at the receiving end of this onslaught of punches vented his anger to eyewitness news tonight, angered the alleged assailant was allowed to walk out of court today without posting a dime of bail. >> this individual did not hear you attacking the driver on a moving vehicle that you're jeopardizing the safety of everybody on that bus and outside that bus. >> reporter: a judge released 18-year-old thutmose clark on his own recognizance today, accused in the assault of the 62 -year-old driver. the driver says clark first pommeled him while the bus was in motion, approaching a stop at nostrand and avenue d in east flatbush. >> i now have to maintain control of this bus with one hand while fending him off with my right hand. >> reporter: then after the doors were opened, he got off the driver picked clark out of a lineup tonight. a judge siding with the team's mother who told joe torres her son is autistic and schizophrenic. >> i can't explain mental illness. it's just something that happens. and fortunately what happened happened. >> operators can't be victims because it's a public bus and if the operator is going to get attacked, what's going to happen to everyone else on the bus? >> we're live tonight at the jackie gleeson bus depot where this drurfb is -- where this driver is based. they're wondering why clark wasn't banned from riding the bus. clark is on 12 different types of medication. he was released to the custody of his mother. live in the sunset park section of brooklyn, josh einiger, channel 7 eyewitness news. new video at 11:00. another attack on an mta bus driver. watch this man board the bus in the belmont section. driver then punches him. he gets off then takes off. cops are hoping someone can identify this suspect. another random slashing in new york city this time in a neighborhood diner. a man walking in the restaurant 10 attacks. it happened at a diner in greenwich village. carolina leid at the subsequently with -- carolina leid at the scene with the developing story. >> the victim was slashed in the face. his injuries are not life-threatening but he is in serious condition at the hospital. witnesses here say they didn't see this one coming. >> reporter: the slashing happened here at silver spurs restaurant in greenwich village. workers say a man walked in to the business at the corner of laguardia place and east housten street asking for donations. when he was turned away he allegedly became very upset and slashed an employee. >> we were sitting inside eating and all of the sudden we saw cops come from everywhere and someone was screaming. people were screaming. >> reporter: the victim, a man, to get treatment for his injuries. splatters of blood on the sidewalk, a sickening reminder of what happened tonight. >> this is very shocking. i live in the neighborhood. this is really, really shocking. >> we just saw police leave the scene about 15 minutes ago after doing an extensive investigation. the suspect is still on the loose. reporting live in greenwich village, carolina leid, channel 7 eyewitness news. first look tonight at the young man and woman accused of assaulting a tourist and then skull. 25-year-old robert anderson and 19-year-old teresa thorson charged with felony assault. he sucker-punched the tourist at terminal. the victim knocked unconscious school. no city in the country with a bigger bullseye on its back than new york. officials battling president federal funding by 50% for antiterrorism programs in new york. u.s. senator chuck schumer saying the drastic cut makes no sense. the white house dismissing his remarks as wrong. president obama is about to do something only one sitting president has done before. visit cuba. mr. obama will fly to the island nation next month, capping more than a year of breaking down barriers between the u.s. and cuba. aj ross in union city known as havana on the hudson because of its large cuban population. >> this is stunning and exciting news for some cuban americans i spoke with tonight. we're hoping this monumental trip will have lasting ripple effects in the days, months, and years ahead. >> reporter: following decades of tension between the u.s. and cuba, sources with abc news confirmed president obama will make a historic trip to the communist island nation next month, marking the first visit by a sitting u.s. president in sources say a national security council member will make the official announcement during thursday's white house briefing where further details about the trip taking place march 21st and 22nd will be outlined. >> i'm cuban. i'm here for 20 years. my mom and brother are still there. that's good. >> i think that's a good thing because i think it's been a long time waiting for the people, the cuban community. >> reporter: the unexpected announcement thrilled local cuban-americans who say they're hoping this is the first of many historic changes to come. >> all the cubans around here, we need change. for 40 years we need change. we need