average speed of 67 miles an hour. still in the green coming out of davidson all the way up to huntersville and 485, looking out to the west a bit, or east rather, i should say, concord and kannapolis, 85 running in the green all the way up to 485 as well. here across the charlotte area, no significant problems as of yet, to delay the morning commute, quick look at rock hill, coming northbound on 77, 21 minutes, 66 miles an hour. >> john: a major development and welcome news for many people this morning. governor pat mccrory has ordered the north carolina department of transportation to look in ways to get out of the contract for the controversial i-77 toll lane project. the prove comes after another similar road project in texas declared bankruptcy. that road was the sub subject of an on your side investigation weeks ago.

with more or this change of course. >> reporter: our investigation took us to texas, we drove the highway in question, 130 in texas. got a first hand account what it was like, opened our eyes because not many people were driving on that highway out there. a toll road just like i-77 would be here in charlotte. now i want to show you video of that highway there, 130 in texas, the company that operates that road declared bankruptcy on wednesday, that road is owned by a subsidiary of the spanish company, cintra, the same company contracted by nc-dot to build the i-77 toll lanes. north carolina's transportation secretary is now looking for a way to break the state's contract and that is welcome news to mecklenburg county commissioner jim puckett who was against this from the beginning. >> the end of the day what you have is this is an embarrassment, nc-dot used texas as the poster child why this is great financially and from a

really blows up in their face. >> reporter: now we also reached out to cintra, they told us that the texas bankruptcy will have no impact on i-77's project. nc-dot officials don't have a time line what they will do next but they do know they are sending the secretary of transportation out to texas on monday to meet with cintra face-to-face meeting, we'll get more information when that happens, we'll bring it to you first here on wbtv. reporting live, mark davenport, wbtv on your side. >> christine: right now, let's get back to kristen miranda. >> john: live in the alert center with new details on breaking news now coming in. >> kristen: our ashton pellom is on the scene of armed robbery, tweeting pictures from there. we have his live picture we can show you from this 7-eleven on monroe road near north sharon amity road. he says, ashton says four guys arrested this morning. police say just before 4:00 this morning two of the guys walked

the clerk, they went behind the register and then stole cash and cigars, according to police and police say they ran to a waiting car that was a street over. here's the interesting part how police found the guys. they brought out the k9s, the dogs tracked down the suspects to the car. they found the gun in the car, found the stolen items and they have been taken in custody. the cashier in the 7-eleven according to ashton is fine. we'll follow the story this morning. back to you. >> christine: thank you, john -- kristen. a man charged in a deadly shooting in hickory is scheduled to appear in court today. the shooting happened before 6:00 last nights at mcdonald's highway 321. eric yount is charged with first degree murder and attempted murder now.

lail and 28-year-olded could-year-old -year-old cody watts. >> john: last night on fairway acre in cages mountain, a two-year-old child was flown to the hospital, no word on the condition of the child and the woman who was taken to the hospital, a second child was checked out by doctors, we reached out to deputies to learn more about the man taken in custody. >> christine: a pedestrian seriously hurt when hit by a car in north charlotte. sky 3 live over the scene, breaking last evening. you can see the windshield shattered and the roof crushed in on the close up, police have not said if anyone will face charges. >> john: tough day ahead at harrisburg elementary school in indian land. they are mourning the loss of an eight-year-old boy killed until a bike accident. bryson mcsweeney rode through a stop sign and hit a car. he was not wearing a helmet.

harrisburg elementary. neighbors and school officials say it is hard to cope with his death. district personnel will be available for any students needing special attention or support. >> christine: new info, investigators say the driver who hit a home in cleveland county causing a deadly propane explosion has submitted a blood sample. it happened on east stage coach trail in falseston fallston sunday night. jb and naomi newton died from the injuries. no charges have been filed in the case. >> john: questions surround the pageland police department. nearly every officer walked off the job when the department's chief was reinstated. it forced town officials to gather for emergency session which they decided to make changes. ashton pellom is joining us live with much more on this story, so ashton, tell us what made the officers walk off the job? >> reporter: hey, good morning, john, we have been talking with our sources inside the pageland police department and with spoke

told us he wants to remain anonymous, he and other officers feel there was a lack of leadership under police chief larry brown. brown was reinstated earlier this week despite an ongoing investigation by sled. the nature of the investigation has not been released but officials say the majority of the officers quit and others have threatened to leave by monday. that is when brown is supposed to return. last night town council decided chesterfield sheriff jay brooks will act as police chief while the department resolves the staffing issues. >> we'll be here as long as it takes. if it is a week, a month, a year, we'll make sure the citizens in pageland are safe and their streets are policed the way they want them to. >> it is a decision to transition to new day and get officers transitioned back in a format we strive to move forward to. we had difficulties in the past, we'll pass them, because this

