fairfield county and connecticut, a lot of cloud-to- ground lightning with that. the other big story, the heat, we got up to 91 officially in the park, 91 your high at newark. currently down to 84 thanks to that cooling sea breeze and looking around the island, lower 80s on the island and also down the jersey shore. even though the heatwave is coming to an end, humidity will increase and that will interact with a front later on in the week. that could mean more widespread downpours. that coming up in your full seven-day accuweather forecast later in the hour. keep in mind, this heat is not all bad. eyewitness news reporter sandra bookman is in the bronx to explain. >> reporter: look, when it's hot like this, it's always better to get the errands done earlier before the sun is hot and high in the sky. you also get ahead of the crowds when you come to cooling- off spots like this one but as you have pointed out there are

some benefits to all this heat. nothing like a cool breeze on a hot day, even the seagulls on city island know where to go to get their feathers ruffled. for others, relief is spelled s-a-n d, in this case orchard beach, the trick to getting a jump on a 90-degree plus day, get there early. >> we opened the beach this morning -- >> reporter: first ones? >> yeah, we was the first ones here. >> you get a better spot and look for all the crowds. >> reporter: in this kind of summer swelter, hitting the market before the sun is too high is also a smart idea, as is eating and drinking to beat the heat. >> i get lettuce, radish -- rad dish -- radish and all that stuff. the heat is not all bad. all that cheap fresh produce just one of the pluses of the dog days of summer.

>> we have more time to be outside and to exercise and to socialize with people and that sunlight builds strong bones and also decreases the chances of people who have mood problems during the winter months. >> reporter: yeah, we know about that seasonal effective disorder. we are back now live in the bronx. one of the other little known benefits to all this heat, diana, it's a chance for reporters like me running around in the heat working hard all day to get my feet wet, at least get the feet wet at the end of the day. we are live tonight in the pelham bay park section of the bronx, i'm sandra bookman, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> definitely one way to stay cool. thank you, sandra. we've got breaking news right now, at least one pedestrian, perhaps two has been hit by a vehicle in new rochelle. we've got shannon sohn over the scene right now. shannon, fill us in on what you're seeing from your vantage point. >> reporter: you can see the two doors to that car open, we have been watching police investigating that car which is parked not very far from where

those pedestrians were struck at 230 drake avenue. this is an apartment building. you can see a very long driveway that leads to a back parking lot. those pedestrians were walking on that driveway when they were hit by a vehicle. police are investigating, trying to figure out exactly what caused this accident to happen. in the meantime, we have confirmed from police that one person is in the hospital in unknown condition, but clearly a bad scene here that has police investigating the area. reporting live over new rochelle, shannon sohn, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> okay, shannon. we will keep an eye on this story. we continue to follow a developing story, rosie o'donnell reaching out to fans and police for help finding her missing daughter. thousands of people have viewed and shared chelsea o'donnell's photo on our facebook page since word of her disappearance broke this afternoon. eyewitness news reporter shirleen allicot in south nyack with an update on the search. shirleen. >> reporter: sade, south nyack

police say it is safe to call this a runaway situation and that is exactly how they are treating this case. 17-year-old chelsea o'donnell was reported missing by her family on sunday, august 16th. she was last seen on tuesday, august 11th, 7 days ago. some recent photos show the 5'4" blonde with her 6-month- old dog bear, a brown and black terrier. she left her south nyack home with her dog. her famous mother rosie o'donnell has been pleading on social media for her daughter's safe return, posting pictures. she says chelsea stopped taking her medication and could need medical attention. >> nowa daze with social media if -- nowa day -- nowadays you have social media, if someone sees a picture and happens to recognize who she is from seeing that and she can be safely brought back home, it's

a tool that is valuable. >> reporter: now, rosie o'donnell's spokesperson, cindy burger issued a statement and she says chelsea, like millions of people lives with mental illness. it has been a difficult road for chelsea and her family and they just want her back safe. police do not believe chelsea's life is in danger. in fact, they believe she is somewhere in this area. if they find her or if there are any new developments, we will keep you posted. reporting live in south nyack, shirleen allicot, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> shirleen, thank you. we are following another developing story, this one out of long island where police are investigating a case of animal neglect. nassau county police arrested michael combat. they say they found dozens of animals on his farm living in poor and unsafe condition, some needing medical condition. they seized eight goats and three donkeys along with other animals.

