completely clear. but there is a lot of activity down the pike. this is going to prove to be a major storm for a portion of the mid-atlantic and northeast coasts as we head into the weekend. let's check out the temperature right now. 35 degrees. not nearly as harsh as it was during the day yesterday. the wind relaxed a little bit. windchills aren't near zero but check this out. the national weather service put out a blizzard watch, not for our area but down to washington, d.c. and baltimore. i would not be surprised if during the next 24 to 36 hours these watches get extended to the north and east as we close in on the start of this storm which should start around here well after midnight friday night. you see this one system over the ohio valley. this could spread flurries into the area, especially south and west of the city overnight. that is almost a nonevent compared to the main show.

that will dip to the south and east down near the gulf coast, pick up gulf moisture, atlantic moisture with the northern jet stream and turn into a formidable storm off the east coast friday night and through the day on saturday. so, let's get into it. the headlines for the first major winter storm of the season, the first flakes hold off until friday night. we are talking well after midnight in the city, maybe holding off until before dawn. it's a high impact event during the day on saturday. we are looking for heavy snow, winds that could gut up to 55 miles per hour on the coast and also the prospect of moderate to major coastal flooding, especially on the jersey shore. we have a full moon during the day. tides are high and we will add to that an onshore flow. snowfall amounts may vary considerably from south to north with areas well north and much. they will be farther away.

the timing. probably before dawn we get the first flakes in new york city. it takes until after daylight to start the snowfall on saturday, areas to the north. today, tomorrow and into friday calm weather. that gives us time to prepare for we will have many more details on the timing, access of heaviest snowfall and a stab at snowfall numbers in the full accuweather forecast later in the half hour. shirleen, back to you. >> jeff, thank you for that. so, the question is, are we ready for the snow? eyewitness news reporter rob nelson is live at new york city's office of emergency management headquarters with how the city is beginning to prepare. rob? >> reporter: well, good afternoon, shirleen, compared to the last two days it feels good out here. still cold but the wind has died down. the sun is out. it's warmer. not too bad at all. as we know by now the weekend will look different. that's why city officials are

to get ready for what could be a messy weekend. take a look at the video. a few minutes ago we got a tour inside the nerve center of the management. this is the watch command center in downtown brooklyn. this room will be the command center if we are dealing with that major snowstorm this weekend including the all- important snow removal by the sanitation department, the cleanup underway on sunday. interesting. the city teamed up with the new york islanders for a public service announcement to help residents get ready for the weather. they highlight winterizing your home to making an emergency supply kit inside the house to getting the homeless folks in shelters or drop in centers. the director of the emergency management office is keeping a close eye on the storm, the path and the amount of snow are still unclear but he stressed the city will be ready for

>> we will get snow and coastal flooding because of the high tides and full moon. what we are doing, we are getting ready. >> reporter: now, two silver linings to the whole weekend mess we are talking about, one it has been a mild winter. this is the first major -- potentially major storm. it's falling during a weekend instead of the normal rush hour and school days that would come during the week. there is a silver lining to be found. at least we can point to that. city. we expect that to ramp up weekend. reporting live, rob nelson, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> all right, rob, thank you. remember you can get the latest accuweather forecast and live finger. download the free accutrack search abc7ny.

threat made against nypd officers and police in philadelphia. >> received a call from the philadelphia police department. they that they received a phone call indicating that an individual officer in philadelphia. he then received a phone call from an anonymous person indicating that this person was going to shoot a police officer. we know who the individual is and actively looking for him. this isn't a probable cause to arrest at this time. >> the caller mentioned isis in the call. sources believe the suspected caller is a 37-year-old with a past criminal history with open warrants. shirleen? david, a family is grieving after a hit and run driver killed a father riding his bike in brooklyn. surveillance video shows the victim next to the truck that hit him. eyewitness news reporter kemberly richardson shared this photo on twitter. she joins us live in sheepshead

