the cardinal of the washington archdiocese was among the many religious on the runway eager to greet the pontiff and share in this journey. with the symbol of american freedom waving in the wind, the moment seemed to capture the historic significance of this visit. >> pope francis is a transformational, global leader, and he's touched the hearts of people from all faiths. >> reporter: philadelphia's project home has been tasked by the world meeting of families to shine a light on homelessness and poverty in preparation for the pope's visit. while many in washington will only see the pope from a distance in passing, sister mary will be on the south lawn of the white house tomorrow for the official state welcome. >> i think pope francis' message tomorrow will be one of mercy. he talks about mercy as a verb, so i'm really excited to hear that message with the residents of project home, people who have once been homeless, as well as our entire project home community. >> reporter: sister mary and the project home community will be among the 20,000 people or so who have tickets to the south lawn at the white house tomorrow. the event kicks off at 9:15, followed by a private meeting with the president. reporting live in washington, i'm rosemary connors, nbc 10 news. ♪ >> music and celebration filled the convention center today. hundreds were there as the world meeting of families officially kicked off their philadelphia festivities with a mass in the grand hall. here's a live look outside the convention center, where a ceremony is being held to bless a life-sized marble casting ic. nbc 10's tim furlong is live in sky force 10 over the convention center. exciting day for the thousands taking part in the world meeting of families. >> reporter: i think it's an exciting day for everybody. we've been talking about this for years now, it's finally here. the world meeting of families now under way in the convention center, below sky force 10, as a matter of fact, meeting under way in philadelphia. take a look, ben franklin parkway is closed to trafficment we're very much under way to getting people set up, major undertaking but it is an amazing situation here in philly. it is absolutely an honor. day one wrapping up in the convention center right now. thousands have been in and out of the building and all been very, very excited to be here in our area. it has been three and a half years in the making, but the world meeting of families is now officially under way. >> this is so exciting! it's like a one big family just coming together for this one week of events. i'm just so excited. we're all excited. >> reporter: trina and her choir are singing today, 18,000 visitors are here for the meetings and the talks and yet they are here to see the pope. >> he will talk about immigration and we are one of them, so we want to be there to hear what the message of support for us. >> reporter: the pope isn't here yet, but his face is everywhere. you can buy funny t-shirts, christian workout gear, free cardboard pope hats, also help with what will be a record-sized paint by number project, but nothing strays too far from the family theme. the whole meeting focused on repairing troubled family and make happy families stronger. everyone here thinks this is a good moment for the church. pope francis, to many, the down to earth pope who's getting many catholics back to the table. >> i think now pope francis is going to bring it down to plain folks like the rest of us so we can make it practical in our lifetime and that's the thing. faith has to be led. not just an intellectual constru construct. it's a way to live. >> reporter: so many more events tomorrow inside the convention center. we get closer to the weekend, the restrictions are piling up, parkway as we pull out live you can see is already towed. towing is starting in some spots, but i had a few people at the world meeting of families today tell me they know this must be a pain for people who live and work in this area but really do seem to appreciate our collective patience. live over the convention center, tim furlong, nbc 10 news. >> to say the least, lots of people, hundreds of thousands over the next few days. the pope's enormous popularity, as well as his habit of wading into crowds makes it harder to protect him. one of the biggest security operations in american history is under way to keep him safe. nbc 10 investigatie ivive repor mitch blacher spoke to the special agent in charge of security. this three-city trip is stretching the agency. >> it is. special agent david beach says the same agents who protect events in d.c. and new york will also find themselves here in philadelphia in a wide ranging interview he told us agents are up to the task. >> how many agents are we going to see in philadelphia during this weekend? >> we don't discuss our numbers normally. i will tell you between the events in washington, philadelphia, and