company behind the i-77 project in response to an investigation. today our nick ochsner was the only reporter to question the governor about the toll project. he is on your side investigating why it appears the governor is reversing its stance on the company behind the project. >> governor mccrory told me his administration had been vetting sentra, the spanish company building the i-77 lanes for years but would not explain why he ordered the transportation secretary to head to texas to reevaluate sentra and its business model and contract with the state. it took a few hours for the governor mccrory to express down the financial stability of the company building the i-77 toll lanes after in texas they declared bankruptcy wednesday. late that night governor mccrory ordered transportation secretary to reevaluate the state's contract. >> we are doing a thorough review of what the action in texas entails and how it may or

carolina project. >> the reaction to the bankruptcy in texas comes weeks after an on your side investigation pointed out sentra's track record of failed roads across the united states. of the four roads the company operates three have gone bankrupt or been sold. the fourth is less than two years old. >> in december the dot said sentra had a track record of success including the texas one. would you tall -- >> they have two texas ones but this particular project is obviously not a success it is a separate corporation and what i need to determine is does this impact our existing project. >> why did you wait until now? questions years ago? >> we have been asking the questions but these are separate corporate entities and some have not. >> governor mccrory's talking points in response to our questions mirror those used in a statement issued by sentra's local subject siry which said

have no impact on the i-77 project and the company looks forward to working in north carolina. and the transportation secretary will go to texas but it remains unclear or when the governor mccrory administration will take action on canceling the contract. >> as soon as we learned about the request we sent out a breaking news alert. >> a live look paul at boone where they have had snow off and on today. you can see a little bit of a glaze right now but they have had it off and on. here is a view of what was coming down and people in gaston county started calling us when they saw snow. kristen hampton shot this video in gastonia. you can see big flakes there. i'm here in the first alert weather center with chief meterologist, eric thomas.

get snow today but a little bit of a surprise for the other areas. >> no, i do not typically forecast snow and 4 6 . >> who would? >> in extreme cases that can happen. we had snow in the mid-40s but you know it cannot last long. and no we are not anticipating going below freezing. and the snow that rolled through, it is a different story in the high country we are expecting more snow and for us that burst will change to rain. and you will see the heaviest is off to the east of the charlotte area. but more redevelopment here in the southern foothills. we will keep the rain around for a while. a heavy patch moving through lancaster and highway 601 and pageland toward jefferson and chesterfield. then the high country. it's ragged up here right now

for one-three inches of snow. allegheny, ash, watauga, avery, mitchell and caldwell and also burke counties. that is what we are tracking. once we get through this skies will bright especially for the weekend. -- brighten for the weekend. >> north carolina lawmakers are calling for a special session to deal with the nondiscrimination bathroom ordinance. brigida mack is live in the newsroom with more on why they want to deal with this right away. >> paul, house speaker moore called the ordinance an imminent threat to public safety and lawmakers want immediate action against it. he has had requests from three fifths of house members wanting to deal with the bathroom cord nance. the city council says it was designed to give protections to people in the lgbt community from discrimination and that includes which bathroom they use. the governor and house speaker had said they did not want to call a special session because

$42000 a day. but today the house speaker reversed his position saying lawmakers are unwilling to put a price tag on public safety. and we reached out to mayor roberts for comment and if the city plans to fight this. and she has not gotten back to us. we will let you know when we hear more. the ordinance is set to take effect april first. lawmakers have not said when the special session will be. paul? >> thank y y. new tonight the charlotte-mecklenburg school board launched a process to find the next superintendent. the process will be a little different than the last time the board had to do that look up a top educator. dedrick russell was at the meeting today and is live at the government center. what was decided today? >> well, maureen, the board does not want history to repeat itself so it decided today to investigate and grill a little bit more the search firms

top educator and there also will be a twist how the community gets engaged in deciding charlotte's next top educator. former member made an appearance today his background is in recruitment. he was asked to come and give advice to the board about the superintendent search. >> and that is on you obviously to decide if this makes sense is this the direction. >> and in the end the board is listening to merchant. when it comes to community engagement there needs to be a change he fears large community forums could become distracting and not useful. board members say the community knows how to get their voice heard. >> we are more than happy to hear from anybody. but i do not think we need to spend the taxpayer dollars or time to reengage and ask the same questions we have asked for 10 years. >> the board was told time has wasted and do not mess this up this time around.

