from the cbs broadcast center in philadelphia. this is cbs-3 "eyewitness news". on his way. after a final mass in cuba this morning, pope francis is saying good-bye in cuba before making his way here to the u.s. he's expected to touchdown in washington, d.c., later on this afternoon. they're getting ready for him. >> good afternoon, i'm erika von tiehl. pat ciarrocchi is on assign: certainly exciting day in philadelphia, as the world meeting of families is officially underway. meanwhile, pilgrims from all around the worlds are here in philadelphia, to take part in that event.

"eyewitness news" reporter justin finch caught up with the visitors as they arrived earlier this morning. >> early tuesday, pilgrims began powering into the convention center's broad street atrium. jennette west drove in from indianna. >> my dad and i actually drove in, just took 12 hours. >> and some took several flights. >> i think it was about 27 hours went through, then lands in heathrow, and then to philly airport. >> all the way from zimbabwe, they were at the 2012 worlds meeting of families in milan. and they're excited to see what philadelphia will offer, specially this weekend, when the pope arrives. >> he's one of us. >> counting congress regrants from some 150 countries, 2015 worlds meeting of families already the largest ever, with a estimated 17,500 attends east, and 10,000 plus volunteers, gathering to celebrate fate and family. you'll see them throughout

center city caring packed pig grill kits they pick up today. >> a hat, nice back pack. >> this year's theme, love is our mission, the family fully alive. if you are wondering why philly, organizers have answer. >> it is history, not just the united states, but roots of religious freedom, that's a really important cause to pope francis, was important cause positive pope benedict, the pope that awarded this meeting to us. >> and pilgrims have quite a busy day ahead, beginning with opening ceremonies at 1:00 followed by a keynote address, and an evening mass, which concludes at 6:00. at the convention center, justin finch, cbs-3, "eyewitness news". welcome to town. >> and the view here if you can check this out from chopper three shows huge transformation along the ben franklin parkway. some of those jumbro-trons are now in place, and the eakin's oval stage coming to the. look at. that will that's where some performances for the festival of families will take place saturday. on sunday pope francis will take that same stage to

celebrate mass, great progress there. >> and, in less than a half hour pope francis will be wheels up bound for washington, d.c. president obama will greet the pontiff when he arrives later this afternoon at three days in cuba. and correspondent reporting massive security force will be waiting, as well. >> pope celebrated a mass with thousands in santiago cuba this morning. he called the foundation of cuban identity, called for revolution of tenderness as cubans re discover their heritage. >> security teams making final preparations for the pope's arrival this afternoon. he will land at joint base andrews, where he will be greeted by president obama and the first family. the pope's arrival begins six day tour of the us, which includes several high profile events, and three of the nation's largest cities. the security plan has

thousands of federal, state and local law enforcement assigned to watch over the pontiff as well as the millions who went to see him. security planners also studied every attempt on pope flight in the last 40 years. >> we want to remind everybody on these details, and all three cities, about the way these things have happened in the past, the different ways they've been put together. >> the greatest concern, attack by lone wolf. >> no one can say with certainty that you can 100% stop everything. >> the pope will officially visit the white house tomorrow morning, and will address a joint session of congress, on thursday, then it is off to new york sit, where he will address the un general assembly before saying mass at madison square garden. cbs news, washington. and our own todd quinones in washington dc awaiting pope francis arrival in the nation's capitol. he'll have live reports from washington starting today on "eyewitness news" at 5:00. as we said earlier the worlds meeting of families of course

is under way. we want to get right out to alexandria hoff, exciting day. good afternoon. >> good afternoon, erika well the world meeting of families has just officially kicked off. it happened today at noon. just couple of minutes ago, here at media press conference, obviously, they thee taking some questions and answers right now, weaver media from all over the world here right now. we just learned that 100 countries will be represented during this world meeting of families, and 17,500 people have registered to be here. making it the largest that has ever been. now this worlds meeting of families has been going on since 1992 started by john paul the second, the first time, though, a cents you know, in the united state. the first time that a country, that is not a majority catholic has hosed this event, so, as we've heard from our speakers there is event offers a great opportunity, as world, the us, can encourage a lot of thought when it comes to the