we've got more breaking news, we've got a fire now that is burning and this is also in new rochelle. we've got shannon sohn in the newscopter 7 and it looks like pulling up there and, boy, those are big flames, shannon. tell us what you're seeing. >> reporter: this is a huge fire that is burning in new rochelle on the west side of 95. it looks like some kind of a work yard but you can see this looks like a barn of some sort that has burned from top to bottom. you can literally just see the outside walls structure and that's it, the entire innards are completely gone from this, a complete and total roof collapse. i'm going to bring this shot out a little bit. the fire department is nowhere near getting this under control but we are just arriving on the scene and i don't really see a whole lot of fire department here at all. so this looks like this is a fire that started very, very quickly. keep in mind we were just a few miles south of here covering a story just a few minutes ago and didn't see anything. we turned around to go in and

we looked and saw this huge one with smoke in the distance. looks like they have not managed to get any water on this yet. we do see a police car blocking off the intersection just in front of this but beyond that, not a whole lot of activity here. so we are waiting for the fire department to get some water on this. in the meantime, no word on any injuries or exactly what caused this fire to start. reporting live over new rochelle, shannon sohn, channel 7 eyewitness news. we are going to assume since the police are there that someone has called the fire department and alerted them to this fire at this point. thank you, shannon. mayor bill de blasio signing legislation today aimed at eliminating the legionnaire's bacteria before there is another outbreak. new york city now the first city in the country to require building owners to register, inspect and disinfect new and existing cooling towers. cooling towers are believed to be the source of the outbreak in the south bronx that killed 12 people. >> we must minimize the odds of any future outbreaks.

when it comes to new york' health -- new yorkers' health we won't take any chances. our mission is new yorkers for the long run. >> building owners who violent the new requirements face -- violate the new requirements face a $2000 fine for the first offense, the second is $5000. it's $10,000 if someone suffers any serious injury and criminal charges are also possible. new at 5:00, a tourist who snapped an illegal selfie on the brooklyn bridge is expected to be extradited to new york on thursday. 21-year-old david karnauch was arrested on an nypd warrant in his home state of tennessee on a reckless endangerment charge. ca new haven climbed -- karnauch climbed a beam back in june, took this photo and got done before officers spotted him. a woman accused of stabbing her mother to death on long island. 56-year-old susan grossman concerner is being held without -- kerner is being held without bail on murder charges. she attacked her mother in oceanside yesterday. investigators say susan stabbed

her mother after the two women got into an argument. >> 12:48 her daughter arrived at her home and an argument ensued over the daughter's ongoing medical conditions. the daughter enraged ultimately stabbed her mother to death. >> police say they recovered a knife at the scene and is now being tested to see if it is the murder weapon. a missing 2-year-old found dead in a neighbor's pool in new jersey and tonight police are investigating. the child was reported missing in berkeley last night. responding officers immediately began searching the neighborhood. the child was found floating in the next-door neighbor's inground pool. the cops performed life saving measures but the child was pronounced dead at the hospital. a wild ride for new jersey transit riders as their bus jumped a curb and smashed into vehicles at a car dealership. nobody on the bus was seriously hurt from the crash this morning in jersey city, however

some cars on the lot were totaled. a car cut off the bus forcing it off the road. politics now, and another senate democrat breaking ranks and rejecting the president's -- opposes the plan and today he explained why. eyewitness news political reporter dave evans here now with more on whether the senator's opposition will even make a difference. dave. >> as you know, senator ma den des- is a senior -- menendez is a senior member so he carries clout and he joins chuck schumer now. all of this certainly not good for president obama but despite schumer and now menendez it still does not appear there are enough votes to override a likely presidential veto. senator bob menendez announced his decision today telling an invited audience that iran has violated too many treaties before to be trusted now. >> i know that in many respects it would be far easier to support this deal as it would have been to vote for the war in iraq at the time. but i didn't choose the easier

path then and i am not going to now. i know that the -- >> reporter: in a lengthy speech, menendez offered an alternative, rather than a 10- year agreement, he says it should be 20 years or longer and he says the u.s. has to get something in return for easing sanctions. >> and we should make it absolutely clear that we want a deal, but we want the right deal and that a deal that does nothing more -- >> reporter: in our area new york senators are split on the issue, one no, one yes. in new jersey menendez noted cory booker no decision yet and in connecticut kirk murphy says yes, richard blumenthal still deciding. voters praised menendez and expressed -- >> i don't think it was the right thing to do. >> reporter: and you like what you heard today? >> absolutely. >> we are handing them the capability of having a bomb and it's a threat to the entire region. >> reporter: the president has said many times it's either

this agreement with iran or war. today menendez disagreed. >> but if iran is to require a nuclear bomb, it will not have my name on it. it is for these reasons that i will vote to disapprove the agreement and if called upon would vote to override the agreement. >> reporter: a vote is set for next month on a resolution opposing the iran agreement, the president would veto that resolution, congress would have to get 2/3 of its members to vote on a veto override. it does not appear there are enough votes for that. if so, the agreement with remain in effect like it or not. >> dave, thank you. dramatic new video tonight in that deadly bombing in thailand as police search for a man seen in a yellow shirt moments before the blast. the bomb detonated in the heart of bangkok monday killing 20 people. more than 100 people were hurt. tonight the search is underway for this man seen in a yellow shirt wearing a backpack immediately before the bombing. the man sat on a bench, then left his backpack behind.

