lets us know how long it he was shot then set on fire. tonight the victim's mother looking for answers as we learn a fingernail may have been a break in the case that led to an arrest. good evening at 11:00. i'm sade baderinwa. >> and i'm bill ritter. 43-year-old mccorter found dead. tonight his girlfriend is in custody. >> eyewitness news reporter josh einiger in queens with our story new at 11:00.

>> we're here at the 114 where investigators are still questioning dawn macintosh. at first she told them she didn't know where her boyfriend was, then with the physical evidence she quickly copped to blowing him away. >> i can't get that image out of me. >> reporter: it's an awful image, barbara mcwater just can't shake. her son sharon gunned down and set ablaze in a back alley in queens allegedly by a woman cops describe as his girlfriend but she calls a stalker. >> i said come back again and i'll call cops. >> reporter: she shot him twice before dousing his body with lighter fluid and striking a match. it was a detective who solved the case after investigators found a woman's fingernail on the body. >> we noticed when we talked to

his girlfriend she was missing a fingernail. we take her back in to custody and she admits she killed him. >> reporter: she allegedly admits to the killing as the two argued in this usually quiet community where neighbors woke up to the gruesome scene. >> he was bloody. he had a you could tell a fire had gone on. our children play in the community driveway. now everyone is terrified. >> mcwhorter had a 16-year-old son who will now have to live without his dad. macintosh is facing multiple charges including murder and criminal possession of a weapon. at last report police were still searching for the gun. josh einiger, channel 7 eyewitness news. meanwhile, breaking news in queens right now. several pedestrians hit by a vehicle in lakewood township. we're told at least one of the victims is a

child in a stroller. no word on the extent of their injuries. at least one medi vaced to a hospital. another cooling tower testing positive for the legionnaires' bacteria. the school says it's already disinfected its cooling tower. it only found the bacteria that causes legionnaires' disease, no reports of anyone getting sick from it. the operator of a catamaran facing charges accused of leading cops on a wild chase on the hudson river. accused of speeding up to 100 miles per hour near the tappan zee bridge on a catamaran. turning now to an accuweather alert. it was sticky today but get ready, tomorrow is going to be a scorcher.

a heat wave expected to last through much of the week. meteorologist lee goldberg at the weather wall with how hot it's going to get. >> less than an hour left in what was a beautiful month. 25 out of the 31 days dry. plenty of warmth as we head in to september. partly cloudy now and still at 11:00 at night it's 84 degrees with a west wind at 7 miles per hour. highs today in the low 90s from islip to the park to poughkeepsie. newark. we can do just as well tomorrow. last week 50s and 40s north and west. that's not going to happen any time soon. it will already feel like it's close to 80 degrees. during the afternoon, low and middle 90s for your feels-like readings during the afternoon hours. air quality alert is up for much of new jersey during the day tomorrow. we'll not see the high clouds we saw they'll melt away and move offshore. a heat pump to the south and temperatures running around 10 to 15 degrees above average. we wrap up the third warmest august all time.

the second heat wave of 2015 becomes official tomorrow and this heat doesn't peak until thursday where storms may bring some relief. we'll look ahead to that labor day weekend and if you have the kids going to the bus stop tomorrow morning, let them wear shirts and t-shirts. going to be hot the rest of the week. new york cops right now frantically looking for their latest escaped prisoner. a young woman busted only for petty theft and now responsible for an anything but petty embarrassment. she's the fourth nypd prisoner to escape from custody this summer and the commissioner says he's reached his limit. eyewitness news reporter jim dolan with the story and the latest on the upper west side for us. >> this is not a story about an alleged shoplifter. yes, police say tiffany newman walked out of this bar without paying her tab, then they say she walked down the street and stole a couple t-shirts for a store all here. but for all of that she probably wouldn't have spent more than a night in jail. then she slipped