people with different ideas. >> reporter: for the past 15 months diplomatic relationships between the two nations have been markedly improving with opening of embassies last summer commercial flights. while there's still much more progress to be made between bridging the longstanding gap, many agree the president's visit is a monumental leap forward. the last sitting president to visit cuba was calvin coolidge in 1928. aj ross, channel 7 eyewitness news. now to vote 2016 and a potentially game changing poll out tonight showing a new frontrunner for the republican nomination but just by a hair. ted cruz climbing to the number one spot, edging out donald trump according to the wall street journal nbc news poll. he and trump just two points apart basically in a statistical dead heat with marco rubio in third place. marco rubio just picked up a major endorsement which could swing this weekend's primary in his favor. south carolina governor nikki haley officially endorsing rubio. she has an 81% approval rating among south carolina and things are just as tight on the democrats' side. hillary clinton still in the lead but now just by two points as the two campaigns head in to pivotal contests in nevada, south carolina, in a string of super tuesday states on march 1st. new tonight the nypd now searching for a man in an armed robbery spree around manhattan taking money from women. police releasing this video of the man they say they're looking for. they say he's hit five times since january telling women he has a gun and demanding catch. fortunately none of the women was injured. grainy surveillance images new and critical clues tonight in the search for a predator to brooklyn. the suspect tried to lure a 14-year-old girl yesterday as she was walking home from her yeshiva in sheepshead bay. the man put her arm around her and wouldn't let go. she pulled her arm free and the man took off. an investigation finally solved tonight. a suspected serial killer now prosecutors tonight tell us recently re-examined dna evidence shows robert zarinsky sexually assaulted and murder mary klinsky. zarinsky died in prison in 2008. he was serving a life sentence in another teenager's murder and was awaiting trial for allegedly killing a 13-year-old girl. pope francis on his way back to rome after a five-day trip to mexico. before he left the pontiff tonight taking his message to the u.s. border. before leading an open air mass, the pope prayed at the northern border. this is in juarez where thousands of migrants have died trying to reach the u.s. he called for an end of the human tragedy that has forced migration. bill cosby filing a lawsuit against the woman whose sexual assault accusation a decade ago. he's filing against andrea constand. drugging and molesting her in 2004. cosby's lawyers aren't commenting about the allegations in it. new tonight, a hospital hacked. we'll tell you why the hospital actually paid the hackers. >> a dog falls through ice in to a pond. the rescue, well, it will melt your heart. >> coming up, how to save money on your next home heating oil bill. what one long island mother of four did that will keep a thousand dollars in her wallet this year. th a soccer player on the run tonight from police accused of murdering a referee during a match. the 48-year-old referee working a neighborhood game in argentina when he ejected the player. cops say the player left the field, got a gun from his bag and shot the ref several times. president of turkey tonight vowing to track down the deadly bombing in that country's capital. the car bomb killed 28 people and hurt dozens of others. they attacked targeted buses carrying military personnel. the buses were waiting at a traffic light when the blast went off. no group so far has claimed responsibility. a hospital paying up tonight after its computer system got hacked. the executive at the hospital in los angeles said it paid ransom in bit coins equivalent to about $7,000. officials at the hospital say this was the quickest and most efficient way to get control of its system back. the fbi says it's investigating. a picture may be worth a thousand words but tonight a powerful image of a sonogram is proving to be priceless. the sonogram going viral on social media tonight. it shows an unborn baby in kansas can severe medical issues holding the hand of his unborn twin sister. the much smaller twin has a hole in his heart. it's unsure if he'll survive but the twins' parents say it is sister a month after they bought the winning numbers of that record setting powerball drawing a couple in florida who once lived in long island now claiming 1/3rd of that billion-and-a-half-dollar jackpot. david and maureen choosing the lump sum payout of $327 million. smith says the winning numbers are ones she's played for years. couple kept it a secret for a month. both said they lost sleep and dave lost 10 pounds. an extreme makeover starting tomorrow for new york's once bor especially -- borish pay phones. the