aj ross is on the west side highway. hey, aj. >> reporter: it's a mess out there. we just passed the retaining wall and are trying to get back

aj ross is on the west side highway. hey, aj. >> reporter: it's a mess out there. we just passed the retaining wall and are trying to get back but it's down to one lane with an nypd patrol vehicle blocking the lane closest to the retaining wall and crews are worried about the structural integrity of the wall. so traffic is backed up for miles, right in the peak of the evening commute and it's important to note that the wall is right back amtrak trains. but they are not affected. there is no service disruption and they are running on time and crews are trying to closely monitor that the wall will not interfere with any of the train tracks nor the roadway nor by. if you plan to come on the west side highway and go towards 125th, you need to pack your patience. you are going to be in traffic for a while. we are closely monitoring this situation and we'll bring you updates throughout the evening. aj ross, channel 7, eyewitness news. >> try and avoid the west side highway. all right, aj. >>> and more breaking news that commute and this time on the subway, delays and ser

aj ross, channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> speed may have been a factor in the crash of an ambulance on long island that killed two people. the driver and the patient were killed this afternoon when the ambulance crashed in to an overpass in west hempstead. we've learned tonight that the patient had just received a heart and kidney transplant and a paramedic in the back of the ambulance survived. there were no skid marks on the road. >>> you saw it burn on eyewitness news early tonight. several houses, bone dry land and a stiff wind. demolition started on one home but the fire proving that indeed one spark can start a huge brush fire. eyewitness news reporter jim dolan in suffolk county with the latest. >> just take a look. this is all that's left. not much of the house where the fire started. it was an electrical fire, an air conditioner. that fire was fueled by winds and it became monstrous. >> reporter: it devoured the home it seemed in seconds. the wind off the water like gasoline. soon it spread to homes on either side. flames whipped in to a frenzy by the wind, climbed in to the c

. >> aj ross is in richmond hill, queens with the latest. >> it's an alarming robbery pattern police are anxious to put an end to with the recent incident happening nine days ago. it's the same m.o. armed thieves targeting taxi cab riders and drivers. they're hoping surveillance behind bars. >> reporter: cold and calculated, police are on the hunt for an armed pair of thieves targeting cab riders in queens. the two seen in this surveillance video robbed more than a dozen people at gunpoint over the past two months. and gotten away with a thousand dollars in cash and stolen goods. risky. as far as i'm concerned, i've got to be on the watch too. >> reporter: among the 14 reported robberies spanning back to march 3rd, investigators say there's a distinguishable pattern. with this duo primary targeting taxi riders as they exit on to the street in the early morning hours at which point they pull out a gun, demand cash, credit cards, and electronics. >> it's a crazy city. you've got to be careful walking yourself. >> reporter: they've since struck several different parts of richmond hill.

here's eyewitness news reporter aj ross. >> reporter: it was an alarming discovery at newtown middle school wednesday that triggered heart wrenching wremz when a -- heartwrenching. >> my child was in the proximity of a gun for the last, how long? >> reporter: school officials disclosed more details about the investigation of 46-year-old jason adams who's now on administrative leave as he faces a felony weapons charge. judgment to have that weapon. >> reporter: school officials do not believe adams had any malintent. several parents questioned how such a thing could happen, with some suggesting increased security measures like metal detectors. >> really just surprised, but you know, it can happen. >> it was egregiously inappropriate and insensitive considering where he is in this town, in this community. >> a gun got in to the school. so that should be a wake-up call to us that says something more needs to be done. >> reporter: at least one parent believes adams deserves the benefit of the doubt. as a valid permit holder and generally well liked faculty member. >> i think he's being v