family, whole point of the event, to bring families together, appreciate the union that that provides. now, once again, taking questions and answers right now. but we do want to hair from bishop chaput earlier about the events. >> regardless of their fate, healthy families, or essential to authentic human development. we're also proud that the holy father has said philadelphia and our gathering here are the central reasons for his visit to the united state. as you know pope francis one of the most popular and magnetic religious on world leaders in recent memory, his visit here is a irreplaceable moment. one that will undoubtedly help all of us move toward a hopeful future, with renewed fate and confidence, as we seek to fulfill the theme of the world meeting of families, love is our mission, the family fully alive. >> all right, well, they also

mentioned that there will be issues when families come together, they will be discussing things a families understand. now, these issues include child referring intimacy, finances, elderly care, grandparent, even divorce. so, they're not really leaving much out of the conversation, and that's the whole point of this, to have families from around the world come together, they'll begin flocking to this city. but once again, world meeting of families here in philadelphia, has now kick off. reporting live from the convention center, alexandria hoff, "eyewitness news". >> thank you, alex. and of course we will keep you to up date with the up-to-the-minute information regarding the pope's visit to philadelphia. you can check of course here on line and on our website cbsphilly.com. and, cool start to the world meeting of families in fill. but there could be weather issues when pope francis comes to town, keeping our fingers crossed, justin, for no rainout on the skydeck right now, and pretty cool out there, right? >> starting off the fall season, somewhat on the chilly side, off i i shallly starts tomorrow, we warm it up tomorrow afternoon.

then watch out for potential storm system headed into the weekend. pretty notorious this time of year in the fall season, a lot of times we do run into these storms. so let's break it down for you. here's what's going to happen. high pressure over new england for the rest of the week, keeps us dry. right now weak disturbance over the carolinas. that will will try to move northward, it all depends on how strong this high is, where it set up. it may allow the storm system to track into the mid-atlantic. so if it does, if the high moves little farther north, and away from the coastline, that low pressure will be able to sneak in here and we're inbetween that high and the low. it means windy conditions, clouds for sure, and threat for some rain. specially right now, best chance to see the rain will be just south and east of the city, but it is possible some of the steady rain could get in here specially on sunday afternoon, sunday evening, not good for the papal visit. so here's the forecast at this point. saturday looking okay, still, clouds and some sunshine, little breezy. temperatures in the mid 70s, but then we have to watch out for the storm. if it is dry, it will be windy no matter what.

somewhat cool. highs in the low 70s, but we do have the threat for some rain coming in on sunday. so just keep that in mind. also have to watch this forecast track really over the next couple of days. storm scan3, right now, looking pretty good. clouds, maybe stray sprinkle. it is cool right now. temperatures holding in the 60s, but we will be talking about a warm up, the next couple of days, details coming up in just a few more minutes. erika, send it back to you. >> justin, thank up. mr. is say no charges are expected to be filed against the septa paratransit bus driver who hit and killed a toddler in south philadelphia. authorities say two year old muhammad sila ran into the street near the intersection of second first and morris, it happened after 5:00 last night. the young boy's family says he was visiting relatives with his father at the time. one family member says this tragic accident happened so fast. >> like 402nd, not even, 402nd, yes. it was very quick. no one, no one did know, he was running in the street, 40

seconds. you know. >> the toddler was pronounced dead at the hospital. >> there are no injuries but just frightening scene. check it out a car crashes fire right at the pump of a south jersey gas station. eyewitness cam video here showing the smoke and flames spreading from the luke oil station on route 73 in mt. laurel. it all started when a driver pulled up, the drivers car was smoking then it ignited those pumps. two good samaritans saw what was happening and helped the driver try to contain the flames until help arrived. >> eyewitness video here also, from tj sterling, also showing flames tearing through a bus in delaware county. we're told the business is called the wellness zone on chester avenue in yeadon. fire broke out early this morning. authorities now want to know if the fire was intentionally set. there were no injuries. despite a partial roof collapse. nearby septa trolley line was out of service for much of the morning commute. and, american airlines plane was forced to make an

