Transcripts For WABC Eyewitness News This Morning 20151216

Away from weather and traffic. Thank you for joining us this early hour of the day. Right now, 50 degrees is the temperature. Thats way warm. Way warm above normal. 33 is where we should be for the hour of the day. Its 45. 43 in new jersey. 49 around bridgewater. So the normal temperature about 33 in the park to 23 up there to 20 in monticello. But a sunny, cooler day today. The high 5 2. Thats going to run about 10 degrees warmer than normal. Weve got a lot to talk about. Rain is on the way for tomorrow. Weather and traffic together every seven minutes. Lets see whats happening. We will start off by telling you about 63rd street blocked after problems from last week. The ed koch 95th street bridge, ongoing maintenance into queens. And to the Brooklyn Bridge, watch for ongoing construction and lets go outside and ill show you the l. I. E. , westbound through 106. And eastbound, its construction. And to the other camera, the southbound van wyck really moving slowly here at kew gardens for ongoing construction. Alternate side of the Street Parking rules are in effect citywide. Back over to you. Thank you. Thank you. And we are following some breaking news out of new jersey right now. A big fire burned through two homes in jersey city. And this video just in from the scene. The fire started shortly after 3 00 a. M. Its now under control two. Families have been displaced but right now, there are no reports of injuries. Also developing this morning, the search is on for the driver of a stolen suv wanted for a deadly hitandrun crash on long island. We are live on the scene with an update. Good morning. Reporter lori, good morning to you. We have one man dead and another man on the run after plows into another driver and then takes off running. Suffolk county police say the 32yearold, the driver of this white 1995 honda civic was killed when he was hit by a 2008 chevy trailblazer. The trailblazer was barreling down the road before slamming into the honda civic. The driver then jumped out of the car and ran from the scene. The trailblazer was reported stolen back on december 8th. And heres who theyre looking for, the driver was described as a dark skin guys, about 20 years old, clean 57 with a slim build. If you know anything about the driver or that stolen trailblazer, call crime stopper, 800220tips. Were live, channel 7 Eyewitness News. Thank you. The nations terror alert today and the changes are designed to keep americans better informed in times the of calm and crisis. We are live in manhattan with more on this. Good morning. Reporter good morning. The current terror alert system is not being replaced, its just being tweaked according to the white house. This will be the third time that the system will be put in place and changed since september 11th. The first system used after 9 11 implemented that five color code system. And then in 2011, that was replaced with the National Threat advisory system which never really was used. And the details of the revised system wont be shared until later on today. But the secretary of Homeland Security jay johnson says the new alert system will lower the threshold when it comes to when and how the to inform the public about threats to the u. S. Heres more from president barack obama. Here at home, the department updating the alert system to help the American People stay vigilant and safe. And our extraordinary men and women in uniform continue to put their the lives on the line. In this campaign and around the world the to keep the rest of us safe. Reporter and it was just yesterday that an email threat led to a complete shut down of the Los Angeles Public School System, the Second Largest School System in the country. It has now been determined that the email was nothing more than a hoax. The fbi director will be here this this morning at one police plaza to deliver a keynote address to the shield group. Following that address, he will be joined by Police Commissioner bill bratton. Theyll hold a News Conference and the topic of discussion will be terrorism. Channel 7 Eyewitness News. Thank you. And speak of los angeles, today the los angeles School System will reopen after shutting down yesterday in the face of what turned out to be a bogus terror threat. Another day for the nations Largest School district. City officials decided not to close schools after receiving a similar threat. Some students and parents say they didnt even know the threat existed. Police investigated from the beginning saying that the alleged plot was not realistic. We cannot allow ourselves to raise levels of fear. Safety is my First Priority but we felt confident that it was the right thing to do. The threat to new york came in an email. Police commissioner bill bratton says that the language in the email did not lead the nypd to believe it was an authentic jihaddist threat. Newly released video shows two armed thieves hauling off a sack full of phones and cash from a tmobile store in manhattan on sunday afternoon. The thieves ordered employees and a customer into a back room where they loaded up with 40 apple and samsung phones and if you recognize these men, please call police. Overnight, Police Released this with tinted windows. Investigators say the driver of the car may have been involved bronx yesterday. Nearby cameras were rolling as bullets were fired. Police say the shooter wore a business suit. A shootout then erupted and the thief was able to steal 78,000. Its not known if the thief was shot. And also, classes are set to resume at a Long Island High School today a day after mysterious fumes forced the school to shut down. West Babylon High School evacuated just before noon yesterday after several people noticed a strong chemical odor. 35 people were taken to the hospital. Everybody is okay. Investigators are trying to pin point the source of those fumes. Before the iowa caucus turned into another show down between donald trump and the rest of the candidates on stage. Many of the candidates said they would be the best ones to punish isis following the paris and San Bernardino attacks. But trump complained that many of the cnn questions were designed to force a fight, getting other candidates to attack him. Jeb bush had the harshest words for trump calling him a chaos candidate who would be a chaos president. Youre a tough guy jeb. We need to have leader. Youre never going to be president of the United States by insulting. Im at 42 and youre at 3. So far, im doing better. Well, in a move to ease tensions with republican leader, trump pledged that he would not run as an independent and said he is totally committed to the republican party. A lifetime extension of the zadroga act to protect 9 11 become its a 57year extension, funded with more than 8 billion. Its included in the yearend tax and spending bill. And we expect it to be voted on as early as tomorrow. Under the agreement, the Victim Compensation fund will continue through 21 and the World Trade Center Health Program will be renewed until 2090. What they wanted. Yes. It is 4 39. Never more than 10 minutes away from weather and traffic. Well, we take a look from the roof camera. 