debut of the spring-summer line. the victim was done shopping and out front holding his bags. that's when the suspect approached. sources tell eyes news he -- sources tell eyewitness news he was wearing a ski mask. >> he didn't want to give him his clothing. the guy slashed him and ran. he didn't even get to take the item the guy got from the store. >> reporter: witnesses say the suspect took off on foot. police saturated the area and began looking for the suspect. the victim was taken to new york hospital downtown with nonlife-threatening injuries. >> for someone else to come over here with a weapon and try to hurt someone else over a t-shirt or some clothing is absolutely ridiculous. >> back here live, what you're looking at is one of two surveillance cameras that are posted on the outside of this boutique. hopefully police will be able to get video from those cameras. at this hour the suspect is still at large.

kemberly richardson, channel 7 eyewitness news. today's slashing in soho is just blocks away from another slashing at a restaurant in greenwich village. the nypd just put out a picture of the teenage suspect they're looking for tonight. darla miles spoke to one witness who believes he saw the suspect right after the attack. she's live with new information. >> that's right, the one witness i spoke to said that the teen that he encountered was laughing about the whole thing and that's really disturbing considering police say this teen was in the restaurant, asked to leave, and came back and committed the slashing. >> he was with three other people and he was bragging about how he stand someone. he said the guy's mouth was big so he says i stabbed him. he kept saying it. >> reporter: 120 stitches for a bus boy at silver spurs, all for

david reid walks about a block away from the greenwich village staple on laguardia place. he said he overheard a group of wednesday. that's around the same time police say a 15-year-old boy got kicked out of the diner for going table to table asking for fundraising scam. reid says the suspect was wearing a gray hoodie and that matches the description given >> he threatened that individual and said i'll be back. me. about 5 minutes later he does come back and they get in to a discussion in front of the restaurant where he cuts that person. >> reporter: as for that 25-year-old bus boy, he was just doing his job. today he's off work, recovering from being sliced in the face. >> he's a very good kid. and we wish him the best of luck and he's going to be okay.

>> the bus boy, 25-year-old bari was recovering today in the bronx. regular customers say he's well loved here, the kind of guy that will help an elderly woman cross the street or lend a helping hand to anybody. darla miles, channel 7 eyewitness news. developing story, police have just released new surveillance images of a man they say tried to lure a 14-year-old girl in brooklyn. they say this man put his arm around the girl and would not let go as she was walking home from her yeshiva in sheepshead bay. this happened tuesday. accused of hitting an nypd officer with her car, newscopter7 was over the scene on west 55th street and 8th avenue. this happened around noon today. police say the woman got upset when two officers tried to give her a summons for double parking. she took off, striking one of the officers. she was caught a few blocks away. the officer went to the hospital just to get checked out.

awaiting word tonight on what caused a house fire that injured at least 5 people in new jersey. flames gutted the home and spread quickly to neighboring houses on irving street just after 4:00 a toddler is being treated tonight for burns to the shoulder. four other victims were treated and released. really carry moments for firefighters when a mayday call went out. >> mayday. >> a short time after the original call, the firefighter reported getting out of the house unhurt. the red cross is helping at least eight people looking for some place to live. in politics tonight it is donald trump versus the pope. pope francis stepping in to the presidential race, suggesting trump is not a christian, and trump of course firing back. eyewitness news political reporter dave evans here with what was said at the reaction. >> just when you thought this election couldn't get any weirder, it becomes a bit more bizarre. today pope francis goes after

between mexico and the u.s. trump, he promptly hits back, saying the pope is wrong and is being manipulated by mexico. >> mr. donald j. trump. >> reporter: in south carolina a lot of voters heard what the pope said and wondered how would donald trump respond? >> as i'm walking up here, they said mr. trump, the pope made a statement about you. i said the pope? what did the pope say? i like the pope. >> reporter: the pope in mexico immigration. the controversy over our border with mexico. as he left to go back to the vatican, francis made a stunning statement to reporters onboard. >> a person who thinks only about building walls wherever they may be located and not building bridges, is not a christian. >> reporter: the pope never mentioned donald trump by name. he wouldn't talk about who we should vote for. but he blasted those in favor of a wall that's proposed by trump. >> i say only that this man is

things like that. >> reporter: trump wasted no time in firing back at the pontiff. >> for a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful. i'm proud to be a christian. >> reporter: trump's social media director tweeted out a map of the vatican writing amazing comments from the pope considering vatican city is 100 % surrounded by massive walls. trump today blamed mexico claiming its leaders had unfairly influenced the pope. then he blasted francis even more. >> if and when the vatican is attacked by isis, which as everyone knows is isis' ultimate trophy, i can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that donald trump would have been president because it's true. >> today jeb bush who is catholic said he doesn't question donald trump's christianity. he says for everyone that is basically a relationship between you and your creator.

