tomorrow with showers and potentially heavy rain. thereafter we'll start to see a big cooldown. we'll talk about that cooldown in your forecast. i'll walk you through that in just a bit. nbc 10 was there when one man made it home today just in time for christmas. >> he was greeted with lots of hug and kisses at philadelphia international airport. aundrea cline-thomas is joining us live with that story. >> reporter: well, you know, it is stressful to travel during this time of year. if you stop and just watch, you'll be reminded what this holiday season is all about. the bowman family made their way to terminal d early with flowers and a welcome home balloon. 8-year-old nissa could hardly keep still. >> i missed him a lot. i feel like i haven't seen him in a thousand years. >> reporter: she's talking about her big brother, tyler, who is returning home for the first time since enlisting in the navy. >> not only is he serving our country, but he's following in my footsteps and that's pretty cool, too. >> reporter: each time the door opens, the anticipation mounts until tyler finally walks through. >> how are you? >> reporter: it's been five months since tyler went off to boot camp. >> relax, spend time with family. i've only got ten days, but i'm thinking about spending most of them with them. >> reporter: ten days this family will cherish. what is the first thing you want to do when you hang out with him? >> i don't really know. usually i guess i'm just going to like follow him around the house and see what he's doing. >> reporter: it's the excitement of that initial glimpse, the warmth of the first hug and the joy of being with those you love that make enduring the holiday travel rush worth it. it's so great to see. more than 80,000 passengers are expected to pass through the airport during this holiday season. that means a lot more reunions are in store. reporting live from the airport, i'm aundrea cline-thomas, nbc 10 news. >> great to see that, thanks. nbc 10 has you covered on everything from weather to holiday travel and shopping. just download the nbc 10 app. you can get all the updates and breaking news alerts as well. just tap the app. police are still looking for a man who shot four people in southwest philadelphia, killing one of them. police say it happened after the man assaulted his child's mother. she called four family members who came to the house to confront the suspect last night. as they were fighting police say the suspect pulled out a gun and shot all four men. he ran away. three of the victims are still in the hospital. police are looking for a driver, possibly involved in a crash that killed an 83-year-old woman in south philadelphia. police say the woman was walking near 24th street and washington avenue around 6:30 this morning. that's when she was hit. one car stayed at the scene, but a second vehicle, possibly a black suv, sped off. it's unclear if just one or both vehicles hit her. police are now searching for that suv. police arrested this woman in connection with a deadly hit and run last week. she was charge would homicide by vehicle and dui. the crash caught on video. one passenger died, two people were caught on video leaving the sce scene. police are still investigating. the incoming mayor of atlantic city is questioning whether the ms. america pageant should stay or go. the leaked e-mails included sexist and vulgar remarks about the contestants. many former contestants are now calling on everyone involved to resign. >> it's disgraceful. it's degrading to women. it's ridiculous. any woman who would continue to be a part of this, you're not helping the younger generation. >> nbc 10 also spoke to ms. new jersey 2015, she told us ms. america contestants do tremendous work in our communities at the national, state and local levels. we must report those efforts, support those efforts and empower these women through this hardship. to new information on the deadly train derailment in washington state. the ntsb has looked through all the videos from the train. the videos do not show any members of the crew using a personal electronic device. at six seconds before the derailment, the engineer can be heard commenting on the train's speed. the ntsb says the train was going more than twice the speed limit when it derailed and killed three people on monday. safety and security is at the top of mind for travelers today. new reporting reveals how five decades of train accidents could have been stopped. nbc 10 investigative reporter mitch blocker is joining us. you have startling numbers? >> reporter: yeah, is travelers flood train stations across the country, including here at 30th street station. new reporting from the associated press is revealing what we know all too well here in philadelphia. hundreds of deaths and thousands of injuries, according to ntsb records could have been prevented. we now know the critical train slowing technology called positive train control was again missing monday in washington state when it was needed most. in philadelphia, we know all too well what happens when a speeding train derails without the safeguard. the associated press now reports since the 1960s, 298 people have died in train crashes that would have been prevented if positive train control had been in place. the ap cites ntsb record. >> i try not to think about it. >> reporter: safety was on a lot of travelers' minds. >> there's some