aj ross, channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> now to vote 2016, and a crowded campaign trail tonight. ahead of five primaries next tuesday. we'll start with democratic frontrunner hillary clinton. taking aim at the powerful gun lobby. clinton leading a discussion about gun violence. she said she'll use everything in her power if she's elected president to push through gun reform laws. meanwhile bernie sanders campaigning in pennsylvania telling supporters he believes he can still win the nomination if enough supporters get out and vote next tuesday. >>> demands by donald trump tonight falling flat for his gop rivals to drop out of the race. ted cruz predicts trump will not have enough delegates to secure the nomination going in to the convention in cleveland in july. john kasich also refusing to drop out. although he's a distant third, kasich, like cruz, pinning his hopes on the possibility of a contested convention. predator who tried to rape a jogger in brooklyn is intensifying tonight. community leaders and residents helped to pass out sketches of the suspect in prospect park. vide

eye news reporter aj ross has the latest. aj. >>reporter: sandra, this is the aftermath of that devastating fire that ripped through several homes and businesses here at key port yesterday as some came back today to pick through the debris, neighbors offered support as the journey toward rebuilding begins. >> it was scary the whole time, up on the deck you could feel the heat from the flames. was an intense blaze with flames. they battled the inferno for hours. along front street, they lost everything in addition to several homes above them. this isn't the first time they've been faced with the prospect of rebuilding. after hurricane sandy, the same strip was demolished. >> my whole life and business is here. gone. >> what's next for you ? >> i don't know. hopefully find a new location and keep going forward. do what we got to do. i love this place. loved it. >> devastated but not dis distraught. tenants say they'll survive this too. >> horrible. sad. working here, living here, and now hopefully we could recover. we beat sandy, s

aj ross getting the video today. she's live in paterson with the eyewitness news exclusive. >> this is some of the debris left over from the crazy exchange. the victim pegged as an easy target. the man asleep in his car. you'll only see on eyewitness news, he not only fought back, he chased those guys across the street and taught them a lesson in the school of hard knocks they'll never forget. >> reporter: a botched robbery paterson early monday morning when three suspects ambushed a man who fell asleep in his van in this grocery store parking lot. the trio first approached his vehicle with hammered and tried to pin him in place with another car. he rammed their vehicle for for payback. >> it's a chaotic situation. think about it. you're sleeping, you wake up, all of the sudden you get crashed in to by a car. >> reporter: in this shocking surveillance video you'll only see on eyewitness news, one of the suspects can be seen here escaping down the street, moments before one of his partners on the opposite side didn't

aj ross is live in south bronx. aj. >>reporter: if you look behind me, you can see the police tape is roping off several blocks in the south bronx following two back-to-back shootings. the first happened on clay hospital and left a 30-year-old man dead and the hunt for his killer family is overwhelmed with pain. >> i didn't know what happened. what happened. scary. >> a small house party turned into a huge crime scene saturday morning when gunfire erupted inside this clay avenue home. >> the guys were cool. everybody was cool. the music was playing low. it was fine. next thing you know as i go across the street, and as soon as i put my key inside the door, i see people running outside the house and they scattered everywhere. >> a 30-year-old man was taken to bronx hospital where he was pronounced dead. it was news his loved ones didn't take well. a large fight broke out at the hospital with a female breaking a window of a police car and another female arrested for assaulting an officer. another shooting a couple of bloc

aj ross is live in east arlem -- harlem. aj? >> reporter: shirleen, 32 gang members arrested for narcotics after a year-long investigation with the fbi and nypd, a huge takedown earlier this morning and a short period ago, the mypd brass confirmed some of them arrested were connected to the shooting death of officer randolph holder. >> this is a prime example of precision police being. >> -- policing. >> reporter: it was an extremely tactical force that spread between three housing propertys in east harlem and culminated at a massive raid early on tuesday morning. >> able to take 32 people off we're looking for a few more. >> reporter: chief o'neal said that the investigation spread between east river houses, washington houses and metro north plaza that initially began last play but accelerated after the vicious shooting of officer randolph holder in october '92 some of the people involved in that are some of the people involved in the case that started with the shooting. i made a pledge to the people of the east river houses an