>> reporter: shirleen, the breed bread winner of this -- bread winner of this family determined to give his wife and family a better life than he had in china. he worked at a lumber he was heading home from work when the truck hit and killed him. the 54-year-old, you can see him in the picture in the upper left hand corner. that's his wife and two kids. he was riding his bike home after 5:00 along avenue u. surveillance video shows him on his bike heading west on the affidavit new right next to a ryder truck. for some reason police say the truck hit him and ran over him. kept going. investigators aren't sure if the driver of the truck knew he hit someone. the victim was lying in the street severely injured. people did rush to help him but it was too late. a short time ago his daughter

tried to help her dad and had a message for the truck driver. >> i thank you for all the people that called the police and the ambulance while my father -- i thank you for the people. and now i just want to find the truck driver. i really want to ask him why he do that to my father and leave my father there. just call the police or 911, maybe my father would be safe. >> reporter: she said her father brought his family to the u.s. seven years ago. she said her dad truly believed in the american dream. for now live in sheepshead bay, kemberly richardson, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> thank you. we are following a developing story on wall street. plummeting. a live look at the big board. the dow is down 470 points right now. s&p 500 down about 58 points. continuing now the worst start

energy companies are seeing the biggest drops. crude oil down more than 5% and is now less than $28 a barrel. we continue to follow the latest developments on wall street as the information comes in. jury selection underway in the trial of a new york city police officer that shot and killed an unarmed man inside a building in brooklyn. the officer, peter liang, shot akai gurley in 2014. according to police liang fired his weapon and it hit a wall. he violated training by his finger on the trigger. the officer claims it was an accident. a new jersey teenager turned himself in to police for stabbing two young men. police say he stabbed an 18- year-old man and a 20-year-old man january 3rd. one of them needed surgery following the attack.

post $35,000 cash bail. police have released clearer video of the suspect wanted in a random slashing attack in the east village. investigators say this is the man who cut a social worker in the face on east sixth street. that was the social worker. that is the man, anthony christopher smith. he needed 150 stitches to close the wound. if you would like to take another look at the suspect, head to the abc7ny facebook page and share it with your friends. a spokesman for the main fax of the taliban in pakistan announcing -- denouncing the splitter group of an attack at a university. they said they have nothing to 20 people. four attacksers threw grenades at the school and started firing. when the seige was over, the military said at least 18 students and two intructors were killed. the military was called in and killed all of the attackers.

new at noon, all newly built buss in new jersey must include motion senators. new jersey lawmakers pass abigail's law. it can detect movement within 10 feet of the bus. the law is named after a girl run over by a school bus. the driver never realized he struck her until alerted by others. the self-proclaimed hockey

sar way palin is expected to join donald trump on the campaign trail. she will likely team up with trump at a campaign stop in oklahoma after missing a morning appearance in iowa. yesterday palin threw her support behind the front-runner with feisty words. >> dog gone right we are angry, justifiably so, yes. you know, they stomp on our neck then tell us just chill. okay, yeah, just relax. well, look, we are mad and we have been had. >> palin's endorsement of jump is a big blow to ted cruz who used palin's help to win his seat in the senate. on the democratic race, a new poll shows bernie sanders making big gains on hillary clinton in new hampshire. sanders earned a commanding 27 point lead at 60% to

10% lead sanders enjoyed a little more than a month ago. director spike lee looking to clarify his position by knee anything claims that he called for a boycott to the academy awards. he did it during an interview on "good morning america." he said he simply stated he and his wife tonya would not attend and listed the reasons why. he said other people should decide whether or not she will go or watch the awards ceremony. lee said he made other plans. >> be at the world's most famous arena, madison square garden to see my orange and blue. not going. >> there you go. lee said one way to improve diversity is for hollywood studios to follow the rooney rule that requires teams to interview at least one minority candidate for jobs. lee said he hopes people remember the work is the most important thing and not whether or not you win an awards. chris rock is his good friend hosting the show. from the beginning he said this

who i know you will be hosting the show. trying to clarify things. >> the conversation continues. outrage over the water crisis in flint. find out what michigan's governor is promising to do and who the epa says is to blame. >> snowboarders nearly buried what saved them. >> taking meteorologist jeff smith is timing out the snow ne [ scanner beeping ] sir, could you step aside? "sir"? come on. you know who i am. progressive insurance? uh, i save people an average of over $500 when they switch?

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a new video shows a small slice of the awesome beauty of earth's biggest neighbor. cascading magnetic arches on the sun. they look like they are glowing. they are giving off ultraviolet light invisible to the human eye. researchers color risessed it to make the magnetic arches pop glory. >> i can't get enough of that. not the sun that tim eye focused on but the snow. >> that is true. especially considering the first one of the season. we had such a mild winter. 72 on christmas eve and now we are looking at blizzard watches which have been issued by the nation's capitol. that goes to show you how confident the national weather