people who won't get on a train because they saw an accident. >> reporter: this rider is going to pittsburgh. >> it's in the back of my head. >> reporter: jeff is headed to norfolk. >> we need to do something to control them better. because, i mean, this isn't the first time it's happened. >> reporter: since the amtrak 188 derailment the ntsb has called for widespread positive train control installation. according to the federal railroad administration, 71% of amtrak's rotes are ptc equipped, including 100% along the northeast corridor. all of septa's rails have the train slowing technology, but new jersey transit sits at 6% ready, knowing what the technology can prevent and seeing what not having it can cause. it's plain to see why it's on travelers' minds today. >> it's an accident. i have to trust in the safety of the airline, of the trains. >> reporter: and this year alone, more than 30 million passengers will travel aboard amtrak. positive train control is federally mandated across all rail lines by this time next year. we're live at 30th street station. nbc 10 news. thank you for that. another christmas grinch strikes in south philadelphia. surveillance video captured the thieves swiping someone's package right off their front step. it happened last saturday night. it's the latest in a string of thefts during the holiday season. police suggest having your gifts delivered to a more secure location or perhaps picking them up in person. a bad start to the holiday weekend for one family in montgomery county. a car crashed into their mouse early this morning in pottstown. you can see there is major damage to the front of the home. police have not said if anyone was hurt in that crash. a new high tech twist to checking your baggage at airports. ahead, we'll show you how these new 3d scanners are designed to keep you even safer at airports. we're learning new information about the cause of death for a gunman who killed dozens at a las vegas concert. the president's plea, the call from president trump from all democrats after his first major legislative victory. before heading off on his holiday break, the president signed the republican tax reform bill into law. he's calling on democrats to work together across party lines. edward lawrence explains congress still has a lot of unfinished business in the new year. >> this is the bill, right here. >> reporter: president trump signed into law the $1.5 trillion tax overhaul. >> i'm keeping my promise, i'm signing it before christmas. >> reporter: he says the tax cut bill will sell itself to the american people when they open their paychecks in february and see more money. >> everything in here is really tremendous things for businesses, for people, for the middle class. >> reporter: he emphasized lowering the corporate tax rate to 21%, opening the arctic national wildlife refuge for oil and gas drilling and eliminating the obamacare requirement that americans must buy health insurance. >> i think obamacare is over because of that. we're going to come up with something that's really going to be very good. >> reporter: the president joyous as he arrived in florida to spend the holidays at his resort. democrats say the tax bill hurts working americans. >> it would need drastic overhall. >> reporter: mitch mcconnell believe it took the tax bill to unify republicans. >> we go into the new year with a high level of confidence in our ability to work together with the administration. and to have similar priorities. >> reporter: going forward, republicans think democrats will be on board to help rebuild america's infrastructure. edward lawrence, nbc news, washington. now to new details on the mass shooting in las vegas. the coroner has confirmed the shooter killed himself and was not killed by police. stephen paddock murdered 50 people when he opened fire. it was the deadliest mass shooting in u.s. history. police have not uncovered a motive for the attack. all right, let's get a check of your first alert holiday forecast. a live picture of the camden skyline here. let's check out the view in manayunk, a nice night to take a walk there. maybe with a light jacket. a little blurry in manayunk. >> they've been having a good time i guess down there. >> meteorologist steve sosna is here. we've been on a rolling coaster. >> we have been just a smidge and then we go down. buckle up here, we have a wild ride. let's take a look outside where it's nice and mild. if you've been outside, you've noticed that the air doesn't have that real abrasive chill and feel that it did last week. and we will get a couple of nice days around here before the bottom falls out. we'll talk about that here in the next half hour. first we talk about the milder temperatures. walking out the door in and around philadelphia, here are your temperatures. right around 50 in most spots. 