also today, another pipe bomb blew up at a pier in bangkok. fortunately no one was hurt. topless women taking over times square. they pose for pictures and accept cash. it's all legal, so what does mayor de blasio plan to do about it? also new details on the search for a man who raped a woman in brooklyn, an eyewitness tells us what she heard as the woman was attacked. and a mother who served in the military overseas now fighting for her children. why they are being forced to stay in new jersey when she is in florida. and as we continue to follow breaking news, a large fire burning in new rochelle. we are going get another update

from shannon sohn and join the millions who have already switched. we switched. and now, we're streaming netflix. who knew time warner cable's internet was so fast! mom switched. and now, we can watch our favorite shows together, on demand. i switched. so i can connect to the internet just about anywhere with my free twc wifi hotspots. join the millions who switched to time warner cable. for $89.99 a month, you'll get 100meg internet, and hundreds of hd channels. you'll also get unlimited calling to the us, mexico canada, china, and now india. call today. i switched. now i have a free app that lets me watch tv whenever i have the time. for $89.99 a month you'll get tv, internet and phone. and if you call now, there's no risk, no contract, no catch, no kidding. i switched to time warner cable and knew exactly when they were coming. thanks to their one hour appointment window. switch to time warner cable today. and now, for a limited time, you could get a $300 reward card. call today.

you're a parent. i'm a colonel. we're both busy people. so pick up my new hand prepared $20 family fill up meal. eight pieces of original recipe chicken, two large mashed potatoes and gravy, a large coleslaw, and 4 biscuits. i'll get back to ya. (door squeaking) it's finger lickin' good.

and we continue to follow that breaking news in new rochelle. a large fire burning right now. firefighters just arriving on the scene. they are now hosing it fire down trying to get it under control. shannon sohn is live in newscopter 7 with more. shannon. >> reporter: yeah, unfortunately, it completely destroyed an entire huge structure inside the new york state thruway authority maintenance yard. all of this happening between fifth avenue and the new york state freeway off of valley place. you can see on the bottom of your screen they have managed to get some water on this through tower ladder, they've got hoses on the top part of your screen as well. one of the problems here, there's not much left of that building to burn, that should burn itself out. the problem is here on the bottom corner of your picture where there is a lot of debris being stored near the structure and you can see that it has

spread to that debris so they have not yet gotten the upper hand on this blaze. reporting live over new rochelle, shannon sohn, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> okay. keep an eye on it. thank you, shannon. right now, a stairwell where a woman was raped in brooklyn is barricaded off. that attack left a 52-year-old with two broken teeth and a neighborhood on alert. police have surveillance video of the man that they want to talk to and now an eyewitness is telling us what she heard and saw. eyewitness news reporter darla miles is in bed-stuy with the very latest. darla. >> reporter: just take a look at these nicely manicured furs on the tail end of leopards place. if you take a peek in between those two trees, the shrubs, rather, you can see the stairwell in question where police say this incident happened. it's where police say the victim was so violently raped that the suspect tried to shove his hand down her throat, he took out two teeth but not before she took a huge bite out of his right hand.

a fence is installed and the -- in the rear of this building at the intersection of leopards place and classen avenue in bet ford stuyvesant -- bed ford stuyvesant but too late. >> she said leave me alone and she was screaming but i couldn't see. >> these are the pleas of a 52- year-old woman as she was being brutally raped by this man, according to police. it happened in the secluded spot down this basement stairwell beyond these manicured shrubs, this 82-year- old woman who lives nearby doesn't want to be identified. >> i have seen quite a few boys and things, people go in down there, go back there, stay for a while and then go out. >> reporter: police say the victim was encountered by the suspect at 3:00 a.m. monday at the intersection of bedford and but familiar avenues -- putnam avenues claiming he had a gun. they say he took her against her will several blocks to this secluded location. >> when the police came in, i saw them with the ambulance and the police vehicle.

