Call 18003419716. An explosion an a high school in the bronx. Parts of the building crumbling, three people left seriously hurt. And investigators try to figure out what went wrong. Reporter were told the explosion took place during the course of some summer construction work happening inside one of the science labs on the 6th floor here at jfk high school in the bronx. Three workers were seriously injured and have serious burns as a result of that explosion. The blast was lloyd, and it was very large loud and it was very large. Everyone in the area could hear and feel it as well. The room i was in shook the whole room shook. Reporter People Living near john k. Kennedy high school were jolted by a blast inside the School Thursday night. We went outside, and my neighbors are, like, oh, my god, did you feel that . What was that . And right away we heard the sirens. There were picture posted to social media shows windows blown out of the 4th floor. At least three floors were heavily damaged by the explosion that happened just after 8 00. The emergency prompted a huge response from the Fire Department and the nytd. The mayor did make an appearance at the scene arriving around 10 00. Three construction workers, seriously injured. Well have an update momentarily on them. Very serious burns for those workers and our hearts go out to them and their families. Reporter friends nearby thought the worst when they first heard the loud boom. We thought it was a terrorist attack. We did not know what it was. What we see here a shocking scene of the sixth floor having a tremendous explosion. Reporter the mayor confirmed this was indeed a gas explosion. The cause of the explosion is still under investigation by coned. School is scheduled to start on september the 9th. Its unclear if that start date will now be delayed. Were keeping our eye on a storm moving in right now. Rain has already reached some western suburbs, and there are flash tlood concerns for the morning. The National Weather service is holding onto its Flash Flood Watch in effect for areas west of the city, until 9 00 am this morning. But we wouldnt be surprised if they dropped it a little bit earlier than that. Right now, heres the deal, steady rain falling for much of the area west of the city. Some stronger Activity Still in pennsylvania, but lifting up in the northeast early direction. So obviously more rain to come. Heres a closer look at whats happening out there. Very light rain. We expect this wet weather to make it closer to the city in the next couple of hours. What can you expect . This will be into the city between 3 00 am and 5 00 am. The bruntd of it. Pockets of arrive rain, and possibly some localized flooding for your morning commute. Okay, vanessa. Police are still searching for a man who left a woman badly burned after he threw chemicals in her face. The victim said she didnt know her attacker. Reporter 59yearold alexandera dyer is spending her second night here at the medical center. She has burns to her face and eyes. Very bad shes burned. Shes burned too much, you know . Reporter nelson peddila is dyers longtime boyfriend. He got the call from police saying she had been injured wednesday night. A man in his 30s approached her outside this building in queens and said can i ask you a question. He then threw a cup full of chemicals in her face. Officials at the Citys Department of Environmental Protection determined it was a substance similar to draino with a high ph level. She got in her car and attempted to drive away. But the burning was so bad she only got about 200 feet. She stopped the car, started screaming and someone passing by called 911. I whats happen . Somebody in trouble, chemical reporter dyer is the executive director of the healing arts initiative, a group that works with those facing social, mental, or physical challenges. She told police she did not know the man who did this to her and got away. Her boyfriend says her recovery could prove daunting. Shes in there two, three weeks, she dont do good. Maybe theyll have to operate the eyes, and operate the face. Reporter alexandera is still at the hospital. Police are looking for any leads to find that man who attacked and then took off. The painted topless women who parade around times square may soon have to hit the road. But they may not be the only ones. Tonight there is talk of taking away the pedestrian plazas. One possible solution to the problem. Reporter the pedestrian plazas in times square take up 30,000 square feet and cost tens of millions of dollars to install, stretching from 42nd street to 47th street. Motorists and drivers might like the Police Commissioners idea to rip up the mrazace. Others are not thrilled. Reporter one of the topless painted ladies of times square says posing for pictures pays the bills. And police dont half her. A lot of cops love me. [ laughter ] reporter she says she isnt feeling much love from new york citys top cop, who wants to curb out the plazas to stop the panhandling. Thats illegal. We have rights. Reporter the commissioner said we just dig it up and put back as a street again. The advantage of that is that it would eliminate this area where people just hang out. Reporter the mayor has created a task force to study the problem. And the commission seron that task force commissioner is on that task force. Thats a big endeavor. And like every other option, comes with pros and cons. Reporter Tim Thompkins with the Times Square Alliance is fuming. He says the city created the mrazace for safety reasons because overcrowded walks were forcing people into the streets. Snun how much its going to cost to rip them up . Do you know what a disruption it will be . It makes no sense reporter the Mayors Task Force is scheduled to release its findings by october 1st. A video of passengers sitting on the floor, and bags blocking xipts. Following exits. Following our story, they are announcing new guidelines. Theyre asking passengers to limit large bags. Notice luggage will be allowed in the aisles or doorways on friday. The Health Department says a legionnaires outbreak in the south bronx is over. It has identified the cooling tower at the Opera House Hotel as the source of the outbreak. 