we had close to .8 of an inch. thankfully as we've led in to the evening commute, the rain has been more moderate and patchy. it definitely has been filling in over the past hour or so. look what's going on in the south. as we go through this period of showers, all the thunderstorms and squall lines that's going to swing through the area with heavy rainfall and gusty winds. here's what you need to know. periods of rain. off and on showers that can get steady. heavy rin this evening. basically after 7:00 or so. average of an inch or two of rainfall can cause localized flooding. we can get in to gusty thunderstorms with damaging winds. we'll have all the timing on that and your accuweather forecast in just a few minutes. now to that stunning admission from the man police say is responsible for a deadly accident that killed a teacher and his daughter on the new jersey turnpike. we've also learned that the driver, scott hahn, had his license suspended more than 20 times. toni yates live in jersey city

court where hahn was just arraigned. >> prosecutors say during questions by investigators, scott hahn admitted he took 10 tablets and they were amphetamines. they say toxicology reports back that up. because of the seriousness of the charges, he remains on $1 million bail. he's right now still in custody. >> reporter: 36-year-old scott hahn said nothing during his first appearance as prosecutors revealed why he is now facing two counts each of aggravated manslaughter and death by auto. the criminal complaint saying he was under the influence of drugs and was awake for more than 24 hours and still got behind the wheel. >> impact was between 50 miles per hour and 70 miles per hour. further, statement by the defendant that he had not slept since 1 p.m. sunday, february

>> reporter: adderall is a drug commonly prescribed for adhd. prosecutors say hahn had no prescription and no sleep since sunday means hahn had been up almost 26 hours when his 1998 mercedes slammed in to the back of 51-year-old timothy o'donnell's chevy malibu. the impact pushed o'donnell's car in to oncoming traffic where it was hit again. the father of two and his 5-year-old daughter bridgette died of their injuries. >> saw the erratically westbound from the holland tunnel on to the new jersey turnpike, and then traveled across lanes alternately accelerating and decelerating, sideswiping a road barrier. >> reporter: scott hahn has a checkered driving history according to motor vehicle records. 28 license suspensions, mostly for not paying court costs. he has no duis or dwis.

on a suspended license, his last suspension was in 2010. >> you're entering a plea of not guilty. >> yes, we entered a plea of not guilty. >> entered pleas of not guilty on mr. hahn's behalf. >> again, his attorney pleading not guilty on his behalf. if he's convicted of these charges, he could face up to 60 years in prison. for now we're live here in jersey city, toni yates, channel 7 eyewitness news. the weather today playing a role in those manhole explosions in new jersey. take a look at this. this is video from elizabeth. a manhole cover goes flying in to the air. eyewitness news reporter michelle charlesworth is in elizabeth with the details. >> utility crews are still out here working to make sure the streets here are safe but those manhole covers went 25 feet in the air and thank heaven nobody was hurt in any of this. it happened at elizabeth avenue and 7th street. it does not take much

could be. >> reporter: watch the video. first there was fire, then smoke, then manhole covers started flying in to the air. >> have you ever seen anything like that before? >> no, first time in my life. >> reporter: the utility company and fire department were out here after 10 a.m. following reports of smoke and flames coming out of elizabeth avenue on 7th street. no one was hurt but after smoke and carbon monoxide started filling businesses and carbon monoxide meters started going off, 20 buildings were evacuated and closed. carlos escobar works at the pizza place which is right between the two explosions. >> you closed for how long? >> about two hours maybe. we make some food for the firemen. >> one moment. >> with the flames coming out? >> yeah. >> and you saw the manhole cover fly in the air. >> yeah, the manhole, that's very high. >> is that some crazy video or what? that's actually the manhole cover that was flying through the air. those things, they weigh 300 pounds.

