investigative reporter nick ochsner also traveled back to tex t as to see if the trip would reveal any new information. nick tennyson spent the day in austin doing homework on the company that has a 50 year contract to operate toll lanes on i-77. the opportunity to come down and meet with a number of people from the texas dot was a valuable trip. >> you won't answer any more questionses? >> that's right. >> wouldn't elaborate on his day, taxpayers left with know details of the trip they paid for. we pressed cintra for answers in response to our investigation of the i-77 toll project. today in austin we came to their headquarters to get answers at last but when we went to the lobby we were told no one would speak with us. >> we're wondering if anyone is willing to talk with us. >> they're at lunch, i'll assist you. >> silence comes as leaders are pushing back toll roads held up by north carolina leaders. >> intense movement in the state to get rid of the toll roads. >> a reporter at at the texas tribune. some are exploring all options to get rid of tolls. transportation committee said h

and attorney general roy cooper is the frontrunner in the democratic race and nick ochsner in raleigh. we are not expecting surprises tonight? >> no, we are not. starting with attorney general roy cooper expected to easily win his party's primary to get the democratic nod to run for governor in the fall. likewise pat mccrory is expected to capture his party's nomination despite a challenge in the mecklenberg county area who launched his campaign largely in opposition to the i-77 toll lanes. raleigh's anti-toll candidacy captured support from those around lake norman who oppose the toll lanes on i-77. now, governor mccrory is expected to make remarks here tonight at the marriott in downtown raleigh. and roy cooper is expected to speak at the north carolina democratic party headquarters. and voting ends tonight. we will bring it to you on wbtv news at 11:00. live in raleigh, nick ochsner wbtv on your side. >> and tonight you will choose the nominees for local and state races. steve crump is live anything specific that we should be watching for tonight? >> well, paul, this should be a go

and nick ochsner spoke with the transportation secretary what did he have to say? >> well, paul, he did not have very much to say. 10 son was -- tennis son was speaking in a four-hour meeting where the secretary told me he was coming to texas to do homework and gain insight how sentra operates the toll roads here in texas. and the trip is less than a week after a subsidiary that operates after a year dot closed with the deal on the spanish company. he came to austin today because the governor asked him to. >> good conversation. the opportunity to come down and meet with a number of people from the texas dot was valuable trip. >> now, his comments lasted less than a minute including few details. at 6:00 p.m. watched what when i tried to ask him a question. reporting live on 130 in austin, texas, nick ochsner wbtv on your side. >> thank you. right now, a hickory community is mourning the death of a young mother and her co-worker as it helps raise money for their families. rachelle lyle and cody watts died after they were shot at the mcdonald's on route 321. both work

nick ochsner wbtv on your side. >> thank you. first at 4:00 a shooting investigation turns deadly in rock hill making it the city's first homicide of 2016. this afternoon, police found two people shot in a car. one of the victims has now died. michael clark was talking with officers when they got that emergency call and joins us live from the scene. michael? >> yeah, brigida i am on the area where the shooting took place one of the victims died after the car was shot into. look behind me he was riding in the backseat of this seat and shot in the leg and is at the hospital. look at video. i watched police as they raced from the station to respond to another shooting this afternoon. it was reported near east black street in keels. witnesses told police they heard shots and saw a dark-colored vehicle and a man running from the scene. later, police got another call about two people shot in a dark colored car here not far from the first location. it's believed the victims drove here after being shot. police are talking to someone insi

nick ochsner has more on the victories from raleigh. >> reporter: a crowd of republicans and democrats turned out at the marriott in downtown raleigh to cheer the passage of the connect nc bond, which is of governor pat mccrory, but a team effort to pass from leaders on both sides of the aisle. the bond was originally prepared to fund highway projects across the state but later changed by the legislature. the fund project is mostly come pus campuses, national guard and sewer systems. opponents said borrowed money is irresponsible, tonight, mccrory ignored mentioned of the challengers in the race for the gubernatorial nomination gave a two minute speech focused only on the bond's passage. >> we did it together as a team, we put the artificial barriers and said what is best for the next generation of north carolina and that is what we're all considering. >> reporter: across town as mccrory was on the stage behind me, roy cooper, a democrat, spoke at his headquarters after lynching the democratic nomination for governor in north carolina. if it is any indication of how and mccrory will be

