she was an inspiring writer. in one of her online posts, she wrote, quote, i am a girl in dire need of love. i am a woman afraid to give herself up. i'm a child who just wants goodness. but karina apparently only found evil last night on an unpaved marshy path where she had run countless times. her body found 15 feet off the trail. her cell phone nearby. >> there's nothing bad you could say about her. she was a sweetheart. she lit up the room when she walked in. sh beautiful girl. >> this is a girl who wound up unfortunately face down in a pit near her home which should have never happened ever. >> reporter: tonight the investigation continues in this tight knit community. so many here wondering if this was random or whether karina for some reason was targeted. >> just a few minutes ago we did get word the medical examiner has officially ruled this a

are expected to gather here behind me for a vigil tonight starting at 8:00. reporting live, rob nelson, channel 7 eyewitness news. justice tonight decades in the making for a young man wrongly convicted of raping a teenager. 28 years ago. his name was cleared today after new dna testing of evidence. but not before he served several years in prison and a long time on the sex offender registry. eyewitness news reporter aj ross with the story. >> after enduring the unthinkable for nearly 28 years, deon harrell walked out of the courthouse with gratitude for his attorneys who believed he was innocent all along. >> reporter: mere words can't describe the seemingly insurmountable obstacles he's faced the better part of his life. just 22 years old, he was

teenaged girl in long branch in 1988. he always maintained his innocence but spent four years in prison and nearly the next 20 on the sex offender registry before new dna results completely exonerated him. >> the fact he's here today is a testament to his amazing strength and determination in the face of tremendous odds against him. >> reporter: full of emotions, he declined to talk about the struggles his lawyers say he's faced finding employment and record. the father and now grandfather did acknowledge the support of his loving family and encouraged others to never give up. >> you know you're right, keep going for it. fight. fight. >> you have to commend him for doing that because he's always maintained his innocence and now

case helped overturn a law where only defendants still in prison could require a dna test. >> it's unconscionable to deny people evidence that could prove them innocent. he's living proof of that. >> when i asked him what he wanted to do next, he said he's still thinking it over but he's just glad his name is finally clear. 7 eyewitness news. all four suspects accused in the murder of a rising pro baseball star have now accepted plea deals. garth cole appeared in court today and pled guilty. he was one of four people responsible for the drive-by shooting at a burger king in yonkers last september that killed 23-year-old michael nolan. his family says despite the guilty pleas, they'll never have

him. i don't get that. i don't get to hear him say it back to me. i'll never have grandchildren from him. >> nolan was a gifted left-handed pitcher who had been drafted by the oakland as right before his death. police say nolan was not the intended target. police in new jersey are searching for the driver who crashed in to a home and then took off. surveillance video shows the moment the car slammed in to the the house damaged but so were the two parked cars out front when the driver hit them before sailing in to the house. the homeowner says about 5 minutes after the crash, the driver backed out of the home and drove off. by the time police arrived the car was gone. >> i don't know how he left the scene. you could see the skid marks where they're standing.

upstairs and smoky. >> unfortunately no one inside the house was hurt. a stunning accusation tonight from new jersey senate president. democrat steve sweeney claims the state's largest teachers union threatened unless the senate pass adproposed amendment to increase pension payments by the state. new jersey education association claims it did nothing illegal. also in new jersey, a judge set bail at $100,000 for governor chris christis transportation commissioner jamie fox. fox is accused of conspiring to commit bribery, a charge that stems from his time as a lobbyist for united airlines. he did not enter a plea in federal court in newark today. his exchanges with former port authority chairman david sampson were uncovered during the so-called bridge gate investigation. a washington, d.c. metro transit police officer is accused of trying to help isis,

magistrate appointed 36-year-old nicholas young, a public defender. investigators say young tried to help isis operatives communicate in secret. they say he purchased gift cards and intended to give them to isis operatives to support mobile messaging accounts. but young actually gave the gift cards to an undercover fbi source. turning now to the presidential race and republican party leaders are reportedly frustrated by the rough political week that donald trump is still having. trum under pressure for his comments about the family of huizhen zhan. mike pence did exactly the opposite and endorsed ryan. some say party leaders are looking at ways to replace trump if he decides to drop out of the political race. political reporter dave evans is in the newsroom with the latest. >> there are certainly mixed

