52 degrees in new jersey. in the middle 40s for the lehigh valley but with plenty of sunshine. delaware warms to 52 degrees this afternoon. we'll go through the forecast hour by hour when i come back in just ten minute. first, jessica boyington watching your first alert forecast. >> starting on the schuylkill expressway, checking in with drive times. our camera around montgomery drive, no problems or delays. everything is moving along. a 12 of my minute trip from blue route to vine street expressway. checking in with 95. watching for construction in addition to that ongoing construction we've had for several months there. 95 southbound around the betsy ross bridge area and those drive times are still good. you'll have no problem with that right lane. 13 minutes from woodhaven to vine street expressway. route 38 and nixon drive, not a car in sight, so a good drive there as well. breaking news in allentown this morning. a fire that destroyed a block of row homes is out and this

morning 23 people are getting help from the red cross with a place to stay as well as breakfast. katy zachry is live for us in allentown with more on that. give us an update. >> reporter: vai, take a look behind me. this block on fulton street, the 400 block, is the one that was devastated by fire. the fire began at 8:00 last night. the fire is out now. i'm told firefighters got control just after midnight. this engine you see here, i talked to one of the guys assigned to it. this firefighter tells me they'll be here until day break so watch out for hot spots. that's a fear that something will ignite inside this block of row homes. a total of 23 people, as you said, vai, are out of their homes this morning, forced to evacuate as flames tore through home after home. we have video of that. i'm told by people who were here at the scene that firefighters got control of the blaze around 10:30. that means for four hours, dozens of firefighters battled

this growing fire. the 400 block of fulton street was evacuated soon after the fire was reported at 8:00. i'm told a total of eight homes are devastated. now, fortunately, one of those homes was vacant, so the red cross is dealing with seven families from this block that have been displaced. the red cross is assisting them with food, shelter and lodging. now, in just the last few minutes i spoke to a neighbor, someone who lives on the next block of fulton street. he described for us in detail what happened at the start of the fire, how firefighters battled this blaze, and then how his friends who lived on this block behind me were coping with it all. we'll have that coming up for you in about 25 minutes. reporting live in allentown, katy zachry, "nbc10 news." two minutes past 5:00. a lot happening today with the election recount here in philadelphia. also in wisconsin and michigan. nbc10's pamela osborn is live in

the digital operation center to break it down for us. >> a partial recount begins today in philadelphia. at 1:00 this afternoon, the recount of voting results from 75 machines across 1700 wards in philly will take place at the voting machine warehouse along wis ahicken avenue. why these tarl wards? each of the voters petitioned for the recount. this is an effort from green party candidate jill stein. she's pushed for recounts here and in michigan and wisconsin as well. we know that the president-elect donald trump has been against the recount efforts. attorneys have filed paperwork to stop the election recount that was to start today in michigan. wisconsin's recount is already under way. in pennsylvania there were 2.9 million votes, trump tweeted hillary clinton by 68,000 votes.

a court hearing on the statewide recount is set for monday. in the digital operation center, pamela osborne, "nbc10 news." president-elect trump embarked on his thank-you tour. he sprung a surprise announcement about his latest cabinet pick. >> we are going to appoint mad dog mattis as our secretary of defense. but we're not announcing it till monday, so don't tell anybody. >> retired marine general james mattis is known as a hard-liner on iran. also yesterday the president-elect announced hundreds of carrier air conditioning jobs in indiana will officially now not be moving to mexico. that was a campaign promise. that's less than half of other jobs from that carrier plant that will be relocated.

police in trenton are trying to figure out who shot and killed a passenger in a lyft car. a gunman jumped into the ride-sharing service car on wednesday night, tried to rob three passengers. amber dudley was shot during the confrontation and died. no one else in the car was hurt. vai? buzz aldrich, second man to walk on the moon, is recovering at a new zealand hospital after being evacuated from the south pole. he was visiting antarctica as a tourist when he fell ill. he arrived in new zealand earlier today. the tour company said he had fluids in his lungs but is responding well to treatment. a hostage situation in a florida bank is over this morning. police say the suspect took nearly a dozen people hostage while trying to rob the community first credit union in jacksonville yesterday. hostage negotiators say the hostage asked several demands and asked family members to be on scene. he timely released the hostages

and no one was hurt. joe mcknight is dead after apparently being killed in a road rage incident in indiana. officers who responded performed cpr on mcknight but they weren't able to revive him and he was pronounced dead at the scene. he played for usc and parts of four seasons in the nfl. in the lehigh valley a middle school student faces charges after school officials found a loaded gun in her locker. she goes to school in allentown. school officials say student were never in any danger. happening today, the newest and largest wawa in center city will officially open its doors. mayor jim kenney will participate in a ribbon-cutting ceremony. and the police and fire departments will take part in a hoagie throwing contest.

