heads southbound around exit 56. with that wind, we are seeing some spots with some of that damage from high winds, of course. also watching another one in new jersey in hammonton. ashton road and the vine street expressway is open this morning, i'll be dealing with the construction and updates in cameras when i come back in ten minutes. we're following a developing story from overnight. top democrats are calling on attorney general jeff sessions to resign after reports of his contact with russia. democratic senators said sessions misled them during confirmation hearings and now sessions in charge of the fbi which is investigating the trump campaign's communications with the russians. a lot to sort out here. nbc10's katy zachry is following the overnight developments. what are they saying right now? >> at this point, we've still not heard from him directly on this but a spokesperson for the ag has come out saying he did not mislead lawmakers.

listen for yourself. here's senator jeff sessions during his senate confirmation hearings for attorney general back in january. senator al franken asked him what he would do if any communication with the russian government in the course of the campaign. here's what sessions says. >> i had been called a surrogate at the time or two that that campaign and i did not have communications with the russians. >> now, a spokesperson for the attorney general has confirmed that sessions met with the russian ambassador to the u.s. before the presidential election last year. many democrats want him to recuse himself from the investigation into russian election hacking because as ag, he oversees the fbi which is investigating alleged connections between the trump campaign and the russians. and other top democrats are going a step further inexisting that sessions resign as attorney general because they say he lied under oath. we'll have comments coming in at

5:00, reporting live from the digital operations center, katy zachry, nbc10 news. happening today at city hall, mayor jim kenney will deliver his budget address to city council. the plan includes a $4 billion. it focuses heavily on education and including close to $2 million for the opioid crisis. and this billboard along i-95 in philadelphia is sending a message to mayor jim kenney school officials. it says the school doesn't value public school teachers. a phil teacher raised more than $5,000 to pay for that billboard. >> fact that we have able to raise that much money so quickly just shows that the teachers in the city, the school advocates, the parents i'm a parent in the city, too, we're all fed up. >> the spokesman said our desire is a contract which fairly

compensates our teachers but also retains the fiscal ability that the school district of philadelphia has fought so hard for." the soda tax is getting pushback from the city. pepsi said the tax is forcing them to lay off workers at three distribution plants that serve the city. the tax charges distribute others 1.5 cents per ounce of sugary drinks. pepsi said that led to a 40% drop in sales in philadelphia. city leaders question the need for layoffs pointing to the company's profits and the hundreds of thousands of dollars pepsi spent to try to kill the soda tax. the money from the tax goes to the city's pre-k program. the city says that program has created about 260 new jobs. about 2,000 children will be in the program since is launched in january. religious leaders and citizens will join, mayor kenney, governor wolf, and other

leaders plan to stand together to denounce acts of vandalism and hate here across the country. meanwhile, the award continues to climb in the jewish cemetery vandalism case. $69,000 up for grabs for information leading to an arrest. the fbi opened a civil rights investigation on it. new jersey governor chris christie will be in camden county today for the opening of a drug treatment center. during his state-to-state address, christie highlighted a.j.'s recovery from heroin addiction. >> the board walk looking to cash in on a rebirth. >> we'll tell you about the taj mahal sass secasino. shutting it down. we'll tell you what's next for the star rookie.

and pay more for using less -- sort of. we have you details how the warm weather could mean higher utility bills for you. 4:35, you can see a camera shaking as you look at philadelphia international. winds gusting at 40 miles an hour at the airport. temperatures in the 50s. that's going to be changing in a hurry. especially later on. the neighborhood forecast just ahead. >> announcer: this morning of nbc10 news sponsored by morgan & morgan for the people. well, no. but for our new delmonico ribeye, perhaps we can make more room at the top. you can't fake steak longhorn steakhouse tonight's special, steakhouse cuts. featuring, for a limited time, the new delmonico ribeye, our tender flo's filet, and the juicy new york strip. and for lunch, try our steakhouse burger or any steakhouse lunch combo. only at longhorn.

