pope should want him in the oval office. >> if and when the vatican is attacked by isis, i can promise you that the pope would have only wished and prayed that donald trump would have been president. >> reporter: and at the cnn town halton night, trump not backing down. >> when you first heard the pope had said something about you that you thought maybe i'm going to have to ask for forgiveness? >> no, no. look -- >> reporter: one of his advisers pointing out on twitter the vatican is surrounded by barriers. the cover of tomorrow's new york daily news taking it several steps further with the headline "antichrist." trump, it's too early to tell whether this latest feud is going to hurt or help him. south carolinans will have their say this saturday when they vote. curiouser and curiouser. thank you for watching "nightline." tune into gma first thing in the morning. as always we're online 24/7 on

and at abcnews.com.

three attacks in less than 24 hours. stabbings. recovering.

what is going on in new york city? eyewitness news reporter carolina leid is in the bronx. >> she spoke tonight with the girlfriend of one of the victims. >> reporter: bobby barbot is recovering tonight at his bedford park home in the bronx. his girlfriend nicole fontanez says he doesn't want to show his face on camera after being disfigured after a slashing wednesday. she couldn't believe what she saw when she arrived at the hospital to be with him. >> i heard a lot of screaming, like they were doing the stitches as i came but i didn't really want to go in the room because i was afraid of what i was going to see. >> reporter: the 25-year-old bus boy was working here at silver spurs restaurant in greenwich village when a teen walked in and went table to table panhandling customers asking them for money for a fundraising program. barbot told him to leave. >> he said i'll be back. i don't like the way you talk to me.

back and they get in to a discussion in the front restaurant where he cuts that person. >> he was bragging about how he stabbed someone. he said the guy's mouth was big, he says so i stabbed him. >> reporter: police released this surveillance picture of the person they're looking for. a 21-year-old man was slashed in the face in store at lafayette and prince streets. a 33-year-old man was stabbed on the upper west side during a robbery at 88th and columbus thursday evening, all suffered nonlife-threatening injuries. now the victims want their attackers caught quickly. >> i'm just distraught. i hope something good comes out of it and they catch whoever did this. >> mr. barbot has 130 stitches on his face. that slashing from his chin to his cheek, another seven stitches inside of his mouth. his girlfriend tells me she's not sure how long this recovery

be able to go back to work. reporting live in the bedford park section, carolina leid, channel 7 eyewitness news. the recent increase in slashings have many people concerned. how many have there been? here are the numbers we have tonight. there have been 21 in new york city there since mid december and from neighborhoods in brooklyn, the bronx to manhattan and queens. the first one to get widespread attention was a slashing of an exchange student in white stone. politics and religion colliding tonight in the race for president. donald trump locked in verbal battle with of all people, pope francis. the pontiff suggesting people who build walls instead of bridges might not be considered christians. trump moments ago responding again in a televised town hall. eyewitness news reporter lucy yang with the story. she's outside st. pat's in midtown manhattan. >> so much for the separation of church and state. we have an unlikely pair in the

throwing the first jab at donald trump. >> he also talked about having a wall as not christian. he's got an awfully big wall at the vatican i'll tell you. >> reporter: as republican candidate donald trump fielded questions at a town hall meeting in south carolina tonight, clearly the headline grabber was the rift between the pope and the billionaire. pope francis was asked about trump's proposal to build a wall along the u.s.-mexico border and to deport illegal immigrants. the pope did not hesitate. >> a person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be located, and not christian. nice thing to say. >> reporter: pope francis never said trump's name but his comments went straight from his lips to trump's ears. >> for a religious leader, to disgraceful. i'm proud to be a christian. >> this man is not a christian if he has said things like that.