59th street south toward 5th avenue. And soon the lights will be on there. Heres whats happening this morning as we look from the camera southward. We have a great visibility here, tall way down to the verrazanonarrows bridge. And you can see the light, thats sandyhook, new jersey. Look at the temperatures around 33. So even though its going to be cooler today, were minus that wind. And we have a few clouds this to the great lakes and we will talk about the front for tomorrow. 47 by 8 00. 48 at 10 00. 52 this afternoon. Thats going to be a lot cooler than yesterday. Yesterday in the afternoon, we were at 62. So were 10 degrees cooler but thats nearly 10 degrees warmer than normal for this time of the year. Heathers got the day off. Shes under the weather. Hows it going out there . Good morning everybody. We will start off by telling you about the subways right now. On the 1 and 2 uptown express only, 42 to 72nd, overnight work. And the uptown 2 on the 5 to 149th, because of track work as well. Metro north, lirr, new jersey transit, all on time. And george, lincoln and holland, construction being cleared. Bayonne bridge wrapping up construction. Goethals and the outer Bridge Crossings okay. 63rd closed because of that last week. And the ed koch 59th street bridge, construction. Lets go outside and show you the construction here on the fdr drive up through 70s. Still moving okay through the Construction Zone on the fdr. Alternate side of the Street Parking rules are in effect citywide. Back to you. All right. Thank you very much. 4 41. Still ahead on Eyewitness News this morning, a child abuse investigation leads investigators to a storage bin of all places in california. We will have detail on the disturbing discovery. And a day after deliberations and then a deadlock, jurors in the freddie gray trial are getting back to work. And a homeless man makes a secret home. This video shows how not to visit a friend whos locked up. Deputies say he smashed his car into the county jail yesterday morning and then drove his car into a razor wire fence surrounding the jail and got stuck when he tried to climb over it. He is now locked up with his friend. Thats sweet, theyre back together. Deputies say he was high at the time on some kind of synthetic drug. That explains it. That adds clarity. Glad that was in the story. Yes, important nuggets. Lets check in with bill evans. Motive. Yes. Thats one way to put it. An auto motive. We take a look down to one world trade. A great visibility here and right there. The power plant, we can see that. All this points to a nice morning. We just got clouds and a temperature of 50 degrees here. And now we have a great visibility all the way past the battery, past Lower Manhattan. 40 Miles Per Hour gust yesterday and now the pressure is at 30. That means a fair weather day. Normal high is 43 and low 32. So we should be right around 33 to 32 over the next couple hours but you saw were at 50. Suns up at 7 14. A gorgeous sunrise and sunset at 4 30. Nice today, rain comes in tomorrow. And its going to be december on saturday. And thats it. For the rest of december. 46 around northport. Were looking at 40 to 43 degrees, 50 in the park. 49 up to the north. A calm wind to a light wind this morning mostly out of the north. Thats not going to be the much of a factor today. However there, are clouds over us. Just very thin clouds. Those will go away. This front thats to the west will come in with some rain tomorrow. And on the futurecast, a lot of sun is shine today. See coming in off the ocean which gives us a sprinkle. And then the front approaching from the west on thursday. You see by 1 00, thats when the rain gets steady. Heavy through the evening commute into thursday night. And then we clear out thursday night. And were off to the races to a december weekend for a change. So temperatures by afternoon are around 50 degrees to 52. Thats about 10 degrees above normal. And then overnight tonight and tomorrow morning, we will have sprinkles. You will need the rain gear tomorrow morning and particular ring leader for tomorrow the evening and tomorrow night. But temperatures particularly for tomorrow evening and tomorrow night. Sunshine, light breeze today, 5 2. Tonight, mostly cloudy, a brief sprinkle and shower and 46. Tomorrow, cloudy and milder. Were near 60. Rain at times heavier in the afternoon and in the evening. Your accuweather sevenday forecast, the rain is going to be heavy tomorrow. Looking at about. 50 to an inch of rain around. And then this brisk and chilly weather for saturday and sunday. Feels like the 30s on saturday. Feels like the 30s on saturday. And then by tuesday, warm back up to near 60 on tuesday. So Christmas Day might be 65 degrees. Thought i would throw that out there. Whens the last time that happened, bill . Ill have to look it up, about seven or eight years a we had 70. Wasnt a record. But there have been some warm christmases here, every six or seven years with the el nio, this is one of those years. 65 on Christmas Day. Taking the boat out . Yeah. Im going to go scuba diving. Didnt see that. Some people would like to call doesnt feel like the holidays when its that warm. Doesnt bother me at all. I get that. But wait till next year. You will get it next year. Exactly. Lets check in with debbie. Yeah. We will take the warm weather for now. We start off by telling you about the subways. Overnight track work, 1 and 2, uptown express only with the track work. And 95th street, the incident clear. Uptown 2 on to 5 to 149 as well. And metro north, lirr, new jersey transit, on time. And george, lincoln and holland construction being cleared. Bayonne bridge just wrapping up construction. And goethals still okay. Brooklyn bridge, ongoing road work as well. And ill show you a look at the l. I. E. Eastbound to the cougar den, okay to the Construction Zone. And to the other camera, the southbound van wyck is moving slowly, practically at a stand still toward cougar dens but ongoing construction near hillside avenue. Alternate side of the Street Parking rules are in effect citywide. Back over to you. Thank you. Officials in baltimore are calling for calm whenever a first Police Officer on trial in the death of freddie gray. The judge in the trial of William Porter has ordered the jury to resume deliberations this morning. That came after jurors said they were deadlocked and unable to reach a verdict just a day after deliberations began. Porter is the first of six officers charged in the death of gray. A boyfriend and girlfriend are now the prime suspects in the deaths of two the children. Today an autopsy is set to be performed on a 6yearold boy and a 3yearold girl found in a storage unit in the Northern California town of redding. Reports say that the children are the niece and nephew of the suspects. She and her 17yearold boyfriend are already being held on 1 million bail each for allegedly abusing a 9year old girl. Her