and they're offering free coffee all day, any size. is there any size other than large? at this hour anyway. what you need is something to stay warm and coffee may do it. it is colder this morning. wilmington, clear skies. 39 degrees right now in delaware. 30s for lehigh valley and suburbs. south jersey some neighborhoods have dropped into the 20s. most spots are in the 30s. a few neighborhoods in the low 40s. audubon, lumberton at 40 degrees. princeton, 27 degrees this morning. it is a cold start. and just a little breeze is blowing. not a strong wind but when temperatures are this cold it doesn't need much wind to make it feel colder. the windshield readings are just below freezing in allentown. feels like 33 degrees in the city. you have to bundle up this morning. don't forget your sunglasses. we'll see a lot of sunshine. a few high clouds moving into

lehigh valley. you might see scattered clouds during the day but no sign of any wet weather. the showers you see streaming into extreme northern portions of pennsylvania, those won't make it to our area. we'll stay dry. sunshine will warm temperatures up. 48 degrees by lunchtime in philadelphia. sunny skies for the suburbs. a cold start but nice warm-up during the day. middle 40s to upper 40s. that is typical for the beginning of december. lehigh valley a few scattered clouds now. we saw them on satellite imagery. up by 10 degrees at lunchtime and enough sunshine to keep temperatures in the middle 40s by 4:00. look at the sunshine in store for delaware. 48 degrees at lunchtime. 47 in new jersey at noon and up to 48 degrees at 4:00. nothing but sunshine at the shore. the temperatures will get close to the 50-degree mark at the shore later this afternoon. this weekend we'll be getting close to the 50-degree mark in some neighborhoods. take a look at that when i come

back to the ten-day on 10 in less than five minutes. let's get a check of traffic in south jersey. >> including 42 with jessica boyington. >> watching route 42 at 41, no problems or delays here. you can see is that in the cameras. northbound, that's what lanes these are right here. no problem with the drive time from 55 up to the walt whitman bridge. checking in with mass transit, we have a septa train canceled, 501. other than that, mass transit running on or close to schedule for at least patco, new jersey transit and amoco, no problems. 309 around the pa turnpike. no problem or delays and roads are dry. pa turnpike, no problems with drive times. 22 minutes from route 1 to valley forge and speeds into high 60s. 9 minutes past 5:00.

parking at mall can be one of the most frustrating part of the holiday season, no doubt. what if you could save a space? >> you can reserve a space either on the spot, right when you get to the mall or you can reserve a space for up to six months in advance. >> we'll explain how the reserve mall parking works and which new jersey mall is offering it. plus, learning a lesson by watching a play. we'll show you how a special field trip is helping to prepare students for life.

preparing for high school offers many challenges but in cherry hill they're trying to make it easier with mentoring through singing and acting. >> matt delucia gives us a look at a very unique program. >> all right, let's begin. >> it's this balance between someone who's a little tough and also extremely passionate about what she's doing. >> good girl. >> reporter: for the next couple of weeks you might want to refer to jacqueline orlando as annie sullivan, her role in "the miracle worker" took months of preparation. >> it was work i wanted to be a part of. >> reporter: for jacqueline and other seniors, the curtain is ready to fall on their high school theatrical career. before they take the final bow, they want to give back to those just getting started. >> i want to prepare myself for high school and prepare myself for college. >> reporter: for now eighth grader daniel is focussed on his role at rosa middle school.