presbyterian and in south carolina it ranks 49th out of 50 states in catholic population. most in south carolina are evangelical. this controversy with the pope trump. >> donald trump spoke for about today. website, abc7ny. as the republicans focus on south carolina, nevada is the battleground for democrats. new polls put bernie sanders and hillary clinton neck and neck there. a new ad is focused on the state. the ad shows a recent campaign event in las vegas where she promises a crying girl that she would fight the deportation of her parents. clinton is in nevada holding a series of events right now. sanders is appearing this evening. from politics to wall

stocks lost ground after two trading days with sizable gains. walmart reported disappointing results. dow dropped 40 points. nasdaq fell 46 points. and the s&p 500 lost 8 points. they're the two words that can warm you up on a winter day. play ball. and spring training underway in florida. the yankees are in tampa. the mets in port st. lucie. sports anchor rob powers is with the mets and joins us live. oh, lucky you. no coat, nothing but sunshine and a smile. >> it's like mid 70s today with the wind chill i think we got to the upper 60s. nothing trumps spring's return better than spring training. the mets knock off the rust and get ready. >> reporter: the sun shining on this team today after the stars aligned for the mets last season. a world series run and now it's back to work and hopefully for

>> it's time to get back in to it. i think we've all been recharged a little bit. i think any time you walk in the clubhouse and you see the energy that's in there right now and you see the heads a little higher than they've been in the past, i think it's going to help you get yourself ready to start a long spring. >> in tampa the yankees pitchers and catchers reported to camp with their official first workout tomorrow. the yanks coming off a season that saw them make the playoffs as the wildcard but in the bronx, that's not good enough. >> our goal is to win the world series, bottom line. i appreciate how hard our guys played all year, how they never gave up last year. but you know what, we didn't get to where we wanted. >> mets here in lucie. yankees over in tampa. we've got you covered in both places. i'll be with the mets for the next couple days. laura behnke is in tampa with the yankees. coming up on eyewitness news at

both teams at both sites. spring training just about ready to go and we've got you covered. that will do it for this little brief interlude here in port st. lucie. it's been fun. we'll see you again in just a little bit. i don't know how bad i can rub it in. >> you're doing a great job, rob. >> are we doing okay? >> yes, yes. we're jealous over here. >> short sleeves and shorts. >> we'll be taking our own vacation soon so just watch out. >> toes in the beach, right? president obama's historic trip to cuba not sitting well with some people in our area. coming up, hear from a former cuban prisoner who says he feels betrayed by the upcoming visit. >> we're learning new details about what went wrong at a construction site today that killed a worker. >> a delivery of baby clothes swiped from a front porch. we'll hear from the victim who turned to social media to get her baby clothes back. >> meteorologist amy freeze

we're just above freezing. 35 degrees right now with clear skies. gusty winds still ahead for tonight so we're not quite out of the wind chill factor zone. still feels like freezing in some spots. the winds are going to lessen.

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it took joel silverman years to become a master dog trainer. but only a few commands to master depositing checks at chase atms. technology designed for you. so you can easily master the way you bank. president obama making a historic visit to cuba. next month the first visit by an american president since calvin coolidge. the president announced the visit on twitter, and on one tweet he said we still have differences with the cuban

directly. america will always, he says, stand for human rights around the world. the question is, is he going to meet with dissidence? will he meet with fidel? stacey sager live in union city in jersey with more, and some people not thrilled about this. >> that's right. it has been 88 years since a sitting president has visited cuba. some will undoubtedly say the change is good. those who don't support it have said ever since president obama has sought to expand ties with cuba, more have been beaten and arrested and in prison than ever before. >> reporter: on the hudson it is not hard to find anti-castro precedent so far that an

