live at the government center, elsa gillis, channel 9 eyewitness news. >>> thank you elsa. you can follow elsa's tweets at elsawsoc 9. >>> president obama released the budget for a record breaking $4 trillion. he wants 19 billion for cyber security, $1 billion for cancer research. and a 10-dollar per barrel tax on oil he says that will pay for clean transportation projects. that plan would increase taxes the next decade. it has little chance of being approved by the republican congress. >>> new tonight, fewer people bought homes in charlotte last month. the charlotte regional realtor association says home sales dropped more than 10% from january 2015 compared to a year ago. but pending sales were up 13%. realtors blame the bad weather and fewer homes for sale. newer listings dropped 6% compared to a year ago. >>> it's decision day in new hampshire. >> in new hampshire, the poems will close in -- the poems will close in -- the poles will close in lest than two hours. eyewitness news anchor allison latos has a look at the attempts to get final votes. >>> presidential candidat

reporting live in york, elsa gillis. >>> south carolina democratic primary is next saturday. but today hillary clinton pulled off a crucial win in nevada's edged out bernie sanders, a 52.6% to 47.4%. >> some may have doubt us, but we never doubt each other. >> they ran it very aggressive, effective campaign, and i applaud them for their efforts. >> sanders traust. the democrats are turning their attention to next saturday's primary in south carolina. bernie sanders says events planned tomorrow in greenville, hillary clinton will be in the state tuesday p. channel 9 is your source for the 2016 presidential race. we have a full recap of today's republican primary and information looking ahead to next week's democratic primary on our website and social media pages. >>> new information on breaking news. we've been following in columbia, south carolina. just in the last 20 minutes, we got witnesses say two men fired at least two shots inside clum mall. police quickly evacuated everybody in the mall to gatd are potential evidence. witnesses told police the shots were fired in the a

elsa gillis is live tonight in matthews with the story. elsa? >> reporter: controversy and confusion surrounding student assignment has really picked up in the last week. that's partly the reason behind the forum. last week's cms board meeting was heating quickly as residents shared concerns and support in moving forward with the plan. many concerns and criticism focused on busing. and whether or not any student assignment plan would include moving their kids from their neighborhood schools. tonight, board member paul bailey told me the point is to address any questions and rumors out there as the board looks ahead in creating a plan. line for student assignment. the community survey closed february 22nd. that's next monday. then the board will vote on a set of goals to guide any plan at their meeting on tuesday. next, they plan to hire a consultant to help with the process. and later this spring, they'll determine whether or not implementing a plan by the 2017-2018 school year is doable. the meeting starts here at caramel baptist church at 6:30

eyewitness news reporter elsa gillis is live in uptown where the school board plans to move forward with a proposal tonight. elsa? >> reporter: we still don't know if cms got a representative sample of the community with the survey. that's something i'm going to ask board members tonight as they continue the student assignment conversation. tonight the board voting on goals that will guide any student assignment plan they create. they include reduce the number of schools with high concentrations of poor and high needs children, provide school assignment options to students not mealing performance maximize efficiency in the use of school facilities and transportation, preserve and expand schools and programs in which students are successful. but some parents are concerned the goals don't protect their children if they're all ready happy where they are now and don't guarantee that their children will not have to travel further for school. >> we'll have to see if can add a goal to maintain the nearby neighborhood school assignment for parents. >> reporter: the board also plans to map out th

reporting in uptown, elsa gillis, channel 9 eyewitness news. >> people across the country are feeling the freezing temperatures and the affects from the winter storm. the national weather service says parts of tennessee could get up to 6 inches of snow. much of the northeast woke up to record-freezing temperatures today. city and - 9 in boston. parts of vermont came in at - 19. >>> charlotte-mecklenburg activated the snow teams to prepare for the winter weather. american airlines officials say they are expecting a major impact tomorrow morning. there are dozens of deicing trucks ready to go but officials expect delays and canc lags add the airport. they suggest travelers check with the airline before leaving. our team of meteorologists will be in severe weather 9 tracking the storm overnight. watch eyewitness news daybreak tomorrow morning starting 4:30. we will give you up to the minute updates on traffic and weather every 10 minutes. >>> breaking news, right now crewerize battling a house fire on 21st in long view. >> the longview and hickory fire department are responding, the call