in advance issuing a blizzard watch in that area. some of these areas, blizzard watches and storm watches will be extended north and east as we get closer to the storm. i wouldn't be surprised if in the tri-state area we don't get watches issued later today a into tomorrow. in central park, temperature around 35. the wind northwest at 7 miles per hour. what a difference from yesterday when we were gusting up past 30. the windchill isn't too bad. for the next seven anything, the sun will be fading behind high clouds. temperatures probably topping off in the middle to upper 40s before tailing off to around freezing early this evening. below freezing in places like monticello and morristown. 36 at belmar. 36 islip. we are watching a little system over the ohio valley. you know, it's showing signs that some of the snow might make it to the coast by later on tonight. there could be a couple of snowflakes in the air, a couple

new york city around or after midnight. the main show out here. energetic system over the western high plains dipping to the south and east. eventually moving to the north and east, middle a -- atlantic coast. high clouds this evening increasing. temperatures in the middle 30s. a touch of snow and flurry activity late tonight into the wee hours of tomorrow morning then into the day tomorrow, sunny. during the day friday we start with sun. i think high clouds increasing in the afternoon. here is the accuweather forecast for this afternoon. sun fading behind high clouds, knows as harsh. the high up to 37. clouds breaking tonight. after that a chance of a flurry around midnight. down to 25. plenty of sunshine, 34. a few days to get ready for this storm system which will be coming in late friday night. sun fading behind clouds friday. i want to show you the timing again. by 6:00 p.m. friday snow approaching cape

it takes until before dawn, maybe 3:00, 4:00 a.m. to approach new york city. 6:00 a.m. north of new york city. during the day on saturday, it's windy, snowy. the storm in a position to pummel the i-95 corridor with heavy snow, major travel delays and the potential for blizzard conditions with winds up to 55 miles per hour at times. snow tapering during the day sunday, tapering to flurries. i put together this graphic. we changed it during the past 24 hours showing you the probabilities of certain ranges of snowfalls. we have a good probability of at least 6 to 12 inches and the possibility of getting more than that on the table. 12 to 18 plus. we lowered the probabilities of the lower amounts as the storm missing the area seems like a low percentage chance at this point. we do clear things out monday and tuesday. a little melting by that point to help in the cleanup.

>> 6 to 12, that will be a mess. >> lee goldberg will produce a very specific map that shows you the ranges and the areas. >> we forgot how to do this. how do we do this? >> we haven't forgotten. >> we remember fast. >> like riding a bike. a dog napper caught on camera. wait until you hear police say this guy took the tiny pup. >> touching video of sometimes, we all need a little help. today, you helped her plant a garden, and you want to be there to help her with all her tomorrows. if you're trying to quit smoking, you may need a little help. medications to help you stop smoking... including nicotine patches, gum and other medicines,

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snowboarders nearly buried alive and a rescue operation to save a sheep. we begin with frightening video of a ski run that almost ended badly. watch as the snowboarders head down a bowl in lake tahoe. the snow slides down. one tries to grab on to a tree and misses. buried chest deep in snow. the other began swimming in the swimming motion that helped him get to the top of the snow mound and save his life. surveillance cameras catch a dog thief in largo, florida. his shirt. cocaine. they caught the guy but the

after spending days on the side of a mountain with little to eat, rescuers helped a stranded sheep. it had no shelters. rescuers made their way down the steep mountain side. snagged him. he immediately started eating and was not injured. much more news ahead in the next half hour. with her child. now police are looking for a

a police officer in hot water. meet the moore's! we're the moore family, and we're always looking for ways to enjoy more. so we called time warner cable and got even more than we expected. more speed, like 300 meg. more tv shows and movies on demand.

they even made it easy to switch with a one hour arrival window. for $89.99 a month, you'll get 100 meg internet, tv, phone and more. plus free installation with a one-hour arrival window. and ask how you could get a $300 reward card. call now. i'm only in my 60's. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when i found out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i got a medicare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, you may know it only covers about 80% of your part b medical expenses. the rest is up to you. call now and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement insurance plans, it could save youin out-of-pocket medical costs. call now to request your free decision guide. i've been with my doctor for 12 years. now i know i'll be able to stick with him. [ male announcer ] you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospitalthat accepts medicare patients.