reporter aj ross live in fairfield with more. >>reporter: david, this is a small university of a couple of thousand students. students received text and e-mails about last night's assault and they're on heighten alert as police search for the suspect. >> we got the text messages through our phones this morning, and we got a followup e-mail as well. >> it was a nerving message sent to the entire student body at fairfield university early tuesday after a young woman was brutally attacked and sexually assaulted while walking from the library. >> it's scary to have that happen on our campus. because this town is nice. my school is so nice, and it's just sad that, you know, this happens. >> the victim called police shortly after the attack around 11:00 p.m. monday night and told investigators she was lured from a path on campus to the woods where she was assaulted by a male in his 40s. >> last evening we had officers, k-9 officers searching the area. unfortunately we were unable to locate the individual. >> they're urging students to

aj ross has the story. >> it was embarrassing. >>reporter: he's had a fear experience above a united flight has taken his anxiety to new heights. after celebrating his 35-year-old birthday in vegas, he was set to return home. those took a detour after another passenger complained. >> because where i was sitting, i could hear what he was saying. he said this is a five-hour flight and he needs to be comfortable. >> weighing in at 385 pounds, he says his weight hasn't been an issue on a plane before. this wasn't his first time flying united, but the first time a supervisor appeared and asked him to leave. >> all this whole week i've been flying united, so i said i'm confused why this is happening. i had never experienced this type of discrimination. this type of -- it's just aggravated. >> in a written statement, a spokesman for united said, united requires that customers purchase a second seat if they can't sit with both armrest lowers without encroaching on their fellow he says he has no problem buying extra seat, but the policy wa

the victim was attacked on her aj ross is on the scene. >> students here at fairfield university are wrestling with a lot of emotions after that female student was sexually assaulted last night. they say this is a tight knit community. so not only students here but people throughout the town are concerned as police continue their hunt for the suspect. >> they can't feel safe on their own college campus. >> reporter: disturbing news of a young woman brutally attacked and sexually assaulted swept across the fairfield university campus tuesday as the university sent out text alerts and e-mails, urging students and staff to remain on guard and vigilant. >> i feel worried for the females at my school that they can't walk on the safety of their campus without this happening. >> reporter: police say they received a call around 11 p.m., detailing how the young woman was ambushed by a stranger who punched her along a path near the library, then lured her to a wooded area nearby where she was then assaulted. campus and i walk back and forth from the library all the time. it's scary to hear it'

aj ross, channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> now to the latest fallout from the federal investigation, mayor de blasio's election fundraising in the nypd. a veteran nypd leader, deputy chief andrew capul transferred and reassigned to an administrative position. four other nypd commanders also punished. the fbi and u.s. attorney looking in to whether they were paid off for special favors. as for mayor de blasio, the case he said on monday he wouldn't talk about anymore, he's talking about again. eyewitness news reporter n.j. the story. >> it didn't take long. the mayor says he's prepared and willing to cooperate with the investigation though he admits tonight he knows next to nothing about it. >> reporter: there may be no one in the city more eager to know what's happening in the office than the mayor of new york. which is why he hired a lawyer to make a call. >> we hold ourselves to a high standard. we always have. that's why i was happy to tell them to call and ask for help. >> reporter: sources say deputy chief andrew capul of manhattan north attended the super bowl in 2010. there are ques

the victim's mother spoke to aj ross. >> when she be in the bed sleeping, he comes in the room, he touches her every night. that's really, really wrong and that's what hurt me the most, she probably trusted him. >> abdulazeez charged with having sexual contact with a minor and sexual abuse. repair the water system in the area. 58th street between 6th and 7th avenues also shut down. a water main broke yesterday. that spilled water on to a steam pipe. repair work slow going because of all the underground utilities. several hundred residents in the area are getting bottled water tonight. >>> now to vote 2016. just one week away from the new york primary. one week from tonight and a new poll out tonight shows presidential frontrunner donald trump and hillary clinton with double digit leads. trump, john kasich, and bernie sanders were stumping across the state today. senator sanders tried to gain ground against mrs. clinton by telling the crowd in syracuse how the pair differed when it comes to fundraising. he said his average campaign donation was $27 while sanders claims clinton raised $25 mi

