let's check in with julia sims live from the county seat of person county. how does a look there, julia? >> reporter: well, it has pretty much stopped any sort of precipitation. bill, i was just checking out the snow seeing if i could make a snowball but it is the kind apart. as for the road conditions, you can check it out right here on 501 in north roxboro. you can see that the d.o.t. and public works crews have come through here with their plows, sand and salt trucks and done a really good job of this roadway. you can see a lot of the asphalt. but still, i talked to the person county sheriff's office. and in the last 30 to 45 minutes, they have seen an uptick in the number of car accidents. they said that could be due to more cars on the road, and because we did have a little bit of freezing rain here. so as we have been saying all morning, if you've got to get out on the roads, be smart about it. take your time, give yourself plenty of distance. and of course, if you don't have to get out, stay home on the couch and enjoy being under that blank and to wat

julia sims has the latest there. and this is not even good for hitting somebody in the head with a snowball. >> reporter: well, you know what, things have really changed in the last half hour to an hour. look at this! that freezing rain has given us enough so that we can make some kind of snowball out of that snow. as for the roads, though, they look to be in pretty good shape. morning that person county had gotten about an inch of snow last night. and then we started seeing snow from about 3:00 to 6:30 this morning, followed by freezing rain. well, the d.o.t. has been out here throughout the night and into the morning hours. i actually see one of their plows coming down 501 right now. we will be able to get a shot of it. they happen out here putting out sand and salt throughout the night and into the morning hours. and, these roads seem to be in pretty good shape, even though, that being said, you know, the roads are wet, there is a lot of/build up on the shoulders of the road. so, you have got to be careful no matt

julia sims in life drive five this morning. we'll get another update from julia coming up in just a little while. again, in the triangle not seeing any big problems at this point. and any chance at the moment at least of seeing wintry precipitation will be along the i-95 corridor and just to the keep our eyes on it, have another update in about fin minutes. >>> well new overnight a teen has died after he was hit by a vehicle in lumberton. troopers tell us 17-year-old austin collins was hit from behind while walking along wire grass road just south of lumberton, off highway 74. this was around 7:15 last night. collins was heading east with the flow of traffic when he was hit near the 800 block of wire grass. troopers say the vehicle that hit him left the scene. it's described as a light when colored suv or van with extensive front-end damage. if you have any information or see this vehicle you're urged to call the state highway patrol. the number here. (910) 618-5555 with tips in this case. >>> in another story we were falling ou

julia sims is on the ground. she will join us shortly, but we begin with elizabeth gardener who still says we have blustery conditions out there right now. >> we are. that's in effect until 2:00 this afternoon. this is a look at the storm reports from yesterday. it is customary for the national weather service to survey and see if it was a tornado or straight-line winds. they are up here looking at this particular cell that came through and produced some tornado damage. we had 7 reports of tornado damage in our viewing area yesterday. individual tornados. we had 7 individual areas that had damage. there were a couple of buildings that were destroyed there. cells developing some damage there. five miles south. 4:it moved up to grantville county. the weather service will be up there determining if it was one tornado that did all that we've seen a lot of pictures. plenty of sunshine for the first part of the day. the flags are really whipping around. we have that wind advisory in effect until 2:00 this afternoon. he

let's check in with julia sims live from the county seat of person county. how does a look there, julia? pretty much stopped any sort of precipitation. bill, i was just checking out the snow seeing if i could make a snowball but it is the kind of snow that just sort of falls apart. so, not very good for snowball making. as for the road conditions, you can check it out right here on 501 in north roxboro. you can see that the d.o.t. and public works crews have come through here with their plows, sand and salt trucks and done a really good job of this roadway. you can see a lot of the asphalt. but still, i talked to the person county sheriff's office. and in the last 30 to 45 minutes, they have seen an uptick in the number of car accidents. they said that could be due to more cars on the road, and because we did have a little bit of freezing rain here. so as we have been saying all morning, if you've got to get out on the roads, be smart about it. take your time, give yourself plenty of distance. and of course, if you don't have to get out, stay home on the couc

>>> david crabtree is with us here tonight. >> julia sims will join us live. just a few more days until wral welcomes nbc. with the networksproducing top notch coverage of the big issues. renee chou chow -- renee chou will have the story. >>> friday night, you will head out to dinner and before you do, check out monica laliberte's struck >>> laliberte's -- piece. >>> and check out this plane landing in guam without the nose gear. you can see it creeping slower and slower to the ground. finally stops. no one was hurt. no smoke, no fire. and airport operations were not affected. >> that is impressive california involving a pony dressed as a unicorn. escaped twice from a children's birthday party. several drivers stopped to look at it. the pony made two daring escapes from a children's party. didn't get far the first time. but the second time, he was able to make a run for it, made it out to the road and avoided police for hours. >> oh, so sweet. >>> a california couple is celebrating 70 years ago as husband and wife. ed chavik is 93, florence is 91. they med in

