First, meteorologis t kaj omara has your first alert forecast, kaj. Fires in six southeast states this morning. Georgia, alabama, kentucky, tennessee, and north and South Carolina are all affected. As ried binion reports, the smokey air is becoming hazardous. Wildfires fueled by unusually dry conditions are causing Health Concerns for communities in the southeast. Upwards of 30 large fires in six states. And filling skies across the region with a smokey haze. The blanket of smoke so widespread that its visible from space. Captured in satellite images from nasa. The Health Impact of poor air quality has been particularly severe in tennessee. Where its landed more than 200 people in the hospital with breathing difficulties. Fire officials are carefully planning their battle against the flames. Taking the what we dont want is to put the fire out and have 50 or 60 yards of fuel ready for reignition. Effor ts to extinguish the fires hampered by a continuing drought. And the constant threat of high winds. What were going to be looking for is to have, again, the process in play to have the line constructed to continue the burnout operations and get it done before the wind hits. Some residents close to the fires are refusing to evacuate. This is our home, you know. We just this is our home. We just didnt want to leave. Othe themselves for the full impact. The thought of losing everything you own is never a fun thing. Im reid binion reporting. Overnight, demonstrator s marched through the streets of minneapolis. This follows the announcement that a Police Officer now faces charges of seconddegree manslaughter for a shooting that killed a black man. Prosecutors announced the charge against st. Anthony Police OfficerJeronimo Yanez yesterday. Yanez fatally shot july 6 traffic stop. Castiles girlfriend live streamed the shootings aftermath on facebook. She said castile was shot while reaching for his id after telling yanez he had a gun permit and was armed. Yanezs Attorney Says yanez reacted to the presence of a gun. But prosecutors say it was an over reaction. Based upon our thorough and exhausted review of the facts of this case, it is my conclusion that the use of deadly force by officer yanez was not justified. In that sufficient facts exist to prove this to be true. If convicted, yanez could face up to 10 years in prison. A barbershop in waterloo is helping bridge the gap between police and the black community. The people at brothaz barber shop say customers and barbers are oftentimes like family. One employee, donell customers in dealing with topics like Race Relations between the community and police. He asked Waterloo Police chief dan trelka to make pamphlets that the barbers can give to their customers. 17 33 27;05i think all of us, its six barbers here. Its all of us weve got our own clientele and different bases and we can extend that to help other people. If not plant the seed of ideals, but also working alongside the mayor and the chief of police and Different Things like that i think it will go a long way. The barbershop expects to get those pamphlets within the next few weeks. Some drivers want the Iowa Department of transportatio n to stop issuing tickets for things like not wearing seat belts or speeding. The drivers, who each face traffic tickets, filed a motion in court tuesday. Theyre doing this after a polk county judge ruled the dot doesnt have the authority to issue tickets for most traffic violations. That case involved a 16 yearold who was fighting a speeding ticket. Department has issued. Altoona police say a witness to a crash started beating a driver involved in the wreck. Hes now under arrest this morning. Police say 56 year old steven webb punched 41 year old joshua mrzena more than 60 times. The fight started after webb allegedly saw mrzena hit his daughters car at an intersection about a quarter mile away. He then try to drive away. Terry kellogg says was driving in altoona tuesday night when he punching him punching him so i hurried out of the car and got up as quickly as i could and got out to him and tried to force him to stop. Mrzena is in Critical Condition at Mercy Medical center. Webb is charged with willful injury causing serious injury. Webbs daughter suffered minor injuries in the car accident. The trial for the former Washington High School substitute teacher charged with Sexual Exploitation is moving to tama change of venue for mary beth haglin. Haglins lawyer argued the number of articles written about her, and the tone of some, would prevent a fair trial in linn county. Haglin admitted to the relationship with a student in several tv interviews. Authorities have sinced increased her charge to a felony. The following investigation led to the sudden retirements of former principal Ralph Plagman and former activities director mike johnson. Two state legislators say iowa needs new pain medicine. It would be part of an effort to stop the states heroin epidemic. The centers for Disease Control and prevention say people with addictions to prescription pain killers are 40 times more likely to become addicted to heroin. Yesterday senator rob hogg from cedar rapids and representativ e Chuck Isenhart from dubuque hosted a pain killer abuse forum. They discussed how changes in the law could help cut down pain killer abuse. While overall heroin use has slightly this year. That could be a result of recent change in iowa law. In april, governor branstad signed a