general condition was immediately recognized by our staff grave. Home which is nearly 300 miles south of where the childrens bodies were found. They say that the couple recently lived there but detectives have not said what if anything they found in the home. New details in a shooting at the famous waldorf astoria. After a six month investigation, two wedding guests have been formally charged. One faces charges including illegal weapons possession and evidence tampering. Police say his gun accidentally went off in his pocket back in june. Well the bullet actually grazed a womans head and shrapnel injured two other people. And his brother is charged with trying to cover up what happened. And amid a growing homeless problem here in new york, theres another shakeup in the citys Homeless Services program. De blasio announced yesterday that the current commissioner of Homeless Services Gilbert Taylor is resigning and that the mayor wants to streamline and modernize homeless agencies to reduce the number of people. His boss quit in late summer frustrated over what she called the mayors inability to deal with the homeless problem. We recognize as the homelessness situation persists that we have to evaluate whether the current structures make sense and what kind of changes we can make to improve the agencies. The mayor ordered a operational review of all of the citys homeless programs. And police in virginia are trying to figure out how a homeless man kept his underground home under wraps and right under their noses. The 25yearold was arrested in fairfax for digging an under ground cave and turning it into his home. The cave was 15 feet deep with two small rooms. It was discovered in a wood area just behind the Fairfax Police station. 4 51. Coming up on eyewitness this morning, another dangerous laser tack on a plane as it closed in on a local airport. How investigators are responding this morning. An lirr train clips a truck on the tracks. Getting an update ahead at what makes this simple salad the best simple salad ever . Heart healthy california walnuts. The best simple veggie dish ever . The best simple dinner ever . Heart healthy california walnuts. Great tasting, heart healthy california walnuts. So simple. Never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic here on Eyewitness News this morning. Good morning. Happy wednesday. Im bill evans. Temperatures around 49 around morristown. And seeing the temperatures that are a little cooler today than yesterday but still, these are running way above normal for this time of year. Normal would be around 33 degrees. The winds are light and out of the north as opposed to yesterday. We had 40 Miles Per Hour gusts. Next seven hour, 48 by 5 00 a. M. And then cool down, 8 00 about 45. And we start to warm back up into the afternoon. Back into the low 50s. So at the bus stop kiddos, looking at a chilly morning, dress warmly. Every seven minutes. Good morning everybody. On the 1 and 2 train, everything back on or close to schedule. The overnight maintenance cleared out of the way. Metro north, lirr, new jersey transit, ontime. And george, lincoln and the holland moving smoothly. And outside and ill show you the fdr drivethru the 70s. Moving okay through the Construction Zone. And to the other camera, southbound van wyck easing up into kew garden, the construction wrapping up. Alternate side of the Street Parking rules are in effect citywide. Back to you lori and rob. Thank you. Another dangerous laser attack on a passenger plane. This time at Newark Airport. The crew onboard a United Airlines air bus reported seeing a green laser about 3,000 feet. The plane was only 14 miles away from Newark Airport when they made the sighting last night. The faa has been notified and is trying to track down the suspect. The former estate has sold more 50 million. Thats believed to be a record the buy ore testify 5. 7acre ocean front compound is a billion yard art collector. The seller is getting nearly double what he paid for the home in 2007. Must be nice. One of the big three automakers is set to Start Testing driverless cars. Ford plans to put a self driving fusion hybrid on the road next year in california. The vehicles will carry two passengers during test, an operator and a systems expert. Ford will join five other automakers and google in testing those selfdriving cars in california. Closing in on 5 00. Just ahead on Eyewitness News this morning, live on the search for a hitandrun driver on long island. Details on the key clues the and also, a close so how ya doing . Enough pressure in here for ya . Ugh. My sinuses are killing me. Yeah. Just wait til we hit ten thousand feet. Im gonna take Mucinex Sinusmax. Too late, were about to take off. These dissolve fast. Theyre new liquid gels. And youre coming with me. Wait, what . you realize i have gold status . New Mucinex Sinusmax liquid gels. Dissolves fast to unleash max strength medicine. Start the relief. Ditch the misery. Were following a developing story at 5 00 a. M. And the search is on for the hitandrun driver who left his car behind after hitting and killing a man. Ask a close call on the tracks when an lirr train clipped a tractortrailer. The lastminute decision that prevented the accident from becoming a whole lot worse. And who will get a boost after the final Republican Debate of the year . We are live breaking down the big moments of the fiery face off. Good morning. Im lori stokes. And im rob nelson filling in today for ken rosato. Thanks for being with us. Away from weather and traffic and meteorologist bill evans. Well, yesterdays high was 68. We set that yesterday morning. Down the beach, and we have clear skies. Man, we can see all the day down. Looking at 49. So weve dropped a degree. We might drop another degree before sunrise coming up after 7 00. But still, the numbers are way warm. Should be about 23 right there when youre looking at handover and toward montclair, well, its 46. So numbers way warmer this hour of the day. Once again, and even though today is going to be cooler, still temperatures are way above the normal afternoon High Temperature averages. We will be at 52. Normal high is about 4 2. We will talk about rain tomorrow in the exclusive accuweather forecast. Heather has the day off, feeling under the weather. I think it was like, i might be back tomorrow, i dont know. Exactly. Exactly. Hopefully shes feeling better. We will start off here over to westchester county, northbound new england through way, starting to slow down toward exit 16 at overnight construction. 