for us, time to come a frightening first for the zika virus. >> do you have protection? >> i'm tracking heavy rain approaching. some of this rain close call enparts of the area

a terrifying jump for her life. a 9-year-old girl leaping from a burning building right in the arms of a cop. tonight that brave young girl speaking only to us. it's all new at 11:00. i'm bill ritter . >> she jumped from a third story balcony when the complex went up in flames. >> eyewitness news exclusive, aj ross talking to had girl. -- to the girl. >> we talked to the brave little who saved her. from what remains here that fire quickly ripped through the building leaving precious time for everyone to get out.

the door and i hear someone saying that it's on fire. >> reporter: suddenly trapped and surrounded by intense flames in this mahwah apartment building, sofya doroshenko had no other choice but to take a leap of faith. >> were you scared? >> yes. >> reporter: home alone when a kitchen fire broke out across the hallway. she tried the front door and stairs but smoke and flames were blocking every exit which left only her third story balcony. >> i didn't know what to do and i just listened to him. i just jumped because it was no chance. >> she was the most confident brave little kid i've ever met. she put complete faith in us and when she jumped we caught her. >> usually by the time we get there, the building is evacuated, officers are able to get everybody out but there was no way for her to get out the it front door.

family lost nearly everything in the blaze that damaged several condos. they're grateful for the first responders who risked their own lives to save theirs. >> i want to thank them. i didn't believe this could happen but it happened. very, very thank you for saving my child. >> sofya and her family are staying at a nearby hotel until they can get back on their feet. others who lost their homes tell me they're staying with friends and family and everybody is happy no one was hurt. live in mahwah tonight, aj ross, channel 7 eyewitness news. there is snow and wind in the midwest and that system is heading here. no, we're not getting snow. even we non-meteorologists know it's too warm for that. we're getting rain and when it falls it will most definitely affect your

weather wall. >> big headaches getting home tomorrow. george washington bridge, rough ride over bridges and overpasses. 43. wind is light and starts to get tomorrow morning. we're going to continue to rise with temperatures overnight, lingering slippery spots north and west. we'll be isolated, just watch that early on. flood jersey. maybe an inch or more rain fall in spots. snow to the north. 11 tornado reports to the south. very dynamic storm. here comes the rain off to the west. we get it in the morning commute although i think the first raindrops could start to fall around daybreak. even by midday it's steadier north and west and then after 3:00 when things really get going, the heaviest really taking aim at the evening commute then getting lighter later on tomorrow evening. here's what you need to know. light rain around by daybreak. heaviest rain from

half inch to inch of rainfall. even 40-mile-per-hour gusts during early evening. record high of 64 in jeopardy. it's warmth we talk about now but the weather pattern a lot more wintery. service on the long island railroad is back to normal. a disabled train at penn station earlier tonight turned in to a shortage of equipment and that translated in to delays, big ones. viewers tweeted us these pictures of crowds of commuters waiting for trains. rocklin county tonight, the board of education in nyack got an earful from angry parents over plans to give students breathalyzer it tests. dozens contentious meeting. the proposal calls for breathalyzer tests to be given to students games.

is -- students showing any signs of drinking. on the fourth anniversary of ramarley graham's death. his parents say they're frustrated. >> we've been trying to work with them in being patient but how long can you be patient? it's four years later and we still haven't gotten any answer to why my son is dead. this is our last hope of getting justice. >> the officer who shot graham inside his own home is on modified assignment tonight pending the outcome of the federal investigation. police on long island tonight have released the identity of a man found murdered in suffolk county. the body of 29-year-old michael johnson was discovered in brentwood this afternoon in a wooded area near springfield road. two men walking in the area discovered his body around noon today. investigators said he suffered head trama. at this point there

the iowa caucuses in the rearview mirror in the race for the white house. the candidates now focusing on new hampshire and its primary a week from tonight. ted cruz basking in his first place iowa finish. second place donald trump promising he'll come out on top. of course he said that about iowa. chris christie blasted marco rubio who knocks a strong third place showing last night. >> we know who the boy in the bubble is up here, who never answers questions, who is constantly scripted and controlled. time for him to man up and step up and stop letting all of his handlers write his speeches. >> chris has had a tough couple days. he's not doing well. did very poorly in iowa. sometimes in ad versity people don't react well. >> christie 10% in new hampshire. his numbers are rising all. republicans, by the

