a flood advisory until 6:00 a.m. good morning, i'm lori stock. >> i'm ken ross say the take. -- rosato. you are never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic and bill evans. >> the temperature this morning, looking at in the 70s. 73 around the five boroughs. 72 kingston and poughkeepsie. 75 newark. 75 long island and out to montauk. 72, 73 down the shore. flood advisory in effect for the five boroughs. there are the urban areas of new jersey, too. union, hudson county. it will be a day where we find rain across the area heavy up the hudson river valley, jersey shore, coastal connecticut and across long island. lightning strikes just south of coney island. that will run right in to fire island in nassau county in the next hour. back to the west there is more rain to come during the day today. it's a rainy day all day long. the heaviest will be this afternoon starting around 1:00 through the evening commute. heather o'rourke is looking at the commute. this is why we do weather and traffic every seven minutes. >> on a day like this, this is why you use mass transit. we will head to the mass transit chart and i can tell you that all the mass transit systems are on or close to schedule. no major problems, long island railroad, metro north, new jersey transit. g trains a rail condition at hoist street. expect downtown delays as a result. new england thruway an accident by 18-e, mamaroneck avenue. garden state parkway northbound near exit 150, earlier accident has been cleared away. alternate side of the street parking rules are in effect today. ken, over to you. >> thank you. we have new details in a dramatic incident involving a former tennis star and he was mistaken, apparently, for an identity they have by the nypd. >> james blake said he was roughed up and put in handcuffs out of a hotel in manhattan. one officer has been placed on modified assignment. dray clark is live with the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: good morning, lori and ken. james blake a harvard educated step nice star was taken down by a man who he says did not initially identify himself as a police officer. we have learned internal affairs has reviewed video of the incident and it's clear cops arrested the wrong man and the officer involved in the arrest has been placed on modified duty. the incident happened around 11:00 as blake was waiting outside the hotel for a courtesy car to drive him to the u.s. open. he said the police officer in plains clothes rushed him, slammed him to the ground and placed him in handcuffs. the officer apparently believed blake was a suspect in an identity theft case. police say the officers have been investigating a case of illegally purchased cell phones when an informant pointed out blake and one other man as a suspect. but 15 minutes after black's arrest, a retired police officer, who just happened to be passing by and recognized blake told the officers they had blake said he is upset about the arrest and the police commissioner says he has every right to be upset. >> it shouldn't happen. it's something that we will deal with with the police and find out what they have to say internally. hopefully there is video and people can see what happened. >> it's disturbing. the nature of what he described is not what we are supposed to do. >> reporter: blake said he did receive cuts and bruises as a result of what he described as a tough take down. we should mention police did arrest two other men connected to the investigation but it's clear that blake do with that case. live in midtown, dray clark, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> wow. thank you very much, dray. breaking news in japan. severe flooding is leaving people stranded on their rooftops and on the upper floors of apartment buildings. look at this incredible video just in to our newsroom. helicopters plucking dozens of people to safety. this is not just in some rural area. this is north of tokyo. rescuers say they can't just keep up with all the calls for help that they are getting. hundreds of thousands of people life in the area. japan has been hit with two solid days of heavy rain causing a river to burst its banks. homes and rivers being destroyed as the water rages through the streets. one woman we are told is missing after a landslide hit several homes. officials say more than a dozen people were hurt, at least two seriously. stay with eyewitness news for updates on this still breaking story. back at home, department of environmental protection spent much of the night pumping out water in the south beach section of staten island. april fierce storm left drivers stranded on roads the way. residents -- roadways. residents say it is a recurring issue with the storm system there. one neighbor caught this video of a man stranded on top of his car as water rushed inside his and nearly a dozen other vehicles parked on the street. i looked outside and i see a guy stuck in the middle on top of his car. i was like how did it happen so quick. >> i lost five cars. if there is a thunderstorm, everybody is trying to get cars off th block. talks about resume between representatives of a school bus company and members of a union representing drivers in order to avoid a possible school bus strike on long island. three districts in suffolk county will be affect. middle country, commack and north port school districts. 1200 bus drivers are demanding higher wages. most are getting $13 an hour or less. federal mediators began meeting with union members and school bus officials yesterday afternoon. right now they remain deadlocked. new this morning, the search is on for a man behind a series of bank robberies in plan man. the suspect was caught by surveillance cameras during a robbery in chase bank in midtown last friday. he took off with more than $2,800 from the teller. investigators say that he has hit up two other banks this week including an hsbc yesterday afternoon in the flatiron district. he got a with with nearly $2,000. opponents of the iran nuclear deal denounced it outside the u.s. capitol as they face almost certain defeat in congress. hillary clinton lent her support to the president's plan. the senate debate underway with republicans ripping into the deal and democrats saying there is no sound alternative. >> never, ever, in my life have i seen any transaction so incompetently negotiated as our deal with iran. >> and >> is it perfect? of course not. no agreement like this ever is, but is it a strong agreement? yes, it is. and we absolutely should not turn it down. >> the senate debate on the deal is in motion. mitch mcconnell complained that the deal would leave iran on the edge of developing a nuclear weapons while it pockets billions of dollars. on to the refugee crisis. the united states is ready to increase the number of refugees that it resettles by 5,000 next year. that would raise america's