showers but the rest of us so far so good. here is the progress of it. they are moving from the west. notice how they are moving fairly quickly from the west to the east out of tennessee. you can see some of the showers and some of our southern mountains. farther to the north this is not quite in north carolina yet but just a matter of time before we see this batch in here. that is going to be pushing closer to us. let's look at the numbers. we have temperatures that are the 70s. 79 right now in charlotte. 76 in salisbury and 79 in rock hill. temperatures they are still definitely on the w

good afternoon and thank you for joining us the abbreviated version of first at 4:00 i'm >> i'm brigida mack. south carolina investigators trying to figure out why three missing children were found safe locked in a closet of an abandoned tailor that trailer 300 feet from their home. 4 year old and two-year-old sisters went missing with the three-year-old cousin they searched the trailer where they were found but did not find them initially. investigators do not know if they left the home or were with someone. they are upset, tired and hungry but safe. >> the alert center with alex giles. >> we have seen wild images coming in. look at the video out of houston, texas where the floodwaters have been covering the roads. heavy rains causing some of the roads to close. we are told some of the schools in that area were delayed or canceled because of that weather. messing up the bus routes, too, if the roads are covered in water you cannot drive. >> they have had flooding in appreciate it. around here, another day of very warm temperatures above average and well into the 70s. >> and we could get clo

. >> i'm brigida mack thank you for joining us for first at 4:00. students were shaken up about crime on winthrop university campus. wbtv's michael clark joining us live from campus. they did not just talk about the concerns they convinced university leaders to add safety features? >> yeah absolutely. if you can see this is one of the emergency call boxes that will be put up outside where that 18-year-old was robbed. student asked for in a on line petition drive that collected 900 signatures. leaders say the armed robbery and student response were major factors in making the decision: the president met with the organizer of the petition drive to let them know their voices have been heard. hall and all female dorm here and that is where a young woman was robbed and another person was sexually assaulted here a couple years ago. students comranned that the nearest 9-1-1 box was too far away and that area is secluded and poorly lit at night. and leaders are reassuring students that they are making changes with the addition of the call boxes. officials h

. >> i'm brigida mack. the mountains could see four inches of snow tonight. >> the rest of us could see heavy rain and some of the snowflakes are making their way into the piedmont. lyndsay tapases is in the first alert weather center. >> we have had reports of fat wet snowflakes first in gastonia and then the lake area. since the air is so, so dry sometimes we see even though the temperatures areth the mid-40s, the cooling is enough to support the snow reaching the ground for a brief period of time. and you see snow showers in the mountains where we would expect them but the first batch of moisture is pulling out of the mountains into the foothills in the piedmont. and what we have on the radar for the most part is just a lot of green. but we'll zoom in closer here to places like gastonia where we first got those reports. and if we put this back into motion you can see where you saw that brief burst of green and sometimes that is the radar thinking it's picking up on heavy rain but it's picking up on parti

welcome back on this tuesday i'm brigida mack. >> i'm jamie boll. glad you are with us. the man accused of murdering his former boss, has been denied bond. kevin dejesus was extradited yesterday. he shot and killed jesse campbell the owner of a dilworth greenhouse. michael clark was in court today and has the latest for us first at 4:00. >> kevin dejesus will remain in jail after bopped denied by a magistrate. the murder suspect is from honduras and needed an interpreter to communicate in court. in a south carolina courtroom kevin dejesus listened to the charge against him. investigators believe dejesus shot and killed his former employer jesse campbell at his home. probable cause is based on investigations and defendant admissions though officials could not say if he confessed to the crime. dejesus crashed a truck into a tree leaving the crime scene and parts recovered match the truck. he was arrested last month and extradited monday. dejesus is from honduras and immigration officials are checking to see if he is a legal citizen. a motive has not been released. he could

