laying out what funeral homes can and cannot do. he says this family's anguish is proof that these problems and this confusion needs to be fixed. we're live in lower manhattan, stacey sager, channel 7 eyewitness news. there's still much more ahead. >> eyewitness news at 6:00 starts right now. police tonight are searching for the driver who killed a man in queens, ran him down, then never stopped. >> and suddenly, new york voters are a hot commodity. the presidential candidates invade new york from riding a subway to touring a bakery and a deli. a busy day for candidates in new york as the rhetoric heats up 12 days before the suddenly

>> good evening at 6:00. i'm liz cho. >> and i'm bill ritter. more on those stories in a moment. first a scandal and shakeup at the nypd. >> four high ranking officers have been reassigned as the fbi widens its corruption investigation. at issue, did officers do special favors for the orthodox jewish community in exchange for gifts? >> eyewitness news reporter n.j. tonight. >> this case is all about favors, special treatment. funeral. of course police officers are expected to protect and serve the community but federal agents want to know did these officials go too far? >> this is not a particularly good day for the department. >> reporter: the commissioner acknowledged that the 66th precinct investigation is now focused on at least four nypd commanders, as well as others who have left the department. sources say among them is former chief of department phillip banks.

relationships in borough park. the investigation began in 2013, looking at the relationships among two brooklyn businessmen and several high ranking nypd officials. specifically whether favors or other considerations were offered in exchange for trips, gifts, or cash. sources say up to two dozen officers have been interviewed, regarding possible violations of department policy, city conflict of interest rules or even federal criminal laws. although officials do not believe the suspected conduct was widespread. >> we don't believe based on what we know so far that this is deep systemic corruption throughout the department as opposed to perhaps bad judgment of a small group of people that are relatively senior. >> reporter: the commissioner transferred deputy chiefs colon and rodriguez, as well as deputy chief michael harrington and deputy inspector james grant who were both stripped of their guns and badges.

with we believe the truth as we know it and at this point in time we have enough information that we believe supports the decisions that i made today. >> reporter: sources say norman seabrook, the long time correction union president is also under investigation. all have denied any wrongdoing. >> ben bathman, lawyer for phil banks, said nothing in his client's bank accounts can be tied to any wrongdoing whatsoever. to recap, four nypd commanders have been reassigned. two of those commanders have been stripped of their guns and badges. and this investigation is not over tonight. live tonight in borough park, brooklyn, n.j. burkett, channel 7 eyewitness news. there's a search tonight for a hit-and-run driver in queens. a car slammed in to a 45-year-old man who was crossing the street at 21st in astoria. the driver never stopped. eyewitness news reporter cefaan

>> detectives say they do have video showing this car moving at, quote, warp speed down the street last night. speeding is an issue residents say they're all too familiar with. what they're shocked about, a man was left here to die after being mowed down. >> reporter: detectives in astoria combing for clues, looking for the cold hearted driver who sped off. >> should have stopped and turned yourself in. >> reporter: shattered glass litters the scene where the 45-year-old lost his life. tossed across the road from the force of the impact. it happened around 11 p.m. investigators now searching for a red toyota. there is no crosswalk at 30th road where the victim was struck and killed. 21st street is a major through street. residents say no stranger to reckless driving. >> it's pretty dangerous. people are moving really fast. people have been trying to get a traffic light over here but

>> reporter: neighbors, meanwhile, not surprised by the deadly incident. >> i've seen it the other day too so it's not my first time. i've been here for three months. this is the second time i've seen something like this. >> again, there's video that cops have yet to release, showing that speeding red toyota. the victim was pronounced dead at elmhurst hospital. he's yet to be identified. reporting live in astoria, cefaan kim, channel 7 eyewitness news. a frightening accident in manhattan. a taxi cab jumps the curb and hits the pedestrian. the cabby suffered some kind of medical condition. eyewitness news obtaining this video. the victim walking along university place when the cab veered left, jumped the curb, and started driving in the wrong direction. witnesses did their best to help the woman before paramedics arrived. >> there was a doctor on scene too. he was saying they might have to lift the cab but people were unsure if they wanted to lift the cab or not. >> it was nauseating to see.

