greg suskin is there now. live tweeting the event. and of course, we will have full coverage today, starting at 5:00, on eyewitness news. >> the carolina panthers' general manager is defending the team's right tackle. many said, he did not protect cam newton as he should. but at the nfl sounding combine pointed out, the team has won 22 of the last 25 games with rivers. he also talked about how excited he is, for wide receiver, kelvin benjamin to come back from an acl injury next season. >> taken the bull by the horns, like any other young kids. took him a couple of weeks over the whoa is me for understanding it's time to go. but he's done a great job. >> he said benjamin will be ready to go by training camp in august. and take a look at this. the charlotte hornets are giving a first look at what the scoreboard will look like next season. crews will install the $7 million board over over this. the city is pitching in over $18 million to help the team pay for upgrades over the next four years. the new scoreboard would be 180% of the cur

we sent eyewitness news reporter greg suskin to columbia today to ask lawmakers about the president's plan. he's live now in rock hill. >> reporter: you might expect that state lawmakers would be divided on this controversy along party lines. that's not what we found when we went to columbia to ask them about it. president obama has long promised to close gitmo but the controversy is over where some detainees will be sent. a plan calls for possibly transferring some to a navy brig in charleston. reaction was quick. to weigh in on this. i think it has no place in south carolina. >> even some democratics don't back the president on this issue. jerry thinks bringing maximum security prisoners here is a bad idea. he says the federal government is always dumping on south carolina. >> it's like with the nuclear waste issue. i think south carolinians are tired of being targeted. >> representative todd rutherford says prisoners have constitutional rights and he says the threat they pose is no different than they face all ready. he supports the plan. >> security plans are everywhere. it doesn'

. >>> eyewitness news reporter greg suskin is live at winthrop university tonight where several candidates will be gathering tomorrow. and greg, this is about to be a very busy next week and a half. >>> extremely busy. and of course you might have heard it said that the road to the white house goes through south carolina. but folks around here like to winthrop university. national political spotlight and will be again tomorrow when two republican candidates are here. >> we need a president -- >> fresh off new hampshire, jeb bush rolled into bluffton south carolina this morning. president cruz in myrtle beach. and rubio in columbia. drew johnson is an executive committee member from chester. >> i'm excited about it. i know the republican party is excited about it. gop primary. political scientist scott huff man says expect the gloves to come off as super pack money rolls in for some candidates and the pressure to win grows. >> we have political consultants who are used to knives in the back, and we've seen very dirty politics here. >> experts expect candidates to step up attacks on each oth

deputies interviewed him three times so far but wouldn't talk greg suskin, channel 9 eyewitness news. >>> all while greg was learning new information about this case, he was tweeting out those updates. you can follow him on twitter at gsuskinwsoc9. a beloved member of the community was shot and killed. a family member found her dead in her home friday. last week. she was the niece of the oak bureau police chief. evidence has been sent to a state crime lab. he wouldn't say if they think someone killed her. >>> deputies reveal they're dealing with a surge of heroin related crimes and they outline the steps they're taking to try to combat the epidemic. in the past week, they arrested heroin. deputies arrested michael con roy last friday after an 18- year-old woman overdosed on heroin that he gave her. on tuesday, deputies say they stopped harley helms and found in his car. just yesterday they arrested ashley henson after they say he had heroin near new salem elementary school. the sheriff's office is implementing new tactics to combat the problem. deputies are under going a training that

reporter greg suskin is live tonight with the message they're spreading five days before the south carolina primary, greg? >>> and both marco rubio and ben carson will tell you that south carolina is very important to their campaign. when i pressed them about their chances here, both seem more state rather than winning it. in the line of people waiting for an early morning visit by marco rubio. supporters told me why he's their choice. >> he's calm. he's not the in your face type guy. >> others think he must get in voter's faces quickly if he's to do well here. >> it's absolutely critical for marco rubio. >> he spoke before a full house at 8:00 in the morning and took questions. he didn't mention his gop points but his president obama and democratic front runner hillary clinton. >> anyone who lies to the family of victims who have lost their lives in the service of our country the way she lied to the families in benghazi can never be commander in chief. >> dr. ben carson made a low key appearance touring a pet supplement manufacturing plant. he was at or near last place in the state. he tol