new york, we are stretched and we rely on our partnerships. >> reporter: the secret service has 3,300 agents in all. many will be paid with the $4.5 million in the overtime budget by the time they reach philadelphia. he said there could be nearly 300,000 people to protect inside the secure perimeter on the parkway, including 80,000 with tickets to get closest. >> is there a chance anyone with a ticket may not get into the secure ticketed section? >> i think as long as people show up in sufficient time to get to the checkpoints, people will get them in. >> reporter: special agent beach says there is a capacity. >> the fire marshal would let us know we're nearing capacity, and at some point the fire marshal, in collaboration with other officials, will determine that's it. the venue is now closed until some people leave. >> reporter: while the holy father visits washington and new york, agents in philadelphia are watching, tweaking security plans until the last minute. what's the security plan's biggest weakness? >> i don't believe we have any weaknesses in our security plan. >> reporter: anything that scares you as we approach the weekend? >> no, i feel pretty good about this plan. i feel pretty good -- i feel very good about the plan, i feel very good about the event. again, i think the people should feel very safe coming to this event. >> we also asked about the technology that the secret service would use to secure events. we asked about facial recognition cameras and whether the secret service would monitor cell calls and text messages. special agent beach would not answer those questions. mitch blacher, nbc 10 news. on the day pope francis steps foot in the united states, law enforcement in south jersey did a mock training exercise. they'll use a new broadband tower to prevent a law enforcement communications breakdown. officials say there could be additional road closures if traffic warrants it. but the journey to see the pope from new jersey to philadelphia should be smooth. >> we do have a lot of avenues for pilgrims to get over to philadelphia still available, parking in camden, river line going into camden, operating four stations going directly into philadelphia. >> 25 partner agencies will fully activate the emergency operations center. crews are now towing cars in the area you see shaded in blue making room for the events at independence hall this weekend. the no parking rule is already in effect for the areas around the parkway you see in green and purple. the philadelphia parking authority has towed 216 cars so far, but that's a much smaller number than they anticipated. officials say 90% of the vehicles in the area were moved as requested. keep up to the minute on traffic changes for the pope's visit by tapping the nbc 10 news app. we have parking rules, septa information, and security details you need to know if you're going to see the pope. and the pope's arrival comes at the same time as one of the holiest days on the jewish calendar. yom kippur begins at sun down. this is a live look at the services. the day is considered the most important day of the jewish year of reflection and repent. now to our weather. a cloudy and cool day out there, but that is going to change tomorrow. sheena parveen joining us now. fall begins tomorrow, sheena. is it going to feel like it? >> jacqueline, i think it will feel nice, but not going to be as cool as today. we're actually going to be warming up. i think a lot of people will like tomorrow's forecast. it is going to be comfortable. right now, though, feels a little more like fall outside. overcast skies, but we are starting to see some of the clouds break here, looking at center city. temperatures have been held down today, too. we head it to the mid 70s but now around 70 degrees for philadelphia, wilmington about the upper 60s in reading and pottstown. allentown, 61 up in the poconos. but as we go through the rest of this evening, some parts of the area will hold on to the cloud cover for a while, especially along the shore by 7:00 p.m., along the upper 60s. mostly cloudy. midnight tonight clouds start to break up. temperatures in the mid 60s and tomorrow morning we're starting with a lot more sunshine, still cool temperatures around 60 degrees if you're around the philadelphia area and through the afternoon. quite a bit warmer than today for the first day of fall. we'll take a look at that forecast, also some rain chances for part of your weekend coming up. a warning for swimmers at the jersey shore this weekend. the rip current risk is high. live look at the beach at cape may, strong winds are creating big waves and dangerous rip currents could last through the weekend. today we've learned that a troubled nursing home in delaware will close for good. the hospital relocated earlier this year when the boiler died, cutting off all hot water. now officials have decided the 102-bed facility isn't worth fixing. 