local hospitals. the uber driver accused of going on a deadly shooting spree in michigan faced the judge a short time ago. investigators are piecing together how this all played out. >> six dead, two others badly hurt. in court today, the suspect said he would prefer to remain silent. it is a horrifying mystery why this man allegedly caused so much mayhem. 45-year-old jason dalton, accused killer, now charged with six counts of murder, plus two counts of assault with intent to murder. prosecutors in michigan say dalton conducted that killing spree over six hours saturday night. all while continuing to give rides to unsuspecting

as of now they still don't know why it happened and what if anything ties the victims together. >> this was not just a momentary lapse. this was not just a crime. there was nothing that provoked this. there is videotaped of these incidences. he walked up on these people and shot them. >> in all eight people were shot in three separate locations. a woman at an apartment complex. a father and son at a car dealership. and five people in a restaurant parking lot. among the dead, mother and aunt, best friends killed after going to a play. >> i don't know how i'm going to explain it to my son. doesn't get to see his grandmother ever again. >> people in the community still stunned over these seemingly random killings have come together to pray. >> six people, people of all ages, all walks of life, innocent. minding their own business. so violently taken from us.

background check. again prosecutors say there's nothing that would have been a red flag. president obama promised officials whatever help they need tonight. a mother of three and a 14-year-old girl remain hospitalized. >> the uber driver had the clean record, nothing that would have prevented him from getting behind the wheel. but it got 4 investigates thinking about the types of checks done on the drivers that pick us up here. in new york city uber drivers are required to undergo background checks conducted by the taxi and limousine commission. that includes fingerprint checks that taxi drivers receive. in new jersey and connecticut background checks are conducted by a third party. background requirements vary by state. uber recently settled a 28 million dollar class action

not properly vetting its drivers. two storms headed our way. janice is here with information you need to know. >> by this time tomorrow evening it's going to be a mess around the tri state area. some of us will be getting rain and some of us will be getting snow. our storm system is moving across the southern states tonight. it's all rain from new orleans through jackson mississippi. it's all rain here, but by the time it moves northward and hits some of the colder air tomorrow afternoon, we're going to see it start out as snow. this evening it's quiet. just a few clouds gathering. temperatures in the 40s. between 9:00 a.m. and noon tomorrow is when the precipitation will spread into the area. that's when it will start out as snow in the city. already changing over to rain across southern new jersey. by 3:00 it's changing over to rain in the city. but there's still snow north and east of the city. that's where you're going to see

when i come back i'll tell you what those numbers will be. >> track the weather with our nbc 4 app. on long island, search crews are where a small plane crashed over the weekend. one of the passengers is still missing. i can't imagine what they're feeling, rob. >> reporter: missing and presumed dead since last night. a tragic story here. the young man lived in this building right behind me with his mom. it was just the two of them. he loved to fly and it appears a plane crash has taken his life. the search continues for his body by. his mother coming to terms today with a harsh reality.

elmhurst, queens, with his mom. carlos vega grew up across the street. he found out his friend died while watching the news this morning. >> i miss the kid. he never did anything to anybody. >> the small plane, a piper archer, went down saturday night. it was pulled from the water last night and taken to port jefferson. today we spoke to wife of the instructor who took over controls when the plane was going down and managed to save all four lives until the icy water of the long island sound killed one of his students. >> he's a hero, i think. it was the middle of the night. he saved the life of his passenger. >> police and firefighters who first arrived on that scene

used kayaks to paddle out into the frigid water to save three men. right now the faa is looking at that plane, trying to determine what went wrong. the search for the body will likely end tonight and resume tomorrow morning. police are following a string of slashings in the city, the latest targeting one of their own. an officer was attacked with a knife in brooklyn. >> reporter: we're actually on the brooklyn block here where that police officer was slashed. the good news is she is expected to be okay. but folks in the neighborhood tell me they are more afraid of crime now than they've been in a while. that said, the mayor said today yet again that overall crime is down, even though stabbings and slashings are up. it was early sunday morning when police were called to this

but one female officer got caught up and was slashed from her cheek to her neck, shocking area residents. >> it was very bad. i'm skard cared about it myself. >> reporter: police arrested a 27-year-old and charged her with assaulting a police officer. that officer was released from the hospital. she did not need stitches. meanwhile police were busy with another slashing in the bronx, a 26-year-old mother stabbed once in the stomach and once in the ear. the men pulled up and jumped outlooking for trouble. >> we didn't know who they was. they just came up on us. >> reporter: crime is down in the city but stabbings and slashings are up. 567. that's compared with 470 last year.