situations is the man holes fill with carbon monoxide. they get to a level where it's explosive and they actually explode and that is the propulsion that pushes the manhole up in the air. >> reporter: the fire chief confirms road salts used to keep roads safe in icy conditions causes corrosion below ground eating through electrical wires and causing these fires. >> utility crews out here making sure these wires are replaced and everything is much safer from here on out. you've seen these happen around the tri-state. the businesses opened up about midafternoon. we're live in elizabeth, new jersey. michelle charlesworth, channel 7 eyewitness news. three workers overcome by fumes from a liquid today at a construction site in manhattan. it happened on 8th and west 46th street in midtown. the victims were using the liquid in an unventilated room when they got sick.

transported to bellevue hospital in serious condition. other workers were treated at the scene. this construction site for a new hotel has a history of violations. new information about a mother charged in the death of her daughter who died in a fire in brooklyn. the administration for children's services opened a case against the woman last week. police say leila aquino left her daughter home to work as an exotic dancer. she returned home three hours after the fire broke out. her daughter kalenah was found under a bed. she said she left the child with the babysitter but the babysitter said she no longer looked after kalenah. this video you're about to see shows a helicopter slamming in to the water just 20 feet from shore. this happened last week. the ntsb's preliminary report says the pilot heard a loud bang and was heading to a grassy area to land but was trying to avoid some people who were there. a 16-year-old passenger who was trapped under the water died on monday.

connecticut to determine if kennedy cousin michael skakel should get a new trial or go back to prison. skakel attended a hearing even though a decision wasn't expected today. in 2002 he was convicted for the 1975 murder of his neighbor, martha moxley. that conviction was overturned in 2013 and prosecutors are trying to get it reinstated. verizon center hit by a major outage this morning for about 90 minutes. a spokesperson says verizon center had intermittent data outages starting around 7:30 in the morning in parts of new york city as well as in westchester, rocklin, and putnam counties. verizon center says a hardware failure is to blame. the company began restoring service about 9 a.m. stocks on wall street regaining a bit of ground. stocks began to recover after a rise in the price of u.s. oil. the market was pulled down earlier in the day by declines in banks. dow closed at 16,484. nasdaq climbed 39.

a babysitter charged with murdering a 16-month-old boy. tonight we're learning new details about the horrific way the baby was allegedly treated before he died. >> donald trump winning another primary and now gaining some political support. but tonight what the other candidates are doing to try and stop his momentum. >> and caught on camera, an

i'm business and i'm very good at what i do and all that, and i'm also very, very political. when you can get zoning on the west side of manhattan.

his experiences battling new york city politics. he just added nebraska to his growing list of caucus and primary wins. he's also now getting political endorsements including one from an upstate new york congressman republican establishment. eyewitness news political reporter dave evans with more on who's joining the trump bandwagon and more importantly, who's not. >> marco rubio is actually winning the endorsement battle more than 140 senators, congressmen and governors are backing him but it doesn't seem to matter much. it's voters who are supporting trump. he's in great shape despite worry by the republican establishment. >> reporter: donald trump last night claimed his third victory and looked ahead to this tuesday when 12 states will be voting. when he might just about wrap up this nomination. >> i'll tell you what we're going to do. we get greedy, right? now we're going to get greedy for the united states. we're going to grab and grab and grab.

chalking up lots of endorsements as the alternative to trump. he came in second last night, a couple thousand votes ahead of ted cruz. >> we feel good about our show and we picked up a significant number of delegates. >> reporter: ted cruz is hoping a home win next week will make him more competitive with trump. >> the only campaign that has beaten donald trump, and the only campaign that can beat donald trump is this campaign. >> reporter: on the democratic side, hillary clinton picked up a big endorsement today from the senate's democratic leader. >> i think the middle class would be better served by hillary. i think my work with her over the years has been something that i've looked upon with awe. >> reporter: bernie sanders said the nomination fight is a long one that's far from over. >> we're in this race to win it and i think we're going to pull off one of the great political upsets. >> one of these new endorsements today for donald trump is congressman chris collins from the buffalo area.