in prison after the bay of pigs invasion, he minces no words today. >> castro, fidel used to kick you 150 times. raul is much better because he kicks you only 100 times. >> reporter: and to new jersey senator bob menendez, standing before a wall of pictures of murdered cuban prisoners, comparing president obama's upcoming trip to what he calls flawed diplomatic choices the president has made on iran. >> he will rule this decision just as he will ultimately rule giving a lifeline to the iotola. >> reporter: just as critics say the u.s. will lose whatever leverage it has in cuba, the obama administration has made it clear that for half a century, cold war policies haven't worked here so the president and first lady will visit cuba in march to stress the point that more must

>> we believe the time is right to lean in and try to get as much done on this trip as we can and create as much momentum as we can to carry that forward throughout the year. >> reporter: while mayor de blasio said today he applauds the president's upcoming trip as a good first step -- >> the embargo has to end too. >> reporter: the back here in union city the folks in this room feel the cuban people will be the last to benefit. >> now explain to me how a guy who makes 63 pennies a day can even afford a big mac. can you explain to me? >> a big question is who will the president meet with when he visits cuba? will he meet with cuban dissonance? so far he's said he'll meet with cuban civil society and people from all different walks of life. his visit will take place march 21st. the president and first lady plan to only stay in cuba for two days. live in union city, stacey

it was so warm just a few days ago. and you said last night, make sure you get out the gloves, get out the scarf and bundle up and boy, did we need to. >> really bundle up because there's a chill out there. but what kind of weather would you like? no matter what your request is, i think i can get it in. >> 87 degrees, sunny. you said any. [ laughter ] promise. you're right. but a lot more mild. if you like that, that's going to be delivered soon. 35 degrees what we have currently in north wind at 11 miles per hour. just a fantastic sunset tonight. please hashtag your pictures bc7ny. we'd love to see more over the next seven hours, we'll be dropping from the freezing point to the low 20s. significant drop tonight of 10 to 12 degrees in a lot of locations. a northerly wind will be with us. those winds start to ease up. the wind chill factor won't be as severe as it's been. definitely a sunny chill is here

less wind but still around. the wind chills really improve tomorrow. then we get the sunny warm forecast over the weekend with mid 50s. then we're tracking yet another winter storm coming in next week. it looks like a rain-snow mix. kind of a close call right now. see how much cold air we can tap in to with the next system. a northerly wind. no threats of storms tonight. dry skies right through friday morning and friday afternoon and then we have one little wrinkle to get in here. yes, clear skies and northerly winds overnight. we start with sunshine tomorrow. but we'll get one little sort of weak cold front coming in here on friday night. that could produce some light snow or quick moving spotty shower. not a big deal. still worthy of a mention. that's the only real worry we futurecast wind chills. these are not really as strong as the wind chills that we've had the last couple of days. last really 36 hours. if you can put up with a lighter

still need to bundle up because temperatures will be starting subfreezing tomorrow morning but afternoon. tomorrow near 40 and less wind. that's going to feel better. here's the system sneaking in from the north. this is one that's going to bring a lot of snow to the resorts in new england. this brings us a glancing blow. perhaps bringing snow to the hudson valley. not a big deal, that's late friday, early saturday. snowfall accumulation maps not that a dusting as it rolls through here. not much of a worry but just be aware of that friday night in to saturday. overnight tonight, 14 in the suburbs. we drop off in to the teens there. coldest spots could show up with a 9-degree reading. tomorrow we start with cold conditions, clouds moving in to the afternoon. spotty shower mainly off to the north. then 39. just shy of the 40-degree mark to close out the week. here go the temperatures. saturday and sunday we're back in to the mid 50s. that's above average for this time of year. monday it's still mild at 50.