director pointed out in this tweet that the surrounded by a wall. will this make a difference with catholic voters? >> in the primary season, it's probably not a big deal. if he gets to the general election, it may become a big deal. i doubt we'll see the pope entering further in to the fray with donald trump. >> any candidate would need to tread carefully when sparring with a popular pope and trump knows that. he said the pope is a good man who was probably given bad information. the pope for his part is said to be an avid follower of american politics. we're live outside st. patrick's cathedral, lucy yang, channel 7 eyewitness news. just two days to go until the democrat caucuses in nevada. the clinton and sanders camps basically neck and neck in the polls and making a last minute appeal to voters. bernie sanders supporters are going door to door while

clinton make thousands of phone calls. clinton released an ad today to appeal to latino voters showing her comforting a child who fears her parents will be deported. a tragic and deadly construction accident in new jersey and tonight we're learning that both of the workers have died. they were crushed by a falling five-ton generator. rescue workers frantically tried to free the workers. a strap on a crane that was lowering the generator snapped. federal safety officials now investigating. new at 11:00, a rash of burglaries. one community hit hard and on alert tonight. in fact, break-ins there have more than doubled. in response the nypd increasing patrols there. eyewitness news reporter aj ross is on the scene in kips bay. >> increasing patrols as well as inside nearly every doorway here along east 25th you'll notice an nypd flier warning residents to be alert and proactive with

targeted by thieves at an alarming rate. >> reporter: making their presence known, police are becoming a common sight here along east 25th street in kips bay. after a recent rash of burglaries. >> i've noticed more police, like recently, like i've even seen the same cop kind of parked along here. >> reporter: according to nypd stats, burglaries within the 13th precinct have more than doubled over the past month compared to the same time last year. with 7 burglaries reported in the first week of february alone. >> it makes me a little nervous to be around here. >> i've heard of the burglaries. haven't really been impacted. i've seen the notes on the doors which is a little alarming. >> reporter: to make sure people living in the area are doing their part, police are also posting these fliers all over, warning everyone to take precautions and if they see something, say something. >> my roommate and i have been taking precautionary actions by locking the windows, being really careful, even if we leave for a little bit. >> reporter: small precautions combined with an increased

a big break in this case. >> i feel like they're taking actions and it will be safer, but maybe it's a fluke thing. at least we hope so. >> to the police credit, i do see them on the street a lot. >> it makes me feel better that they're here. hopefully that deters anything. >> we just noticed another patrol car right by here within the last few minutes. if you have any information that may help police, please call crimestoppers. 1-800-577-tips. live tonight in kips bay, aj ross, channel 7 eyewitness news. public viewing for justice antonin scalia begins tomorrow in the supreme court building in washington. scalia's casket scheduled to arrive at the court at 9:30 tomorrow morning. there will be a private viewing before the public is allowed in. president obama will pay his respects. vice president will represent the administration at the funeral saturday.

countering some scuttlebut and insisting he has no desire to replace scalia. who will and when? u.s. senator chuck schumer sending out this tweet tonight saying if the president's job to nominate a new nominee to the supreme court and says it's the senate's job to hold hearings on nominees. republicans say they will not do that. schumer used the hashtag oyourjob. there is no evidence it's connected to the shootings or terrorism. agents carried out arm loads of paupers, manila envelopes, and a computer tower from the home of farook's brother in corona, california. no one was arrested. the fbi encryption battle with apple now getting a new partner in the fight from local officials. bill bratton says encryption technology is hindering the investigation of cases here. among them the shooting of two

apple says it's protecting users' privacy. an alarming report tonight about the condition of america's bridges. more than 58,000 of them are structurally deficient and in need of repair. they include the brooklyn bridge. the american road and transportation builders association finding more than 11% of bridges here in new york state are structurally deficient as well as nearly 9% of bridges in new jersey. one construction expert we spoke to tonight blames washington for being unwilling to raise taxes or employ workers to fix our infrastructure. >> there's no political will or no political leadership on this point in washington. none. so the such gets worse. >> reporter: but he adds there's no reason to panic yet. he said a bridge deemed structurally deficient doesn't necessarily mean it's unsafe. the ground shakes in new jersey tonight. more on that just ahead. >> a frightening crash, a helicopter goes down and it's all caught on camera.

was onboard and the rush to help save people. >> a close call for children on a bus when a train comes inches from tragedy. >> first a warmup, but the big question, will rain turn to snow next week? your accuweather forecast and

breaking news to tell you about new tonight. a small earthquake rattling new jersey, 1.6 quake. it rattled the town of butler tonight. no reportses of -- no reports of damage or injuries. the 911 center did receive some phone calls. new information tonight about a terrifying helicopter crash caught on camera. take a look. the private helicopter lost control today and crashed in to pearl harbor near the uss arizona memorial in hawaii. five people onboard survived but a 16-year-old passenger suffered critical injuries. after the crash, witnesses