he'll be part of 600 students who too will take a field trip to see "the miracle worker" on stage. >> high school theater program is all about building confidence. >> reporter: tom weaver has been part of the theater program for 20 years and he's taken a focus on school theater 101, bringing eighth graders to see what they can do next year. >> they'll ask very poignant questions about the content of whatever show they just saw, which is very exciting. >> reporter: their goal, to get incoming freshman to start right aw away. >> it really inspired me. everyone's chemistry on stage really made me want to be a part of that. >> reporter: and learn about more than acting. >> how does that help in terms of confidence and other skills? >> well, before -- before i ever did theater, i wasn't that confident, but going into it after doing a couple shows, it's cool to see how many people kind of look up to you. >> reporter: to become someone

else and, in turn, find yourself. >> i think the show will do just that. it will hit a nerve. >> reporter: in cherry hill, matt delucia, "nbc10 news." >> thank you, matt. now that holiday spirit -- holiday shopping, rather, is in full swing, it's always hard to find a parking spot at the mall. >> it's frustrating, right? one mall in north jersey has a system to fix that. the west state garden plaza in pa ram mass allows you to reserve a spot with an app. once you get to the spot, you tell the app, lowers a metal gate, lets you in and costs $10 an hour. shoppers say they don't mind that. >> sometimes you just leave because it's packed. >> you don't go shopping? >> i just leave. >> the app allows you to reserve a spot up to six months in advance. no malls in new jersey or delaware have this particular

service. who's in charge of all that holiday shopping? a new study shows 70% of women say they or another female is responsible for their household's gift purchases. tracy has heir hand up. only 30% of men say a woman is in charge. >> oh, wait, see, they think santa is doing it all? really? how do those presents appear you were the tree? seriously? >> a little bit of a discrepancy there, though. just let us know on facebook. we want to hear who's in charge of the holiday shopping in your house. >> i've seen it. i've seen it. i've seen it on christmas morning. honey, what did we get for them? >> here's a beach to get you in the holiday spirit. workers in palm beach, florida, use pails and shoouflz. >> it's 35 feet tall and made with 3600 tons of sand and made with intricate carved holiday

images. >> in philadelphia another sight of the holiday season. a live look at the blue cross river rink at penn's landing. >> you can see christmas lights scattered around the rink. later today this place will really look festive in full swing. >> the ice is frozen over. it wasn't yesterday. tonight at 7:00 we are hosting a live half-hour special as we light the holiday tree at the blue cross river rink. >> our fun starts this morning and continues tonight. vai and i will be there, bill and jessica will be1 o we invite you to come down with your family. join our family. also will be broadcasting live starts at 7:00 tonight. and speaking of the holidays, we would love to see your holiday pictures. use the #nbc10holiday and share your photos on facebook, twitter and instagram and send them to us through the nbc10 app. >> we especially like the awkward ones. awkward family christmas pictures. i know jessica's probably got some. >> where your animals are ripping down the christmas tree?

i have those. my dog goes the bathroom around the tree, it's beautiful. good morning, a beautiful drive on 78 in lehigh valley. the only problems or delays, you can see traffic is moving along just fine. also watching an accident that's out in northeast philadelphia. the boulevard northbound around eldridge street. that's taking out a portion of the outer drive. you might see delays but no traffic backed up at least past the scene. the new jersey turnpike near the delaware memorial bridge. if you're heading through to delaware, no problems right now. and we'll end on 95. that's moving through delaware. so, checking with those drive times. 11 minutes at the most northbound from 295 to 495. average speeds into the 60s. more updates, of course, on all this stuff when i come back in the next ten. >> jessica, thanks. it's 5:18 and 40 degrees. check out this video from a tornado that hit the atlanta area wednesday afternoon. this is security video from a school. >> it shows how the powerful

winds swept through and knocked down a tree. the storms left damage across northern georgia. luckily, bill, we don't have to worry about any of that. we just have cooler temperatures this morning. about 20 degrees cooler than yesterday, right? >> yeah, we saw those storms wednesday night and into early thursday morning. now they're out of here. and the chilly air has finally arrived. remember how mild it was to start with yesterday in the 50s? not this morning. it's a cold morning with most neighborhoods in the 30s. boat house row, it's clear overhead. a little breeze blowing to make it feel colder. the wind will be with us this afternoon. sunny and breezy day today. winds staying blow 20 miles an hour today. not as strong as yesterday. still present this evening. a cold breeze blowing when we light the christmas tree at penn's landing. 35 degrees in lehigh valley. suburbs, 30s. 40 degrees in philadelphia. some of the suburbs have fallen farther than the rest of the area.