>> reporter: the suspect was spotted between both locations, walking along cleburne place between putnam and jefferson avenues, that surveillance image from that location is now posted around the neighborhood on these wanted posters. and tuesday afternoon detectives continued to track the suspect, looking for additional surveillance video. >> it's disturbing, you know, of course in any neighborhood that you hear something like this and, you know, me being a father, of course we don't like to hear anything like this, you know, the area is picking up, it's moving slow, it's progressing and hopefully they will catch the individual and, you know, bring the neighborhood to an ease. >> reporter: now, again, this is another look at the man the nypd is trying to locate. if you recognize the suspect, please call crimestoppers at 800-577-tips and you can take a good look at this video on our website at abc7ny.com. one thing in particular to look for with this suspect is he will have a mangled right hand

bite mark inflicted by the victim. reporting live in bedford stuyvesant. now equipped with body cameras. essex county officials made the announcement this morning, 40 assigned officers will now be using the body cameras while on duty. the move makes the essex county sheriff's department among the first police agencies in the state to quip its officers with the technology. the cameras all paid for by seized funds from crime activity. >> you see the good oftentimes with these cameras as much as anything so good to have. >> yep. lee goldberg. we are seeing hot outside, right? >> this heatwave has staying power, especially for late fourth day in a row of 90 degrees plus and even though the heatwave will come to an end and tomorrow will be cooler if anything the humidity will be going up. so the temperatures will still feel like they are around 90 tomorrow, even though they only get into the lower and middle 80s. so we head outside right now and there's a lot of sunshine here in the city.

there are some storms up over parts of the mid hudson valley. show you those in just a minute. temperature right now, 84 as we look over towards central park, that wind coming in south and that's been helping cool off coastal locations including new york city from our earlier high of 90 degrees, got down to only 73 for a low this morning. that was during a downpour that we got around 6:00 a.m., if you were up that early, got .29 inches of rainfall in a very short period of time as, again, in this atmosphere you just can never rule out completely getting a shower or a thunderstorm in any given location. 83 is your normal high this time of the year. we will be trending toward these numbers in the lower and middle 80s tomorrow and thursday but again the humidity will remain pretty impressive. 94 the record back in 2002, so unlike yesterday we did not tie a record during the day today getting up to about 90. heatwave ends, again by humidity will hold on through the entire week. any shower or thunderstorm over the next few days can't contain some downpours. i think they will be very

spotty, very scattered through tomorrow and through the daylight hours of thursday. what we have to watch, though, is thursday night into friday, a front will stall over the region and that will act as a focusing mechanism for maybe more widespread and heavier downpours. 88 in newark, 88 at teterboro, temperatures still in the lower to middle 90s at morristown, 93 there. low 80s on the island and also down the jersey shore, again, dew points between 65 and 70 so it's pretty oppressive out there. the radar picture showing, again, these storms upstate, especially over northern parts of ulster county, one in particular nasty cell over the eastern part of dutchess county, that tending to weaken during the past few frames. this is what's going on in the radar satellite. we have a storm system offshore between new jersey and bermuda basically that's going to affect our weather by later on in the week, because it's going to stop this bigger storm near minneapolis from continuing to move off to the east so that system will stall right over us, i think, thursday night into friday. not as hot in the meantime

tomorrow but still every bit as humid if not more humid, the high getting up to 84, maybe a late day stray thunderstorm like we have had the past couple of days. sun to clouds on thursday, these showers and storms get more numerous, i think, thursday night so here's your accuweather forecast for tonight, a thunderstorm in a few spots early this evening and then just muggy, down to 75, clouds and sun tomorrow, maybe a stray afternoon storm, 84, we are partly cloudy, muggy tomorrow night, down to 74. next half hour your seven-day accuweather forecast and we have a tropical storm which threatens to turn into a hurricane in the atlantic ocean. we will talk about that in a few minutes. back over to you, sade and diana. coming up, thieves break into a beer factory, opened thousands of beers so why didn't they leave them with -- why didn't they leave with any of them? >> i don't know. we are going to find out. also, a gravestone mystery solved, the surprising owner of this memorial. plus a longtime restaurant owner telling customers to pay what they want. hear why he is dishing up such

a i don't want to live with the uncertainties of hep c. or wonder... ...whether i should seek treatment. i am ready. because today there's harvoni. a revolutionary treatment for the most common type of chronic hepatitis c. harvoni is proven to cure up to 99% of patients... ...who've had no prior treatment. it's the one and only cure that's... ...one pill, once a day for 12 weeks. certain patients... ...can be cured with just 8 weeks of harvoni. with harvoni, there's no interferon and there are no complex regimens. tell your doctor if you have other liver or kidney problems,