greg suskin, channel 9 eyewitness news. >> lancaster sheriff's deputies have not yet released a motive for the murder or any other details about the crime. >>> stocks tumble on wall street today, the fifth day in a row. the dow managed to rally and come back from a 400-point drop. nasdaq lost almost 17 today. the dramatic crash in oil prices is driving a huge drop oil prices are now below $27 a barrel. they haven't dipped that low since 2003. and this causing energy company profits to plunge. and raising worries about possible bankruptcies in the oil sector. >> south carolina is now the next target state for candidates who are vying to be the next president of the united states. in less than an hour, some republican candidates will be at winthrop university, hoping to win your vote. eyewitness news reporter alexa ashwell has a look at who voters can expect to see at alexa? >> reporter: erica, as you mentioned, we're just an hour away from hearing from some of those presidential candidates here at winthrop. you can see, some people already arriving for the forum, which is set to begin a

and all new tonight, eyewitness news reporter greg suskin found out that all these appearances are putting some strains on local law enforcement. greg? >> they sure are, in just about 48 hours from now, republican jeb bush will be here holding a town hall meeting in this building and police found out about this just yesterday. i'm learning that's pretty common with events like this. presidential hopefuls often draw crowds of hundreds or thousands. that makes it no easy task for police when it comes to security. >>>>t's just a lot of work. >> says rock hill police captain, mark. he tells me agencies try to meet a week ahead of time to plan for traffic and safety issues but that's not usually possible. >> the politicians are changing their schedules everyday. so we'll be planning for event they cancel it and decide to throw something on thursday. >> when donald trump filled 6,000 seat, dozens of officers were needed. many are off duty, earning over time. and sometimes detectives are taken off cases to work the events. but rock hill police don't take officers off the streets or out of schools

we have team coverage and start live in columbia with greg suskin with more. greg? >> reporter: a few people are already trickling in here, and we expect this to get louder and more active in a short while. this could be the sign of confident that hillary clinton will win in south carolina. polls all along have shown hillary clinton with a large lead over vermont senator bernie sanders. but the clintons have not taken votes in the state for granted with hillary clinton making many stops, and bringing out her husband, bill, and her daughter chelsea, out on the campaign trail. this is the first state to see a large number of african- american voters. popes have shown clinton in the she is expected to speak tonight in a couple of hours, 8:00, and we are expecting to see more and more people out here listening to what she hopes to be a victory speech. back to you. >> thank you so much, greg. >>> bernie sanders maintains confident in the final hour of voting even though he is not in south carolina today. i talked with a representative for his campaign and asked if they'r

eyewitness news reporter greg suskin will be at president bill clinton's rally today. he'll have updates and a full report at 5:00 p.m.. >>> ciaa events will ramp up today with the men's quarterfinal basketball games a fan fest and concerts. it starts at five at the convention center. thousands of fans will be in uptown as the games and party continues through the weekend. parking garages are charging extra because of the high demand. >>> there will be a big shake up in charlotte leadership after the city manager decided not to renew the contract. only channel 9 questioned the mayor about ron carlee's departure. >> eyewitness news reporter angela hong is live in uptown to decision. >>reporter: ron carlee's contract ends on april 1st and he decided not to renew in this three page resignation letter, carlee told city council tl was a pleasure and honor work -- it was a pleasure and honor working for the city. he reflected on accomplishments and challenges. he spoke about his role in enhancing community and police relations. douglas airport to new management and guiding t

greg suskin channel 9 eyewitness news. >>> 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

that debate expected to go from rock hill, greg suskin, eyewitness news. >>> police officers are at gas stations with a new incentennial. in the past three months thieves stole 85 vehicles that still had keys in the ignition. today officers are rewarding any driver who shows them their car keys and they get a free drink coupon. >> they're not looking to steal the car to ship it somewhere to make a large amount of money. a lot of times it's juveniles looking to skip school for the day or do other crimes. >> officers say they have seen cars stolen from private businesses. >>> opening statements expected to start today in the trial of a colorado woman accused of cutting an unborn baby from a lane faces first degree murder among other charges. the baby did not survive. lane pleaded not guilty. the victim went to app state from 2006 to 2011. the boone community promised to support her for as long as she needed it. >>> a battle brewing as apple refuses to let the fbi into iphones used by the san bernardino shooters. the reason the fbi says it's putting your safety at risk. >> governor haley s