nick ochsner traveled to that highway in texas, to ask questions our legislative leaders should have asked from >> reporter: the company that operates state highway 130 in texas declared bankruptcy wednesday after years of operating on lower than expected revenue, from ridership that never materialized. on your side investigation visited the road last month. >> we've been driving on state highway 130 in texas several miles and so far we passed one car in our direction. >> the road is owned by subsidiary of the spanish company, cintra. the same company contracted by nc-dot to build the i-77 toll lanes. north carolina transportation secretary is now looking for ways to break the state's contract avenues of after news of the bankruptcy broke wednesday. >> this is an embarrassmen. >> jim puckett was opposed to the contract from the beginning. >> they used texas from the poster child why this is great, now it kind of blows up in their told you so" if they don't get out and it happens to us. >> late wednesday a spokes person says the texas bankruptcy will have no impact on the i-77 project

nick ochsner is shining a light on the group and others like it injecting money into local races. >> mailboxes in stanly county are flooded with a sea of red and yellow mailers attacking justin bird sent by a group called the conservative future fund. organization who is funding the organization. >> we talked it was unclear who was behind the group. since then documents filed show the conservative future fund is funded by jay fayson and a business linked to bill graham. in an e-mail an attorney told on your side investigates the group has not brony laws broken any laws. groups like these are on the rise. >> how prevalent is it for these dark money groups to be involved in the political process? >> it's more and more prevalent. there are as regulations have gotten weaker and enforcement has gotten weaker, more and more groups setup in new and different ways to try to influence the political process while making it as hard as possible to figure out who they are and what they want. >> noah with crew in washington tracks groups like these across >> there is secret money driving politics

our investigator nick ochsner is live with the new v.a. clinic in charlotte where help is on the way. >> yes, that is what they told them this v.a. facility is set to open to the public in a few weeks but veterans got a look today as leadership was promising improved care lawmakers in washington d.c. were making sure those promises will be a reality. >> smiling staff was on hand at the v.a. outpatient facility wednesday open to the public for the first time so veterans could take a tour and sign up for benefits they earned. and on hand was robert pittenger to make sure veterans could access the facility. he says more needs to be done to improve veterans healthcare. >> it's been dismal our oversight. and we have not had the management that is needed overall. >> i'm confident that there is a fulfill the promise we made to veterans for the highest quality of care. >> senator bird continued to push legislation introduced to make changes to the v.a. choice program which is supposed to open up access to private medical care for veterans who woul

nick ochsner is in raleigh. any early indications on how this vote is going to play out? >> well, no. not really. no indication yet. right now here at the marriott hotel in raleigh where the party is tonight to celebrate the connect nc bond organizers are hoping to have a victory celebration after months of raising money and campaigning trying to support or urge voters to support the bond that included raising nearly $2 from colleges and universities, public money that went in to support that. and the connect nc bond committee has been ambulanceet canning the state and voters with -- blanketing the state urging voters to support this referendum. tonight they are celebrating here and the governor will be here hoping to celebrate a successful bond referendum. live in raleigh, nick ochsner wbtv on your side. >> the race for who will be the main candidates for president may be clearer tonight. the five states are headed to the polls. that includes north carolina. it's make or break for two remaining g.o.p. candidates. kasich and marco rubio. looking to hold off donald trump i

>> i will rely on the general counsel for those matters. >> nick ochsner wbtv on your side. >> we made requests for comments to the office but did not receive a response. it could be months before the state supreme court rules in the current case on this issue. >> if you vacation on the outer banks governor mccrory broke ground on the new bridge replacement today. this is the bridge that links the outer bank and north carolina. expected to take three years to complete. the time includes the destruct shop of the old bridge damaged two years ago. >> next the daughters of this south carolina man are hoping to catch their dad's killer. >> i don't get those text messages from him. saying i love you. have a great day. i miss you. let's do lunch. police is just a i think we should've taken a left at the river. tarzan know where tarzan go! tarzan does not know where tarzan go. hey, excuse me, do you know where the waterfall is? waterfall? no, me tarzan, king of jungle. why don't you want to just ask somebody? if you're a couple, you fight over directions. it's what you do. if you want to save

investigative reporter nick ochsner traveled back to texas, he has more on the story all new >> reporter: north carolina d.o.t. secretary nick tennyson said he came to austin yesterday basically because governor told him to. he didn't elaborate very much what he actually did during his visit but late last week he told me he was coming to meet with texas d.o.t. officials drive sh-130, the road that declared bankruptcy last week, also operated by the spanish company cintra who is building the i-77 toll lanes and as a result, governor mccrory, nc-dot is taking a second look to make sure it will not impact the toll lanes. but when we tried to ask secretary tennyson any details about the visitor any questions about cintra in general, we got shot down. >> statement that i've got is total statement i've got -- >> you won't answer any more questionses? >> that's right, thank you. >> it will take weeks before visit. i went to cintra's headquarters nick ochsner, wbtv on your side. >> christine: stay with wbtv we'll have continuing coverage of the story, nick has spent months investigating the i-77