i'm aj ross, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> thank you, aj. >>> [indiscernible] news copter 7 over the scene. shannon, what can you tell us? >>reporter: you can show you the damage from above. you can see it's the right panel on the police cruiser that took the brunt of the damage which hit the back of the car which sent it into a parked car. as aj mentioned, you have closures in this lane. it's powell boulevard that's shut down. if you're heading in the middle of your screen, you can get through. police put in a secondary closure further back at 141st street. everyone being detoured. it's going to effect you if you're on a city bus. easy detour to get around. you can go to frederick douglas boulevard or malcolm x boulevard. not too bad all things considering. live over harlem, shannon, eyewitness news. >> shannon sohn, thank you. >>> a tape was played in brooklyn. jurors held the teenager heard him say he set a mattress on fire because he was bored. >> an officer died because of that fire. mallory is live. >>reporter: he says on this video he did it because he was bored. he goes onto

. >>> aj ross at the scene of a crash with details. >> reporter: police are trying to determine if speed or alcohol could have been factors in this horrific crash that senator young people to the hospital. you can see the tread marks from the tires of this car that veered off the road and crashed into there wooded area before bursting into flames and people who live nearby say it sounded like an explosion. they are grateful those inside are expected to make it. >> i was sleeping and awoke by the sound it was like a loud crash. it is one time and then a second. >> reporter: the impact of the collision sent a chilling echo neighborhood and startled juana santana from her sleep. she found fire and ems converged on this road. a car suddenly lost control around 3:30 a.m. and slammed into a wooded area shortly before it caught on fire. trapped inside were two young men in the front and two girls in the front ages 1-24. >> i heard somebody yelling call the police. it was chilling. it was really chilling. it went like right through me. >> reporter: first responders managed to quickly pull all fo

. >> reporter: aj ross channel 7 eyewitness news. >> i love you can see her two little teeth in the front. so sweet. >> she has a special life ahead of her. >>> eyewitness news at 5:00 begins right now. >>> all new at 5:00. an isis hit list targeting thousands of new yorkers. tonight the fbi is notifying unsuspecting targets. >>> breaking news on the standoff outside a baltimore tv station. police have now taken the man who showed up into custody. he was taken away in an the man was wearing a panda suit and a surgical mask. he was on the street for some time after being shot because they did not know if the costume was concealing a potential weapon. this happened about 1:30 this afternoon when the man entered the lobby of the fox affiliate and displayed what looked like a bomb. when he left the building he refused to obey commands and that is when they opened firefighter. >> officers were telling him to take his hands out of his pockets. he had on a hooded jack, hands in his pocket, a surgical mask on and a counter sniper shot the suspect. >> the man demanded the tv station broadcast his

eyewitness reporter a dree on-ross is outside of the new york airport with the latest. aj. >>reporter: publicly hue mil at humiliated and kicked off of a flight because of his weight. a new jersey man is speaking out. he says hi weight has never been an issue on a plane and he hopes what happens to him doesn't happen to anyone else. >> i was being told that, like, you know, you're too big to fly on this flight. i've never experienced that. >> weighing in at 385 pounds. he has struggled with his weight all his life. it's an ongoing battle, but never one he thought he would have to face aboard a plane. >> i'm already big and growing up, you get the big jokes and 31 years of living with myself, i know how i am. i still look good. i don't care what anybody says. >> after celebrating his 31st birthday in -- he confirmed an aisle seat. last minute, so was his seat and passengers sitting next to him had a problem. >> because where we were sitting, i could hear what he was saying. he said, this is a 5-hour flight, and he needs to be comfortable. and not only does he need to be comf

