defeat this is new york's number 1 news, channel 7 eyewitness news with lori stokes and ken rosato, heather o'rourke with traffic, and bill evans with the exclusive accuweather forecast. now eyewitness news this morning. good morning, it's 4:30, and from tribeca to brooklyn a suspected shoplifter slips away from police, and we're live with the breaking details. >> plus the man accused of killing a mother inside her new jersey home prepares to face a judge today. >> and the force awakens. it is opening weekend for the latest installment of the star wars franchise. and we are checking out how fans are turning out in full force for the new movie.

>> i'm rob powers filling in today for ken rosato. thanks for being with us. you're never more than 7 minutes away from weather and traffic and meteorologist bill evans. >> good morning, gang, we're going to have ourself a nice start to the day. temperatures are going to be cool. it only gets colder from this point on. we take a look at temperatures this morning. we're starting out in the 50s. 56 degrees. look at these temperatures, really mild, 53 in north port. 52 at hauppauge and 54 at montauk, it should be 33 in the park to 23 up toward poughkeepsie, but today we're looking at a much different situation. we are going to be looking at colder air that starts to pour in during the day today. you'll see the temperatures today really start to fall off as we go into the afternoon. the temperatures drop on down into the 40s. look at that, as we get down to the low 40s by 4:00, but the wind out there is going to make it feel like 30s. tomorrow is the coldest day of

we'll talk about that next. she's back. >> i'm back. >> dun dun dun, dun dun dun. >> that's a familiar theme isn't it? great theme nonetheless. let's talk about your subway status. switching problems at 145th street. they have been repaired. metro north, long island railroad, new jersey transit all running on or close to schedule. then we have this problem over here on 78. it's eastbound right near exit 7. overturned tractor-trailer. the tractor-trailer was carrying paper products. we do have all lanes closed down at this time as they try to get that cleared away. george washington bridge closed down because of construction. you have a minor delay and construction at the lincoln and holland tunnels. the ramp to 155th street still have an accident there. that's in the process of being cleared away. the bayonne bridge closed both

because of construction. show you the l.i.e. near waverly avenue. you have some and this is off on the side of the roadway. it's not causing major delays. here's your fdr drive. did have some construction reported in the 70s but it looks like it may have been picked up and cleaned away. it is a gridlock alert day. leave the car at home. thank you. we are following breaking news out of manhattan. a man is caught after breaking out of police custody shedding his handcuffs and prompting late night man hunt. dray clark is live now in lower manhattan with the very latest. >> reporter: that 20-year-old suspect was caught in a group morning. he will eventually be brought back here to the 1st precinct in tribeca where he was initially arrested last night. the 20-year-old was arrested

store in lower manhattan. nypd officers handcuffed him with his hands behind his back, placed him inside the police cruiser. somehow he got loose, kicked open the back door and ran to the subway at the franklin street station in west broadway and he kept on running down the cat walk and eventually disappearing into a tunnel. the mta briefly shut down subway service as they searched for the suspect. >> it's really unfortunate that the police can't hang on to people. you're in handcuffs. all of a sudden you're in custody. that's a problem police have to deal with. >> it's an incident that happened, that could happen. >> reporter: again, that search for the suspect ending in sunset park brooklyn around 1:30 this morning. meanwhile, this is the sixth time since june that someone -- or i should say that a prisoner

in the past police commissioner bratton has called it an embarrassment to the department and a failure in basic policing, almost certainly we expect to hear from him again on this issue sometime later on today. again, that 20-year-old suspect arrested found in brooklyn. we're live in tribeca, dray clark channel 7 eyewitness news. thank you, dray. in brooklyn, now, a woman was punched on the head while riding on the a train. police releasing surveillance images of a man they are looking for. he hit the woman in brooklyn heights and ran away. the 29-year-old woman was not seriously hurt. the man accused of killing a new jersey mother inside her home will be in court today. 36-year-old robert garillo is facing one count of murder in the death of yolanda vega. she was found strangled inside her home. garillo was arrested after a

him jump out of the closet. a legal victory for parents in new york who are against precoolers being forced to get flu shots. a state supreme court judge has blocked the requirement that precoolers must get flu shots before attending class. under that rule schools and takes could refuse children who are not vaccinated. parents who were concerned about potential health effects filed a lawsuit. the city health officials say the ruling will cost lives and are consider their legal options. the 7th installment of the star wars franchise is on pace for a record setting opening weekend. no surprise there as fans turn out in full force to check out the syfy blockbuster. eye you reporter toni yates is live in midtown where fans are catching an early morning show. hey toni. >> reporter: hey rob, very happy fans out here. we are at 141 west 54th street all day showing 24 hours

in fact, a showing just let out now. star wars the force awakens is breaking records here and overseas. in france it earned more than $5 billion in one day, and then here at home $100 million worth of tickets have been presold. now this was we're going to show you a theater in paramus late last night. this just gets to be late night, early morning, early afternoon time out at a star wars movie that fans have waited for rob and lori for seven years, and so far we are hearing it is all it was billed up to be. >> i've been humming the theme song for about a week so i needed to see it as soon as possible. >> why did you choose 5:30 a.m.? >> it wasn't my first plan but around 3:30 i just couldn't sleep so i figured why not come over. >> yep. >> reporter: now some theaters like the zigfield theater here on 54th street.