12 people died after contracting the bacteria. 127 people in all were diagnosed. Cooling towers can serve as breeding grounds for the bacteria. Last week the city passed new regulations for inspecting the towers. Former president jimmy carter talked for the first time today about his battle with brain cancer. I think i have been as blessed as any human being in the world. You can see the 90year upbeat. Doctors removed a melanoma from his liver earlier this month but later found four small tumors on his brain. The former president started treatment this afternoon. Doctors are using a new drug that helps his immune system find and destroy the cancer cells. So far he says he feels fine but will cut back on his work schedule. A monthlong slide on wall street picked up unexpected speed today. Stocks up to their biggest losses of 2015. The dow fell 358, dipping below 17,000 for the first time this year. The nasdaq experienced its biggest drop since april of 2014, falling below the 5,000 mark. Most of the drop came after a report from the central bank that pointed to worries about the global economy. A couple gets away with thousands of dollars in designer bags. And the search for a rob who are took off in a taxi. Everyone said dont do this. Local restaurants decide to let diners pick their price how you can get in on this deal before its too late. And look at this video bears cooling off in a new jersey backyard. Traffic weather tomorrow morning. And the new tool helping parents put their kids to sleep. Police want to find a couple who made an impressive getaway from a consignment shop. One of them with thousands of dollars in purses stuffed down their pants. Reporter wednesday afternoon this duo walks into penny pincher. Starts browsing. Five minutes in, you see the man look around. Then snatch this brown chanel bag worth more than 4,700. He passes it to his accomplice, she shoves it into her dress. A customer walks by. Next up, a black chanel bag worth nearly 5,000. Again it goes under her dress. The third, a 10,000 blue bergen bag. She immediately grabs a tote worth more than 4,200. And its off to the dressing room as the man engages the staff and buys a few shirts. More than 24,000 in her undergarments. Staffers say clearly these two are professionals considering they were undeterred by five employees, 13 cameras, and signs pointing out the cameras charismatic. She was friendly, trust. And he did a good job of it. Two of us were in the back working in the office on the computer. Appointments come in throughout the day. Reporter once the two left, the owner got a pit in her stomach. They figured it out in. Off this way. A Business Owner says he saw the pair get into a black honda with jersey plates and drive off. Consignment shops are sold to be on the lookout. The store actually upgraded and installed those hd cameras after the theft of a berkin in february. A woman was arrested. Police are looking into whether the pair is responsible for a similar robbery in july. Police in manhattan are searching for a bank rob who are took off in a yellow cab. They shared this photo. The nypd gave the teller a note and demanded cash he want got behind the wheel of a new york tax and he took off. He is wanted in at least six other bank rob reese. A major u. S. Theater chain is making some changes at the box office. Regal cinemas says it will start searching customers bags and backpacks. The new security measures follows recent deadly theater shootings. The Police Commissioner criticized the plan and says theaters need full security screenings. One new jersey customers is giving customers a break. The menu has no prices, allowing you to name your own reporter owner and chef of blue, and its more casual adjoining restaurant, called next door, in montclair, new jersey, are set to close on august 29th when their lease expires. He wanted a unique way to thank his customer for ten years of business. So hes been letting them pay whatever they want. Everyone says dont do this. People are going to take advantage of you. Reporter but he says its been quite the opposite. The people are leaving good money. As long as they get good food, they get to eat something as opposed to eating junk food. Reporter entrees at the fine dining restaurant that usually cost 28 to 35 have been sized down to smaller portions. We have had a few customers who came in and left, had four or five dishes, and only left 4. And we have had a few customers who gout four or five dishes and left 200. Reporter the toughest decision wasnt what to order but how to make sure they were paying fairly. I wish they would give us a bill. I feel more comfortable that way. Its really interesting. You can really decide whether you like it and what you want to pay for it. Reporter the chef tells us the concept has been so popular with his customers, he is even considering extending the lease of his restaurant for another month or two. New video of a startling find in a new jersey backyard. [ laughter ] bears in the pool the family in Rockaway Township couldnt resist shooting this video. A mama bear and her cubs decided to cool off in their backyard pool. They spent several minutes splashing around, playing with floats and on the slide. The two Young Children were a bit upset about their toys. And the pool get got some damage there. [ laughter ] lets look at our forecast [ laughter ] can you blame them . Its so hot and humid rain overnight, localized flooding. We dont think its going to be widespread. But definitely in the early, Early Morning commute umay raun runinto a you may run into a couple of problems. Its been a soggy stretch for those west of the city this evening. For some, its been raining all afternoon through the evening hours. So we actually have some significant rainfall totals already to discuss. Here we go, a quick gander at whats happened so far. One far west and northwest of the city is where weve seen most of the action so far. Thats where it will continue to rain pretty steadily, sometimes heavily through the overnight hour. In the city right now, mostly cloudy, and 80. We have southeast winds at 15 miles per hour. Did you know todays high in central park was 86 degrees . A little bit above the norm. But thats not what we want town. We want you to know we want you to know this. Today marked the 42nd day straight of 80 or above temps now, that sets a record. It hasnt been in the 70s since july 9th. And that day it was 79 degrees. So a new record set today. Most days at 80 or above. The satellite and radar, steady rain making its way north and northwest of the city. This is a front pushing off in the easterly direction. Note the drier air behind it tomorrow afternoon and for the day on saturday. Its going to be less humid, and well see a whole lot more sunshine. 