>> reporter: right now sheriff brooks tells us there are five county deputies patrolling the town and they tell us that some deputies will be working on their off days evidence tone make sure that city has ample law enforcement there to protect residents. reporting live in charlotte, ashton pellom, wbtv on your side. >> christine: plenty ahead on wbtv news this morning. >> john: american airlines taking steps to begin flights from charlotte to cuba. what they need first and how often they plan to fly. about to go to break, before we do, a check of first alert weather temperatures, it has gotten warmer over the past hour. now 34 here in charlotte, but look, 26 in boone, 29 morganton, 34 in chester. a live look at i-77 at lasalle street, and things there are moving smoothly. most of the interstates very clear this morning. remember, you're never more than

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america runs on dunkin'. on your side right now you're watching wbtv news this morning. >> christine: 12 minutes after 6:00. we have several brand new stories we're bringing you in this hour, stick around, in a few minutes at 6:32 a.m., as early voting begins in north carolina today, we're on your side looking how the state's redistricting debate is affecting the ballots you cast. north carolina hires two expert to fight the spread of the zika virus, at 6:42 what they are doing to keep you safe. >> john: american airlines is pushing to fly non-stop from charlotte to cuba. applyingapplying for permission to fly to havana once a day year around. all flights right now are charter flights. the u.s. department of transportation has the final say. >> christine: investigators are

that washed up mr. mozambique belongs to the missing flight 370. photos of the debris show what appears to be part of the tail section of a boeing 777. it disappeared two years ago with 239 people on board. it is the only known missing triple seven. >> john: the supreme court hearing oral argument in which could be the most important abortion case in decades. a texas law requires tougher regulations for hospitals and clinics performing abortions. would end up shutting down all but ten clinics in the state. with eight justices left, there is a chance the ruling could end in a tie. that would allow the law to take effect but not set national precedent. >> christine: metrolina trade expo is closing. the 100 acres of land is being sold. the property owner told us by phone that she has owned property for 32 years. it was passed down from her father. she is now in her 60s, while

to move on. she is getting mixed reactions. >> with the vendors, i think some are happy for me, of course some are sad leaving. i think some have mixed feelings. as for the antique dealers, they have dozens and dozens of places close by, so i don't think they will have a problem whatsoever. >> christine: pistone is asking for the property to be rezoned to make it more favorable for a buyer and has potential buyer, though not at liberty to say who. metrolina will close at the end of june. you're never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic on wbtv news this morning. here is meteorologist al conklin. >> al: a popular spot in north charlotte for a long, long time. let's get you out there this morning. this looks like snow falling but well, radar is picking it up but not reaching the ground, not snowing in the mountains, 6:14, king street in boone from resortcams.com, dry conditions there, having said that, though,

forecast for the mountains, later this afternoon you get back to 37, snow will break out but in the lower elevations likely to be mixed with rain, accumulations if at all will be on the light side at least for the daylight hours. once the sun sets at 4:00 through 9:00 tomorrow morning, winter weather advisory for elevations above 3500 feet. so jefferson, boone, blowing rock you're on the threshold. higher elevations are likely to get 2-4 inch, avery county, some of the ski resort ridgetops, in town, a sloppy slushy inch or two would be about it. 35 this morning, 8:00, 12 noon, 48, 51 this afternoon. that is chilly considering we should be close to 60, if you're not a fan of the chilly weather, major warm-up on the way. we could be talking well in the 70s for next week i'll talk about that with the seven day planner. early sunshine, details in a few minutes. 6:15, here is chris, first alert traffic. >> chris: first alert traffic

a live look at independence expressway from briar creek inbound traffic going away from you, beginning to pick up heading toward center city this morning. looking at the john belk and brookshire, no significant problems on interstate 77 looking good but it looks like we have a new accident that is on trade street just off of i-77 this morning. we'll get you more on that as it comes in. looking at the overall map, a lot of green, 77, 485, 85 all running in the green. we'll keep an eye on things but again, heavier volume of traffic in the last 15 minutes or so. that is a check of traffic, christine, over to you. >> christine: a new transportation hub opens in the heart of lower manhattan almost 15 years after the september 11th terror attacks. >> john: later on "cbs this morning" at 7:00, a preview of the grand opening. world trade center controversy.