. >> aerial clay in the snow, north of roxboro, julia system s sims is live. how's the snow capital? >> they know how do it right. they've got 2 or 3-inches and it started snowing again about 3:00 and it's coming down a little bit heavier. let me go ahead and show you the roadways. this is 501 north in roxboro and you can see the roads are covered with snow. we've been out there, testing them out, and gone out with my boots and stuff and you can see some of the pavement. it's mostly slush and wet pavement, not ice, but that doesn't mean to say there aren't patches of ice somewhere, but let's go ahead and show you downtown roxboro. i always love this vantage point when we come up here. it is absolutely beautiful. looks pretty as a post card and they got about 2 or 3-inches, but as far as the roadways, which is the big concern. person county schools are out today and folks are staying off the roadways and the sheriff's office said they really haven't had any problems, that's because folks are staying at home. we are seeing more traffic out here and again the roa

julia sims just sent in this picture where they have closed 54 in both directions between garrett road and parkwood road. we are seeing very heavy julia says it's gridlocked try to get to 50 from nc-54. maybe fayetteville road to renaissance parkway, that's one option to get around that blocked the road this one. durham police tell us that a single male driver was killed when the car went into a creek. we are working to get more details about that crash. i want to zoom in to show you the extent of those delays. there is park ridge and garrett. this is where 54 is close. you'll notice heavy delays on 54 westbound and also some on the eastbound side where people are getting turned around. avoid that area if you can. again, renaissance parkway might be the best option for you this morning. i also want to mention some delays lingering on 40 westbound, right lane blocked on 40 eastbound before harrison avenue. now those delays begin all the way back toward page road and eastbound side of i-40. the patient coming in from durham. >>> it is a: 36. dinner and flowers are good valentine's day gi

. >> julia sims joins us live by phone where the national weather service has just made that confirmation. i'm just judging by the sound on your phone, it looks like the wind is still blowing there. >> reporter: it sure is. it about blew me over a few no one is surprised that they confirmed it was a tornado that touched down. just one look at the trees that had been sheered off. particularly, a dairy farm. two silos destroyed. equipment tossed around. roofs blown off houses. no one was hurt, and none of the animals at this dairy farm were hurt as well. it's really quite amazing. it's all about cleanup in the area today. you've got a lot of people showing up and offering to help one another out. i talked to the dairy farmer here, and he says he's thankful. this farm has been in his family since 1943. these kinds of things happen, and you pick up and move on. everyone in this community, whether it be grantville or the greater north carolina community. duke energy is here as well as other crews, ready to get power to this area. folks say they're in a good mood and just thankful no one was hu

wral's julia sims spoke with customers who took advantage of it. >> reporter: monica and bill, forget the internet. this is an app only service. today is the first date has been available in raleigh. boy, f fks are just a little bit excited about this. raleigh is one of 25 cities where the services available. you go into the prime now app and you can order food, gifts, baby things, books. the one hour delivery service is $7.99. but, the two hour delivery service is free to prime members. as you mentioned, we caught up with the customer this morning who was getting her package. cool. i am a working mom, too. and a run my own company. so i am trying to balance getting to the store, and then buying stuff online and keeping the family going. this is awesome. >> she sound like a lot of us, doesn't she? carol opted for the two-hour service. she says the package got there in about two hours and 20 minutes, but it did get there within the promised timeframe of 10:00 to 12:00. and again, this is an app service. and, you've got to have it on your phone and you have to be a prime number which co

julia sims live in raleigh, thank you very much. >>> we all remember that story. >>> federal investigators are expected to look into the cause of a deadly plane crash in union county. officers say that the pilot died. the plane went down around 7:00 last night in a wooded area. investigators are still trying to figure out what caused the crash. officials have not released any information on the pilot's identity or where the flight originated from. >> a milestone for the state's oldest american church, providence baptist church marks 150 years of existence. the church started as one-room school house and now boasts a congregation of more than 1000 members. the church long influenced the community and the state with members like lorenzo lynch, the current pastor and father of >>> and the board of trustees voted unanimously to remove the name of charles acock from a building. he improved the state's education system but also promoted white supremacy. uncg is not the only university to take on the issue. unc chapel hill is also removing references on buildings to the former governor. >>> in ho

wral's julia sims joins us outside the justice center. >> reporter: jurors announced it would not present any evidence leaving them to consider results of a new dna test as well as testimony from witnesses about things they recall from 20 years ago. jurors heard from friends of lacoy mcqueen who even now some 20 years later broke down on the stand, when talking about the shaw university student. they testified lacoy mcqueen had been pregnant, and her boyfriend, chris lawing, and nc state student at the time wanted her to have an abortion. witnesses told jurors the couple argued and when mcqueen went to meet him at the bell tower she disappeared. her remains were found later in vance county. police arrested lawing in 1997 but lack of evidence force them to drop those charges. jurors heard about new dna tests not available at the time that prosecutors say linking to suggested the lead investigator was an overzealous cop who ignored and neglected to look at any other suspects. so again, closing arguments are expected this morning and the jury could get this case for deliberations this aftern

