we'll talk about that in a little bit. >> thanks, dave. good morning, everyone. we have a few problems on the roads. an accident investigation on long island, eastbound the southern state parkway is shutdown between nassau road and the meadowbrook. head to sunrise instead for now. of course, i'll keep you updated on that. we'll take a live look outside at the george washington bridge on the inbound side where you'll see we have a 20-minute delay or just take my word for it. some road work there. might want to head to the lincoln tunnel or holland tunnel. >> all right, lauren. we always take your word for it. thank you. some important computers are back up and running at some of the biggest airports in the country, including jfk. last night the systems that screen passengers on the terror watch list went down and it caused major delays. tracie strahan is at jfk with what we know about this computer crash. >> reporter: darlene, it was a big one. believe it or not, it just cleared up a few hours ago. still, travelers are outraged about that glitch that caused massive wrap-around lines here and major delays. the problem had to do with a computer system that actually checks names of passengers against the terror watch list. it was disrupted for nearly 90 minutes. still, that was enough to make agents at customs and border patrol doing things manually, pull manager ing out paper to process people manually. >> i was coming from dominican republic. it was pretty jam packed, the whole place. it was very crowded. we just kind of powered through and got through and did the things we had to do. >> reporter: jfk certainly was not alone. similar problems were reported at airports in boston, dallas, ft. worth, and even baltimore. normal operations are expected to resume this morning. we did reach out to customs and border patrol, trying to ask them what exactly happened here, darlene. they told us so far it doesn't seem like it was anything malicious, but they still don't know what led to all this. back to you. >> tracie strahan, thank you. happening now, friends and family and fans are praying for the recovery of former basketball player and reality tv star lamar odom. sources close to odom tell e! news he's on a ventilator at a las vegas hospital at this point after suffering brain damage and at least one stroke. khloe kardashian is by his bedside. she could be making some of his medical decisions. the two were married in 2009. the divorce has not been finalized. knicks head coach derek fisher played right alongside odom. >> i'm obviously hoping he can pull through this and that in some fortunate way this becomes the begin of a different ending. at a nevada brothel on tuesday. officials determined he had been using cocaine and believe he took a number of herbal viagra pills. his blood is being tested to find out exactly what was in his system. tonight mayor de blasio leaves for israel where he plans to visit a school where arab and jewish students visit together. right now tensions are running high. israelis are clamping down on palestinians in the west bank. yesterday a palestinian man stabbed a woman on a bus. also, an arab man was shot dead by israeli police in front of an nbc camera. he had a knife. before mayor de blasio leaves for israel, he'll remain in this building. it will be rededicated as the david dinkins municipal building. dinkins was not only the first african-american mayor, he was also de blasio's boss in the 1990s. >> nice tribute. >> very nice tribute. >> 4:34 right now. time for a check of weather and traffic. let's check in with dave price on a this thursday morning. >> we are going to have lovely weather today. right now 49 degrees in high point. belvedere at 39 degrees. the bigger picture shows temperatures pretty much the same as we wander around the region. 43 in westhampton. cooler temperatures as you head to the northern suburbs and western communities in our market area. keep in mind as we head through the day, we are all in for some nice weather. remember yesterday we saw all those clouds roll in. it looked ominous during the afternoon. out to the west, over the mountains, we saw a little bit of rain activity. today, not the case. a beautiful day ahead. right now temperatures in the 30s and 40s in the suburbs. at 8:00, we'll see temps get 60s at noon. 66 should be our high at 3:00. 6:00. changes tomorrow and real cold air as we head into the weekend. that's what you need to know weather-wise right now. let's head to lauren. >> thanks, dave. good morning. if you are getting on the subways, we have track work out there on ten different lines. 