worldwide quote to to 75,000. the battle over migrant quote takes is splitting the 28 nation union. many hope to settle in wealthy nations like germany and sweden. a number of eastern european and baltic states have vowed to reject any kind of quote takes. there is attorney at the vatican over the -- concern at the vatican over the level of security. the secret service and nypd want to build a wall down 5th avenue and require admission tickets to central park when pope francis motorcade goes by. the pope's u.n. ambassador tells eyewitness news pope francis made his wishes clear. he wants to greet the crowds and be close to the >> he wouldn't love the walls, even security people know that. we have told them that the holy father wants to reach out as much as he can. that's where in lies his charisma and the people, the love of the people for him. >> nypd says protecting pope francis will be one of the most monumental challenges in the modern history of policing. eyewitness news is your go to source for information on the upcoming papal visit on air and online. if you need information on tickets, public transportation, road closures and more, it's on our web site, abc7ny.com/pope. you are never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic. bill evans with the forecast. >> folks have umbrellas. ponding at the intersections. that you will be facing today everywhere. here is another view of that, of our corner of the world here, 66th at columbus avenue. looking at rain off and on through the day. temperatures are going to be mild but it will be quite humid and soupy through the day. heavy rain falling now with lightning strikes in northern nassau county, on the northern state of the l.i.e. lightning strikes to the south of fire island, coney island, brighton beach into long beach, the five towns and the south shore of long island. 95, up the threw heavy rain there and more to the west. it's an off and on day of very heavy rain and flooding at about any point. that's why a flood advisory is in effect now. lunchtime temperature 76. the afternoon about 80. thunderstorms develop and become heavier this afternoon and into this evening. i don't know how much tennis they play at the open unless they are in boats. i guess that becomes water polo, then doesn't it, heather. >> it does, absolutely. let's go to some webcams. bill, you were discussing the rain coming through the south shore of long island. this is the southern state parkway. you saw that lightning strike happen. the wind is whipping as well. northern state parkway, near routes 106-107 where the flooding occurs frequently. i will keep my eye on this throughout the morning. let's go to the maps. exit 18 b an accident involving a jackknifed tractor in may moron neck. leader you -- mamaroneck. long island railroad, metro north, new jersey transit doing okay. on the new jersey turnpike earlier accident has been cleared. alternate side of the street parking rules are in effect. >> thank you. still ahead on "eyewitness news this morning," authorities make a call to address the growing violence in brooklyn and release new details in the shooting of an aide to governor cuomo during the festival. >> flames reduce the largest biker bar in the world to rubble. how authorities are investigating the cause. >> crews in new jersey believe they know what sparked a massive wildfire. stay with us. investigators in new jersey say they figured out what sparked a huge wildfire that charred more than a thousand acres of forest. authorities say improperly disposed charcoal brow cheats caused the fire monday then quickly spread to a heavily forested area. the fire is 100% contained. >> meteorologist bill evans joining us with the accuweather forecast. four time's square, the visibility is reduced in spots. normally you can make out staten island in the distance past one world trade but that is not possible with the rain that is falling. today you will have this kind of look. streets and sidewalks that are wet. this is in front of our studios. you will have ponds on area intersections and things. this will only get worse. showers already. 1/2 inch in the park. more through the day today. maybe as much as two inches common around the area. 73, high humidity. wind west at 7. pressure steady. that is below our mark of generally fair weather. atmosphere is unstable. yesterday the high was 90. made it the third official heat wave of the summer. second heat wave in september. can you believe that. that happened this time, first time ever. 77 the normal high. there is the half inch of rain we had this morning. not much of a sunrise or sunset. the downpours through the day can cause flooding. clearing and less humid tomorrow. great start to the weekend. showers saturday night. a couple of showers on sunday. some of the visibilities are reduced to three quarters of a mile. they look okay. this will come and go. heather will talk about this. it slows things down at the airports. 74 hauppauge, massapequa. 73, 74 down the shore. winds are out of the north and northeast here. flood advisory for the five boroughs of new york city, western nassau and urban areas of new jersey for this batch of rain moving through now. flood advisory remains -- be advised there could be flooding at roadways. some of these downpours are heavy. they are just to the south of long island, moving into fire island and south of the l.i.e. you see the lightning strikes at hempstead. where there is lightning, there is heavy downpours of rain and more to come off to the south and west. our futurecast will show just that. rainfall amounts, you see, have you been mostly heaviest in the park. the match goes through this morning then a break midday. watch the afternoon. heavy rain around 3:00, 4:00 through the evening commute and into tonight tapering to showers. showers and storms, some heavy, flooding possible. temperature 80. allow extra travel time. you got to have your patience and rain gear. heavy rain 25eu7 percent to showers. this will end after midnight. then we have sunshine, low humidity,ing great day on friday. frauds we are looking at, you -- friday we are looking at sunshine then late in the day showers. there might be a couple of showers on sunday and 77 degrees. i know heather is excited because rutgers plays at 3:30 on saturday. there is rutgers football. she went to school there. >> is that right. i didn't know that. >> if she got cut, she bleeds scarlet red. >> no one else does. >> she has the big blanket over there, too. >> yes, i do. >> she let's me borough it. >> could you wash it please. >> of course i wash it. yes. every week i bring it home. i understand a lot of other people use it as well. the new england thruway jackknifed tractor trailer originally reported by 18 b but it's exit 8, pelham parkway. two lanes are closed down. l.i.e. west at maurice avenue two lanes are closed as well. long island