they say you can wear your star wars costume but they don't want you to come in with face paint or masks or light sabers or star wars weapons. in the newscast. live in midtown, toni yates channel 7 eyewitness news. >> not to put you on the spot -- i asked if toni was a star wars fanatic. i'm curious. >> we'll find out in the next >> it's 4:38. let's check in with bill. you're never more than 7 traffic. >> you were wondering if she had her princess leia costume on. >> just a thought my friend. >> there you go. morning. >> and that's where we stopped [ laughter ] >> oh, it's going to be a good weekend. here we go, we've got cloudy skies to start the morning, a little wind too. the temperatures are quite mild. we're looking at what's going to be a cloudy morning. now really the focus is the

dropping and the colder air starts to filter in. overnight temperature 56 degrees. it will be this warm this morning with these clouds. back to the west there are still some clouds. watch the temperature, it just drops on down all day long, 50 by noon, 40s this afternoon. the wind's out of the northwest, 20 miles an hour. so you've got to dress warmly today and dress really warmly tomorrow. we'll talk about that next. she's back. she's feeling better. >> yes. >> she's not going to infect all of us. >> i'm trying not to. i'm trying to hold my cough in, which is kind of difficult, by i will try my best. lets go over to a camera and show you how things are looking as you travel across the george washington bridge. it looks as though they've reopened that lower level earlier than expected. it was supposed to be closed until 5 a.m. traffic is doing okay as you move across the span. 1 trains we had some switching problems at 145th street. they have been repaired.

trains running schedule. now this is where our big closure is 78 east near exit 7, overturned tractor-trailer, there are a lot of people commuting from pennsylvania into new jersey. this is going to affect you. all lanes are closed on 78. the trailer was carrying paper, so they up, and truck routes is and 9 north near 440 the hackensack river drawbridge, that's an accident. you can expect closures in both directions. it's a gridlock alert day today. leave the car at home. rob, lori over to you. >> still ahead on eyewitness news this morning, new york city is rolling out a new plan to combat the homeless crises. >> and new orleans makes a decision on confederate monuments. >> and a little too close to

of course as we all know police serve and protect the public. wildlife officers serve and protect deer. this one was swimming in a canal outside of phoenix, arizona, when it got trapped. thanks to the help -- thanks to help from a couple of cowboys, the officers nabbed the deer by its antlers. the deer was a bit chilly but did warm up during a sunny ride to a local park in the back of a truck. >> he didn't look in distress though. >> he wasn't freaking out. >> he was very cool, he's like we're good here. >> must be one of san it's deer right? >> yes. >> let's check in with bill. >> that's a young buck. he'll be all right. he look like he knew the standard operating procedure. >> exactly. he'd been there before perhaps.

morning, 59th street south, central park right here, and we're looking at some clouds that are around this morning. we are looking at colder wind coming out of the northwest today. here's how we look this morning as we look across the east river toward wall street. 56 degrees, that's warm, really warm. it should be around 33. we're 23 degrees warmer. itst going to get colder. we're going to see the wind picking up today. 37 monticello. you get across the hudson river, and it's 13 degrees warmer. we're going to be looking at that colder air starting to slowly filter down and through the day. these temperatures slowly drop all day long. you see the wind profiles here out of the west and the northwest, so that will be going on all day long. this cooler air comes in out of canada. here are the clouds that are around this morning, high pressure builds in from the west, makes it very windy. also the cold air pours in.

flurries in the catskills and the poconos. i mean if understood to go snow skiing up in those areas to the north, sure enough they'll be cold enough for making snow. less wind and sunshine on sunday. today we've got clouds and sunshine, temperatures will be falling. it's breezy. the temperature around 50 by lunchtime, still falling down to a low of 35 tonight. it will feel like much colder with the wind. 20s in the suburbs and it's brisk and cold tonight. tomorrow is the coldest day so far. feels like the 30s during the day. wind gusts are at 35 miles an hour. it will feel like 20s north and west, 30s around coastal connecticut, long island and the city and south. so it's a blustery really cold day saturday. we're looking at highs in the afternoon and much places in the low 40s to low 30s. the windchills all day are around 21 monticello to 32. it's going to feel like the 30s all day. less wind, sunshine on sunday. 54 on monday.

we're back to the mid-60s. thursday christmas eve is going to be 67, and that would set a record high temperature. so that is unusual. >> very. >> has been done before, but it is unusually warm. >> it will stand out. >> i don't are complaining. i think everyone's just okay with that. just fine. >> the complaints have been few. there are only two people picketing in front of my house. >> they found out where you live. >> normally when it's cold it's a far greater number. >> thank you bill. >> let's check in with heather. >> good to be back. i hope everyone over there is feeling okay. >> it's friday. we're feeling really good. >> i have the elixir for you. >> oh. >> let's go over here, our subway service is running on oracles to schedule. on or close to schedule. no major problems to report. metro north, long island railroad, new jersey transit all doing okay, and it looks

good day to take a ferry. you can always do that. path trains are fine. 78 east, exit 7. overturned tractor-trailer. the tractor-trailer is carrying paper products. we have only one lane open. they have to get out there and clean up that big mess. truck routes 1 and 9 north right near route 40. you have closures both ways because of an accident in the process of being cleared. it is a gridlock alert day today. it's a great idea to utilize mass transit, and our street cleaning rules are in effect. rob over to you. much. the white house is taking a step toward clearing out the detainees. 17 detainees are said to be transferred to other countries. the decision was made yesterday by the secretary of defense. the detainees will not be released for at least 30 days notified.