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>> john: good morning, 20 minutes after 6. come6 6:00. come over to the tv set, the sun is about to break the horizon. 34 in charlotte right now. get over to kristen miranda live in the alert center with new details just coming in on the investigation in mh-370. >> kristen: you were talking about the piece of the plane found in mozambique likely from the missing flight 370. i did more digging and found two new pieces of information that just came out this morning. it looks like malaysia will send a team of aviation officials to

at the debris. also hearing from the american who found that part of the plane, he thought it was part of a much smaller plane, blaine gibson looking for debris, he said his last day of the trip, wanted to look harder, went to a more replot remote area, an investigation that will continue, we'll keep an eye on it. >> christine: thank you, kristen. the charlotte hornets playing on the back half of a back-to-back, the team in philly to take on the 76ers, kemba walker 30 points charlotte put on an offensive show. final score hornets, 119-99. >> john: three federal judges will hear the appeal in the deflategate case. last year d dtrict court judge nullified the four game suspension of tom brady who nfl

footballs in the 2015afc championship game. today, judges will hear from the league and the nfl players association. could take months to announce the decision. if the ruling is upheld the nfl could continue the appeal. brady could be forced to sit out the next four games of the season. >> christine: i can't believe this is still on-going. >> al: this never ends. four games is a big deal. >> john: that is a big deal for the patriots. >> al: grab the umbrella, you'll need it if you live or are heading west of i-77. east of there, probably dry until after the sun goes down this evening. get you out there now, first things first, wait a minute, look at doppler radar, we have snow falling, right? no, that is not reaching the ground. cold enough that it would be snow if it were reaching the ground but the air is very very dry here in place, we have a little early sunshine. i have an update on our short

noon, increasing thickening clouds after early sunshine, this appears right to me. the rain comes in the mountains and keep in mind cold enough there at the highest elevations this will be snow and rain is mixed in the lower elevations. by 4:00 this seems right from i-77 westward, getting in the rain and if it is not, then shortly thereafter, by 8:00, everybody in the viewing area covered with rain. right now we're seeing a little glimpse of early sunshine from scott clark nissan honda in stallings. gorgeous camera, looking toward 485 and the east. another shot looking east. what a pretty picture this morning. 34 degrees, technically overcast but a high thin overcast at the airport, east to northeast breezes at 5-miles-per-hour. it is cold. 20s in the mountains upper 20s morganton, lincolnton, shelby at freezing concord, closes to that monroe at 33 and 34 in lancaster, all the numbers are 15-20, 25 degrees colder than yesterday morning.

rain on the way this afternoon, high temperature getting back to 51. only a 40% chance as we go through the daylight hours, our forecast as we head through the rest of the couple of zones here, looking at 40s by late this afternoon, i think you're looking at a 60% chance of rain in the foothills, here in the piedmont the rain arrives very late in the day and more likely going to be after the sun goes down or at least close to that as you head toward lancaster and cheraw. the rain is still more than 300 miles away from us, will take all day to get here. high pressure builds off, low pressure moves in, a wet night tonight, but as quickly as the rain moves in, moves right back out and then we have high pressure that dominates for the weekend with a nice warming trend. this is going to be one shot at rain, thereafter we should be in good shape for the next several days. 51 today, rain as i talked about in tonight. gone tomorrow. breezy cool, 59 seasonal, above normal going in sunday, monday,