julia sims joins us in our newsroom with more on the debate. julia? >> reporter: we spoke with several experts who told us the same thing. this is a complicated and important case. in an open letter to customers, apple ceo, tim cook, calls the government's demand children. last week a federal judge encrypted data on a phone use by syed farook. capital university law professor, kevin lee, second looking to balance the right between privacy and national security, this is an issue that should be thoroughly reviewed. and he believes decided by a federal court. he says a quick decision could have wide-ranging implications. >> the problem with that is once that key exists, every time that the law enforcement seeks to gain access to a locked phone, that pathway will be available. >> reporter: apple calls the government's order and overreach. we talked with a political science professor who says the company needs to comply and he thinks that ultimately will. our 5:30 news. >> julia sims in our newsroom, thank you, julia. >>> right now you have probably heard

julia swims is up there in the county seat -- julia sims is there at the seed. what is it? >> we're still seeing snow. it has been snowing since 3:00. it gets heavy and lightens up. let me step out of the way so you can see 501 north here in roxboro. you can see the traffic is already out, the roads are covered with snow because the area got an inch or so. downtown roxboro, photographer jamie mundon shot some video downtown on manipulate street about 3:30 or 4:00 this morning and absolutely beautiful, beautiful to look at, but again, out here live, out on the with snow and we've seen the plows and the sand and salt truck comes by and of course folks here in person county know how to do it, know how to handle this kind of snow. if you have to be out, be careful , and take it slow. bill, rep a renee. >> julia is live in roxboro, thank you very much. >>> you can keep up-to-date with the weather, giving you an instant look at the forecast on wral. all the details are at wral.com search "alert center." >>> and overnight firefighters are investigating a house fire in raleigh alon

julia sims live in granville county, thank you. >>> topple trees kept people around durham busy. several homeowners spent the day assessing the damage from the storm and cleaning up the mess behind. wral's arielle clay shows us some of that work. >> reporter: this home here on rose ier drive is one of the hardest hit in this neighborhood. as you can see, this tree cracked off here, and then toppled onto the home. even though it is pretty late in the day, some of the work has just arted here. some of the repair crews and shown up here at this home. earlier today down e street, a tree at the front desk excuse me, another company was down another home. they say there has been a lot of work to do in this neighborhood. now, the homeowner here ys that she was back at the house what happened. she was not here when a tree fell into says when she saw it for the first time, she was shocked at how bad was. bull city tree service was using a wood chipper to remove the trees fallen in the neighborhood. homeowners say this is just the start of this process. >> usually how it works is right aft

julia sims is live at the wake county detention center, and we under that the investigation is ongoing. >>reporter: that is right. it's not over yet. 25-year-old major earl edwards, jr. is being held at the detention center. he's charged with killing a man whose friends say he was simply trying to do his job. edwards of louisburg was arrested in raleigh overnight. police are still not saying exactly what led them to edwards. 55-year-old jose nicolas dominguez was shot several times. creek drive around 1:30 in the morning. dominguez who worked as a taxi cab driver had been responding to a call for service. last night his friends and coworkers still reeling from their grief told us dominguez was someone who was always there for his friends. police have said this could involve several people, so there could be more arrests. as for edwards, he is being held without bond and his first court appearance is later this a afternoon. >>> a man is heading to court in nash county after deputies charged him with breaking into a woman's home and raping her. the suspect is 31-year-old omar monitor mon

. >> right, we had julia sims in drive iphone morning. did not see any big problems. saw some areas that could be patchy ice, be more concerned about bridges this morning. there could be some slick spots, anything that did not disappear, dry out overnight. the roasted a pretty good job of drying up the can't rule out a few slick spots along and east of i-95. here at 7:36, there's a look at 40 heading down for chapel hill. we have durham police on the scene of an accident blocking the right lane. left lane getting by the we're starting to see pretty big backups on 54 heading away from durham toward chapel hill. we're also getting rid of an accident on 54 near 751 or hope valley road. we're working on getting details and hope to have more information before too long. here's a look at the northbound trip on the durham freeway, 15 minutes from 40 here's a look at the northbound trip on the durham freeway, 15 minutes from 42 mangum street, that is really starting to build as traffic moves. most delays are on ellis road. he to allow extra time working to using an alternate

. >> julia sims live in raleigh, thank you. >>> new overnight, a crash in raleigh shut down part of north new hope road near the daily road intersection. an suv knocked out a utility pole crashing into our yard. there are no serious injuries. duke energy crews worked to replace the pole, north new hope road is back open. >>> a quick moving fire took out three buildings in sanford. it started at the corner of bragg and matthew streets in robert's cabinet shop and spread into an attached building, then a third freestanding structure. the damage was so bad the exact source of the fire. >> it seemed like the more water they put on it the fire would not go out and then it got that bad. >> a small church was also affected, no one was hurt. >>> one person is in the hospital after a fire in downtown raleigh. someone called firefighters to the scene of carver street after 8:00 last night. it is unclear if the person taken away had serious injuries. no word on the cause. >>> we are less than 24 hours away from super tuesday. 12 states whose votes could alter the campaign. tracie potts tells us abou