in his final hours in cuba earlier today, the pope was in santiago with cubans and president raul castro was at the airport to say good by. >> the security was ramping up by the hour here in new york city. dave evans begins our coverage. >> reporter: we are told that the pope is only going to be speaking english a couple of times during his entire trip to the united states, perhaps four times in all. that he much prefers to speak in his native tongue of spanish and sometimes italian. whether it's english or spanish, what the pope says is very important. this week lots of people will pay close attention. this afternoon francis arrived greeted by the president and first lady. this is his first visit to the u.s., a trip full of promise and excitement for millions. >> i think he is amazing an inspirational. he is truly -- jesus speaks

through him. >> a lot of pride. a wonderful person. >> reporter: this pope is full of surprises. on the flight from cuba this afternoon, he took a few questions from reporters. to one he said he is not a leftist and to another that asked if he is truly catholic, francis said if i have to recite the creed, i'm ready. >> there is no plan or strategy put in place to try to stage an anybody's political agenda. >> whether he intends to or not, the pope's trip to the with politics. he is worried about unbride lettered capitalism, the haves and have not. inequality. >> the single most important person on earth in terms of fighting inequality and pope francis.

will be at the white house with about 10,000 invited gusts. one is daniel baruta who is gay and catholic. >> we love you, come feed us, come to mass with us. we are part of the church just as much as you are. >> reporter: on thursday an address to congress. >> i have never seen anything like it with any visitor, catholics and noncatholics. they are so excited. he is a ground breaker. he is a different kind of pope. he is the people's pope. >> reporter: the pope this evening does not have a public schedule. he is at the papal nuncio. that is across from the vice president's residence. he will remain there in washington the next couple of days but he has a busy agenda tomorrow in d.c. we will keep you posted. reporting live, dave evans, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> thank you. the pope arrives in new york city on thursday. scheduled to land at j.f.k.

at 5:00. about 6:00 he is expected to travel on 5th avenue as he makes his way to st. patrick's cathedral for evening prayer service. security preparations, it's obvious. in full swing across the city. the nypd, the secret service and 50 other agencies coordinating security efforts. >> i am so confident with that structure that we have been able to leverage that i have very little concern. we are built to succeed. >> friday will mark the most extensive security force ever assembled in new york city. row after row of police advance, cars and trucks, nearly 1200 ready for deployment at the brooklyn army terminal. at this time there is no credible threat to the pope. during the pope's visit to new york city, the mta says changes will be made on more than two dozen bus routes so

they can navigate around the crowds and frozen zones. the agency says expect a lot of delays and a lot of disruptions. eyewitness news reporter n.j. burkett continues our coverage. he is on the upper west side today. n.j. >> reporter: central park west and the side streets are one big no parking zone. get a look at this. the nypd began towing cars first thing this morning. 48 hours before pope francis sets foot on manhattan island, the city is already getting serious. >> you got the popemobile to get around, you know what i'm saying? i don't. >> reporter: her man thomas is worried. he is not alone. tow trucks began clearing the side streets on both sides of central park as well as central park west, south of 72nd street. the papal motorcade requires extraordinary security and worshippers want to see pope francis. but millions of new yorkers

>> it will be wall to wall human beings. hopefully they enjoy themselves and have a good time and meet the pope or wave to the pope while i'm underground on the subway getting to where i have to go. >> reporter: the first real impact will be felt in midtown where francis will lead an evening prayer service at st. patrick's after arriving in lower manhattan by helicopter. that will be at 6:45 before he retires east 72nd street. on friday morning, his landmark address at the united nations. he arrives at 8:45 then downtown to the 9/11 memorial at midday then to east harlem at 4:00, central park at 5:00 and madison square garden at 6:30. but mta officials say the subways will continue to run throughout although some bus routes may be changed near central park and in midtown. >> we can handle the extra people who will come into new

york. you get pay -- have patience, be ready for extra crowding. >> reporter: anita jacobson is planning a long weekend out of town. >> we are going upstate. i don't want to be here when it happens. i think it's exciting for the city. >> reporter: one big concern is that a lot of these events are happening at rush hour. but the subways will be running. extra l.i.r.r. and some bus routes are adjusted. none are being canceled that we are aware of. you will find the details on our web site, abc7ny. live on the upper west side, n.j. burkett, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> thank you. all the street closures mean if you were expecting a package delivery, you may have to wait longer. ups and fedex are warning customers they may experience delays in parts of manhattan starting thursday. that means people waiting for an iphone 6-s won't get it

some pharmacies that deliver medications to customers are experiencing hiccups. >> if the driver can't get here, we won't be able to get the medication and the drivers can't get them to the patients. >> if you are waiting for a package, chances are you may not get them in time. if you are relying on delivery of medication later this week, call the pharmacy now. just a reminder to stay with eyewitness news and abc news as well as abc7ny for the latest on the pope's visit. we have the schedule and all the road closures on our web site and we invite you to share your pictures with us. the other news of the day, new at 6:00, nine years in prison the likely sentence for a new york cop who fired his weapon into a car on the street hitting a passenger six times. 29-year-old brendan cronin since fired by the nypd pled guilty to four felonies. he will be sentenced in december.