or other medical conditions. and about all the medicines you take including herbal supplements. harvoni should not be taken with any medicines containing amiodarone, rifampin, or st. john's wort. it also should not be taken with any other medicine that contains sovaldi. side effects may include tiredness and headache. i am ready to put hep c behind me. i am ready to be cured. are you ready? ask your hep c specialist if harvoni is right for you. for the first time in nearly a decade, army soldiers are mobilizing to join the fight against relentless wildfires raging out west. 200 active duty military troops are being called in to help the more than 30,000 firefighters now battling the flames

stretching across eight western states. officials say resources to battle flames are really tapped out. the soldiers will be sent to a fire on sunday. overseas rescuers in indonesia have finally reached the site where a plane crashed into a mountain killing all 54 people on board. the plane's black boxes were recovered today and authorities are hoping they will reveal what brought that plane down. the tree ghana -- trigana airlines flight slammed into a rugged mountain side sunday during bad weather. all of the victims' bodies have been covered. and a good samaritan trying to talk a suicidal man off the ledge wound up being the one to fall to his death. a 19-year-old man was threatening to job from a honolulu college dormitory. a 24-year-old man stepped in to help. both of them wound up falling from the 14th floor. the suicidal man survived and right now is in critical condition. >> what a story. >> yeah. topless women taking over times square. it's not illegal for them to be there. tonight the city trying to figure out how to make them cover up.

and she fought in iraq and afghanistan. now one military mom is fighting here at home to get her children back. why the kids are being kept in new jersey even though mom is down in florida. a dream wedding cancelled after the venue is destroyed. can 7 on your side make my name is amanda and i smoked while i was pregnant. my baby was born two months early and weighed only three pounds. this is the view i had of her in the nicu. my tip to you is

speak into the opening so your baby can hear you better. you can quit. talk with your doctor. for more help call 1-866-ny-quits caring about the things that make each of our clients unique... ...that's what makes riverspring health unique.

you're watching new york's number 1 news, channel 7 eyewitness news. step aside naked cowboy. the naked ladies are now on the loose in times square. the crossroads to the world known for its costumed characters now filled with women whose costumes are primarily paint and some tourists seem happy getting their pictures taken with them. others are saying they don't like it so much. >> yeah, not so much. >> good evening again, i'm diana williams. >> and i'm sade baderinwa.

mayor de blasio today promising changes in times square. he says the city plans to take action to deal with the growing number of characters now hustling for cash but he is vague about what exactly the city will do. >> n.j. burkett is there in times square live for us with more. n.j. >> reporter: that's right, diana, the classic movie line, there are 8 million stories in the naked city, well, this is one of them, bare breasted women in times square. as you know, times square was not always a family friendly place, but it is now and critics say that's the problem. everyday occurrence in new york city? >> yeah. >> reporter: for first time tourists it's a shock. topless women working the crowds in times square, posing for pictures and walking away with a fist full of dollar bills. torrez, who speaks only spanish told us it's fine because her breasts are painted. [ speaking foreign language ] >> a naked woman showing her

body painted, i don't see anything wrong with it. i consider myself a decent woman. for this, you shouldn't judge me. >> reporter: it's not illegal for women to go topless in new york city, but times square has become a major attraction for families. many with young children. >> look around now. look how many people are here with kids including myself. i would totally avoid this whole area if i knew that's what i was walking into. >> this woman insists it's her right to be here. >> i don't know they don't like we are here in times square because we are naked because of the kids. the truth is i'm not doing anything illegal being here. this is nothing illegal. >> reporter: tim tompkins is president of the times square alliance. he says the real problem is not nudity, but aggressive panhandling. no different from cartoon characters who routinely swarm tourists demanding money. >> in san francisco at fisherman's wharf they have designated places for street performers. that's been upheld by the courts. >> reporter: mayor de blasio

says he's determined to find a solution. >> i don't like the situation in times square. we are going to address it in a very aggressive manner. >> reporter: but others aren't so offended. angela coalbrand had no problem with her son harrison posed for a picture. you didn't have a problem with it? >> 21st century. >> you've got to move with the times. >> she has figure, got the courage to walking around and promoting it. let him enjoy it. >> reporter: angela says it would be a problem if the women's breasts were not painted but most parents we spoke with have no patience for any of this. you heard the mayor say it a moment ago, the situation here is going to change. live tonight in times square, n.j. burkett, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> thank you, n.j. we've got more breaking news for you, abc news reporting that a source has confirmed that former subway spokesperson jared fogle is expected to plead guilty to charges related to child porn. he was the focus, you may recall, of an investigation and there was a raid on his home in indiana last month.

