elizabeth herr, new york. >>> and let's check in on what is going on in our neck of the woods. what do you think, my friend? >> we're seeing improving weather conditions and we had the snow late last night and the thick, wet snow and that is great for taking pictures and it's coming down. >> and i was looking at it out of the window. >> yeah. >> and well met deal with it outside. fog, another issue. down next to nothing here and looking at a quarter mile if that and i would suspect this fog is going to be around with us much of the afternoon. and we're going to be socked in with fog and temperatures are not that bad. north and east. and the snow is gone and fog is here and the bursts of heavy snow, those have exited stage right or stage east and in to ashtabula, though, getting light snow and this is moving out and as it moves out, the fog will move in and slightly drier air will move in. we have the warnings and advisories to talk about those in a moment. and look at the big storm. it's moving out during the abc substantial snow. and yes, because it has to move through all of

elizabeth herr has more. >> reporter: tonight, as family's of the victims, including mary jo nigh, retired teacher, police are seeking answer and finding a silver lining. >> very relieved that we have someone in custody. >> shots fired. one confirmed victim. >> reporter: overnight the city was gripped with fear after a man opened fire at three different locations across a 13-mile span in kalamazoo, michigan. the first, park lot where a woman walking to her car was shot several time. the second, few hours later at a car dealership, father and son killed. the third, outside a -- cracker barrel restaurant. the suspects takes the lives of four others. >> you don't expect anything like this to happen anywhere, let alone here in kalamazoo. this is just the most awful thing ever. >> reporter: the suspect, jason dalton, an unber driver, was taken into custody hours after the final shooting. the company says, hour hearts and prayers are with the families of the victims of this devastating crime. it's a crime not just heartbreaking but baffling for police and dalton's neighbors. >> very unexpected.

we are live in new york, i'm elizabeth herr for "action news." >> thank you. >>> a florida man that allegedly hurled a gator through a wendy's drive-thru window is now charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. joshua james told investigators he picked up the gator on the side of the road and brought it to a fast food restaurant and his mother says the charge is too severe. >> it's a stupid prank that he did that is now turning into this. >> the alligator was later released into a canal. >>> it is fat tuesday part of the mardi gras season and new orleans is the heart of the reskay bash. people are coming to the parades and maybe enjoying a drink or two. it's known as carnival in some places overseas. >>> parts of new edge are getting hit hard. the storm is causing whiteout conditions in this massachusetts town sandwich. >>> back here looking live at sky 6 hd and our camera in cape may, the storm is hitting us today is causing flooding in places down along the jersey shore. as for the snow not a real problem along the coast just light snow there today. >> there is my shore house rig

elizabeth herr, new york. >>> and here in northeast ohio, a local pot -- hospital emergency room remained closed this afternoon following a fire there last night. the patients in southwest general hospital in middleburgh heights were evacuated after flames broke out. the cleaning utility room. the area has smoke and water damage. southwest general is still treating walk-in patients but ambulances are being diverted to other hospitals. >>> and a man found dead in a he was crushed by a trash compactor. the medical examiner made that announcement. a driver with republic waste services found the body saturday morning. the police believe the victim was homeless and had been sleeping in a dumpster. >>> a 17-year-old cleveland boy died when he was thrown from a stolen minivan driven by a 14- year-old. the cleveland police said the 14-year-old crashed into a car on east 30 street in community college avenue in cleveland. the impact pushed the minivan into a utility pole and that is when the 17-year-old willie workman was ejected from the the driver and another passenger were taken to the hospital

elizabeth herr repurchase it is shaking up the presidential race. elizabeth: the battle for the bench has started. >> barack obama will ram down our throats a liberal justice. reporter: from fighting words in the gop debate to challenges issued this morning. to filibuster anyone president obama nominates? this should be a decision for the people. somebody but the divisions are let' s wait for an election. reporter: the sudden death of divide to this election year. >> it is the job of the president of the united states to appoint, nominate members to mrs. clinton : barack obama is president of united states until january 20, 20 17. that is a fact, my friends, whether the republicans like it or not. reporter: scalia served on the high court for three decades. he died in his sleep saturday at a texas ranch during a hunting trip. so, what happens now? president obama has pledged action. president obama: i plan to fulfill my responsibilities to nominate a successor. reporter: republicans threatened to block his candidates. the shortlist includes circuit c

