dangerous in the mountains. . temps take a slight hit, but still above normal. let's send it over to demetria for a check of your roads./// < demetria obilor > < > back to you. /// ((kirsten joyce)) > a house that was the scene of a homicide and fire back in november... burst into flames again last night. it happened just before 11 at the home on sherrill circle...near charleston and lamb. fire crews were able to get the fire under control in 20 no word on what caused it... and no one was injured. the house was vacant after last year's homicide investigation and fire damage. ((kirsten joyce)) here's a look back in november when crews were investigating... metro says a man was found dead on scene... and there were victims also tied up in and near the home. four people were taken to the hospital suffering from burns and smoke inhalation./// music ((brian loftus)) > the is just days away... and the democrats are making a final push... ((kirsten joyce)) new polling reid binion reports. in a state known for making the odds, the numbers ahead of saturday's nevada democratic call... bernie sanders is hoping to build momentum following his win in last week's new hampshire (sen. bernie sanders/(d) presidential candidate) "everything in my political gut tells me we have the momentum here in this state." but hillary clinton says the smart money is on her for a silver state win. (hillary clinton/(d) presidential candidate) "we're going to go out and convince then we are going on to south carolina." a new cnn/orc suggests that sanders and clinton are in a dead heat. ....with 48% of likely caucus- goers saying they support clinton, and 47% backing sanders. clinton has an edge on a range of top issues, but the poll results suggest that divided opinions on the economy are responsible for the tight race. another factor - race itself: ... as the nominating contests shift from states like iowa and new hampshire... to states with more diverse electorates. sanders is getting support from the daughter of eric garner, who was killed in a confrontation with new york police in 20-14. (erica garner/eric garner's daughter) "i think we need to believe in a leader like bernie sanders." (sen. bernie sanders/(d) presidential candidate) "the african american community knows that on any given day some innocent person like sandra bland can get into a car and then three days later she can end up dead and in jail." while sanders invoked sandra bland... clinton got the backing of bland's own mother: (geneva reed- veal/sandra bland's mother) "i have been blessed to fantastic lady right here to my right." i'm reid binion, reporting brian loftus > democratic candidates hillary clinton and bernie sanders are back in town. kirsten joyce tonight... they're taking part in a town hall... just two days before saturday's caucus. ((brian loftus)) 8 news now reporter brittany edney is live outside the cleveland clinic where the event will take place. brittany, what makes this town hall so significant? brain and kirsten... first, and foremost... the polls are close. and hillary clinton leads bernie sanders in the state by one- percent. the other thing that makes this town hall so significant is it's focusing on issues which affect the latino community. the nevada state democratic party is sponsoring the event. those working with the party say the latino community makes up state's population. the party says candidates will face tough questions on a number of issues ranging from college affordability to immigration reform ((((mariela hernandez // political director, nevada state democratic party: i think for latino's here in nevada... immigration, health care and college education are some of the top issues on their mind. i think they're are things that really hit home -- for them so both secretary clinton and senator sanders will have the opportunity to really let them know what they stand for and where they stand on these issues in particular that i think are so important for nevadan's or )) )) m-s-n-b-c and telemundo are hosting the town hall. 8-tonight. it is a closed event... so the general public cannot apply for tickets. again, this town hall falls just two days before saturday's democratic caucus. a victory -- or even a narrow sanders campaign a boost of momentum heading into the more racially diverse contests of south carolina and the southern states that vote just a few days later on super tuesday. ((brian loftus)) brittany, ... what kind of final preparations are taking place prior to this weekend's event? ((brittany edney)) well brian...the party says right now they're focusing on training...makin g sure people understand how to register to caucus and how the process actually works. and we'll talk more about that coming up in our next half hour. ((kirsten joyce)) > the republican party is holding a caucus training today... ahead of their caucus on tuesday next week. registered republicans are invited to check it out... south rancho drive...that's on alta and