line tonight with wind gusts between 45 and 55 miles per hour. expected in our area, the worst midnight. right now we have some patchy and moderate showers with heavier showers now over parts of warren county, new jersey. this is the line we're tracking moving into eastern pennsylvania down to washington, d.c. and south. they already have severe thunderstorm warning for d.c. philadelphia at 7:43. and over new york city around 8:45 tonight. we're seeing wind gusts increase around the area. we're going to see 40, 50 and maybe 60 miles per hour gusts as we go through the evening. by 9:00 the winds will be at their strongest, still pretty strong up around midnight and diminishing after midnight across the area.

weather with our nbc 4 new york app. a war of words tonight between an active nypd cop and the police commissioner over a claim of quotas for arrests and tickets. exist. the officer edwin raymond and nearly a dozen over current and former minority cops involved in a class action lawsuit say otherwise. >> chuck, the allegations indeed are explosive. the police commissioner describes them as b.s. that's exactly what he said. but officer edwin raymond says it is not just his word against the department. he claims he has a secret weapon which was hidden in his pocket. are there quotas? >> absolutely. >> 30-year-old edwin raymond, an nypd cop for nearly eight years is taking on his own department, claiming commanders require

for arrests and summons inspite of a state ban on quotas. they say there isn't a quo that? >> because it's illegal and immoral and unthet cal. ethical. it exists. this type of policing doesn't occur in other neighborhoods. those neighborhoods are actually policed. black and hispanic neighborhoods are hunted. >> this is what happened yesterday when reporter san drew er er andrew siff tried to ask the police commissioner about the claims. >> what is your response to his claim? and are you concerned at all -- what's that? >> [ bleep ] is my response to that. >> the commissioner insists the department doesn't focus on numbers but rather on how to reduce crime. >> he's either delusional, in serious denial, or has no issue lying through his teeth.

same neighborhood where he grew up, is now the lead plaintiff in a class action lawsuit by minority officers that accused the department of violating a state ban on quotas. >> they're punished more and more often for not making the quota than white cops. >> for the past two years raymond has recorded conversations with what he says are nypd officials, which could be key evidence in the lawsuit. >> it's a numbers game. >> why did you decide to tape record supervisors? >> they're breaking the law just the same way the nypd records others who are breaking the law and uses that as evidence, it's the same thing. i basically conducted my own investigation. >> raymond was recently passed over for promotion, but claims this is not a personal vendetta. why are you speaking out? >> almost every officer i run into, they're tired of this. >> aren't you worried about retaliation?

>> the city has asked a judge to dismiss the charges related to the alleged quota ban and certain other claims. the rules is expected within a couple of months. do you have a story you'd like the news 4's biggest i-team to check out? call the tip line at 1-84 1-866-news-244. all out bound ferry service from st. george is sus pentd pended because the nypd is investigating a suspicious package. wir learn e are learning the details about the torture and abuse of a baby who died. the prosecutor has accused his babysitter, gloria fields of beating the baby and sexually

he was in cardiac arrest by the time police arrived at his family's staten island home on monday. >> there was a human being. there was a little baby. >> broken collarbone, bruises on his face. so i mean -- i didn't even know all of that. >> well, outside the court, the little boy's devastated family did lash out at the media. and court officers streamed out of the building to escort them away. the babysitter gloria fields was charged with murder. a volunteer wrestling coach in rockland county has been accused of sexually abusing a teenage boy he met through a program he worked for. and there may be other victims. >> reporter: police are asking parents to talk to their kids, make sure this man did not victimize them after volunteering at a number of wrestling programs in three different counties just north of the city.

>> reporter: bradley, troubled to learn a young man from clarkstown is a victim. 18-year-old marcus strout used his position as a volunteer wrestling coach to lure and sexually abuse a teenager. bradley thinks stroud could have used that position to gain that boy's trust. >> yeah. i would trust most people in the school. >> reporter: police say stroud used social media apps like snapchap to develop that relationship with his victim. stroud the fear is that there are more victims, though police will not name specific schools or programs where stroud volunteered. >> if your child has been in contact with the suspect, please have a conversation with the children to ensure that your child has not been a victim. >> reporter: bradley's mother