no official word or response from fogle yet. we will certainly have much more on this story as we get more information. sade. new at 5:00? road repairs underway in new jersey tonight after an accident involving a dump truck hauling stone. the crash happened this morning on route 208 in fair lawn. police say the driver swerved to avoid stopped traffic. the dump truck clipped another truck and then crashed into the divider. the crash caused damage to the road. fortunately no one was hurt. a town hall meeting is set for tonight in westchester county about the death of raynet turner. she is the 42-year-old mother who died in a mt. vernon police holding cell last month two days after her arrest for shoplifting. tonight's forum tonight. a cause of turner's death has not been determined. the state attorney general's office is investigating the case. right now a military mom fighting to get her children

back. when amanda hurst went to iraq and afghanistan, she left her two children behind with a grandmother. >> i want my kids back. i want to be with my kids. >> reporter: amanda hurst says she left her children with her stepmother in 29 when they were just seven and 8 years old so she could join the army. she was hoping to build a better life for her and her children but just before her honorable discharge in 2013, hurst says her stepmom who are guardianship moved to new jersey with her children. because of the psychological needs the children ended up in the state's department of children and families. hurst says her daughter had discipline issues and her son became aggressive towards the step grandmother which prompted the state of new jersey to take custody of the children. to this day both remain in foster care. >> i have missed so much of their lives serving my country that i don't want to miss any more. >> reporter: according to court documents, new jersey agrees these two children belong with

their mother in florida with a condition. >> and the condition is that the emergency services being provided in new jersey continue on here in florida, because the children do need special services. >> reporter: dcf spokesman shaun hairline says they have -- happened in florida but according to court documents there are no such allegations. a spokesperson says dcf is working with authorities in new jersey to bring the children to florida hopefully bringing amanda's polite to a successful -- plight to a successful conclusion, a family reunion. >> i hope when they are older they understand that mom didn't give up. >> what's the first thing you're going to do once you get your children back? >> hug them and then we are going to go to disney world. >> the hearing scheduled this week to determine when and if her children will be brought back to florida. mystery solved, we now know

the origin of a gravestone found in a new jersey transit garage. turns out 8-year-old max fiera is a dog. he formerly belonged to a newark resident who passed away in 2005. still not clear how the head stone ended up at the nutley garage. a library on long island reopening today for the first time since superstorm sandy, peninsula library in rockaway beach was operating out of a temporarily after floodwaters through the building's glass front. its original building was renovated for $3.6 million and features more space, more programs and new books. well, thieves break into a store and open more than 1000 bottles of beer. why they took off and left all the beer behind. plus good samaritans lift a car off a 7-year-old girl after a crash. why police want to find the people who helped. and a dream wedding cancelled after the venue was destroyed by superstorm sandy. why it took one local couple

nearly three years to get their with the help of comfort keepers, i'm keeping my mom healthy! i'm keeping dad on schedule. i'm keeping my mom happy! comfort keepers in-home professional caregivers can provide meal planning and preparation, health and wellness services and personal care services through custom care plans that can change as needs change, so your aging loved ones can stay happy and healthy in their own home.

charges have been filed against the parents of a 7- month-old baby rescued from a hot car in texas. police say temperatures were nearly 100 degrees when an off- duty sheriff's deputy spotted the boy alone inside an suv. deputy matthew slater smashed the window and rescued the child. moments later the parents patrick and stephanie long ran out of the furniture store. a 7-year-old girl ejected from a car following a crash in pennsylvania is alive, thanks to a handful of strangers. police say a man was driving on route 30 in home township on sunday with his four children when he lost control of his vehicle. it flipped over and landed upside down pinning the 7-year- old under the car. that's when drivers began to pull over and rushed over to her. >> we were able to lift this car up, push the car up on its side and pull her out from underneath the car. unfortunately most of them left before any of us got on scene for six, seven, upwards of 10

people to do that, we want to recognize them. >> they should be recognized. the state police would like to speak to the people in this photo to get their account of what happened. anyone with information is asked to call police. a theft of thousands of beer bottle caps has investigators in germany just scratching their heads. take a look, these are images of 1200 beer bottles opened but not empty. nobody drank a drop. the bottles were all the same brand and that further perplexed police. turns out they now believe the thieves were trying to win prizes offered through a brewery promotion. the company is now on the lookout for anyone who sends in an unusually high number of bottle caps. "dancing with the stars" champ julianne hough announcing happy news today on social media. she and professional hockey player brooks leech are engaged. they each posted a link to their photo with the same message that says they are overwhelmed with joy and excitement. the proposal reportedly took place in idaho where hough's grandparents live.