here's the next chance for the snowstorm. it could be a rain-snow mix. this is a coastal system. we take a look at it, we say what's the possibility of getting some cold air in here and we're just not sure how much of the cold air will be in there. it may be too warm to see a major storm. until then we hope you can enjoy the weekend because it's going to be so mild and comfortable. more details on that and what's ahead for the weekend and next week coming up in the second half hour. we've got some breaking news right now in the slashing in greenwich village where a restaurant waiter was cut across the face. we just spoke to his girlfriend about how he's doing tonight. eyewitness news reporter carolina leid is in the bronx with more. >> his girlfriend was nice enough to talk to me on camera because she wants the public to know he's doing okay. but of course in a lot of pain

bronx home just across the street. barbo was working at the silver spurs restaurant when a teen, according to his girlfriend, walked in to the restaurant asking for donations for his basketball team. barbo told him no and to leave the restaurant. that's when the teen got very angry and said he would be back. he was and he came back 5 minutes later and that's when the slashing happened. the 25-year-old bus boy is recovering right now but not feeling well, doing his very best to recover. he has 120 stitches on his face because of this attack. >> it was very serious i would say. but at the moment he's just trying to rest up and trying to heal. i just panicked. the first thing i did was run to

and be somewhat of a comfort. >> he's surrounded by love. with his girlfriend, with her 7-year-old son, and with her mother. he's not alone, he has family with him right now. the suspect, police say, is still on the loose. reporting live in bedford park, carolina leid, channel 7 eyewitness news. no more tickets you print at home allowed at yankees stadium. what this means for their fans. >> new concerns over the brooklyn bridge. why it's being called structurally deficient. >> a long island town taking a new approach to its pothole strategy. how the changes will make things easier on drivers. >> reality tv star big ang loses her battle with cancer.

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tis the season for potholes to start popping up. drivers dread them and the damage they can cause. in nassau county the town of hempstead is trying a different approach to keep things running smoothly. kristin thorne is there. >> the town of hempstead says they're dedicating an entire unit just to deal with potholes. they're calling it their pothole s.w.a.t. team.

time of year again when you have to watch the road, not just for other cars, but for potholes. the town of hempstead is strategy. >> this includes placing additional workers on pothole response teams as well as using foremen to proactively seek out potholes in addition to fielding residents' calls. >> reporter: the town is increasing its number of hot boxes from nine to 24. >> two other departments have joined the highway team in the battle for smooth roads. parks department and sanitation department workers have been cross trained to do the roadway repairs. >> reporter: according to aaa, americans spend $3 billion every year repairing their cars because of pothole damage. that damage can cost anywhere

entire suspension. >> this program that we're implementing today gives us the opportunity to be proactive in hempstead town. obviously our goal is to provide the very best services to our community and to our residents. >> the town of hempstead says so far this year they've received 288 reports of potholes. we're live in hempstead, kristin news. construction site. coming up on eyewitness news, a crane strap snaps and a worker pays the ultimate price. we're at the scene as investigators try to figure out what went so wrong. >> gone in 60 seconds. a thief stealing packages right from a porch. you'll hear from the homeowner who caught the crook on camera. >> bad bridges. stunning new information about

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right now at 5:00, a construction site disaster in new jersey. >> a worker was killed and a second injured when a crane snapped dropping a heavy generator. it happened in hanover township this morning. eyewitness news reporter tim fleischer is at the scene. >> let me show you that very, very large generator over here that toppled on to its side next to the fire house. remains there tonight as investigators try to figure out how this deadly construction accident occurred. >> reporter: construction workers were obviously lifting the large generator unit at what is to be the new whipany fire company headquarters when apparently one of three large yellow straps appears to snap. >> one of the snaps on the crane

wind or a faulty strap. the straps look pretty new. it's a big unit, real big unit. and it is windy today. >> a contractor not connected to the site heard the emergency call come in on the radio and came to the scene. >> it's a very dangerous thing to do. >> reporter: from newscopter7 you can see the first responders frantically working on two different sides of the unit trying to free two workers. osha officials confirmed to eyewitness news one worker was killed and another was injured. the body of the worker killed was recovered hours later. osha and safety officials began their investigation, looking for the cause along with the morristown prosecutor's office. they've not released the identity of the workers. >> horrible. horrible thing. >> the company where the two men worked industrial processing equipment had no comment on the accident.