emergency landing at philadelphia international airport last night. flight 1889 and airbus 8320 was end fraught charlotte to hartford when bird hit the plane's windshield cracking it, the plane landed safely in philadelphia, and no one was injured. coming up on "eyewitness news", volkswagon dealing with more fall-out today after the auto giant is accused of rig ago mission's test on more than half million cars. we have the latest on the scandal and the company's reaction. and listen to this. you love apple products? how about this? is apple getting ready to getting into the car making business, when you can start caring your iphone right into your i car. listen to itunes. that and more when we come right back.

back on "eyewitness news" here, a live look from cuba. pope francis boarded this plane in just the last few minutes, as he prepares to make his way now to the united states. he's expected to touchdown in washington, d.c. at 4:00 this afternoon. >> cbs news has learned the justice department is launching a criminal probe into volkswagon's cheating of us emissions tests. vw says about 11 million diesel cars world-wide were fitted with software that could manipulate that tells. as advice van cleve reports from washington, the company is apologizing, but it faces billions in fines. >> volkswagon says about 11 million diesel cars world-wide were fitted when

software that the epa was designed to cheat us emissions test. on monday vw's usceo offered an apology. >> was dishonest ... >> using sophisticated software that took information, like the position of the steering wheel, vehicle speed, and duration of the engine's operation, certain diesel models of five popular vw and out i -- audi vehicles were able to pass emissions tests they should have failed. while being tested the cars would enter special compliance mode, that reduced toxic emissions. but the vehicles were rigged to buy pass that mode, when actually being driven. emissions increased ten to 40 times above acceptable epa levels. >> it is something that you deliberately did. >> clarence, runs the center for auto safety. >> needs to be criminal penalties against those responsible executives. >> affected diesel model span 2009-2015 versions of the beatle, pass at, audi a3, the

epa sales the vehicles do not present a safety risk to drivers, they can stay on the road until vw has affixed ready. volkswagon has set aside more than $7 billion to deal with fixing the problem in its fall out. car make kerr also face billions more, in fines. chris van cleve, cbs news, washington. >> meanwhile, tech giant, apple; reportedly interested in getting into the car business. according to the wall street journal apple is fast tracking its electronic car project, with the code name titan, good name, report? they already have target shipping date for 2019. but, will the i car become a reality? >> of course it is still speculative. but it does appear that a.m. so many at least looking into creating it own car or perhaps partnering with an auto manufacturer, apple would design certainly the software in the youths err interface of all of the electronics, but they probably won't actually manufacture their own car. >> rumors have been swirling about the i car since earlier

this year. we have some good news for drivers, pump price plunge is continuing. triple a says the national average is 2.28. that is a dip of 6 cents nationwide since last week. and they'll likely go even lower. the busy summer driving season is over, and refineries switching to a lower cost winter blends. and there is still plenty of supply. so here's how things are looking right now in our area. in pennsylvania, a gallon of regular will run you 2.38. in new jersey, 2.01. in delaware, 2.21. >> still ahead this noon, a milestone birthday for panda in china he may only be 30 in human years, but it is panda years, really impressive. tell you how he's celebrating his ripe old age. justin? >> another day with cloudy skies, some cool temperatures, but if you are waiting for warm up, wait another 24 hours, have the details coming up when "eyewitness

back on "eyewitness news", with a new look at pluto, these photos of the gar of planet taken by new horizons probe during historic fly by, and if you can, check these out. look at your screen right here. snapped an altitude of about 1,000 miles. >> just after the probe passed behind pluto. revealed stunning back clip crescent, where you can see what you are looking at right there ice mountains, will take nasa more than year to collect all of the photos, i'm just impress from the 11,000 miles. >> back in elementary school, you had pictures not even close to. that will craze which technology now. >> so cool. our last day of summer. >> still cool, 06 ', 70s degrees, tomorrow we warm it up. little something for everybody until the forecast, of course