reset and say what we are going to do like we promised the community. >> a search firm committee was chosen. rhonda will lead that effort. the board is asking tougher questions like if the interested search firm has had judgment claims against them in the past five years? and how big of a priority will it be for them to find cms' next leader? lennon wished the questions were asked the last time the school district was in need of a superintendent. >> we want people to have this be their focus. >> the board voted 8-0 to start the process. >> you saw where we are coming together and realizing we have big rocks we are lifting right now. >> the chair perspective says the board will lift the rocks one at a time. merchant told the board when it comes to paying for a search firm the board should focus on quality and value not necessarily the cost. the board could choose a firm

and when it comes to finding that new superintendent, merchant says that when the school board finds that right person, grab him or her immediately whether that will be in a few weeks or in a few months. live at the government center, dedrick russell wbtv on your side. >> north carolinians can weigh-in on campaign 2016. early voting began today in the state and will last until march 12th. voters were headed to the polls that we visited. if you do not vote early, the primary will be march 15th. the voter id law is in effect. and tonight republican presidential candidates will face off in another debate. it is the first time donald trump will face fox news host megyan kelly since their feud. trump is firing back at mitt romney who has been bashing the frontrunner today. the debate is 9:00 p.m. and coverage on wbtv news at 11:00. >> and tonya rivens is watching the wet roadways.

traffic center. >> we have a lot of problems. your first alert traffic is sponsored by people's bank. tyvola and york and tyvola at west boulevard earlier accidents leaving the area with partially blocked lanes and congestion. use caution. and to the dot camera at i-77 southbound at tryon a stranded motorist in the center lane causing delays as well. and let's check in and look at the backup and the congestion on 485 and i-77 northbound and southbound and brocked lanes. and nevada boulevard again a lot of congestion with wet streets and then an accident at balance sign commons parkway close to 485 and another partially blocked lane at rea road. safe travels back to you. >> all right. new information in a deadly crash that left one west mecklenburg high school student dead and two hurt. the driver has been identified. 18-year-old austin lock was

tuesday morning when he lost control and crashed into a tree. 15-year-old heaven died. lock is in critical condition. police say charges are pending in this case. >> charlotte native an nba star stef curry talking about his success tonight with the cbs news. they look at his roots in charlotte and journey to the stardome. and we know he played at davidson. do not miss it tonight 6:30 on the cbs news coming up. >> cannot wait for that. new cases the mumps in north carolina we are investigating if they are connected to previous cases in our area. >> and we are on your side after threats at a local school. the things leaders are looking to determine if the threats are credible. >> paul, a lot of talk about that snow in the area today but i am talking about warmer temperatures coming back and in a big way. it's part of your seven-day first-alert forecast.

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law enforcement on a quiet mint

they know what to do if a child is abducted. >> new information on a growing number of mumps cases here in north carolina. the state health department gave us new figures showing six confirmed cases in the state. there are nine probable cases. but health officials say some of the people have recovered and are not infectious. the most recent cases do not appear to be connected to the previous ones that we have been telling you about. >> tonight we are digging into school threats that have kept kids out of the classroom. >> parents want to know what goes into determining if a threat is credible. michael clark talked with security experts and school leaders to find out and is live with that story. michael what did they tell you? >> well, it's important to note that we do not normally report on school threats with no substance to the threats but

access to posting information that is not credible we are asking investigators what goes in to determining whether a threat is credible. safety is on the minds of every parent learning about a threat can cause panic especially on social media. >> it's very, very difficult for a parent or a school system or law enforcement to monitor everything that is out there. >> personal security expert says law enforcement and school leaders evaluate every tip. we've seen threats at schools including one in lancaster county, a facebook post caused hundreds to miss school. >> here say from a third party and they will post it and 30 people know that. >> school safety director could not discuss specifics of threat assessment protocols but every school district has them. investigations are two-fold. >> the electronic side and the forensic side if you will and then the interviews of the individuals that are involved.

family, friends and teachers to learn more about the person making the threat and if he or she has the means to carry it out. most are idle. >> you do not want to set a pattern of responding to every idle threat that occurs because you could cripple your school district. >> and a hoax can leave students with a criminal record and parents are urged to monitor their child's social media and report threats to law enforcement and not repost rumors. school leaders will alert parents to credible threats that impact everyone's safety. >> if they have an impact on the contradict then it's our responsibility to take action. >> law enforcement and school systems if they are going to make an error make that error on the side of safety. >> investigators say that the websites that claim to offer anonymous postings there is always a digital footprint and encourage anyone to report any threat to law enforcement.