to clear out guantanamo by bay. seven people are hurt after a bus slammed into a house in investigators say the bus driver crashed with a van losing control and hitting the house. was seriously hurt was inside the house or in one of the vehicles. massachusetts state police shut down the road which runs from investigated. new orleans is moving to break with its confederate past. the city council there has voted to remove four confederate monuments today after months of meetings and discussions and a lot of controversy, city council members declared the four monuments a as nuisance. the statutes are dedicated to confederate leaders including robert e. lee and jefferson davis. >> it is simply that as a city we can no longer want to exalt

confederate ideology of a state's right to retain slavery. >> there is a similar move underway in lafayette louisiana to remove another statute from the civil war era. 4:49. an overhaul is on the way for new york city's homeless services program. the mayor announced that new program yesterday that would include daily canvassing throughout most of manhattan. teams of workers will visit every block from canal street to 145th and reach out to those living on the street. the mayor is also promising one- hour response time to complaints about the homeless. the new program launched immediately and will be in full swing by march. >> for all this to work, though, the city of new york has to own this problem. we have to own it more assertively than we ever have. we have to reach the street homeless literally every single day. >> this is all part of a

earlier this week the mayor announced the resignation of the -- this is crazy video here. most nba players don't want to get hit by the king lebron james and his 6-foot 8250-pound frame. for fans, though an encounter with king james can cause some serious damage. check out what happened last night in cleveland. james chases a ball into the stands, and then slams into a woman, not just a woman, the wife of the world's second ranked golfer jason day. ellie day who just gave birth last month was taken away on a stretcher. that tells you how serious it was. james says she told him she was fine. later he did tweet an apology and hopes the days do come to another game down the road. >> wow, didn't know that.

you. >> boom. >> love jason hope his wife gets a lot bet. >> 4:50, coming up on eyewitness news this morning a million dollar stash of watches, jewelry and booze uncovered in jersey. hear why the high end pack rat is adding some handcuffs to that collection. >> two people are slashed in separate attacks. the clues that police are holiday season's just like football season... you got your big games... ...and regular games. get it all at a great price... ...and the holiday season is won. everything in one place.

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you seen leland? abc7 and your try state ford dealers thank you for helping protect our children. you're never more than 7 minutes away from weather and traffic together here on eyewitness news this morning. good morning, i'm meteorologist bill evans. we're coming up on 4:55. we're going to be looking at temperatures starting out really warm. what a great day to the head to the beach. asbury park a good visibility down the beach and down the boardwalk here this morning. we are looking at temperatures starting around 56 in the park, 37 monticello and 39 scranton. here's the edge of the cooler air coming down. a little west wind here this morning. we are going to have cloudy skies giving way to sun the next seven hours you see the temperature just dropping like

it's into the 40s with a really gusty wind today. look at these temperatures falling into the mid-40s this morning. dress warmly. big cold blustery day tomorrow. probably going to be the coldest day of december tomorrow. heather's back. >> we have this big problem on 78, before we get to that let's look at these webcams. the l.i.e. getting on to the southbound side of the bqe we have some delays there, and then here's the bqe south of queens boulevard. they just picked up some construction that was going on in that spot. we'll head to our maps and tell you what's happening near 78. an overturned tractor-trailer. you have only one lane open and truck routes 1 and 9 accident closures in both directions. we have our street cleaning rules in effect for today. it's also a gridlock alert today so you may want to leave that car at home. thank you.

watches and a $5000 bottle of scotch were found in storage but these weren't the belongings of someone with expensive tastes. the high end haul was a collection of a burglar. we got a look, that lot valued at a cool $1 million. police recovered the pricey items after arresting 54-year- old thomas earls. >> we found that he started doing burglaries in1970 when he was 10 years old and he's been doing it since. from what we can determine through our research again is he does it for the rush and the thrill it. >> right now earls is charged in six separate burglaries but more could be on the way as police found items from at least 20 active burglary investigations dating back to 2012. >> wow. it's 4:56 and in today's health alert a potential breakthrough to unlocking the mystery of autism. scientists at harvard say they

the brain that's linked to the disorder. researchers say autistic behavior is associated with the breakdown in a signaling pathway used by neurotransmitters. it is the first time a neurotransmitter in humans has been linked to autism. a building on long island that housed an iconic food factory will be transformed into an industrial park. the former intermans is the new site of a $14 million development deal. at more than 519,000 square feet, the building will be turned into a tenant space. developers are hoping food and beverage companies will move in. >> just ahead on eyewitness news this morning the ceo of a pharmaceutical company who caused the firestorm behind the price of a life saving drugs

this is new york's number 1 news, channel 7 eyewitness news with lori stokes and ken rosato, heather o'rourke with traffic, ask bill evans with the exclusive accuweather forecast. now eyewitness news this morning. breaking at 5 a.m., the suspect who escaped from an nypd police cruiser has been captured. eyewitness news is live with where police caught up with him and how this happened again. >> authorities are looking for the attacker who slashed a man in the face as he was coming out of a subway station, but this was not the first attack. what police are now saying about the investigation. >> president obama is expected to meet family members of the san bernardino shooting victims today, and this morning there's new information on the neighbor arrested after the attacks.

stokes. >> thank you for being with us. i'm rob nelson filling in again today for ken rosato. this morning, i was just checking out these temperatures here and how to get dressed for the day. the temperature is mild now. we're in the 50s to start the day. we're at 56. the temperature's going to be falling during the day. sweaters. sayreville, wrightstown, 37 monticello, 48 poughkeepsie. these numbers will only get cooler as the day goes on. see our line going down, it will be down to 45 by the time we get to 5:00 today. temperatures are going to drop like a rock, and it's even colder tomorrow. up. we're going to be talking about a big warmup too. heather's looking at your commute. good to be back. lets go over to our mass transit chart. our mass transit is rung on or close to schedule, and not a

another gridlock alert tampa bay. metro north, long island railroad, new jersey transit doing just fine. subway service is running on or close to schedule. this is one of our bigger problems this morning. this will affect you from pennsylvania coming into new jersey. 78 east near exit 7, overturned tractor-trailer was carrying paper products. you have only one lane open. they have to get out and clean up all that paper. truck routes 1 and 9 north at route 440, we have closures both ways. street cleaning rules in effect. it's a gridlock alert day. thank you. it's 5:02. breaking now and police have captured the suspect who escaped their custody last night in manhattan. he made his break for freedom near broadway and franklin street after a shoplifting arrest at a nearby gap store. eyewitness news reporter dray clark is live at the first precinct in tribeca with the latest. >> reporter: good morning, that 20-year-old suspect was