rancho. it will run until seven oclock./// ((kirsten joyce)) > 8 news now is your local election headquarters for all your news regarding the caucuses and presidential campaign... on air and online at las vegas now dot com./// ((brian loftus)) > this morning... a new traffic signal is being switched on at tenaya and warm springs. county commissioner steve sisolak will be there to flip the switch at 9-oclock. he says the new signal will make the area safer as it develops. other projects...drain age improvements on warm springs, and new pavement and sidewalk around th eintersection./// ((kirsten joyce)) > a dog owner is back with her pet this morning... after it was stolen from her front yard. early this morning.. lori reed called reporter brittany edney to let her know.. metro police reunited her with lucy-lu. someone stole the chihuahua from her home near sahara and buffalo last week surveillance video shows a man walking with the dog in his arms... then moments later, he met up with a woman as they drive away in an s-u-v. we'll be speaking with police to find out how they found lucy-lu.. and if anyone is facing charges./// ((kirsten joyce)) > death valley, coming to life! ((brian loftus)) what's drawing tourists to the typically barren desert. ((kirsten joyce)) plus... addressing the water crisis in flint, michigan. the steps xheir governor is taking...to move forward and fix the situation. ((brian loftus)) water runs through this intersection and it drives you crazy.. how demetria's helping stop centurylink prism tv has all your favorite channels, tons of live sports, and more -- all in crystal-clear hd. watch when and where you want with advanced features like our wireless set-top box, whole home dvr, and prism on the go. and choose from a variety of great packages to fit your home. call... ...and get started with the prism essential tv bundle. you'll get tv plus up to 40 megs of centurylink internet all for only $75 a month. this deal sounds great, especially if you love sports. get prism essential tv and up to 40 megs of internet for only $75 a month. score! or, if you love great movies... [ southern accent ] hey, clementine, go on and get prism essential tv with up to 40 megs of internet for only $75 a month. hyah! [ whip cracks ] get started with prism essential tv plus up to 40 megs of internet speed. just $75 a month for a year with autopay. speed may not be available in your area. only from centurylink. ((sherry swensk)) > death valley is known for being hot, dry, and bare... but right now there's a rare sight happening... thousands of tall yellow wildflowers called "desert gold" are in bloom! the flowers began blooming early this year thanks to rain from el nino. the last two times an early and 20-05. ((linda slater, national park ranger)) "for folks, who live in our general area, like the people las vegas, it only happens once a decade. so, if you never been to death valley before and you have been thinking, this is the time to come." )) ((sherry swensk)) the carpet of flowers is expected to be around until march or early april./// adlib weather chat winds are blowing right now... but only expected to get stronger through the day. boulder city is bumpy... winds at the test site have been spring mountains at blue diamond ridge... 40-plus mph winds. ......... a wind advisory in place right now and will last until this afternoon. we had some gusty winds last night as the first wave of showers pushed through with just some light amounts so far. ........... let's check your weather now temps around the valley... mainly near 60 degrees around town. ........ some gusty winds out at red rock winds to 60 mph out there at the base of the spring mountains today. ...... rains pushed through last night and measured up to a tenth of an inch... with some showers on the way with a secondary cold front. .......... then partly cloudy today and temps near 70 degrees. ..... after today the temps start imbing and we' ck to thettern of mild and dry weatherrough the weekend. >back to you./// > ((kirsten joyce)) > today, the white house is expected to release details of president the visit could happen as early as next month... it would be the first for a sitting u-s president in nearly nine decades. it comes after cuba and the u-s moved to reopen diplomatic relations...15 months ago./// ((kirsten joyce)) > the pope is back in italy this morning... he wrapped up his 5-day trip to mexico yesterday... with an outdoor mass close to the u-s border in juarez. earlier in the day.... the pope walked up a ramp to pray for the immigrants gathered on the other side of the fence in texas. his hope is that his visit to juarez will send a stong message to the us and mexico where immigration reform is hotly debated. /// ((brian loftus)) > engineers in flint, michigan have one month to find the city's underground the governor hired outside engineers to locate the pipes that are contaminating the city's drinking water. the governor's ultimate