50 in society hill right now. 49 down by the airport. up in manayunmanayunk, you're 4. right up to the northeast, your temperature is around 47. these temperatures tonight, not going very far. here are your overnight lows. mainly in the 40s. we'll see clouds increasing. then we'll start to work in some drizzle, some fog and even some showers during the overnight hours. be aware of that if you're going to be out during the overnight hours. this is the storm system for tomorrow. the rain extends all the way from dallas/ft. worth up to the d.c. area. all rain. this is not a snow system for us here for the first half of the weekend. your hour by hour, we'll start the clock at 11:30 tonight. look what we do by 4:00 in the morning and certainly by 7:00 when you're waking up on your saturday morning. yeah, this is one of those kinds of mornings where you want to roll over and go back to sleep. because the rain, the coolness in the air it will just be a dreary saturday. if you want to get the last minute shopping done tomorrow, know you'll be tugging those bags with an umbrella in your hand. it will be extra difficult. maybe you want to wait till sunday even though that's more last minute, it will be better in the weather department. the jersey shore and delaware finally getting in on the rain action and then everybody clears out late tomorrow night and then we wake up to a beautiful christmas eve morning with sunshine. let's break it down. if you are in the lehigh valley, saturday morning looks rainy, saturday afternoon looks rainy, christmas eve day is dry. there will be a touch of snow christmas eve night and christmas day is dry. northern delaware, this is your timeline. saturday morning, a few pockets of showers. same with the afternoon. not a persistent rain. your persistent rain comes in saturday evening. christmas day itself is dry. jersey and delaware shore, you escape with a dry morning and even through the afternoon hours where there's not much going on. saturday evening is your focus for rain, then we'll see dry conditions during christmas eve day and christmas day itself. let's get to the temperatures where you can see, it's a cool night tonight. it's a cool morning tomorrow. look how the temperatures spike on up here. upper 50s tomorrow in philadelphia. but check out the lehigh valley and the poconos, upper 30s to around 40. they never get the warmup and the cold air comes crashing back down in here and that will take over everybody by the time we get into sunday and monday. so there's your temperatures cooling off on sunday. christmas day itself, we'll be looking at temperatures in the upper 30s with a gusty wind. and then comes the eagles game on monday night. christmas night. it will feel like the teens and 20s out there. in the next half hour, we'll be talking about a winter attack for next week. more on that to come, stay with us. all right. take a look at this, santa and his elves are in north philadelphia spreading some holiday cheer. some philadelphia police officers also stopped by to drop off gifts for kids in the afterschool program there. sleeping on the job, take a look at this, santa and mrs. claus sure a busy. you can see they have adorable company there. this company was snapped as santa greeted kids at the willow grove mall. >> i couldn't resist posting that on my facebook page. oprah has a warning for all her fans. >> it's a fraud, it's fraud! >> it's a scam that has lady o saying don't believe the hype. michael: i'm thankful that i'm alive and have a second chance. james: i'm thankful for the help and the opportunity that i received. darlene: i'm thankful to be able to help people in crisis. vanessa: i'm thankful that addiction is treatable, and that help is available. christie: new jersey is experiencing a heroin epidemic fueled by opioid painkillers. but if you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, i want you to know: we are here for you. this holiday season, choose help. call 844 reach nj or visit reachnj.gov. welcome back. this bus is full of passengers, but it's missing one key person, the driver. a company in tokyo tested this driverless bus today. it drove on a predetermined route traveling at 30 miles per hour. and the city hopes buses like this could be a solution for shuttling around japan's growing elderly population. the tsa is also testing some new technology. it could make going through the airport a whole lot easier. the tsa has already increased security during the holiday season with 2.5 million passengers a day. it has nmore screening officers and some airports are testing 3d scanners. they can detect explosive characteristics. >> passengers will be able to leave their liquids in their bag. >> it's going to be faster. it's going to be able to identify automatically, not just explosives, but weapons which is going to help the screeners. you're taking the human factor out. >> congress is pushing the tsa to use these scanners at all airports. they're being tested in phoenix and boston and will soon arrive at jfk and o'hare. we are running out of time if you need a holiday gift to get delivered by christmas. you need to act fast. today is the last day to take advantage of the postal service's two day priority express or amazon's two day prime shipping. get on it. we all know there is only one oprah. >> now, she is warning her fans about an impostor. >> hi, everybody. i just wanted you to know that somebody out there is trying to scam you using my name and my avatar on social media asking for money if you sign up for an o.w.n. account. it's a fraud, it's a fraud, it's a fraud. >> i think she said it's a fraud. the oprah winfrey network says it's contacting various social media platforms to have these fake accounts deactivated. we know that gift cards are popular during this time of year. >> don't get scammed with that either. nbc 10 responds has the one thing you need to pay attention to before you buy one. holiday shopping countdown. we are live at cherry