channel 7 eyewitness news. long island's opiate epidemic is showing no signs of letting up. there were 58 fatal overdoses in nassau county last year compared to 53 in 2014. for the third year in a row, there were more than 100 fatal heroin overdoses in suffolk county. experts say the death rates would be even higher if not for the increasing use of narcan. narcan is a drug that can reverse the effects of an overdose. police trying to catch a predator wanted for sexually assaulting a teenage boy inside a park. they have a new clue. this is a picture of the suspect. detectives say he sexually assaulted a 15-year-old boy inside concrete plant park in foxhurst. the attack happened before 8:00 at night on january 31st. a $2,000 reward is being offered tonight in the case of animal cruelty in suffolk county. spca officials say a resident walking in a wooded area of

carrier with a cat and four dead kittens inside. the carrier had the initials toh on it. the cat is being fostered and will eventually be up for adoption. free wi-fi and a whole lot more is coming to new kiosks across new york city. mayor de blasio unveiling link nyc, a system of new communication systems replacing the pay phones that most of us don't use anymore. besides wi-fi the stations have a touch screen computer for accessing the internet, free nationwide calling, charging ports, and one-touch access to 911 operators. the mayor wants everyone to have internet access. >> this is another way to put tools in to people's hands who can't afford the tools otherwise. >> advertising on the kiosk will make it all free. right now about a dozen are up and running in manhattan. 500 should be running by the end of july.

around the city. a new report says there are 204 million crossings every day over more than 58,000 structurally deficient bridges in need of repair. that includes the brooklyn bridge. there are more than 134,000 daily crosses over the span. the analysis by the american road and construction builders association shows more than 11% of bridges in new york state are structurally deficient and nearly 9% of the bridges in new jersey are structurally deficient. drivers can expect the 80-year-old bridge in jersey least another year. jersey city officials say the contractor tasked with repairing schedule. it's designed to have the bridge last another 75 years. the yankees are taking a stand against the secondary ticket market.

home tickets for the upcoming season. sites like stubhub usually resell tickets below face value and e-mail pdf files. now fans need old school ticket stubs or will have to buy from the ticket exchange which does not allow tickets to be sold below face value. a big salute to three boy scouts who helped save their scoutmaster from a bear. [ applause ] >> there was a lot of applause today. the american legion auxiliary presenting michael petronio and brothers frankie and vincent with the youth hero award. the boys' quick thinking helped save their scoutmaster who two months ago was attacked by a bear in a cave in rockaway township. chris, who is also michael's father, says the scoutmaster is recovering but he actually has some paralysis in his arms and numbness in his face. dangerous dating, coming up on eyewitness news, the dating app being used to lure in

>> the end of the rainbow? a bagel store selling a very popular item suddenly closes shop. >> from the hudson valley to hollywood, new york's new connection to the oscars. >> one more day of chilly sunshine before we get in to the weekend where temperatures are going in to the 50s but a small wrinkle, a little system sneaking in before saturday

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a cunning thief on the run. the suspect contacted a gay man on a dating app ask arranged to meet him. when they met, he asked to use the victim's cell phone then took off with it.

police think there may be even more victims out there. >> everybody runs a risk, there's an element of trust you have to have with that person. if they're sending off signals and red flags are going off in your head, you should probably get out of the situation if you're starting to get yourself in to. >> investigators released a photograph of the suspect. none of the victims was hurt. nyack officials today announce free 15-minute metered parking. mayor white posted a video on youtube showing how it works. the free 15 initiative allows drivers to make a quick stop downtown for an errand or to grab takeout. brooklyn may soon be the site of a soaring new skyscraper. two developers have submitted plans for a 73-story tower. it's gigantic and going to be built in downtown brooklyn. if approved, the building would

it would be almost twice as tall as anything near it. the plan calls for the building to house stores in nearly 500 rental apartments. disappointing news tonight from the bagel shop in brooklyn that gained national attention with its rainbow bagel. the bagel store announced on its facebook page that its location on bedford avenue in williamsburg will be closed indefinitely for renovations. the store made about 800 rainbow bagels every day. the other store on metropolitan avenue will remain open. did you know the academy award comes from new york? they were created using the scans of the 1929 snatch with the, a modern era based and a 3d printed wax cast. the 57 oscars were coated with a layer of 24-karat gold. this is the first time the

>> nope. [ laughter ] >> by the way the 88th academy corner. our oscars sunday coverage kicks off sunday evening, february 28th right here on channel 7. coming up on eyewitness news, the cutest little video you'll see all day. >> also ahead, a town overtaken. menacing residents.