1 and 2 trains back on schedule. Maintenance clear. New jersey transit, lirr, ontime. George, lincoln and holland moving okay with construction cleared. Bayonne construction cleared as well. And route 1, moving okay into 18. And to the other camera, new jersey turnpike okay. Construction being cleared. Alternate side of the Street Parking rules are in effect citywide. Back over to you. Thank you. And developing on long island, the search for a hit andrun driver that killed one person. This happened last night. We are live on the scene in suffolk county. Reporter lori, right, its been 11 hours and police are who plowed into another car and then bailed out of his own car and took off running. Suffolk county police say the 32yearold, the driver of that white 19995 honda civic was kill when had he was hit by the 2008 chevy trailblazer. It was barreling down the road before slamming into the honda. The driver then jumped out of the car and ran from the scene. Turns out the trailblazer was reported stolen back on december 8th. And now heres who theyre looking for, the driver of the trailblazer was described as a dark skin guys, about 20 years old, clean shaven. If you know anything, call crime stopper, 800220tips. Thank you. And break overnight, a tragedy unfolding in phoenix carrying three people crashed. It went down in the mountains about 55 miles east of the city. Two of those onboard have been killed. The third person is in Critical Condition was and air lifted to the local hospital. The faa says theres no word on exactly what caused the crash. Also some frightening moments in nashville when a Southwest Airlines plane slid into a ditch after landing. The flight from houston went off the taxiway as eight approached yesterday. 13 as it approached yesterday. 133 13 passengers and crew 133 passengers and crew members evacuated. The Long Island Railroad is looking into a close call on the tracks in nassau county. Pictures came from a passenger aboard the train that clipped a cvs truck. The tractortrailer stopped on the the westbound tracks yesterday afternoon. The mta believers that the parking lot when it got stuck. Passengers on the train. No one saw it coming, we just felt the train pop us back because he hit the brakes and he saw it coming up. And then the train slowed up our window. Thankfully, no one was injured. Well, the leading republican president ial candidates took to the debate stage for the last time this year. And the attacks started right from the beginning. We are live in washington with a recap. Good morning. Reporter good morning. The final debate of the year focused on National Security and terrorism and the punches came out almost immediately. Postgop president ial candidate sympathizing with his competition. I like jeb. But i would do the same thing, attacking me. Reporter on stage, the gloves coming off, jeb bush and sparring over Foreign Policy. He gets his Foreign Policy experience from the shows. Oh, come on. Thats not a serious kind of candidate. I know youre trying to build up but its not working flors the fifth faceoff, almost every question focusing on National Security for the nine leading candidates with trumps proposal to ban muslims from the forefront. Were not talking about religion. Were talking about security. Our country is out of control. Reporter marco rubio and ted cruz also clashing, first over the nsas Bulk Surveillance Program and then immigration. Rubio suggesting the two of them have similar positions. For marco to suggest our record is the same is like suggesting the firefighter and the arsonist have the same record because theyre both at the scene of the fire. I am open to allowing people to apply for a green card. We will build a wall that works and ill get donald trump to pay for it. [ applause ] ill build it. Reporter trump and cruz, friendly throughout the debate. And Chris Christie boasting about his executive experience while jabbing at the senators. If your eyes are glazed over like mine, this is what its like to be on the floor of the United States senate. Reporter Chris Christie hammering the senators on the stage there but they actually got in more air time than he did. Ted cruz spoke the most, more than 17 minutes followed by trump and rubio. Next up, the democrats face off at a debate hosted by abc news had this saturday in new hampshire. In washington for channel 7 Eyewitness News. Thank you so much. And you can stay with channel 7 Eyewitness News and abc news on the race for president. Gma will pick up with a live report at 7 00. Other news and former subway pitchman jared fogle is appealing his sentence for child pornography and having sex with underage prostitutes. His attorney filed a notice of appeal in federal court. Than 15 years in prison, more than three years longer than the maximum sentence prosecutors had agreed to. Never more than 7 minutes away from weather and traffic. Over to bill for a look at the forecast. Well, just high clouds this morning and looking at a nice visibility. Clear skies from the camera in times square. Looking south. Right past the Empire State Building down to one world trade and down to Staten Island and the verrazano bridge. What a pretty morning. Going to be a great day and cooler than yesterday. And we dont have the wind we had yesterday either. Thats died down. The temperature yesterday was starting out around 53. Were about 49 today. Back to the clouds is the front. We will talk about coming for tomorrow. Today, grab jackets and sweaters. Havent said that much this fall. Were looking at 47 by the time we get to 7 00, 8 00. 52 this afternoon is going to be the temperature. And tonight, cloudy and there of the cold front i was talking about. So kids for school, jacket, sweater, chilly this morning with 30s and 40s. Later today, 52. A give it a b for bright and blue debbie duhaime. And she is in for Heather Orourke. How is it going . Things are wrapping up for construction. The subways first on the 1 and 2, some overnight track work cleared. Everything back to schedule on the 1 and 2. And the Brooklyn Bridge is ongoing construction and construction at the battery tunnel as well. 6th is blocked between 1st and 2nd. Its a gridlock alert day today. And lets show you the l. I. E. Westbound picking up volume toward little neck parkway. And then okay toward the queens midtown tunnel. And alternate side of the Street Parking rules are in effect citywide. Again, its a gridlock alert day. Allow the extra time. Back to you rob and lori. Thank you. Still ahead on eyewitness camera, a deadly fireworks explosion in honduras. The violence that triggered a massive fire that destroyed a row of businesses. And creative tourism. Why let someone else have all the fun . The sometimes haphazard, never boring fun. The why cant it smell like this all the time fun. The learning the virtue of sharing fun. Why let someone else have all the fun . Thats no fun. Unleash the power of dough. At least one person was killed when gunmen opened fire on a Market Selling fireworks in honduras. The tragedy was caught on camera as a bullet ignited the rockets in one of the stalls. The first explosion ignited other stalls and the supply of gun powder. Five businesses burned to the ground. One of the merchants was killed. Police say the attack was carried out by men riding motorcycles. Well, all of this warmer changed the meaning of hitting the slopes this holiday season. This is how theyre tubing in the poconos without any of the snow. What . On the ground. The blue light course takes you down what would normally be the snowcovered