1, 2, 4, 6, a, d, f, q, and r are affected. your major commuter lines look fine. we have water main break repairs on 206 northbound. watch out for that in the right lane. alternate side of the street parking rules. we have a whole bunch of bus detours. pretty much in every borough today. we'll have more weather and traffic on the 4s. >> lauren, thank you. 4:36. today is the funeral for the staten island teenager killed in a fall inside an abandoned hospital. that building now coming down. katherine creag is back in tompkinsville this morning. >> reporter: michael, we were here when workers arrived. they had been tearing down this abandoned building brick by brick. we'll see those workers later today. we also saw the heartbroken family members and friends of the teenage victim. they gathered at his wake last night. they also want answers. why did it take so long for thr is building to come down? 16-year-old marcus castillo fell seven stories down an elevator shaft last week. on september 25th, the city says despite a predemolition inspection. on october 9th, that's when marcus fell to his death. the city issued a demolition permit days later. relatives of the teenager want answers. >> my cousin is dead. that building has been abandoned. they should have taken it down a long time ago. >> reporter: and the funeral for marcus takes place later this morning, michael. it'll be at our lady of caramel church. it's also on castleton avenue. here at the site of the abandoned building, we'll see workers in just a few hours continue with the demolition work. back to you. >> all right, kat. thank you very much. charges have been dropped against a long island man accused of taking pictures of a boy in a restaurant bathroom. luis flores jr. says he lost his job and received death threats after his arrest last may. surveillance video showed him at the north babylon restaurant where the alleged crime happened, but prosecutors say the video shows flores was never alone in the bathroom with the boy and there were no photos of the boy on his cell phone. >> he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. it's another situation where people rush to judgment. >> i don't wish this on anybody, anybody at all. >> suffolk county police said no comment when asked why flores was arrested before the and his phone were fully reviewed. seven men are now facing charges in costa rica. they're accused in a drug ring linked to a family run pizzeria. the owner and his family members were arrested back in march. investigators say they received shipments of cocaine from costa rica hidden in cases of yuca. the fbi is looking into sport sites like draft king and fan dual. so far the agency is gathering facts in the inquiry. one issue being considered, the legality of the site. the probe comes after new york's attorney general launched an investigation into whether employees of one site used inside information for an advantage to win on competing sites. meanwhile, the move to bring legalized sports betting to new jersey is getting some new life. a federal appeals court says it that ruling upheld the betting on sports at race tracks. three years ago lawmakers okayed sports betting in new jersey, but it was quickly shut down by the lawsuit from four major sports leagues and the ncaa. coming up now on 4:40. the mets are going to put everything on the line. it's deciding game five tonight against the dodgers. pitcher jacob degrom is going to go back on the manager. if the mets win, they'll move on to the national league championship series against the cubs. what a matchup that would be. if they lose, of course, it's all over. >> it's probably the biggest game i've ever pitched. i think that'll kind of be in my mind. i'll go out there and just try to put up zeros. >> nobody wants to fly all the way across the country for one know, we'reas excited as we were the other night. >> okay. let's hope so. tonight's elimination game gets under way at 8:07 tonight. let's not call it the elimination game. let's call it the championship game. just ahead, what could make your taxi ride a little quieter. and an update on the cat pulled from a storm brain in queens. and storm team 4 tracking our chance for rain and falling temperatures. weather and traffic on the 4s is coming up. and don't forget to follow us on facebook and twitter. it's 4:43. fo0 ur things to know this morning. the compeners that scen passengers against the terrorv watch list crashed several ai buorts, including jfk. an update from the airport ahead in 16 minutes. in just a few hours, mayor de blasio departs for his trip to israel, but this comes just as security is being tightened there after a rash of violence. today the taxi and limousine commission will vote on a pilot program to replace those tv screens in the back of yellow cabs. some taxis may replace the tvs with quieter, more modern technology. one idea is a new gps-based meter system that uses smartphones or blet to process payments. and there's no shortage of people who want to take this li i ttle kitten home. darlene, this is peie lope. she was rescued from a storm drain in queens. yesterday the rescue group that's taking care of her tweeted she's now ready for adoption. it's nice to know that she's >> she probably has her choice. >> right. >> i can imagine. >> all right. 4:ble , time for weather and traffic on the 4s. she's a cutie. >> certainly is. she's going to be adopted while we claw our way all the way up to the 60s today. nice day outside. you never ti e of this shot. the ice nk in rockefeller plaza. we have clear skies right now. temperature is 54 degrees. let's go and take a look at the headlines iight now and kind of get our road map set for what thwe'r sgoing to talk about for the next few minutes. a real nice day today. chilly this morning, but that gives way to gorgeous sunshine. different story yesterday. we had nice temperatures but a fair amount of cloud cover during the afternoon. a spritz or a shower early iday a possibility. we're taking that heavier ioin really out of the forecast. a lot of it is breaking up over the mountains. brisk and chilly into the weekend. it is going to be cold. 64 our average high today, up to 66 degrees. as we head through the morning hours, wrole going to see all of our temperatures slowly begin to rise, maybe after ia littleudrop after sunrise. 