goal is to replace the old pipes, but they need to be found first./// of your commute. kirsten joyce demetria... how are things looking? < demetria obilor > 24-hour lane closures on tropicana between eastern and mcleod for an improvement project the state is working on. this will be going on through early april. the flamingo/mcleo d intersection is also under construction for a separate project. expect lane restrictions in the area. < > < > back to you. /// ((brian loftus)) > making the transition...to credit cards with chips. ((kirsten joyce)) behind...when it comes to the new cards. ((brian loftus)) and never having to wash silverware again! the new invention that is useful...and > there's a new way to eat breakfast! ((kirsten joyce)) and not very many businesses are accepting credit cards with chips. jill wagner joins us live from wall street. good morning jill. q: and jill -- some would say cleaning up is the worst part of cooking--- and now... a new gadget to that could help? good morning brian and kirsten! can investors make it four in a row--- u-s stock markets staged make it four in a row--- u-s stock markets staged their first the dow jumped 257 points on wednesday. which means it has now cut its losses for the year... by half! the nasdaq climbed 98.// futures...// and businesses are falling behind when it comes to accepting chip- accepting chip- enabled credit cards. according to new study only 37 percent of businesses can read the cards. the chip technology is considered more secure than traditional cards./ brian and kirsten? q: and jill -- some would say cleaning up is the worst part of cooking--- and now... a new gadget to that could help? a: why wash dishes--- when you can eat your silverware instead. the edible spoon maker lets you bake crisp spoons that you can eat with your meal. it comes with pre- made dough. and takes just three minutes to bake. no word on how much it costs or when it will hit the market.// /// demetria for what's driving you crazy? /// demetria obilor > linda says, "every day there's water running down alexander road at allen lane. there's all this water we have to drive through on a daily basis." the las vegas valley water district handles water waste issues, so that's who i contacted. the water district says it will investigate and get back to me with the results. waste can be reported online or by calling the southern nevada water authority's conservation helpline. in your reports, be as detailed as possible. investigators can only cite waste, if they see it happening. we'll have that information posted on our website for you. it might feel like spring, but we're still in the winter watering schedule until the end of the month. that means, you can only turn the sprinklers on once a week, on your assigned day. remember, you can write me at. traffic 8 at las vegas now dot com. back to you. /// ((kirsten joyce)) > taking a ride...with a driverless car. ((brian loftus)) how experts say the vehicles try to replicate human decision making. hmm hmm hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm-hmm let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together [ cheering ] i've got some real estate here in my bag counting the cars on the new jersey turnpike they've all come to look for america [ cheers and applause ] all come to look for america all come to look for america all come to look for america bernie sanders are in las vegas today... caucus. been working to make sure there's a big turnout for ((brian loftus)) > the wynn is expanding! the new features they hope will draw in more tourists. ((kirsten joyce)) > and a big win on the price is right! how the lucky contestant took home a "dream car"./// < welcome to a brighter morning, joyce, sherry swensk, demetria obilor and brian loftus > ((brian loftus)) > good morning and thanks for joining us. i'm brian loftus. kirsten joyce > and i'm kirsten joyce. it's a windy, rainy morning... let's get a look at your forecast. brian loftus sherry... when will this clear up? < sherry swensk winds are blowing and streets are slick this morning...you see clouds over the valley right now. ................ a few more light showers are moving through... after heavier showers moved now we have mainly broken clouds around southern nevada this morning. ..... some light showers now in the northwest valley and another wave will move through later in the morning. ......... then the gusty winds will pick up as the day goes on and get dangerous in the mountains. we could see a few more showers by noon or early afternoon. ........ temps take a slight hit, but still above normal in the upper 60s near 70 for the afternoon < let's get a check of weather. > demetria obilor < sahara at pavilion center looks kind of wet. this is near downtown summerlin. lane closures on spring mountain and las vegas boulevard for construction work. > < > < > /// brian loftus > we are just two days away from the democratic caucus.. and right now.. the democratic party is doing everything they can.. to be ready. kirsten joyce 8 news now reporter brittany edney is live downtown where both candidates will be later on tonight. brittany, what kind of final preparations are taking place? ((brittany)) brian, kirsten... it's been a busy last couple weeks for the state democratic party... not only have they been planning for saturday's first in the west caucus -- they've also been getting ready forrtonight's town hall that's scheduled to take place behind me... at the keep memory alive center. the town hall is sponsored by the state democratic party. people with the party say it will mainly focus on issues affecting the latino population in our state. it'll be hosted by m-s-n-b-c and telemundo... and will go from 6 until 8 the town hall might be in the spotlight... but the main focus is saturday's caucus. people with the democratic party have been working around the clock to make sure there's a big turnout: ((((mariela hernandez // political director, nevada state democratic party: in 2008 we had over 100,000 attendees. and we expect a good amount of democrats that are very enthusiastic about both senator sanders and secretary clinton to come out and i think we'll have a good turnout. )) ((brittany)) in recent weeks the democratic party has been hosting a number of training sessions... even mock caucuses to help voters learn more about the process. as we told you yesterday... our state is very important for both candidates. a new c-n-n... o- r-c poll has them neck-and- neck. right now... hillary clinton leads bernie sanders by just one percent in the silver state. brian, kirsten? ((kirsten joyce)) brittany... after the town hall... what other campagin stops are planned for the candidates? ((brittany)) bernie sanders has a dinner planned for later he'll also be hosting events in elko on friday. meanwhile... hillary clinton... will host a rally tonight with the laborers international union following tonight's town hall... and former president bill clinton and daughter chelsea clinton are joining in a rally friday evening at the clark county government center amphitheater in las vegas./// ((brian loftus)) > the second of two g-o-p town halls in south carolina will be held tonight ahead of saturday's primary in the state. the first was held last night...and dr ben carson... senator ted cruz... and senator marco rubio all took the stage. during the meeting...rubio called cruz a liar: (( sen. marco rubio/(r) presidential candidate) "well i said he's been lying because if you say something that isn't true and you say it over and over again and you know that it isn't true, there's no other word for it." (sen. ted cruz/(r) presidential candidate) "both donald trump and marco rubio are following this pattern that whenever anyone points to their actual record, to what they've said, to what they've voted on, to what they've done, they start screaming 'liar! liar! liar!')) and ben carson took an unusual republican issue... whether president obama should nominate a replacement for the late justice scalia. carson says if he were in office.. he'd take the opportunity to nominate someone. tonight... donald trump will participate in the town hall, along with jeb bush and john kasich./// ((brian loftus)) > 8 news now is your local election headquarters for all your news regarding the caucuses and presidential campaign... now dot com./// ((brian loftus)) > cliven bundy, his sons, and two others have been indicted for charges connected to a standoff here in 2014... ((kirsten joyce)) in court documents, bundy is referred to as the main leader of the fight over land and cattle. bundy ignored court orders and wasn't paying fees to use land in bunkerville... the bureau of land management organized an operation to remove his cattle.... bundy and the four others indicted are accused of spreading false information and rallying hundreds of armed followers which put law enforcement in danger. the bureau of land management were released and bundy remained. the men are facing sixteen charges.. cliven bundy could spend the rest of his life in prison if convicted./// ((brian loftus)) > more big changes are coming to the strip... the wynn resort and casino has announced a major expansion plan. they'll be adding a new retail development as a way to boost revenue outside of gaming it's expected by fall of next year the 75- thousand square foot built-in addition..being dubbed "the wynn plaza" will include a number of new shops and restaurants. experts say it should draw in tourists: ((bill lerner/union gaming securities: "i think it lines up nicely with the trends we are seeing in the market...non gaming revenue has been quite strong.")) > this expansion plan comes after a number of changes already taking place.. ...including a new restaurant called "jardin" and the spring opening of "intrigue" the nightclub that will soon be replacing tryst./// ((brian loftus)) > testing driverless cars... ((kirsten joyce)) why experts say there's