lots of 30s. 34 in elroy. 36 in north wales. gl gladwyy, 38. you need to bundle up but you'll be enjoying sunshine. it will warm up to near 50 degrees. that's just about normal for this time of year, the 2nd of december. a few high clouds. no sign of any welt weather with those clouds. any showers will stay way away from us today. the next chance of some significant rainfall won't come until tuesday. redding, you see those chances. atlantic city, a slight chance of showers sunday night at the shore. dover could see late night shower sunday into monday. a better chance of rainfall on tuesday in dover and later on tuesday, it will be swinging into philadelphia, too. so, means we'll be dry for the tree lighting this evening. the christmas tree will be nice and bright but the temperatures will be coming down.

40s but there's still a little breeze so it's going to feel like it's in the 30s. they need to bundle up for the tree lighting and keep that warm -- or cold weather gear handy temperatures will be trending warmer over the weekend. 50 monday on the back end of 40s. a chance of showers early next week. 46 degrees with rain later on tuesday. and then thursday that's a storm that will really kick up the wind for friday. look at the temperature drop from the 50s on thursday to 39 degrees on friday and chilly weather ahead next weekend as well with morning temperatures even colder, in the 20s. >> thank you, bill. if you're holding a ticket to the game the sixers postponed wednesday night, it will be good for a makeup game plus you'll get a free ticket to another game. the wells fargo center is back open. a concert went off without a hitch last night after the sixers game was postponed the night before because of problems with the court. this was the scene wednesday

night. crews trying to dry and mop up the floor after it was found to be too slick to keep the players safe. some condensation on the floor. fans sat for more than an hour until the announcement was made that the game would be postponed. >> there's no reason that we're sitting at a game and we should have to find out via, you know, the news or on our phones to figure out what's going on and we're sitting in your seats and we spent our money in your stadium. >> no makeup date is scheduled yet for that game between the sixers and sacramento kings. it's a life-saving drug and it hasn't been in new jersey schools until now. we'll tell you which high school is the first in the state to get the overdose reversal drug, narcan, on its campus. a former phillies' player is back on the team. we'll tell you what role john kruk is playing.

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they're twice the size of the kisses chocolates you love. say more with kisses deluxe. 5:25. investors will be keeping an eye on starbucks' stock and a new app allows to you take a virtual tour of the white house. landon has that in our cnbc business news. good morning. >> good friday morning to you. watch shares of starbucks today. they fell off 4% after found are howard schultz announced he's stepping down as ceo to focus on starbucks' high-end stores and schultz will be replaced by chief operating officer kevin johnson, who's played a big role in the rollout of starbucks

mobile app and starbucks is up 5% since he returned as ceo in 2008. an augmented reality app called 1600, when they point the app at the dollar bill at george washington's face and you can watch the east easter egg roll. on wall street, it could start out in red. futures are lower this morning. investors are awaiting big economic news. that november jobs report out this morning. it's expected to show employers boosted hiring last month. that could make it almost certain the federal reserve will hike interest rates later this month. a new record high for the dow to 19191. nasdaq falling. back over to you. >> thanks.

have a nice weekend. 40 degrees and falling. many neighborhoods are in the 30s. a little breeze blowing to make it feel even chillier. clear skies over battleship new jersey. live view from camden. 5:27 and a sunny friday is ahead. there are some changes for the weekend. i've got your neighborhood forecast coming up. jessica boyington is in the first alert morning center. >> good morning. we're watching the boulevard. around 17th is where our cameras are looking. no problems or delays but a crash on the boulevard. you'll update you when i come back at 5:30. we continue to follow breaking news out of allentown. seven families are out of their homes right now after in fire wiped out a block of row homes. more details on the exploding package deliberately delivered to a center city home. we'll show you who police are looking for. ♪ think of your fellow man.

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breaking news right now. 23 people are out of their homes this morning after a fire in allentown burned through the night destroying a block of row homes. election recount. we'll tell you what's happening in philadelphia today and break down what's happening in michigan and wisconsin. and a live look at the blue cross river rink this morning. it's going to look even brighter tonight. everything you need to know about tonight's tree lighting and we'll be there. that's coming up.