bill into law that makes it legal for firstresponders and family members of addicts to have and administer narcan. The drug can prevent opioid overdoses from becoming deadly. Weve become dependent really on using strong pain killers for treatment of regular aliments, such as cancer and inadvertently many people have become addicted to those pain killers. Experts say one thing that does seem to be working well are the states Prescription Drug take back events. In the past 6 years, the state has collected 39 tons of left over Prescription Drugs through those events. Today, you can get a sneak peak at the third and final phase for the Eastern Iowa Airport renovation project. Construction started a few years ago on the 55 Million Dollar renovation which included terminal, baggage claim, and ticketing counters. The airport is just finishing the second phase of the process. This final part of the renovation starts after the new year and will be the biggest and most expensive. The airport is holding an open house this morning at 10 oclock. Officials will show renderings of the next phase. They also want the event to serve as a thank you to those who have worked on the project so far and for passengers dealing with the construction. Police have a theory about why a man shot and killed an a oklahoma. Theyre investigating a motive after the man shot and killed himself following tuesdays attack. Many areas this afternoon as temperatures warm accompany the warm air. Tonight, a remarkably mild night continues to look likely with lows around 60. However, this will not last as our powerful through the area later tomorrow morning. We will likely fall to around 40 by sunset, so ensure you have a jacket with you in a. In the wake of this front, the coolest air of the season will pour into the region as lows fall well down into the 20s and highs struggle to make 40 both saturday and sunday. Today partly highs possible. Wind s 1525. High 74 tonight partly cloudy. Very mild. Wind s 1020. Low 60 tomorrow windy with showers possible with falling temperatures. Wind w 2535 high 62 tom. Night a few sprinkles flurries are thanks kaj. Rabgrai has lost a legend, but his children plan rabgrai has lost a legend, but his children plan 2 c1 3 in this mornings gma first look an amazing act of brotherly love. Caught on camera. Watch as 35yearold mom of five tina levi turns her back for just a moment, leaving 11monthold etan on the changing table. First, the baby dangles his leg over the edge. Then tumbles over. Miraculously caught by his older brother, joseph. I just ran and i caught him. But i cant carry him, soy dont know how that happened. Reporter falling is one of the leading causes of infant injury. It can happen anywhere. It was something that happened in less than a second. Reporter check out this quickthinking las vegas employee, and this dad catching with your gma first look, im mara schiavocampo, abc news, new york. Good is in every blue diamond almond. A good that comes in 20 flavors from whole natural to wasabi and soy sauce. And once good gets going, es no stopping it. Get your good going. Blue diamond almonds. Just press clean and let roomba from irobot help with your everyday messes. Roomba navigates your entire home. Cleaning up pet hair and debris for up to 2 hours. Which means your floors are always clean. You and roomba, from irobot. Better. Together. Question, are my teeth yellow . Have you tried the tissue test . Ugh yellow. What do you use . Crest whitestrps. I passed the tissue test. Oh yeah. Crest whitestrips are the way to whiten. Z268pz zixz y268py yixy retaliation attack. Police say the shooter, lloyd for southwest airlines. Investigators believe he shot and killed 52yearold Michael Winchester on tuesday in retaliation for circumstance s that led to buie leaving his job. They say winchester was not his immediate supervisor. We do not know if mr. Winchester was the intended victim. But it is possible the suspect acted in retaliation against the circumstances leading up to his resignation police found buie dead of a selfinflicted gunshot afternoons shooting. Today, president obama arrives in berlin and will hold meetings with chancellor angela merkel. This is part of his last overseas trip as president. Yesterday, he left from athens, greece after visiting the city where he said democracy was born. After he toured the acropolis, he made a speech defending democracy. Democracy can be especially complicated. Believe me i know. But it is better than the allows us to peacefully work through our differences. This was the first time a president had visited athens in 17 years. After his stop in germany today, president obama will head to peru. President obama has named this years recipients of the president ial medal of freedom. The medal of freedom is considered the highest civilian honor. The president will honor men and women involved in sports, next tuesday. Some on the list include talk show host ellen degeneres, actors robert de niro, tom hanks, and robert redford. Also singers Bruce Springsteen and diana ross plus basketball great Kareem Abduljabbar are also on the list. Celebrating a birthday in space is something already out of the ordinary. An iowa native gets to break a record in a few months after her launch into space today. Its here is a live look at stay with kcrgtv9. Meteorologist kaj omara joins record highs will likely be tied or broken in many areas this afternoon as temperatures