hasn't sent out any alerts about marcus stroud. stroud has been charged with a criminal sex act in the second degree and also second degree sex abuse. $100,000. anybody with any information on him or any other victims are asked to call clarkstown police. the mts says a says it's determined to open the second avenue subway on schedule. the money is coming from a contingency fund that will pay contractors to do extra work for extra hours. the mta says opening the station is key to easing subway traffic. >> anything we can do to ease ridership, the sooner we can do that the better. >> the project began in 2007 and will provide service along 2nd

new at 6:00, an ambulance company in the city is bankrupt. today transcare e-mailed its employees saying it is closing up shop at the end of today. that means 27 ambulances in the bronx and manhattan will be off the streets. the city says the fire department and private companies will pick up the slack. the news also impacts 200,000 people in the hudson valley. was it a tragedy that could have been avoided? the driver blaem is now accused of popping pills before he slammed into their car. and the push to put michael skak skakel back in prison for the

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. a decision on whether or not kennedy cousin michael skakel will get a new trial, arguments were heard today in connecticut supreme court. prosecutors want to reinstate skakel's conviction of the murder of his 15-year-old neighbor martha moxley. skakel was freed in 2013 after a judge granted him a new trial. his attorneys say the evidence was inadequate. moxley's mother, who was there today, says this changes nothing. >> because when you cut through all of what happened here -- and there are a lot of specifics -- this defendant did not get a fair shake. >> i am sure that michael is the young man who slung the golf club.

about that. >> the judge is expected to make a decision in the next few months. new developments tonight in the alleged sexting scandal involving ed mangano. mangano says his cell phone was hacked to make it appear he'd sent explicit texts to pr woman karen caro. and living in bergen county may get a bit more expensive. the county executive says there is the possibility of a tax increase this year. he didn't offer any more details about the budget, saying just that it will be a chang. llenge. coming up when news 4 at 6:00 returns, new charges against the driver who caused a crash that killed a popular science teacher. the deadline to ridge

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. a busy night tonight. we're going to have the latest on the weather from the deep south moving up to the mid atlantic right now. also from the campaign trail, a rare interview with donald trump's wife melania. she has remained very much out of the spotlight. >> we see her occasionally in new york because she's from here. but she is an immigrant. does she talk about donald trump's immigration policy? >> it comes up during the interview. she defends his views. she says donald trump is not antiimmigrant.

immigration he opposes. updating a tragic story now from monday. the driver arrested in the crash that killed a popular science teacher and a five-year-old daughter is now accused of driving under the influence of drugs. brian thompson has more on that. >> reporter: sibila, listen to what the prosecutor said in court today, quote, he is not without sin in referring to scott hahn, the suspect in this case who was in court, who has a past arrest record for simple assault, although no conviction. it is what happened a couple of miles away from this court house that has this community in shock. scott hahn said nothing in court, but at the scene of this accident at a new jersey

say he admitted he took ten adderall pills without a prescription. his speed estimated at between 50 and 70 miles per hour at the time of the crash. >> then traveled across lanes, sideswiping a road barrier, until it struck the victim's vehicle. >> reporter: tim o'donnell and his five-year-old daughter bridget were killed. his wife spoke about the loss of her husband and daughter. >> it's sad that our teacher was taken from us. they're so distraught and sad. >> reporter: 36-year-old hahn is single. now he's in jail, held on a million dollars bail. the prosecutor confirms our record yesterday of speeding and unsafe driving charges in his past in arguing against bail reduction. >> he has a horrific driving record. >> reporter: but it's what happened to this family, to this mother and widow that has

offering to raise money. >> the family needs a lot of help. i just want to be a big part of that. >> reporter: and there will be an extensive effort. now, the prosecutor said that a urine test confirmed the presence of em fete amphetamines in hahn's body. he also admitted to police he had not slept in 24 hours since taking that adderall. of course there's not much sleep now for the o'donnell family as they face a wake on friday night and the funerals on saturday. tonight, the epa is defending its decision not to tell families in ringwood, new jersey about chemical contamination. environmental regulators knew about a possible cancer causing chemical at the site for three months, but the epa doesn't consider it an imminent threat

that area suspect contaminated. we've got some good news about the staten island ferry terminals. they are all open now. shifting to weather, you're saying janice that the wind is going to be a major player. >> a huge player as we go through the next several hours. we've been tracking severe weather all afternoon south of our area. outside now, things are quiet. but around us to our south and west there are severe thunderstorms tracking all the way down to washington, d.c. and even down to the state line of south carolina and north carolina and virginia. pretty bad weather coming our way. right now this is the pretty much like not the worst of it yet, but it's on the way. it's 55 degrees. we have clouds and fog and light rain in the area. the heavier thunderstorms and the gusty winds will be coming in in just a matter of hours. we have a tornado watch south and west of our area. it does not include any of our