hill mall as shoppers hit the stores to buy last minute gifts. plus, historic holiday tradition on the verge of cancellation. that is until some philadelphia students step in. how they saved george washington's christmas coming up at 6:00. running a small business is demanding. and that's why small business owners need more. like internet that's up to the challenge. the gig-speed network from comcast business gives you more. with speeds up to 20 times faster than the average. that means powering more devices, more video conferencing, and more downloads in seconds, not minutes. get fast internet and add phone and tv for only $34.90 more per month. comcast is building america's largest gig-speed network to give small businesses more. call 1-800-501-6000 today. that breaking news, a neighborhood on lockdown in the lehigh valley as we've been telling you. shots fired at police officers. >> nbc 10's drew smith has arrived on the scene in bethlehem township. what can you tell us? >> reporter: this is a huge scene. they've got roadblocks up on a number of roads in this area. it took us a long time to get down here because of a mile wide roadblock they've got up here. you can see the police have this road blocked here. this is second street. just over the hill is where we understand a lot of state police, bethlehem township police, as well as other emergency responders have gathered. they've got somebody barricaded. this has been going on since early this afternoon. we do know there's a shelter in place for anybody who is on the inside of these roadblocks. i asked a firefighter if i could get in, he said nobody past this point. people who are in their homes need to stay sheltered away from the windows. this is a serious situation. they said there has been gunfire in the area. a number of neighbors had heard go gunshots. we talked to some neighbor whose are stuck outside of their home. they hope it will end peacefully. i asked if they knew anybody in their neighborhood that had been having issues. a lot of people say they don't know. they said it's a nice neighborhood, they are surprised all this activity is going on. i'm going to try to get in touch with the police chief. pennsylvania state police has an emergency management task force that has been dispatched here. we'll stay on top of it for you and get more detail as to what is going on right now. we're live in bethlehem township, nbc 10 news. more breaking news from the pennsylvania state capital. a driver with a gun is shooting at people. a witness took this picture from the scene. this is all happening just steps from the capitol building. sources say the shooter did hit a police car, but unclear if anyone has been hurt. they're looking for that shooter right now. we'll stay on top of it. changing gears here, the clock is ticking. you have two days left to finish your holiday shopping. nbc 10's miguel martinez valle is joining us live from cherry mall. >> you talked to a few procrastinators out there today? >> reporter: those people told me it's packed. you don't have to take their word for it. look at that parking lot. it's taking these folks a bit trying to find a spot. once they park, they have to go inside and try to find those last minute christmas gifts. mike quinn is a man on a mission. >> i haven't done anything. this is last minute. i always wait till the end. >> reporter: christmas is around the corner and he needs a good gift for his wife and kids. luckily the kids know what they want. >> i want nerf guns and minecraft and i want star wars legos. >> it's super big. >> reporter: he has to find that. he's not all only one on the hunt. >> lots of toys for the baby, stuff for the boyfriend. all of the family. literally last minute, everything. >> reporter: to make it easier on them, big department stores like macy's are staying open till midnight. other stores are going 24 hours. osc ar rodriguez says he'll nee those hours. >> probably sunday, the 24th. >> reporter: he bought his 3-year-old. not stressing? natalya. >> i'm watching, people watching. i've done all my shopping, so there's not much else for me to do. >> reporter: and mall employees say they're expecting around 150,000 people at the mall this holiday weekend. reporting live, miguel martinez valle, nbc 10. the holiday shopping season could be the strongest in more than a decade. new numbers show online sales are up 24% from last year. amazon, with more than 50% of all holiday sales. as for traditional stores, home depot, lowe's, tj maxx, best bo buy, they're performing strong. you're looking live at the philadelphia museum of art. don't worry about bundling up. a light coat will work if you're headed out. and checking the roads now, here's a look at i-76 at spring garden. many folks driving to their holiday destinations this evening. >> the traffic is pretty well moving along there. it's not at a standstill. steve sosna is back to let us know what to expect. we're looking at okay weather for tonight. i don't think there will be any weath weath weath weather-related travel issues. tomorrow it looks like a soggy day for a good part of the area. this is mild. it's ht degrees right now. if you go into a store you'll overheat when you have a winter coat on with temperatures like this. down in delaware, temperatures are in the upper 40s under cloudy skies. here's a closer look at temperatures in newcastle county. temperatures are at or