trump said endorsements really don't matter from to him. it is the voters and he's certainly winning that battle. this super tuesday if trump does really well he can just about settle the republican nomination fight. now to another political battle. this one over the next supreme court justice. the white house now vetting a republican governor as a potential nominee. sandoval is a former federal judge who supports abortion rights. the nomination of this republican seen as many as an attempt to court the gop. president obama says he has a constitutional obligation to nominate a new justice. >> our job is to fulfill our constitutional duties. i think it will be very difficult for mr. mcconnell to explain how if the public concludes this person is very well qualified that the senate should stand in for political reasons. >> meanwhile senate majority leader mitch mcconnell's team

with the white house. meanwhile the vice president is leading a u.s. delegation to an annual economic summit in mexico. he's heading there today. mr. biden is expected to visit with mexico's president. widespread destruction and a rising death toll. more than two dozen tornados touched down. nearly 100 homes in an rv park were damaged in oklahoma. >> lee, you were talking about tornado watches earlier. >> warnings only a couple hundred miles to our south in parts of maryland. very dynamic system. i don't see widespread tornados here. can get dangerous during the evening hours. it's pouring again in new york city. it feels so much it did earlier today with raw periods of rain. now it's almost like tropical downpours at times as we get this milder air that's starting to work in. we're getting a drenching now but really starting with the

we're 54 degrees right now. south wind, 10 to 22 which will be very gusty. we've climbed up to 55 degrees at times. we have a shot at 60. way above average. tomorrow will be around 50, upper 40s. tornado watches are out for mercer county and the philly area. we have a slight risk for severe storms from nassau county west, hudson valley, much of new jersey, and in to new york city. look at that olbridge up to 61. 64 wrightstown. remember yesterday we were struggling to get to the middle 30s. still 39 in monticello. northern westchester is already in the upper 50s. talking about 50, 60 miles to the north and west. it's going to get stormy here during the evening hours, especially after 6:30, 7:00. a lot of wind, heavy rainfall, even thunderstorms with gusty damaging winds. i'm putting wind gusts toward midnight around 45 miles per hour.

we get 50 or 60-mile-per-hour wind gusts. that will wind down. through midnight and 2 a.m., things get better. by morning it's limited sun. a lot of clouds around. there can be a couple breaks in the morning. we may start the day at 50 but lowering humidity, temperatures kind of flat lining, gusty breeze. dress for low and middle 40s. it really won't feel as warm as 50. meanwhile a downpour just moved over coney island. it's moving toward flat lands and moving through brooklyn in to parts of queens. you've got steady rain. that's why it was pouring on the west side. it's really bands of moderate showers. now starting to see a heavier rainfall come through the philly area and in to southern new jersey. that's associated with a lot of thunderstorms over the delmarva. that's why you have tornado warnings. a huge squall line approaching dc right now. we'll have to watch the observations out of there. that's all converging on us as we go through the evening hours. i'd think the worst is between 7:00 and midnight. maybe around 10:00 could be the peak of the worst weather.

over the next hour or two, heavier rain over new jersey. then it's becoming more widespread after 7:00 or 8:00. see how we might see peak conditions with the strongest damaging winds around 10:00, 11:00. then moving out between midnight and 2 a.m. temperatures overnight will spike to around 60 then start to drop toward the morning hours. here's your accuweather forecast. it's windy, it's very mild overnight. there's occasional heavy rain and even a rumble of thunderstorm with damaging winds, 52 degrees. for tomorrow, varying amounts of clouds and a little bit of sunshine. it will be windy. i can see a passing shower, especially north and west. during the afternoon it can be just about anywhere. our highs should be in the low 50s early. then we'll settle in to the upper 40s. shower around in the evening. then it is windy and much colder. we drop down to 32 degrees tomorrow night. so winter chill is definitely in the air. here's what we're working on for 5:30. could we see some power outages overnight with downed tree limbs? i'll tell you the most likely

could it feel like we're in the 20s on friday? real cold snap but then bouncing back to spring-like weather over part of the weekend. >> that's sounds good. controversy at a local university over a party and its theme. why the community is calling the party racially insensitive and what officials are doing to stop stereotyping. >> new jersey town can get free tuition to rutgers university. >> now you see it, now you don't. thieves caught on camera stealing packages seconds after they were delivered. find out the one very important thing the recipient did that