but it does include southern new jersey down to d.c. and baltimore. it's very close to our counties. this is in effect until 11:00. we are expecting possibly damaging winds here and i wouldn't rule out an isolated tornado. that's a possibility. you'll want to stay indoors if a warning is issued for your area. we have a high wind advisory in effect for our area. since midnight we've already seen gusts of up to 44 miles per hour in trenton. right now between generally 25 and 35 miles an hour. these winds are going to get stronger, because severe weather is possible. there is a slight chance we could have severe thunderstorm warnings in our area the next several hours. they've seen that all day down towards d.c. and virginia, up towards philadelphia under the threat as well. and down into virginia and north carolina, tornados, several have been reported, several touchdowns. this is where the worst of the

severe thunderstorm warnings in effect for washington, d.c. but these have been the reports today of either funnel clouds or touchdowns that they'll be investigating across this area. these are the active tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings. and in the area in red, it stretches about 250 miles near i-95. this is the closest one to us, a severe thunderstorm warning in effect for cumberland county. this storm is about to move on shore near vineland. it will be moving north and eastward towards philadelphia in the next several minutes. and then eventually that whole line moves into the tri-state. we're likely to see that happen after 9:00 tonight. so around 11:00-12:00 the thunderstorms will be moving through. they'll break a part a bit around 1:00 in the morning. you'll want to keep track of that by staying tuned to us here

twitter for the very latest. so no matter how you slice it, the tomato is one of new jersey's most iconic crops. but a teen from rutgers university says they have made the tomato even better. the university's agriculture experiment station has released its rutgers 250 tomato seeds. the group says that the new version is juicier than the classic jersey tomato with the right blend of sweetness and acidity. about 2,000 pacts kets are on sale. bruce beck is live in tampa with the yankees. >> reporter: sibila, hail hail, the gang's all here in tampa. that means you know who has arrived. coming up in sports, a-rod reports to yankees camp at steinbrenner field. i think there were a few cameras

we have breaking news now. charges have been dismissed against these five young men accused of raping an 18-year-old woman at osborne park in january. the accuser has recanted. the d.a. says criminal charges cannot be sustained due to a lack of reliable evidence. >> reporter: the skies are now clear and a cold front is moving in, but earlier today at yankees spring training in tampa, there was one big rumbling. it was pouring in tampa this morning.

sense in the world, because today alex rodriguez stormed into steinbrenner field with the media out in force to chronicle his arrival. while a-rod took some cuts in the indoor batting cage, he didn't speak to reporters. he'll do that tomorrow. today he let the other position players talk about the prospects for the season, both from an individual and team perspective. what are your thoughts on coming in here today? >> we feel good. this team has a lot of talent. >> reporter: you still think you've got 30-plus home runs in that body? >> absolutely. >> reporter: how good can this line-up be? >> i think we can be very good. i think we have -- i know we have the players. we're smart and we're definitely capable of getting it done. >> reporter: yankees have always been a team that thought about

series and that's the only thing that matters. what are the goals this year? >> that's a goal, you know, honestly. and looking at the team last year and this year, like i said, we have a better ball club. >> we have a roster that can compete with anybody. and just like any team out there, we've got to stay healthy and produce up to our abilities. >> reporter: one of the yankees' big off season acquisitions was also in the house today. second baseman castro comes over in a trade from the cubs. he's a three time all star and is thrilled about the move to new york. >> it's a really exciting moment. it's a really good moment to have to play in new york. like you said, we're coming from the windy city. now we got the big apple. >> >> reporter: looking forward to

>> of course. be ready to play every day. that's it. >> reporter: maybe a little shop took and some good dinners. if he plays well both offensively and defensively, madison avenue will come calling. >> bruce, thanks. nbc nightly news is straight ahead. >> thanks so much for joining us. breaking news tonight. a new outbreak of deadly tornadoes. decimating homes and towns. a rising toll with nearly a dozen states fears the biggest threat is yet to come. bombshell. news tonight half of all cars being driven right now in america might need to be recalled as investigators say the air bag maker continues to deceive customers even after deadly crashes. trump landslide. after crushing the competition in nevada, tonight he's aiming for a super tuesday knockout. also, milania trump, a rare one-on-one