out of her handcuffs and escaped. the fourth person to do so this summer. >> reporter: it's a friendly neighborhood spot but they kind of would like you to pay your tab. tiffany newman didn't. so became a 23-year-old 5'5" tall fugitive from justice. police arrested newman but after telling them she was pregnant and not feeling well, they took her to new york presbyterian lower manhattan hospital where doctors said she was not pregnant. handcuffed there, she escaped when a police officer stepped away to use a restroom. >> there's no excuse for it. it's em barrassing. she's not a mastermind criminal. it's clearly due to inattentiveness and carelessness. the police officer was suspended last night. >> reporter: newman is the fourth person in nypd custody this summer to escape from police. remember this video, 23-year-old tarik arnold running in handcuffs as police officers try to catch him? he wasn't caught for another month. 57-year-old arthur collins

escaped from a holding cell at the 25th precinct. he was caught in possession of a gun silencer. earlier this month, austin stevenson escaped as he was being escorted in to the 23rd precinct on charges of criminal trespass. the police commissioner is kind of getting tired of it. >> i'll make that very clear that the punishment that we will be putting in place for these types of events is going to be significant. once we have a person in that custody, our responsibility is the care and custody of that individual. and i will not tolerate as police commissioner these continued lapses in what should be basic policing. >> the 25-year-old police officer who was watching newman has been suspended from his job. newman has six prior arrests according to the police. they say she may be trying to make her way to los angeles, but they intend to make sure she doesn't

get out of the city. jim dolan, channel 7 eyewitness news. a touching and tearful tribute for a rising broad wau star -- broadway star who died in an accidental fall. dozens of people sang stars from the broadway classic les miserables in honor of charlotte john baptiste, the first african american to play the role in le miss. the 23-year-old fell to his death on a fire escape. tomorrow lights will dim in the theater in his memory. probation and community service the sentence tonight for six high school football players charged with sexual assault in a hazing scandal. the players getting only probation of one or two years plus 50 hours of community service and they will not have to register as sex offenders. prosecutors say the sexual assault victims were 14

and 15-year-old teammates. the seventh player still awaiting trial. new tonight we have just learned shocking allegations at a daycare center on long island. police in southampton say two teachers at the side by side daycare center were arrested for force feeding, pushing, and slamming children to the floor. both charged with endangering the welfare of a child. one 18-month-old child vomited from a force feeding but no other encourages were reported. a -- no other injuries were reported. a verdict could come tomorrow on tom brady. the quarterback and commissioner roger goodell were both in court today after being unable to reach an agreement. the judge will afirm or throw out brady's suspension. throwing out unseen e-mails from hillary's private account. it's the largest installment so far. the current presidential

candidate insisting she did not handle sensitive material on that account. but among tonight's e-mails, state department deemed about 150 as classified and they were heavily redacted. happening tomorrow, a funeral will be held for the tv news cameraman killed during a live broadcast. mourners attended a wake for 27-year-old adam ward at his former high school in virginia. his family asked visitors to wear the colors of his favorite teams, salem high and virginia tech. his funeral begins 11:00 tomorrow at a church in roanoke. pope francis ahead of his visit to the united states next month taking part today in a groundbreaking virtual audience with americans in three cities. abc news hosted and muir moderated the conference with the pope. maybe you've heard about it, pope francis arrives in the u.s. tuesday, september 22nd. eyewitness news will be there with the pope during his visits

to washington, new york, and philadelphia. by the way, you can find information about tickets, public transit changes, and road closures at our website, abc 7 ny. as we continue on this monday night, growing excitement on the campus of columbia university. >> after a second term comes to an end, president obama returns to columbia? that announcement today. and it didn't come from the white house. i'm joe torres. the details coming up on eyewitness news. >> also, the wild weather that sent a tree crashing down on a forklift. plus, no wild weather here. just a heat wave. lee goldberg returns