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they took a stand to change the nation and this afternoon congress honored the selma marchers. lawmakers presented the congressional gold medal to the group of men and women who joined dr. martin luther king, jr. in three marches from selma, alabama. the third and largest march spanned 54 miles to the state's capital of montgomery and helped draw attention from people around the world to the push for voting rights for african americans. >> when we think about all the

the many beatings we might have taken, the lives we can remember. god saw fit to allow us to be here at this hour. >> the congressional gold medal is the highest civilian honor given by congress. a mississippi jury awarded $72 million to the family of a woman who died of cancer in a lawsuit against johnson and johnson. the victim claimed using johnson and johnson's baby powder and other products containing talcum gave her ovarian cancer. the civil suit was part of a broader claim involving nearly 60 people. the spokesperson says the new jersey-based company is considering whether to appeal the verdict. the yankees' decision to ban fans from using print at home

ruben diaz, jr. calling for them to reconsider. he said banning print at home tickets puts the burden on the fans. the organization and stubhub have agreed to continue talking about the issue. thieves caught on camera stealing packages from the steps outside of a home. it's a risk for anyone who gets deliveries. for one woman it meant a lot until we stepped in. nina pineda. >> they're called porch pirates. thieves who trail behind delivery men then pounce and bounce, making off with precious packages. how do you protect yourself and how do you stop them? one victim was lucky enough to go to the videotape. >> reporter: this surveillance video shows how it takes seconds to do a package grab and go that netted these guys hundreds of stolen goods. >> they're out in 10 seconds. >> there it goes. >> reporter: holding in their

22-year-old and her neighbors. caleigh arrived to michigan arriving with just a couple suitcases. her mom sent necessities in a care package. >> comforter. i had blanket. >> reporter: all jammed in to a box weighing nearly 20 pounds and shipped out via ups. >> i remember when she first sent it, she said she had to sit on the box and tape it up. >> reporter: when her belongings went awol she surveillance cameras. after 4:00 in the afternoon the ups man comes in and drops off packages in the front hallway, visible to anyone looking through the glass front door. less than a minute later these three guys come to the front door. one acts as a lookout. the other quickly jimmies open the lock. seconds later, they're in. one suspect stuffs a piece of someone's mail in his coat. >> they do this all the time and walk out. >> what's the total? >> $925.28. >> they walked out with almost a

>> reporter: when she asked ups to reimburse her -- >> they were going to give you $100? >> they said maybe. >> reporter: that's the most ups pays if there's no insurance. we found out caleigh had signed up for ups my choice which meant -- >> signature required for a package delivery. >> reporter: but that didn't happen. once we pointed that out to ups, caleigh got a call. >> what did they say? >> they're going to reimburse me fully for everything. >> reporter: ups even hand delivered the check. >> this was life-changing. you guys did such an amazing job. >> ups apologized, telling us its driver did not follow the proper methods here and has been retrained. he should have left the slip if she wasn't home, not the package. the big takeaway, think about getting insurance. in this case it would have cost an extra $9. no arrest of the young men yet. but here's the flier for them. if you recognize anyone in the video or on this, please call the nypd. never want to find something

sit down in a restaurant but one woman is glad she did. lindsey bit down on a clam, she hit something so hard, she thought she had broken a tooth. then she looked inside and it was a dark purple pearl. after bringing it home and a quick google search, she and her husband decided to bring it to a gemmologist. >> he thought i was joking. he thought it looked so round and perfect that someone was playing a joke on me. >> but it was no joke. the gemmologist says the pearl is from a cohog clam and is worth $600. hawes says she's going to keep it, put it on a necklace, and have it for a fun story. at least she's not paying her dental bills with it. [ laughter ] a volunteer coach accused of using snapchat to lure and sexually assault a young victim. >> a babysitter charged in the murder of a child in her care.

learned that allegedly happened to this helpless little boy.