railroad doing okay. metro north, new jersey transit, path trains are fine. g trains a rail condition near hoist. expect downtown delays. tappan zee no surprise they dropped the speeds to 45. throgs neck okay. rfk triboro bridge that is construction set up. new england thruway, that is the biggest problem. we will keep our eye on that. new video showing flames tearing through a biker bar in south dakota. the full throttle saloon gutted after the fire broke out tuesday spreading to an adjoining distillery filled with grain alcohol. the bar bills itself as the largest biker bar in the world. the cause is under investigation. police in michigan say a hit and run driver deliberately ran down and killed a newlywed firefighter. dennis roadman died last night in lansing. he was hit yesterday while collecting money for a charity in the middle of a road. the driver is expected to face murder charges. police say there was a traffic altercation before he was hit. a former marine was just married in july. eric adams will hold an emergency meeting to address violence at and around celebrations earlier this week. this comes after the nypd released a sketch of a man that they believe shot and critically hurt an aide to governor cuomo. this is the man. they say he is 19 or 20 years old with a jamaican flag around his neck the night of the shooting. governor cuomo's aid, carey gabay was shot in the head sunday night. a new jersey woman awaits sentencing after pleading guilty to giving a deadly silicon injection. she is expected to spend time in prison. rivera could be her native jamaica. coming up on "eyewitness news this morning," historic artifacts that document an important part of american history head back home after a major project to ensure their safety. >> we continue to follow breaking news overseas. flood disaster is unfolding in japan. homes are being washed away. you are never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic here on "eyewitness news this morning." good thursday morning. an accuweather alert day. let's go to the radar. heavy rain from the hudson river valley, rockland, westchester county down to the city with lightning strikes on the l.i.e. at hempstead. we can take you there and you can see in the neighborhood of hempstead those pins that you see, that is the lightning strikes in the neighborhood just to the north of the l.i.e. well, there will be more of those lightning strikes across long island this morning. temperatures are quite mild. look at the rainfall we expect to get today later on. 2, 3 inches of rain. the heaviest later on this afternoon. look at the computer model. computer models are for guidance only. two inches of rain. today is the day to give yourself extra time, take it slow, drive carefully. avoid the new england thruway northbound at exit 8 which is pelham parkway. a jackknifed tractor trailer that is being worked on. l.i.e. west near maurice avenue that is an accident. two lanes are blocked off as a result. we have alternate side of the street parking rules in effect. artifacts are moved from ellis island after superstorm sandy are being returned now that a museum upgrade has been completed. more than a million documents and thousands of artifacts that were in storage will be returned today t. the project to protect the museum from future storms has been completed. the 39 million-dollar project should be restored by next month. we are closing in on 5:00. just ahead on "eyewitness news this morning," we have new information on the case of mistaken identity that is getting folks talking across the tri-state. what lead a police officer to tackle former tennis pro james black and what the nypd is doing about it this morning. >> happening today, a new push to increase the minimum wage from where it is now to a full $15 an hour. not just new york city but the entire state. welcome to fort green sheets. welcome to castle bravestorm. it's full of cool stuff, like my second in command... and my trusty bow. and free of stuff i don't like. and in my castle we only eat chex cereal. chex cereal. it's full of delicious crunchability. no artificial flavors, and it's gluten-free. and that's something even my brother ... sister can understand. mom, brian threw a ball in the house! anything. anywhere. anytime. anyone. spread the delicious taste you know and love. hershey's is mine, we have new information in the case of mistaken identity that lead an nypd officer to tackle james blake. the nypd took action against one >> breaking news overseas. catastrophic flooding hit japan literally ripping homes off the foundation. this is north of tokyo leaving people stranded on rooftops. >> heavy rain is falling in our area. a flood advisory is in effect. we have weather and traffic weather and traffic updates. >> happening today, governor cuomo's effort to increase the minimum wage throughout new york state is getting a big boost by vice president joe biden. friday eve and meteorologist bill evans with the exclusive accuweather forecast. >> good morning, everybody. our wet streets and roads will be covered with water through the day today at varying points. flooding today and at some point a greater portion of our area, of the tri-state, connecticut, new york, new jersey. you will find yourselves looking at flooding around. a flood advisory now for the five boroughs, western long island, western nassau county and urban areas of new jersey for this batch of rain right now. flood advisory means flooding on streets, highways, poor drainage areas, lightning strikes around hempstead, l.i.e. and nassau county. big batch of rain working its way through the area today. we call it drain strain for the afternoon. flood advisory, rain building through the afternoon. heaviest rain this afternoon and this evening. two inches of rain possible. much needed rain. we are 7 inches short. how is this affecting the ride. this is affecting the ride. slow down. take a look at a map. traveling on to the new england thruway northbound near exit 8, pelham parkway, a jackknifed tractor trailer. two lanes are closed down. i wouldn't be surprised if they clear it all down to clear it away. long island railroad, metro north, new jersey transit trains on or close. tappan zee bridge speeds down to 45 miles per hour because of the weather. street cleaning rules are in effect. lori, over to you. >> thank you. an investigation is underway by the nypd after former tennis pro james blake was tackled outside his hotel in a case of mistaken identity. there is surveillance video of the arrest. eyewitness news reporter dray clark is live in midtown with new information on the move by the nypd after looking at that video. dray? >> reporter: good morning, lori. james blake has his version of what happened and the officers have theirs but the surveillance video was clear and makes it plain that officers arrested the wrong guy. now