Falling. We have clear skies and the wind is dying down. That will actually help temperatures go lower this morning. Theres a live, clear view of center city looking across the delaware. No sign of any fog and not as much wind as we saw even just one hour ago in philadelphia. Theres still a breeze blowing. 23 degrees feels like 14 with an 8mileanhour wind. At 23 degrees, thats just three degrees away from the record low for this date. It is a first alert day, as temperatures plunk to near record cold. Its a bitter cold either way, whether we hit the records or not, especially considering the windchills right now are ranging from 6 below to 15 degrees in the area. Even south jersey is seeing the cold air. Look at the 20s in delaware and south jersey. Wildwood is 27 degrees, while its 19 now in pottstown. Feels like 10 degrees in pottstown and trenton, 12 degrees in millville. A cold morning, very cold to start with, 20 degrees at 7 00. By 9 00, not much warmer, just 24. Were still in the 20s at noontime today. Your neighborhood by neighborhood forecast when i come back in less than ten minutes. It is 5 32 and nbc 10 is on top of breaking news. A fiery crash shuts down part of the new jersey turnpike. Flames erupted last night when flee big rigs collided in cranberry township, killing one driver. The outlines of charred trucks and ashes all thats left. We still do not know the conditions of the other drivers of those trucks. And that will impact your morning drive on the turnpike this morning. Nbc 10s first alert traffic reporter, jillian mele, is showing us whats happening there. This all happened on the northbound side of the new jersey turnpike, right near exit 8, which is hightstown. And in that area, we have two different drives, the inner and the outer drive for traffic. The truck lane and then the car lane some people call it as well. This is all happening in the outer drive, and thats whats still closed, blocked off this morning. Youll want to avoid the new jersey turnpike while cleanup and the investigation continues. You can take route 130 or even route 9 if you need to get around it. Thats something well continue to follow for you and let you know once all of the lanes reopen on the highway. We have an accident 42 northbound at route 41. The right lane is blocked in that area. But so far, no accidents to report on the majors in delaware or pennsylvania. This is 76 right at girard avenue. You can see traffic is moving along just fine in both directions. Drive times very average, about 14 minutes both ways between the blue route and the vine. Chris . 5 33. Lets get back to this dangerous blast of cold air that were facing. Temperatures gripping the region that may reach record level later this morning. Look, people are taking no chances here, bundled up as they were Walking AroundUniversity City early this morning. Near record lows gripping the area. We saw the temperature map earlier, every state facing record lows or near record lows overnight. Nbc 10s Monique Braxton is live in county, delawa delaware. I know you dont need to tell us how cold it is out there. Reporter i can feel it a lot better than you, though, chris. Good morning to you. You know, we arrived in claimant at this wawa about 30 minutes ago and weve talked to a few people. For the first 15 or 20 minutes there were maybe one or two customers coming to pump gas, so i guess theyre doing that in the daytime when its a little bit warmer. One guy told me the only thing thats hot here is the gas price. Another lady told me she spent about an hour yesterday just digging out her winter clothing in anticipation of what would be happening today. She said she got caught by surprise yesterday. She also said, you know, keep in mind, its fall and were dealing with wintrytype temperatures in the worst kind of way. So, i asked another customer, i said, so, what was the toughest part about dealing with the weather and getting up this morning . He said just getting up and knowing that when you go outside, the cold blast of air is going to hit you in the face like a brick. So, were going to stay here for the next hour or so and talk to people about how theyre handling this cold and how is the best way to cope. Live for now from claimant, Monique Braxton, nbc 10 news. And as this cold weather continues, be sure to get the latest updates through the nbc 10 first alert weather center. You can get those sent directly to your smartphone or tablet with the first alert weather app. Thats a free download. You can get it right now at nbc10. Com. It is 5 35. New this morning, those pornographic emails exchanged by Pennsylvania State employees on public computers, we now know they contained images of children and violent acts against women. Attorney