elsa gillis, channel 9 eyewitness news. >>> there are two more forums tomorrow night. one at myers park baptist church on queens road from 6:30 to 8:00. the other is at mayfield memorial baptist church on west sugar creek road. there will be someone from the board of education at each meeting. >>> fire crews say an electrical malfunction in a home's heating system caused a fire in gastonia this morning. firefighters say it took about 10 minutes to put out the fire in the kitchen. the person inside at the time was able to make it out safely. the fire cost about $10,000 in damage. >>> tonight we're working to find out if a suspect is on the loose after one person was hurt in a shooting just north of uptown. police say two cars exchanged gunfire before midnight last night on north graham street. investigators say an argument a person was shot in the arm. we've reached out to cmpd to see if anyone has been arrested. >>> tonight eyewitness news has learned the san bernardino county government that owned the san bernardino's shooter did not buy the software that could have s

elsa gillis, channel 9, eyewitness news. >> people across the country are feeling the freezing temperatures and the effects from the winter storm. the national weather service says portions of tennessee could get six inches of snow, much of the northeast woke up to record it was minus one in new york city and minus 19 in boston. parts of vermont felt m 19-degree temperatures. in the last 20 minutes, american airlines said they're expecting a major impact at charlotte douglas tomorrow morning. airline officials have dozens of deicing trucks ready to go but they do expect delays and cancellations. >> we just checked. the majority of flights seeing delays or cancellations right now are out of new york and chicago. our team of meteorologists will be monitoring this winter storm all night and into the early morning. we will have an update on the snow and ice moving into the area tonight at 11. you can also find all of our coverage on wsoctv.com. >>> the body of justice antonin scalia was moved to a texas funeral home this morning. he died from a heart attack yesterday. on the heels of his death,

elsa gillis was there and heard their concerns. >> reporter: it was the main concern of almost everyone i spoke with. ingly >> i would like my children to stay in their current school. >> i don't think it's fair to take them out of their community. >> paul bailey and elise addressed those fears right off the bat. >> i can tell you at least seven or eight of my colleagues on the nine member board have said they do not see massive changes to busing. >> but they didn't outwardly say it wouldn't be a tool used in any plan they create. something parents want to hear. >> i think the only reason people have been fuzzy in early in the process. >> parents listen to each other, sharing on how to achieve student and school equity. >> we need to keep kids close to their neighborhood schools as well as magnet expansion. this is a poverty issue that needs to be addressed by the city. >> even though some questions were answered, parents are still concerned. >> i don't know where he's going, and i'm stressed out about it. >> channel 9 eyewitness news. >> now people wrote down their comments and concern

of i-77 are closed right now, and it's north of statesville, because of multiple accidents, and elsa gillis is on i-77 right now outside of troutman. she is on the phone. elsa, tell us what you're seeing out there. >> reporter: we have just passed the exit for amnahey hill road. we are at a standstill right now. the ncdot says 77 has been closed in both directions near exit 73 because of multiple crashes, and we have not even gotten there yet because traffic is so backed up. they expect to reopen by 1:00 a.m., and roads are really icy right now. we have seen three or four cars flipped over on the side of the road. we saw a lot of salt trucks out, but conditions are mixed. we will be monitoring what is going on out there and bring you more updates. >>> millions of people are feeling the winter's storm effect across the country. more than 85 million people are expected to see more snow and freezing rain into tomorrow. the snow and ice in other parts of the country is affecting travel at charlotte douglas. from 6:00 tonight, 72 depart flights have been canceled or delayed. at one point this mo

elsa gillis, channel 9news. >> thank you, elsa. as soon as tonight's results come in, count on us to bring you the results on our website and social media pages, and watch eyewitness news at 10:00 and 11:00 for the latest. >>> in just hours, crowds will converge on the time/warner arena for the ciaa tournament. the event has already brought millions into the area. and tina terry learned that the festivities are far from over. tina? >> reporter: well, yes, liz. even after the final game at time warner cable arena, the celebrations and parties will a lot of that has been going on all day. this is a look at busy college street a few hours ago with a very large number of people making their way to and from shops and restaurants and uptown. mps said they added extra officers to help and control the traffic and help people cross busy streets, typical for an event of this size. we were telling you that it was declared an extraordinary event giving police more authority to conduct searches. i checked with officers so far and things are run