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new at 11:00, did the president of columbia university jump the gun on the president of

the united states? columbia's top guy telling the freshman class today president and mrs. obama are headed to new york city after they leave the white house and they will work for columbia. a reporter from the student newspaper heard about it and tweeted it. he heard it directly. tonight some backpedaling, but there is no denying. here's joe torres. >> reporter: plenty of excitement at columbia university, and it wasn't just for the campus tradition of welcoming first year students. people are still buzzing after a bombshell announcement at convocation. the ivy league school president revealed president obama will return to his alma mater in 2017. >> he was kind of vague but we heard rumors that he's going to be a professor at the law school and all the student body erupted in cheers. >> all the imagine you being here for the first time. it's really a moment of joy i think. it speaks to what this university is. >> reporter: the surprise

revelation came before any sort of official announcement from the white house. a university spokesman said the comments at convocation follow a may 12th statement from the barack obama foundation that it intends to maintain a presence at columbia. president obama graduated from the university in 1983. >> i'm not sure like what's the policy there, but yeah, definitely didn't hear anything from the white house before. so definitely a surprise. >> i'm in the school of engineering so not sure if i'm going to be able to take a class with him but i'll definitely try to see him if he has a talk or something. >> you'll track him down. >> oh, yeah. [ laughter ] >> the official word from the white house is this. the president has always respected columbia university and wants to continue working with the ivy league school. but for the record, no plans have been finalized as to what the president will do when his second term comes to an end. at

columbia, joe torres, channel 7 eyewitness news. trade mission to cuba earlier this year, new york governor andrew cuomo is now planning to lead a delegation to puerto rico. the governor will discuss the puerto rican government's ongoing health care crisis and economic challenges. puerto rico's governor invited the group. they leave for puerto rico september 7th. the mta testing out bicycle racks on two bus routes, one between staten island and brooklyn. s53 and s93 buses. that begins september 6th. riders will load and unload the bikes themselves. if testing goes well, the mta says it plans to add racks to other bus routes. a narrow escape caught on camera as a forklift operator nearly gets crushed by a falling tree. seconds after the man climbed in to the forklift on saturday, a tree came crashing down on top of the vehicle. it happened during a storm in washington state. the forklift

operator fortunate was not hurt. the u.s. open kicking off on this balmy night in queens and on hand to welcome the fans and players, mayor de blasio, who noted some of the reasons this open is making history. >> the final tickets sold out before the men's final. [ cheers and applause ] that's progress. and serena williams competes to become the first woman in nearly 30 years to win the had grand slam. >> also the oldest to participate in wimbledon. how did ms. williams' first match go? rob powers has tonight's highlights. >> great night to be there. >> going to be a nice week. >> a little hot during the day. >> we're hitting that heat wave technically tomorrow. >> we established it tomorrow. we go right in to september with another warm pattern. should even go in to next week. we're just hoping lasts right through the holiday weekend. tonight we have a warm night, partly cloudy night. empire state building

green and yellow for the u.s. open. next color change will be red, white, and blue for labor day on the 4th of september. temperature is 84. west wind at 7. pressure holding steady and the high today, 91. very close to that tomorrow. now you're running around 10, 12 degrees above average for the rest of the week. there are your sunrise and sunset times for a hot sunny tuesday. middle of the day, high clouds. put a cap on temperatures middle of the day. august comes in, third warmest all time. nearly 4 degrees above average. you know how dry it is, just looking out your front door. whether it's your outdoor space where your plants haven't been doing well or your lawn. 82 degrees in riverdale. 83, cambria heights. 81 in oak wood. suburbs even in the 70s here. it's a toasty night and moderately humid. it will feel best at the beaches with a south wind in the afternoon. lower 90s, backing off in to the 80s at the shore.