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right now at 5:00 we're learning more about a babysitter from staten island accused of killing 16-month-old anthony delgado. >> eyewitness news reporter tim fleischer is in st. george, staten island with the latest. >> for the first time since her arrest, we saw the suspect today precinct here. she also spoke very briefly. it was not until later in court during her arraignment that we heard the first horrific details of this crime coming to light.

the precinct by detectives. this 31-year-old babysitter charged with murder and multiple counts of assault, aggravated sex abuse, and child endangerment charges in the brutal murder of a 16-month-old neighbor child. >> ms. fields, what happened to anthony? >> can you tell us what happened? >> i don't know. >> reporter: little anthony delgado was discovered unconscious and unresponsive sunday by his grandmother here on the third floor of this apartment building in the park hill section of staten island. the child's mother had left him with fields over the weekend. the baby died of blunt force trauma to his head and body. prosecutors revealed the horrors of this case. the district attorney said over a 48-hour period she system atically tortured the child. he said the baby could not cry out for help and described violence. she finished by saying she heinously and horrifically tortured this baby boy. >> just wanted to break down.

>> reporter: roger simpson is anthony delgado's grandfather and was shocked by what he heard. >> bruises on his face. i didn't even know all that. that allegation is going to life. >> he's only a baby. that's it. >> reporter: other family members shielded the child's mother as she left the courthouse and one struck rob cantwell, throwing water on him. >> [ yelling ] >> gloria fields is now being held without bail. reporting live in st. george, tim fleischer, channel 7 eyewitness news. a volunteer wrestling coach arrested for criminal sex acts with a juvenile and police worried that there are more victims out there. 18-year-old marcus stroud has volunteered for wrestling programs in and bergen counties.

who is from nyack, met the alleged victim through a wrestling program and lured him with social media. an arrest tonight in a string of package thefts in new jersey. police say 51-year-old lauren miller is the woman caught on surveillance video stealing packages off the porch of a home in middletown next week. they've also identified two other victims. miller is charged with three counts of theft. police in long island arrest a man accused of burglarizing his 22-year-old michael farris was asked to watch his friend's dog. while the friend was away farris allegedly stole property from the man's home. the homeowner says he was not given permission to enter the house. mexico's drug king pin known as el chapo will likely have a trial in brooklyn. if he's extradited he will be tried here in federal court. new york is one of the cities where guzman is facing

the cartel he led is believed to have been the largest supplier of cocaine to our area for years. now to the battle between security and privacy playing out between apple and the fbi. at issue, unlocking the phone that belonged to one of the san bernardino attackers. as abc's elizabeth hur shows us, they want to move it from the courts to congress. >> safety of our kids, safety of our families is very important. the protection of people's data is incredibly important. >> reporter: apple ceo tim explaining his decision exclusively to world news tonight with david muir. >> this would be bad for america. it would also set a precedent that i believe many people in america would be offended by. >> reporter: in the name of public safety, attorney general loretta lynch is urging apple to comply. >> judges all over the country and supreme court have said those parties must assist if it

>> reporter: a judge in california ordered apple to unlock san syed farook's iphone and apple has stood firm that's not happening, insisting at stake is the data security of millions of law-abiding people. the fight sending thousands across the country to rally in support of apple, even though a new pew poll finds 51% of americans believe apple should unlock the phone. >> some things are hard and some things are right, and some things are both. this is one of those things. >> apple has till friday to file a response to the judge's order and legal experts say this is a landmark case that could reach the supreme court. elizabeth hur, channel 7 eyewitness news. changes are brewing for a long-time williamsburg staple. brooklyn brewery may relocate its williamsburg plant to the brooklyn navy yard or industry city.