eyewitness news reporter elsa gillis explains the strategy the two have been using trying to win this primary. >> we are down to two very strong candidate. >> and all voters hitting the polls agreed. >> i just kind of tie between two. >> reporter: dr. karen kadrawski says that both vying for the vote. hillary clinton has a song relationship with the african american community but senator bernie sanders has worked to solidify that vote as well. >> he's been raveling around to historically black colleges and universities. he's been appearing in a number of african american churches. >> reporter: but this past week clinton and her husband have made several appearances in the state where sanders is focused on the states that will cast ballotings on the upcoming super tuesday. >> i think he's metered himself for the longer run. he is running the marathon, not the sprint. >> reporter: but a run for clinton could set the stage for other southern states. >> hillary clinton sees south carolina as a position of state and she wants to do extraordinary well and win as >> reporter: last week's pri

. >>> elsa gillis continues our team coverage live in fort mill . elsa? on its way to the record- breaking for voter turnout. election officials told me turnout statewide has been steady, heavy in some places and workers say it's been the same here at this location in fort mill. i'm talking about record- breaking for a primary. typically turnout for this type of election is low. the record-breaking number of absentee ballots. that's an indicator that there's great interest in this race. this does not come as a surprise to most. the republican race has been a real -- a unique when it has garnered a lot of attention. >> this is an important election and we want to make sure we get our voice heard. >> i voted for quite a few elections in this has been one of the most different elections that i've ever experienced. >> it's very exciting to be in south carolina watching new hampshire and knowing that we get to watch the votes and -- make a difference. >> there's just one more hour if you want to vote, you have one more hour to do so. now is your chance. >>> th

elsa gillis, channel 9 eyewitness news. >> south carolinians personal health information at risk. the flaws in the medicaid system that a new report says exposes hundreds of thousands of people to cyber theft. >>> new developments in the (phone ringing)you can't deal with something, by ignoring it. but that's how some presidential candidates seem to be dealing with social security. americans work hard, and pay into it. so our next president needs a real plan to keep it strong. (elephant noise) (donkey noise) >> this is channel 9 eyewitness news. covering the carolinas. >> new developments in the legal battle between apple and the justice department over one of the san bernardino shooter's iphones. >> the san bernardino county government which owns the phone because syed farook was an employee did not install software that would have let the fbi unlock it. authorities say if the technology was installed, county officials could have easily unlocked the phone for investigators. the software costs $4 a month. >>> earlier this week we told you the fbi got a court order forcing apple to

that includes eyewitness news reporter elsa gillis and photographer joey williams. they shot this video while they were trapped in the traffic. the crash cleared at 2:40. it took them another hour for them to make it through the scene. they are back home now as are most of the drivers because of the scene being cleared. reporting live in huntersville, joe bruno, channel 9 eyewitness news >> thank you, joe. we have complete coverage of the storm's impact on wsoctv.com. we posted a slide show from the crashes on the home page and have a list of current traffic problems. >>> it is 6:47 now. we have weather and traffic every 10 minutes. >> let's get right over to meteorologist keith monday who's keeping an eye on this. and it's starting to get better >> yeah. we're seeing small improvements. the wet weather is pretty much done. there's still some mist and drizzle around charlotte, but us now, even up into our north between rowan and iredell counties, around cleveland, shinville seeing some light precip moving off to the east. so things are wrapping up. the issue all mor

and that issue is student eyewitness news reporter, elsa gillis was there and heard those comments. elsa. >> the hearing went on for almost two hours. this was a passionate crowd of people with varying opinions on student assignment. take this opportunity to bring greater equity and justice across charlotte. dismanteling successful schools within communities carefully chosen by parents. will not fix the fundamental problems of failing schools. >> our school district has resegregated along lines of race and economics where the experiences of our children is vastly different depending on the zip code that falls behind their address. >> here's the immediate time line the board has for student assignment. the community student assignment survey comes to a close on february 22. the board plans to vote on student assignment goals at their february 23 meeting. it also plans to hire a consultant by the end of the month and this spring, the board will determine whether or is doable for the 2017, 2018 school year even if just in part. the next community engagement session is scheduled for some