hello, everyone, jessica boyington watching the roads we're paying attention to the vine street expressway this morning. we're open there and dealing with that like normal. typical construction where it closed between broad street and the schuylkill expressway. right now these are the cameras jut around 24th street. you can see this the eastbound side and westbound towards the schuylkill expressway having no problems. here is the schuylkill expressway speaking of that,

checking in with those drive times with no problems at 12 minutes in both directions. blue route to the vine, speeds in the 60s there. also we're watching storm dap from yesterday. bordentown township there's a downed tree. also in new jersey and hammonton, another downed tree around ashton road. of course, i'll have updates on some of the storm damage and downed trees in the area when i come back as well. >> announcer: now, your nbc10 "first alert" weather. >> it's 4:38. and the winds are really racing this morning. check this out. this is a live view from penn's landing look at the flags blowing in the wind that has been so strong it's topping 40 miles an hour. those howling winds, some during the day, the strongest gusts will be this morning. we'll still have a windy afternoon. a sunny day with cold winds blowing. the temperatures in the 40s and 50s. the wind is going to make it

feel like the 40s for much. day. then it turns colder tonight and colder, where tomorrow morning we could see snowflakes in the area. 41-mile-per-hour winds in philadelphia. winds are howling in delaware, 43-mile-per-hour wind gusts in mt. holly. staying at 46 miles an hour right now in trenton. that's what we're starting with. we're also starting with temperatures in the 50s. the coldest air hasn't arrived yet but it will be riding in on wind. 53 degrees right now. we will see the temperatures come down to the 40s. much of the day we'll be in the 40s for philadelphia with the winds out of the northwest at 23 miles an hour. still going into the 20s for wind speeds at 2:00 in the afternoon. then it starts to die down later in the afternoon. we'll start the day with sunshine in the suburbs. temperatures in the 40s. 46 degrees right now. even though we'll see sunshine that runs only into the middle 40s this afternoon. that's pretty much where we are

right now. thanks to the strong winds out of the northwest. lehigh valley, there are a few scattered clouds around right now, 49 degrees. it cools down to 40 degrees at 8:00. lingers in the low 40s then with sunshine, we're still quite breezy, temperatures in the 40s. new jersey, a few scattered clouds. we'll see mostly sunny skies. the warmer temperatures for the day is happening right now. as we get closer to sunrise. just after sunrise, we'll see the cooler temperatures that persist for most of the day. at the shore, 61 degrees right now. 40s coming our ways that colder air works into the area. you'll feel it in delaware, too. 50 right now getting cooler this morning and then staying chillier this afternoon. even though we'll see bright sunshine, those winds at 25 miles an hour at noon time. and 24 miles an hour at 2:00, we'll continue to keep temperatures on the cool side today. but it's even colder for tomorrow. 50 today in philadelphia. 41 degrees in tomorrow.

and it's tomorrow morning that we could see some rain drops and snowflakes in the area. depending on what neighborhood you're in. stick around, in ten minutes we'll come back and show you where to expect that snow. we've got the 10 day on 10 in just a bit. 4:41, now the details about the warm weather weather and how it could impact your budget. pgw customers may soon pay more. here's why, pgw said warmer winters are partly to blame, because of staff and to play th employees. so they will spend the next few months reviewing requests to hike gas bills with 11%. >> they're making efforts to kind of evolve with the changes. >> with the revenue, it's still not keeping up with the costs. >> public will be allowed to weigh in on the rate hike proposal. if approved, the new monthly

cost for pgw customers is about $11 a month. police a individual turned up a case of animal abuse. >> how it has police looking for this morning. and the trump taj mahal casino is making a comeback on the atlantic city board walk. we'll tell you who is taking it over.

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it's a quarter to 5:00. thousands are jobs could be returning to atlantic city after an announcement about the sale of the trump taj mahal casino. >> the casino has a new buyer and plan for the future. nbc10's matt delucia is live for us. tell us about the deal. >> reporter: atlantic city mayor says that this will bring in about 3,000 new jobs and that, of course, might replace some, if not all of the jobs that were lost when the taj mahal closed last year. hard rock international bought this property from carl icahn as

part of an investment. to renovate and a new brand of the hard rock casino on the board walk for about 20 years now. now, the taj shut down after icahn and union workers couldn't agree on an agreement to restore health benefits and pension. governor chris christie called this great news and hopes this is the beginning of more comebacks in the city. and city council president martin small told us here this will hopefully lead to more development on that side of the board walk that doesn't get that much attention. >> i'm just excite i'd don't have to look out my window and see the lights off anymore. >> reporter: for now, the lights remain off but perhaps not for long. the plan is to open the hard rock casino next year. the company says it's 100% convinced of that success in

atlantic city. i'm matt delucia, nbc10 news. that was the end of a record-breaking day on wall street. the dow closed above 21,000 points for the first time ever. stocks surged after president trump reaffirmed to cut taxing and we'll find out what is expected on wall street today when we get an update from cnbc in the next half hour. 4:46. let's get to you work. a warm 63 degrees outside. you'll notice that as you walk out. >> jessica is looking at 95, jess? >> yeah, watching 95 in our cameras around girard avenue. no new problems reported right now, actually a shaking camera. southbound is right in here in from woodhaven road headed to the vine street expressway so that drive time hasn't budged at all and we're still seeing speeds in the 60s. 95 in a different area, moving through delaware. no problems here either. northbound from 295 to 495.

