local h this is breaking news from channel 7 eyewitness news. a powerful explosion rocks a bronx high school. debris sent flying. people in the neighborhood saying it sounded and felt like a bomb went off. good evening at 11:00, i'm sade bederinwa. >> and i'm rob powers in tonight for bill ritter. it is an active situation in the bronx. hundreds of firefighters on the ground. inspectors looking at the safety of the building.

mayor de blasio just updated us. >> so many pictures and videos being posted of the aftermath. eyewitness news reporter tweeting out video tonight of the massive emergency response of this wild scene. josh joins us with the breaking information. josh. >> sade, you can see emergency vehicles are still going in and scene. that response was so enormous because at first, they were concerned that the whole building had collapsed. fortunately, that is not what happened, but the damage is very extensive and right now, we can show you brand-new video of the side of this building. it's the building known as jfk high school. but it actually comprises eight different new york city public schools that serve a total of 4,000 kids. around just about 8:00 this evening, a construction crew working in the 6th floor. somehow sparked a gas explosion and caused that damage. you can see the windows blown out and rubble all over the street below. let's tell you right now, we

talked a few minutes ago with some custodial worker who's happen to be in the building when this blast took place. let's hear what they witnessed. >> this allowed thunderous bomb, that's what it really sounded like. it's really big, huge, thunder went off right in front of you. >> i was very scared. you feel the vibration and you don't know what to think if you never heard something like that. i thought it was a bomb. >> so, in the past 20 minutes to a half hour or so, we had an update from the mayor. fire commissioner about what they believe took place here. as i said, just after 8:00 this evening, a crew of workers for the school construction authority working on an on going project in the 6th floor science lab, somehow sparked this explosion. this has gas service. there was no smell of gas, we are told, in the moment leading up to this explosion. those three workers, we are told, have serious burns.

one of them in critical condition. two others in serious condition. taken to area hospitals for evaluation. not much more about the extent of their burns, aside from the fact that they are quite serious. here is what the fire commissioner and the mayor had to say about 20 minutes ago. >> this school, obviously, sustained some very, very serious damage. this was part of at project being run by the school construction authority to a private contractor. again, we'll fill in details as the investigation continues. but, for people in this community, obviously, this was a real shock. >> for the details as to what they were doing, obviously, something to do with the gas lines in this building. we do know that. what caused the explosion, we do not know that yet. we will certainly get to the bottom of it. >> a lot of questions that they need to answer back to a live look right now. the situation has been stabilized to the extent that they don't believe the building

is in danger of collapse or any further damage. but this is an investigation that is going to take a very long time as they try to figure out exactly what it is those workers were doing at the time of this explosion. as i said, this school comprises eight different schools, 4,000 students with the first day of school coming up on september 9. not that long away. the mayor tonight said it's too early to tell exactly what they'll be doing. if they'll open part of this building back up or what will happen with those students. we're going to follow the very latest on this investigation and on the future for the kids who go to school in this building. the latest information as we get it starting tomorrow morning at 4:30. we are live for now in the marble hill section, channel 7 eyewitness news. josh, thank you. we were the first to send out a breaking news alert moments after the explosion. count on us to monitor the story online, overnight. we'll update you on your facebook and twitter news feeds. >> scary stuff, we get to an accuweather alert. get ready for a messy commute

tomorrow. the radar tracking some rain inman hatten manhattan skyline filling with rain. >> visibility is fine over the city right now, but the storming are forming and flash flood warnings where the rain is heaviest. temperatures in the 80s, a soupy, tropical air mass waiting for the soaking rains. and there's potential for flooding. right now, a few spotty showers getting underway. the heart of this cold front is eastern pennsylvania. you can see the coma shape of the storm formation, which means it's powerful. lightning showing up and heavy downpours creating the flash flooding. there's a warning posted by the national weather service for that particular area. looking at the trajectory of these storms, they are headed through south warren county, north hunterton, morris county, and union county, you could be in the zone for these very strong storms and within the last 48 hours, you've had there with water.