general Kathleen Kane called the images deplorable. So far, she has fired 4 employees and suspended 11. The emails came to light when the ags office investigated its own handling of the Jerry Sandusky sex abuse case. A newspaper report says cooper hospitals ceo and his wife were stabbed before fire broke out inside their home in september. A Family Member told the courier post John Sheridan and his wife, joyce, were stabbed several times each. Their bodies were found inside their Somerset County home after fire broke out in their bedroom. The Family Member did not say who may be behind those attacks. Were working to get reaction to this report from authorities. We have new information this morning about the injuries tracy morgan suffered in that crash that killed his friend. Morgans lawyer says that hes still fighting to recover from a severe brain injury five months after the accident. His lawyer added, its not known if the comedian will be the tracy morgan he once was. Morgan also broke a leg, broke his ribs and his nose when that tractortrailer crashed into the back of his limo in june on the new jersey turnpike. All right, weve seen this video a lot over the past few days, this police car on fire in philadelphia moments after an accident. The Philadelphia Police department actually took 280 patrol cars off the streets for emergency maintenance because of this fire. An officer was pulled to safety from that fire, thankfully, because of some quickthinking witnesses. The Mayors Office said that it bought 150 brandnew patrol cars, but the police union tells nbc 10 that the city is not replacing those vehicles fast enough. The union says some of the cruisers have more than 300,000 miles on them. 5 36 now. And today were getting updates on news from all across the area. Here are a few of the stories were following today. Later today, well show you whats being called a recovery fair for businesses in the poconos. It took a hit during the eric frein manhunt. State economic officials and the Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau will help those businesses apply for Financial Assistance and get other information. Also, nbc 10 will let you know what happens as the pledge of allegiance is going on trial in Monmouth County today. An Atheist Group suing to cut the words under god out of the pledge for all School Students in new jersey. A judge in massachusetts threw out a similar lawsuit earlier this year. And well follow what Philadelphia City council is doing to make sure your Holiday Travel goes smoothly. Theyre holding a special hearing today to promote labor harmony at philly international. Airport workers have protested what they call low pay, unsafe working conditions and other problems. And hundreds of workers from another industry are getting ready to rally today. Well tell you about the protest planned in Atlantic City in response to the ongoing casino crisis there. Plus, our nbc 10 Team Coverage of this dangerous cold continues. Coming up at 5 45, well find out whats being done to protect the homeless in parts of the area. Bill . Temperatures are still falling right now. No sign of sunshine just yet. Its more than hann hour away. Still plenty of time for temperatures to reach record cold levels. 22 degrees here at nbc 10 at 5 38. Plunging temperatures this morning, challenging records. Right now pottstown is down to 19, 18 in doylestown and philadelphias at 23 degrees. But parts of the city right at 20 degrees. Roxborough, northeast philadelphias 23, and right along the Delaware River trail, 22 degrees right now. And the wind is blowing, not as strong as yesterday. Its down to 8 miles an hour in philadelphia, but when its this cold, you dont need much wind to make it feel like its in the teens. The windchill right now 14 degrees, 10 in trenton and 6 below in the pocono mountains. Well see lots of sunshine today, but most of the morning will be in the 20s. Its only this afternoon that well see temperatures peak into the 30s. 30s for today and then clouds later on tonight are going to help us stay a bit warmer tomorrow. Well see those clouds move in. Dont expect to see any wet weather with those clouds, but it will keep temperatures warmer tomorrow before another round of cold air moves in on friday. But this weekend, things are changing in a big way. Well see much warmer weather come our way over the weekend when theres a chance for some wet weather as well. The timing with the sevenday forecast when im back in less than ten minutes. All right, bill, thanks. It is 5 41 right now. First thing youve got to know is youve got to heat up the car, if you can. Go out, warm up the car, then go back, have another half a cup of coffee, then go back, then youll be all set. Now lets update you