help the passengers as the chopper sank. >> we're all certified and i used to surf a lot. somebody said there's somebody still in the aircraft so i dove through from the pilot's side in the back seat and saw them, then saw it was twisted so it was instinct. >> it's still not clear was caused the helicopter to crash. faa investigators are investigating the accident. new at 11:00, a definitive sign, the focus seems to have shifted from ebola to zika. republicans want to combat spread using leftover funding from the ebola battle. the house appropriations committee says there's plenty to cover the $1.8 billion president obama wants for fighting zika. white house says it will seek the flexibility to use those funds. testing will be available next week for people who think they may have contracted the

there will be testing stations at nassau university medical center. officials are worried about people from latin america who traveled to their native countries over the president's day holiday. a school bus filled with students comes within inches of disaster, crossing a train track with just seconds to spare. cell phone video shows a freight train barreling by the rear of a school bus in houston last week. students say the driver had stopped on the tracks as the train was approaching. then pulled forward slightly, just as the train came through. you can see how close that was. that bus driver fired tonight. and this next story probably won't surprise many of you. according to a cdc study, more than 1/3rd of american adults are not getting enough sleep. document self-reported sleep durations in all 50 states and the district of columbia. at least seven hours of sleep is considered optimal for good health and well-being.

get tired, you cool down, you know you had a good workout. but nowadays little wrist devices keep track of everything for you. do you really need them to tell you your sweating? if you do, which devices are the best ones? >> your life on your wrist. >> there's my strength training. there's my jogging. there's my cycling. >> reporter: with his sophisticated fitness or activity tracker, rich frankel is able to monitor all types of readings. >> sometimes i'll watch my heart rate when i'm working out. >> reporter: with a number of different trackers to choose from at various price points, it's your choice depending what you want to do. malika wants to buy one. >> i don't need something tracking me every second, just the important stuff. >> reporter: dr. jeffrey bornstein heads the foundation. >> i think these devices can help empower people to monitor their activities. >> reporter: some track the number of recommended footsteps

of miles. ever wonder how many steps you climb during the day and how many calories are you burning? >> it's kind of cool. like oh, man, amazing. i'd post them to social media. >> reporter: dog walker tommy cook will pound out double the steps than most people. >> estimated i slept six hours and 32 minutes. >> reporter: one interesting thing you can monitor is sleep. how often do you get up? how restless are you? dr. steven feinsilver. >> i'm not sure i'm completely convinced it's accurate, but it's close. and it's at least a place to start. >> reporter: so go ahead, like this group at city row, and follow your life on your wrist. >> don't obsess over it. monitor it. if you have a concern, that's something you could speak to your doctor about. >> reporter: it's up to you how much you want to know. tim fleischer, channel 7 eyewitness news. changing lives and

100 black men incorporated continue to be the mark of change. i had the honor to mc the benefit gala tonight. mayor de blasio attended the event, highlighting the many accomplishments of the organization. >> good job, sade. and they gave you flowers. >> they did. it was really, really sweet. >> are they in the office? >> they're right by my computer. >> beautiful. we've got amy freeze in for lee goldberg. we've got more cold. >> tonight the temperatures are going to dip again. we're 10 degrees below the freezing point here in the city and even colder temperatures in the temperatures. we could see single digits showing up in the northern counties. plenty of temperature -- really below average, falling short of the numbers is what we've got. not only tonight but also happening again tomorrow. we'll be off the average. 28 degrees right now. we could go down to 22 overnight. that puts us well below the

which is 27. we're a handful degrees below normal but think about it this way. as our temperatures sink over the next seven hours, we'll double those temperatures going in to saturday afternoon where we're going to have a very mild air mass in place. the wind chill is still there. waking up to chills in the teens, pretty reasonable, especially because our temperatures will be in the low 20s in a lot of spots. but the winds have improved dramatically and they'll lessen for us tomorrow so it's going to feel a little better. the 24-hour temperature change is another 10 degrees colder than we were yesterday at this same time so a very cold night and that brings us a cold start tomorrow. we'll have clear skies and sunshine to begin. expect subfreezing temperatures and teens in a lot of the suburbs to begin. the sun will warm us up. i think we'll finish shy of the 40-degree mark again. sunny chill for one more day. then it gets much warmer over the weekend. we're talking mid to upper 50s. again pushing the envelope mostly on saturday, pushing the

