22News at 4: Digital Edition 12/5/25

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to 22 News at 4. I'm Sierra Spelleller. We're going to have your top four at 4 in just a moment, but first let's have a look at commuter traffic and weather with 22 News Storm Team meteorologist Brian Lapis. Brian said it was going to be chilly and you didn't tell Fib. >> Yeah. We're going to show you the actual low temperatures from early this morning in just a second. Uh but it was it was record-breaking cold here this morning. >> The good news is the weekend will be warmer. Could see a couple snowflakes, though. Let's take a look at traffic right now. We got uh some slow traffic downtown Springfield. Uh 291 merge is slow and even 91 north of the 291 merge is slow. So keep that in mind that you'll have uh some uh delays even through uh Forest Park into Long Meadow on Route 5 and I 91 as well. Otherwise, traffic is fine. The P the Mass Pike looks good and also 91 looks good north of Springfield. live look here from or a look at the lobby here from the balcony and you can see our Toys for Tots campaign continues. By the way, we're accepting toys tonight until 7 o'clock. We'd love to see you. We'll also be here tomorrow, 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. And Monday's our final day, 8:30 a.m. to 700 p.m. Let's go to our temperatures. Yeah, so this is how cold we got this morning. Zero. That's good for a new record at Chipe West over air reserve base 2 degrees in Westfield six below in orange and below zero in the Birkers. Right now we're in the 20s about where we expected Greenfield at 26 22 our favorite temperature in Orange Northampton and Westfield and Pittsfield as expected as well after a bright start to the day. Clouds as the sun sets are arriving. So we expect some clouds here tonight and maybe even a few snowflakes here tomorrow. We'll track it with the 22 News Storm Team forecast. >> Now for our top four at four. We now know the name of the victim of a deadly shooting in Springfield's Liberty Heights neighborhood over the weekend. According to the Hampton County DA's office, 27year-old Shane West of Springfield died from his injuries he sustained in a shooting Sunday night at home on rather home street. A suspect in the case, 21-year-old DaVon Scheler of Texas, was arrested for murder the following morning. Scheler had been in the hospital being treated for a non-lifethreatening gunshot wound. He's being held without the right to bail. In Seieldfield now, an incarcerated man accused of sexually assaulting a female corrections officer was found dead in his cell Thursday. DOC officials said despite life-saving measures, 27-year-old Jan Bellamy was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead. Officials believe Bellamy died by suicide. The chief medical examiner says the cause and manner of his death are both pending. The former East Hartford man was serving a 20-year sentence for first-degree assault and criminal attempt at murder. He had been incarcerated since August of 2015. Also in Connecticut now, the father of the 11-year-old girl whose body was found in New Britain in October is now planning to sue the state's Department of Children and Families. The attorneys representing the estate of Jaclyn Torres Garcia are seeking $75 million in damages for her death and 25 million for the alleged negligence of her sibling. Three people are facing charges in the death of Torres Garcia. They are her mother, Carla Garcia, her aunt, and her mother's boyfriend. Torres Garcia's remains were found outside of an abandoned home in New Britain on October 8th. Her death was determined a homicide caused by fatal child abuse with starvation. Staff at UMass Ammeris have voted no confidence in Chancellor Javier Reyes. It comes as the university's professional staff union continues pushing for a better contract. The Thursday vote passed by 94% and follows a unanimous vote by the university staff association on Wednesday. Contract negotiations between the union and university have dragged on for 18 months now. Union staff say they're opposed to merit-based pay adjustments replacing regular cost of living adjustments. Many have expressed concerns about the current cost of living, stating that employees are not making over $40,000 a year. The university is requesting a stateapp appointed mediator from the Department of Labor Relations. 22 News has reached out to UMass for comment, but we have not heard back yet. >> All right. Of course, let's bring in 22 News Storm Team meteorologist Brian Lapis for another check of the clouds and radar as well as those cold temperatures. >> Yeah, down into uh the single digits and even below zero early this morning and now we're in the 20s. A little bit warmer this weekend. Let's take a look at what's happening on the clouds and radar. After a bright start today, as the sun sets, the clouds are closing in. There's a little weak storm system that's to our south. It could get just far enough north to bring us a couple of flurries overnight tonight. Notice dry conditions for your Friday night fun and frivolity, but becoming mostly cloudy to even solid overcast here by midnight tonight. A lot happening tonight by the way. Uh Merry Maple is being lit in Ammerst. The chickpea Christmas tree is being lit and I believe Eastlon Meadow has a parade and a tree lighting uh today. So, if you're going to one of those events, plan on cold air. Temperatures will be in the teens, I expect, at least early this evening. Interestingly enough, though, as the clouds build in, we get a little breeze out of the south overnight. Our temperatures are going to rise and with that change in temperature comes the chance for a couple of flurries here tomorrow morning. Not much, but again, the chance for flurries overnight and through the first half of the day tomorrow. And then as that storm system to our south pulls away, we brighten up in the afternoon with high temperatures into the 30s. We'll talk about the second half of the weekend on 22 News starting at 5. Trending today, Netflix has struck a deal with Warner Brothers Discovery to buy the legacy Hollywood giant studio and streaming business for $72 billion. The acquisition announced today would bring two of the industry's biggest players in film and TV under one roof. Beyond its namesake television and motion picture division, Warner owns HBO Max and DC Studios. Netflix has risen to dominance as a household name while building its own production arm to release popular titles like Stranger Things and Squid Game. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026. One of the craziest ongoing streaks in the history of basketball came to an end last night when LeBron James finished Thursday's game against the Toronto Raptors with just eight points. It's the first time the NBA legend has finished a game in single digits since January 6th of 2007, almost 19 years ago. James had scored 10 or more points in all regular season games and had played since that night in 2007. James did pass up an opportunity to extend his streak in order for his team to win the game. And now for a look at what we're working on tonight for 22 News starting at 5. Schools nationwide are adopting new restrictions on students cell phone use. We'll hear from a principal on what restrictions their school is applying to students. Plus, the CDC made a major change to their infant vaccine recommendations. We'll tell you the new recommendation and provide reactions from state officials. And as temperatures continue to drop, we'll tell you how the negative effects of the cold can have on you. >> Traffic running slow here downtown as the evening commute uh begins. You can see here a lot of red uh downtown Springfield, the end of 291, and even into Forest Park and parts of Long Meadow. Otherwise, traffic is moving fine. We'll update weather for the weekend on 22 News at 5. All right, Brian, thank you. And we thank you for joining us this afternoon for 22 News at 4. You can join us live on TV starting at 5 and get all your local news and weather updates anytime on wwwllp.com, the 22NES mobile app, and the 22NES Plus app. [Music]