warm into the 7075 range. Plan on gusty south wind to accompany the warm air. Tonight, a remarkably mild night continues to look likely with lows around 60. However, this will not last as our powerful cold front makes progress through the area later tomorrow morning. We will likely fall to around 40 by sunset, so ensure you have a jacket with you in a car when you leave tomorrow morning. In the wake of this front, the coolest air of the season will pour into the region as lows fall wel struggle to make 40 both saturday and sunday. Today partly cloudy, breezy and mild. Record highs possible. Wind s 1525. High 74 tonight partly cloudy. Very mild. Wind s 1020. Low 60 tomorrow windy with showers possible with falling temperatures. Wind w 2535 high 62 tom. Night a few sprinkles flurries are possible. Windy. Wind will gust over 35 mph. Low 29 become the oldest woman to go into space. Today, nasa astronaut Peggy Whitson will head to space at the age of 56. She grew up in beaconsfield, a small town in southwest iowa. This is her third trip to the international and two other astronauts will spend five months on the station doing research. We talked with whitson last month on kcrgtv9 morning news about this mission, you can watch that interview on kcrg dot com. Donald trump is meeting with advisors today as he says starts to stack his cabinet. And Hillary Clinton made her first appearance since she conceded the election telling her supporters how she feels. Stay with your 24 hour news source, kcrgtv9. Its live look at. Its november 17th. Heres what you need to know today. State Gaming Commissioners are talking about a proposed casino for downtown cedar rapids today. Wild rose is partnering with the nonprofit, cedar River Alliance for gaming. A College Student won a seat for the Bremer County soil and Water Commission after one day of campaigning as a writein candidate. President elect donald trump is meeting with advisors and possible cabinet members today. That includes South Carolina governor nikki haley. People marched through the streets of minneapolis overnight following the announcement that the castile will face manslaughter charges. Employees at a barbershop in waterloo plan to hand out pamphlets to customers from police to help fix Race Relations with officers. Youre watching kcrgtv9. Now, from your 24 hour news source, this is kcrgtv9 news morning news. Plan on a warm and windy day. Record highs will likely be tied or broken in many areas this afternoon as temperatures warm into the 7075 range. Plan on gusty south wind to accompany the warm air. Tonight, a remarkably mild night continues to look likely with lows around 60. However, this will not last as our powerful cold front makes progress through the area likely fall to around 40 by sunset, so ensure you have a jacket with you in a car when you leave tomorrow morning. In the wake of this front, the coolest air of the season will pour into the region as lows fall well down into the 20s and highs struggle to make 40 both saturday and sunday. Today partly cloudy, breezy and mild. Record highs possible. Wind s 1525. High 74 tonight partly cloudy. Very mild. Wind s 1020. Low 60 tomorrow windy with showers possible with falling temperatures. Night a few sprinkles flurries are possible. Windy. Wind will gust over 35 mph. Low 29 this just into the newsroom, a Migration Organization says that about 340 migrants have died or gone missing over the past twoandahalf days. All of those people were on four Mediterranea N Sea ships that wrecked. This is video from late last month of the Italian Coast Guard rescuing stranded migrants. The International Organization for migration says that brings the total number of migrants who have died or disappeared the deadliest year on record. Hillary clinton has made her first public appearance since conceding the white house. And president elect donald trump continues to fill out his cabinet, meeting with a potential secretary of state candidate today. Heres abcs janai norman, the democratic president ial nominee making her first public appearance since the crushing loss. Sot clinton i know many of you are deeply disappointed about the results of the election. I am too, more than i can ever express. Sot boxer clinton got more votes. Do you understand that . Yes up big in the popular vote, by the time all the votes are counted, she may well end up with more raw votes than all but one of the men ever elected. The exception . Barack obama. Sot clinton there have been a few times this past week, when all i wanted to do was curl up with a good book and our dogs and never leave the house again . At the same time, turmoil for the trump transition. Sot rogers i think there is some confusion going on about a chain of command coming out of new york. Former team member and congressman mike rogers commenting on reports of disorder polluting the president ial transition. But trump trying to remain optimistic in a tweet that sounded like a reality show promo posting at the center of the transition. Jared kushner, trumps soninlaw. Abc news confirming, the Transitions Team has requested National Security clearance for the Real Estate Developer who has no government experience. This as the president elect deals with backlash surrounding the hiring of steve bannon, former head of Brietbart News with alleged ties to white supremacists. Jn tag trump is holding another series of meetings today with advisors and political