that's the same spot where we had the route 22 flooding. so, there it is. just between allentown and philadelphia. the front coming through. it will be here by dawn, heading into work tomorrow, you'll need it even though the city is not included in this flash flood watch. there's the warning in red. there will be rain for the majority of the area when we wake up. some parts could get up to 2 inches of rain fall and that's where the problem will be. storms are moving west to east. rain will be heavy enough to flood in some spots. coming up in the full forecast, we'll talk about how much the computer models are telling us will fall with this storm and also when it all gets out of here and a look ahead to the weekend. rob. >> okay, amy, we'll be tracking the rain and the flooding fears tomorrow morning beginning at 4:30 on eyewitness news this morning. you can also track it yourself, use the free alaska ewe track radar on any one of our social media pages. >> we have new information on the woman attacked.

turns out she's an ordained minister. just became a minister about a year ago. she lies in the hospital with severe burns to her face, eyes, and hands. police are trying to track down the suspect. carolina leid spoke with a friend of dire tonight. she has more. >> she is going to open, the tone, it's purple. >> nelson says his girlfriend, alexandra dire is disfigured and undergoing treatment at the burn unit at cornell medical center. the 59-year-old was leaving her job in sunny side queens wednesday evening when a man called to her, then tossed a chemical gel-like mixture in her face. >> open the ice. she can see. you know. literally like nothing. >> her face is burned. >> yeah. bad. maybe going to need some operations. >> dire is the executive

director of healing arts initiative. a nonprofit that brings art to the less fortunate. she also became ordained under the roman catholic women priests. >> she said she has been called to the priest hood since she is 7. she is highly significant to the nonprofits she serves and significant to the people. >> as police continue for the man who put dire in the hospital, her neighbors in queens say keeping her in their thoughts. >> she can keep pushing through it. yeah, her parents may be altered, but she is still, hopefully she still has that heart to love. >> in sunny side queens, channel 7 eyewitness news. there are new calls tonight for changes in times square. mayor de blasio announced a task force to deal with the topless women, the aggressive costume characters there. but what do you do about it? some say one way is to get rid of that pedestrian plaza. eyewitness news reporter, jim

dolan, is in times square for us tonight. jim. >> reporter: that's one of the proposals, rob, policing in times square would be easier if you got rid of the plaza. that may be overkill and unconstitutional for a problem that is, afterall, a quality of life issue. naked women were making good money in times square tonight, filling fists full of tips as some looked on, baffled, or disgusted, or really interested. >> how wonderful. >> most were not pleased, many came to times square with little children tonight who expected the super heros and the statues of liberty, but not this. >> i don't want to see those people here around here. if i have family, i won't bring them here. to be honest, if there are people like them, i won't bring my family. >> i am unhappy with some of what is happening in times square.

the characters and the painted women. >> so the mayor today appointed a commission to look into ways to legally address the issues in times square. like maybe declaring the area a city park so it can regulate activity or treating the performers as businesses. even removing the plaza all together and restoring traffic to times square. >> this is the most famous public space in the world. do you really want to rip it up and have cars come roaring through here? >> probably not, but the mayor acknowledges something needs to be done. >> common sense level, this is not appropriate in the middle of a public square. >> back live now, in the meantime, police will use existing laws as best they can. to try and police the area, turns out, a number of women have a manager and last night, police arrested him on unrelated charges, but they believe he did get the message. either way, winter is coming. reporting live from times square, jim dolan, channel 7 eyewitness news.

>> all right, thank you, jim. investors are hoping tomorrow will be a better day on wall street. but asia markets are open now and they are all down significantly. renewed concerns over china's economic stability caused major losses for stocks on wall street and around the world today. the dow today falling back below the 17,000 mark. the dow plunged 358 points closing at 16,990 and the nasdaq tumbled 141 points. s & p 500 lost 43 points. that's the worst day for stocks in 18 months. >> new details on the storms rolling in tonight. that straight ahead. plus, could caitlin jenner be soon facing manslaughter charges? new details on some legal trouble. and parking problems. who people in one neighborhood say are taking up all the spots and what they want done about it. plus, we are following breaking news in the bronx. a large explosion at jfk high school injuring at least three people.