the shooting in pelham. in court for us, here is marcus solis. >> attempted murder? a new york city police officer being convicted of that? highly irregular. >> reporter: but there he stood brendan cronin pleading guilty. a plea deal that will send him to prison for nine years. not enough say his victims. >> i'm sure if i opened -- fired a weapon into a police car i would be doing much more than nine years. >> reporter: last april cronin was off duty and drunk when he opened fire on a car in pelham for no reason. the passenger was shot six times. robert borrelli was behind the wheel and was not hurt and drove his friend to the hospital. both men are recovering physically and emotionally. >> i experienced something that is totally awful. >> i feel guilty for having done nothing more than stopped at a light that was yellow turning red.

i have to live with that. >> reporter: cronin who was suspended will be fired from the nypd. victims are moving forward with a 90 million civil suit claiming the city and police failed to eliminate drunk cops who kill, shoot and maim people in their drunken states. >> cronin will turn himself in and begin serving his time but formal sentencing takes place in december. former staten island congressman michael grimm who we showed in a previously -- previous story has started serving his sentence for tax fraud. he record just before noon today. he is sentenced to eight months behind bars for hiding funds from his restaurant. he resigned his seat after bleeding r pleading guilt -- pleading guilty in january. the dow is down 107 points. nasdaq dropped 72. s&p 500 dropped 24 and change.

as we continue with "eyewitness news at 6:00" for this tuesday night, a maserati goes crashing into a building. it was going fast. there is big damage to local businesses. the whole thing caught on camera. >> the jets off to a great start. the one big reason, defense baby. rob powers takes a look in sports. >> this evening is off to a great start after clouds kept it cool during the day today. "many patients and their doctors unfortunately are not aware of the options available to patients with bone cancer. patients with bone cancer deserve a specialist too. "the advantages of being treated at cancer treatment centers of america is that we have all the specialists under one roof to take care

of every aspect of that patients cancer care. we want our patients to survive their cancer but we also want them to maintain independence

a maserati going up to 100 miles per hour and crashing into a store. no one was seriously hurt. >> the driver has not been given a ticket. the accident was captured on surveillance video. dramatic to say the least. >> this happened in west islip. ear is eyewitness news reporter stacey sager. how come a man is doing 100 miles per hour down this road. >> reporter: a question you can't help but ask when you see the crazy surveillance video of the moment this crash actually occurs. the camera at dashing dance plumbing captures the whole thing. it's like an explosion as a maserati barrels into two businesses on highbie lane in west islip around 10:30 last night. cameras from several angles caught the whole thing and so

>> we heard the car and the next thing bang. >> reporter: keep your eyes on the top of the screen in this video. the car is like a flame throwing missile shooting by. the driver of the maserati is michael badedi. he wasn't home today and neither was his pricey car. miraculously he was treated for minor injuries after the mess. the owners of the building housing higbee bagels and flavor crisp chicken wonder why he wasn't cited for reckless driving. >> jumps the cash, breaks the building. what would be the reason for that man going that fast. >> reporter: it's worth noting that these stores are staples in the community. they have been here more than 50 years. they will continue to be but they won't be reopening for weeks. in west islip, i'm stacey

the jewish holiday of yom kippur begins at sundown. evening services are underway at some local congregations. it is the holiest day on the jewish calendar. wear shippers fast and reflect on the last year. >> to those of you who celebrate, an easy fast from all of us. tired of waiting in line for your cup of starbucks? we have a new to get your latte faster. starbucks does.

so if to like your latte's starbucks but hate waiting in line there is an app for that. there is a mobile order and pay ahead service across the country. they tested it in portland, oregon.

with the app you can prepay and it will give you an estimated wait time so you know when to pick up your drink and do something instead of waiting in line. >> okay. fall like on the last day of summer and summery for the first day of fall. >> mother nature doesn't care. >> the pope has some connections. as he comes in, some of the best weather of the entire week. 80, mid-70s for the venting on in the city. big events friday in central park as we look to the jackie o reservoir. the sky is starting to part. we are getting sunshine before the sun goes down this evening. temperature 71. that wind has calmed down. it was coming in from the east and northeast. that kept us cloudy and cool during the day today. the current temperatures are high. 71. a couple below average for september the 22nd.