still a long way to go...before the vehicles hit the road. ((brian loftus)) and apple fighting back against to unlock a terrorist's iphone. the company that's standing behind them this morning./// centurylink prism tv has all your favorite channels, tons of live sports, and more -- watch when and where you want with advanced features like our wireless set-top box, whole home dvr, and prism on the go. and choose from a variety of great packages to fit your home. call... ...and get started with the prism essential tv bundle. you'll get tv plus up to 40 megs of centurylink internet all for only $75 a month. this deal sounds great, especially if you love sports. get prism essential tv and up to 40 megs of internet for only $75 a month. score! or, if you love great movies... [ southern accent ] hey, clementine, go on and get prism essential tv with up to 40 megs of internet for only $75 a month. hyah! [ whip cracks ] [ normal voice ] call... get started with prism essential tv plus up to 40 megs of internet speed. just $75 a month for a year with autopay. speed may not be available in your area. only from centurylink. > trending this morning... i sometimes talk about how i'd like a nice car...like a bentley.. car...like a bentley.. but one woman got lucky and didn't have to pay a dime for her new aston martin: ((drew carey: she's gonna try for the car! good luck. i offered her 25-thousand dollars to forget about the car. that's a nice car, the first card is a .....car! you got it! screaming thank you! oh my god! contestant francesca penko was on the price is right this week. she won a 2016 aston martin vantage g-t coupe... it's worth over 120-thousand bucks. this week is dream car week on the show./// sherry swensk < can you see the palm trees whipping in the winds right now?... and they're expected to get stronger through the day. out in the spring mountains at blue diamond ridge... 40-plus mph winds sustained. gusts over 50 so far... ......... it's 60 degrees at the airport 26 mph... but we expect to see 40 to 45 mph winds through the day. ........ some gusty winds out at red rock already and we could see high winds to 60 mph out there at the base of the spring mountains today. ...... light rain is exiting to the east and south right now... after rains pushed through last night and measured up to about five- hundredths of an inch... with some showers on the way with a secondary cold front. .......... then partly cloudy today and temps near 70 degrees. the mountains will remain unsettled with rain and snow all back to you./// > ((kirsten joyce)) > the debate between silicon valley and the government continues this morning... after apple refused to comply with a court order -- to unlock the i-phone of san bernardino shooter, syed farook. yesterday, google's chief executive sided with the tech giant... the government is demanding apple create software that would disable the i-phone's auto erase feature. apple intends to file an appeal of the ruling as early as next week./// ((kirsten joyce)) > the f-b-i is investigating... after a los angeles hospital paid thousands of dollars to hackers to get its computer systems back up and running. they handed over about 17- thousand dollars worth of bitcoins, a form of internet currency. staff started noticing a problem almost two weeks ago. malware had locked access to certain systems and was preventing electronic communication s. administrators decided the quickest way to get back up and running was to pay the ((brian loftus)) > major automakers are testing driverless cars...but researchers say there is a long way to go before these vehicles take over the road. as peter greenberg explains...a major hurdle is giving the cars the ability to make the right decision when faced with common sense and morale dilemmas. looks like a regular car" to see where autonomous vehicles are heading - "autonomous driving" we went for a drive with professor raj rajkumar at carnegie mellon university, where the technolgy was created over 30 years ago. (peter) "so for all those people who say will are going to be driving in a driverless car tomorrow you say?" (raj rajkumar/carne gie mellon university professor) "just wait." "the magic all happens here." because - despite all this technology. .and decades of research. the driverless car still has a way to go. (-raj rajkumar/carne gie mellon university professor) "the biggest nightmare that people like me think about is that somebody deploys this technology prematurely and the car hits a stroller." gill pratt heads the toyota research institute, dollar global initiative from the manufacturer to fast track the driverless car. (peter) "how do you program in human decision making // moral and ethical choices that hopefully we'd make into this driverless car?" (gill pratt/toyota research institute ceo) "what you're really talking in artificial intelligence is called planning." planning for a near infinite number of ethical scenarios like this. say your car is