she's now in critical condition. charges have been filed against a man involved in a deadly crash on the long island expressway. investigators say 34-year-old driver hit a median in the hov lane in jericho around 2:00 this morning. when he pulled over to secure his bumper, a car driven by 34-year-old bonaficio enriquez pushed the man in to traffic. the third car hit and killed him. the suspect is charged with manslaughter and drunk driving. it's still unclear tonight what sparked a deadly house fire also on long island that killed an elderly couple. the fire consumed the home in patchogue. the flames were too intense for neighbors or firefighters to rescue the homeowners. we're told the husband cared for his wife who was disabled after she suffered a stroke. the victims' identities were found together on the 1st floor. rudy giuliani has made up

in the upcoming new york primary. the new york times reporting the former mayor will vote for donald trump. however, mr. giuliani will not publically endorse him. voters in new york finding out what it's like to be invited to the ball. they're getting wooed big time. ted cruz at a matzah bakery. hillary clinton taking the number 4 subway line, also in the bronx. meanwhile, the victory that defines the republican campaigns now creeping in to the battle of bernie sanders and hillary clinton. >> this year's primary on the democratic side has been closely watched for several different reasons. it's the next primary and there are 291 delegates at stake. that's a lot. bernie sanders has lately been last seven contests. hillary clinton is determined to stop that trend here in her adopted home state.

politician rides the subway, even when it's just for show, and today was hillary clinton's turn. like all of us, she had to swipe her metro card several times before it actually worked. but it did, and clinton rode two stops north on the number 4 from yankee stadium. the meat of today was a race that's becoming nasty, with bernie sanders now questioning clinton's qualifications. >> look, i don't know why he's saying that, but i will take bernie sanders over donald trump or ted cruz any time. >> reporter: clinton today tried to move beyond this squabble but did take a sudden dig at sanders and all of his grand ideas. >> it's all about rolling up our sleeves and getting to work. don't make promises you can't keep. >> reporter: sanders claims it's clinton who started this fight over who's better qualified. >> maybe the american people might wonder about your

when you voted for the war in iraq, the most disastrous foreign policy blunder in modern history america. >> she's the one who's proven she can get it done. >> reporter: a new tv ad now running in new york under scores qualified. >> the presidency is the toughest job in the world and she's the one who will make a real difference for you. >> reporter: bernie sanders, originally from brooklyn, recently caught grief for saying subway. clinton pointed out it's different now. >> i think we changed when i was senator. i think it was my first term when we changed from tokens to metro cards. [ laughter ] >> we've lately heard republicans will have probably a contested election in cleveland this summer. that's because no one will get to the required number of delegates. that's less likely to happen on the democratic side we think. hillary clinton has about 250 more delegates than sanders and only needs to win about 35% of

so the path easier for clinton and more difficult for sanders. we'll see. >> you mentioned the republicans. on the republican side in just a few minutes, senator ted cruz is set to meet with jewish community leaders in brooklyn. the gop candidate spent time at a jewish bakery earlier today. facing mostly protesters in the bronx yesterday. he was supposed to speak at a school in the bronx but students there threatened to walk out, calling him homophobic and racist, and the event was canceled. earlier today he received a slightly better response in upstate new york. >> the key to this election, the key to the new york primary are the men and women here, are the grassroots. >> governor john kasich released a new ad today, attacking cruz for those comments on new york values. he also got a much more warm response than cruz. kasich had a sandwich, lots of

with supporters and said if he's going to be the nominee, he'll ask derek jeter to be his running mate. trump heads upstate this weekend. and we invite you to stay with eyewitness news and abc7ny for complete coverage as we count down to april 19th. the primary here in new york. as we continue with eyewitness news at 6:00, a woman forced to jump out of a burning building but right in to the arms of a police officer. tonight she's publically saying thanks. >> and the new york city council takes final action on a measure to put new restrictions on those characters and those naked women in times square. >> and the weather has been all over the place today. still have wind in the east end of long island. an advisory through the early evening hours. one batch of showers moves away. couple showers starting to move in. then snow off to the northwest. our mild temperatures now turn