beer is made upstate in utica. the williamsburg facility offers a tasting room and retail shop. the company wants its new location to serve a similar purpose. brooklyn brewery has nine days left on its current lease. agricultural scientists are boasting about the tremendous new tomato they've created. they're calling it the rutgers 250 in honor of the university's 250th birthday. a limited number of seeds are on sale this year with many more available next year. on and off showers now but the worst of the rain is still to come. lee goldberg has a look at the accuweather forecast. >> if you haven't checked the weather in the last few hours, huge changes. we've gone from 40s to mid 50s. now a tornado watch over mercer county and down philly area. you can see heavier downpours over westchester moving in to putnam county. we're watching several lines. thunderstorms coming in to cape

one band is going to affect western new jersey. look at all the thunderstorms here. that comes through later tonight. all the timing you need to know. >> he may not be a liar but his pants are on fire. an explosive situation at a gas i do everything on the internet. but, it's kind of slow. my friends say i should get fios because it's the fastest. i just downloaded 600 photos in 60 seconds. that's seriously better. (husband) we're out of 2%! i wonder what else could be better around here? (husband) i heard that. switching to better internet is now easier than ever. only fios has the fastest internet available, with uploads up to 5x faster than cable.

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at this certainly wasn't your usual night out with kids at a chuck e. cheese in connecticut. several families were having birthday parties. this is on sunday night when a group of adults really got in to it. up to 15 people were involved in the brawl. an eyewitness recorded it with a cell phone and right now police want to find the people in this video. caught on camera, the bizarre scene when an e-cigarette explodes in a man's pocket at a gas station in kentucky.

by the gas pumps, but inside at the counter, oh, boy. suddenly his pants exploding, they catch fire. he runs outside in horror. one of the clerks grabs a fire extinguisher, follows him outside and puts out the fire. the man suffered second degree burns on his leg. a scary scene caught on camera along a busy road in tampa. a driver started recording when he noticed a fedex going very slow and weaving on the road. he pulled alongside and noticed the driver was falling asleep at the wheel. fortunately he managed to coax him in to a parking lot before anybody got hurt. police arrived but they couldn't arrest the guy because they never saw him doing anything. fedex is investigating the incident. you can now give more than thumbs up on facebook posts with new expressions. the social media site is expanding its users' ability to react on news feed. if you hover over the thumbs up

love, haha, wow, sad, or angry. i think you're going to love the 88th academy awards. leave it to the oscars to dazzle the stars themselves. former winners are reflecting on their favorite moments. >> about 6:00 in the morning, about 12 or seven or eight friends and my wife and i were on this balcony as the sun came up over sunset boulevard. that's the moment leaving me breathless. that was the first moment of me taking it in. >> when i got up and saw my mom and dad in the audience and i thought how lucky i am to be young enough that they were alive and well and my mom had as you probably know was the person responsible for finding the stage, this unproduced stage script and the fact i was able to honor them, i found my calmness. >> very special. this is a live look at the dolby theater at hollywood and highland center where

sandy kenyon will be in hollywood. his live reports are friday. this sunday, february 28th. catch the road to gold this saturday night at 7:00 here on channel 7. sometimes when you can't go to the circus, the circus comes to you. >> coming up on eyewitness news, big excitement. a wave from the big top. how clowns, dancers, and other performers brought lots of

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the ringling brotheress and barnum & bailey circus bringing smiles to children. they donated $10,000 to further research on pediatric cancer.