the question is, was excessive force used in the arrest. police won't go into any detail regarding what that surveillance video shows. but james blake, a retired tennis star, was standing outside the grand hyatt hotel in midtown yesterday morning waiting for a car to drive him to the u.s. open when he said a police officer in plain clothes rushed him, slammed him to the ground and placed him in handcuffs. police say the officers were investigating a case of fraudulently purchased cell phones when an informant pointed out black as a possible suspect. a retired police officer that saw the arrest said you have the wrong guy because blake is a retired professional tennis player once ranked fourth in the world. then the police realized they had the wrong guy in custody. blake is very upset about the arrest and he wants an immediate apology. >> have you had any conversation with them at all. >> not yet. >> what would you like to hear from them. >> an apology. >> i won't tolerate any type of excessive use of force in my police. the first story is never the last story. >> reporter: now, internal affairs has taken a look at several surveillance cameras. by our own estimate we count four outside the hotel. they have seen the video and they say it makes it cell clear that blake had nothing to do with the case. the officer involved in the arrest has been placed on modified duty. meanwhile, blake says he received cuts and bruises as a result of what he describes as a tough take down. the entire incident remains under investigation. live in midtown, dray clark, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> dray, thank you. we are following breaking news in japan where severe flooding is causing major damage just outside of tokyo. now, this video just in to the eyewitness news room shows families huddled together on rooftops. military helicopters are rescuing people stranded in the flooding. heavy rain has been falling in the region for the last two days causing a river to overflow and send water through the city streets. dozens of homes have been ripped off their foundations. at least 15 people were hurt. two of them seriously. stay with eyewitness news for updates on this breaking story. >> amazing. thank you, lori. happening today, governor cuomo will expand his push for a $15 minimum wage throughout the entire state of new york. the vice president is joining him. eyewitness news reporter kala rama is live in manhattan's west side. she has the details for us. good morning, kala. >> good morning, ken. that's right. the governor is expected here at the jacob javits center about a big announcement for hourly workers with joe biden expected to be here later this afternoon here. governor cuomo is expected to propose a $5 minimum wage for all hourly workers across the board. the $15 minimum would have to be approved by state legislature lead by republicans who are expected to resist and have in the past. some businesses have already responded saying a higher wage would lead to layoffs. you may remember governor cuomo approved the fast food worker increase earlier this year through a wage board. the current state minimum is 8.75 an hour. that is going up to $9 at the end of the year. we heard the governor say it is not possible to live on that amount of money in the state of new york and in his words he is calling out corporate agreed at its worst. >> it's polarizing society. it's corporate agreed at its worse. it's a minimum wage that doesn't work. it has to stop and it has to stop right here and it will in the state of new york. >> vice president joe biden will be here around 1:30 this afternoon to join the governor. the white house is in support wage. we haven't heard much about $15. it will be interesting later this afternoon. live on the west side, kala rama, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> this morning friends and family of a brooklyn woman killed in a hit and run are pleading for the driver to come forward. night. she was thrown from a motorcycle that lost control on the westbound belt parkway in lindenwood queens. as eversley lay in the left lane, she was then hit by too minivans. one stayed at the scene. the other took off. >> he was scared, he or she, they were scared, panicking, but they took a big part from us. >> you drove off. i mean, i don't want to call names or be can day sending but the truth of the matter is you know what happened so you should come forward. >> the vehicle that left the scene is described as a white older model minivan. anyone with information is asked to call crimestoppers. this is primary day. there are no federal or statewide ball issues on the ballots. a d.a.'s race in staten island and judge judy's son adam levi is fighting off a challenge. there are mayoral races in mount vernon, glen cove and poughkeepsie. you are never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic and bill with your accuweather forecast. >> we have a look outside. here we go. we god cloudy skies, rain and low visibilities this morning. we will be looking at rain off and on this morning. some of that is the heavy around. you need your rain gear. you also will be running in to some flooding rains today. here is our corner of the world right here. we have this rain across the city now. you see it tapered to showers. the puddling here on the upper west side and it's raining. light rain in parts of the area. heavy rain in others. temperatures are mild. it's humid. very muggy. heavy rain along i-95 in connecticut. on the l.i.e., lightning strikes just to the south of fire island. that will move into east massapequa and massapequa has lightning strikes with that heavy batch of rain moving north. up the thruway heavy rain here, 287, rockland, westchester county. back to the west more rain to come. the sun will enhance that and build heavy rain for the afternoon that will generate flooding. we had 1/2 inch of rain. we could go upwards of two in local spots. three inches of rain as we go into the afternoon. it's weather then heather every seven minutes. it will be a busy one today. >> it is. >> i'm sure it will get worse. let's go to a webcam and how it looks on the fdr drive traveling on the southbound side making your way into 79th street. check out this delay. this is because of construction that is set up on the southbound side which, of course, that is the brake lights you are looking at. the new england thruway on the northbound side near pelham parkway, we still have that jackknifed tractor trailer. so, we have serious delays starting to build as you go up to that spot. going on the l.i.e. westbound near maurice avenue an accident. you can see those delays are starting to build. two lanes are closed down. long island railroad, new jersey transit, metro north. on time. i urge you to use it. >> sounds good. we will take you to a state in desperate need of water as it took leonardo