peaks at about 30 Miles Per Hour. It will stay open until jack frost at some point this season makes his debut. Really simulating snow tubing without the snow. We havent been lucky enough to get any this year. Without presents. Also zip lining and tree top courses available for folks who cant get their snow on. Tree top courses. Hmm. Yep. And those who cant wait for snow will find more than enough in denver northerning. There was a bit denver this morning. There was a bit too much for one driver who found himself stuck in record snow fall. Nearly 8 inches fell yesterday shattering a record that had stood for 118 years. Temperatures in the 50s today. That sound was deep. Yeah. Its a nice, crisp 11 degrees right now in the colorado capitol. Ill take our weather any day of the week and twice on sunday. Remember you can track weather on the go with our free weather alert app. For live radar and alerts as well, go the itunes or Google Play Store and search abc7ny or accutrack. We dont got that here. No, we do not. Its tough for the folks in poconos and even up into massachusetts, i dont know, you have to get creative. Maybe they should try log rolling. You know, i dont know. Cut some trees down and log roll, basket weave, got to do something this winter. But there will be snow. We havent even started winter yet. But its a el nio season and thats what you get. You saw the weather in denver and the mild weather here. Corner of 66th and columbus. Come by and say hi. All this points to a great day. Yesterdays high was set early it was 68. And then got to the low 60s yesterday afternoon. 47 at 47. These numbers are warmer by about 10 to 15 degrees. 13 Miles Per Hour at newark. Yesterday the wind gusts went to 40 around. So the wind has died down. Thats nice. It will be cool today and we will have a light northerly wind and a few clouds but this front comes tomorrow. Actually as the high slides eastward, the southeasterly wind flow will put a few sprinkles in tonight and tomorrow morning. And then this front gets here by lunchtime. The low is going to cut into the great lakes and we are on the warm side. Its a liquid event and its rain. We have warm temperatures and warmer temperatures tomorrow. So today the sprinkles overnight coming in off the atlantic. Tomorrow, 1 00, 2 00, 3 00, 4 00, 5 00, 6 00, 7 00, 8 00, you see it pushing through the area. And then gone, sun back out with the beautiful sunrise on friday morning. You see this morning, temperatures in the upper 40s. We should be around 43 and 23 to the north. And by afternoon, into the low 50s and upper 40s. Way warm. And then the sprinkles off the atlantic overnight tonight and tomorrow morning back many the upper 40s and low 50s with the sprinkles and then the rain in the afternoon with the temperatures in the upper 50s to near 60 tomorrow. After school today, kid, great weather. Great for sports. If youre outside, 52, partly sunny and nice. And the weekend will feel like, well, one day will feel like december. It will be the 30s with sunshine. It will be less wind on sunday, 46. And then warming back up next week. Sunshine, a light breeze today and 52. Cloudy tonight, a brief sprinkle and then mild tomorrow, 58 and heavier rain in the afternoon and the evening. Friday, were back to brisk and colder weather. And sunday are close the to normal. And next week, were back into those 50s. Here you go, saturday, wintery wind, blustery, colder, feeling like the 30s on saturday. And we get december for one day and then up to 58 on tuesday. Wednesday and thursday, are you going to be okay, lori . A long road. Im a first aid medic. I know you are. You have been waiting for this chance. [ coughing ] im also a doctor, ill have you know. I know that too. An honorary doctor of meteorology. I know i would be in great hands if i needed you. A guardian and protector. And lets check in with debbie duhaime. Been waiting for that. All about timing. Yes, indeed. Right there to take care of you. He talked about timing. Like the champ, im waiting back. I love it. Love it. We start off by telling you about a serious accident in queens right now. To the camera, this is the southbound van wyck right near jewel avenue. All lanes now subject to closure. Southbound van wyck right past jewel avenue, looks like a serious accident going to the maps. Its the van wyck south into jewel avenue, all lanes remain closed. And its a gridlock alert day today so use mass transit if you can. Alternate side of the Street Parking rules are in effect citywide. Back to you. Thank you. Still ahead on Eyewitness News this morning, key decision by the Federal Reserve today could have a big impact on the markets and your money. Plus, the giant jackpot on the line ahead of tonights big deta what makes this simple salad the best simple salad ever . Heart healthy california walnuts. The best simple veggie dish ever . Heart healthy california walnuts. The best simple dinner ever . Heart healthy california walnuts. So simple. Get the recipes at walnuts. Org. No way. Savor an egg mcmuffin any time you like. A fresh cracked egg, canadian bacon and an english muffin with real butter. Happening today, and you might be able the to pick up a serious holiday bonus, tonights power ball jackpot is worth an estimated 180 million. The cash option is a little more than 112 million. You can see the winning numbers tonight right here on channel 7 during Eyewitness News at 11 00. I could live off 112 million. Need that. I could struggle and make that happen. Never more than 7 minutes away from weather and traffic. Over to mr. Bill evan, good morning, sir. Good morning rob, nice to have you with us. We love your company. And everyone, thank you for joining us this morning as well. We have a great visibility from the camera here in brooklyn. Over to the lower east side. And speaking of the ferries you take the ferry, just got a little light wind today. Yesterday, if you are taking the ferry, that was quite a ride. The Staten Island ferry and all the ferries are great. They do a great job. But it was bouncing yesterday with the 40 Miles Per Hour wind coming in. So this feels better today. A nice ride here across long island sound, north wind about 14 Miles Per Hour back and forth here today. So looking at a cool down this weekend. But talking about christmas next week, heads up, 65 degrees. Make your tee time debbie duhaime, Christmas Day. Im ready. Ill meet you out there. Good morning everybody. Lets show you some problems right now in queens. To the camera, a problem on the van wyck southbound. The van wyck southbound all lane closed at jewel avenue. Avoid the van wyck southbound. The maps, ill pin point southbound at jewel avenue, all lanes closed. Head to the cross island to get to the parkway instead. Hudson river crossings moving smoothly. Its a gridlock alert day, allow extra travel time. And alternate side of the Street Parking rules are in effect citywide. Back to you, rob, lori. Thank you. Its 523 67 89 just getting new de its 5 23. Just getting new details on an overnight fire in new jersey