above 50 in many communities. and these temperatures will not be dropping here this evening. certainly a comfortable night. get outside, do some shopping. you will not experience many problems here with temperatures in the upper 40s. so sprinkles and showers to the south and west. it will take a while to get in here. i think overnight tonight and tomorrow is your day for the rain. 11:30 tonight, not much going on. tomorrow morning when you wake up, it's soggy, it's not a good shoe day as tammie souza would say. an ugly shoe day. rain on and off at times and the rain will continue into saturday evening. i'll have more on an actrctic blast coming up. >> stay on top of the holiday, the weather on the app. here's a look at some of the other stories making headlines county by county. a 19-year-old is charged with assaulting a police officer in montgomery county. investigators say she hit an abington police officer in the face when officers tried to get her to step out of her house last night. police were at the home responding to reports of a fight. camden county, warning to parents about dropping their kids off at cherry hill mall. the police chief says don't do it. police see a spike of problems when unsupervised teams walk around the mall. >> we understand everyone is getting gift cards for the holiday. we don't want that to interfere with what this town has to offer. we want people to come out and enjoy the shopping experience and not have that disrupted by kids that are unsupervised and acting disorderly. >> officers will be spread out throughout the mall, but not in uniform throughout the holidays. a piece of the lehigh valley is now at the vatican. the allen organ company installed a new organ in st. peter's basilica. it includes special adaptation which allows the instrument to be moved throughout the vatican and other locations. the company has been producing organs in pennsylvania for more than 70 years. it is an intense workout sure to make you sweat. >> ahead at 5:00, the training for workout warriors. we take you inside a local gym. rescued from the river, who showed up just in time to save this guy here. that's next at 5:00. good evening, part of the strategy in plans decision, coming from quantico, i want to give a shoutout to my lovely wife, sarah, my family, my parents. jenny and manmanuel, and my bror anthony. so this dog was rescued from an icy river in northern england. it was all captured on body camera footage. look at this poor guy. a 9-year-old black lab named hardy. stuck in the frozen river for about an hour. firefighters were able to pull him to safety. wow. if you're not getting enough sleep, researchers say where you live is to blame. cities were ranked around the country for the worst sleeping conditions. philadelphia came in second. the study blames the city's high pollution, obesity levels and unemployment rate. a south jersey gym is inspiring people to become spartan warriors. >> a one of a kind spartan work out class is offered. squat jumps, and wind sprints, non-stop. >> you will be sore afterwards. however, it's a good sore. it literally prepares them for the race and for any level of fitness. >> and nbc 10's drake clark gave this class a shot. there he is on the floor. he is done. you know what in? it paid off. if you'd like to see what the races are about, tune in to nbc at 3:30 on sunday afternoon. >> that would be me on the floor. the eagles are spreading holiday chair and laughs before christmas. >> here is marshall harris. >> reporter: the dpleeeagles ar showing their holiday spirit, if you're a rookie that could be a bad thing. the rooks were wearing pajamas in the locker room today and that's not all they had to do. we'll find out if they can sing. yeah, they can, next. saturday showers, i have for the shoppers tomorrow. this may be the last of the rain we see for a while. what about snow? i'll talk about that coming up in your exclusive ten day on 10 coming up. coming up all new at 6:00, smacked and punched by a sheriff's deputy. that chaos inside a philadelphia courthouse that has one law enforcement officer now facing charges. the birds are having a little fun celebrating christmas before taking on the raiders monday night. >> marshall harris joins us live. marshall? >> reporter: well, the eagles will be working on christmas, but that doesn't mean they aren't in a holiday mood. the birds' rookies had to dress up in christmas pajamas and perform christmas carols for their teammates and eagles' staff earlier today. let's just say they could have done better. ♪ ♪ >> that was the eagles' defensive rookies rehearsing for the main event. needless to say the earlier reviews were not glowing. >> it was funny, but it was kind of embarrassing. because they're supposed to be representing us as a team, and a defense, and they're supposed to put on a good show. >> reporter: if football doesn't work out do you have a music career down the road? >> no, i do not. i have no shot. >> reporter: as for the game, nick foles heads into the matchup against the raiders after throwing no interceptions last week. he's won eight straight regular season games at the link. even with that game, he's thrown 107 passes over the past two years. he knows there's still work to do. >> a lot of room, i'm sure even you ask a guy like tom brady is there room to continue improving, he's working his butt off every day. he's one of the greatest