on the roads. If youre taking that coffee on the road, make sure its very well insulated, as we go down our checklist this morning. Also, make sure there are no problems on your route to work. Nbc 10s first alert traffic reporter jillian mele has you covered in that department. You probably cant help us with the coffee. I cannot help you with the coffee, but i can tell you, if you are headed out on the Regional Rail lines, youre going to want that warm coffee, especially the septa manayunk to norristown line, a delay of 15 minutes. This just in. And also, board all trains on the outbound platforms. Dont want you standing out there any longer than you have to this morning. Again, that information just came in, so wanted to pass that along. In a few minutes, ill update you on the new jersey turnpike problem. 5 42 right now. Show sidelined. This morning, the additional fallout from the Sexual Assault allegations facing bill cosby. Plus, money or mashed potatoes . The unique way one college town is letting students pay parking tickets. Skyforce10 following breaking news. This just into our newsroom on this cold morning. A live picture from germantown avenue and west pike street. He heres what happened. Our assignment editor heard a report of icing streets in the hunting park area of philadelphia. We knew there was no precipitation overnight, so we checked this out and we found an old water main break that had left water standing on the streets. And of course, in the cold, subfreezing weather, theres now ice. So, you can see some salt trucks are there on scene trying to thaw out the road and get that ice taken care of there so theres no problems when traffic picks up. Theres the salt truck there as a bus passes by. Were sending a ground crew now just to make sure everythings all right in that area. They should arrive around 6 00 a. M. Well have a live report. So, we have our first icing of the streets of this cold winter season. And we dont just have you covered in skyforce10, we have a team of reporters in pennsylvania, new jersey and delaware, helping you prepare for the deep freeze. Reporter im jesse gary in mt. Ephraim, camden county. Ive been talking to construction workers would have been working during the overnight and earlymorning hours. One thing they suggest to stay warm, dress in layers and dont move from outside to inside to try and warm up. That just makes it worse. Stay outside and tough it out. Reporter im nbc 10s Monique Braxton live in claymont, delaware. Ive been talking with drivers heading out this morning. The main thing they tell us as far as coping is be prepared. Reporter and im nbc 10s katy zachry live in southwest philadelphia at the aaa dispatch center, where they are dealing with one of the most common calls on a cold morning like this, dead batteries. Thats because batteries lose power in the cold weather. So, if you have a weak battery to begin with, your car may not start. If your battery is three years old or more, youre going to want to get it checked out by a mechanic. Can you imagine being homeless in this cold weather . This dangerous cold is especially hard on them. Our camera found a packed crowd last night at the coordinated Homeless Outreach center in norristown, montgomery county. Volunteers say they werent ready for temperatures this cold in midnovember. We have decembertype weather, and for it to happen this early kind of throws us off because, you know, were not prepared for these numbers that are going to be coming in due to code blue. And aside from serving up warm food, volunteers say another big part of their job is just convincing people on the streets to come to the shelter. And while we have to contend with dangerously cold temperatures, other parts of the northeast are dealing with snow. Look at that nbc 10s vai sikahema is live in our digital operations center. Vai, people in buffalo will be doing a lot of digging out today. Those drifts are high yeah, its amazing, tracy, what theyve got to live with, those folks. In fact, theyve already seen 4 feet of snow. And by this afternoon, theyre expecting round two. In fact, later today, theyre looking at possibly 6 feet of snow total. Another problem is the wind, which has caused whiteout conditions on the road. Meanwhile, in other news from across the country, this morning were hearing from bill cosbys lawyer about Sexual Assault allegations made by model and tv host janice dickinson. Dickinson claims that cosby drugged and sexually assaulted her back in 1982. Cosby has never been criminally charged in any case. Well, this is part of the statement that nbc news received from cosbys lawyer. This came this morning. It says dickinsons story accusing bill cosby of rape is a complete lie. She did an interview