leaders. Among them, former secretary of state Henry Kissinger and South Carolina governor considered for secretary of state. Iowa representativ e steve king security clearances for the president elects family. Experts have speculated in recent days that trump was trying to get top security clearance for his adult children. But trump says thats not true. He recently tweeted that it was a typically false news story. King says if trump wanted to clue his children in on he should be able to. If donald trump, president elect, wants to bring his family members into highlevel positions where they would need security clearance, i do not have a philosophical or a legal or a logical reason why that shouldnt happen. Yesterday, the president of the Czech Republic thanked trumps ex wife, ivana, for her interest in becoming the new Us AmbassadorTransition Team hasnt confirmed that appointment. Republicans in the iowa house will keep their top leaders for the next legislative session. Linda upmeyer of clear lake will again serve as house speaker. And Chris Hagenow from Windsor Heights will be majority leader. They say there have been no formal discussions about what the republican majority will focus on next year. But they expect issues to include tax cuts, water quality, and education. They say they realize voters are hungry for change. People were frustrated with washington. In iowa we want to fight against the same type of environmen. Different, well come and put it together, listening to folks in our own districts. The next legislative session begins on january ninth. Some eastern iowa Gun Shop Owners say they arent seeing as many customers as they politicians could introduce new restrictions on weapons and ammunition. So generally, they stock up. But following this election, store owners says there wasnt the usual rush. One owner says sales were up about 25 percent for three weeks before the election. After trumps victory, sales fell back to normal. Another owner says thats probably because gun owners predict there wont be any significant gun restrictions. I would say people are maybe getting a little more informed about. Do something about this legislation wise. Buying up ten guns and having them in your basement doesnt change the laws traugh says he had several buyers order new guns the day before the election. The next day, they canceled the orders. 4c Foods Corporation is voluntarily recalling several cheese brands nationwide for possible salmonella contamination. Those brands include 4c cheese, and cento grated cheese. The recall is for 6 ounce vacuum sealed glass jars with best by dates between november 12th, 2016 and november 12th, 2018. No one has reported getting sick from the cheeses. You can find a list of the recalled cheeses on kcrg dot com. Several cities in central iowa are reporting thefts from skimmed debit cards. Last month, we told you police in eastern iowa have responded to reports as well. A skimming device looks almost like a regular card slot at an atm, but suspects pu you run your card. Police in altoona, des moines, and clive have found skimming devices at atms. Some suspects have been getting information other ways in ankeny and grimes. Law enforcement says the best thing you can do is to tell authorities if something looks out of the ordinary and keep an eye on your bank account. Some sixth graders are trying to stop the arguing and fighting theyve seen since the election. These students belong to whats called south of des moines. The group is trying to spread joy to their classmates. Theyre also coming up with ways to reach out to students who might deal with discrimination. The groups young leader admits its a challenge to encourage people to think about others feelings. Were trying to like get the drama to go away, but like, its kind of hard to get everybody to stop. The students say they also wish adults would grow up, act more like children, and spread joy likt developers of a proposed casino in downtown cedar rapids hope to hear from state officials today. The state racing and Gaming Commission plans to talk today about the boutique style proposal. Up next. This mornings weather wise question. Meteorologist kaj omara is up right after the break. Its. First Alert Storm Team plan on a warm and windy day. Record highs will likely be tied or broken in many areas this afternoon as temperatures warm accompany the warm air. Tonight, a remarkably mild night continues to look likely with lows around 60. However, this will not last as our powerful cold front makes progress through the area later tomorrow morning. We will likely fall to around 40 by sunset, so ensure you have a jacket with you in a car when you leave tomorrow morning the coolest air of the season will pour into the region as lows fall well down into the 20s and highs struggle to make 40 both saturday and sunday. Today partly cloudy, breezy and mild. Record highs possible. Wind s 1525. High mild. Wind s 1020. Low 60 tomorrow windy with showers possible with falling temperatures. Wind w 2535 high 62 tom. Night a few sprinkles flurries are possible. Windy. Wind will gust over 35 mph. A College Student will serve on thats after he only campaigned for one day as a writein candidate. Stay with your 24 hour a proposed cedar rapids casino is on the agenda today for the iowa racing and Gaming Commission. Wild rose entertainment wants to build a 40Million Dollar boutique casino in downtown, across from the doubletree hotel. It would be much smaller than the plan the nonprofit partner. And as kcrg tv9s Forrest Saunders reports, wild rose is pairing with the newlyformed cedar River Alliance for gaming. Plans are still in the works, but if this becomes a reality crag expects to get at least 4 of annual gaming revenue. Thats more than the state minimum of three. It could add up to a lot of money for charitable needs in the county. Wild rose is averaging about 1. 