a volatile time of year in terms of temperatures. sunsets at 6:54. 67 at white plains. mid-60s down the jersey shore where you are exposed to the wind off the cooler waters of the atlantic. a lot of cloud cover from the city and points east. clearing out west and north of new york city as high pressure slides in from the great lakes. this will be in control through the end of the week and the papal visit in new york city. this low pressure system area off the carolina coast moving offshore for the time being. another area of low pressure will form over the weekend. that may create bumps in the road. 44 sussex and monticello. down to about 60 here in midtown. even the places in the 40s overnight get up to the 80s.

summer-like temperatures during the day. turning warmer tomorrow, 80. a weak front fizzling out by the time it gets here during the day on thursday. still 80 for the popes arrival. the big events friday, sun and clouds. to the weekend, there will be an area of low pressure off the north carolina coast. it will try to make a move to the north. this area will try to block it. a competition between two weather systems. we have to see which wins out in the end. tonight clearing and comfortable. 40s in the coolest spots. mostly sunny, warmer tomorrow. up to 80. mainly clear tomorrow night, back to the low 60s. another 80 day thursday. mid-70s friday. some sunshine behind high clouds saturday. we are watching the system to the south. it may provide much needed rain on sunday. we have to wait and see. upper 60s.

>> rob is up next with sports. >> game day for the giants closer and closer. they hope the first win is as well. thursday kick off big blue against washington. practice today. laura behnke will take us there. i'm michael douglas, and new york is my home. there's no place like it in the world. and there's no time to see it like the fall. take metro north to take in the beautiful fall foliage from high above the hudson. swing a club at one of america's greatest courses... see spectacular sights underground... ...or thrilling sights above it. there's so many incredible ways to experience the fun of fall in new york state. plan your trip at iloveny.com.

everyone keeps track of how the proteins are going. you are 3-1 for the season so far. >> thank you very much. >> let's quit now while we are ahead. >> another mark in the win column for the jets after the monday nighter in indy. coach bowles continuing to say his team is not where it needs to be but the trick is to keep winning while it gets there.

find much wrong with the defense. durel revis had an interception and two fumble recoveries himself. the offense couldn't put the game way until late but this is a win 20-7. the jets are 2-0. >> defensively i thought they came out and stuck to the game plan and did a good job. the guys made plays. >> eric decker sprained knee day to day. giants back at work. they have a short workweek hosting the redskins thursday night. they have a lot to figure out in the next 50 hours. laura behnke with big blue. >> reporter: forget the challenges of a short week for night can't come soon enough. >> we have another chance to get back out there and get a win. that's the number one goal. >> get back to finding wins. nothing a win can't fix. >> reporter: many things have gone wrong for the 0-2 giants but one drive against the

redskins could turn it around. >> i think we are better than 0- 2. >> reporter: victor cruz ran on grass for the first time since the calf injury. et cetera unlikely to play thursday but getting closer. >> you won't do the team if you are out there 60 to 70%. you want to be 100% to make the team win at the top of your ability. >> reporter: one big reason for the giants not to panic, the state of their division. the eagles are winless, cowboys have plenty of injuries. the nfc east is wide open. >> the division is in turmoil. so, it's up for grabs. that's the good thing. it's a big game. we have to have this. a must win. >> reporter: laura behnke, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> also today jason pierre paul bench pressing on instagram with a towel covering the injured hand. the giants don't think he is

healthy to get back. he drops hips he is. >> magic number to clinch the division down to 7. a win last night at home over the braves. if it turned into a loss, we would have pointed to this play by daniel murphy and asked what were you thinking. tagged out in a base running error. murphy did have a hit in the game, 2-run double. about your rhett pitches tonight against the braves. the yankees meanwhile losing last night in toronto 4-2. blue jays lead by 2 1/2 games. the yanks need to have the opportunities last night. three straight strikeouts and the threat ended right there. severino pitches tonight. big night for basketball. the deciding game in the wnba eastern conference semifinal between the liberty and washington mystics. series tied.

winner tonight goes on. >> we are on our home court. >> the atmosphere will be crazy. i hope everybody comes out again. it will be cool. >> it would be much cooler if they can win tonight. at 11:00, another night where all the sports will be putting it together. >> thank you, rob. coming up at 11:00, what is going on? we have sade baderinwa in the studio to tell us what will happen. >> yes, you do, bill. more than 200 cars broken into. cops say this is one of the guys behind the crime. why does it keep happening? a teacher tells a child being left-handed is evil. wait until you hear what she said when one parent fought back. those stories and more on "eyewitness news at 11:00". >> sounds just wrong. see you then. that's it for us for now. thanks for watching. i'm bill ritter. >> i'm liz cho. world news with david muir is up next. eyewitness news returns