that is what you need to look out forest specially for, especially when this is happening in the area. reporting live, mark davenport, wbtv on your side. >> christine: good information, thank you, mark. 5:32, go over to kristen miranda with details just in on the death of a reality tv star, she is in the alert center. >> al: if you're a >> kristen: big ang from "mob wifes" she passed away this morning, about 3:00 this morning an announcement came from her family. they posted it less than an hour ago, with sad regret we inform you that at 3:01, angela raiola was called home, surrounded by her family and was so grateful for her fans. and they are going to keep all her social media pages open so people can share thoughts and respect but people have been knew she was diagnosed with throat cancer and had been reports last evening she passed away and family members said wait, she is fighting, fighting, but at 3:00 this morning she did die. back to you. >> john: investors hoping for good news at charlotte based duke energy set to announce fourth quarter and year end 2015 earnings today. the report will be released at 7:00 this morning. back in november duke reported third quarter earnings were down 27% from the previous year. >> christine: also looking ahead a memorial will be held in gastonia for a grammy nominated gospel singer. [ music ] >> christine: erica mccullough died after extended illness. lead singer for donald lawrence and tricity singers. viewing tonight at 5:00 at a service held tomorrow at noon at he manual missionary baptist church. >> john: charlotte-mecklenburg school board members continue to debate over a student assignment plan and you're invited to participate in a discussion today. meck ed is holding the discussion this morning at 9:00 at the smith family center on tyvola road and wbtv will be there. some elementary school student in charlotte will get help with starting their own home libraries. books are being donate to third graders at huntington farms elementary school. each book personalized and includes a special quote. >> christine: new this morning, the catawba indian nation in york county is receiving more than $1.5 million. the federal department of housing and urban development is giving the tribe a grant for affordable housing. helps low income resident in native american or native alaskan communities. let's look at the commute this morning, this stretch is i-77 at clanton road exit, exit you see traffic is very light but chris is watching more than a dozen other cameras right now he'll let you moe when you know when problems arice. you're never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic on wbtv news this morning. here is meteorologist alconklin. >> al: a nice rim of high essure is building in just in time here, with temperatures in the 20s we're on the chilly side. back to the west, the backside that warm high pressure is going to build in so, we'll incrementally go up with the temperatures here each day. numail fishing forecast, 54 lots of sunshine, light breezes, great day to get on the lake. that is gene spears, living in tyler, texas, where he enjoys fishing with his son-in-law, gary. that is where christine used to nice looking catfish, you're our big catch. folks i need your picture, sometimes they run slim this time of the year, send them to me at aconklin@wbtv.com. looking ahead, 50s today and tomorrow, in the 60s on saturday, now, there is some cloud cover coming our way and eventually rain, i'll talk about whether or not that impacts the weekend in a couple minutes. christine, back over to you. >> christine: it is a birthday one teacher will never forget. what made this classroom surprise extra special a fun story coming up in what's stay with us. 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) maria, that delivery felt a little forced. and steve, steve: yeah? woman: i am still missing that raw emotion. woman: pretty awesome for a tuesday, but tomorrow is hump day, so let's really bring it! lucky for life. win a thousand dollars a day, every day, for life. look at what's trending right now. for a perfect tan is an epic fail. she decided to apply self-tanner using a paint roller after seeing a woman do it online. the result wasn't exactly the best. she said it didn't look much better after she showered. >> christine: um-hmm, we'll have to take her word for it that didn't look too great. >> john: a dog is proving to everyone on imager, where there is a will there is a way,. >> christine: not happy being in a play pen, he pushed the play playpen around. >> john: ha ha ha. >> christine: viewed more than 1.5 million times. there goes the owner, wait a minute, i love that. a surprise tore teacher in texas is warming hearts on twitter. [ music ] happy birthday to you. remember >> john: for his 56th birthday, they threw a surprise party and the cake. and you can see he was overcome. >> christine: he's crying. that is nice. good stuff. >> al: appreciate your teachers. >> john: really do. hello. there we go. >> al: we thought maybe you were going to cry. do you need a moment? don't cry over this forecast, it is a good one. get you out there this morning. 5:41, clear skies early on this morning. but you know what the rain we had the last couple days, totaled an inch in charlotte many of you more than that. we had heavier downpours, so i haven't showed you this in a long time but obviously, we have a little bit of a deficit for the year. this is for the year, for the month the deficit is slim, only year it is about an 1.5. 1.7 so far this month, about four inches for the year but should be up around 5.5. we'll be adding, don't worry about that to the rain situation but not any time soon. clear this morning, we have dry conditions, this is scott clark's out in stallings in western union county, you have clear conditions, temperatures are are right around the freezing mark, a little below that in charlotte right now. we are at 29 degrees with clear conditions, a little bit of a breeze, good visibility, fog won't be an issue so, again, head out the door for work and school you will be okay. temperatures, 28 in the mountains. snow on the back roads. alleghany, ashe, watauga and avery on two-hour delay. 