approaching a head-on collison. to avoid the oncoming vehicle, your car can only move right because crossing the yellow line on the left is against the law. but what if there's a person - or even a group of people - to your right? back on the road at carnegie mellon, our driverless car takes a detour... "wow. you just had to take over." and professor rajkumar takes the wheel. evidence - that autonomous vehicles still have miles to go. for cbs this morning, peter greenberg. ((brian loftus)) > researchers say true autonomous cars are still a good ten years away./// kirsten joyce > now let's turn it over to demetia. brian loftus how are the roads delays in the spaghetti bowl. southbound traffic moving toward your screen. construction continues on decatur at sahara for the city's storm drain project. expect construction delays through september. > < > < > ((brian loftus)) > if you think drinking starbucks.. is better than soda.. you may need to think again/ ((kirsten joyce)) why some drinks.. contain three times the amount of sugar... than a can of coke./// i've watched as the house across the street has sat empty for over six years. i've watched good friends have their homes foreclosed on. people are still really suffering, and they're looking for somebody that is going to create bold change. wall street gave bad advice and bad loans over and over again, and nothing happened. people are so excited about bernie sanders because they know that he's not beholden to wall street. we need someone like bernie sanders that's going to fight for the middle class. we have to fix things now. sanders: i'm bernie sanders, a new study finds there's more sugar in some flavored coffee drinks... than in soda. the group--- action on sugar-- analyzed over 100 hot drinks from coffee shops in the u- k..including starbucks. they found some of the drinks can contain up to 25 teaspoons of sugar. that's a lot of sugar... it's more than 3 times the amount in one can of soda... and more than three times the sugar recommendatio n for adults... starbucks says it'll be reducing added sugar in some of its drinks by 2020./// ((kirsten joyce)) > and we're getting a cool look at earth this morning... astronaut scott kelly sent these photos back... he's on board the international space station. he posted these photos on his twitter page... the pictures show a snow- covered region... green and blue seas... even orange sands and a yellow desert. kelly is scheduled to return to earth next month./// brian loftus > now let's send things over to sherry swensk kirsten joyce sherry what's the forecast look like today?/// sherry swensk < flags are waving at full attention this morning in strong up to 20 mph sustained winds will continue and even increase through the morning and the day. winds will be erratic so expect blowing trash on the roads and other wind-related hazards - especially in the mountains today. ........ a chance of rain and snow will stick around today with snow levels pretty high - probably no lower than 7500 feet. ............. and the high wind warning will stay in effect until 4 o'clock this afternoon. ............ there could be some residual showers around the valley and other lower elevations through the day as this system pushes through... and afterwards we're back to sunshine and on track to mid 70s again by the weekend./// > < let's send it over to demetria. demetria obilor < > < > > rollover crash in sloan on i-15 at northbound off-ramp. > < > back to you./// ((kirsten joyce)) > a local woman lands a job.. then finds herself in the middle of a re- shipping scam! ((brian loftus)) coming up at 6:00... 8 on your side's michelle mortensen exposes how crooks conned her into doing their dirty work. ((kirsten joyce)) > plus... ford is rolling out a new to help protect your car against potholes... how it makes sure damage isn't done to your vehicle./// it took joel silverman years to become a master dog trainer. but only a few commands to master depositing checks at chase atms. technology designed for you. ittany edney < brittany edney is live talking about tonight's democratic town hall event > ((sherry swensk)) > plus.. was that warm weather too good to be true? i'm tracking the radar to see if the rain is going to stick around all day. ((brian loftus)) > and.. a safety feature... not keeping people safe.. toyota's new recall... work./// < welcome to a brighter morning, this is 8 newsnow with kirsten joyce, sherry swensk, demetria obilor and brian loftus > kirsten joyce > good morning and thanks for joining us. i'm kirsten joyce. loftus. sherry swensk. while you were sleeping... rain fell throughout the valley. like we may need to bring our umbrellas with us.. just in case it sticks around. ((kirsten joyce)) sherry, how much more is it supposed to rain today? sherry how's the weather today? sherry swensk gusty winds and they're getting stronger.....som e showers moved through last night and broken clouds around southern nevada this morning. .....