48 people were in the state-run facility, the hospital has been in operation since the early 1900s. pennsylvania lawmakers have called it a day after, a house session aimed at sending the state's budget stalemate. they are expected to vote later this week on a republican short-term funding proposal but democratic governor tom wolf is expected to veto the bill. pennsylvania has been operating without a budget for 83 days. two local police departments are getting money for body cameras from the department of justice. allentown is getting nearly a quarter million dollars, while cherry hill will be rewarded more than $82,000. the feds are giving over more than $19 million in total to police agencies in 42 states. it's a memory worth reliving. terry ruggles talks to a former member of the mounted patrol. you have to hear what happened as a police force came face to face. and we're talking about warmer weather for the first official day of fall tomorrow, followed by a weekend cool down and tracking a chance for showers for part of the weekend. that coming up. . the pope's visit means the return of our favorite papal expert. terry ruggles is making a special appearance this week. you were there when pope john paul ii visited in 1979 and wanted to be a part of this coverage, we wanted you to be a part of it, as well, and are delighted you are here. >> it is good to be here. what happens this week, a moment in history for everybody who's involved, but some of the police and security teams that will be on duty this weekend, they will have four legs. mounted police are expected to play a big part in crowd control. it was the same thing 36 years ago when pope john paul ii came to philadelphia, so here's a story about a guy who saddled up to meet the pope. that's butch walking through the philadelphia police department stables in the northeast. you may remember him as andy reid's body guard at oogeagles games, but before pig skin, butch was into horse hide. butch was part of the mounted patrol in 1979 when pope john paul ii came to philadelphia. the morning the pope went to the civic center, butch and three other mounted patrol officers were sent around back. you're thinking you're not going to see the pope. >> no, no. >> but for some reason the secret service directed the pope behind the civic center before coming out to meet the crowd in front. >> he gets out of the car and looks at the horse like i'm looking at this horse, all right, and my heart's beating through my chest, because my horse is named bruno and he was a little nuts. >> riders will tell you horses sometimes get very nervous, even wild, when a stranger touches their face. >> the pope goes like this, puts his hand and makes the sign of the cross. he taps the horse on the head, and the horse didn't move, like it was mesmerized. >> bruno didn't move a muscle, but when the pope got back into his car and went out front to meet the crowd -- >> i kissed this horse like it was my wife, i kissed this horse. i could have swore, this was going to go bad. >> but you got to see the pope. >> yeah, got to see the pope! >> all right. there will be more than 40 mounted patrol officers on and around the parkway on saturday and sunday. butch says they are great for crowd control, great for community relations, and if you're on the parkway and get close to one of those mounted patrols, do not pat the horse on the head unless you're the pope. >> that's right. normally a horse wouldn't stay that still. it was very calmed by the pope. >> i didn't know that rule, but butch said it worked. >> now we know. terry, thank you. >> good to be with you. >> love having you here. >> now your nbc 10 first alert weather with meteorologist sheena parveen. >> well, a cool day today, overcast skies. not the first day of fall. this is the last day of summer. tomorrow is the first day of fall, and we're actually going to be warmer tomorrow with more sunshine so a nice fall start, few degrees above normal, but i think we'll take it. going into the weekend, though, we do cool back down and we are throwing some rain chances in, but i'll show you what it looks like because we're going to have to tweak this as we get closer. the rain will be staying mostly to our south. here's a look near the schuylkill river and art museum. we've seen overcast skies but now some of the clouds are thinning out, breaking up as we go overnight tonight. temperatures still cool overnight. right now 70 degrees in philadelphia, so still pretty comfortable and cool outside. areas through the lehigh valley in the upper 60s, like reading 68 degrees, also westchester, south jersey some temperatures dropping into the upper 60s now, 69 dover and 68 degrees glassboro. overnight tonight we'll see the temperatures dropping down possibly to around 50 degrees for some areas. now the clouds will be clearing. you can already see the clearing taking place for the poconos and