raise awareness on the new study that compares elephant dna to patients with cancer. the circus center is providing blood samples to the scientists. they're working to find out why there's such a low level of the disease in the animal and what makes them so resistant. >> big question, why don't elephants get cancer that often? very rare. >> doing great things inside and outside the tent. outside for us, actually not raining so hard but wind is a big issue. >> it's off and on. figure after 7:00 that's when you really shouldn't go out if you don't have to because we'll have a window there through about 11:00 or midnight where it gets pretty stormy outside. very strong winds. outside our studios we'll head out at 6:00. lighter rain right now. just pouring about 40 minutes ago. we've got 55 degrees. temperatures, if you wore the heavier coat this morning, it was raw. all of the sudden might be a little warm. it's toasty. temperatures getting to around

jersey shore. visibilities are way down. we have delays at the area airports whether it's newburg or white plains or the major area airports. delays have been extensive through the afternoon hours and will continue that way through the evening. i think our visibilities will be at a minimum as the thunderstorms roll through and will improve dramatically by tomorrow morning. we're going to watch one or two, maybe three squall lines try to move through the area with damaging winds and torrential downpours. thunder and lightning. again, that window will start at 7:00 and probably go through midnight. tornado watches are out for mercer county and down through the philly area. that's where the storms will likely be worse. we have tornado warnings right now across parts of virginia, north carolina. these are serious storms. if you look on that planner you see thunderstorms after 7:00, sustained winds, 75 miles per hour. temperatures climbing through the upper 50s to around 60. we're much quieter by morning.

maybe a shower in the afternoon. temperatures kind of hovering in the upper 40s. it feels like you're in the low and mid 40s tomorrow because the humidity is dropping and there's wind out there. we have heavy rain from newton, new jersey over to blarestown and flemming. look at this cluster of showers getting ready to move in to cape may. 50-mile-per-hour winds with that. that is flying. so after 7:00 that's moving through new jersey. then this main line moving through dc. at 6:00 we'll start to get some of the storm reports and see what he's storms are causing. things deteriorating after 7:00. more widespread after the 9:00 hour. that's when we'll have clusters and gusty winds. especially west of new york city. by midnight we're starting to see things move out between midnight and 2 a.m. here's your 7-day accuweather forecast. it's a gusty wind as we go through tomorrow.

might be a few breaks of sun in the morning. then a shower in the afternoon. friday is the coldest day. the recovery begins on saturday. 42, chilly sunshine, and that's pretty close to average. by sunday, pop temperatures in the mid 50s by afternoon. that feels great with a mix of sun and high clouds around. monday a passing shower around 60 degrees. then average temperatures in the 40s by midweek. really going to get through tonight. late week chill then you'll like the weekend. a former ceo who worked hard in the past wants to give students the key to success in the future. >> he's providing an extraordinary opportunity. a chance to attend rutgers university without paying tuition or fees. eyes news reporter joe torres has the story. >> i'd love to be an anesthesiologist. >> reporter: for more than a dozen other students here, the

got a helping hand from a wealthy alumnists. recently donated $1.7 million for a scholarship program that covers the cost of tuition at rutgers university. >> it says to the world that we have the right stuff for kids in our school district and if you do your job as a student, you'll have the opportunity to have a free education. >> reporter: during the last 15 years, mr. vagelos, former ceo of murk, has contributed millions of dollars for seniors accepted in to the nation's top 25 colleges. why the latest donation? i had helped me reach for the top by working harder. i believe this program will similarly challenge students to go for it, entry in to a great university. according to one study, seven

from a public or nonprofit college leave school with not just a diploma but also about $29,000 in student debt. applications for rutgers' six-year future scholars program will open next week. eligible applicants are 7th graders. >> we're providing them with guidance, with support, mentoring, to allow them to foresee what their potential really is. >> in-state tuition at rutgers runs about $14,000 a year. the scholarship does not cover room and board. joe torres, channel 7 eyewitness news. >> wonderful opportunity. a big controversy swirling over an off campus college party. >> coming up on eyewitness news, a party on the beach with racial undertones. what the school is doing now in response. >> i'm liz cho. coming up at 6:00, disturbing new questions in the death of a 2-year-old girl who died in a fire after police say her mother left her home alone. what we're now learning about a child welfare investigation in

>> and a courtroom bombshell. what the driver charged in the deadly turnpike crash admitted today to a judge. i hope we have a buyer for the house. me too!

