maureen: attending today's white house event was news anchor chris hurst. he was the boyfriend of alison parker. the reporter with a photographer adam ward that were shot and killed by a former coworker live on the air last august. we spoke with hurst outside the white house. while he didn't endorse the president's plan he said something needs to be done. >> i think we need to do something because i think every news room needs to ask the question is gun violence an issue that needs to be reported and meticulously reported and investigated. once you answer thation? that guides you to whether or ll really think that something should be done by the government. maureen: you can see more of the interview with chris hurst on news talk tomorrow morning on newschannel8 at 11:00. leon? leon: today is the fourth day that armed protesters refuse to leave a wildlife refuge in oregon. this group calls itself "sits for constitutional freedom" and they say they are it for the long haul. the local sheriff is now asking them to go home to their families and end this standof

you can hear more of what chris hurst had to say about the president's plan tomorrow. he will be on the news talk with bruce at 11:00 a.m. on the sister station, newschannel8. jonathan? jonathan: "7 on your side" consumer alert now. amazon reporting the shoppers ordered more than 23 million items on cyber monday. amazon set to deliver a billion packages 2015. americans are buying more new cars than before. estimated 17.5 million vehicles were sold last year. fia tab chrysler and ford had the best yearly sales in a decade. industry analysts say the low gas prices the easy credit and the improving job growth fueling a boom in sales. so a little earlier in the hour we asked you if you thought you could go cold turkey on social media for a year. alison: on the twitter feed at least the feeling is unanimous. john flores says -- alison: a recent rockslide could keep a highway with one lane open and partially closed for a month. a temporary traffic signal will be along route 135 near luke. a barrier was put in place as well to catch any falling debris from the mountain side.

chris hurst joins me now.ppy. >> you were at president obama's town hall on cnn. what did you make of what he said? >> i was glad he was engaging with people of all sides of this issue, and i think that it's very important for all sides to be represented when we have a discourse about this issue. i think that you have to look at the material of what he said and understand that it certainly doesn't seem like it is a lot in terms of policy and language. but to me, it's the occasion, you know, kfconsidering we have broadcasting background, you have a town hall with the president on this issue, did any of us in the media think that would happen a year ago? >> right. it's an interesting point. you wrote recently about how the news covers the gun debate, right? you wrote it is time for american newsrooms to change how they cover gun violence saying our conversation has been reduced to reporting each mass shooting as urgent breaking news and most of the time shrugging our shoulders until the next one. meaning journal

alison: tom, attending today's news house event was wbdt anchor chris hurst, the boyfriend of alison parker, with the reporter along with photographer adam ward were shot and killed on the air last august. we spoke with him outside the white house. while he would not endorse the president's plan come he said something needs to be done. need to dowe something, because i think every newsroom needs to ask the question, is gun violence in issue that needs to be reported and meticulously reported and investigated? once you answer that question, that died you as to whether or not you think something should be done by the government -- that guides you as to whether you think something should be done by the government. alison: the discussion about guns in the u.s., of course, is just getting started. stay with abc seven and wjla.com for complete coverage of the talks in our area and on capitol hill. leon: this just in from montgomery county, a woman who was seriously hurt when she was hit by a ride on bus died. she was crossing old georgetown road in bethesda during the morning rush when it

and i'm chris hurst. our top story at six. residents and local businesses in moneta are feeling a bit off the grid tonight. and have been for some time. wdbj7's amanda kenney is here with their story. amanda, this internet outage has taken a toll on some verizon customers? yes, jean. you never realize how much we rely on the internet until it's gone, but these customers have been without it for weeks. some businesses say they're losing money or can't access it. and some resident are so frustrated they switched providers. when you're not connected it can be frustrating. everybody's upset about it right now, there's a whole community that's upset locally i can't even pay bills, i can't check my bank account it's extremely frustrating from a business stand point. we're paying for services and we're not getting them is the bottom line. but for this lakefront community in moneta, residents and businesses are downright baffled. cass taylor: we would have full days and it was happen two times, three times, maybe more. then about two

i'm jean jadhon and i'm chris hurst it's a case capturing attention in bedford: a young boy suffocated by his own mother. today the child's father was in court to answer for his role in the crime. wdbj7's tim saunders is live in bedford to tell us what happened. chris we should start by pointing out that prosecutors do not believe michael smith had anything to do with the murder of his son, jordan. it's the actions he took immediately after the child's death that led him to get a four-year prison sentence today. michael smith has been in jail since the day his son jordan died. he's never had the opportunity to visit the child's grave, but he's kept a picture of the burial site in his cell. michael smith: "i cry every day looking at it, seeing his name and the big letters 'daddy loves you'." prosecutors say smith was home the day his son was killed, but was smith's wife, shana witt, was convicted in august of suffocating the boy with a stuffed animal. when she returned to her bedroom to tell smith what she had done, the two had sex and smith later fixed lunch. during that time smith say