watch agency the storm damage of abington around davidson road. and partsch new jersey too, this one in bordentown township, a downed tree. exit 56. lanes are still getting by on 295. just watch for the shoulder that is blocked as well. so traffic is still is getting by there, we don't see a increase in those drive times as well. we'll keep our eye on that for you. and on the cameras in the area as well. >> jessica, thanks. there's a problem with downed trees with the wind, right? >> yeah, it was an amazing night. i heard the wind howling this morning outside of my window. my alarm goes off about 2:00 a.m. probably about 1:00 is when i -- when i actually heard it. >> but it hasn't really brought the temperatures down just yet, right, bill? >> actually, it has. it's surprising because you look at the temperature at the bottom of the screen, 54 degrees, four hour ago, at midnight, it was 62. so the temperatures have come down a lot.

and they're going to come down enough that they'll be able to get back to snowmaking at camelback mountain. you see they're out grooming right now. and but it will get colder through the day. and tonight they'll be back to snowmaking and looking better for the weekend. the cold weather will stick around for the weekend for skiers. 49 degrees in allentown. the temperatures are dropping in the 40s. the colder air reaches the lehigh valley to the suburbs from philadelphia and delaware. the cold air is riding in on those winds. those howling winds. you can see it's in the 30s in the pocono mountains and falling. you'll see a lot of sunshine. it's 53 right now, by 7:00, 47 degrees. the temperatures dip down this morning but we'll see bright sunshine. and the winds will back off a little bit this afternoon. but the temperatures will peak at 48 degrees. at 3:00. it's colder than it feels like right now. thanks to the wind it will feel

like 31 degrees at 3:00. at 7:00, 42 degrees in the city, the suburbs will be in the 30s. now, dry right now. i'm tracking a just a few sprinkles that are moving into the lehigh valley. look at the snow showers that will not reach us today. the snow showers are fall apart. but we will see some of the clouds especially in the lehigh valley and the western suburbs just riding in on those winds. futurecast, hour by hour, this is tomorrow. we'll start the day dry, 4:00 in the morning and cold, cold enough for some snow, 31 degrees. but it will be dry. and we'll be waiting for the chance of snow showers. as we go through the day, the temperatures will come up a little bit which is great. you'll be above freezing. this is 1:00 in the afternoon. very light quick-moving snow showers allentown, reading, pottstown. that's early in the afternoon tomorrow. and those snow showers will be on the move. so we might see a brief snowflake or two in philadelphia before it clears out and gets colder going into the weekend. so that is the forecast for

tomorrow. today, you'll see sunshine and that blustery wind blowing. temperatures in the 50s now. cool down a bit and keep it at 49 degrees. 30 tomorrow morning, 41 in the afternoon. and we may see that brief snow showers pass through philadelphia. it's more likely north of the city. if we do it's not going to be sticking not with temperatures above freezing. saturday, that's when it will feel colder. 23 in the morning. 37 in the afternoon. back into the 20s on sunday morning. but over the weekend, we've got another warmup that starts 40s on sunday, not terribly warm. look at monday. 60 degrees. up to 62 with a chance of showers on tuesday. now, the cold front comes through, we'll get back to cooler weather for wednesday, thursday and friday. next saturday turns a bit warmer. back to the middle 50s. >> wow. >> thank you bill. our county-by-county coverage begins in bucks county where a man accused of raping a

teenage girl allegedly gifted to him by her parents. >> police found 11 girls living in the home last year. yesterday, a judge approved a plan for that house to be given to the state and sold after trial. but the money set aside from the sale can pay caplan's legal fees. 2 1/2 years after his arrest, a jury has found a burlington county firefighter not guilty of setting fire to a vacant auto body shop. police arrested him after flames tore try the building in august of 2015. he was charged with arson. camden county police need your help finding a man on video. this video turned up on social media. it's really disturbing. they're investigationing an incident of animal krushltd. the location is not exactly clear. but police believe this may have happened in centerville or east camden. if you happen to recognize this person, call police. at the jersey shore, the