ever to play a game. there's a ton of room to improve and get more comfortable. the way you do that, you live in the moment, you work as hard as you can, you work smart and seek wisdom. there's a lot of smart coach and players, just asking questions and learning. i try to learn something new every day and that helpwis my comfort level. >> more coming up on 6:00, we see how they plan on dealing with one of the big weapons on the offense for the raiders. that would be the man they call beast mode, marshawn lynch. >> i didn't think that singing was that bad, come on? >> my ears are still hurting. >> you should have helped him out there. all right, remember nbc 10 is your official eagles station. don't miss the action on christmas night eagles versus the raiders. our coverage begins on sunday morning, christmas eve. watch eagles game day kickoff starting at 9:30. all right, santa hears a lot of wishes this time of year. >> one boy's request really touched his heart. jacob coker's dad has been battling a blood disorder for two years. he had another scare recently so when jacob went to see santa in garland, texas he asked for help. santa explained his expertise is in toys but he did offer to pray. the picture has spread all over social media. >> i asked that the lord would help him with the pain and help him to have enough joy in his heart to get through the pain. >> and prayers are now pouring in from around the country. strangers have offered to help with the family's bills and christmas presents. >> wow. >> nice. all right. turning now to the weather. i hope you enjoy the warmer temperatures today. you're looking live at the promenade in cape may. a nice night to also dine by the water, perhaps. a beautiful boathouse row all lit up. >> three days before christmas, a live look at the philadelphia skyline. it's going to get warmer tomorrow. steve sosna is back now. warmer tomorrow and then what happens? >> to be continued. >> okay. >> we'll get to that in the ten day forecast. i was wondering why you were so excited coming into work. i found out the reason, she's done her holiday shopping. >> organized. >> she asks why i'm so quiet. i am the procrastinator. procrastinators are quiet right now because the pressure is on. so i'm feeling the pressure right now. if you're a procrastinator and need to get out there and do 100% of your shopping, the next couple of days aren't so bad. tonight one of your better options. it will not be raining. tomorrow, not so great, you'll have showers to deal with. you'll need an umbrella. so just take that into consideration. christmas eve day looks nice, temperatures in the middle 40s. we are looking at a showery sat for mo for most of the area. on and off rain with temperatures in the 50s. 40s in the lehigh valley. there's a brief brush of some light snow, maybe a mix on sunday night, which is christmas eve night into early christmas morning itself. doesn't look like a significant storm. if you wake up around 2:00 in the morning, don't be surprised to see a few snowflakes. your saturday forecast, this does not look very christmas-esque temperatures around 60 in philadelphia. low to mid 50s in delaware and south jersey where you may be hearing rumbles of thunder and middle 40s in the lehigh valley. where will you see a white christmas? upstate new york, through new england, all the way through the great lakes states. if you're really lucky enough to go out to the western states across the pacific northwest you will see a white christmas. but that secondary storm that i was talking about for sunday will also deliver parts of southern new england a white christmas. so here's the storm system at 6:00 p.m. on christmas eve night. there is nothing happening, but look how quickly things fill in. christmas morning at midnight, we are looking at a light mishtumis mixture, light snow towards quaker town, areas of berks county. by 5:00 in the morning it's gone. then we turn to the winter attack. yes. each day gets colder next week with highs in the 20s and 30s. lows in the teens. yes, that's teeth chattering weather. we're looking at early to midweek quiet. no snowfall. it's the second part of next week that gets interesting. glenn and i will be poring over the models each one through the weekend and into next week. that storm could be substantial by the time we get into next friday into saturday. we've been seeing consistent signs of that. we'll be tracking that system across the country as we go from thursday, friday into saturday which is the day prior to new year's eve. stay tuned, more interesting info to come with that. let's get to the ten day forecast quickly where you'll see our temperatures are up tomorrow and then they're all the way back down. glenn will have more on the rain for tomorrow in the next half hour. all right, steve. still ahead, a story you need to see before buying that holiday gift. >> gift card hacks, the reason why you need to buy gift cards directly from the retailer so you don't get ripped off. nbc 10 responds has the story all new at 5:00. also, children thrown from the windows of a philadelphia home. the family's heartbreak just before christmas, coming up at 6:00. michael: i'm thankful that i'm alive and have a second chance. james: i'm thankful for the help and the opportunity that i received. darlene: i'm thankful to be able to help people in crisis. vanessa: i'm thankful that addiction is treatable, and