greg suskin, channel 9 eyewitness news. >>> breaking news in the past 90 minutes. north carolina's senate approved changes to voting maps for the state's congressional districts. our crew was there in raleigh for that decision. and coming up next, we're breaking down what this means for the upcoming elections and your vote. >>> north carolina's international guard in charlotte will be home to much larger military aircrafts if approved by congress, a new proposal shows charlotte will but will receive 8c 17s. the international guard says the c 17 is used for military cargo and shows a shift in an air force structure plan. >> what the c 17 is able to do is more strategic in nature of which the budget and the dod, the department of defense staff has decided as being an emphasis item. >> the c 130s are expected to go to other bases in the country. the north carolina international guard said the hanger in charlotte was built for c 17s. no major adjustments will have to be made. >> covering the carolinas county by county tonight. in iredell county, a 20-year- old was air

tonight at 6:00, greg suskin why south carolina is such a key state and what the candidates need to do to win your vote. >>> new at 5:00, we're getting our first look at the after math of a crash that governor pat mccrory was involved in after the super bowl. the governor just released this photo. another vehicle rear ended the one that he was riding in on sunday night. the governor was not hurt. >>> our team of photographers are continuing their trip home tonight after covering the super bowl. >> what do you think, carl? >> it's been a beautiful morning, and here's the reason why, ladies and gentlemen, the grand canyon. >> they traveled more than 750 miles yesterday and woke up this morning in arizona as you can tell from their amazing view and their video. and they're documenting their trip back to charlotte with follow the #wsocbacktochcharlott te. >>> neighbors called 911 after a man was firing shots at an apartment on forest brook drive. murphy fired at police. they returned fire and killed him. swat team members found murphy dead two feet inside his front door. >>> charlotte meck

eyewitness news reporter greg suskin told us they've seen some sleet while covering a story in lancaster south carolina. and they sent back this video here in the last 45 minutes. over night d.o.t. crews treated interstate bridges with salt brine, we're only expected to get some flurries today. but they want to make sure that nothing freezes on the bridges. we will get an update from the d.o.t. on the preparations this afternoon. >>> we have breaking news in north charlotte. chopper 9 sky zoom arrived to the scene of the house fire here as crews were pulling up to the scene. the homeowner told us the fire was started by an electric heater. the fire at the home on dearborn avenue off statesville avenue started just before 10:30. and you can see the flames shooting out of the side of the home. also that thick smoke billowing it took crews less than 30 minutes to put out the flames. no one was hurt. >>> it's been well over 24 hours since crews put up traffic cones and shut down boulevard. water is seeping through the road and freezing. in the last ten minutes, we learned it should reopen so

our election team coverage starts with greg suskin live where trump gave a spirited victory speech. turn off the lights and lock the doors here. the trump crowd did not have to wait very long to get what they came here for tonight. it got very loud in here. >> even though some recent poles seemed to show the race narrowing, the real race turned out to be a tight race for second place. this crowd here did cheer when jeb bush announced he was dropping out of the race. but they saved their enthusiasm for the moment donald trump and his family walked on the stage. trump thanked the people of south carolina and took a break from insulting his candidates. >> there's nothing easy about running for president. it's tough, it's nasty, it's mean, it's vicious, it's beautiful. [laughter] >> reporter: trump did get into talking about bringing jobs and money back from china. he talked about building a wall from the mexico border. >>> marco rubio and ted cruz are in a tie for second place. right now getting 22% of the vote. this is out of 42 of 46 presints reporting. within the supporters. >> we t

. >>> this york county teenager will spend 15 years in prison for setting a fire that killed greg suskin was in court for the 17-year-old's tearful apology today. and he learned why the family didn't want prison time for matt morgan. >> better to accept a deal for 15 years in prison than risk more in a possible murder trial. but no one in matt morgan's family believes he meant to kill his 14-month-old brother. on march 6th, while his parents were away. matt morgan set a fire in the living room of his home and in a bed room where 14-month-old joshua hill slept. he told deputies he went back to the bed room to try to save his brother. today prosecutors say he later changed his story. >> he said he actually never did do that. morgan watched the fire burn up died. he had a cell phone with him but didn't call 911. both his parents say he would purpose. because we know our son. sheriff, any investigator tell me to my face that he's a cold- blooded killer when he cries at disney movies. >> this prosecutor was fascinated by fire and set a earlier. today he spoke in court about the death of his b