and miriam years to master the toss. but just a few little steps to master depositing checks with the chase mobile app. technology designed for you. so you can easily master the way you bank. happening today another town in new jersey is calling on residents to conserve water. officials in mahwah are telling everyone to ease up on the lawn watering. a lack of rain, high temperatures and an excessive demand for water have caused a shortage at the united water company. outdoor watering is now prohibited on all days between midnight and 6:00 a.m. after 6:00 a.m., watering is permitted on mondays, wednesday and friday if you have an even address. if you have an odd address, watering is permitted on tuesday, thursday and saturday. new video into the newsroom this morning. a two-alarm brushfire threatens homes in san jose, california. the flames spread on a dry creek bed burning near a golf course. firefighters are monitoring any hot spots. the cause of the fire is under investigation. let's check in with bill evans. got a lot of water outside. >> yes, we will get much needed rain today. it's all going to come down in one day for a while. we are seven inches short of normal rainfall. we are looking at 2, 3 inches of rain today through the evening and into tonight. good visibility. you can see from one world trade from the chrysler building. humidity is high. calm wind. pressure continues to fall. when the barometer continues to fall, that tells you that the atmosphere is unstable. rainfall .6 in the park. we are looking at a normal high of 77. a little above that today. the national weather service is reporting fog around parts of the area and low visibilities. but these are okay at this hour. low 70s in southern jersey, long branch to wrightstown across long island and coastal connecticut. a wind out of the north and northeast. variable during the day. mostly later on out of the north. later today and tomorrow they will drop the humidities. flood advisory in effect western nassau county and the eastern end of long island in suffolk county until 7:00 because of that batch of rain there. flood advisory means you have heavy downpours in coney island, brighton beach, fire island, lightning strikes in south nassau county. that is with the first batch. a little break then the next batch comes. this will build into the afternoon because there is good upper level support. the sun is on top of it which is strong this time of year that will build the front up. rainfall amounts building .2 at newark, .3 at trenton. futurecast shows the break, very little, as we go to lunchtime a heavy shower possible in fairfield county. back to the west the front comes through around 3:00, 4:00, 5:00. look how heavy the rain is westchester, putnam, orange county, sullivan and northern jersey. this doesn't end until late tonight, tapering off to showers and then tomorrow we will have the sun coming back out. with a northerly wind and low humidity. rainfall expected on the guidance, 3eu7b's in the park -- 3 inches in the park. this will cause flooding across parts of the tri-state. 80 ahead of that front. the front pushes through. the low runs up the front and it gets out of the way to give us a nice day on friday. saturday eventually this low gets together and that could give us rain late saturday and into possibly sunday. so, flooding is possible today from right now through the day. 80 will be the temperature this afternoon. heavy rains this afternoon into the night. after sunset, this tapers to showers and ends after midnight. then tomorrow we got partly sunny skies. low humidity, 82. accuweather seven-day forecast, a shower or two late in the day saturday. probably saturday into saturday night. a couple of showers possible on sunday. >> we will see how that pans out. >> there you have it. >> get your rain gear, allow for extra time. >> i bet the better way to commute is with mass transit heather will tell you. >> absolutely. we have a closure. let's go to the maps. closure l.i.e. westbound side between exits 27 and 26. this is an overturned truck. all lanes are closed down as you go on the westbound side. you have the accident westbound at maurice avenue. you can see the delay starting to build up. two lanes are closed down through that spot. jackknifed tractor trailer at pelham parkway. street cleaning rules are in effect. >> thank you. still ahead, caught on camera. actions by an emt that would make any parent cringe. what the emt was doing behind the wheel with a child and mother in the ambulance with him. 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"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. all of our legendary racing heritage. all of our pioneering four wheel drive experience. come together in one amazing new vehicle. this is the all-new gle coupe. a mercedes-benz suv with the heart and soul of a race car. new video from philadelphia. take a look at the middle of the screen. that glowing light is the cell phone in the hand of an emt. he is texting while driving a young patient to the hospital. the child's mother shot the video. she says the ride lasted ten minutes and the driver never stopped texting. philadelphia's fire commissioner says an investigation is underway. he said the video disgusted him. >> that is unnerving. unnerving. you are never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic and we have an accuweather alert day. meteorologist bill evans tells us why. >> flooding in parts of the area already. lightning strikes, heavy downpours of rain and a flood advisory in effect, too. accutrack radar shows that heavier rain that we were talking about right around valley stream, bell rose through levittown. lightning strikes on the l.i.e. and the southern state. they have this flood advisory for nassau quan and around hempstead lightning strikes a few moments adding. there is one to the south of levittown right there inside of fire island. this will be the issue off and on all day. showers and rain this morning with heavy downpours and then by the time we get to the afternoon, the rain becomes heavier with flooding potential this afternoon through the evening commute. two to three inches of rain much needed rain. i was in central park, heather, you know, they have some of the best brown grass there is. will that help today? >> too bad. >> the grass goes dormant, it will bounce back. i'm sure it's causing flooding on roadways and problems. >> a lot of problems. the flooding, we haven't gotten reports about major flooding but major accidents and this delay is because one of the most major accidents that we have in the area right now in queens. let's go to the maps. i will tell you what that is. that is the l.i.e. west between exits 27 and 26 overturned truck. all lanes are closed. farther west at maurice another accident. two lanes are closed down. alternate side of the street parking rules are in