skies have cleared out after the high clouds. they're now moving south and east with this disturbance off the carolina coast. that had a connection with erika's remnant moisture over florida. if that tries to come north, roadblock. high pressure is right here. not going to be able to make it up here. next front we deal with, right here. very slow moving front. won't get here till thursday afternoon, and even then it's not all that impressive. there might be a shower or storm but what it will bring, lower humidity and lower temperatures. not too low. still feels holiday. lots of sizzle to begin september. because there will be a few more high clouds on wednesday, just still steamy. high. heat peaks on wednesday, 97 or 98 before it breaks at night. going southeast. waves 2 to 3 feet. water temperatures peaking right now. rip current risk is moderate. make sure you're swimming by lifeguards. mostly clear at 7 a.m. 76. it's warm tomorrow

and up to 92. hot and humid , plenty of sunshine, feels like 95. tomorrow night down to 75, a warm sticky night. here's your 7-day and it's dry other than that thunder threat on thursday. that's the hottest day but friday is still warm, mid and upper 80s, partly sunny, and in to the weekend temperatures climb once again. we could be flirting with 90 by sunday or labor day and a little cooler next week. no clear sign of a flip to fall pattern any time soon. enjoy summer on extended play. coming up next, a big decline in the number of people getting married in las vegas. >> plus, new worries about how

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in tonight's health alert, an alarming link between joint replacement procedures and heart attacks. researchers in the uk found knee and hip replacement patients were eight times more likely to suffer heart attack in the first four weeks after surgery. it's unclear why but researchers believe it may be due to the effects of anesthesia on the cardiovascular system. getting hitched in las vegas apparently doesn't sound as good to love birds as it used to. las vegas weddings reportedly dropping 37% over the last decade. the famed graceland wedding chapel says

there's been a consistent drop every year since 2004. it blames the economy. but the county clerk say vegas weddings don't carry the old hollywood glamour anymore. rob powers up next with sports. >> let's talk baseball. yankees hit fenway, hope boston doesn't hit back. we'll see how the mets did. another battle against the phillies. so far this year that's been good things. hey! let me help with that. oh, thank you!

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started any better. yankees trying to get back to 1st place by beating the sub.500 teams they're supposed to be. first place blue jays lost tonight so they could have pulled within a game. david ortiz over the monster. career home run 495. yanks are down and they make it a one-run game in the 9th inning. bases loaded walk forces in a walk. that made it 4-3. two outs. bases loaded. hot hitter, gregoria at bat. caught on the warning track and the yankees lose 4-3. missed opportunities. and a lot of them cost the yankees tonight. now to the mets. 12-1 against the phillies this year. they beat them up last week, scored 40 runs in a four-game sweep. mets with a five-and-a-half game division lead. bartolo colon worth the price of admission. he was dominating. in the 5th inning, sharp single. career best seventh hit of the year.

everybody loves it. he did it all tonight. that is a big hit because he's on base when curtis granderson does this. long home run, 23rd of the season. he almost catches colon around the bases. mets live 3-1. nationals lose in st. louis. the met lead in the east back up to six and a half games. jets defensive lineman sheldon richardson will be back in court october 5th after pleading not guilty today to resisting and traffic charges. stevie brown is brought back in to help the backfield. brown played with big blue the last two years. signed with texans but they cut him over the weekend. the grand slam pursuit of serena williams officially underway. the women's top seed was the top story. her opener tonight, williams won the french, australian, and wimbledon championships now reaching for a calendar year sweep. up 6-love, she stopped

the match because of injury and that did it. 27 minutes. serena williams moving on. men's top seed. novak djokovic didn't face a single breakpoint. one hour, 11 minutes. the world's top ranked player told the crowd there's just something i love about the number 1. carolina wozniak plays tomorrow but her opponent may have the home court advantage. jamie lobe is from ossining, grew up watching the open. ncaa division 1 singles national champ at the university of north carolina. jamie set for her open debut. >> i came here since i was a little girl, growing up watching the top players, getting autographs. now i'm the one playing in it and i've signed a couple autographs so it's really cool and something new to me. >> smiles ear to ear all day

long. >> so many great story lines at the opening. including the 35-year-old trying to win the grand slam. >> 33. venus is 35. serena is 33 and she'll be 34 i think september 26th. >> she'll be 35 one day. >> and she'll still be winning.

we'll be right back.

as. give us a new kind of high tech jingle. join the conversation on facebook, twitter, instagram using bc7ny. >> high tech jingle. >> that's it for us for now. thanks for watching. i'm bill ritter. >> i'm sade baderinwa. have a