and virtually no referrals needed. see why millions of people have already enrolled in the only medicare supplement insurance plans endorsed by aarp. don't wait. call now. preparations are underway for the first snowstorm of the weekend. office of emergency management getting ready. meteorologist jeff smith will have the latest track of the storm in a few minutes. developing at this hour, stocks are plunging once again. taking a live look at the big

the dow is down 545 points. energy companies are seeing the biggest drops and crude oil is down less than $28 a barrel. we will keep an eye on these numbers and keep you updated. >> police are searching for the driver who struck and killed a father riding his bike in sheepshead bay, brooklyn. >> hello, i'm david novarro. >> i'm shirleen allicot. a mother slashed walking police believe a panhandler may have been the person that attacked her. marcus solis is live in sanford with the details. marcus? >> reporter: dave, shirleen, the child, a 4-year-old girl incident. police are looking for the panhandler that turned violent. myrtle street. the woman was walking under the overpass for i-95. it is a fairly industrial area but there is quite a bit of foot traffic.

the woman for money. she said no. the woman felt a pinch but didn't realize she was stabbed. she returned home to her apartment and realized she needed help and called police. >> took her to the hospital. four inch deep stab wound. not life threatening. didn't hit anything vital but she was hospitalized for observation. >> well, again, the 4-year-old girl was not injured but she was a witness to this incident. police are looking for this panhandler. they have an idea of who it is. they have not caught up to him yet. live in stamford, marcus solis, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> thank you, marcus. a frightening sight for passengers after the driver was hit with a bottle making a stop in the bronx. surveillance foot tall shows a boy hurdling a glass bottle at the driver on october 20th at holmes street and prospect.

and suffered a minor injury to his eye. police are searching for the child involved. police made an arrest in a string of burglaries on staten island. detectives say nicholas mullenford is the man. new at noon, a crash between a car and new jersey transit bus in clifton leaving a child hurt. police say the car rear ended the bus. the circumstances are still under investigation. an 11-year-old has a head injury and was taken to the hospital but is expected to recover. a face off in new jersey over a proposed plan to build a muslim community center. demonstrators on both sides of the issue protested outside city hall in bayonne last night before a public meeting to discuss the issue. local muslims want to convert a vacant warehouse on 24th street in their community center.

happening today a former new jersey net and uconn basketball star back in federal court in connecticut in an alleged ponzi scheme. he has been jailed since being convicted of wire you had fraud in 2013. he is contesting how much money was lost. the coast guard has suspended search efforts for 12 marines missing since the helicopters crashed off hawaii. each chopper was carrying six members of the squadron 463. both aircraft failed to return to base after a nighttime training mission last thursday. a civilian reported seeing the helicopters in flight then a fireball. the helicopters four life rafts were recovered but they were empty. anger is growing over the water crisis in flint, michigan. the governor is promising to

new light on the state's response. he has apologized and pledged more aid. some are calling for his resignation. here is abc's elizabeth hur with more. >> reporter: good afternoon to you. this water emergency dominated the governor's state of the state address last night during which he apologized and took full responsibility. it was clear his apology did little to calm the community. >> i'm sorry most of all that i let you down. you deserve better. >> reporter: michigan governor rick schneider is apologizing to the residents of flint. it seems not everyone is ready to september it. these protestors outside the state capital demanding he step down or being arrested. >> they were silent. they were staring at a public health emergency and they sat on it. >> reporter: lawyers representing families from flint filed three class action lawmakers. according to recently released e-mails, officials in an

apparently waited nearly five months to warp the public of the toxic levels of lead when they changed the city's water source. >> we haven't had our water tested. so, i'm concerned. i have five kids. >> should have never gotten to this point. we are surrounded by the great lakes. >> i am increasing the support from the michigan, michigan national guard to ensure that every home we need to visit in flint gets visited as soon as possible. >> reporter: during his state of the state address, in addition to more aid, the governor pledged greater transparency as the flint mayor met with president obama and white house officials lobbying for more help. this again as we wait for the governor's e-mails to be released and learn more about who knew what and when. elizabeth hur for channel 7, eyewitness news. let's turn to meteorologist jeff smith and get the cold after school accuweather forecast. jeff?

coming up this weekend, a quiet afternoon. after school temperatures topping off in the middle to upper 30s, about normal which is cold. sun and light clouds. there is an elephant in the room which is this guy that will be in our backyard saturday. we will talk about that and the full forecast. i will have the details on the timing and potential amounts with this major snowstorm later in the half hour. >> thank you, jeff. operation 7 save a life is celebrating the 18th anniversary. bill ritter attended a breakfast this morning in midtown manhattan as part of the operation 7 campaign. smoke alarms are distributed by the fdny and other local fire departments. >> thank you to all of our friends at wabc forgo us again for this important event, the 18th annual save a life. if you have any questions join

safety and burn injuries for a web chat this afternoon starting at 4:00 p.m. on abc7ny and be sure to tune in for our save a life special on saturday night at 7:00. >> 18 year partnership. we are proud of. >> police officer in trouble over a facebook past. what he is accused of telling drivers to do matter protestors. >> all eyes on mexican drug lord known as el chapo.