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a woman from westchester county tonight is accused of setting her own building on fire. 29-year-old zalika gorham has been arrested and charged with second degree arson in the fire last night in mount vernon. officials say she's emotionally disturbed. several people are now homeless. thankfully everyone got out alive, including a woman who was trapped by the smoke and the flames and was forced to jump to safety.

photograph with an elmo or take a chance on an unknown artist. >> we apologize. that's the wrong tape there. we should say to you that the woman who was forced to jump out, she landed on a police officer. he suffered some minor injuries but he's back home and resting comfortably. now to those costume characters you just saw in times square. they could see more restrictions. this comes after city council today approving a measure to give the department of transportation control over pedestrian plazas. they passed the bill 42-1. they'll regulate when and where performers can pose for pictures and the characters will have to stay in the tourist hub. city council members plan to work to create a better environment for both tourists and native new yorkers. a quick look at wall street. it was a rough day for investors. dow lost 174. nasdaq was down 72. s&p 500 was down 24. still to come on eyewitness

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it's nice, we've seen like some glimmers of sun this afternoon. >> winter just can't hold on that long. >> that spring just glimmers of sun. >> we have the snow over the weekend. i think you'll like what i have to say about that. limited opportunity for snowfall as we go on to saturday. let's go ahead and go outside right now where heavy cloud cover over central park. we've had bright spots at times. the main rain has moved away. there will still be a shower in 57 degrees. it's lowered a bit. recover. the high today, at least we got back to average at 58. records, 92 and 21. so this is a very timely lull in the rain for the commute. for the night, spotty showers. might be an isolated thunder shower. that would be the exception

our numbers from fort wadsworth to jamaica, over to parkchester and the bronx, temperatures generally in the mid and upper 50s. it's a little breezy. we managed to reach 60 in lakehurst and wrightstown. there can be a shower during the evening hours. still have the umbrella for a night hours. tomorrow morning, it's clouds, a little bit of sun as well. breezy day tomorrow. the clouds may break at times. also an isolated shower. bulk of the day is dry. good news for the mets game. heavy rains in to new england. a break here. more showers off to the south. look at this cluster of heavy showers, even thunderstorms. that's going to try to move in to southern new jersey. it will also weaken with time. i don't think it's too strong when it gets here. we'll track that through the evening hours. meanwhile, this huge low is pinwheeling through the great lakes. this still has to pivot through with a couple showers overnight in to tomorrow. the snow stays to the north along with the cloud cover. eventually that cold and snow, it's going to try to shift off

this little disturbance here and the track is critical because it's only going to be about a rain. looks like it's going to slip just to our south. futurecast. you have your showers that make a bit of a resurgence. they'll weaken after midnight. year. lower 50s, isolated shower. it will be fine at citifield. 42 tonight. spot evening shower or thunderstorm. then partly cloudy. tomorrow, 53. a lot of clouds. limited sunshine. more as the day wears on. breezy and cooler. tomorrow night the chill starts to come in. that sets the stage for saturday for our wet snow and rain as well. watch what happens here. the storm looks like it's pivoting underneath us. there's that band of rain and snow. this may end up being a little farther to the north. even with that said, i think it's rain mixed with wet snow

maybe it's enough to coat some grassy surfaces. western morris county, hunterdon, maybe warren county, it looks like the northern suburbs may be too far away to get the steady accumulations. we'll have to watch that track as we go through the next 24 hours. meanwhile on sunday some high clouds around, breezy day. a little less wind in the afternoon. more clouds coming in on monday. but at least temperatures are bumping up in to the upper 50s and low 60s and rain returning on tuesday. at least we're staying in the 50s here even late week. questions with that snow threat on saturday. i'll have more at 11:00 in to the evening. rob is up next with sports. >> as long as we can play ball here. baseball begins to move to center stage. the yankees put their home opener behind them. now it's the mets' turn. straight ahead, a workout at citifield for the national league champs with their first home game less than 24 hours