1:30 this morning. he'll be brought back here to the first precinct in tribeca where he was initially arrested last night. as you mentioned a moment ago, the suspect was arrested for stealing jeans at a gap store in lower manhattan last night. nypd officers placed him in handcuffs with his hands behind his back and put him in the back of a police cruiser. somehow he got loose, kicked open the door of that car, and then ran to the subway at the franklin street station. a tunnel. the mta briefly stopped subway service as they searched for >> it's really unfortunate that the police can't hang on to people. i mean you're in handcuffs. all of a sudden you're in custody and you can get away. have to deal with. >> i don't think it makes me feel that anything is less safe, and you know, it's an happen.

for the suspect ending just after 1:30 this morning when the 20-year-old suspect was found at group home in sunset park brooklyn called the turning point sunset terrace. it's actually a shelter for run away homeless teenagers. we understand that the suspect stayed at that facility a few years ago, so he has some familiarity with it. meanwhile this is the sixth time since june that someone has escaped nypd custody. in the past police commissioner bratton has called it an embarrassment to the department and a complete failure in basic policing. we're expecting possibly to hear from him sometime later this morning, with the headline that 20-year-old suspect now in police custody after escaping last night. we're live in tribeca, dray clark channel 7 eyewitness news. the nypd is now investigating two separate slashing attacks in two boroughs. they do not, at least right now, appear to be related.

wednesday night in crown heights. the 38-year-old victim says he and the attacker were getting off the a train at the same time. while he was walking up the stairs he says he felt something brush his neck, it was a blade coming within an inch of vital arteries that could have cost him his life. >> the guy just like ran off, and people started screaming he cut you, you're bleeding. i put my hand on my face like this and i feel all this blood gushing. >> this comes as police continue to search for the man who ran up behind a girl in teens and slashed her across the face. the 16-year-old was on her way to school when this happened. investigators say the two attacks are not linked. 5:05, the ceo of a pharmaceutical company who caused a lot of controversy after hiking the price of a life saving drug is waking up a free man this morning after pleading not guilty to security fraud. martin shkreli posted a $5

he's charged with losing investor's money through bad trades and took 11 million from his former company. essentially he's accused of running a ponzi scheme. he was widely criticized for raising by 4,000 percent the price of a drug used by aids and cancer patients. happening today, president obama will visit families of the victims in the san bernardino mass shooting. yesterday the president made a rare trip to the national counter terrorism center. he says the government is doing all it can to protect the american people and that there are no specific or credible terror threats to the u.s. over the holidays. meantime, a friend and neighbor of one of the shooters is being held at the metropolitan detention center in downtown los angeles. enrique marquez is charged with conspiring with syed farook to commit terrorism. marquez did supply those assault rifles used in the

he's also charged with illegally buying the two weapons. the two men had detailed plans for other attacks before san bernardino but never carried them out. a teenager accused of possibly planning a terror attack and being an isis sympathizer is in federal custody this morning. authorities say a search of is the-year-old jaleel aziz's apartment turned up a back pac with high capacity weapons, magazines and ammunition. he allegedly posted the names and locations of u.s. military members. yesterday at the u. n. and the security council resolution to boost sanctions against anyone doing business groups. u. n. security council aims to cut funding to militants. with that you're never more weather and traffic.

we've just got some clouds and that's it now. the winds are slowly picking up from the west here. we've got a good visibility, had a lot of rain yesterday. we'll talk about how much in a moment. this morning what we're going to talk about is falling temperatures and dressing warmly for later today. the temperature 55 degrees, cloudy skies, west wind at 10 miles an hour. these clouds are going to hang in here today predominantly at the coast. there will be brightening of skies, breaking of sun west in the area. partly cloudy skies are going to come in from high pressure. the temperature just falls all day. 50 by noontime and in the 40s this afternoon. it gets windy. it gets chilly this evening, and tonight blustery and much colder and really cold tomorrow. so at the bus stop kiddos here are the huckleberries, one is truant playing hooky today. 46 will be your temperature after school. be ready for that. have the warm gear for after school. one who is under the weather is back in class today. >> i am back in class with my

>> it's nice to have you. what a friday surprise. >> thanks. anyway, we're going to head right over here to our maps and talk to you about what's going on as you travel on to mass transit. our mass transit systems are doing fine, metro north, long island railroad, new jersey transit, our path trains, our subway service, ferry service everything is doing great and it's a great idea because it is a gridlock alert day today. and we also have alternate side of the street parking rules in effect. rob, lori over to you. still ahead on eyewitness news this morning, republican front runner donald trump has a new fan in his corner, but this political leader is not even in this country. also ahead, the civil lawsuit surrounding the in custody death of sandra bland will not take place for at least another year.