and partly sunny skies. you have to love march. you're never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic on wbtv news this morning. >> chris: first alert traffic is sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. a live look for your thursday morning commute, this is i-77 out at the rest area. volume of traffic picking up significantly here, north and southbound traffic heavier right now. taking a look at the mapping system and your drive times, rock hill uptown 20 minutes, 18 from concord to center city and lake norman southbound 16 minutes, 64-miles-per-hour. quite a bit of green, not seeing volume delays on 77 out of lake norman, still running in the green. roll until center city, the john belk and brookshire both of those running free and clear, we do have an early morning accident, this is over off of 5th street at clarkson and cate

christine, over to you. >> christine: south carolina lawmakers have come to an agreement how to fund road repairs and maintenance. >> john: we'll tell you how the plan will affect the gas tax. you're watching wbtv news this morning, it is 6:26. we'll be right back. this afternoon at dunkin', save when you sip. get a free donut or turbo shot when you buy any beverage between 2:00 and 6:00 p.m.

the bigger the burrito, the bigger the fun. dunkin's new grandde burrito -- a breakfast burrito packed with big southwest flavor. go grande with veggie or sausage today. america runs on dunkin'. >> christine: next at 6:30 looking live at central piedmont community college early voting for north carolina primary begins here in an hour-and-a-half. we're on your side what you need to know before casting your ballot. >> john: changes could be coming to the child safety seat law. if lawmakers pass the bill it would mean the child can't sit in the front seat until the age of 13. >> christine: kristen miranda

in the alert center, she will have another check for us here in a minute. >> john: good morning, thanks for waking up with wbtv news this morning, now 6:30 i'm john carter. >> christine: i'm christine sperow. get you started with first alert weather, a beautiful sunrise here behind us on our mega monitor, meteorologist al conklin tracking that for you and tracking rain moving in. wig sunrise 15 min is a way but withminutes away.off toward the west i'm seeing rain, 300 miles away right now but this is steadily marching eastward, overtime the clouds will lower and thicken and get in the rain by later today. at allen elementary school in concord, you can see a milky high overcast, the clouds thickening up overnight. 34 in charlotte, harrisburg is at 32, 34 cornelius, 30 belmont and freezing in wedding ton.

shelby, kings mountain at 31, monroe, out toward wadesboro, 33 right now. for today, our rain chances are pretty low except for the mountains and northern foothills, it may be something other than plain rain in boone, maybe a mixture of rain and snow with all snow in the higher elevations starting late this afternoon chris, in to tonight. a wet day but overall the forecast looks good. weekend plans don't change them. >> chris: winter weather hanging on. >> al: trying but boy wait until you see the seven day planner. numbers going up. >> chris: no complaints. look at traffic this morning, first alert traffic sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. this is i-77 at clanton road here and look at that, beginning to pick up, in terms of volume across the charlotte area. but most of the major highways are continuing to run in the green. we do have an early morning accident at clarkson at cates in front of johnson & wales, if that is part of your morning commute you might find delays.

running in the green, 277 and 77 here through center city looking good. let's widen out, 485, no problems there, running in the green, 77, 85, looks like a few delays in and outbound along north tryon. you're never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic on wbtv news this morning. >> christine: chris, thanks. 6:32, we're about an hour-and-a-half away now, 90 minutes to start of early voting for north carolina primary elections. the polls open at 8:00 this morning but before you head out, mark davenport is live outside one of those polling places, central piedmont community college so mark, what should people know before they head out there this morning? >> reporter: christine, no. 1 you have to bring the photo i.d. we talked about it yesterday. we'll continue to talk about it over the neck ten days during the early voting period, you need that to vote in the election.

building, the legalliest of earliest of the polling places. they open at 8:00. 16 locations open at 10:00. people can get on it to do the early voting thing. not just today, over the next ten days, take two days off before the march 15th election day. if you want to know where the closest early voting area is to you, go on meckboe.org, that is where you can find that, early voting, a big deal in north carolina, last big election, 2012, 23% of all votes cast were during early voting. a big deal for voters and they think they will get more of that this time around there are more locations that are open at stake are nominations for president. governor, u.s. senate an hundreds of state and local offices, that is all going to be on the ballot, a two billion dollar bond issue that would benefit colleges and university, parks and infrastructure projects, that will be waiting for you if you come out for

again here at cpcc, opens at 8:00 a.m., we'll be out here giving you live looks later on in the bounce show. reporting live, mark davenport, wbtv on your side. >> john: all new in this half hour, taking a closer look how the re-districting ruling will affect this primary election. last month the panel of federal judges threw out north carolina's could be agreesal districts. lawmakers reconvened passed a new different map. they also set the date for the congressional, just the congressional primaries is june 7th. the other is march 15th. according to our news partners at the charlotte observer, when you head out to the polls. the old districts and candidates are on the bowl lot. officials want to you still vote fast they counted. the votes in the congressional races won't count. you have to vote for those races in june. as part of the bill for the new primaries, lawmakers said there would be no run off elections this year. the top vote getter will win the primary in both the march and