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tonight the controversy off campus is taking center stage on campus. they're holding a forum to discuss racial issues. >> it's all because of a party at the beach that featured a theme that was in poor taste. marcus solis has more for us. >> even though that incident did occur off campus, students are held to the university's code of conduct. so an investigation is underway party. >> i don't think it's okay. i think something should be done about it and talked about. >> reporter: and it has been the talk of campus. a so-called ghetto party held over the weekend at an off campus location by fairfield

>> i don't think it was intentionally racist or there wasn't anything supposed to be going on like that. but yeah, i think it was just not very well thought out. >> reporter: administrators learned of the party via social media after a number of racially insensitive photos circulated. but among the issues still being investigated whether some students were in black face. >> we've not been able to confirm that the party was a themed party and we have no confirmation that there were any students in any type of makeup there. >> reporter: but the president of the university did e-mail students, concerned the party, quote, perpetuated racial stereotypes that have no place in our community and only serve to offend and devalue people. >> it was disappointment. there was a little bit of shock and then there was immediate action in terms of how can we make this a learning situation? >> reporter: 78% of the jesuit university's white. diversity will be the focus of a campus meeting tonight.

>> our main issue was to build up our diversity on campus and to really stop these problems of different racial discriminations and things like that. >> tonight's forum will be student-run. it will be closed to the media, faculty and staff invited to observe, but it will be the students invited to air their grievances. marcus solis, channel 7 eyewitness news. still ahead, it's not your imagination. there are more slashings and stabbings here in new york city. >> so what's being done about it?

disturbing investigation of a girl left home alone. >> prosecutors say the man charged in the deadly new jersey turnpike crash was high on amphetamines and his license has been suspended dozens of times. good evening at 6:00, i'm bill ritter. >> i'm liz cho. much more on those stories in just a minute. we begin with the weather with powerful storms expected to move through our area tonight. right now it is raining in many parts of our area. >> earlier this afternoon, minor flooding on the l.i.e. and part of our area is under a tornado watch. >> lee goldberg is tracking the storms. >> certainly fields mild enough for spring storms or in the upper 50s right now. light rain, have the umbrella on standby. visibility is really low. you look and you barely can see whether the brooklyn bridge is starting to go in manhattan.

that tornado watch is from mercer county, new jersey down to the philly area. worse weather will be to the south and west. red boxes, that's areas of tornado warnings that are active over eastern virginia. look at all the storm reports. even a funnel clouds 30 miles to the southwest of dc. storm prediction center has us in a slight risk especially from nassau county westward. wind advisories along the coast. lower westchester and also in to parts of fairfield county as well. we're seeing gusts at 30 but we could see gusts over 55 miles per hour. that could mean down trees and power lines. i've got big puddles and ponding but at least through the evening commute the raining has been off and on. up to about i-78, pushing in to staten island right now. by far the heaviest is to the south and west. look at all the live lightning strikes getting in to cape may, allentown, pennsylvania and squall line moving through dc. storm reports will continue to

the next hour or two. worst weather probably from 7:00 to midnight. 10:00 probably the peak. average rainfall, inch or two. localized flooding is a possibility. we could certainly see gusty thunderstorms that can cause damage across the area. we'll be wild during the overnight. things will settle down, more storm tracking and accuweather in just a few minutes. severe weather possibly playing a role in a couple manhole explosions in new jersey. two man holes shooting 25 feet in the air in elizabeth. cruise on the scene -- crews on the scene to make sure they're safe. the salt from snow removal leaked in to and ate away at insulation of underground wires. that sparked the fires. fortunately nobody was hurt. we invite you to stay with eyewitness news throughout the evening for the latest on the storms. get the latest forecast any time on our free accutrack weather alert app. a tragic fire death of a 2-year-old girl in brooklyn. sources say new york city's