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welcome back everybody. turning now to 2016, russian president vladimir putin is praising republican front runner donald trump. putin called the presidential candidate "bright and talented. trump says he was honored by those comments. the real estate billionaire claims that if he is voted in as president he does want to improve relations with russia. some state lawmakers are pushing to remove trump's name county. trump donated the land for the undeveloped state park in new york town back in 2006. the lawmaker is upset about trump's proposal to ban muslim immigration planning to introduce the anything but trump act that will remove signs bearing his name from the 440-acre site.

backing of the nation's largest communication's and media labor union. communications workers association announced its endorsement of the vermont senator yesterday in washington d. c.. he also picked up the -- you may remember back in july, a texas woman was arrested on a traffic violation and then found dead in her cell. now there are two legal battles taking shape over her death. it now appears the civil lawsuit surrounding the in custody death of sandra bland will be delayed a year until january 2017. meanwhile, a grand jury is still working on possible criminal charges and the delays have been tough as you can imagine on bland's mother. >> i'm coming you to let you know i'm not okay. all right? coming out of this hearing today i'm not okay. my daughter is gone. i have now celebrated one holiday without her.

bland's death may be linked to a recent request she had made seeking mental treatment. bland's family say they knew nothing about that. 5:14. let's check in with bill evans and your accuweather forecast. >> let's take a look at what's going on this morning, we'll take a look outside, and you'll see that we have high clouds and we've got good visibility all the way down to 1 world trade from right here at the empire state building and looking all the way down to staten island. it's kind of quiet except that the temperatures are falling and the winds are going to start picking up. humidity is drying out. the pressure rising. look how low it is. 29.73. normal fair weather is 30.00. today with that low, we're going to find ourselves looking at a lot of wind today. normal high is 42. we're starting the day at 56. we're going to have some normal temperatures far change can you believe that. look at the rainfall in the quarter. sun's up at 7:15. sunrise.

especially at the coast. it will be colder with the wind kicking in this afternoon and tonight. feels like 20s by tomorrow morning. cold blast is brief. it's just really saturday. it starts warming back up sunday. 48 up the hudson river valley to 52 at white plains and rocklin county, 55 in the park. 52 down the shore and here's the west wind we're talking about. this picks up through the day and gets stronger and higher, already a 12 miles an hour wind in monticello. that's the evidence of this colder air coming in out of canada from this high pressure ridge pushing eastward. you see the temperatures here at 5 a.m. on our futurecast at 54 in the park. so look at noontime, we're looking at about 48. clouds are right at the coast. we clear out this evening, but look how the temperature drops like a rock. 31 here in monticello to 42 in the park. tomorrow morning to start your day we're in the 30s and below. so freezing and below this a lot of spots. the apartment of places.

30s in the northwest. these are normal temperatures. they're going to feel like the 20s. grab the jackets and sweaters. breezy and mild. by afternoon it's chilly. temperature around 46. it will feel like the 30s with the wind out there. it will feel like the 20s tomorrow. there might even be flurries up to the north and west above 287, i-84, catskills, poconos. falling temperatures today, tonight is brisk and colder. 20s in the suburbs. tomorrow it's blustery and cold, feels like 30s with wind gusts at 30 miles an hour. there might be as i mentioned some snowflakes here. the real feel is tomorrow in the 20s and 30s. look at next week. rain possible on tuesday with temperatures in the upper 50s. christmas eve 67 degrees. wow. lets go caroling and sing some

they do have little st. nick in that repertoire. >> mild weather coming up for this christmas. >> not bad at all. >> if you got that sled for christmas. >> yes. >> what should we do with it? >> plant plants in it. >> good idea. >> i was going to say put it on ebay but that's a much better idea heather. >> well, isn't the weather warm enough to plant plants? that. you've got january and february yet. >> giving the folks a lot of options. let's go over to our mass transit charts. mass transit is a great idea today because we have a gridlock alert day in effect for today. metro north, long island railroad, new jersey transit doing okay. our subways, no major problems to report. everything is running on or close to schedule. new jersey turnpike, newark bay extension west near exit 14c you have an accident, and then 78 as you go on to the

still have this overturned tractor-trailer. only one lane is open. it was carrying some paper products. you do have pretty heavy delays. alternate side of the street parking rules are in effect for today. once again if you haven't heard me say it it's a gridlock alert day. still ahead on eyewitness news this morning, heavy snow and downpours causing big problems on the roads outside

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heavy snow followed by rain is causing problems on the roads this morning outside of portland oregon, thick snow has coated trees, yards and roads in the community near the columbia river. officials there are worried about dropping temperatures combining with rain and making the roads even more treacherous. new this morning, vatican says pope francis has certified the miracle needed to proceed with making mother theresa a saint. that means the nun who cared for the poorest of the poor will be blessed with one of the catholic church's highest honors. it cops just two decades after her death. no date has been set for the canonization, but italian media says it could take place next september on the anniversary of the nobel peace prize winner. >> i met her. >> really?

>> what was that like? >> you felt -- you just felt the elevation, she just looked in your eyes like nothing else was around. never forget that moment. >> how great that you've met a sainted soon enough. >> yes, and she deserve it is. >> never more than 7 minutes away from weather and traffic. here's another saint, bill evans. >> whoa, easy. easy does it. [ laughter ] >> easy does it. here we go this morning, we are looking at what's going to be cloudy skies atlantic. we've got a good visibility in asbury park. you're taking the ferry from jersey city to staten island. it's a good morning, a little west wind at 9 yesterday, a lot of rain. 2 inches of rain in bridgeport. about an inch of rain and a quarter around the park. now we're looking at a little southerly wind over long island sound. all these things are looking really good. a west northwest wind today.