measures in place to i drive a golf ball. i drive to the hoop. i drive a racecar. i have a driver. his name is carl. but that's not what we all have in common. we talked to our doctors about treatment with xarelto . xarelto is proven to treat and help reduce the risk of dvt and pe blood clots. xarelto is also proven to reduce the risk of stroke in people with afib, not caused by a heart valve problem. for people with afib currently well managed on warfarin, there is limited information on how xarelto and warfarin compare in reducing the risk of stroke.

blood testing routine. i couldn't have a healthy salad whenever i wanted. i found another way. yeah, treatment with xarelto . hey, safety first. like all blood thinners, don't stop taking xarelto without talking to your doctor, as this may increase your risk of a blood clot or stroke. while taking, you may bruise more easily and it may take longer for bleeding to stop. xarelto may increase your risk of bleeding if you take certain medicines. xarelto can cause serious and in rare cases, fatal bleeding. get help right away for unexpected bleeding, unusual bruising, or tingling. if you have had spinal anesthesia while on xarelto , watch for back pain or any nerve or muscle related signs or symptoms. do not take xarelto if you have an artificial heart valve or abnormal bleeding. tell your doctor before all planned medical or dental procedures. before starting xarelto , tell your doctor about any kidney, liver, or bleeding problems. xarelto is the number one prescribed blood thinner in its class. well that calls for a round of kevin nealons. make mine an arnold palmer. same here. with xarelto there is no regular blood monitoring and no known dietary restrictions. treatment with xarelto was the right move for us.

ke the threat assessment is in for the biggest game. fbi and homeland security assessed the potential for a plot against super bowl l. they are looking into recent attacks against fiber optics system in northern california might be connected to a larger plot against the super bowl. both agencies say there is no information to indicate any credit i believe event against the game or any related events. isis has turned another historic religious sight into ruins -- site into ruins at the bottom the white blotch is the rubble of st. elijah's monastery. the 1400-year-old compound once looked like this.

religious and historic sites in syria and iraq. we are learning about the unprecedented security of el chapo. a mexican newspaper reporting about his new life in a maximum security prize son. the reporter found prison guards are in his cell at all times wearing helmet cameras. that is not all. some 400 fixed cameras track him 24-7. if technology fails guard dogs are trained to detect his scent. a 22 year police veteran is on administrative leave over controversial fab post threatening to mow down throngs of demonstrators on martin luther king day. an activist in st. paul,

>> it's concerning that someone would encourage violence on a day celebrating a man who taught peace. >> henderson took screen shots of the post and recorded himself reporting the sergeant's online activity to authority. st. paul's mayor ordered an internal investigation. an actress from the sopranos publicly revealing her health battle. she told "people" magazine that she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 15 years ago. the symptoms have become worse over the last decades. her coming out obviously putting more life on the issues surrounding ms and efforts to help people who are fighting it. jamie fox's roles in action movies turning into a real life situation. we are hearing from the oscar winner for the first time after pulling a man out of a burning pickup truck. >> a heart tugging moment at

two premature twins sharing a

we continue to follow a developing story at this hour. stocks are taking a huge plunge. look at the numbers right now. 556 points the dow jones is. it is down by a huge margin. it's toppling after a very rocky couple of weeks. this is mainly due to crude oil topping to more than $28 a barrel. we will keep an eye on these numbers hoping it will rebound by the 4:00 hour. we will keep you updated. we will turn to actor jamie foxx's latest role, that of a realtime hero. we are hearing from the oscar winner since he was credited with saving a driver from a burning pick up that crashed out of his home in california. tonya whitworth has the details. >> reporter: he saved countless

movies like white house down and remake of annie. but in the case of life imitating art, jamie foxx is being hailed a real life hero. the 48-year-old grammy winner was at his california home monday night when he heard a violent car crash outside. immediately jumping into action calling 911. >> vehicle on fire. >> reporter: foxx rushing down the road to find brett kyle trapped inside his truck. >> when i get here, the truck is on its side. it's in flames. >> reporter: officers say the driver was heading westbound when he went off the road and hit a drainage ditch so hard it caused the truck to flip. it stopped on the passenger side right here and caught fire in jamie foxx's front yard. >> i said you have angels around you. >> reporter: foxx and another bystander, a certified emt, finally able to cut his seat