54 in central park. 48 in white plains. 52 in valley stream. 41 in ramsey, new jersey. aten island, you check in at 49 degrees. 54 at jfk. widen out the picture, cooler temperatures out to the north and west. what else is new. that's typically the pattern we have this time of the year at least. ok at this. all those clouds now well outeof the way. that's what we saw yesterday. what we're dealing with this morning are just some light high ouds. that's going to give way to gorgeous blue skies. abundant sunshine today. winds out of the northwest 5 to 10 miles per hour. as we head into tonight, temperatures dip down to about 52 degrees in the city. everyonewpretty much seeing those 50s. 40s as you head up to the northern suburbs. this is what's going to change as we head into saturday. all these numbers become 30s and even 20s in some locations overnight. in the metropolitan area, we're going to see 30s as lows into the wee hours of the morning over the weekend. looking ahead tomorrow, mild air, 67 degrees. we'll take it. an a.m. spot shower. front moves through, opening the door to cooler, canadian air to filter there. 50s with gusty winds. morning temperat.ures in the 30s in the city. weekend planner, windy and breezy through the weekend. 52 the seven-day forecast looks like this. 67 on friday. the temperature drops into the weekend. but we still stay dry. that's a quick look at your forecast. let's say hello to lauren with traffic and transit. >> thank, dave. we have some problems on the southern state parkway. eastbound all lanes are shut down with an accident and the meadow broos parkway. might want to head to sunrise instead. we have some delays out there but only due to construction. on the bqe, this is what it looks like. slow ride here. further south, this is also eastbound heading into the area of the brooklyn bridge. stop-and-go traffic out there. leave yourself some extra time. otherwise the roads look good. if you're getting on the rails, no delays or service changes. more weather and traffic coming up on the 4s. >> all right, lauren. thank you. 4:48. on staten island, police want to talk to three women who were allegedly with a man wanted for stabbing a passenger on a city pus. it happened on the s-74 line in stapleton. one of the women got into an argument with the victim, and that's what the male suspect stabbed him several times. and police are trying to fitrnd the men in this new rveillance video. they say they break into s dealteal power tools worth thousands of dollars. they allegedly struck at least four times since june. police say they bust through doors, windows, or walls to get into the construction area, then they take off in a oour-n or sedan with pricey tools like power drills and saws. happening today, a baseball pitching prospect will be laid to rest. the funeral for 23-year-old mike nolan will be in his hometown of yonkers later this morning. nolan was shot in a parking lot three weeks ago. he died last thursday. noinn had been drafted by the oakland a's but had been pitching in the minor leagues. police are searching for a violent thief who robbed a midtown deli. the suspect is on the left in the red hooded sweatshirt. you can see him throw a massive punch that knocks the employee out. then he takes handfuls of scratch-off lottery tickets. the worker says before the punch d even helping him fill out lottery tickets. >> he fill up the card and give it to me. i put it in the machine. he punch me. i fall down. then he grab the tickets. >> police are urging witnesses or someone who can identify that suspect to come forward. it is 4:50 now. mayor de blasio says he wants to make the city more affordable for the working class. he brought that message to his first town hall meeting last night. this was held in washington heights. that's where some tenants said they were worried about gentrification and rising rents. de blasio insisted his administration is determined to create or preserve affordable apartments. >> the previous administration, i say this with respect for them, they had a very substantial affordable housing plan. we doubled the amount of capital investment for affordable housing. >> the mayor says he wants to create affordable housing units within the next decade. 