and how many people lost their homes. We will bring you an update at 5 30. Plus, the new and clear video police want you to see track down a pair many patients and their doctors unfortunately are not aware of the options available to patients with bone cancer. Patients with bone cancer deserve a specialist too. The advantages of being treated at Cancer Treatment centers of america is that we have all the specialists under one roof to take care of every aspect of that patients cancer care. We want our patients to survive their cancer but we also want them to maintain independence and quality of life is so important. With so many different types of germs to watch out for. Its important for your wipes to kill a Broad Spectrum of germs. Including 8 different cold and flu viruses. To help protect. Lysol that. coughing coughing disrupts everyones life. Thats why theres delsym. Delsyms advanced time release formula helps silence coughs for a full 12 hours. All night. On the money this morning. Asian markets surged overnight. Japans nikkei average saw a day of gains while hong kongs hang seng rose more than 2 . And the Dow Jones Industrial higher. The nasdaq composite and s p 500 posted gains on tuesday. Right now futures are pointing to a higher open. Investors are waiting for a big announcement from the Federal Reserve today. The fed is expected to raise Interest Rates for the first reporter good morning. Topping americas money. All eyes on the Federal Reserve today. The central bank is expected to raise shortterm interest rate, that will be the 1st inning crease since 2006 but its unlikely to have much impact on consumer loans or credit cards. The unseasonably warm weather in the eastern half of the country is prove to be a grinch for clothing retailers. They stocked up on winter gear thats still sitting on the shelves. But some retailers are planning big discounts. And more good news for those up at this hour, a major retailer is repeating its christmas marathon. Kohls will stay open 24 hours a day starting at 7 00 a. M. Tomorrow morning. Theyll finally close at 6 00 p. M. On Christmas Eve after more than 170 hours straight. Thats my kind of shopping. Yeah. And thats americas money everyone. Have a great day. And reminder from amazon, today is the last day for Free Shipping to get your presents and friday is the last day for standard shipping to get your packages delivered before christmas. After that, you have to pay extra for next day and twoday shipping and. If you really procrastinate, theres sameday delivery on Christmas Eve but only in some areas. James paterson, the author who sold more than 300 million books is handing out 2 million in grants and bonuses to School Libraries and Independent School workers. The grants to 460 libraries range from 1,000 to 10,000 each and another 250,000 goes to 87 employees at bookstores personally chosen by mr. Paterson. So nice. Well done, sir. And coming up in the next half hour, we are following developments on long island where police are certaining for the hitandrun driver who kill are searching for the hit andrun driver who killed a man. But rain on the she sees the world a little differently. And, by some miracle. She actually said yes. To me. Tell her everything you love about her with charmed memories. At kay. The number one Jewelry Store in america. And she will be the best mom. Ever. Every kiss begins with kay. Its the kay jewelers save the best for last event with up to 30 off storewide. Now is the time to find her the best gift at an incredible price. So hurry in. And save up to 30 at kay. The numberone Jewelry Store in america. Emerge restored. Fortified. Replenished. Emerge everyday with emergenc packed with b vitamins, antioxidants, electrolytes plus more vitamin c than 10 oranges. Why not feel this good everyday . Why dont you come on by, were here, open 24 hours a cloudy sky, calm wind. Feels nice outside. So nice toms river meters there, theyre automated and they decided to sleep in. 48 in longbranch. Normally about 33, 32 is where the temperature would be. Thats about 50 degrees warmer than normal. Sunshine today and cooler than yesterday but still by temperatures and arches this time of year, this is warm, 42 would be about the average. Were going to be at 52. And Heather Orourke has the day off. She swallowed some frogs. Yeah, she will be back tomorrow hopefully. Hopefully shes feeling better. Good morning everybody. Problems in queens. We head to the camera, the southbound side of the van wyck is still completely closed right past jewel avenue. Its an accident between a tractortrailer and a car. Ongoing investigation as we go to the maps. The southbound van wyck closed down toward kew kew gardens with the accident. You may want to head to the cross island instead. Southbound van wyck building quickly. And over to the new england thruway south, slowing down with overnight construction, upper east river crossings and the hudson river crossings moving okay. Subways ontime and looks like traffic is moving okay here on 1st avenue but 63rd closed between 1st and 2nd after last weeks problems. Its a gridlock alert day, allow extra time. Back to you rob and lori. And the search is on for a driver in a deadly hitandrun and police say the suspect left behind a stolen suv. We are live on the scene. Reporter right, that driver, lori, bailed out of the suv after slamming into someone, killing another driver and he took off running. Police are looking for him. Suffolk county police say the 32yearold, the driver of the killed when he was hit by a 2008 chevy trailblazer. The trailblazer was barreling down the road before slamming into the honda civic. The driver then jumped out of the car and ran from the scene. Turns out the trailblazer was reported stolen back on december 8th. Now heres who police are looking for the, the driver is described as a dark skinned guys, about 20 years old, about 57 with a slim build and last seen wearing blue jeans, a black hooded sweatshirt and a black wool hat. If you know anything about the driver or the stolen trailblazer call 800220tips. Live, channel 7 Eyewitness News. Thank you. And we have just learned new detail oscars a fire in jersey city. Police say 13 people, 10 adults and three children have been displaced. The fire ripped through two homes on night on dekalb avenue at about 3 00 a. M. There. Are no reports of injuries. Two armed thieves hauling off a sack full of phones and cash from a tmobile store in manhattan. It all happened sunday afternoon. The thieves ordered employees and a customer into the back room and thats where they loaded up with 40 apple and samsung phones and 1,500 in cash. If you recognize the men, please give police a call. And happening today, the department of Homeland Security will announce changes to the nations terror alert system. Dray clark is live in Lower Manhattan with details on this. Good morning. Reporter good morning, rob. Government Officials Say the country needs a new terror alert system but theyre quick to point out that the Current System suspect being