27 lincolnton, 30 in concord, 33 monroe, 31 rock hill and 26 up around salisbury and enochville. chill lieiechilly chance to start, coming light breezes, a nice day. tomorrow a little warmer in the afternoon. boone getting in the mid and upper 40s. 54 in hickory, 56 in gastonia and 57 around charlotte, monroe down to lancaster. on the chilly side of the high right now. but eventually get on the warmer side of this in advance of our next frontal system. when does that come in? looks like saturday morning. today, plenty of sunshine tomorrow good deal of sunshine. as we get in saturday this weak boundary comes in, has more clouds than anything with it. i could see a shower for the mountains. boone area, 46 tomorrow but look at this, mid 50s for saturday and sunday, low to mid 60s for the asheville area, be mindful a couple of showers both days of the weekend, i don't think a lot of rain. that is until we get to monday. our rain chances are slim but temperatures go up, 65 saturday, 68 in charlotte on sunday. we may end the weekend with a shower and i don't think there charleston, maybe walk on the market, # 1 on saturday looks great, near 70 front street in wilmington on saturday and sunday. 56 for the average high right now, 7:07 the sun will come up, sets ten minutes after 6:00 this evening. we have added quite a bit of available daylight since the winter solstice before christmas, now more than an hour's time. 54 today, lots of sunshine, 31 tonight. 57, mostly sunny tomorrow, small chance of shower in the mountains on saturday, little better chance sunday, more clouds, but look at temperatures, rain and plenty of it. will end on wednesday. that's forecast checkthat's the forecast. check in with chris. >> chris: i-77 clanton road, volume of traffic relatively light running along smoothly this morning and looking at overall charlotte commute we're seeing delays out there by the river on i-85 in and outbound. one other accident, wilkinson graham parkway and right before mulberry church road. not seeing significant delays. take a check of drive times, coming in from matthews, 13 minutes, 47 miles an hour, providence road from the arboretum area, 16 minutes and concord to center city, 20 minutes, 66 miles an hour. you're never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic on wbtv news this morning. >> john: an age-old question. should you allow your pets to sleep in bed with you? coming up all new in our 6:30 half hour, we're digging deeper in the question with the results avenue study. results of a of a new study. >> christine: kristen miranda getting you headlines what are you seeing now? >> kristen: a picture on u.s. news & world report. look at the trucks backed up, the start of it, 1300 on one side of a border, 1800 on another. stuck coming up from the on your side right now, you're watching wbtv news this morning. >> christine: welcome back to wbtv news this morning. >> john: kristen miranda has details on protests that are happening right now in europe. this is just now coming live in the alert center. >> kristen: these protests have been going on a little bit. talk about it since last week getting out of control at this point. this is the picture i showed you a couple moments ago. we showed you the video last week, the farmers in greece protesting changes to their pension plans. you remember the video? they wanted to get in the agricultural ministry. greek authorities say 2800 vehicles are stuck between on the border between greece and bulgaria. the farmers had been allowing cars and buses through and from their protests to trucks but the bulgarian truckers say they broke an agreement to let the trucks through so they are blocking their side since wednesday, a battle right on the border between greece and bull gar yeah because the farmers are trying to make their point but holding up thousands of people in the process. so we'll keep an eye on the situation, it continues to develop since last week and we'll let you know if there is anything new to tell you from the alert center. >> john: president obama is planning on trip to cuba next month. the white house expected to make the formal announcement today this. would be the latest step to normalize relations between america and cuba after decadeses of cold war animosity. tuesday a deal was signed restore commercial air traffic for five decades. this is the first time a sitting president has visited cuba in 90 years. >> christine: tragedy in indiana killed at a college fund-raiser. a man shot and killed his niece and her four-year-old son in suburban indianapolis. he was embroiled in a dispute with a multi-million dollar trust. he shot himself as officers close in on him. >> john: police officer in st. paul, minnesota resigned a month over a post he made on facebook urging drivers to run over protesters who rallied against the police killings of two black men. the sergeant resigned effective metedly. apologized earlier for the post, was put on leave while the police department investigated. the message said run them over and told people how to avoid being charged with a crime if they hit someone. concealed handguns will be allowed in university texas classrooms starting in august but generally be banned from dorms under rules approved by school president. he opposes allowing guns on the by a new state law. one company has come up with a new way to help you get your caffeine fix. >> john: they want you to wear your caffeine. the company built very first caffenated bracelet. has a spot for caffeine patch that allows the geed to body to get a buzz. it will give you consistent and all-day energy with no crashes or waiting at the coffee shop. company is raising money and selling bracelets for 30 bucks. i don't know. two pots of coffee takes care of me. that is good enough. >> christine: bedazzle it. you're never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic on wbtv news this morning. here is meteorologist al conklin. al: now we know what to give t for halloween next year, here you go, kids, take this home. hd tower cam from scott clark nissan honda, crystal clear skies, yesterday of course we had fog in the foothills, with issue. lenoir, morganton, statesville, shelby, lincolnton, that is gone. dry conditions this morning, beautiful visibility and we're starting our day chilly but don't judge the day by what you see, a nice one, lots of sunshine, 29 charlotte, albermarle, 27, 26 in salisbury, 28 in boone, 25 in morganton, 28 in shelby and 31 in rock hill area. a lot of us are below freezing, but this afternoon will warm up nicely. 