then we're tracking this storm next week. it's a rain-snow, real call, and there's still time to watch and see what happens with it. should be on your radar already. here's the northerly winds that have been dominating the forecast over the last 24 hours, making it feel even colder. the wind in the face has a real sting to it. the numbers are still pretty low, even in to tomorrow we're just in the mid 30s and this is below average for this time of year. we could spike upper 30s, maybe hitting the 40-degree mark in a few isolated locations. then saturday it's a lot better. we'll see the temperatures going up very quickly, making it in to the 50s, and that's where we stay over the weekend. however, there is a front just to the north of us. late friday night and late saturday night we could tap in to some of this moisture just in the north. watch how it races through. not a big deal. possibility of seeing a quick moving snow shower friday night and saturday night. 22 in the city tonight. we go to 39 tomorrow. a below average day. but over the weekend, all

a little taste of spring here. saturday and sunday we're in the 50s. monday we hold on to mild temperatures. we're still at the 50-degree mark. then by tuesday we're back in to the low 40s. that's when we'll be tracking the potential for the winter storm. rain-snow mix, looks like it will be a messy one. if we tap in to arctic air, we get accumulating snow. there's still time to nail down the forecast. >> it is still winter. >> true. up next, uber about to cut its prices again but you have to be going to one specific place.

ca new at 11:00, at a time when many uber drivers are grumbling about price cuts, the company is announcing it's offering a $35

you have to pick the uber pool option. $35 significantly less than a yellow cab's flat rate of $52 which does not include tolls and tips. oprah winfrey doing a little spring cleaning of her considerably large closet and giving fans a chance to literally walk in her shoes. thousands of items from her studio closet are going on sale. bidding will start march 1st on ebay. the proceeds will benefit winfrey's leadership academy for girls. rob powers spending the rest of this winter week in the brutal temperatures of florida. he's next with sports. >> i believe now it is 66 degrees here. both teams are in florida. it is full steam ahead. straight ahead on eyewitness news, we're going to start right here in port st. lucie with the mets. the defending national league champs get ready to get things

everyone wants a piece of the mets in the upcoming season. rob is in port st. lucie. >> if the mets taught us anything last year, it's that

they made progress last year. they made it to the world series. make more progress this year, why not win the world series? >> last year we sat down some expectations. it was time to win. we won. those expectations haven't changed. we've still got to win. >> goals are fine, but world series or bust for this team? unrealistic? unfair, but collins does like his pitching staff, bullpen, lineup, so far so good even with great expectations. >> does anybody in this room think this is a tougher season than it was last year sitting in this year? >> the mets start a step ahead, but what matters is where they finish. >> you've always got to strive to be the best. of course it's going to be a disappointment. we're going to try our absolute hardest to win the whole thing. >> we're going to try to win the whole thing. that's our cumulative goal. hopefully we can make it happen. >> reporter: another season gets set to start, heck, why not

>> it was the most fun i've ever had in the game going through it. i want to do it again. >> there's more action in tampa where the yankees have quietly assembled. our team coverage of spring training continues. laura behnke is with the yankees. >> reporter: it's that time of year again before the pitch has been thrown when anything seems possible this season. >> i'm definitely excited. i'm excited to see what we have this year. >> our goal is to win the world series. that's why we come to spring training. >> reporter: is that goal realistic? >> i think on paper we are better. paper doesn't really mean compete. >> reporter: a big question mark, newly acquired closer aroldis chapman, facing suspension for an offseason domestic violence incident. >> the trade was made. my job as a manager is to manage the players and get the most out of them as a player and a person and that's what i'm going to do. >> reporter: it was a relatively quiet day here at steinbrenner field for the yankees with players reporting throughout the morning. all that will change tomorrow. the first official workout for

with the yankees in tampa, laura behnke, channel 7 eyewitness news. let's get to hockey now. the rangers on the road in toronto taking on the maple leafs. the rangers would get the win in this game. captain ryan mcdonagh takes an elbow to the head from leo. mcdonagh missed four games with a concussion. he just got back in the lineup yesterday. he did not return to this game. rangers got the win 4-2. islanders hosted the capitals at the barclays center. washington has the best record in the league. washington picked up another win tonight. justin williams scored the game winner in overtime. the islanders lose tonight 3-2. on the schedule for us tomorrow, more baseball.