brigida mack is live in the newsroom with more on why they want to deal with this right away. >> paul, house speaker moore called the ordinance an imminent threat to public safety and lawmakers want immediate action against it. he has had requests from three fifths of house members wanting to deal with the bathroom cord nance. the city council says it was designed to give protections to people in the lgbt community from discrimination and that includes which bathroom they use. the governor and house speaker had said they did not want to call a special session because $42000 a day. but today the house speaker reversed his position saying lawmakers are unwilling to put a price tag on public safety. and we reached out to mayor roberts for comment and if the city plans to fight this. and she has not gotten back to us. we will let you know when we hear more. the ordinance is set to take effect april first. lawmakers have not said when the special session will be. paul? >> thank y y. new tonight the charlotte-mecklenburg school board launched a process to find the next superintendent. the p

. >> i'm brigida mack. thank you for joining us on this tuesday. of course we will get to what the ambassador had to say. >> and to the alert center new brussels and alex giles is live with that. >> we know the search is still on for one of the suspects in those ak tacks. this -- attacks. this video shows officials going through a neighborhood and during a raid in the neighborhood they found a nail bomb, chemicals and isis flag in one of the homes. you see the crews taping off the streets in belgium getting ready to go through one of the homes. they found a nail bomb, chemicals and isis flag in one of the homes. that is in brussels, belgium. more information tipping to come down and worldwide on the wires. this video just in from belgium. back to you. >> we are following it. alex giles in the alert center, thank you. >> reaction coming in from around the world after the attacks in belgium. in charlotte the french ambassador spoke to the world affairs couple of charlotte. michael clark was there and michael, why was the ambassador saying he was not

welcome back to first at 4:00 i'm brigida mack. >> i'm jamie boll. glad are you with us. first at 4:00, new unc president margaret in town and some welcomed the new president with a protest and argue she is not a good fit for the university. dedrick russell was that the protest and jumps on the telephone with us now. president? >> well, jamie, they tell me her 3w-7bd is questionable -- boston police department is questionable and background is questionable and it was a party like atmosphere at this protest with cake and all. the cake reads go home, margaret. students stood outside the union for more than an hour telling others why they think the new president is wrong for the university. they wrote messages why they feel that way. the protestors claim spelling's background says a lot about her. it includes being a major act protect of the -- architect of the no child left behind law and has had relationships with a for protest university and -- for-profit university and students fear she will allow the university to make a profit off of students by raising tuition.

. >> i'm molly grantham monthly in for brigida mack. computers, tv, personal information and more stolen in an armed robbery that happened during the middle of the day. the granddaughter was there when it happened and the suspects had guns. steve crump was there as police the cmpd north division. walk us through what the family says happened. >> well, obviously the moment is scary as you said. there was gunplay involved. and there were four people that barged into through the back door of the home. two carrying guns it happened in hyde park at 1:00 p.m. in broad daylight. and the damage is easy to see. the suspect's kicked in the back door and once they got in they made off with electronics. computers, flat screen television those were the most visible things taken. and they got away with cash and a safe. again, the scary part is that it happened in the middle of the day. and we spent part of the afternoon talking to police new coming your way tonight at 6:00 p.m. you will learn why some people say this is a very rare occurrence in the

. >> i'm brigida mack thank you for being here on this monday. tonight the chester county council will discuss potential fixes to a dangerous road. the stretch in question south carolina highway 9 at turn buckle road. it has a history of problems including a wreck two weeks agoch live to michael clark he has been following the developments. michael? >> this wreck just two weeks ago to this day is fresh on the minds of many people here in chester county. leaders will formally ask the state of south carolina for help with a safety study that could look at ways to fix that roadway. take a look at video of the crash scene a makeshift memorial is out there where a truck driver and off duty volunteer firefighter died in a crash two weeks ago. i checked with the state and looking at the number of cars that travel on that stretch of roadway everyday. how fast the cars are going and also looking for obstacles like branches or trees or anything that could cause low visibility or hazards. remember, first responders can remember at least half a dozen serious