2 30 looks like this, heavy rain, thunderstorms over the city, localized flooding possible at this point in time. By 6 30 am, close to that height of the morning commute, the line will be more east, heading over nassau and suffolk county. A decent start to the weekend. Tomorrow is 84 degrees by afternoon with sunshine. Again some localized flooding possible for the earlymorning commute. Saturday is looking good. Partly sunny skies and 83. Not humid. For sunday, 82, there is a chance of showers, especially east of the city on sunday. After, that whats to happen midweek next week, temperatures in the mid80s. And comfortable still, low humidity, not just saturday but also midweek next week. Thank you, vanessa. Oat sis here with a look at sports. Arod hit another bomb, but would it be another for a yankee victory . And Brandon Marshall, eric decker. Hopefully well get to see more of them tomorrow night. Feel like a kid again with dunkins new oreo and chips ahoy flavored coolatta and iced coffees. Classic cookie flavor in every sip. America runs on dunkin. The yankees were on the field tonight. And every game is so important if youre in that opinionate race pennate race. The indians in the bronx. Texeira showed off his bat with two home runs. The inning ending 36 run. Double play in the 1st. Ramirez comes up with the single to left. In the 4th arod gets the yankees on the board with a solo shot to left. His 26th of the year. 680th of his career. Beltran with the clutch single. Arod scores, and that makes it 32. With 2 outs, the tying and wing runs onbase. Thats all she wrote. Yankees lose 32, now. The mets will be in colorado to start a 3game series for the rockies who the mets were rooting for tonight as they finished up their series against the nationals. The rockies ben paulsen singles up the middle. 9th. Time for us to step aside for a minute. When we return, were going to preseason game. Look nar jet offense to play about a half tomorrow night against the falcons in preseason action. And maybe eric decker and Brandon Marshall will give us a preview of what well see out of that dynamic duo in the regular season. You always want that level of competitor on the other side. Hes going to be making plays. Defenses have to know where hes at. Ill have more matchups with him and everyone else whos out there. Its been amazing to have him. And it helps my game so much. Tom coughlin said its unlikely victor cruz will play saturday against the jaguars. Cruz suffered a calf strain on mondays practice. He didnt practice tonight but isnt concerned that strain will be a seasonlong problem. I want to play every day. But its up to the training staff. We are being cautious. Taking our time. Making sure were not doing anything out of the ordinary. The staff is being extremely diligent, and were taking our time. Rg3 knows a lot about injuries. The quarterback under pressure. He suffers another injury, smashed while trying to recover a fumble. Stayed down on the field for about five minutes. He left the game with a shoulder stinger and a possible concussion. On his eight pass attempt, he was hit three times, sacked three times, and fumbled twice. The rockies held on to beat the nationals. So the mets lead increases tonight. Whos protecting him . [ laughter ] yeah, they were missing one their studs on the offensive line. Jeez. And our best to victor cruz. Rooting for him. Yeah going to see him a lot still this season, i think. I dont want to live with the uncertainties of hep c. Or wonder. Whether i should seek treatment. I am ready. Because today theres harvoni. A revolutionary treatment for the most common type of chronic hepatitis c. Harvoni is proven to cure up to 99 of patients. Whove had no prior treatment. Its the one and only cure thats. One pill, once a day for 12 weeks. Certain patients. Can be cured with just 8 weeks of harvoni. With harvoni, theres no interferon and there are no complex regimens. Tell your doctor if you have other liver or kidney problems, or other medical conditions. And about all the medicines you take including herbal supplements. Harvoni should not be taken with any medicines containing amiodarone, rifampin, or st. Johns wort. It also should not be taken with any other medicine that contains sovaldi. Side effects may include tiredness and headache. I am ready to put hep c behind me. I am ready to be cured. Are you ready . Ask your hep c specialist if harvoni is right for you. Switch now, new york and get installed as early as today. Mom switched. We switched. I switched to Time Warner Cable and knew exactly when they were coming. Thanks to their 1 hour appointment window. For 89. 99 a month, youll get 100 meg internet, hundreds of hd channels, and unlimited calling to the u. S. , puerto rico, canada, mexico, china and india. And for a limited time, you could get a 300 reward card plus tv equipment and epix included. Get installed for free as early as today. Call 18003419716. Like our facebook page. Facebook. Com cbsnew york. Steven colbert is making his presence known on broadway. A huge sign featuring an image of the incoming late show host was put up on the corner near the ed sullivan theater. The comedian is less than a month away from his premiere episode. The late show debuts on september 8th. Right here on seeks 2. And thank you for joining us tonight. Coming up in one hour, the late late show with ben kingsley