>> christine: the senate will move forward on a bill to fix state roads without raising the gas tax. lawmakers reached an agreement that does away with the gas tax increase and provides $400 in recur revenue. senate staff says one billion will go toward road maintenanced aand repair. >> john: another bill in south carolina would make the safety seat law stricter. infants ride in rear-facing streets until they are 2. children would have to keep using forward facing child seats until they are 8 instead of 6. the bill would require children to ride in the back seat until they are 13 years old instead of 6. lawmakers voted to delay action until they could find out what other states are doing. now 6:36, we want to get over to kristen miranda.

headlines that are just in, more new developments coming in about astronaut scott kelly, what are you learning? >> kristen: he returned to houston while you were sleeping and new this half hour we're hearing from him for the first time since he touched down from the international space station. his family was there to greet him, video of him coming off the plane. dr. jill biden brought him beer and apple pie. here is what is part of what he had to say. >> with the great support of the crew we got here safely, it was a very long trip. when i left here in february i don't even know what day it was in february, i was 50 and now i'm 52. so, but it feels great, great to be back in texas, in the u.s., on u.s. soil. it is an unbelievable feeling to be back here, on planet earth back in our great country with

>> john, you commented he doesn't look worse for wear and he doesn't. he looks great now has to undergo the tests to see what 340 days in space does to the human body. back to you. >> kristen: time for quick look at top stories across the nation and around the world. >> john: campaign 2016 heats up in michigan. donald trump taking on ted cruz, marco rubio and john kasich at the 11th gop debate which is being held in detroit tonight. off stage the billionaire front runner fending off attacks from other republican rivals trying to mount a campaign to blunt his momentum. mitt romney is leading that charge, delivering a speech on the state of the gop race from utah this morning. >> christine: one candidate that won't be at the debate is ben carson. the republican presidential candidate releasing a statement saying he won't attend and that he doesn't see a political path forward in light of the super tuesday primary results. carson and his aides reached the

he says he will go in more details tomorrow at the conservative political action committee conference. >> john: the pentagon is asking for a cyber attack and not a joke. they are inviting hackers to try to break in the military's network to test vulnerabilities. they must first be vetted. if they pass, they will have limited access to some of the network, the most sensitive networks won't be part of the program. >> christine: a live look at the commute, we're well in the 6:00 a.m. hour, and volume has picked up on the interstates. we're watching all the travel areas for you this morning. chris larson will let you know of problem spots first as soon as they happen. right now, no major back-ups to report. let's go to meteorologist al conklin. >> al: thanks, christine. tracking low pressure that is out across the middle part of the country around st. louis right now, snow to the north of a warm front, rain to the south. that is heading in our general direction.

of the mountains, numale fishing forecast, early sunshine, increasing clouds. rain chance 40% by late this afternoon, high only 51. better opportunity for rain comes tonight. barbara and keith taylor wake up to wbtv every morning from their home in boone. wanted to share a picture of their grandson tanner with his dad john after ice fishing for northern pike in their home state of michigan. tanner and john, you're our big catch of the day today. normal high temperature should be 59 degrees, sun coming up now, will be on the cool side for today but boy, have we got make up on the way. take a look at those temperature, i'll fill in the differences give you the specifics on when the next rain chances will be and the weekend looks like, in the seven day planner. you're never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic on wbtv news this morning. >> john: thanks, al, next on tv news this morning -- >> christine: north carolina taking new steps to fight the zika virus, all new, on your side with what the state is doing.

coming up tonight on cbs and wbtv.