8:00 here on channel 7. meanwhile on the democratic side, hillary clinton and bernie sanders are preparing to face off at a town hall meeting in new hampshire tomorrow. clinton won the iowa caucus last night by the slimmest of margins. she and sanders wasted no time getting to new hampshire where candidates spent the day campaigning. a frightening new development in the zika virus out break. it turns out preventing the spread of the virus involves a whole lot more than protecting yourself from a mosquito bite. a patient here in the u.s. diagnosed with the virus and getting it through sexual contact. eyewitness news reporter josh einiger is here with the latest. >> today's case is the first that involves an american who had not been to one of the countries where zika has been spreading. instead today's patient in dallas, texas contracted the virus through sexual contact with someone who had. >> reporter: in central and south america, mosquitos are still the culprits when it comes to transmitting the zika virus but now for the first time in

human to another. the cdc says it happened in dallas through sexual contact, a development scientists had worried about. though if there's any good news it's that this type of transmission is rare. >> the main mode of transmission i want to reaffirm is by a spread from mosquitos and people should know this. people should not panic. there is a few isolated cases at this point of sexual transmission but we really need to investigate this much further. >> reporter: so far in the u.s. doctors have diagnosed 40 cases of zika in a dozen states but worldwide scientists predict up to 4 million by the end of the year. with the summer olympics in brazil just six months away, there are increased efforts in rio to stop the spread of the virus by getting rid of mosquitos. >> only about one in five people infected with zika actually develop symptoms. in most cases those symptoms are similar to the flu. doctors believe pregnant women, if infected, are at particular risk. in addition to the travel

cdc is urging women who are or may be pregnant to avoid sexual contact with anyone who might have been exposed. >> to learn more about the virus, where it's been found and information on getting tested for free in new york state, check out abc7ny. comedian bill cosby is due back in court tomorrow as a judge weighs whether to sexual assault charge. cosby appeared in court today. his lawyers are fighting to have the case thrown out. they say cosby had a deal with the former district attorney that in exchange for his testimony in a civil suit, no criminal charges would be filed. back in december a new prosecutor brought indecent assault charges against the 78-year-old. as we continue on eyewitness news at 11:00, children walking home from school and they're hit by a car. exclusive video as it happened and new details on the truck that just took off. >> frightening new video of a plane after an explosion ripped a hole in it. >> meteorologist lee goldberg

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witnesses rushed to help these three young girls left hurt on the street after being hit by a truck on their way home from school. two cried hysterically, bleeding profusely from their noses, as a 12-year-old appeared the driver who hit them sped away. >> first i was like oh, my god, he's going to stop, right? then he just sped away. that was so heartless. >> reporter: this video is hard to watch but the girls are okay. it happened at the intersection of jefferson and ferry streets in the iron-bound district. two men chased down the truck and police. car. he kept speeding up. got the license plate number down, came back, gave it to the cops, the floor. i was praying she was all right. >> reporter: hours later detectives found the truck in elizabeth and now know exactly who they're looking for. late tonight police put up these signs warning this high traffic zone.

could leave the children like this, not bothering to stop, is beyond them. >> you can make a mistake. it's an accident. things happen. but when you see a child, especially three of them, for you to keep going? that's no regard for human life. >> police say that driver got the green light midway through this intersection. the children are okay. they were at the hospital. they've since been released and are now with their families. reporting live in newark, carolina leid, channel 7 eyewitness news. two and a half million dollars, that's the bail set tonight for a man accused of carrying out a brutal murder spree in newark. jeffrey holland accused of strangling a 21-year-old woman then one day later shooting and killing his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend. four children were present during the murders but not hurt.

by bernie madoff and his wife will be auctioned off. a bracelet, starting bid at $21,000. proceeds from the auction will go to the victims who lost money in madoff's $64 billion ponzi scheme. you can find out more about bernie madoff during a special series on abc, based on the book written by brian ross gets started tomorrow at 8:00 here on channel 7. new video tonight showing the moments after a mysterious explosion forcing emergency landing of a plane flying over africa. cell phone video from inside the plane over somalia shows some paempgz putting on oxygen masks near a gaping hole right in the plane's side. passengers report hearing a large bang and that's when a fire erupted. two people suffered minor injuries. can you imagine flying like that? so it sounds like things start off very early tomorrow morning and get worse these day goes on.