effect. over to you. >> thank you, heather. still ahead on "eyewitness news this morning." the flooding concerns on staten island after a drenching downpour yesterday and more storms today. >> remember, you can track severe weather on the go with our free accutrack weather alert app. yoplait. the smooth and creamy yogurt your whole family loves. yoplait original with no artificial sweeteners, no artificial flavors, and no high fructose corn syrup. on the money, asian stocks took another hit overnight. >> nikkei and hong kong hang seng index closed more than 2% higher. wall street another down day for stokes following another dip in oil -- stocks following another dip in oil prices. nasdaq and s&p 500 begin more than 1% down. futures point to a higher open right now though. mcdonald's is making a major change to a key item on the breaks fast menu -- breakfast menu. >> a transition at mcdonald's. >> the company will use only canada. might seem. it will take up to 10 years to complete. >> starbucks in japan is getting in on the pumpkin craze. this pumpkin sandwich is now on the menu. >> a japanese pumpkin with lettuce, tomato and it will cost you 4 bucks. >> i'm not sure if it sounds yummy. >> the guinness book of world records is on sale. >> chinese couple holds the record for tall left married couple. he is 7-foot 8 and she is 6 feet 1. >> and largest feet, size 26 shoe. >> that is huge. that's america's money. >> size 26, there you go. cadillac's cross overvehicle, in a high flying publicity stunt they suspended the vehicle over the west side highway from a helicopter. it's known as the xt 5. it was hoisted 150 feet over the roadway. the platform custom built was painted matt black to give the illusion the car was flying. the only way you can get up and down the west side highway. >> that's right. breaking news overseas. heavy rain is pummeling japan. it's flooding hundreds of homes causing landslides. we are monitoring the conditions. also we will continue to bring you updates. >> and we have a flood advisory for ourselves here in our own area. meteorologist bill evans returns in a moment with the exclusive accuweather forecast. americans... ...83% try to eat healthy. yet up to...90% fall short in getting key nutrients from... ...food alone. let's do more... add one a day women's gummies. complete with key nutrients we may need... ...plus it supports bone health with calcium and vitamin d. one a day vitacraves gummies. a case of mistaken identity in midtown lead to handcuffs for james blake. the action the nypd took overnight in their investigation. >> information on negotiations that could lead bus drivers on long island to strike. >> we are tracking rain moving through the area with another round of thunderstorms on the way. >> good morning, i'm ken rosato. >> i'm lori stokes. thanks for starting your morning with us. it's thursday, september 10th. you are never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic and meteorologist bill evans. >> well, it's a busy morning in the weather department and the traffic department as well because of the rain and flooding. that gives us a big chance for flooding when you have a prolonged rain event like this. 71 riverdale. low 70s, mid- to upper-60s, all these numbers are mild for the overnight hours. flood advisory in effect for the five boroughs, western sections of nassau county, urban areas of new jersey until 6:00. suv phoning county until 7:00. you see the big batch of rain sliding into fairfield, nassau. heavy rain on the eastern end of long island. a few lightning strikes too. then you see back to the west a little bit of a break then another big batch of rain for the afternoon. so, we are looking at humid rain at lunchtime. muggy flooding for the afternoon. humid. the wind turns to the north but that will bring drier air in here late tonight and tomorrow. we have flooding potentials because of two to three inches of much needed rain across the area. heather is looking at the commute. we have flooding issues already, overturned tractor trailer rig. you are busy. >> let's take a look at a webcam. l.i.e., you can see all of this activity, because of that accident bill was mentioning, eastbound side you will find lane closures as well. let's go to the maps. we will pinpoint where there is. l.i.e. westbound side exit 27 to 26 overturned truck. all lanes are subject to closure. the eastbound side has one lane closed down. heavy delays back to little neck parkway. route 80 an accident. new england thruway at pelham parkway a crash. street cleaning rules are in effect. ken, over to heather, thank you. a by zaire case of mistaken identity. police officers thought it was somebody else, that he was an identity suspect. nypd is taking action. eyewitness news reporter dray clark will explain it all. he is live in midtown with the story. >> reporter: good morning. james blake, a harvard educated former tennis star ranked fourth in the world was outside the grand high beyond in midtown -- hyatt in midtown when he was taken down by a man that did not initially identify himself as a police officer. we learned internal affairs has reviewed surveillance video of the incident and it does show police arrested the wrong guy and the arresting officer has been placed on modified duty. the incident happened around 11:00 a.m. as blake was waiting outside the hotel. he said the police officer rushed him, slammed him to the ground and placed him in handcuffs. the officer believed blake was a suspect in an identity theft case. police say the officers have been investigating a case of fraudulently purchased cell phones when an informant pointed out black and another man as a -- blake and another man as a possible suspect. 15 minutes after the arrest, a retired police officer that recognized blake told the officers they had the wrong man in handcuffs. blake is upset about the arrest and the police commissioner says he has every right to be upset. >> this shouldn't happen. it's something that we will deal with with the police and find out what they have to say internally and hopefully there is video of it and people can see what happened. >> disturbing. just the nature of what he described is not what we do, what we are supposed to do. >> reporter: now, blake did have cuts and bruises that he received as a result of what he described as a very tough take down. we should note that two men were arrested as a result of that police investigation but, again, internal affairs took a look at the surveillance video and said it's clear the arresting officer made a terrible mistake. live in midtown, dray clark, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> dray, thank you. updating you now on breaking news in japan where we are seeing video of military helicopters coming to the rescue of families stranded in severe flooding. this is north of tokyo where heavy rains caused a river to