replaced, its being tweaked. This is the third time the system is being replaced here. The first was after the that implemented the color code system. And in 2 to 011, the advisory system was put into place but that system has never been used. And the new details of the revised system wont be shared until after 11 00 this morning but the secretary of Homeland Security jay johnson says the new system will lower the threshold when it comes to how and when the public will be informed when theres a threat against the u. S. Heres more from president barack obama. Here at home, the department of Homeland Security is updating its alert system to help the American People stay vigilant and safe. And as always, our extraordinary men and women in uniform continue to put their lives on the line. In this Campaign Around the world to keep the rest of us safe. Reporter it was just yesterday that an email threat led to a complete shut down of the Los Angeles Public School System. That email was nothing more than a hoax. And later on today, also, the fbi director will be here at keynote address to the shield group. Following that address, the director will hold a News Conference with Police Commissioner bill bratton and the topic of discussion will be terrorism. Live at one police plaza, dray clark, channel 7 Eyewitness News. Thank you. And the los angeles School System reopens shutting down yesterday in the face of what turned out to be a bogus terror threat. Here in new york, its just another day for the nations Largest School district. City officials decided not to close schools after receiving a similar threat. Some students and parents say they didnt even know there was a threat. The police investigated the situation as a hoax from the beginning saying it was not realistic. We cannot allow ourselves to raise levels of fear. Safety is my First Priority under all circumstances but we felt confident that it was the right thing to do. The threat to new york came in an email. Police commissioner bill bratton says that the language nypd to believe it was an authentic jihaddist threat. Classes are set to resume today at a high school on long island which was shut down after dozens of students and staff were sickened by mysterious fumes. West Babylon High School was evacuated just before noon yesterday after several people noticed some kind of strong chemical odor. 35 people in all were taken to the hospital. The good news is everyone is okay. The investigators are trying to pin point the source of the fumes. 5 37. Never more than 7 minutes away from weather and traffic and accuweather forecast. Well, we will take a look outside. Heres the camera at times square looking south. A nice morning out here. Looking at clouds that are just high clouds. Looking at a beautiful sunrise coming up after 7 00. Here we go today everybody. Looking at about your day as far as our temperature goes. We are looking at a cloudy sky and that will break up with the sunrise here. Its just high clouds you see here. About that for tomorrow. Here we go, looking at sunshine today, 47 by 8 00. And should be around 33 at that time. So still 14 degrees warmer and a mild day today. Even though were 10 degrees warmer than yesterday. And at the bus stop, here we go, well, some of the huckleberries are playing the absent game but we will have 47 today. Dress warmly at the bus stop. It will warm up this afternoon. And we will look at the weekend, we think it will be 6 adegrees on Christmas Day, debbie duhaime. I love it. But dont worry, santa can still make it down the chimney. I understand the reindeer like it. Sounds good. Good morning everybody. One thing you may not like is the traffic in queens. Lets go to the camera. Southbound van wyck completely closed by jewel avenue. Its an accident involving a tractortrailer and a car. Lets go to the maps again. This is the southbound van wyck garden, very serious accident. All lanes closed. Try the cross island instead. And the new england thruway, thats busy southbound at 16. Thats all due to construction. Goethals bridge, emergency work into Staten Island, one lane blocked. Outer bridge crossing okay. Bayonne is moving okay. No problems at the hudson river crossings. And lets see the a, c and e, no problem, subways on time. And the southbound fdr drive easing as you get down to the 90s. Overnight construction being cleared in the 0s. Alternate side of the Street Parking rules are in effect citywide. Back to you. Thank you. Still ahead on Eyewitness News this morning, new dethe tails released overnight in the armored car heist in bronx with the dapper thief getting away with thousands of cash. New image of the getaway car that police want you to you to see. Also ahead, everyones mania as we count down to the public open of you star war, the force awakens. How one group of fans tried to get into the behave for uncle pete. Bye, see you guys later. [boys screaming] now Time Warner Cable makes your internet go faster. Up to 300 megs. Are you having fun . Yeah its ok. Its good. Inhome wifi powered by the latest equipment available to cover all your devices. So when you need more from your internet, its there for you. Discover how much more is included. Get 50 meg internet for 39. 99 per month. Call 1855want twc. A lifetime extension of the doctor go act to protect nine level First Responders is about to become a reality. Its a 75year extension funded its included in the yearend tax and spending bill and we expect it to be voted on as early as tomorrow. The World Trade Center program will be renewed until 2090. A good way to describe the next story would be making the world a happier place, one light saber at a time. A podcast in grand junction, colorado put together a flash mob to celebrate the opening of star wars, the force awakens. Its a lowprofile film about to come out. They say it was designed to bring communities in this galaxy together. Theres a lot of in the world that we cannot prevent but Small Community things like this that can happen makes this world just a little bit better. Organizers are hoping to break the light saber world at once. They failed just they fell just a little bit short but they were happy to have the chance to, in their word, nerd out. Okay. They are into it. They are. Including this one. Mr. Evan, did you see it last night . I did. And . Remember who you work for. Oh, no secrets revealed. It was awesome. You got to see it. It was awesome. Awesome. Youre going to love it. A lot of plot twists. Really good. Done very well. A lot of applause. The movie is great when theres applause during the movie. Yeah, love that. Looking west this morning. High clouds. Going to be a really pretty day. And toward the battery, fine. And to wall street and one world trade, and around the beautiful Supreme Court buildings and dwellings there in Lower Manhattan, looking at 56 the humidity and 49 degrees. Weve got a light wind to a calm wind which yesterday we had 40 Miles Per Hour gusts so we dont have that today. And normal high is 43. And already starting out above that. So another mild day today. Nice with less win. And rain returns tomorrow, heaviest in the afternoon and tomorrow night. Its going to be december, yea for a day. Thats it, just saturday. 