the morning commute, sure. but the afternoon hours, it's going to be a headache. if you have the choice and mass transit is an option, you'll save yourself some trouble on the way home. wanted to give you a big thank you for joining us in the live session of facebook earlier. this evening answering questions about the weather pattern, how it's going to turn wintery later, why that groundhog was wrong. everybody said spring. we have cloudy skies. columbus avenue, snow plows are gone. we're at 43 degrees. wind is light out of the southwest. the high today, 50. 59 yesterday. 50 today. way above average. however, there's cold air trapped in some of our suburbs right now and although the wind is coming off the water and warming these numbers up, a little concern some of the cold weather is trapped in. watch out for a couple slippery spots. most areas will be able to climb comfortably above the freezing mark. already getting breeze

light rain midday. then the brunt of the storm, wind gusts at 40 miles per hour. clouds are working in and thickening up. there's the rain getting in to pennsylvania. moving more north than east at that point and that's why we can get through part of the morning commute. we're on the warm side of this cutting storm meaning it's going to be warm, windy, and rainy. here's the way it plays out. 7:00 in the morning, light rain. close in the five boroughs. most of the rains over parts of new jersey and hudson valley. by late morning we're focusing north and west but it's getting in the area around lunchtime. the heaviest is going to be waiting till 3:00. look at the temperatures, 50s to around 60 degrees. peaking unfortunately during the evening commute and moving out between 8:00 and 10:00 at night. still lingering clouds and a shower east on thursday morning. rainfall totals could average from a half inch on long island to maybe an inch and a quarter in spots.

question we get a rumble of gust at 40 miles per hour. already a little breezy 46. up to 61 , three degrees shy of a record high. increasingly windy, mild, and rain is heaviest in the afternoon and evening. mostly cloudy later at night, 48. looking at the 7-day. some clouds to start thursday then some breaks. around 50, pretty good. on friday the front is still offshore and it looks like it early in the morning that might be a touch of rain or even snow on the east end of long island. we'll have to watch that then it moves away. over the weekend, still above average and mild but we get colder early next week and the pattern is favorable with the jet coming up from the south. we get enough cold air. i think we're going to have multiple shots at seeing coastal systems next week and that probably will bring snowfall. that's something to be on guard for. watch out for heavy rain tomorrow afternoon.

tracking the storm overnight. be sure to watch eyewitness news this morning at 4:30. up next, playing with time running out. a $63 million lottery ticket with no winner. and just days before that ticket expires. >> first, let's check in with jimmy kimmel and a special guest for a look at what's coming up tonight. try to keep your eyes off the guest. >> hello, new york. dave salmoni is here. we re cap the iowa caucus. george clooney is here

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so maybe the knicks thought they were at the wrong garden. >> something's going wrong. they met last month, the knicks beat the celtics at the garden but in the 10 games since that game the knicks have gone 3-7. boston has gone 8-3, won 5-6. the rematch, been such a rough stretch for the knicks but they open this one on a 9-0 run. arron afflalo scored 18. 2nd quarter, 8-0 run. sasha vucic scores. isaiah thomas scored 20 for the celtics. knicks had 17 turnovers. shot hess -- less than 38% from the floor. now five games under .500. they're struggling. they're at detroit thursday. nhl all star break over. back on the ice tonight. there was a

at the rock. the devils and rangers, they're all bunched up right about now. hard hitting game tonight. yikes. 1st period, first goal. miller had two. rangers up two. short side, game tied. special teams the difference here. devils 2-2 on the power play and killed all four of the ranger power plays. schlemko with the game winner. two points behind the rangers in the standings. the islanders and jean francois were back on the ice. they never look back. nelson has 20 games. john tavares has 17. he scored there tonight as wep. berube had 40 saves to earn his first nhl win. 5-3 the isles get the win and the goal tender brings home a souvenir. pitchers and catchers head out first.

there like met pitcher zach wheeler trying to bounce back from tommy john surgery. missed all of that season. wheeler was a strikeout machine in 2014. 95-mile-per-hour fastball. on track to return in july. had to watch the world series last season. >> made me to work harder every time i came to the field to have fun with those guys and hopefully make it back to the world series this year. super bowl 50 preparations continue out west. game is slowly but surely getting closer. the whole bay area getting ready for this but it's the teams and players who play in the game. it's special for them. you know whose guarding cam newton's blind side? michael orr. >> that's why i get up early every day and try to beat the first one. i love doing it because i know where i came from and it's not somewhere i want to go back.

players look for and play for. >> the quarterbacks get all the publicity, but it's guys like that who are playing in this game. it's a lifelong dream for everybody in that game. >> it's big. there's a rumor going around in the news room that the it prognosticators have come out for the super bowl. >> the prognosticator, we've got our time score. do you have your computer working?

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prognosticators. that's it for