and i'm chris hurst. botetourt county unanimously to move forward with the next planning steps for a proposed wind farm. wdbj7's noell saunders joins us now with an update from tonight's public hearing, tonight several expressed their concerns from wind experts to county leaders. even neighboring rockbridge county had some questions. a packed room with a lot of concerns about virginia's potential first commercial windfarm. botetourt county board of supervisors opened the floor at tuesday's meeting to anyone who had questions or statements. "most of time not all the time but most of the time localities are left worse off then when they started" "i don't have a problem with it, if they want to set one up in my yard they can set one up in my yard" the developer, apex clean energy spoke on the project it's calling the rocky forge windfarm. the company says it is going through all the necessary steps and rules in order to build it. "the botetourt ordinance was very thorough on what studies was required of us a

chris hurst is off tonight. are looking to make it easier to get around the roanoke valley -- now, they want your help. wdbj7's christian heilman joins us live with some of their plans and how you can have a voice. the roanoke valley-allegheny regional commission is behind the plan. they're working on short and long-term goals to fix some common complaints with bus service. nat noisy bus you don't have to look far at campbell court to find someone like clifton stewart. clifton stewart "like we waiting on 65 to go up salem avenue and it ain't nowhere to be seen." he thinks bus especially in the northern part of the city. clifton stewart "i wonder why -- what's wrong with the rest of the city? what about the dmv? i might want to go out there one day and get my license." ozell jones, rides bus " the dmv is terrible, man because you have about a mile and a half walk either direction. " they're not alone. cristina finch with the roanoke- alleghany regional commission says people want bus service to reach places like the dmv. cristina finch, roanoke-alleghany regional commission "folks all ov

and i'm chris hurst. new at 11: people in some neighborhoods across our area are concerned after they went several days without getting their mail following last week's snow storm. w-d-b-j-7's khiree stewart spoke with those neighbors and tells us what's causing the problem. chris, melissa, it's been days since it snowed, but it's still causing problems for some people in roanoke. those who haven't gotten their mail say they want answers. 10:36:25 - 10:36:30 "just concerned about what could be coming in that i need to take care of." roy forbes sorts through several letters for the first time in days. he and others on ridgecrest drive said they haven't received mail since thursday... the day before last week's snow storm. 10:34:44 - 10:34:50 "we have bills and regular stuff that comes in that we about them." 00:02:56 - 00:03:04 "our employees go to work. they try to get the mail delivered everyday. they're at the mercy of whatever the plow crews are able to do themselves." tad kelley is a

among those who have seen the world turned upside down by gun violence is chris hurst the boyfriend of reporter alison parker. she and her photographer ward were killed in a live tv interview last year. how hurst is responding to the president's plan at "abc7 news at 6:00". leon: virginia state senator creigh deeds filed a wrongful death lawsuit in the 2013 death of his son. the $6 million steamings that gus deeds was -- million suit alleges that gus deeds was denied care before he attacked his father and killed himself. it names the state, rockbridge area community services board and the mental health worker who saw deeds the day before the attack. creigh deeds helped pass reform to the mental health system. >> checking the other top stories now a woman suffers light threatening injuries after being hit by a bus in bethesda. the woman was crossing old georgetown road when she was hit by a bus. the woman's name has not been released. leon: the d.c. council unanimously approved a bill to create rebate for people and businesses installing security cameras. the supporters say the cameras

his name is chris hurst.as not said he will run but he has reportedly met with officials from the democratic house campaign committee about possibly running against bob goodlatte to try to take his seat. since republicans have blocked any action at all on guns in congress including importantly in bob goodlatte's committee, president obama this week just announced actions that he figured he could take without congress. earlier tonight the president did a big town hall event in virginia on this issue. the president also tonight wrote this op-ed for the "new york times," just posted tonight, about how we all have a responsibility to reduce gun violence. and in advance of these new provisions he's rolled out and the op-ed and the town hall tonight, the administration also put out the -- basically the highest-level surrogates they've got in the form of white house senior adviser valerie jarrett and also vice president biden, specifically to go to places that have been the sites of high-profile egregious acts of gu