we have an update right leave early go roam sleep in sleep out star gaze dream big wander more care less beat sunrise chase sunset do it all. on us.

more now on that breaking news in the bronx. a powerful explosion at jfk high school. cohn ed confirming it was caused by a gas explosion. three injuries, one person is in critical condition and two in serious, but stable condition. mayor de blasio just toured the school and updated us. inspectors are looking at the safety of the building. we'll of course monitor everything overnight on tv and at abc7ny. rob. new at 11:00, parking problems in one local neighborhood. residents say the parking spots on their streets are being taken up by people who don't live there. and they want something done about it.

eyewitness news reporter, josh ineger has more. >> reporter: they live so close to jfk, they can practically touch the parade of inbound planes. here in the place locals call old howard beach, the noise is the farthest thing from their minds. >> it's hell. it's plain hell. >> it's been more than a decade since the air tran started running, but far from a convenience, locals say it's been more than a blight with airport workers taking advantage of free street parking and leaving none for people who actually live here. so anthony pays insurance on a car he never drives. >> i park it here. >> that's it? to hold this spot here. >> i get home from work, i have to drive around for an hour to get a parking spot. >> the problem has gotten so bad, some take matters into their own hands. the owner painted signs and nailed them to a tree, begging people not to park here. but he didn't stop there,

there's a trash can and a cone sitting here in this street. and he painted his own lines and wording trying to get jfk commuters to stay away from his house. >> they shouldn't be victim to the bad habits of airport employees and tsa workers and travelers who take advantage of the fact that there's no meter parking here and they can leave their car here for free. >> eric blames the tsa for failing to provide free parking on property for its employees. residents are among the worst offenders. martinez works at an airline catering company. >> we need to start parking inside the airport and stop being lazy. >> they fear the fight will never end. in howard beach queens, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> caitlin jenner facing a possible misdemeanor vehicular manslaughter charge tonight for a deadly crash back in february. sources telling abc news, the los angeles county sheriff's department will recommend charges next week. officials say jenner was driving at an unsafe speed at

the time of that crash in california. her escalade hit a car, causing it to collide with on coming traffic and that killed a driver. out west in washington, 3 ,000 firefighters are struggling to control wild fires. governor jay inslee says his state is facing catcalism. three firefighters were killed yesterday when their vehicle crashed and they were overtaken by flames. fire officials warn high winds will further complicate fire fighting efforts. awful out there. so, we have amy in for lee goldberg. you said light showers are starting to move in? >> absolutely. those will continue to move eastward. the heart of cold front coming in after midnight and the predawn hours, dumping real heavy rain. >> we have to get home quick. >> let's wrap this up. good evening, everybody, temperatures outside are near 80 degrees. we've got good visibility here in the city. so that's letting us know that

the rain is not started yet. and also, checking numbers. 71% humidity. winds are calm. pressure is steady after a high of 86. looking around the area, from really monticello and over all the way down to trenton. some light rain happened in some of those areas. temperatures cooled off quickly. here's what the alaska ewe accutrack is showing us. we have heavy downpours already. oranges and yellows showing up with the storm complex right here. that comma shape lets us know it's an intense system, producing a lot of rain fall. there's a flash flood warning happening and lots of lightning with these storms. don't be surprised if you hear the thunder. these storms will come in our direction. right now, it looks like south warren county, north hunterton, even clipping parts of morris county, union is where we think those heavy downpours are coming out of eastern pennsylvania and headed. so, areas in green under a watch. conditions are favorable for flooding.

but areas in red where flooding is already occurring in southeastern pennsylvania where the heart of the storm is right now and pushing in our direction. we're expecting a couple inches in several areas. there could be locally more rain, but if you've had flooding in the last 48 hours, a big head's up, look for this moving in and be prepared for it. future cast taking us into the early morning hours. it seems like this will all wrap up by about 10:00 or 11:00. that being said, the front completely stalls off the coast of new jersey and it affects parts of our weekend. so, while we could salvage the second half of friday afternoon into the early evening, even by saturday and sunday, we're going to be dealing with a left overs of this system. so this is a wider view of the future cast. it takes us into the overnight and even into the weekend. so, friday night, it's offshore here and by saturday, we could get a few showers east, not showing up on this computer model. connecticut and long island, you have shower activity.