>> good for them. local restaurant owner telling people just pay what you want. that sounds like the deal. the overwhelming response from customers and how the officer is giving the restaurant a new life. and if you step outside right now, it feels downright tropical out there but the actual tropics have been pretty quiet so far this season until now. we have a newly formed tropical storm out here in the central atlantic, going to move off to the west, become a hurricane in the next couple of days. we will talk about the trek of

that in 130 yards now... bill's got a very tough lie here... looks like we have some sort of sea monster in the water hazard here. i believe that's a "kraken", bruce. it looks like he's going to go with a nine iron. that may not be enough club... well he's definitely going to lose a stroke

on this hole. if you're a golf commentator, you whisper. it's what you do. if you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. it's what you do. this golf course is electric...

you will want to see this. new video showing the ultimate battle between predator and prey. wow. marine pulmonologist shot this video off -- biologist shot this video off of cape card

showing a great white chasing a seal. that seal trying to get away from that shark's razor sharp teeth. scientists say the seal was able to make it back to the beach safely. go seal, go seal. oh. >> i know that seal was exhausted by the time he got to the beach. >> the seal is now being recruited to be on the u.s. gymnastics team after that performance. >> that was close, that was close. set us up for the rest of the week. we are still in this real hot, humid pattern? >> yeah, we are going to lose much of the heat but the humidity is going to stay with us and then some, i think, until tomorrow or thursday, if anything it gets a little bit more humid. also we are watching the tropics. we've got a tropical storm out in the atlantic ocean but far enough out there that we have many, many days to watch it but it is expected to strengthen into a hurricane, hurricane danny eventually. >> danny. >> we head outside right now and check out what's going on, 84 degrees in the park, mostly sunny skies, that wind coming in from the south around 15 and the southerly wind cooling us

off from earlier high of 90. got up into the low and mid-90s in parts of interior new jersey. on long island, though, that south wind is coming right off the atlantic ocean waters and that keeps you a little bit cooler, still muggy, though, low 80s from shirley over to west hampton and montauk. morristown you were 93 last hour, now down to 88, cooling off there. 88 in poughkeepsie, 81 at newburgh where you've had a couple of showers and thunderstorms cooling things off. an air quality alert for much of the region through 11:00 p.m., so much like the past couple of days like a broken record, you just want to avoid strenuous activity outside because air quality is not very good. a lot of particulates in the atmosphere, a lot of ground level ozone out there. the radar picture right now, pretty quiet compared to what it was a couple of hours ago. we had some big storms in parts of the mid-hudson valley, those have tended to weaken and that trend will continue as we lose that maximum daytime heating as we approach sunset. you can see a big plume of moisture, though off to our west and that will gradually

get closer to the tri-state area during the next couple of days. i think the humidity will start to increase as we head into tomorrow as if it already isn't humid enough. 40-mile-an-hour winds looking pretty well developed, though. continue moving off to the west and by sunday it's still well east of the lesser antilles to give you a point of reference, there's san juan puerto rico, well east of there but 100-mile- per-hour winds by that point and moving in that general direction so we will watch it especially as we head into next week. around here we are going to be watching a front approaching from the west thursday night into friday is our time period of maybe getting some drenching downpours and in the meantime, again, not as hot but very humid out there. lows tonight getting down to about 75, highs 84, upper 80s over interior new jersey. waves around 2 feet, the rip current risk is moderate. the coolest water temperatures we could find were out by montauk around 72 but they trend up to 75 down the jersey shore. here's your accuweather seven- day forecast, not as hot but

every bit as humid tomorrow, 84, can be a spotty shower or thunderstorm both tomorrow and thursday. there's a better chance at more -- of more widespread and heavier storms coming in, downpours thursday night into friday and right now the weekend kind of cloudy out there saturday, still could be a shower or storm around and maybe still a shower around on sunday. will not be a washout with the front nearby. we cannot rule out a shower and it looks to remain muggy as we head into the weekend as well. little bit of a change from yesterday. >> will there be particulates on the weekend? >> probably not. the air quality improves to good as we move into tomorrow. >> we like that. >> more scientific word for particle. >> it's a good word. >> stuff out there. >> particulates. >> thank you, jeff. a chef in new jersey is giving back to his loyal customers. >> he's closing his restaurant to start on his next new project, but before he closes the doors, he is letting customers pay whatever they want for their meals. and he says the response has just been overwhelming. >> the side-by-side restaurants

are in montclair, new jersey. eyewitness news reporter a.j. ross as the story. >> reporter: for nearly a decade chef saud arifi has been sharing his culinary talents with food lovers throughout monument clare new jersey -- montclair, new jersey through his side by side restaurants offering unique dining experiences. >> we have never had anything we didn't like. i have to tell you that honestly and we have been coming here 10 years. >> reporter: however, with his 10 year lease coming to an end, the chef decided to spice things up before closing up shop, offering a special pay what you want menu to customers where they get to decide how much cash they want to fork over after their meal. >> saying no, it's not going to work out, it's not a good idea. you're going to ruin of the brand of the -- ruin the brand of the restaurant. i'm not into that. i wanted to try it out. >> reporter: a crazy concept perhaps, but it's no gimmick. you can simply order whatever you like on the menu and as much as you want and pay whatever you feel is appropriate.