>> i'm an angel. >> yes, you are. >> if you're a saint, i'm an angel. >> how's it going out there with the traffic? >> let's go to our maps and talk about the new jersey turnpike, newark by a extension. as you go on to the westbound side, you do have an accident being cleared away. then you have this problem involving an overturned tractor- trailer. it's east, exit 7 in new jersey, only one lane is open, spilled some paper products all over the roadway. our street cleaning rules are in effect. it's also a gridlock alert day today. rob over to you. it is the most wonderful time of year as they say, especially here in new york city. >> and sometimes you need a little help figuring out the perfect holiday match for you and your family. tomorrow night we're going to walk you through all the events going on in the city and around. also in a new york holiday. that includes a look at the various family shows in town with a holiday theme. we're also going to take a look

themed activities you can enjoy this holiday season. you can see all that and much more tomorrow night at 7:30 right here on channel 7. >> get the grand tour with lori stokes. >> you're going to love it. you must tune in. good stuff. >> still ahead on eyewitness news this morning, best buy is selling the iphone 6 today for $1. you heard that right, $1 but as with everything in life, there is a catch. >> also ahead, tickets for record breaking singer adele went on sale yesterday, and they went fast.

on the money this morning, asian markets take a dip after two days of gains. >> japan's nikkei fell nearly 2%, hong kong's hang seng also fell. on wall street the dow jones starts the day down 253 points at 17495. the nasdaq composite and s&p

gillette is suing another razor maker for patent infringement. >> good morning, topping america's money, a battle in the multibillion dollar razor market. gillette says dollar shave club is infringing on one of its patents. gillette has been nicked by online shaving clubs which have cut into its market dominance. tickets to mcdonald's 56th day north american concert tour sold out in minutes. tickets showed up for as much as $48,000. next time try phoning ticket master or using their phone app or sign on the artist's fan site for priority fan sales. and even before it opens star wars the force awakens from abc's parent company was breaking box office records. it sold more tickets on fandango than any other film. there were more than $100 million in advanced sales. that's america's money. 5:28.

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knock it out, fast. abreva. now new york's number 1 news channel 7 eyewitness news this morning. breaking news at 5:30, the suspect who escaped police captured. eyewitness news is live with where police caught up with him and how this happened again. and it is finally here, star wars the force awakens released in theaters nationwide. we're live in midtown where one theater is showing it believe it or not, nonstop. yeah, 24/7 throughout this entire weekend. wow. it is 5:30. good morning, i'm lori stokes. >> thanks for being with us, i'm rob nelson filling in for ken rosato. it is friday december 18th. >> you're never more than 7 minutes away from weather and traffic and bill. >> good morning and happy friday to you.

starting out on the warm side. 55 degrees right now is our temperature. normally we would be at about 33. it's just been that kind of a very warm el nino season. we're looking at 53 smith town and 54 babylon, 53 towards west hampton. really mild numbers here. we're looking at 54 hanging on until about 7. then see the temperatures just drops like a rock all afternoon. it's windy. it's killly by afternoon this evening, brisk and much colder tonight and tomorrow. we'll talk about that next. heather's back. she's talking about three days in a row of gridlock alerts. >> yeah, it's a gridlock alert day today, and then we're going to have more gridlock alert days and it's just going to be a mess. you know what you need to do is use mass transit. we're going to take a look at mass transit. it looks like everything is running on or close to schedule. no major problems there. subway services running on or close. 78 going east near exit 7 overturned tractor-trailer being cleared away.

lori over to you. all right, heather, thank you. it is 5:31. breaking right now, and police have captured the suspect who escaped their custody last night in manhattan. he made his break for freedom near broadway and franklin street after a shoplifting arrest at a nearby gap store. eyewitness news reporter dray clark is live now at 1st precinct in tribeca. >> reporter: good morning, lori, the 20-year-old suspect is in police custody. he was caught staying at a group home in sunset park. he was brought back here to the first precinct or eventually he'll be brought here in tribeca where he was initially arrested last night. the 20-year-old was arrested after stealing some jeans at a gap store in lower manhattan. nypd officers placed him in handcuffs with his hands behind his back, and then put him in a police cruiser. somehow he got loose, kicked

made a mad dash for the subway station at franklin street. he kept on running down a cat walk before he eventually disappeared inside a tunnel. now the mta briefly shut down subway service while they severabled for the suspect. >> it's really ununfortunate that the police can't han hang on to people. you're in handcuffs, all of a sudden you're in custody and you can get away. that's a problem that police have to deal with. >> i don't think it makes me safe. , and you know, it's incident that happened, could happen. >> reporter: that search ending for the 20-year-old suspect just after 1:30 this mornings after he was caught in brooklyn, he will be charged with larceny and escape from detention. this is the sixth time this year that someone has escaped nypd custody in the midst of being arrested. police commissioner bratton has said in the past that it is a

department and also a failure in basic policing. we expect he may have something to say about this sometime later on today. we're live in tribeca, dray clark channel 7 eyewitness news. >> the commissioner probably not happy. thank you dray. in lighter news, star wars, the force awakens has already broken fandango's record for the most tickets sold for any film during its entire theatrical run. dig field theater will deliver the film continuously throughout the week. that's where eyewitness news reporter toni yates picks up the story live in midtown. not a bad assignment early on friday morning. >> reporter: i know, i've been smiling all morning. you asked me earlier if i was one of those star wars fanatics, well, i have the box set original vhs copies of the first three movies, plus the dvd versions and i've watched them all at least i would say years. i think that makes me

we're catching some of the people coming out of the 2:30ish showing of star wars, people who are saying that it left them on the edge of their seats and they can't wait for the second installment of the made yet. yes, star wars the force awakens is blowing fans away. what they're saying without giving away the movie, that's very important not to give it away. they're saying it's nonstop i expected. we'll let them speak for themselves. >> it's sensitive and fun and it happens so quickly but it's great. >> everything a film needs. >> really great. it was i guess everything we wanted it to be, and it was awesome. >> it was amazing. totally worth it. >> reporter: now there are a lot of theaters showing it 24 hours nonstop through this opening weekend, and a lot of the theaters, they have signs up that are saying that you can come in your costume if you