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>> you're planning your day with wbtv news this morning. >> john: 6:43, welcome back, all new in this half hour, north carolina is taking steps to protect you from the zika virus. according to the raleigh news and observer, two medical entomologists will be to track where two types of mosquitoes capable of transmitting the zika virus live in the state. the movie stores the capabilities the state lost when it eliminated a program several years ago. it has been found in the

out of the country. sc johnson tripled the output of "off" bug repellant. >> argentina and brazil, increased demand, 400 to 600%. in the united states in the southern region, most likely to see the warmer regions, we have seen an increase in january alone of 43%. >> they are also partnering with the red cross and donate 15 million dollars to zika affected areas. >> christine: u.s. news and world report releasedded rankings of the best places to live in the country and several north carolina cities are high on the list. denver, colorado, austin, and fayetteville, 1, 2, 3 the. rally-durham at no. 4, charlotte was listed as the 15th best place to live. >> john: huh.

the umbrella or folks will need an umbrella. >> al: if you're in charlotte or west of i-77 you better grab the umbrella you won't need it this morning grab the heavy coat you'll need that. going through time, our cloud chances, rain chances will be on the increase as the clouds lower and thicken. here is the rain where it is in earnest. snow up across the ohio valley, little bit of that is sneaking in north carolina but the air is dry, a long way off. the clouds are making for a pretty sunrise, this is the eoc, emergency operations center in rock hill, you can see a gorgeous sunrise as we look down toward cherry. meantime our temperatures, very very chilly, 27 in boone, 29 morganton, mostly at or below freezing, 33 monroe, rock hill, 34, lancaster, charlotte, 33 gastonia, 31 statesville and 30 for hickory, newton, conover, enochville. it is our one shot at rain and then mostly this is going to

hours, how much rain are we talking about? this is not a super soaker by any means. the threat of any severe weather is very very small mostly rain and a fairly gentle rain. speaking of tomorrow, i have a zero percent chance of rain, probably start with cloud cover early in the day but that will give way. low pressure is over us tonight and then look how quickly it is gone. friday morning, high pressure build in for saturday, this little system may throw a few clouds our way saturday night but won't amount to anything more than just that, couple clouds so you see that there. up to 59 on saturday, good thing about this going forward the timing is perfect. get the rain thursday, thursday night, out of here friday morning. i don't see any other opportunities for any rain, sunday, look at the temperature here, 63 degrees, start off cool in the morning but very nice, these temperatures are straight uphill. a major warm-up on the way, we will be above average after

in the 60s and then 70s and i don't see much chance for rain beyond wednesday, so it may be the middle part or later stages of next week before we see any additional rain after tonight. beautiful out there, 34 now headed for 51 this afternoon. check in with chris, first alert traffic. >> chris: first alert traffic is sponsor bedth morningsponsored by toyota of north charlotte. seeing delays building on 77 inbound, that is inbound traffic coming up to 485 toward center city this morning. and you can see as far as the eye goes, it is backed up and a little bit bumper-to-bumper. we have an accident this is 77 at gold hill road, most of the delays that we're seeing are along gold hill but expect you will find back-ups trying to make your way on the interstate this morning. 77 looking pretty good up to our north but slow downs coming out of lake norman to the south i just showed you, north tryon seeing delays there, and as we

bit, this is an accident on independence boulevard at sardis road north, most of the delays there are outbound along 74. that is a check of traffic, you're never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic on wbtv news this morning. 6:48, kristen miranda been getting you headlines first as news has been developing this morning. in the alert center. we'll check in with her right now with more on this battle between donald trump and the gop. what is going on? >> kristen: you were talking about it a few moments ago. mitt romney and what he has been saying about the republican front runner, donald trump calling him a phony, who has to be defeated. i wanted to see if trump was up yet and he has been tweeting, i wanted to show you his reaction. failed candidate mitt romney who ran one of the worst races in presidential history is working with a establishment to bury a big r win. he followed that up i brought millions to the republican party while the deems are going down, establishment wants to kill this

take it for what it's worth. back to you. >> christine: ing this was morning something. >> kristen: it was. >> john: a dog living the dream at an airport in michigan. >> christine: on bounce we look away for every season consignment sale. nikki creaseman will tell us more about the great items up for sale this time around. don't want to miss out on that from 8:00 to 9:00 a.m. on bounce tv. here is a look at where to find bounce based on your cable provider or livestream it at wbtv.com/live.closed captioning on wbtvnews is sponsored by subarusouth boulevard and subaruconcord. this afternoon at dunkin', save when you sip.