in 2002, completely contradicting her story. Meanwhile, tensions are still high in ferguson, missouri, as the wait continues for the grand jurys decision on the shooting death of michael brown. Gun dealers in the area are reporting a surge in gun sales there. A decision is expected any day now on whether the white Police Officer who shot and killed brown should be indicted. Well bring you that decision as it happens. Thats a look at news from around the country. Live in the digital operations center, vai sikahema, nbc 10. Happening today, workers, unionized casino workers are going to hold a protest on the Atlantic City boardwalk. Hundreds of workers protesting the decision by billionaire carl icahn, who holds the mortgage on the trump. He holds that mortgage and hes asking for 175 million in tax breaks to keep it open. The workers claim icahn is profiting while theyre being targeted for layoffs. And a new state casino license awarded in philadelphia yesterday will put a casino near the sports complex. And were getting mixed reaction to that decision. The live hotel and casino is slated for packer avenue in south philadelphia, where the holiday inn now is. Well, heres an artist rendering of the 425 million casino. It would take a couple years to build. It could be challenged in court. Some say it will be great for business, but others say neighborhoods will suffer. A lot of families and younger children. So, i dont know how the casinos are going to be with, like, a lot of drunk people out later at night. Not just more people, but more families moving down here to work at these places and stuff like that. I mean, its a nobrainer. The live casino and hotel plan beat out three other proposals. Now your nbc 10 first alert weather with meteorologist bill henley. Its a frigid start. Skies are clear and the temperatures are still falling this morning. Were watching them drop into the teens and 20s. This is the view from here at the nbc 10 studios. Nice and clear. Still a bit of a breeze blowing. The winds not as strong as yesterday, but an 8mileanhour wind at Philadelphia International makes 23 degrees feel like 14. 23 degrees. Were normally in the 40s at this hour this time of year. Snowmaking equipment, its been going nonstop in the pocono mountains, and why not . Take advantage of the cold air, where the temperatures are dropping to below the teens in the pocono mountains. Kennett square 19. 19 in chester springs, 21 in washington township, wrightstown and trenton. Farther north and west, look at shenandoah, close to the 2,000foot level, 10 degrees right now. 18 for coatesville, quakertown and doylestown. Bluebell is at 23 degrees. But in south jersey, vineland has found the teens this morning. 22 in newark and 22 in swedesboro and mt. Holly. A very cold start all around. Its going to be a slow warmup during the day. What we wont see any of today is any activity here on the radar screen. We are tracking some snow, lake effect off to the north and west, but those are snow showers that are moving through the midwest. Weve got wet weather on the way for our area, but its not going to be here until it gets warmer this weekend. 30s this afternoon. Very cold with winds up to 15 miles an hour. 30s will feel like theyre in the 20s even later today. Clouds move in tonight. Thats good news, because its going to keep us warmer tomorrow morning. 30s the overnight low, 44 tomorrow afternoon. Then the temperatures come back down on friday before we see the warming start over the weekend. After a cold start saturday morning, 43 degrees in the afternoon. Look what happens sunday, monday and tuesday. Much warmer weather ahead with a chance of showers later sunday and into monday. It is 5 52, and just a reminder, if you take the new jersey turnpike, there was that fiery accident last night that is still having an impact this morning. Still a huge mess. Lets get details from nbc 10s first alert traffic reporter, jill mian mele. Its the turnpike northbound near exit 8. We have the outer lane blocked. Take route 130 or route 9 to get around that. Heading into pennsylvania, 422 at route 29, thats the eastbound side, were starting to see some volume build but no big slowdowns just yet. Drive times indicating no delays out there. Seven minutes is what were seeing both ways between oaks and route 202. And we still have this problem on mass transit, septa manayunk to norristown line delayed 15 minutes and youre supposed to board on the outbound platforms between miquon and conshohocken. Theres a new way to settle unpaid parking tickets with the university of delaware. All it will cost is a couple of cans. Starting monday, non perishable food items can be donated to the food bank of delaware and count for 5 toward the cost