live from chesterfield county, greg suskin, channel 9 eyewitness news. >>> we turn to eyewitness news anchor brittney johnson who has been surveying the damage across charlotte and she's live >> reporter: this is one of many areas across town where heavy winds knocked down massive trees. check out the root of that tree. road. this is edge hill drive. we watched as crews wrapped up trying to clear this tree. minutes. but they had been here for about four hours. we talked to homeowners and neighbors across charlotte. a tree fell on a condo in the will more area. it caused so much damage inside, that structure has been deemed unsafe. we saw crews working to clear a tree that fell on a vintage seen power outages, two gas leeks, and trees down within a three block radius. a nearby homeowner told us the impact knocked down one of the trees in her yard and damaged her fence and she described the moment it happened. he started barking. we heard a loud rustling. it wasn't even a boom. it was a big rustling. this. >> reporter: you can see that area right there where that tape is still blocked o

live in rock hill, greg suskin, channel 9 eyewitness news. >> thanks. >>> we have details on a triple omicide in south charlotte and how police were able to track down the suspected gunman, channel 9 was there as police arrested and charged antonio robinson and juvon twity with murder. one person witnessed the shooting death of three back in december. the witness told afrs the suspect-- officers the suspects were inside the home for a few minutes before they started fireing and the victims had no time to react. the witness went on to say twity used two guns at the same time. detectives in lancaster told charlotte-mecklenburg police that bullets used in the triple murder case there. detectives in lancaster say twity was a suspect in that case. we reached out to officers to find out more information about that murder case. >>> the trial is under way in colorado for a woman who is accused of cutting open the belly of a former aplatchen state student and trying to take her enborn baby. dynel lane used a craigslist ad about baby clothes to lure michelle wilkins to her home in march of last

. >> eyewitness news reporter greg suskin wentnt back to check on the recovery and ask if flood victims are getting enough help. 19 dead. thousands homeless. 500 roads and bridges damaged or wiped out. more than 100,000 people applied for aid from fema and the agency doled out more than 83 million. most of it for housing. jennifer lost everything. >> where do you begin picking up the pieces? how to pick up the pieces? >> her flood insurance didn't cover the loss. fema gave her 2 months rent. the neighborhood looks like time has stood still. piles of trash, bedding and appliances left to the elements and homes boarded up. >> you can walk down so many streets in columbia on all sides of town, and you'll see storage units like that parked in driveways and large dumpsters full of debris sitting in yards. the storm dumped 20 inches owe of rain. 20 dams were breeched. businesses took a beating too. we found a title loan place in ruins and a damaged subway. two more stores nearby still making repairs. ken has the state's emergency management agency and says life is turning around for some. piq

as we head into south carolina's primary, next at 5:30, eyewitness news reporter greg suskin explains why south carolina is such a unique state for candidates and why it's a make or break sake for some. >>> new tonight, a fire destroyed a home in york county this afternoon, and chopper 9 sky zoom flew over the house just off u.s. 21 north of fort afternoon. you see that open hole there in the roof and firefighters inside spraying water. we're told that 11 people live at this home. but thankfully no one was at home at the time. tonight we're asking questions about what caused the fire. >>> cocaine, meth, and heroin, they're just a few of the items that authorities say they found on two men after a chase through rock hill. officers say they tried to stop the car that anthony and brandon griggs were in last night. they said they caught the pair a short time later when the two tried to ditch the car and run off. investigigors say the two of them are known drug dealers on the east side of rock hill. >>> sheriffs from mecklenburg and iredell counties are returning home from three days focus

we're live in rock hill, greg suskin, channel 9 eyewitness news. >> tonights, republicans is their last debate before super tuesday. >> experts say this could be the gop's last shot at trying to slow down donald trump's momentum. there a new poll that says trump is 16 points ahead of state of florida. >>> charlotte restaurants given the lowest rating, with things that could make you sick. >> would you eat in this restaurant? >> probably not. >> and why the health department won't shut them down. >>> then, it's been more than a decade since we've seen gas but it won't stay that way but it steve: today is your lucky day. woman: (surprised) oh, my goodness mark: you've just won - a thousand dollars! woman: that'amazing! that' amazing! (shrieks) woman: ok, nice job. mark, way better than yesterday. maria, that delivery felt alittle forced. and steve, steve: yeah? woman: i am still missing that raw emotion. woman: pretty awesome for atuesday, but tomorrow is hump day, so let's really bring it! lucky for life. win a thousand dollars a day, >>> gas prices are under $1.30 in south carolina. we