>> good information there thank you. >> a bit of a surprise with snowflakes fell in the region and eric thomas in the first alert weather center says not unusual for the mountains but in charlotte in the 40s that is a surprise. >> that is not a forecast that we are typically going to make that is a longshot when your forecasting high temperatures in the mid-40s and at the same time saying it's going to snow. the stars can lineup and you can manage getting the snow hitting the surface with the temperatures in the mid-40s but it has to come together and that was associated with the band that is now already whipping off to the east not far from the 95 corridor we have the rain in the piedmont and more coming back out of the southern foothills and that is heading back into the piedmont and we have a one patch on top of chesterfield county and that is departing lancaster county. highway 601 and over to chesterfield.

outside of it, it's ragged. you see a little bit of rain until you hit the foothills and the mountains where it is a few flurries but more activity back out of bristol could be enough to put down an inch in the mountains. and that is why the advisory is in effect through tomorrow morning around 10:00 a.m. but additional accumulations not a lot. maybe an inch perhaps two or three at most. at the ski slope elevations. and any little bit up there helps go a long way and they are setup for another nice ski weekend as well. the hd towercam a gloomy looking city. we are losing the light and the clouds are hanging over the city. 41 . even with the rain and snow that moved through. light wind out of the northeast and the atmosphere is dry. dew point 33. low 40s in the piedmont.

in the high country next couple of hours you will see the rain tapering. so if you are heading out in the mountains snowflakes. you want to be prepared for that if you are sensitive to dodging the rain drops 42 at 9:00 p.m. and down to 505 to shot with the rain about ready to move off to the east. you will see the center of the storm working off the eastern seaboard. your forecast rain departing but a chilly start 39 here around the greater charlotte area. and leftover flurry and the temperatures around the freezing mark in the high country. beyond that. the storm will move out. and that means the sun will move in. and temperatures tomorrow above freezing in the mountains. 40 with little chance of a flurry by the afternoon. 50s across the foothills and then mid-50s here in the piedmont and down into the upstate of south carolina

hester you might get to around 60 . the seven-day first-alert forecast, partly cloudy skies over the weekend and with that sun how about the temperatures we are really trending upward mid-70s how about that by wednesday. 5 shy of 80 midweek next week.

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panthers made moves. they cut end charles john sop long time veteran and cut defensive tackle edwards and offensive tackle nate chandler. more at. his brother sage becoming a force, too. leaving the mustangs with 31 points her game. and top 20 in the nation and lincoln county's leading scorer. he keeps it in perspective. >> and we are going to have more from him and hear more coming up later tonight at 11:00.

sports app. ed. >> welcome back. three groupings of temperatures on this, 50s, 60s and 70s. i don't know your preference but there is something to be everybody and it looks dry over the weekend. >> see you back at 7:00. >> stef curry on cb september of s evening news. >> speak out is an expression of opinion from the editorial board of wbtv. >> construction moves forward on the future toll lanes on i-77 despite an ongoing battle to try and kill the project altogether.

other states where sentra, the operated toll roads. a recent wbtv investigation into those roads revealed troubling concerns. in indiana, skyrocketing tolls and fees led to a decline in cars on the road leading to a drop in revenue. to makeup for that subject subsidiary declared bankruptcy. and in chicago declining ridership meant rising tolls and financial troubles before sentra sold its rights to a 99-year lease and this week in texas sentra declared bankruptcy on a highway it owns prompting governor mccrory to ask ncdot to explore ways to break the contract with sentra. we started asking questions months ago because our leaders in raleigh wouldn't. here is a question: what took so long? you would not hire a contractor for your home without checking out references. why didn't the state do the proper research before signing a

call the governor's office to encourage him to kill this deal once and for all.

speak out at wbtv.com.

establishment fights back. >> donald trump is a phony, a fraud. watch, by the way, how he respond to my speech today. >> pelley: we did. >> mitt is a failed candidate. >> pelley: also tonight, our correspondents give us a rare look inside syria's civil war. >> reporter: so this was an american air strike. >> pelley: major donors cut off the largest veterans' charity after we exposed how the money is being spent spp and a soccer star pledges to donate her brain to study concussions. >> the more we know, the more we can help protect the next generation and the generation after that. captioning sponsored by cbs this is the "cbs evening news" >> pelley: the man who carried the baton for the republicans to donald trump. he's hitting him over the head with it. today, mitt romney became the party establishment's unofficial spokesman for the "dump trump"