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an outlaw causing problems in australia. tumbleweeds have taken over a neighborhood in southeastern australia. neighbors say they spend hours cleaning it up only with more to tumble in. >> it looks like my hair when i

>> you mean i'm not alone? [ laughter ] two monkeys that are indigenous to south america are now making their home in brooklyn. these two tete monkeys are making their debut. the zoo is celebrating with special activities this month. >> those tumbleweeds, i'd hate to have to clear that out of my yard each day. the weather has been pretty chilly today. we did get the sunshine, made it look really nice, just didn't feel that great tonight. there's still a bit of a chill but the winds settle down tomorrow, setting the stage for a very comfortable weekend. we're not in the 50s tomorrow afternoon but saturday, sunday, monday, things are looking pretty good. let's get you up to speed on what's happening outside right now. 35 degrees on the thermometer. gusty winds will pick up from time to time. not the steady strong northerly winds but still enough to put

in white plains. 11 for monticello. this northerly wind, the sustained wind has been 15 to 20. gusting all the way up to 30 miles per hour. be aware of that. you have to bundle up, make sure you're ready for the chill. temperatures below 20s in the city. could be down in the single digits in the outlying areas. below freezing in some spots. still holding on to the mid 30s, just a degree or two better than the freezing point. we're expecting to drop down in to the low 20s in central park tonight. if we make that happen, we'll be doubling that temperature has we head in to saturday afternoon. so really some major changes with the numbers coming up. so by the rest of this evening, our temperatures fall off in to the 20s. we wake up to those numbers tomorrow morning. some places could go in to the low teens overnight. so that's going to be a chilly start.

pushing the mid to upper 30s. spots tomorrow. the north. that creates a little bit of snow activity. a few snow showers pass through. we'll call it a spotty shower late to the north. satds we kick things off with a.m. low 50s by the afternoon. saturday. but sunday i think even better because there's less of a wind. gusty breeze out of the north and then we sort of look forward to more comfortable weather the next couple of days. one little glitch coming in on friday night in to saturday. this is part of a bigger system that will be affecting new england over the weekend. it swings through, a glancing blow for parts of the upper hudson valley and northern counties then it's out of here. all systems go to get in to the mid 50s. doesn't look like we'll be breaking any records but definitely real comfortable temperatures. the spring fling over the weekend does not mean winter is over. next week we're tracking a

march can still produce large snowstorms. one that's in our top 10, at least one happened in march. 22 overnight. 39 tomorrow with that spotty shower to the north late in the evening and the accuweather 7-day forecast looks like this. warm over the weekend. monday we get 50 degrees. temperatures are back in to the 40s tuesday. will it be cold enough middle of next week for us to get snow? that's the big question. could be a rain-snow mix. coastal storm coming up. we need the cold air from the north to turn it in to accumulating snow. we still have to wait and see what happens on that. she was a larger than life reality star who personified staten island. big ang raiola died. >> rob nelson is outside of the

with more. >> she was a regular at this bar for many, many years. you can see tonight the poster they put here on the front door and also here to my left, a small memorial of candles and flowers in her honor. these folks are remembering so much more than just a reality tv star. they're simply remembering a good friend. >> husbands give their wives the paycheck, except for you that is. >> reporter: angela raiola, better known as big ang, quickly became the standout star of the reality tv series "mob wives" and two spin-off shows. she's was tall and colorful and fun loving. and clearly she was a friend to many. >> no words to explain how good of a person she is. >> reporter: about 3 a.m. this morning at a brooklyn hospital, angela lost her year-long battle with cancer at 55 years old. a long-time smoker, she'd undergone multiple surgeries to remove tumors from her throat. her famously long black hair replaced by a short blond cut in recent months.

place, we didn't need any lights inside the room. she was the light. >> reporter: her costars mourned on social media. karen writing, quote, you woke up every day and fought with amazing courage and dignity and looked beautiful doing it. fellow reality tv star theresa giudice wrote she was certainly one of a kind and such a beautiful person. ian drew with us weekly said big ang had big appeal. >> big ang is the one person who gets along with everybody on the show. she's sort soft unifier. and she was the most beloved character on the show or the most beloved person to come from the show. she was really the standout breakaway star. she actually became bigger than the show itself. >> reporter: big ang, who recently split from her husband, was included in the show because her uncle was salvatore lombardi, a reputed captain of