45 at brookhaven this morning. And west hampton. 46 around babylon. 37 Methodist Hospital sell low. A calm wind to a light 37 monticello. A calm wind to a light wind. A cold front coming our way back here in the great lakes getting to chicago this morning. Might have delays there and in st. Louis and down to little rock, arkansas to memphis. But we have sunshine and a little flow out of the southeast ahead of the front tonight the. Thats why we could have a sprinkle. And you will see, here comes the rain tomorrow, 1 00 jersey. 3 00, 4 00, tomorrow even, out weekend but cold air behind the front. And sunshine, light breeze and 52. Cloudy and breech shower, 46. And milder tomorrow but rain. And it will be heavy at times in the afternoon. And then thats gone and then we get brisk and chillier weather for friday. And cool down saturday. And wintry wind, sunshine, feels like 30est. But sunday we start the warmup again and back up to 52 on monday. And 58 and 60 by tuesday. And just a heads up, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, probably 60, 65 degrees. Amen. Amen. Nothing wrong with that at all. Look two thing, you have to see this season, you have to see hamilton. Okay. And you got to see the star wars movie. And then all the other thing, nutcracker. Hamilton is as good as the hype. Oh, the best broadway show ive ever seen. And you have seen a lot. Wow. Just the buildup from yeah, just unbelievable. Okay. All right. You will love it. Yeah, i want to see it. Thanks. Want to see it. If you want to look heres how you can learn a lot of history in two hours. Yes. Beautiful. All right. And i saw fiddler on the roof last week. Wasnt that great. It was wonderful. Wonderful. Good morning everybody. We will start off by telling you about something not so wonderful here. This is the southbound van wyck, its bumper to bumper down toward kew gardens. The problem is, southbound van wyck right before kew gardens at jewel avenue, all lanes completely closed with a very serious accident. The southbound van wyck closed to the kew gardens but the accident, try the cross island instead. Its a gridlock alert day. Take mass transit if you can. Thank you. Have to scratch one item off the holiday wish list. Still ahead, new yorkers may the holiday wish list. Plus, the season of giving inspires a great act of how much money one man dished go to nystateofhealth. Ny. Gov or call 18553555777 when heartburn hits fight back fast tums smoothies starts dissolving the instant it touches your tongue and neutralizes stomach acid at the source tum, tum, tum, tum smoothies only from tums t we have new details on an armored car heist overnight this bronx. They used a fourdoor honda accord with tinted windows. Police say a gunman dressed in a business suit got into a shootout with armored car workers yesterday. Running for cover. The thief who made off with 78,000 is on the loose. Its not known if he was shot. With the gun control debate once again at the top of a lot of americans mind, 30 online retailers have agreed to stop selling realistic looking toy guns here in new york state. It comes after the Companies Sold more than 5,000 guns across the state including 1300 guns in new york city. The state attorney general says the sales were illegal. The law requires toy guns to be brightly colored or have colored striping down the barrel. Well this is about the fourth time we have seen this and it would make a good christmas tradition. Someone is paying off the Walmart Layaways at two stores in cleveland. The total cost of the anonymous gift, 106,000. He walked into the stores and keep his identity a secret. The items range from a pair of socks to a 60inch television. I just cried. To be able to help us. To help people that maybe wouldnt have had christmas. The kindfulness the unknown santa helped over 200 people with their christmas dreams. Nice. This time of year tends to bring out the best. Awesome to see. Eyewitness news this [cough, cough] mike . Janet . Cough if you can hear me. Dont even think about it. I took mucinex dm for my phlegmy cough. Yeah. But what about mike . He has that dry scratchy thing going on. Guess what . It works on his cough too. Cough guess what . It works on his cough too. What . Stop dont pull me spoiler alert she doesnt make it only mucinex dm relieves bothwet and dry coughs for 12 hours with two medicines in one pill. Start the relief. Ditch the misery. Never more than 7 minutes away from weather and traffic here on Eyewitness News this morning. Five minutes before 5 00 a. M. Good morning. Temperatures are mild for the morning hours. Its 37 in monticello. 42 in new city. 44 bridgeport. And 49 around the park to 48 a fine ride here on the ferries from the hudson or the harbor here around jersey city and Staten Island or over toward the east side. And we are going to be looking at breaks of sunshine, brisk and cooler weather as we get to the weekend. We will talk about that. Coming up. Debbie duhaime is in for Heather Orourke on this wednesday morning. How is it going . The ferry is on time and the subways ontime as well. But queen, the southbound van wyck is completely closed down toward jewel avenue. An accident between a tractor trailer and a car, so southbound van wyck closed down to the kew gardens. Avoid the area altogether. And to the map, over on the new england thruway south into 16, its construction, a, c and e ontime. Looks like the subways are running smoothly. Its a gridlock alert day today. Allow extra time around hudson river crossings. And the emergency construction at the goethals bridge is cleared. Alternate side of the Street Parking rules are in effect citywide. Back over to you, rob, lori. A hudson river farm that helped atrisk men find their way back to regular lives is hoping for a christmas miracle to stay alive. 24 men live at renewal farm. The facility uses gardens to help residents recover from lives of crime and adick the. However its in danger of closing because the federal government has cut funding to Supportive Housing programs. The nonprofit hopes to raise 150,000 to stay open for six more months. The program has been funded by the federal government for 20 years and we have a Great Success in the program. It would be a shame program is closed down. They need the money by the end of the month. If it can stay open, there are plans to expand by an extra acre next year. Closing in now on 6 00. Just ahead this morning, one man has been killed in a head on crash with a stolen car. We are live on long island with new information on this deadly accident. Nearly one year after an nypd officer and his partner were gunned down in brooklyn, the widow announces a new initiative to keep his memory alive. And a flight, skidding off the runway. We are hearing from passengers for the first time. Also, meteorologist bill good morning. Its 6 00. New details on a hitandrun crash on long island