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let me get this right. the yankees are playing right now as we speak, while our newscast is on the air? >> they were lucky to get this one underway. they blitzed the astros last night and crossed their fingers in hopes of playing again this afternoon. beat them by 10 last time out. a football-like spread in football-like weather. dealing with wet weather this afternoon in the bronx. short delay, skies cleared and they played ball. carlos correa having a great series. lifts one here in the 1st inning. ellsbury tracks it down. he couldn't get to everything. tyler white goes deep in the 2nd inning. the astros grabbed the lead and they would extend the lead with the next batter. preston tucker expects a home run. astros go back-to-back on nathan

starling castro, five rbi last night. what a start for this guy. right now the yankees are trying to finish. they were down until alex rodriguez gets his 1st base hit of the season. rbi single in the 5th to tie the game. that's where they are right now 5-5 in the 6th. the mets play their long awaited home opener tomorrow afternoon against the phillies. fellas had a citifield workout today. they did what they could with the rain and the cold after opening the season in kansas city, the mets are set to play the first home game since last year's world series. they'll raise the national league pennant before the game. citifield is going to be rocking. earlier today in a private ceremony the players were given their national league championship rings. mets tweeting these pictures today. now the stage is set to play ball tomorrow. jacob degrom was at the workout. scheduled pitcher tomorrow. but his wife is due to give birth any day now. >> i'm just focused on tomorrow's game, taking it day by day, and whatever happens happens. my main focus is on tomorrow.

of fun to walk out there, defending national league champs and it's going to be cool. one of the most notable events gets started this morning in augusta, georgia. jordan spieth picked up at augusta right where he left off last year. 6 under par. rory mcilroy leads the group three shots back. phil mickelson, even par. jason day, six back. rickie fowler, 80. there's bubba watson and tom watson in his final masters at two over. san antonio visiting golden state. tomorrow the nets are in charlotte. the knicks are in philly. the knicks lost to the hornets by 14. they've lost 5 of the last 6. record stands at 41-48. they've got three games left to avoid another 50-loss season. another rough one. these games left on the schedule, they still need to be played. so knicks will play them.

three games knowing you have nothing to look forward to after that. these next couple days is very challenging as athletes to kind of stay strong and close the season out. on ice tonight, the islanders and rangers meet at the garden. they both qualified for the playoffs. this game tonight is about seating which could mean everything once the playoffs do roll around. rangers announcing today dan girardi will miss this game with an upper body injury suffered late in tuesday's win over tampa bay. he's listed as day-to-day. girardi joins captain ryan mcdonagh who's out the rest of the regular season with his own upper body injury. that's two of their top defensemen now sitting out. the princeton men's lacrosse coach has been fired after an incident saturday during a game at brown. chris bates seen on video hitting an opposing player with his elbow. the player, he looks unhurt but stunned as were princeton officials. bates told the daily news there's more context to this than what you see here.

was enough for school officials. let's take a look at the stories we're working on for eyewitness news at 11:00. sade is here for that. >> new tonight at 11:00, armed robbers invade a home in jersey city. hear from the elderly man they attacked. you might be surprised about what they stole from him. plus, the postal service about to make a big change, and they haven't done this in nearly 100 years. and it's good news for your wallet. we'll have that and more tonight on eyewitness news at 11:00. >> that's it for us for now. thanks for watching. i'm bill ritter. >> i'm liz cho. world news tonight with d breaking news tonight. the outbreak. now 13 confirmed tornadoes slicing through communities. homes wiped out. plus, the blinding rain and brutal cold sweeping into the east. also this evening, the battle for new york now. ted cruz tries to recover facing angry new yorkers after his comments about new york values.