. >>> elsa gillis speaks about how this will effect washington. >>> charlotte memelenburg police need the public's help to catch a bank robber. police say this man walked into pnc bank on arboretum drive in south charlotte and handedle teller a note demanding money, then ran off with cash. detectives say that same man robbed this fifth third bank on pineville matthews road the morning of january 28th. police say it was a similar situation, he was armed, slipped the tellary note and took off. call police. >>> in just the last few minutes the six remaining republican candidates for president wrapped up their final debate before next week's primary in south carolina. ted cruz and marco rubio each defended their competing tax policy proposals. jeb bush went on the offensive accusing john kasich of encouraging obama care rather than fighting it. and donald trump and rubio both attacked bush's older brother, former president george w bush for his foreign policy and ability to keep america safe. >> it took jeb bush, if you remember at the beginning of his announcement when he announced for p

elsa gillis is headed there now as well. we'll pass it along as it comes in tonight. >>> a decision could devastate hundreds of thousands of families across north carolina. >> action 9 started investigating as soon as the ceo of blue cross blue shield said it may stop offering affordable health care act plans. action 9's jason stoogenke found out who will be impacted the most. >> i'm told this could impact in north carolina. enough to fill bank of america stadium behind me four times. now, at the very least, all of these folks will have to find new plans which can be especially difficult for some who will go without insurance. >> my mom and my dad have diabetes. >> and patty has it too. she takes insulin everyday. >> this saves my life. >> she's had trouble getting health insurance because of her preexisting condition. >> the insurance companies we checked out before we retired would not insure me. >> and the affordable health care act came along. patty and her husband tom qualify. so they can't be turned down for coverage.

elsa gillis just arrived at the crash site where all the lanes are now closed near the i-77 bridge. what more can you tell us? >> a traffic nightmare, that's what this is. i'm going to step aside so you can take a look. traffic at a complete stand still. huntersville fire says this was a multicar wreck involving eight vehicles. only one person was injured. not life threatening injuries. they're hoping to get the road opened soon as law enforcement cleared the scene. last we heard they were waiting for law enforcement to come clear the scene, open the road back up. we see some vehicles down there. we're not sure how much longer it's going to be until they reopen the road. now huntersville fire says the road is okay right now. but we're hearing reports of icy conditions. so officials are reminding drivers to go slow and be careful. stay with us. we'll bring you the latest update when the roadways reopen. live in huntersville, channel 9 eyewitness news. >>> cms schools were empty even though the freezing rain didn't move into the area until 4:00 this afternoon. >> earlier at 5:00, brit

new tonight, eyewitness news reporter, elsa gillis explains the role that strategy is playing in this race. >> locations just like this one are ready to go for round two, but tomorrow's democratic primary looks much different than the republican primary. there are just two candidates and one with a commanding lead and each made very different in the state. strong candidates. >> and all voters we spoke with agree. >> i tie between the two. >> in tomorrow's primary, professor of political science, dr. karen says both candidates are vying for the african american vote. >> they are over half of the >> she says former secretary of state, hillary clinton, has a strong relationship with the african american community. but senator bernie sanders worked to solidify that vote as well. >> he's been traveling around to historically black colleges and universities. he's been appearing at a number of african american churches. >> this past week, clinton and her husband made several appearances in the state, where sanders is focused on the states that will cast ballots on the upcoming super tuesday.

reporting in fort mill elsa gillis channel 9 eyewitness news. >> today's primary is really a battle for delegates. they vote for the parties nominee based on the winners and the primary and caucuses. dr. kay drowsy says clinton has a mass support. you can count on channel 9 to bring you complete coverage of air and online at wsoctv.com. >>> trump is now seeing his most prominent endorsement in the election. >>> syrians main opposition group supports this deal but isis and al qaeda are excluded. channel 9 is keeping a close eye on this, this morning. we will bring you any new >>> police in hickory are asking for your help finding a couple that stole very expensive diamond rings from a jewelry store. investigators released these surveillance pictures. this is from the jewelry exchange in hickory. the couple asked to see rings with large stones and that is when police say the man grabbed the diamonds and walked out. in all police say the couple stole more than $220,000 in jewelry. >>> police in rock hill are looking for a man that chased a downtown area. investigators say a woman noticed a