stations include a tablet computer, free wi-fi, free nationwide calling, two usb charging points and quick to city services, maps, and directions. with the price of oil dropping lower and lower, plenty of people around here with fixed heating oil contracts are trying to take advantage of lower prices. one long island customer got how she's set to knock nearly a thousand dollars off her annual oil bill. >> reporter: pattie stillwagon saved a bundle by asking her oil provider to match a competitor's price. >> they had $1.99 a gallon. i'm paying close to $3 a gallon now and my contract was almost up. >> reporter: she called pitro which allowed the long-time customer to break the contract giving her the rock bottom price. savings on her last fill-up, $244 and her in at a lower price. she was at $3.16 for a gallon. now she'll pay $2.09. >> reporter: in westchester consumers can log on to the county website and compare. this oil price tracker shows what area providers are charging every week. >> to understand what price you're paying and what price you can or should be paying. >> i think the consumer should know what's really out there be able to really feel it out. >> reporter: eddie says his company will match any long-term service provider price. but you have to ask. in pattie's case, the question really paid off. >> if you don't call and you don't ask, you're never going to get it. >> reporter: nina pineda, channel 7 eyewitness news. a wayward dog lost in a storm tonight back home. but only after a dramatic rescue. >> all the way up. all right. >> firefighters pulling sky to safety today after he spent two days down a 14-foot sinkhole in pennsylvania. he fell in during a snowstorm monday. sky was a bit shaken up during the ordeal but fortunately was not hurt. meanwhile another dog rescue. this time in virginia after a dog broke through the ice of a frozen lake. firefighters using a ladder to get out to the dog. they grabbed the scared pooch, trying to get it on to the it on to shore. two dog rescues for you. both dramatic, both with good endings. >> always nice. we've got amy freeze in for lee goldberg. did i hear a mention of possibly snow coming up around the corner? >> yes. there's a few showers scattered and isolated west of the city but there's a major storm next week and that's one we'll be talking about down the stretch. we've got a few bumps in the roller coaster ride. what a beautiful night. temperatures falling near freezing. we're currently at 35 in central park. winds are picking up. northwest winds about 8 to 12 miles per hour. the wind chills are a factor. right now as temperatures start to get near the freezing point we've got a little bit of wind out there making it feel even colder. these numbers, these wind chill feels like temperatures will be in the single digits to low to mid teens by tomorrow morning. maybe you're letting the jacket open here last 24 hours or so and gloves, you'll need them back tomorrow. weekend outlook does take us to 60 degrees. bit of a spring preview, then a storm next week. cold is making a comeback tonight. on the radar and satellite picture accutrack showing streamers coming off the lake. they've been producing light snow showers in some areas but it hasn't been a big deal. another shower north of 287. it will be about it for the rest of the night. not a big deal with the snow but worthy of a mention especially if you have to travel. watch the wind chills right through tomorrow afternoon. they're in the teens and 20s despite temperatures getting in to the mid 30s. we'll start to see the winds ease back up on friday. although temperatures are still below 40 degrees on friday, it will start to feel a little better. then the surge is on. warm air coming in for saturday and sunday to take our temperatures. 10 to 15 degrees above average. practically doubling what we're going to by saturday. looking at the futurecast here, not a lot of warmup precipitation. between now and early next week even over the weekend likely very little precipitation sunday night as a small disturbance comes in. it will really be tuesday in to wednesday that we see our next chance for a wintery mix and possibly accumulating snow. below freezing, teens in the suburbs, 27 in the city. very cold start. real feel will be in the teens. 