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>> john: seven minutes before 7:00. a quick look at top local stories. >> christine: on your side investigating governor pat mccrory ordering the north carolina department of transportation to look into ways now to get out of the contract for the controversial i-77 toll lane project. the move comes after a company that operated a failed highway in texas just declared bankruptcy. that company was a subsidiary of cintra, which is building the i-77 toll lanes here. >> john: breaking overnight news, a man charged in the deadly shooting in hickory scheduled to appear in court today. eric yount shot 22-year-old richelle lail and cody watts at mcdonald's, lail died at the scene. watts is in the hospital in critical condition. yount is charged with murder and

>> christine: four men arrested for an armed robbery at this 7-eleven. happened on monroe road near sharon amity road. k9 units tracked down the men, we're working to learn the charges they will face. >> john: 6:54, you're never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic on wbtv news this morning. here is meteorologist al conklin. >> al: as we approach 7:00, a little bit of cloud cover makes for the prettyiest sunrises. this is off toward the east, the clouds will lower and thicken through the day. no rain for the morning and midday hours, 12 noon, a little bit of rain coming in the mountains. then it comes in late this afternoon. anywhere west of i-77 we're in the rain by 4:00, all of us tonight so plan on a wet night tonight. not heavy rain, nothing severe but rain will be with us deeper through the day and in the night. early sunshine giving way to 51, this afternoon 40% chance of rain in charlotte by 4:00, that

sunday, up to 63 and in the 70s next week, very pretty conditions expected very warm as well. that is the forecast, check in with chris, first alert traffic. >> chris: al, thank you, first alert traffic is sponsored by toyota of north charlotte. we are seeing the delays building on 77, take a look, i-77 inbound from 485 to arrowood, starting to slow down, backed up and a little bit bumper-to-bumper from 485 up to arrowood and archdale. once you make your way toward tyvola road exit you're back in the green. overall commute looking good, 485 looks good, we see slow downs out of lake norman this morning and one other accident, independence boulevard at sardis road. that's a check of traffic, guys, back to you. >> christine: kristen miranda with three big stories we need to watch. >> kristen: early voting starts today in north carolina. polls open at 8:00. a story we will cover at wbtv. another gop debate tonight in michigan. trump, ben carson expected to announce his future by the end

>> nfl lawyers asking to reinstate the suspension of tom prayed dee becausebrady because of deflategate. >> christine: a dog is living the dream at an airport under michigan. >> john: piper spends his day chase birds and animals off the runways at cherry airport. he became an internet sensation after video of him working went viral. >> kristen: you can spot him in goggles, ear muffs and safety vest doing his job. i like when dogs have jobs. >> christine: you pay them in treats? >> john: do they have polar bears there? they have snow.

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captioning funded by cbs good morning. it is thursday, march 3rd, 2016. welcome to "cbs this morning." the republican establishment turns up the heat on donald trump ahead of tonight's debate. mitt romney prepares to deliver a scathing speech, calling him a phony and a fraud. a manhunt for mass criminals who stormed a gun store in a violent smash and grab robbery. and is this new transportation hub at the world trade center architectural genius or a boondoggle? we begin this morning with a look at today's "eye opener." your world in 90 seconds. everyone is trying to figure out how can we rally together to stop someone from becoming the nominee? >> mitt romney will go after donald trump directly and hard. >> the gop erupts over trump.

doing it. they want to destroy this guy! >> the establishment is acting insane because they can't control trump. >> exactly my point, bill. >> he's the guy that is shaking it up. >> sanders vowing to fight on even as his rival is setting her sights on donald trump. >> all of the major polls have me beating donald trump. >> debris washed up in mozambique likely from the malaysia airlines. >> aubrey mcclendon was killed in a fiery crash after big rig charges. >> gunmen got away with 50 weapons. >> you have that many people now distributing firearms. >> scott kelly is back home in texas after nearly a year on the space station. >> leaving the space station was bittersweet. >> a gunman tries to rob a store clerk in her georgia convenience