cape may county sheriff's office wants federal authorities to change sheriffs for immigration law. they already participate in the immigration and customs initiative. in january, president trump signed an executive order to expands the mission to help deport undocumented immigrants. governor john carney wants to eliminate discrimination. the governor signed an anti-discrimination policy. the governor hopes to have the new policy in place by april 1st. eight minutes before 5:00. in lehigh valley, police and prosecutors have a tank force to track down a armed robber who targets cell phone stores. in the past few months, robbers tied up employees and stole electronics from verizon and at&t stores in the area. football institution is on the move. pennsylvania big 33 football classic will no longer be played

at hersheypark stadium starting this year. it pits players against national stars will be moved to a dauphin county facility because of financial issues. sidelined for the rest of the season, sixers star joel embiid will not be back on the court. officials have determined that his torn meniscus has gotten worse. surgery is a possibility. >> selfish ly, you know, you go through it as a coach, but my immediate thought going to being with him and helping him navigate through that. >> how about this stat. he played at 28 games in one year in college as a freshman and 31 games as a sixer, and this, of course, his rookie year. a lot more to come. two bucks county sisters who were sexually abused come forward. they're using their story to help other victims. plus, oscars fallout, why

the accountants behind the best picture mix-up are now in need of protection. and the week long workout the ways to get work out without getting to the gym. how it could help you sculpt that beach body at home.

good morning, everyone, jessica boyington watching the roads out in ft. washington. watching route 309 around the p.a. turnpike. no problems or delays there. but we are looking at some parts of the area that have some storm damage from the high winds yesterday. i'll have updates on where those spots on when i come back. four before 5:00 right now. family, friends and fellow police officers will come together to remember two delaware officers killed in a crash last weekend. officials of the dover police department announced the funeral service for rob defonts and jimmy watz. the two were off-duty when a

vehicle they were in veered off the road and slammed into a pole. racism played a role in two african-american workers who were punished in the building collapse that according to the naacp. now, the civil rights group called on the philadelphia district attorney's office to review this case. griffin camp and sean benchcroft were sentenced for their roles in the case. they argued that the other two in the case who were white weren't charged.district attorney's office has not commented. the irs has a warning about a phishing scam that could put your tax information at risk. they say cybercriminals describe a phony e-mail appear to be an executive. the e-mail asks payroll and human resources to provide social security numbers for each

employee. and 25% increase in philadelphia's hotel tax revenue over the past five years, last year, the tax generated more than $58 million. that's compared to $47 million, in the year 2012. now, the city uses the money to further increase tourism through promotions and marketing. well, if the weather doesn't already have you thinking about spring and summer, maybe look at this. the atlantic city boat show has floated into town. you can check out 500 boats there. >> a lot has changed on the boats. they're a lot more user friendly. a lot more economical to run. >> atlantic city boat show runs through sunday. today, kids across the area will celebrate the birthday of beloved children's auth hour to dr dr. seuss. >> libraries will have book readings at ten locations. schools will participate in

dr. seuss operations as part of read across america. >> i do not like green eggs and ham i do not like sam i am. would you like them here or there, i do not like them anywhere. >> i need you to read more of that. >> i don't know if that's right. that's my memory. >> american school children have -- >> a lot more of the stories we're following on nbc10 news at 5:00 a.m. questions over russia. attorney general jeff sessions ak is coming under fire. and abuse victims. and pushing for change. mayor jim kenney will lay out his budget heapsing to tackle. >> announcer: nbc10 news starts now. good thursday morning, were welcome to "nbc 10 news today." a lot going on, i'm tracy davidson. >> and i'm vai sikahema.

it remains warm, but still, the wind is with us this morning and perhaps throughout the day. but let's check with meteorologist bill henley with the most accurate nbc10 "first alert" neighborhood forecast. bill. >> a lot of wind howling through the area. this is cape may. you can see the camera shaking. as we look closely you can see the flags blowing this morning. winds are gusting near 40 miles an hour at cape may. we've already seen stronger wind gusts inland, too. the wind is bringing in cold air. the cold air isn't here just yet. the winds have died down just a little bit. we were seeing gusts at 40 miles an hour in philadelphia. now at 32 miles an hour. and dover topping 40 miles an hour also, atlantic city. look at toms river, close to 50-mile-per-hour wind gusts right now. the strongest wind gusts will be this morning. but these winds will still be blowing this afternoon. that's with colder air that's coming into the area. and that's just starting to move in. so, the temperatures have been moving down.