overflow its banks. floodwaters are sweeping through the city washing away homes and buildings. about 2500 people were evacuated ahead of the flooding. there are more than thousands left in the city. many residents are being forced on to the rooftops and upper floors of larger buildings to escape the rising water. in our news, talks resume between representatives of a school bus company and members of a union representing drivers in order to avoid a possible school bus strike on long island. three districts in suffolk county will be affected, middle country, commack and north shore school districts. most are getting $13 an hour or less. federal mediators began meeting with officials yesterday afternoon. right now they remain deadlocked. the search is on for a man behind a series of bank robberies in manhattan. the suspect was caught by surveillance cameras during a robbery at chase bank in midtown manhattan last friday. police say he took off with teller. investigators say he hit up to two other banks this week including an hsbc yesterday afternoon in the flatiron district. he got away with nearly $2,000. happening today, brooklyn borough president eric adams will hold an emergency meeting to address the violence at the celebrations earlier this week. this comes after the nypd released a sketch of a man they believe shot and critically hurt an aide to governor cuomo. they say he is 19 or 20 years old, wore a jamaican flag around his neck at the time of the shooting. governor cuomo's aide, carey gabay was shot sunday night. also new this morning, republican presidential candidate donald trump is under fire, this time for comments he made about carly fiorina. when trump saw video of her, he said look at that face. why would anyone vote for that. trump then added, i mean, she is a woman and i'm not supposed to say bad things but really, folks, come on, are we serious. the comments are in the magazine's upcoming issue. conservative house republicans are embarking on an 11th hour poll maneuver to derail the iranian deal. reporter: strange bed fellows in washington as donald trump and ted cruz joined forces to denouns the iran -- denounce the iran nuclear deal. >> i have a been doing deals a long time. that's what i do. never, ever, ever, in my life, have i seen any transaction so incompetently negotiated as our deal with iran. and i mean never. catastrophic. it is the single greatest america. >> sarah palin taking the stage. >> let's bring some sanity to this discussion about this insane treaty. >> inside the capitol, lawmakers are debating the deal. the white house has the support to block anything threat to kill it. hsk weighed in with her support. >> the bottom line, it accomplishes the major goals we set out to achieve. it blocks every pathway for iran to get a bomb. and it gives us better tools for verification and inspection and to compel rigorous compliance. >> clinton stressed if elected president and iran attempts to obtain a nuclear weapon, military action would be an option. >> my approach would be distrust and verify. >> congress has until september 17th to vote on the nuclear agreement. >> stay with eyewitness news and abc news for updates on the iran nuclear deal and the efforts to derail it. "good morning america" will pick up our coverage. that begins today at 7:00. department of environmental protection spent much of the night pumping out water. a fierce storm in the afternoon caused severe flooding and left drivers stranded on roads. residents say it's a recurring issue with the sewer system around 30th avenue. one neighbor caught cell phone video of a man stranded on top of his car as water rushed other vehicles parked on the street. you are never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic and meteorologist bill evans kicks it off with a rainy forecast. >> it will flood there again. that area floods all the time. they need to fix it. it has been doing it for 20 today. we can see the verrazano narrows bridge in the distance island. there will be flooding in a lot of places today with this rain. we had about .6 to an inch of rain from yesterday overnight in the park. we could get another two, three inches today. temperature a muggy 73. heavy rain nassau county and l.i.e. and suffolk county. into east massapequa. 684 and back to the west another big batch later on today. this goes on off and on all day with as much as 2, 3 inches more rain over us. that will bring flooding today. much needed rain. we are going to be seeing rain at the bus stop. have your rain gear. somebody get these hooligans umbrella. >> and rain boots. >> our hair will be a mess, lori if we don't get something. >> rough summer for dad. he lost money on the stock market. >> all right. >> can't afford rain gear. let's go to a webcam. traveling on the northern state parkway, this concerns me near routes 106-107, traffic backups. we normally have delays through that spot. l.i.e. westbound is subject to closure near the clearview, overturned truck, eastbound one lane is closed. street cleaning rules are in effect. ken and lori, over to you. thank you. and straight ahead on "eyewitness news this morning," find out why the vatican has serious concerns about the level of security planned for the upcoming visit of pope francis. >> after facing her sister at the u.s. open, serena williams continues her quest for a grand slam title today. get this. i was at my shop tied up with a customer when i realized the time. i had to get to the bank before it closed, so i made a break for it. when i got out it was almost closing time. traffic was bad. i knew i was cutting it close. but it was ok. i use td bank. it's got the longest hours and stays open an extra ten minutes every day. i'm sid. and i bank human at td bank. welcome back. there is concern from the vatican over the level of commuter. the secret service and nypd want to build a wall down 5th avenue. only those with admission tickets will see the motorcade in central park. pope francis has made it clear he does not want a big wall and high security. he wants to be able to get up close to the crowds and the people. in the blink of an eye there are no more tickets for the pope's mass in philadelphia. the 10,000 free tickets were gone within 30 seconds of becoming available last night. pope francis will celebrate sunday mass in philadelphia on the 27th. eyewitness news is your go to source for information on the air and online on the upcoming papal visit. if you need information on tickets, transportation or road closures, it's at our web site at abc7ny.com/pope. when meteorologist bill evans goes outside to do the forecast, i printed up tickets and i have a bunch of them. >> they are not legit. >> and they are also not worth anything. >> i bet you can get them on stub hub. across the chrysler building out to queens, heather tells me there is flooding at the belt parkway at