5 million per casino. Given that ours is probably that were the second largest city in the state wed be north of that. The boutique would be smaller than the last this time, fewer games, no restaurants. The total cost is a fraction of what it was 40 compared to 164 million. Wild rose thinks the size reduction will decrease the amount of revenue loss felt by nearby casinos a Sticking Point for Gaming Commissioners last time. Im not guaranteeing what the commission will do or wont do. But, i know that something scaled down has a lot better chance than what was proposed before. Into what commissioners are feeling during their meeting, thursday morning. The groups agenda shows discussion time for wild roses intent to file for a license. Commissioner and former chair Jeff Lamberti said the group will likely talk about timing for the application. But, also how members feel about the overall state gaming market. Lamberti said quote i believe the market is pretty saturated. Whether a specific proposal would be favorably considered would likely be based upon our market studies. That was kcrg tv nines Forrest Saunders. Wild rose is in the middle of a market study right now to determine the impact on other area casinos. The Group Expects to file the gaming application in the next four to six weeks the linn county board of supervisors will swear in its newest member this morning. Stacey walker won the election cedar rapids native has served on an Area Task Force trying to reduce poverty as a method of decreasing violence. A Wartburg College senior is now the newest member for the Bremer County soil and Water Commission. And he was a write in candidate. Jesse kielman campaigned for just 10 hours on election day. He says he was interested in the position, but didnt really consider it until his mom called and told him she wrote him in. So, kielman decided to ask his friends to do the same. 33 37, i had a lot of p campaign that was mire 10 hours i would vote for you, thats a fair criticism ill take that kielman will join the commission after the first of the year. He wont be able to vote because theres already a commissioner from his ward, but he will have input. Today, dozens of people plan to speak in front of the iowa utilities board about the Dakota Access pipeline and alleged problems with construction. Some claim that crews left behind debris, released cattle from grazing areas, and disrespected their land. Members of iowa citizens for Community Improvement and others plan to hold a rally in des moines at 12 30 this afternoon. Then, they plan to speak during the Public Comment portion of the meeting that starts at one oclock. Kaj has one more check of your forecast next. Stay with us. Is a proposed casino for downtown cedar rapids. Wild rose entertainment wants to build a boutique style casino across from the doubletree. It recently partnered with the cedar river requirements. President elect donald trump is meeting with his top advisors today to talk about filling cabinet spots. He is also meeting with South Carolina governor nikki haley. Trump is reportedly considering her for secretary of state. The Eastern Iowa Airport is holding an open house at 10 this morning to talk about phase three of its 55 Million Dollar renovation. Airport Officials Say crews just finished work on phase two of the project. Phase three is the final and biggest part of the mornings weather, kaj. Plan on a warm and windy day. Record highs will likely be tied or broken in many areas this afternoon as temperatures warm into the 7075 range. Plan on gusty south wind to accompany the warm air. Tonight, a remarkably mild night continues to look likely with lows around 60. However, this will not last as our powerful cold front makes progress through the area later tomorrow morning. We will likely fall to around 40 by sunset, so ensure you have a jacket with you in a car when you leave tomorrow morning. In the wake of this front, the coolest air of the season will pour into the region make 40 both saturday and sunday. Today partly cloudy, breezy and mild. Record highs possible. Wind s 1525. High 74 tonight partly cloudy. Veryldwh orpsible with falling mperates. Nd w 255 high 62 to e ssibl windy. Wind llgust over certainly hope your is f to a good start. Good morning america is next. And well be back with a local news update in about 20 minutes. Also make sure to join us at eleven for the kcrg tv9 news at midday. Good morning, america. Hillary clinton breaks her silence. Speaking for the First Time Since her loss to donald trump. This isnt the easiest thing for me. As donald trump fights back agns now Henry Kissinger heading to trump tower and Kellyanne Conway here live with the inside story. Breaking overnight, a deadly gas explosion. A blast going off in the middle of a town square. Destroying buildings, shattering glass, killing at least one person. 11 rushed to the hospital. Just a big boom. Now, investigators are on the scene. Abc news exclusive. Former fox news star and miss