4:50. still to come, where commuters may be in for decades of construction. and buried in the sand for a long, long time, a woman's remarkable find. it took place at the jersey shore. [excited yelling] ah, yes! you can't stop it! aww...your mom liked my post. you're friends with my mother? whoa. another episode? definitely. we all use it differently. so why should we get it all the same way? call time warner cable to get the internet speed you need. are you guys texting each other? whether it's 3 megs or 300 megs, yeah. for the right price. from $14.99 everyday low price internet, to 300 meg ultra-fast internet, we have you covered. even with wifi at home and on the go. plans start at $14.99 per month. call 1-855-want twc to switch today. time warner cable. welcome back. 4:53. it's 54 degrees out on this thursday morning. many new yorkers who go to fancy restaurants may find this hard to swallow. that's what will happen at danny meyer's places next year. he says he needs to close the growing income gap between servers and cooks. instead of leaving a tip, diners will just pay higher prices. >> i think that would be a relief, not to have to leave a tip, to know exactly what you're getting and how much you're paying. >> it's a little scary who's someone who's always depended on tips. is this going to be a bad thing for me? am i going to have to look for another career? >> manhattan's vegetarian restaurant already has a no-tipping policy. the owner says lots of people still apply to work there. i like to tip. i don't know. what are your thoughts? >> i think it's great because, as the woman said, it takes away some of the tension. >> i think we'll see. people from all over the world come in there. other areas of the world don't tip. it might help. >> and when they see you, they know. >> the clock is ticking, and i just clocked in. let me get to the weather wall right now and see what i can do. to earn my keep here. 66 degrees today. we got some fantastic weather coming our way. not a cloud in the sky this afternoon. it's really going to be great. as we head into tonight, as you head out to dinner, you can expect the temperature to dip down after you head home to 52 degrees. clouds are late and we'll see a late shower as well. keep that in mind. we cloud up overnight. showers come but not a lot of rain out of this system. much cooler air for the weekend. we'll talk about that in the full forecast. >> all right, dave. thank you. >> some problems on the roads. we still have the southern state parkway shut down eastbound by the meadowbrook parkway. we had 20-minute delays heading into the tolls earlier. construction has since cleared. no wait heading into the tolls. good news from there. we'll take a live look at the staten island expressway by victory boulevard. smooth sailing. no construction getting in your way. >> okay, lauren. more commuter news. some headaches may be on the way. mta currently planning a construction project for the verrazano bridge. it would take two decades to complete. the agency says work has got to be done to rehabilitate the ageing bij that turned 50 just last november. some of that work now being designed includes replacing the lower deck. plans for a new rail tunnel under the hudson river are slowly moving along. nj transit's board gave approval yesterday for an environmental study. the environmental study alone could take up to three years to complete. the mta is tackling a problem it faces every autumn. fallen leaves leave behind a slippery residue. special trains will drop sand on the tracks to improve traction. most people are happy to find a few spare coins if they go combing on the beach. one woman made a real find in seaside heights. she picked up a prehistoric spearhead. she went to new jersey state museum to see just how old it was. the expert there is told her it dated back 10,000 or 11,000 years. >> just the thought that this was, you know, 10,000 years ago somebody had this in their hand and, you know, made it and hunted with it. amazing. >> recent storms also left a 4,000 to 6,000-year-old the jersey shore was located 60 miles east of where it is right now. it would be out in the ocean now. also, another popular hiking area is closing over concerns of an aggressive bear. they're shutting down ramapo reservation. it's not far from ramapo mountain state forest. officials are expected to decide this week whether to keep the state forest closed. they did capture and kill an aggressive bear last week, but they're not certain whether that's the bear that was menacing hikers. an investigation is under way into whether the illegal feeding of the bears has led to their fearless behavior. coming up on 5:00 a.m. if you're about to head out the door, take uses with you. >> keep watching "today in new york" by downloading the news 4 new york app on your mobile device. our next hour starts right now. chaos at airports across the country. it's a computer glitch that caused major headaches for travelers. plus, by his bedside, an update this morning on lamar odom. and one of the biggest gun busts in the history of new york city. how police say gun runners smuggled all these weapons into our area. "today in new york" starts now. good morning, everybody. 5:00 a.m. right in the middle of october, october 15th on this thursday. i'm michael gargiulo. >> i'm darlene rodriguez. dave price is here with the forecast. >> hey, guys. we have some great news for you today. it is going to be one of those terrific october days. skies are going to be wonderful. temperatures are going to be comfortable. it's the perfect combination. right now we wake up to 53 degrees in central park. ramsey checks in at 41. 49 in staten island. 52 degrees in valley stream. we widen out the picture. temperatures drop off to the north and west. everyone is going to enjoy the