during a robbery in soho and another slashed outside a diner in greenwich village. >> we're adding 2,000 cops in the course of this year. >> reporter: the mayor insisting again that the city is safe and about to get safer. although folks around here may or may not believe that. and as for that slashing in the bronx, those two men are still out there. police are still searching for them. right now police want to blaem blame for a fellow officer's injuries after a wild shootout in brooklyn. investigates say the ballistics test show that the bullet came from the suspect's gun. they're waiting to find out if

came from the same gun. and deposition day for the wife of bill cosby. today's deposition in springfield, massachusetts is believed to be the first by camille cosby. mrs. cosby, who also served as her husband's business manager was questioned about the sexual assault allegations against the comedian. it's all part of a civil defamation case filed by seven women. bill cosby has denied all accusations. potentially illegal dumping happened on a jersey shore beach. 4 investigates got a firsthand look at what's been going on. >> reporter: dump trucks dropping muck onto the beach. heavy equipment spreading it into the surf just yards away from an unsuspecting surfer coming out of the water. a state investigation coming out

>> it wasn't right. >> reporter: photographer bill among the first to see and report what happened here. the state put a quick stop to the dumping on this beach, the muck coming from a drainage project on poplar brook which run into the ocean here. >> we've been theka canary ies in the coal mine for decades. >> reporter: workers were combing the beach after the contractor had already cleaned up what was left. but much of the material had been pushed into the ocean surf last week. >> that was years and years of runoff from the local streams and stuff. >> reporter: inspectors are gathering samples to determine if the muck is contaminated.

telling us the dumping seen in these photos violates contract terms. >> we're supposed to get another storm starting tomorrow. so we have to get it taken care of and cleaned up. >> reporter: late this afternoon the state dep told me it has issued a notice of violation to the construction company for this dumping and has already issued an order for immediate cleanup. a woman known to fans of the reality show mob wives as big ang was laid to rest today. her casket was carried down the stairs of the basilica in brooklyn in morning. she died thursday just weeks after she told fans that she was diagnosed with stage four brain

>> angela was not only a tall big person. she had a big heart. >> i believe this is a woman of tremendous strength and sets an example for many that are going through the cancer fight. >> after the funeral, she was laid to rest on staten island. still ahead, a man accused of raping a woman in a staten island building is still on the streets. what police want you to know for your protection. first the popular product that could cause cancer. the nation's top dogs are

i hope we have a buyer for the house.

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. we're continuing to follow breaking news on the new jersey turnpike where there's been a deadly crash, several lanes at the extension of 14c in jersey city are blocked right now. one person was killed, several more injured. and we have an important consumer and health alert tonight. the federal government is warning that a popular laminate

>> linda back is here quero is here with what you need to know. >> we're talking about flooring made by lumber liquidators. people exposed to select types of laminate flooring are three times more likely to get cancer than the agency originally predicted. the flooring is imported from china and contains levels of cancer causing formaldehyde. the cdc say they used the wrong formula to calculate the flooring, which is why -- the company is now giving free air quality tests and says it is committed to delivering quality flooring to its customers. what should you do if you ever one of these floors?

in your home will-lessen after two years. now, the cdc says you don't need to consider home testing unless you can still smell strong chemical odors are have breathing problems only when you're at home. the dmv is improving its facial recognition software to help the state stop people from getting driver's licenses under false pretenses. the goal is to prevent people whose licenses have been suspended from getting a new one under a different name or stealing someone else's identity. time for the weather now. it was nice today, but we have something coming. >> that beautiful view behind you guys. it was like a spring day today. and after 60 degree temperatures this weekend, we were still above average today by almost ten degrees.