flatbush. she will talk about that. we have issues with a lot of flooding that will occur off and on through the day today. the flood advisory for the five boroughs is canceled. that was to last until 6:00. it is still in effect for nassau an suffolk on long island. temperature 73. humidity is jacked up and the calm wind let's this muggy air hang over us and that will continue. the park is showing .6 of rain since midnight. an inch of rain since yesterday. we are looking at downpours through the day that can cause flooding. clearing and less humid tomorrow. a great day. showers show up saturday evening and possibly a few showers sunday. we will talk about that. first things first, it's warm for the overnight hours. overnight low about 64, 63. we are ten degrees warmer and muggy with this wind all day yesterday out of the south and southwest. now it's turning around to a variable wind to calm. here is the flood advisory we are talking about here. western nassau county and eastern queens. then you go out east, riverhead to hampton bay, down to westhampton beach a flood advisory here, flooding on 27 then up to orient point and wine country on the north fork. there is that batch of rain. another batch here with lightning strikes around islip and also here just south and southwest you can see of the l.i.e. so, goes from holbrooke and sayreville, you will get those lightning strikes sliding eastward. that will move out past patchogue. rain on 95, the merritt parkway and route 7. this will be a problem the next hour or two. this batch of rain keeps sliding in. a break midday, then next patch for the afternoon and evening. the rainfall amounts will go higher. 2, 3 inches of rain possible. we are at 80 degrees. tomorrow this front slides eastward. this high-pressure ridge gives you a chance to dry out. this low pressure ridge gets together. by saturday this comes in and gives us rain. showers and storms heavy. flooding possible. rain gear for the kids. allow extra time for the commute. rain tapers off late tonight after midnight. i don't know how much tennis they play at the open or how much baseball. a lot of delays. sunny, low humidity, great day friday. accuweather seven-day forecast. even on sunday, there is showers around on sunday. i don't know how much tennis they will get in saturday night or sunday. they should build that roof faster at the u.s. tennis center. they need that. looks like the u.s. open gets delayed into next week. serious weather means serious traffic. let's go to heather o'rourke. >> a webcam, the traffic scene on the l.i.e. near oceana street. there is a ton of activity because the l.i.e. has an overturned truck. we have all lanes closed down as a result. eastbound side you are finding a lot of rubbernecking delays, and a lane closure. let's go to the maps, l.i.e. westbound 27 to 26 with overturned truck. maurice avenue another accident. belt west flatbush to knapp street there is flooding. ken and lori, over to you. >> thank you. still ahead on "eyewitness news this morning," caught on camera, a police officer uses his skills of compassion to talk a man off a ledge. caught on camera, police officers act of compassion as he safes a man from taking his own life. the raleigh, north carolina officer was off duty and heading home when he heard a call about a man hanging off the side of a bridge. police say the officer stopped and eventually managed to over to safety. the officer then hugged the man before walking him back to a car. also caught on camera, a firefighter in los angeles used his training to prevent tragedy on his own wedding day. the southern california wedding was going great until a commotion during the best man's speech. that is the groom's father who is a retired firefighter. a relative of the bride was choking so the first responders stopped what they were doing, jumped into action. >> went back on my training and just performed the heimlich. >> some people in the couldn't see this far ahead thought it might have been staged. that was -- i am not an actress. i was not faking it. >> the wedding continued without any more incidents. beautiful couple. >> very. they have something to talk about, tell the grandkids. >> i'm sure it will be embellished as the years goes on. breaking news on severe flooding overseas. heavy rain is pounding japan for the second day. rescuers say they can hardly yoplait greek 100. for when you just can't make it without a protein-packed, thick and creamy, power-me-up-with-something filling taste-bud-loving, satisfaction by the spoonful, deliciously fruity, dinner feels a million years away, grab and go, let's take on the world with 100 calories, snack yoplait greek 100. there are hundreds of reasons to snack on it. you are never more than seven minutes away from weather and traffic. an accuweather alert day. heavy rain across long island, coastal connecticut and another batch in central southern new jersey. lightning strikes this morning, too around levittown and eastward from point look out, lightning strikes earlier and eastern end of long island. a big batch of rain to the south and west moving in. we are keeping an eye on that. heavy rain off and on all day long. flood advisory for nassau county, eastern end of long island. rain builds noontime and heavy flooding rains for this afternoon. i don't know how much sports gets in today, how much tennis gets played. we will talk about the weekend but it seems like a long way away from now. >> it does. getting this accident cleared away seems like a long way away. check this out. all the activity on the l.i.e. near oceana street. the l.i.e. shut down between exits 27 and 26 overturned truck. eastbound one lane is closed down as well by maurice avenue. two lanes are closed down with that crash. b.q.e. south near the williamsburg bridge an accident. alternate side of the street parking rules are in effect. ken, over to you. >> thank you, heather. happening today, serena's search for a slam rolls on in the u.s. open semifinals. serena williams steps into arthur ashe stadium at 7:00 tonight two wins away from tennis' first grand slam since 1968. williams has not lost a set in four meetings with this opponent. floods strike japan. entire homes washed down the street. we are getting new video this morning of this unfolding disaster. >> dramatic video on board a british airways jet when an engine catches fire before a flight. >> boosting minimum wage for every new yorker. patients across the country have spoken. they recently rated their care experience at over 3,500 hospitals nationwide in a survey conducted for the centers for medicare and medicaid services. fewer than 10% received 5 stars. among them was cancer treatment centers of america in philadelphia. learn more at cancercenter.com/eastern. cancer treatment centers of america. care that never quits. appointments available now. westbound traffic on the l.i.e.