ncdot secretary and chairman were in charlotte for a conference and nick ochsner pressed them for answers. nick, tell us what they had to say. >> both men were in town attending a conference sponsored by sentra, the company building the i-77 toll lanes under fire after a subsidiary in texas declared bankruptcy wednesday. >> what does it say to the public as you have reassessed this contract you have spent all morning in an event that the sponsor is sentra. >> it says to the public that a previously scheduled event sponsored as a part of the sponsored by one of the newest members of the chamber of commerce. >> transportation secretary is heading to texas monday to meet about sentra's performance in building and operating a bankrupt highway. before he left he spent time mingling with sentra executives and others as part of a chamber of commerce forum sponsored by the spanish company. >> there is -- it is a reach even for the most intense investigative reporter to claim that there's some connection between a sponsorship of this and anything about anything i said. >> chairman were on hand to

investigative reporter nick ochsner found state leaders saying one thing as the law and legal experts say another. >> honorable pat mccrory. >> governor mccrory took the stage to cheers tuesday night at a party celebrating the passage of the connect nc bond. hours earlier his campaign released a statement saying the governor traveled the state state law says that is illegal. >> state money cannot be used to ask people to vote yes or no. >> or to suggest that they do ho that. >> freeddy is a professor at the school of government and says state law and an opinion prevents public officials from using public resources to advocate for a bond but it can be used to educate voters. >> public fundsannot be used to try to persuade folks. >> the campaign said that you traveled a state making the case for the connect nc bond meaning you were advocating for it. >> you are stretching the facts right now. i was educating the public on the bond as governor and i'm proud to do that. i have made my case to you. i know you are desperate for rankings but do not worry about it. >> pat mccrorypat mccrory's

nc-dot secretary and chairman were in charlotte for a conference yesterday and nick ochsner pressed them for answers. >> secretary, what does it say to the public as you reassess the contract you've spent all morning at an event the title sponsor is cintra. >> it says to the public that a previously scheduled event sponsored as part of the charlotte chamber of commerce is sponsored by one of the newest member of the chamber of commerce. >> reporter: nick tennyson is heading to texas monday to meet with t ex-dot about building and operating a now bankrupt highway. before he left, he spent time friday morning mingling with cintra executives and others as part of chamber of commerce forum sponsored by the company. even for the most intense investigative reporter to actually claim there is some connection between the sponsorship of this and anything about anything i said. >> he and ned kern were on hand to discussion issues including the wholy debated i-77 toll lanes. both men continue to defend the project, even after governor pat mccrory ordered the contract be re-evaluated wednesday night

nick ochsner is the only reporter in always tip for the visit and nick joins us with new calgaries. new -- details. >> the cars trickle behind me in 130 now that it's rush-hour the same bankrupt highway that secretary tennison told me he was going to drive. but we do not know what he did questions he would not answer them. >> statement that i have is that total statement. >> nick tennison's comments following a day of meeting lasted less than a minute and included no details. he was in austin to see how sentra's toll projects fared. >> in the past decade an anti-toll movement and sentra is the boogie man. >> the reporter with texas tribune. he covered the toll projects and says it's easy to tell how texas leaders feel about their future. >> toll roads have been hobbled in texas. the governor campaigned on not approving anymore toll roads and toll fatigue is brought up in austin and tolled out. there is a sense that we have over a dozen toll roads in the state and that is enough.

in austin, nick ochsner wbtv on your side. >> thank you. last month the ncdot asked mayors for the input on the contract and the mayor of huntersville responded with a list of questions including questions about fees for drivers and will taxpayers be protected if the project goes into efall. the dot did not promise a fix for any specific problems. the deadlines for the letters is march 14th. >> turning to campaign 2016, the presidential race heats up in north carolina. republican frontrunner donald trump drew thousands to concorde and president clinton stumped for hillary here in charlotte. ahead of next week's north carolina's primary march 15th. early voting is underway. >> we are bringing you team coverage and pamela escobar has reaction to trump's visit and we begin with steve crump he is at johnson c. smith university. and a warm welcome there for clinton? >> right now, they are saying good-bye because president clinton and his secret service entourage walked out of the hall and he has gotten into a chevy suburbans and it looks like th