>> big ang passed away at 3:01 this morning. she was surrounded by family and friends at the time. funeral arrangements have not been announced. rob nelson, channel 7 eyewitness news. the case of the pilford packages in new jersey. >> a thief caught stealing packages right off a front porch. >> i'm liz cho. coming up at 6:00, donald trump fires back. this after the pope says anyone who wants to build a wall instead of a bridge is not a christian. and widespread flu now reported in many parts of our area.

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all new at 5:00, the hunt for a package thief. >> we are well past the holidays but a crook in new jersey is really acting like a grinch. a family caught the package thief on camera and detectives went looking for the culprit. >> toni yates is in middletown with more for us.

here at christy cain's house and it turns out she was not the only victim. we have an update for you but first we want to show you christy's story. >> i was surprised, shocked that somebody took the packages. >> reporter: her packages arrived but christy cain never received them. her home surveillance camera shows exactly why. sometime yesterday this dark colored jeep rolled up to the stop sign at the corner of cain's house. out pops the driver. she opens the trunk of her jeep cherokee, walks up the steps cain's porch, stacks an envelope on top of a huge box, and takes the packages as smooth and as confident as if someone had sent them to her. she loads them up and drives away. >> i have a baby shower coming up so it was things off the registry that people were shipping to the house. so crib bedding, things for the baby's room, maternity clothes. nothing that can't be replaced. >> reporter: middletown police posted the video on social media

the suv and a woman wearing a white hooded vest and black shirt, captured and recorded on cain's camera. >> i got confirmation e-mails delivered. so i figured it couldn't be a mistake if both items were missing. and somebody had driven by. i said were there boxes when you drove by? they said yes. that triggered a timeframe. looked at the timeframe, sure enough, 4:18 pops up and there she is strolling up my front steps. >> reporter: take a look again. items of the baby for this young mother to be sent lovingly from the grandmother to be, blatantly stolen. >> in the last 45 minutes literally there's been an update. take a look at this. >> this is it. for this person, she didn't finish opening. >> do you know if anything is missing? >> not yet that i know of but it

stuff. it looks like it's here. >> so neighbors heard about the theft, one saw the boxes dumped at a postal office building. christy drove over and they were her boxes. there were also boxes belonged to other people delivered to their addresses dumped at that box also. so christy got her gifts back. the police have the other packages. at this point they are still looking for the woman who stole it all. for now we're live here in middletown, toni yates, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> she was just going house to house. >> having a good old time. >> wow. not your imagination, more people have the flu. >> in fact, the newest health report says the flu in the tri-state is spreading fast. eyewitness news at 6:00 starts

another frightening slashing in manhattan. this time a man in soho is cut in the face. this hours after another man was slashed in greenwich village and needed 120 stitches. police are searching for suspects in both attacks. >> no leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man's religion or faith. >> and donald trump now firing back, this after the trump said anybody who wants to build a wall instead of bridges is not a christian. good evening to you at 6:00, i'm liz cho. >> i'm bill ritter. donald trump has based his presidential campaign on taking on republican opponents but now he's taking on the pope. >> trump never wanted to turn the other chief and not to respond to a perceived slight. tonight is calling it disrespectful for a religious leader like the pope to question his faith.

>> some pundits are asking whether the pope may have gone too far in becoming embroiled in this election. he never mentioned donald trump by name and the implication was pretty clear. trump had no problems hitting back at francis. >> reporter: over the last few days in his visit in mexico, pope francis spoke a lot about immigration. today when flying home he was asked about donald trump's plan for a wall between the u.s. and mexico. his answer, the stunner. >> a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be located, and not building bridges, is not a christian. this is not in the gospel, as far as what you said about whether i would advise to vote or not vote, i am not going to get involved in that. i say only that this man is not a christian if he has said things like that. >> for a religious leader to question a person's faith is disgraceful. i'm proud to be a christian. >> reporter: donald trump wasted little time in blasting back at the pope. his social media director even