upper 40s in bridgeport and above 50 in newark and islip this afternoon. we are tracking two storm systems now. the first one comes tomorrow with a mix of rain and snow. and then wednesday night into early thursday, rain and wind and a lot of rain coming with that second wave. right now temperatures mainly in the 40s to the low 50s. 37 in monticello. no arctic air. not a lot of cold air really. minneapolis is at 4 4 4. this is where our storm system tomorrow is coming from. it's all rain through much of the southern states and along the gulf coast. as it moved north, we'll start to see some snow. the bid thing good thing about this system is the snow part of it will be quick and we're not expecting huge amounts of snow. it's mainly going to be rain in the city and coastal areas. north and west it's mainly going

the city will be a bit of a mix. as we go through the afternoon, notice you'll have some snow in and around midtown, rain down along the jersey shore and snow across long island and the northern counties. so this is not a morning problem. this is an afternoon problem. north and west, slushy and sloppy with the snow. a coating to maybe a couple of inches across much of the area north of the city. the city may get a coating. remember, the ground is warm from the last couple of days. background you could see more of that. this rain on wednesday night is the second storm. we may see quite a bit of rain and wind with that. that will be on thursday. the temperatures start to fall off after that. but it's not going to be dramatically cold behind that system either. just near average temperatures going into friday, saturday and sunday. in the meantime, we have to worry about tomorrow even's

dave price will be up in just a few minutes to talk more about the forecast. >> we're had a couple of those this winter with the one-two punch of storms. after spending the weekend with the mets, bruce beck is now in tampa with the bronx bombers. >> reporter: we've gone from the treasure coast to the sun coast, from the mets to the yankees. and the good weather followed us all the way to tampa. so did the optimism and enthusiasm. under glorious skies, the yankees continue to drill in tampa. while this drill is far from glorious, it's when pitchers and catchers climb a newly built hill to get and stay in shape. there were some conventional bullpen sessions as well. and the ace of the staff threw

so what does the general manager of the team expect from the 2016 bronx bombers? >> well, playoffs. the goal is to make sure that this team qualifies for the postseason. and if you can get in it, you can win it. we've seen that time and time again. >> cc sabathia is looking good. his outlook is looking good after completing a program for alcohol abuse. >> like i've said i'm coming in healthy, clear head and healthy body and i'm ready to go. >> reporter: do you feel good that you can just go forward? >> of course. now everything's about baseball. i'm performing out on the field and got everything else out the way. and it's time to go. >> reporter: it's great to see

he tells us at 6:00 whether we'll see the old cc on the mound this year. that's coming up at 6:00. 19th year for me here in tampa. i don't feel old. >> you're not old. spring chicken. >> you're looking a little just kidding. >> lot of travel. 5:00. >> change at starbucks. this. and dave is here now with what's new at 5:30. >> st. patrick's day less than a month away. should students get the day off from school to celebrate? and a former miss new jersey died today. still ahead we'll have more ahead on the many lives she touched. and we're keeping an eye on that breaking crash in jersey city.

there's a new drug out there. and it's trying to destroy our generation. it's called synthetics. . . so, some guy thought it might be a good idea to spray poison on some herbs, and then sell it to you. no, it's not marijuana. it goes by names like k2, spice, rocks. causes hallucinations, rapid heart-beat. vomiting, seizures. and it can kill you the first time you smoke it. we gotta have each other's backs. this is our future. and the future of new york is saying no to synthetics! go to oasas.ny.gov, or call or

. apple ceo tim cook and the fbi director are speaking out. cook says it does not feel good not complying with the fbi, but unlocking the san bernardino shooter's phone could cause a data risk for all users. apple has until friday to file against the federal government's court order. some big changes coming to a particular starbucks reward program. starting in april, customers will earn a star for every two dollars they spend. a total of 125 stars will get you a free coffee or food item. a spokesperson says that most

equal or better rate with the change. cuba is deploying a small army to fight the zika virus. 9,000 military members are in charge of keeping zika out of the island nation. so far there have been no reported cases in cuba. doctors say it is a huge threat to unborn babies, causing serious birth defects. put your paws together for the new york city's top dog. >> the american kennel club has released the most popular dog breeds of 2015. in our area the french bulldog takes the number one spot, the top five. >> they do like the bulldogs in my neighborhood. there's a whole bunch of them. a new twist on an old scam

>> reporter: a homeless man accused of raping a woman and robbing a woman inside her staten island office building. coming up, that suspect's disturbing history of violence. and hit by a stray bullet.

the search for a predator. police say this is the man behind a heinous sexual assault on staten island where a woman was attacked in her office building.