lightsabers, no face paint and no masks. just enjoy. we're live in midtown, toni yates channel 7 eyewitness news. back to you rob. >> thank you toni. police are searching for a man who violently attacked a woman on board an a train in brooklyn. police released surveillance images of a man they're looking for him. it happened in brooklyn heights. they say that he punched the woman on her head and then took off. the 29-year-old woman was not seriously hurt. this morning friends and family are mourning the loss of a new jersey state trooper killed in the line of duty while responding to an emergency call. trooper eli mccarson was killed in quinton township when his car went off the road and then crashed into a utility pole. mccarson was just 30 years old and recently married. he was assigned to the woods town station and graduated from the academy back in february. 5:36. you're never more than 7 minutes away from weather and traffic and bill evans with your accuweather forecast.

clouds this morning. we have ourselves a nice start to the day with some comfortable temperatures. have your warm gear at the ready. with can see all the way down the verrazano narrows bridge. the lights are on at wollman rink, a nice start to the day. just some clouds here which will hang tough during much of the day. the wind will come out of the west and the northwest and drive the temperatures down and drive the clouds out too, although probably hang around here on the coast for a time today. we're going to have clearing skies from back to the west today. we'll have temperatures today that just drop all day long. we'll be at 54 by 8:00 to 52 to 51 just before lunchtime, dropping into the upper 40s to this afternoon to mid-40s by evening. it's going to be much colder with the wind too. kids after school we're looking at temperatures in the 40s. it will feel like maybe the 30s with that wind out here. so dress warmly. we'll talk about the coldest day of fall coming tomorrow in your accuweather seven-day forecast. it's weather then heather. happy friday to you.

>> happy friday to you. we do have an issue in queens. i can show you the delay we're dealing with here as you go through queens. this is on queens boulevard. check out that delay. we'll go over to our maps. i'll explain what's happening. it's queens boulevard right near queens plaza so right near bridge plaza we have that accident that is still working. that could cause major delays for you if you are going to the 59th street bridge. then you have the metro north, long island railroad, new jersey transit doing okay. subway status all of our subway service is running on or close to schedule. 78 east exit 7 overturned tractor-trailer. you have only one lane open. that trailer was carrying paper products so they have to get out there and get that cleared away.. we do have alternate side of the street parking rules in effect for today. it's also a gridlock alert day. thank you heather. 5:38. still ahead on eyewitness news this morning, sitting court side proved to be the wrong

james plowed into the crowd crashing all the way into a woman right there. she had to be taken out on a stretcher. we'll explain more. ouch. >> yikes. >> also ahead, a school security guard is on modified duty after he was captured on video music: "thunder clatter" by wild cub most weekends only last a couple of days. some last a lifetime. hampton. we go together. always get the lowest price,

welcome back everybody. lebron james has tweeted out an apology after his on court hustle sent a fan to the hospital. take a look at this, james chasing a ball into the stands slammed into the wife of the day. ellie day who actually just gave birth about a month ago, she had to leigh the game on -- leave the game on a stretcher. james said she did tell him on the way out she was okay and he twitter. he also hopes the days come back for another game. the good news here she is out of the hospital and is pricing tickets maybe a little further back from the action. >> not court side. >> yeah. a school security guard is on administrative leave after video appears to show him taking swings at a student involved in a fight. now the video is from nebraska. a group of students gets into a fight inside a high school there. the security guard then tries to break things up and then

punches at one of the teens. students say it's not unusual for that officer to cross the line. >> i'm not the type of person who like hates cops or anything, but like he's just not a nice person, and like he's always been that way. >> the security officer is a 15- year member of the omaha police force. both the department and the school district are investigating. a number of attacks on bus drivers shows just how dangerous the job is for workers. officials in houston texas are kicking off a new safety campaign by releasing this video. it shows a driver being violently attacked by a customer who was simply asked to lower his voice. other videos show drivers being cursed out, even spit at. city officials say police patrols have now been stepped up. >> all right. 5:43. let's check in with bill evans and your accuweather forecast for the weekend.

here we go, this is our camera looking down at 4 times square. here we go at the crossroads of america, good morning america right here. we're going to be looking at a colder weather pattern, but it is going to warm back up next week. here we go, feels like a beach morning. it will be a great morning for a walk here on the boardwalk as we look from asbury park southward here, monmouth through ocean county, temperature 55 degrees. the humidity has been at 80%. the winds are west. the pressure rising but it's really low. so that's why it's going to be a windy day today with high pressure coming in. so rainfall yesterday, i wanted to show you an inch and a quarter yesterday, and it was more rain in a few places like inches o'rain. clouds are hanging in today. there will be breaks of sun. it will be colder this afternoon as this cold wind kicks in. it will feel like the 20s tomorrow morning. the blast of cold -- the blast

way, so we warm back up next week. 55 in the park, 52 down the shore. this morning a west to a northwest wind at 18 miles an hour at newark. this will usher in colder air out of the great lakes. as we were saying, the clouds are going to hang in tough here, coastal connecticut, long island, jersey shore, partly cloudy skies back to the great lakes with high pressure sliding eastward today. just wanted to show you on our futurecast, the clouds do get out of the way this evening and at midnight there's some flurries around west and northwest here on, you know, on our computer guidance, so here in the poconos and the catskills, it is quite possible you get some flurries. look at tomorrow afternoon. i want to show you this one bank of flurries that comes in on the guidance, it makes it all the way to passaic and bergen and rocklin county and putnam county. it might make it all the way to the bronx. this afternoon you see the temperatures just keep dropping into the upper 40s. we're going to hit our high