that front affects us and the computer model is showing us areas west of the city getting up to 2 inches of rain fall. 81 with that flooding possibility. use your rain gear as you head into the city. know it won't be necessarily needed on the way home. late start tomorrow, there it is. saturday and sunday, rain off to the east. warm and humid on monday. still muggy tuesday, wednesday, and thursday look like the best days of the week. up next, work and stress. new information about the amount of time spent working and your risk of stroke. we'll tell you what else may play a role in your chances of having one. >> but first, let's check in with jimmy kimmel to see who is on the show tonight. >> thanks, sade. music, this week an unnecessary sensorship and first lady, michelle obama and i have an

important message for you new tonight, an unusual discovery made in the heart of times square. check this out. members of the nypd confiscating a large snake, a boa constrictor. a couple fearless officers photographed holding the large yellow and white reptile. police won't say where they found it. >> in tonight's health alert, working long hours increase your risk of a stroke or heart disease. researchers in europe found

people who work 55 hours or more per week are 1/3 more. the longer workweek comes with a 13% higher risk of heart disease. the studies author say factors like physical inactivity, higher stress, and drinking more alcohol may be to blame as well. >> anthony johnson up next with sports. >> time to work less. >> thursday night is the last night of august means more baseball as fans are counting down to the playoffs. can the yankees submit their hold in the american league east. jets, giants fans, are you ready for some football?

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>> yes, and guess who they played against? >> the yankees try to put together a run so they can put distance between them and toronto. indians in town for a four-game set. cleveland season has been brutal. but tonight, they came to play spoiler, getting off to an early start. michael brantly shot this single to left. two runners coming around to score, including jason who barely beat the throw home. move to the bottom of the 4th, a-rod goes deep, 26 home run of the season. making the score 3-1 cleveland. go to the bottom of the 9th. frustrated joe gerardy, it's show time. then carlos beltran tries to keep the rally going, smacking a single to right driving in an aggressive a-rod, but the yankees fall short. losing tonight, 3-2. now, the mets are off tonight, gearing up for a series in the mile high city against the rockies. they swept colorado at home last week and now would be a

good time to do the same. mets will send kai calon to the mound tomorrow night. and guess who it is, jose reyes helping out his former team with that rbi double in the 5th that made it 1-0 rockies. right now it's 3-2 rockies in the 9th. mets have a 3 1/2 game lead at the moment. on to football, still no victor crews cruz for the giants. crews is recovering from a minor calf injury that cropped up on monday and recovering from that knee injury. he is slowly trying to get into the form. odel beckham combination is one of the best in the league. but we haven't seen them on the field this preseason. >> these practices are pivotal in terms of getting everybody healthy, understanding what we do in practice, because it's such a tedious game. that's the biggest thing for me.

we are focused in practice. >> as for the jets, they are ready to take off in game two of the preseason, looking to improve after a dismal game against the lions in detroit. play against the falcons and the coach wants to see a big upgrade over last weekend. >> i expect to see us a little more polished than we were in week one. a little more calm, hopefully, and you know, we just have to get better week by week as progress, you know, we have a long way to go from last week. hopefully we'll see a steady progression this week. >> tiger woods laying it all on the line this week, looking to qualify for the fedex playoffs. woods had his best round in two years today at the pga's championship. he shot a 6 under 64. even surprising himself a couple of times. the park starts next week at plainfield, new jersey country club. tiger can qualify for that tournament by winning this one

or with a solo second place finish. and for you, rob, johnny looked pretty good tonight. >> johnny football needs to concentrate on football. i like to see tiger smiling. >> why do that?

>> who knew, it's tige join the conversation on facebook, of course, you can also contact the entire team and all of our other reporters. that's the news for now, i'm sade bederinwa. >> and i'm rob powers.

tomorrow at 4:30.