34 here at 8:00, up to 49 at lunch time, 54 this afternoon, close to average this time of the year. some of the outlying areas looking good, concord, no rain, 54, mooresville, 54, lenoir, 52, boone, you get back to 40. a cold start but a nice afternoon, seasonal temperature, weekend warm up in store but there is rain on the horizon, plus colder temperatures, i'll spell all that out in the seven day planner, stick around i'll have that at 6:00. right now check in with chris, >> chris: first alert traffic sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. we updated the location with that accident on wt harris boulevard, they moved that to near robinson church road along wt harris, be aware of that if that is part of your morning commute. i-77 from woodlawn volume still right, running smoothly this morning and most of the major interstates no problems there. wilkinson earlier accident if you're inbound this is just past the billy graham parkway, and again, taking a live look no problems here if you're coming from matthews, 12 minutes, 15 from providence road, concord to center city, 20 minutes at 66-miles-per-hour. that is traffic, christine, back to you. >> christine: north carolina lawmakers will be back in raleigh for a special session. they are set to vote on this re-drawn map of the state's congressional districts. we're on your side what the new map would mean for our area. >> john: christmas eve was a scary scene for shoppers at we're hearing some of the 911 calls just obtained by our news partners at the charlotte observer, so compelling. you're never more than seven traffic on wbtv news this this broadcast is sponsored by subaru south boulevard and subaru concord. wbtv on your side. wbtv news starts right now. >> christine: republican legislators proposing major changes to north carolina's congressional districts and this morning state lawmakers will be gathering for a special session in raleigh to review the proposal. >> john: plus, a key endorsement in campaign 2016, south carolina governor nikki haley says she is supporting florida senator candidates as they come to our area days, two days before the state's republican presidential primary. good morning, welcome to wbtv news this morning here on this thursday morning it is 6:00 a.m., i'm john carter. >> christine: glad you're watching i'm christine sperow. our kristen miranda in the alert center live getting you headlines as news is happening. >> kristen: we have been looking at a big fire in the charleston area. getting information right now i'll he bring it to you from the alert center. >> john: on your side with several school delays this morning. this is a complete list not just select few, alleghany, ashe, avery and watauga county schools are all on a two-hour delay. there are no school closings. it is cold out there this morning, let's get things started with charlotte's most experienced morning meteorologist, here is al conklin. >> al: bouncing around with the temperature in charlotte, last hour down at 29, now at freezing mark. clear skies, take you to it, metro school camera showing clear conditions all across the charlotte metro area, we do have the school delays in the snow falling, the back roads still have snow and ice on them. current temperature, 32 in charlotte, outlying areas running colder, 27 right now around mountain island lake, 29 arboretum, 30 harrisburg. north of town, 29 hickory, 28 wilkesboro, 25 morganton, 29 shelby and 28 in concord. we do not have the fog we had yesterday morning, should be a much easier commute. chill three morning, 34 degrees at 8:00, up to 54 this afternoon under sunny skies, on the chilly side of the high right now, on the backside, much warmer weather and that is coming for friday and the weekend. we do have rain chances that will be ramping up and talk about that coming up with the seven day planner. you're never more than seven traffic on wbtv news this morning. here is chris, first alert >> chris: first alert traffic sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. pretty easy roll on thursday morning commute. looking at i-77 this is inbound at rest area, volume starting to pick up a bit across the charlotte area, but if you're to uptown, 20 minutes, 68-miles-per-hour, concord to center city, 18 minutes and 65 and lake norman southbound, 15 minutes at 67-miles-per-hour. keep in mind about 8:00 yesterday morning that was over 50 minutes in from rock hill because of accidents on 77 yesterday. john belk and brookshire looking fine this morning and as we take a check of the mapping system, most of our major highways, so providence road, a few outbound slow downs, independence, alalrmarle, wt harris looking good. that is a check of traffic, back to you. >> john: 6:01, looking ahead north carolina lawmaker will gather for special session in raleigh today to vote on the re-drawn map of the state's congressional districts. republican leaders proposed the new districts after a panel of federal judges ruled the districts were unconstitutional. the changes will have a major impact on charlotte and wbtv's mark davenport is joining us now live with more on this story.

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