live in rock hill, greg suskin, channel 9 eyewitness news. >>> and wsoc-tv will have you covered all day in tomorrow's primary, we'll tweet out updates and send breaking news alerts as soon as a winner is declared. >>> a military academy was forced to cancel classes today after it received a possible threat linked to isis. the military academy's president said a direct message was sent on tuesday through it mentioned today's date, february 19th. the school alerted cadets and employees and allowed students to go home through the weekend. federal and local authorities are investigating to see if it's a hoax. an iphone belonging to one of the san bernardino terrorists has sparked a huge fight between apple and the federal government. north carolina senator richard burr is at the center of it. and next, in a one on one interview, he explains to jason stoogenke why apple's refusal to unlock the phone could put the nation in jeopardy. >>> the irs sending out a renewed alert warning taxpayers about email schemes targeting your money. this comes after the agency saw a 400% surge in fishing a

greg suskin, channel 9 eyewitness news. >>> another major story that we're following. the tragedy at a factory in kansas where a worker opened injuring 14 others. >> we're learning about cedric ford and the moments leading up to that shooting rampage. allison latos has a look at the time line and the deputy who many are calling a hero for shooting and killing ford. >> cedric ford was served a protection from abuse order 90 minutes before the attacks last night. ma may have set off the rampage. authorities in heston kansas have started mapping out when the shootings began. during a news conference today, police described how he shot a couple people while driving toward the excel industry's plant around 5:00 last night. investigators said ford shot one person in the parking lot of the industrial plant before going inside with a long gun and a pistol and opened fire. the sheriff said a deputy managed to shoot and kill ford saving hundreds of lives. >> understand there's probably people in that building while this is going on. this man was not going to stop shooting. the o

ahead tonight at 5:30, eyewitness news reporter greg suskin is asking how this global battle could impact the voter's choice. >>> tsa agents seized two guns in two separate incidents at charlotte douglas airport the guns were found within ten minutes of each other yesterday morning at different check points. one was a glock 42 handgun. this month alone, police say there have been five cases of fliers trying to bring guns through security. the most high profile was last week when the former chairman of the unc board of governors was caught with a gun at airport security. >>> a gunman is on the run after shooting and killing a woman outside of this gastonia motel. we first brought you this story as breaking news at noon today. all new tonight, eyewitness news reporter dave faherty is live at the red carpet inn near i-85 and dave, you talked to a witness who rushed to that scene after hearing the gunshots. >> that eyewitness told me that he heard one gunshot and then saw a man run off in this direction. he says when he got down to the woman there was little he or anyone else could do to save

we start with eyewitness news reporter greg suskin who was in speech. >>reporter: i'd say this was a big win tonight for the hillary clinton campaign, certainly an understatement it was a massive win, launching this campaign into super tuesday. she was greeted by an enthusiastic crowd here in colombia, an one thing that was very telling how early she spoke. she was out here speaking by 7:45. that's as early as i've ever heard a candidate speak at one now, her speech tonight struck a very positive note talking about the future, working together for a better future. she also hit on two major groups she wants to vote for her, young people and women. she said isn't it time for equal pay for equal work, getting a large cheer from this crowd. she also talked about making college more affordable and the ability to raise children in an environment with better jobs and better economy, pushing forward the work she said president obama has already started. here's a little bit of what she had to say. >> we did build ladders of opportunity and empowerment so every s

and hillary clinton are going head to head we have team coverage and start live in columbia with greg suskin with more. greg? >> reporter: a few people are already trickling in here, and we expect this to get louder and more active in a short while. this could be the sign of confident that hillary clinton will win in south carolina. polls all along have shown hillary clinton with a large lead over vermont senator bernie sanders. but the clintons have not taken votes in the state for granted with hillary clinton making many stops, and bringing out her husband, bill, and her daughter chelsea, out on the campaign trail. this is the first state to see a large number of african- american voters. popes have shown clinton in the