of a ticket less than 30 days old. The food drive will run through december 12th. Start scrambling for those cans if you have unpaid tickets. Telephone intimidation. The phone call you need to be looking out for this morning. Plus, beard benefit. The local Police Department using some facial hair to help feed the hungry. Revealed through the work of its scholars and graduates. It has inspired strength and purpose. An enduring symbol of passion and excellence that is not static, but moves among us. A feeling. A shared experience, a reminder that we are connected for life. We are penn state, making our mark on the world. Four minutes before 6 00. Tonight is pay what you wish wednesday at the Philadelphia Museum of art. From 5 30 to 7 30, you can take part in the make stuff design challenge. You can sketch, knit, even build something made of legos. At 6 00, join the masterpieces tour and get a look at some of the museums greatest treasures. And then at 6 00, you can do yoga in the gallery. Practice your poses while surrounded by the museums selections. 5 57, time to go county by county now and look at some of the stories happening in your neighborhoods. Were starting in montgomery county, where officials are warning people about phone calls from convincing con artists trying to get your money. Authorities say those callers are posing as sheriffs deputies. Theyre trying to scam taxpayers with intimidating calls. During the calls, the scammers demand money for personal information. They also tell people the irs is coming after them for unpaid taxes or that there is an outstanding warrant for their arrest. Improving new jersey cities will be the focus of a mayors meeting in atlantic county. Senate president Steve Sweeney and mayors from across the state will meet at the Atlantic CityConvention Center this morning to talk about ways to reduce crime and improve infrastructures. Now to new castle county, delaware, where officers from the newark Police Department are getting a little scuffy for a good cause. The department is holding a best beard contest. Heres one of them. The public can vote by placing a food item next to your favorite officers name. Even a picture of an officers beard there, too. Those items will go to the food bank of delaware. Putting food on to the plates of hungry delawareans. Its going to impact the community we serve every day. Thats one of the reasons we chose this charity specifically, we wanted to have a local impact. Not only are they raising a lot of food, they get bragging rights. Theyre not usually allowed to have beards, so this is a rare opportunity for them to skip their morning shave. Well find out this morning if a Chester County attraction wins the best public restroom in america competition. Youre all on the edges of your seats. Your porcelain seats for this one. Longwood gardens in Kennett Square is among those trying to win. The winner is chosen on cleanliness, visual appeal and unique design elements. If you havent visited that restroom at longwood gardens, its pretty immaculate. You have to visit. And soon in the holidays theyll change over to their holiday display. Its so beautiful we dont do endorsements, but chris could absolutely do one for them, maybe a billboard. Thank you, chris. Youre watching nbc 10 news. Nnbc 10 news today at 6 00 a. Starts right now. Oh, youd better bundle up. Its a cold one. Todays temperatures could be one for the record books. Right now the temperature is in the 20s. It feels like Single Digits in parts of the area, and the cold is not going anywhere any time soon. Well get your first alert forecast, neighborhood by neighborhood. Good morning. This is nbc 10 news today. Im tracy davidson. And im vai sikahema. Lets get right to nbc 10 first alert meteorologist bill henley. Record lows in all 50 states, including hawaii and california and florida. Might as well just be here. There is no shortage of cold air, and its made its way into our area. Watching the temperatures get ever so close to record levels this morning. Theyve just dropped in the last few minutes another couple degrees in philadelphia. The wind, it is dying down. It is still present this morning. And the wind is going to be a factor this afternoon. It is a first alert day. Bitter cold to start with, near record low temperatures and a frigid breeze is blowing out of the west. 21 degrees now in philadelphia. Thats down two degrees in the last hour. Reading is down to 19 degrees. Both locations one degree away from the record. Factor in the wind, it feels like 11 in philadelphia and wilmington. Trenton 11 degrees. 6 degrees right now the windchill in allentown. A frigid start at the bus stop this morning. The suburbs in the teens. Center city at 21 degrees. It will be sunny,