nick ochsner is in raleigh. any early indications on how this vote is going to play out? >> well, no. not really. no indication yet. right now here at the marriott hotel in raleigh where the party is tonight to celebrate the connect nc bond organizers are hoping to have a victory celebration after months of raising money and campaigning trying to support or urge voters to support the bond that included raising nearly $2

nick ochsner uncovered problems month. and his investigation continues tonight as he talks with doctors frustrated by the broken system. >> on any given day, the staff at salisbury orthopedics, and the practice says all that work has been slowed down as it fought bureaucratic red tape to treat veterans. >> we would call and be on hold-up ward an hour to two hours each time. and the patient would get frustrated with us. >> sandra is the practice manager at salisbury ordinary r orthopedic and is talking about dealing with health net the company contracted to administer the program. >> we check a week or two before the appointment and they would tell us it had not been authorized or faxed but we did not have it. had to cancel several appointments for the same patient. >> health net was losing paperwork that is required before they can treat any she blames it on a process that relies on human beings sending faxes. >> we would find we would get faxes for other doctors and authorization for doctors in militia began and doctors a

nick ochsner traveled on that highway and joins us with his >> paul just a month ago spokesman for ncdot defended the track record of sentra and the troubles including 130 in texas. that is the toll road that went bankrupt yesterday. we were on that road weeks ago and saw few other cars. but experts said sentra financed the project using inflated ridership project shos and and troubles when the road remained empty. governor mccrory says that is why he is sending his transportation secretary to texas to look at the business model and evaluate the contract. the question some say governor mccrory should have been asking years ago. >> why did you wait until now why didn't you asked years ago? >> we have been asking the questions but these are separate corporate entities some have been successful and others have not. for sentra repeated the talking point about the companies being two separate companies and they look forward to continuing their work in north carolina. and at 6:00 governor mccrory answers more questions. >> new information in the case of a man charged for killing his mother in

and we can tell you that nick ochsner will be going to texas. look for coverage beginning monday. >> we are following breakings news. charlie sane a cornelius businessman accused of shooting at police was found not guilty on all counts. >> do you find the defendant not guilty. >> sane was accused of shooting at officers when they came to his home two years ago after sane's wife called 9-1-1 saying he had hit her. defense lawyers argued he was not conscious of what he was doing because he had a few drinks and was taking the insomnia drug ambien. he showed no emotion but his wife hugged the lawyers thanking them and some police in the we have more right now head to wbtv.com. >> right now police are investigating a shooting in uptown charlotte. it and had at the intersection -- it happened at 8th and tryon streets after 4:00 p.m. medic tells us they took a man to the hospital. he is expected to survive. you see them loading him on to the ambulance. and the victim was not cooperating. they do not have anyone in custody. >> state regulators are citin

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

in the 6:30 half hour our nick ochsner will give us a report from the state of texas. >> john: lawmakers in one of the counties biggest cities are enacting a similar measure of the non-discrimination ordinance. it is five m i was walking home. just picked us up two breakfast croissants for four bucks, when this bear attacked. with one swipe, it devoured one of the croissants. then jack showed up and took care of the beast, so i could escape. and that's what happened to your breakfast croissant. it survived. share it with yourself. freshlycracked egg with ham and bacon,or sausage, >>> this broadcast sponsored by subaru south boulevard and subaru concord. wbtv on your side. wbtv news starts right now. >> christine: leaders of several towns in the charlotte area taking steps to keep their children in neighborhood skewed. schools, davidson takes up a similar measure. >> john: one day after bill clinton stumps for hillary and donald trump rallies voter in concord, senator ted cruz is making a visit to kannapolis. >>> good morning, welcome to wbtv news this morning on this tuesday, march 8th,

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 thr

our nick ochsner questioned the secretary why this analysis wasn't done before the contract was ever made. >> i'm wondering why you didn't take this hard look at cintra's business model you and dot, why didn't you take the hard look years ago? >> i think it has been looked at and been reviewed and approved by the folks that are placed the debt on this project. >> wbtv drove the failed stretch of highway in tex as in an on your side investigation a couple weeks ago and nick will be in texas monday, following every development of the story. >>> now this morning, are you ready to get your rear in gear? not too late to join molly grantham at the great 5 k at independence park in charlotte. it is for colorectal cancer, second leading cause of cancer deaths in america. there is plenty of time to get out there. several food truck events have kicked off for the spring. we stopped by the friday night festival at unknown brewing, seven different food trucks and live music. official food truck friday that has been wildly popular will start back in april in plaza midwood, also a location in sout