parts of the lehigh valley. last place to see clearing will be along the shore and the delaware beaches. but we are watching moisture down to our south at the same time. so this is the moisture we're talking about possibly giving us those rain chances into the weekend. until the weekend we stay dry. here's one computer model shows that area of low pressure getting close. by saturday, but still far enough to the south where i think we'll stay dry saturday. for sunday for the papal visit it looks like now the rain will be staying far enough south, maybe have a slight chance of a shower in philadelphia, but the farther south you are in delaware, you're going to have a better rain chance for sunday. saturday we're going to keep it dry and cool, mid 70s. sunday chance of showers mostly south of philadelphia with temperatures still in the mid 70s. cool as we go into this weekend. comfortable weather. tonight, though, mostly cloudy, clearing late tonight for the area. 59 for the low in philadelphia. 50 areas north and west. tomorrow, mostly sunny. warmer day than today, right around 80 degrees. the average high is 76, so we're going to feel warmer for the first day of fall. thursday, same thing. then we go into the weekend, you see the cool down and each day this week we'll be watching for the chance of showers, that moisture could easily move farther north, but more updates tomorrow and even into the weekend. stay tuned right here. john? >> thanks, sheena. i'm john clark. how many defensive players will the eagles be missing on sunday? did the cowboys defense know the plays the pheagles were running? 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. this is the xfinity sports desk, brought to you by xfinity. your home for the most live sports. >> i'm john clark from comcast sportsnet. the birds will be without three players on defense sunday against the jets. these guys sitting out practice today. cedric forton there broke a bone in his right hand. he's going to miss a few games. keiko alonso is out, he's deciding whether to have surgery. mikel kendricks has a hamstring sprain, won't play. jordan hicks will see more time with demico ryan. >> whatever i need to do to go out and play 70, 80 snaps, whatever it is, i'm up for it. that's just the competitor in me. jae, you know, play me ten, 15 snaps, no, that's not why i come out here and do it. i want to play every snap. >> my mindset is going into the game, you know, just understand that on any play possible you're going to be playing. attack it like you are the starter. >> it could be season over if the eagles lose on sunday. since 1990, nfl teams that start 0-3 have only made the playoffs 2.4% of the time. the last team was 17 years ago. could be tougher for the birds offense. the jets defense come fate e na colts last night. today, birds offensive coordinator pat shurmur was asked are you concerned about the eagles' struggling offense? >> no, i'm not concerned. like i mentioned already, the group of guys in there are very prideful, they are outstanding players, and they want to put a good effort on the field, so i'm not concerned. >> not concerned. is the eagles offense too predictable? josh huff could hear the cowboys sideline calling out some of the birds' plays before the snap. chip's going to have to make some adjustments. phillies are bringing back manager pete mackanin. take a look, incoming president andy mcfail says pete is the right fit for the rebuilding project and developing these young players. >> i'd like to thank the players for playing with enthusiasenthu. the reason i got the job is because of the enthusiastic play that these guys have showed me. >> rough job to rebuild, but somebody's got to lead them. i'm john clark, back to you, jim. >> john, thank you. >> or jacqueline. >> it's all right. tonight on nbc 10 news at 11:00, the papal buzz. why the pope's car is getting so much attention. the story tonight on nbc 10 news at 11:00. and we have warmer temperatures coming for the first day of fall, believe it or not. today we got to about the mid 70s, but the overcast skies felt like fall. tomorrow, nice, rain for the weekend. >> thank you, i'm jacqueline london. the news continues now with nbc nightly news. breaking news tonight. the pope in america. a rousing welcome for the man who has been called the rock star pope. francis begins a historic visit. tonight the largest security operation in u.s. history to protect him. more developing news. hillary clinton comes out against the keystone pipeline. as a clash of the business titans erupts on the republican side. price spike outrage. the cost of a life-threatening drug sky rockets, 5,000% overnight. a young ceo under fire. why are americans paying more more medicine than other countries. >> and caught cheating. the largest automatic under fire and under investigation for something hidden insi

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