reporting in rock hill elsa gillis channel 9 eyewitness news. >> the political science professor also told channel 9 these elections are on saturdays because they are not binding elections. she thinks there will be a higher voter turnout by holding we reached out to the state and national parties about why they decided to hold the primaries on separate saturdays, but we have not heard back. >>> charlotte city leaders are in canada for the all star game. city leaders all the way from mangling to police and transit are all there this week. also hotel managers and people from the hornets. they are learning what it takes to host the week long event that brings in nba stars, big celebrities, and of course thousands and thousands of fans. we called assistant city manager ron kimble shortly after he landed in toronto last night. they will ask about traffic and safety but also wants to learn what surprises they might face. >> i want to know what was the biggest unexpected thing you hadn't planned for and what are you most proud of that you did plan for. >> campbell says the all star game coul

elsa gillis found out that even though the race has been called, the york county board of elections had a long night overnight as they tried finalizing all the results. >>> polling places across south carolina were busy all day full oven theus was stick voters ready to cast their ballot. >> this is an important election and we want our voice heard. >>> a record breaking number of ballots showed turnout would be high for a primary. >> it seems like there has been seeing a higher turnout. >> this has been a divisive race thus far which was apparent after donald trump's win. >>> for me it is good. >> why is he a good candidate? >> i just think we need a change here desperately. >> i'm glad somebody is not afraid to speak their opinion. >> some negative. >>> i think he has a good shot at winning which i think is not good for america. >> i think we are getting in pretty bad shape if donald trump becomes the president of the country. >> they hope people exercise their right to vote. >> i just hope everyone went out and voted. >>> we spoke with a political expert last week who said not only we

first reported the story as breaking news earlier at 6:00, since then eyewitness news reporter elsa gillis learned how >> this is a pathway that leaders to the overlook, it is one of the more popular spots to hike to and take pictures, especially on a day like today. >> there is lots of hazards involved when you get tie high places. >> reporter: state park superintendent hyde got the call 4:30 sunldy afternoon regarding a fall at the highest point of the bolders access area. >> you get an area with inherent dangers. >> reporter: a 23-year-old man was trying to capture a view when he fell nearly 30 people. >> they were not bolder bouldering. >> he was air lifted with serious injuries. he was alert when crews responded. this isn't the first fall. almost a year ago a mother of 3 fell to her death trying to take a picture at crowders mountain. park. when you consider the amount of people that come each year, last year was almost 670,000 people, but, there are some incidents that might occur. >> reporter: park rangerssy save,000 came to-- 7,000 came to the park today. they are reminding people

reporting in rock hill elsa gillis channel 9 eyewitness news. >> the political science professor also told channel 9 that these elections are on saturdays because they are not binding elections. she thinks there will be a holding them on a weekend. and we reached out to the state and national parties about why they decided to hold the primaries on separate saturdays. we have not heard back from them yet. >>> this morning charlotte city leaders are in canada for the nba all star game and taking notes before charlotte hosts the event in 2017. city leaders from management, police, and transit departments are all there this week. also hotel managers and people from the hornets. they are learning what it takes to host the week long event which is going to bring nba all stars, big celebrities, and thousands of fans. we call assistant city managercap bell -- city manager campbell. >> i want to know what was the biggest unexpected thing you hadn't planned for and what are you most proud of. could have more than $100 million economic impact on the charlotte area. and there are four cmpd office

and that includes eyewitness news reporter elsa gillis and her photographer joey williams. they even got stuck in the backups. the crash cleared at 2:40. they didn't make it through until an hour later. we spoke with one woman stuck in traffic who was just trying to take her daughter home from >> it doesn't happen that often. we've been living up here, it's been, what, six years? it was six years in december. we've never seen this, never. >>reporter: of course this all started last night during the evening commute when temperatures did fall below freezing. and coming up in 30 minutes the other major problems we saw across the area. reporting live in huntersville, joe bruno, channel 9 eyewitness news. >> joe, thank you. >>> in the last 30 minutes we have seen a huge jump in cancellations at charlotte douglas. last half hour we told you there were about a dozen. we just checked anl right now there are 71 -- and right now there are 71 delayed arriving or canceled flights. there are also delay or canceled departing flights. you'll definitely want to check with your airline befo