aj ross, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> just heart wrenching. thank you, aj. >>> an arrest tonight in connection with a destructive fire in new jersey. three adjacent businesses were destroyed in the fire in keyport last friday. 28-year-old andrew meyer is working without a permit. he was doing roof work on one of the buildings before the fire started. >>> a raging fire ripped through a home overnight in suffolk county. the fire broke out in a house on west smith street and north amityville just before 1 a.m. by the time firefighters arrived, flames were shooting out of windows. the good news is no one was home at the time and no one was hurt. there's no word yet on what caused the fire. >>> a deadly love triangle and tonight the father of a woman's child is dead. her new boyfriend, a teenager, is now charged with murder. a bloody stabbing on the streets of the uber -- on the upper east side of manhattan. darla miles on the upper east side with the latest. >> that teenager now charged with murder is 19-year-old gustavo rodriguez. he's expected t

aj ross talking exclusively with the girl's mother. she is at the bronx criminal courthouse in the melrose section and she's got more. >> this is a little girl who had to face challenge after challenge since birth, and in exclusively this afternoon, she worries this incident may have scarred her for life. now that staff member is set to appear here in bronx criminal court today and what he's vile. >> i cry for her every day. >> reporter: it was a heartbreaking phone call that left this coney island mother helplessness and rage. >> how could you do that? child? >> reporter: on the other end of the phone was an administrator from the christopher school in the bronx, explaining her 14-year-old daughter was allegedly molested by a staff member. the school provides 24-hour care to children with disabilities. and this mom says her daughter has the mental capacity of a 4-year-old. someone she trusted at the school took advantage of that. >> he comes in the room, touches her every night. that's really, really wrong. and that's what hurt me the

. >> reporter: in oceanside, aj ross, channel 7 eyewitness news. >>> changes to tell you about before you take your next uber ride. >> why keeping your driver waiting could cost you more sooner. eyewitness news at 6:00 starts right now. against a jetblue pilot who just walked out of court. he's accused of being drunk while flying a plane from florida to new york city. the flight had over 150 passengers onboard. >>> but first we continue to follow breaking news. a man hit and killed by a pickup truck outside of an elementary school. good evening at 6:00. i'm liz cho. >> i'm bill ritter. a man was getting inside his car when suddenly it was hit by a pickup truck. just a gruesome scene. >> teachers did everything they could to shield the children so they could not see what had happened. >> anthony johnson at the scene for us with the breaking news. >> certainly that principal was quick thinking. the kids were outside, going back inside the school when this tragic accident took place around 2:15 this afternoon. got all the adults together to stand out on the sidewalk and to shield the kid

aj ross is outside newark liberty ain't with the story. >> a vegas birthday bash turned in to a troubled nightmare for a jersey city man who says he was kicked off the flight. errol narvaez said it's an experience he'll never forget. >> it was embarrassing. i've never had to experience that before. >> reporter: errol narvaez already had a fear of flying but this has taken his anxiety to after celebrating his 31st birthday in vegas, he was set to return home but those plans took a major detour because another passenger complained. >> he said this is a five-hour flight and he needs to be comfortable. >> reporter: weighing in at 385 pounds, errol says his weight has never been an issue on a plane before. this wasn't his first time playing united but it was the first time a supervisor appeared and asked him to leave. >> i said i'm confused on why this is happening. i've never experienced this type of discrimination, this type of just -- it's just aggravating. >> reporter: in a written statement a spokesman for united said, quote, to better ensure the comfort of all customers, united require

katherine ross is next on booktv lpszs and censorship takes look at the way schools have limited the free speech of students. ...

maryland for annual book festival featuring fox news host juan williams and washington post columnist aj dion for more information about the book fairs and festival booktv will be covering and watch preeftion festival coverage click the book fair tab on our website booktv .org. katherine ross is next on booktv lpszs and censorship takes look at the way schools have limited the free speech of students. ... he wrote the first ten amendments that were introduced into congress and was a beyond that more than just the author of them or the person who wrote them and believed in them. i should say that in part of that of valuable institute here in washington has designated his birthday national freedom of information day, which is we are celebrating here today along with the publication of his book. i can't help, however, but refer to what i thought was an interesting and useful from madison on this very topic, the first amendment freedom and freedom of speech. madison wrote, quote, a popular government without popular information or the means of inquiring it is but a prologue to a farce or a t