37 on thermometers but you'll want to bundle up throughout the day. here's the accuweather 7-day forecast. saturday and sunday temperatures going above the 50-degree mark. there's a difference in the days though. for saturday it will be a little breezy even though temperatures get near 60. then the winds cutback as another weather system comes in and the low 50s actually feel very mild. it will be sunny to start the week, 50 degrees. this is what we're talking about right here. the potential for a winter storm tuesday in to wednesday. right now the big question mark is of course the track. we know it will be coming up the east coast but do we get in to could potentially give us accumulating snow? that will be a wait and see. cold in the week. then temperatures going up. in fact looking at 57, that sounds pretty comfortable but i think sunday afternoon you may feel even more warmth because the winds will certainly pull back and we'll have the around. buckle up. it's going to be a nice little ride. >> spring fling sounds nice on the weekend. new health information. pregnant over 40, the health risks that could cost you later in life. also, teddy bears pulled out of a car by cops. why two women got in trouble by a valentine's day crime. first let's check in with our pal jimmy kimmel. >> hello, new york. tonight megan fox, ben mckenzie, chris stapleton, and a review of new tonight, two bears rescued from a couple of stuffed bandits. dashcam video shows detectives pulling two giant teddy bears from the back of a car in wisconsin. two women stole the bears along with chocolates from a local drugstore. in tonight's health alert, another consideration for women who plan to have children later have babies at the age of 40 or older are at higher risk of having a stroke or developing heart disease. research showed a woman's risk of a brain bleed doubled if they had children later in life. but they say the overall risk of brain bleeds remained small. >> that's the good news. rob powers up next with sports. >> been a fun fun week. it continues. it all starts tomorrow in florida. we have plenty to get us through the night at home. the rangers get their captain back on the ice just in time to face the defending stanley cup champ. would it be enough? this is the face of addiction. addiction doesn't discriminate. alcohol smoking weed pills crack k2, spice acid cocaine heroin this is also the face of hope. addiction is a disease. help is available. visit the new york state office of alcoholism i think we should've taken a left at the river. tarzan know where tarzan go! tarzan does not know where tarzan go. hey, excuse me, do you know where the waterfall is? waterfall? no, me tarzan, king of jungle. why don't you want to just ask somebody? if you're a couple, you fight over directions. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. oh ohhhhh it's what you do. hockey? oh, we have hockey tonight. >> be a good time to get a good win tonight at home for the rangers. they've been on a roll especially at the garden. so this battle with the defending stanley cup champions set up nicely. the blackhawks, rangers, third place in their respective conferences. ryan mcdonagh was on the ice. rangers scored three. dan boil put the rangers ahead in the 3rd period. that made it 3-2, all seasons go. three big goals. for the rangers, one big loss. they're at toronto tomorrow. yank pitchers and catchers at spring training tomorrow. laura behnke will report live for us from tampa. met pitchers and catchers reported to port st. lucie today. physicals tomorrow. ready to make this another big season. >> from my standpoint it's just the quality of the team. i think i really haven't been this upbeat about a team in a long time and i think that's exciting. the nba schedule picked up after the all star break tomorrow. knicks and nets play against each other friday. trade deadline 3:00 tomorrow. knicks back in practice today. lost 10 of their last 11 before the break. there's plenty to work out. rookie chrisops porzingis could not wait. he was at the facility yesterday by himself. >> i need to go visit my church. so i came here and moved a little bit around by myself. no noise, no nothing. just by myself. >> hard to remember he's a rookie. st. john's winless in the big east. high hopes here for a red storm conference win losing streak. eli king, 25 points. good game, second half. st. john's pushes ahead. federico off the bench to score 17. all of them came in the 2nd half. deron johnson, 18 points. st. john's wins it 80-65. first win since mid december. first conference win ever for coach mullen. seton hall pirates, isaiah whitehead, big night for him. here's an assist to desi rodriguez. then check out the assist to angel delgado. a winner at georgetown, 72-74. we wrap things in the america east, stony brook at albany. 18 straight wins. longest winning streak in the nation. could secure the outright conference title with a win the great danes haven't lost at home. 82-70. albany wins. streak ends at 18. that was the longest current winning streak in the nation. join the conversation. amy says remember to wear your coats tomorrow. >> shorts on saturday. >> i can't wait for saturday. it's like a spring fling. >> can i wear my flip-flops? >> yes, push the envelope. >> jimmy kimmel is next. eyewitness returns tomorrow morning at 4:30. for all of us here, have a great >> announcer: from hollywood it's "jimmy kimmel live"! tonight, megan fox, from "gotham", ben mckenzie, and music from chris stapleton, with cleto and the cletones, and now, like last time, here's jimmy kimmel! [ cheers and applause ] >> jimmy: hi, everybody. i'm jimmy.