we're into the 30s. tomorrow morning you see we're into the freezing temperatures and below. 26 in monticello. tomorrow morning is going to feel like the 20s with that cold wind out of the northwest. after school today kids, the temperature will be dropping like a rock. we'll be at 48 with that wind, and tomorrow it's going to feel like the 30s. there will be some flurries north and west and we warm back up on sunday. the temperatures keep falling all day. brisk and colder tonight, 20s in the suburbs, tomorrow, blustery, colder, feels like the 30s. the wind gusts are up to 35 miles an hour tomorrow. sunday. there's that flurry possibility, but look how cold tomorrow. we are going to be looking at a shot at some rain and 50s by christmas eve. well, there you go. >> o'key doe key. >> going to be a warm christmas this year. >> thank you bill. >> let's check in with heather

we're going to show you that delay as you go through queens. if you're heading to the 59th to-bumper volume. it's queens boulevard getting into queens plaza where you're being cleared away. that will affect your ride getting to the ed koch 59th street bridge. our subway service is running on or close to schedule. the car at home. street cleaning rules are in effect. rob, lori over to you. still ahead on eyewitness news this morning, new orleans is voting to cut ties with its confederate past. coming up, the monument at the center of the controversy. >> also ahead, what a way to impress the boss, how one high school student rescued a

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see kiana? abc7 and your tri-state ford dealers thank you for helping protect our children. new orleans is moving to past. the city council there has voted to remove four confederate monuments today from across the city. this is after months of meetings and discussions, city council members declared that four monuments a nuisance. the statutes are dedicated to general robert e. lee and the confederate president jefferson davis. current and former members of the military have an extra place where they can feel like home in the midwest. there's a new freedom hospitality center at detroit metro airport. the privately funned spot provides a special place for military travelers to relax during a long trip. >> our mission is to provide a

>> it gives them a refuge where they can go and be with like- relax. >> well earned. this is the second lounge at detroit metro airport. the first has hosted more than 140,000 military travelers since opening four years ago. a high school football player in texas is being celebrated for his moves off the field. teenager was working at a grocery store when he heard a woman and a man arguing in the parking lot. shamara welker said at first he assumed the two knew each other until he saw the man push the woman and take off with her purse. >> that's when i ran after him. i tried to grab him, but he jumped in the car with a couple of friends, but i ended up >> the varsity football player was able to return the woman's coach. his coach says that's exactly what he would expect from one of his star players saying that

>> nice story. >> 5:51. still ahead on eyewitness news this morning, disney world is changes for visitors entering the park and what will not be allowed once you're inside. >> and meteorologist bill evans will be back with another what makes this simple salad the best simple salad ever? heart healthy california walnuts. the best simple veggie dish ever? heart healthy california walnuts.

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you're never more than 7 minutes away from weather and traffic together here on eyewitness news this morning. happy friday. i'm meteorologist bill evans and this morning we've got great visibilities here. we do have a wind out of the west and cooler air is on the way. see the christmas lights on the pier there at asbury park. looking really nice. the temperatures are on the cool side. we're starting out around 52, 55. the temperatures will be dropping, and a cold blast is going to be coming in this weekend. this cold air will just keep blowing in today and tomorrow, and then the winds subside on sunday and next week near record warmth. the warm air comes up from the

the next seven hours the temperature's dropping like a rock. 6 a.m. it's 53, noontime 48. we're going to be looking at cold numbers here as we get into the afternoon with some wind. we'll talk about the coldest day of fall tomorrow in your accuweather seven-day forecast coming up. heather's looking at your commute. there's problems at the lincoln tunnel. if you're trying to get to the lincoln tunnel and travel along 495 you're going to want to pay attention to this one. 495 eastbound the ramp to tonnele avenue could back things up. this is where it feeds from route 3 and then from the new jersey turnpike so the accident's right over here right near tonnele avenue. once you get past the accident you have a minor delay. holland tunnel, george washington bridge doing okay. queens plaza you have that accident right near the ed coach 59th street bridge. metro north, long island railroad, new jersey transit trains, they are all doing just fine, and it's a great idea because there is a gridlock

78 east exit 7 overturned tractor-trailer. there's only one lane open. this tractor-trailer was carrying some paper products, so they have to get that cloned up. and the l.i.e. lower level westbound ramp to the bqe going south. construction two lanes are closed until 8 a.m. street cleaning rules are in effect. it's a gridlock alert day. leave the car at home. thank you. new this morning, suspects in terrifying home invasion on long island are still on the loose. it happened last night in suffolk county, two armed men follow a woman into her home in bay shore. they tied up the woman and three other people in that home with zip ties and then robbed the place. >> disney is adding to the security for guests at all of its theme parks. the most visible change is detectors placed at the front gates of all disney parks. they're also increasing police patrols inside and outside making the happiest place one

dwayne the rock johnson can list of accomplishments. he now is a father of two. the 43-year-old wrestler turned actor had a baby girl with his girlfriend. this is the couple's first child together. johnson also has a 14-year-old daughter with his ex-wife. we are following breaking news as we close in on 6:00. a suspect who managed to escape

this is new york's number 1 news, channel 7 eyewitness news with lori stokes and ken rosato, heather o'rourke with traffic, and bill evans with the exclusive accuweather forecast. now eyewitness news this morning. good morning, we're following breaking news at 6:00.

in custody this morning after