that is the latest from here in new york, i'm elizabeth herr, channel 6 "action news." >> thank you. >>> in other news ton a deadly shooting justified by officials, delaware county says that six officers were doing their jobs when they opened fire on an suv and a 33-year-old man is dead. new at 5:00 the family of the men inside of the car are reacting for the first time since the authorities defended the deadly shooting. vernon odom is live in chester with the details. >> good evening sharrie and rick, the delaware county d.a. says tonight that it appears that the police fired 100 times in self-defense, the man's family bitterly disagrees. >> this is shall mar longer, he was killed by police officers after his suv was fired at over 100 shots. it began with a traffic stop and then through chester township and then 12th and keystone in chester city. he crashed the suv and then brandished an old fashion resolver. >> he indicated and the passenger confirmed he would not go back to jail under any circumstances apparently. >> walen says his investigators got the information from longer's c

elizabeth herr reports that it wasn't transmitted by a mosquito. >> reporter: a disturbing development out of dallas in the battle against the zika virus. >> it wasn't spread by mosquito, but spread through sexual transmission. the individual went abroad and infected their partner. transmitted through sex is rare, it is not unheard of here in the u.s. turns out back in 2008 that a traveler infected with the zika virus returned home to colorado and his wife later tested positive for the virus. still officials say that this is the first case of sexual transmission in this current outbreak. they called the latest case out of dallas a game changer because the virus with possible links to birth defects in unborn babies and paralysis in adults can be potentially deadly and cause dehabilitating complications as dr. richard saw firsthand in brazil. >> she says she contracted the disease seven months ago. at one point could only move her eyes. >> the fact that seven months out she is having such difficulty walking does make it a pretty severe outcome. >> reporter: in the coming days the cdc say

i'm elizabeth herr for channel 7, eyewitness news. >>> amtrak is making it easier for you to travel with your pets but not everyone is on board with the new idea. >>> a controversial plan at uconn. in new york state, we believe tomorrow starts today. all across the state the economy is growing, with creative new business incentives, the lowest taxes in decades, and university partnerships, attracting the talent and companies of tomorrow. like in utica, where a new kind of workforce is being trained. and in albany, the nanotechnology capital let us help grow your company's tomorrow, today wh >>> the u.s. coast guard came to the rescue of two firefighters who fell off a cliff and into the ocean while searching for a missing girl. rescue crews pulled the two firefighters from the ocean off the coast of oregon. during the rescue, one of the coast guard swimmers had to detach from his rope and swim into a sea cave in order to find one of the firefighters. one of the men saved from the ocean was taken to a hospital. the coast guard sadly had to suspend the search for the 17-year-old missing gi

abc 7 news reporter elizabeth herr has the latest. >> reporter: snow in d.c., a winter wonderland toravel nightmare. temporarily closing runways at reagan international and having a ripple effect at airports across the country. snow and ice wreaking havoc for drivers from iowa to illinois, indiana, and pennsylvania. i-78 finally re-opened after this massive and fatal pileup over the weekend. a new storm is now moving across parts of the northern plains and south making its way north bringing heavy rain and warmer temperatures. a welcome relief for the millions of americans in the northeast and new england. >> swung hard, swung back, and we knew that there was a problem. >> reporter: including these 48 skiers who spent some three hours in the arctic cold dangling more than 40 feet off the ground after two trams broke down at a ski resort in new hampshire. in all, 18 major cities in the east survived subzero temperatures that left entire city blocks frozen in philadelphia while firefighters battled the blaze. in boston, a 60-year-old record was shattered and in new york a record set a

. >> it caused a lot of damage and abc's elizabeth herr has more on that part of the story. >> look up, look up. system is on the move up the east coast. >> holy cow! >>reporter: along the way leaving a path of destruction. in this rv park in st. james, parish, louisiana obliterated. >> i immediately took off running to help people. >>reporter: and in higher neighborhoods -- entire neighborhoods in pensacola, florida decimated. this 27 tornadoes reported in 24 hours across five states >> sounded like a train that was coming through here. >>reporter: people were inside this gold's gym in prairieville, louisiana when a twister ripped the wall right off the side of the building. >> employees and people just working out. we had about eight kids in the day care, definitely a scary situation. >>reporter: amazingly no one was seriously hurt here, but elsewhere the heavy wind and rain powerful enough to flip this tractor-trailer over proved to be deadly. and with dozens injured, the search is continuing for anyone who may still be trapped in the >> we could get down into those and try to find