>> there might be a few tables here and there we might not -- they might not leave a lot of money but overall people are generous. >> reporter: longtime customers say they are going to miss these good eats but delighted for chef saud's future plans. >> absolutely love it, yeah. food is great, the burgers, having the penne today and i've never had this before. absolutely delicious. >> initially when i heard about it, i said he's out of his mind. he's out of his mind. i did not have as much faith as you did but seems to be working. >> reporter: he says he may try to extend it for at least a couple of weeks and he's looking forward to pursuing his longtime dream of opening a new restaurant in manhattan. in montclair, new jersey, i'm a.j. ross, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> good for him. a wedding venue destroyed by superstorm sandy. >> tonight one local couple's fight to get their money back years later. and new at 6:00 we are

learning new details about a pilot killed after crashing his plane onto the railroad tracks on long island and new question about information he received from an air traffic controller when he was desperately trying to make an emergency landing. and on a brutally hot day like today, the last thing you want to do is stand in long lines. that is exactly what happened to drivers, dozens of them at dmv offices throughout connecticut. so why my name is amanda and i smoked while i was pregnant.

my baby was born two months early and weighed only three pounds. this is the view i had of her in the nicu. my tip to you is speak into the opening so your baby can hear you better. you can quit. talk with your doctor. for more help call 1-866-ny-quits

when superstorm sandy hit it left many places underwater. one local couple was forced to cancel their wedding after their venue was destroyed. >> but nearly three years later they are still fighting to get their money back and that's when seven on your sidestepped in. here's nina pineda. >> there's us. >> we were there? >> not too bad, barely. >> reporter: it was their daughter's wedding and jeffrey and susan hunter had five days to scramble for a new place to host 250 guests after their original venue wound up under water. >> we were getting through

said, "like everybody -- through sandy like everybody else in the city. >> we agreed to cancel the wedding. >> reporter: the restaurant was destroyed and never reopened but its owners quickly agreed in writing to refund the hunter' $29,000 fortunate and the frantic parents moved the reception uptown. >> it was amazing. >> like two stories. >> reporter: they pulled off the wedding for joanne and daniel. >> that's the restaurant up there. >> reporter: at a midtown hotel instead. the hunters got back 11 grand but now almost three years later they are still waiting for the remainder of their deposit, 19,000. >> they have our money. we aren't asking them for money that was theirs. it's our money. >> at the time of the wedding he said i'll pay you when we get our insurance or within 90 days. >> jeffrey says the payments abruptly stopped and after years of e-mails back and forth, the venue's owner told him to stop contacting him. >> if people don't want to give you the money they owe you, they won't. >> reporter: instead of giving up, they called 7 on your side. >> it's always worth the fight

to try to get your money. >> reporter: we got all parties talking again and within weeks the hunters received a check. >> as a matter of factest thing -- smartest thing we have done since we rebooked the wedding was to call you guys to get your help. it's been amazing. >> we are grateful for your help but we could not have gotten here without you. >> reporter: they expect the remainder of their deposit about $9000 within 30 days and the big takeaway. remember with events it's important to review cancellation policies and get any refund agreements in writing. in the newsroom, nina pineda, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> good point. still ahead, we are used to long lines at the dmv but waiting nearly all day, that's a long, long line. so what's behind the backlog? eyewitness news at 6:00 starts right now. >> this is new york's number 1 news, channel 7 eyewitness news with bill ritter and liz cho, rob powers with sports, and lee goldberg with the exclusive accuweather forecast.

now eyewitness news at 6:00. breaking news, charges of animal abuse. investigators say more than two dozen animals were living in deplorable conditions on a farm. plus we are learning new details about the pilot killed after crashing his plane onto railroad tracks on long island. tonight new questions about what air traffic controllers told the pilot while he was trying to make an emergency landing. but first, we are going to begin with day four of this heatwave, when will we finally get relief. good evening to you at 6:00, i'm liz cho. bill is off tonight. temperatures hit the 90- degree mark again, day four, but with the humidity it felt a lot more oppressive today. vendors selling cold drinks did -- however, working outside in this heat no easy task but relief on the way. meteorologist jeff smith in for lee goldberg tonight. he's outside of our studio with the latest. >> reporter: about the only saving grace that we had out there today, liz, a little bit more of a southerly wind off the cooler waters of the