welcome back to first at 4:00 on this tuesday i'm brigida mack. >> i'm jamie boll. first at 4:00 a story that has people talking. parents in union county are upset after a middle school psychologist was arrested for assaulting a student. 53-year-old dale russ is facing criminal charges after police responded to a call last week. brody o'connell on your side investigating from monroe. let's start with the school district what are they saying about this? >> good afternoon. the school keeping tight-lipped on this one. they did talk to me but referred all questions to the monroe police department. the agency i'm told that is handling this investigation. but here is what we know. we know that russ has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of this investigation. what are parents saying? >> well, as you can imagine, you are a parent it's one of the situations where you do not want to hear this is happening in your school. and i talked to parents here in monroe, and they are upset about this happening. but what really seemed to bother them the fact this is a school ps

. >> i'm brigida mack. thank you for being here. first at 4:00 no charges have been filed in the explosion that killed a cleveland county couple but they could be on the way. investigators say a driver ran off the road and hit a propane tank attached to the home. neighbors helped that couple to safety but they died hours later at the hospital. steve crump joining us live from cleveland county. where are troopers in their investigation? >> well, brigida, that investigation is still ongoing. let me show you what is happening at the scene and that is there's yellow tape up and that people left here. and state troopers left here about an hour-and-a-half ago around 3:00 p.m. there are many unanswered questions regarding the death of jb and naomi newton. the highway patrol has not turned over the final findings to the district attorney's office. however we have learned that the da's office has had people on the scene. and no charges have been filed in the case yet but we have been told the driver of the vehicle submitted a blood sample to

brigida mack is live here in studio with the latest. >> belgium's prime minister called for three days of national mourning following the coordinated attacks at the brussels airport and one of the capital's train stations. the deadly bombings killed 36 and injured more than 200 others including several americans. two survivors one clutching a baby picked themselves up from the floor moments after an explosion tore through the terminal one of two powerful blasts at the brussels airport that blew out windows and caused a ceiling to cave in. travelers ran for safety. >> panicking and two people with covered really covered with blood. >> an airport security camera captured this photo of three men that are behind the attacks. in black blew themselves up and issued a wanted notice for the third suspect the man in white wearing a hat. >> another deadly explosion rocked a busy subway station an hour later. some passengers evacuated through dark tunnels. belgium authorities say there is the strong possibility of another terrorist attack and people in brussels are allowed to walk around again an

. >> i'm brigida mack in for molly grantham tonight i've joined leigh brock in the first alert weather center what is the latest? >> we have thunderstorms moving through and the rest of us could see some through the evening. right now the showers are moving from the west. they have been moving across tennessee and now moving into north carolina. and it's the highest elevations that have seen the action. zoom in here. it's been ash and watauga county where you have seen the thunderstorms they are starting to make their way over the north carolina and tennessee border and they have lightning associated with them. and look at that lightning. in ashe county and that rain is coming down. and the lightning on top of that. any one of the cells could have hail and winds. and this is moving to the north and east. let's track this. moving to the north, northeast on the cells. in sugar mountain, boone or piney creek this is moving your way. especially heavy rain. but anytime through the evening hours we could see more thunderstorms popping through for it any of us. temperatures are warm moving in

good evening and welcome i'm brigida mack. if you are planning to vote in today's primary the clock is ticking. polls close in about two hours. our reporters in the field today say voter turnout has been steady since polls opened at 6:30 am. coleen harry is live tonight. and give us an update how are things looking? >> yeah, we are outside the church on trade street which is precinct 11 and the folks say since they opened there has been a steady stream of voters. when they opened they had 100 people waiting in line and i checked in and more than 1,000 people have voted today here. the precinct judge told me this high turnout is in line with the way it is every four years. this is the first election voters have to show a picture id. and i asked if the voters what brought them out this election? >> things are getting out of i think that it is an important time to try and stay focused and get things back on track. >> what made you come out this `election? >> i think this is probably one of the most important elections to come out