that help is available. christie: new jersey is experiencing a heroin epidemic fueled by opioid painkillers. but if you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, i want you to know: we are here for you. this holiday season, choose help. call 844 reach nj or visit reachnj.gov. angry iphone customers are taking apple to court. a class action lawsuit has just filed in california, it follows apple's admission that it does slow down older models of the iphone. the company claims it helps older batteries last longer as new software updates are released. customers have complained about the slowdowns but experts say you should still download those updates. >> the other problem with holding back on software updates is you lose the security improvements and fixes that apple makes with every release, thus putting you in danger of other things. >> critics believe apple is trying to push customers to buy the newer iphones. you can save a lot of money by just buying a new battery which costs about $80. you can do that with your iphone? all right, now to nbc 10 responds, gift cards are the most requested holiday gift. in fact, more than half of us will ask for one this year. >> you could end up getting a zero balance. harry hairston shows us what you need to look out for. >> patricia recently took a trip to maui. >> it was really fun. >> fun with a little frustration. she had a $100 visa gift card, a present from her daughter. she pulled it out to pay for dinner one night and the waitress told her the card had no money on it. >> it was kind of embarrassing, actually. it was really embarrassing, you know, it feels like it was my fault or something when it wasn't. >> patricia called the number on the back of the card and was told the card had already been used. >> i was really shocked by that. i didn't understand it. >> your gift card that you thought was shiny and new is now completely used. >> reporter: this woman is with wallet hub, a personal finance website. she says patricia's gift card was hacked. hacke hackers copy down or take pictures of cards at stores. they scratch off the strip. the hackers create a new card with your card's information they use it themselves or sell it. >> since this fraudster knows right away when you've activated their funds, they're on the move. >> we contacted visa and patricia got a new gift card right away. in a statement the company apologized to patricia and said we do all we can to insure the cards function properly. patricia was happy to get her money back. but she's leery about using gift cards again. >> it was really a let down. honestly, i don't think i'll ever purchase gift cards again. >> you'll likely buy someone a gift card this holiday. here are some tips to help prevent you and the recipient from getting ripped off. if it looks like the gift card's packaging has been tampered with, don't buy it. avoid buying cards from third party sellers on websites like ebay. your safest bet is to buy gift cards online directly from a retailer. if you receive a gift card, don't activate it until you are ready to use it. >> good advice there. if you have a consumer complaint for nbc 10 responds, head to nbc10.com and fill out the form. we will respond to you. nbc 10 news at 6:00 is up next. we're following breaking news. shots fired at police in a local neighborhood. the standoff lasting for hours. we're live on the scene. plus a backpack mystery outside one local school. $100,000 worth of manufacture is discovered inside. it's an nbc 10 exclusive next. a holiday tradition saved by philadelphia 's school kids. coming up how their handiwork will bring history back to life once again, even despite the work of mother nature. i'm tracking rain for at least part of your holiday weekend. look at that. and also the chance for a white christmas in some spots. a forecast for your neighborhood, next at 6:00. that breaking news right now at 6:00, bullets fired at plofsplofolice officers. neighbors are being told to take shelter in case shots start flying again. good evening, i'm jim rosenfield. police are keeping the streets shut down right now. drew smith is joining us live right now. what are you learning? >> reporter: this is a tense situation. it remains so. it's been like this for hours. this is fire company officials keeping the road blocked. just over the hill is dennis street where the emergency response team is trying to end this peacefully. we were warned of active automatic gunfire in this neighborhood. officers swarmed this area earlier this afternoon. we've heard reports from neighbors that there were several bursts of gunfire even while police were on the scene. a number of negotiators have been brought in. we've been checking with police for updates but it's unclear if anyone has been injured. as for the neighbors, those in their homes have to shelter in place away from the windows. don't come outside. that's been the order for the past several hours. it remains the order right now. we spoke with people who are stuck outside of their entire neighborhood. they've been driving around with us on the other side of this road block, hoping this will end soon. >> i've lived here over 60 some years. we've never had anything like this. never. never. >> reporter: are you worried for the neighbors that are sheltering in place? >> as long as the police told them, because we do have a few elderly around where we live, as