>> as we pulled him out, within five seconds later the truck goes up. >> the driver who has been arrested for operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol is in the hospital with broken bones and a punctured lung but is alive. >> it doesn't matter who it is or what they did for a living. just the idea that someone would do that is so much more than i could fathom. tears of joy. >> reporter: abc news, los angeles. winter has given people in ohio awe inspiring sites on the shores of lake erie. the brutal wind and low temperatures lead to ice -- nothing less than ice sculptures. the wind and waves put the water up on land and it freezes in spectacular ways. a photographer that works for the parks department captures the art for posterity. >> i think we will get to do

coming weekend. >> we can call this storm artistic if we want by sunday morning waking up to a foot of snow in parts of the area or maybe more than that. we will head outside and check out what is going on. quiet before the calm. a calm few days before the storm. right now the temperature in the city sitting at 35 degrees. sunny skies. wind out of the northwest at 7 miles per hour. 36 right now in morristown. down to 27, still 27 at monticello. 36 islip and 36 is a popular number down the shore in belmar and toms river. let's get to the meat of the storm. first flakes hold off until friday night, well after midnight. earlier than that well off to the south. a high impact storm during the day saturday. we are talking heavy snow, winds gusting upwards of 50 miles per hour on the coast. that will tend to spoil water on shore, causing coastal flooding. because of the full moon

snowfall amounts may vary greatly south to north. i think there will be a sharp northern cut off to the heavy snowfall. there is a blizzard watch for the nation's capitol up to baltimore. these watches will likely be extended north and east. one system moves by tonight with this, perhaps a couple of flakes in the area tonight. not accumulating but there could be flurries. this energetic guy southeast of denver will be moving to the southeast gathering moisture and energy and that will be a formidable storm off the east coast saturday. storm timing, first flakes probably 6:00 p.m. friday over extreme parts of southern new jersey then creeps up the coast, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning saturday until daybreak to move into the northern suburbs. by the time the storm gets in this position, that's when we get the strongest winds, major travel delays, blizzard conditions up and down the i-95

that will be the bulk and the brunt of the storm. power outages a distinct possibility. the snow will be of the heavy wet variety. you combine those with the high wind gusts there could be downed tree limbs and power lines. right now favorable for 6 to 12 or 12 to 18-inch 70%. foot of snow. low probabilities of less than that. the accuweather seven-day forecast, quiet the rest of the afternoon. maybe a flurry overnight tonight. plenty of sun tomorrow, 34. sun fading behind clouds friday. the snow before dawn saturday. getting heavy. really getting windy during the day saturday, 33. tapers to flurries during the day sunday. could be steady snow sunday morning. lee goldberg will be digesting a lot of information during the afternoon. he will be able to put out a very specific snowfall map coming up on "first @4:00."

if you have elderly or someone in need, make plans now. >> get your groceries. get it done.

we will be back. the common core rollout was a disaster. parents knew it. teachers knew it. and now, governor cuomo's task force is doing what's right. state tests don't unfairly count against students. and test scores won't be used in teacher evaluations. less testing. greater focus on learning. that's a start, but there's more to do. let's work together to support sensible and fair learning standards

i'm diana williams. coming up later on eyewitness news, we will keep a close eye on the path of the snowstorm this weekend and running out on a bill. a local politician accused of stiving a restaurant after holding a fundraiser there. a idea from a college student to ease the fears of young patients and feel like superheros during their treatment. >> we have those stories and more on "first @4:00."

time for the feed. we begin with a pro football player who gets it. his act of kindness to a young fan is going viral for how we wish all pro players treated kids. linebacker luke was signing autographs after practice when 9-year-old jackson griffin gave him a pine wood derby car. the boy insisted he keep it. he got the boy to sign it and promised to keep it as a good luck charm in his locker. it worked, carolina beat seattle. how cool is that guy. >> now he is a good luck charm. a video featuring premature newborns is capturing hearts around the world. we got to see a clip of this. now you get to see it again. the video posted to facebook shows the tiny twins holding hands as their father cradles them against his chest. they were born at 28 weeks weighing in at 2.2 pounds.

cuddling like the father is doing, known as the kangaroo care has been shown to boost preemies health. >> i love their hands. >> something warm and fuzzy to this. the inspiration behind one man's funny take how we freeze during the winter. these are from tom's pranks have gone viral. he soaks his pants in buckets of water hangs them outside then skull's them. they are posed in unique places around his minnesota neighborhood.