this weekend. the papal visit may talk little rain in the forecast, break it down this afternoon, not bad lunch hour, overcast skies, maybe stray sprinkle in some spots. >> there is storm scan3, again, not whole lot of activity going on, we had steadier rain earlier this morning, up across berks county, lehigh valley, up i78, the turnpike, now moved to the north and east, again, maybe spotty sprinkle or two, few breaks trying to show up in the clouds, specially south across delaware, into southern new jersey, so, that's what we may be dealing with this afternoon. winds flow out of the northeaster, keeps us cooler, keeps the humidity levels low, as well. the high over new england, so important in our forecast, really locking in the cooler air mass, six a, albany, 59 only in state college, this afternoon, so, as long as we have this northeast wind, keep the temperatures somewhat on the cooler side specially with the cloud cover.

but tomorrow, try to get rid of the clouds, that sunshine still pretty strong this time of year, will warm us up. fall officially begins tomorrow, 4:21 a.m. on wednesday, just 12 days until we start averaging high temperatures only near 70. so signs of the cold season, 39 until halloween, it get dark real early, 4:00, 5:00 in about 30 days. mainly the rest of the week, high pressure, watch what happens. clouds start to dissipate tomorrow. so we go mostly sunny. there is the storm, we are watching for the upcoming weekends, right now just over the carolinas, but it will slowly try to work northward, all depending on how strong this high pressure is. could start to see few more clouds returning later thursday, into friday, but still dry through the rest of the work week. temperatures this afternoon, low and mid 70s, at best with the cloud cover. clouds actually clear out tonight, pretty chill any some of the suburbs, look at that, allentown, reading, lower ooh, a wouldn't be surprised if we wake up to some 40's, tomorrow morning. some of the cold spots. but we rebound nicely, look at that, upper 70s, and to around 80 degrees for the warm spot.

tomorrow afternoon in the sunshine, rest of today clouds, few breaks every sunday, 74 will do it, northeast winds at ten to 15 miles per hour. tonight those clouds do thin out. comfortable cool, 59 for center city then cooler out in the suburbs. checking out that papal visit forecast, weekends, headed into town friday, looks good, partly sunny skies, still dry saturday, cool breezy but we have to watch for that rain chance on sunday, especially, during the afternoon and evening. here is the extended forecast, mostly sunny skies for the start of fall on wednesday. up to 80 degrees, it will be warmest day out of the next seven. still warm thursday, sunshine, few clouds, upper 70s, comfortable friday, 76 degrees, breeze does kick up for the weekend, even if it stays dry, it will be breezy at times, 74 for the high saturday, watch the rain chance on sunday, highs in the low 70s, and then next week, on monday, look like we dry out again and warm up. all-in-all, not bad start to the fall season. >> hoping things are nice this weekend all of the folks coming in town. >> keep an eye. ill de my best to keep it dry. >> thank you, we'll be right

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>> milestone birthday to this beloved giant panda. pan-pan turned 30 years old today. thirty in panda years is equivalent to 30 years in human years. happy birthday, well done, pan-pan. that's "eyewitness news" at noon, i'm erika von tiehl. back tonight at 5:00 p.m. >> the young and the restless is next.

>> victoria: the quarterly reports are out. >> victor: uh-huh. >> victoria: uh-huh. >> victor: let me take a look. >> victoria: please do. >> victor: so, let's see. uh-huh. [ chuckles ] >> victor: well, that looks good. there's a spike, a rather dramatic spike, for brash & sassy's sales. >> victoria: yes, which is why i have this ginormous smile on my face right now. >> victor: yes, you do. >> victoria: [ chuckles ] >> victor: yep. wait a minute. what is this? >> victoria: [ sighs ] >> victor: while brash & sassy went up in sales, there's a precipitous drop for chelsea 2.0. >> victoria: yeah, i know. there was nowhere for it to go but down. >> victor: hmm. >> victoria: i tried to tell abby that, but she was just too greeto