said the trump campaign is a mess, that he can't stay on message, and he's angering many republicans across the country. but in daytona beach this afternoon, trump refuted all the naysayers and claimed he's actually gaining on hillary clinton. >> reporter: donald trump today tried to get back on message amid reports his campaign is in turmoil. >> it's never been so well united. we started on june 16th. i would say right now it's the terms of being united that it's been since we began. we're doing incredibly well. >> reporter: there are reports the republican chairman is furious now with trump for what insiders call trump's inability to stay on message. he has continued a nasty feud with the family of an american hero killed in iraq and he seemed confused about basic foreign affairs. >> he's not going to go in to ukraine. >> he's already there, isn't he?

trump's refusal to endorse paul ryan in his primary. he won't back john mccain yet in his race. trump's running mate on fox seemed to backtrack for the boss. >> i talked to donald trump this morning about my support for paul ryan, our long time friendship. he strongly encouraged me to endorse paul ryan in next tuesday's primary and i'm pleased to do it. >> reporter: the campaign denies any in-fighting. >> this is another clinton air being put out there that the on. >> reporter: ever since winning the nomination, trump's behavior has confounded republicans. newt gingrich, a big trump supporter, has said trump has got to fix things. >> mr. trump, excuse me. >> reporter: till today hillary clinton has kept a relatively low profile this week. in colorado at a company making ties, she blasted trump for making his ties in china. >> if he wants to make america great again he should start by

he could learn by coming here. >> the trump campaign today released new fundraising figures for the month of july. they are strong numbers. $80 million, mostly in small contributions. there's a poll out from fox tv that shows hillary clinton has a 10-point lead over donald trump. following some breaking news in newark where police are searching a storm drain for a suspect. newscopter7 is over the scene right now. authorities say a man traffic stop this afternoon and then jumped in to the passaic river to avoid capture. the suspect swam across the river before climbing on to a support on the bridge street bridge. he then re-entered the river, swam to the storm drain, and then walked in to it. and apparently has not been seen since. taking a quick look at wall street right now where stocks finished the day higher. dow gained 41 points.

up more than 6. a close call as we continue with eyewitness news at 6:00 on this wednesday night. an emirates air flight makes a frightening landing. >> one man from new jersey claims he had a rather close and uncomfortable encounter with a bear at his home but police aren't quite buying his story. >> beautiful afternoon. we're at 77 degrees. earl became a hurricane a little over an hour ago and it's headed to belize as we go through the overnight hours. stats on the storm, 75-mile-per-hour winds moving to

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24/7 access online, on the phone or with the geico app. that is more. go get some mud... all that "more" has to be why they're the second-largest auto insurer. everybody likes more. mhm, i think so. geico. expect great savings and a whole lot more. investigators are trying to determine what caused a jumbo jet to make a hard landing then go up in flames at the world's third busiest airport. the emirates airline flight from southern india skidded across the runway at dubai international airport. passengers rushed to escape on the inflatable slides as smoke filled the cabin of the boeing 777. all 300 people onboard survived but 10 of them went to the hospital. a responding firefighter,

the plane exploded as he doused the flames. back here in our area, was it a bear scare or something else? tonight police want to get to the bottom of what happened to a man who says he came face to face with a bear this morning. a man from pohatcong, new jersey says the encounter happened today on his back porch while he was feeding his cat. the homeowner says the bear swiped at him with his paw, scratching him. but the department of environmental protection says consistent with a bear attack. >> a lot of our residents are now on edge because there was a bear and in fact that's not the case. then we'll proceed accordingly. >> police have been searching for that bear and have not found anything. the man's injuries are considered minor. a fourth grader in manhattan is using his media savvy to help save lives from the so-called corner of death. 9-year-old lucas maxwell made a mini documentary with help from his dad and brother to alert the

dangerous intersection in soho. the online video pointed out that pedestrians crossing the street at kenmar and lafayette are in serious danger of being hit by cars making left turns. that's his video right there. the city listened. and today announced new safety enhancements. >> i feel like now this corner is really safe and it's easier for people to cross and nobody is going to get hit anymore. in the top 1% of new york city intersections for left turn crashes. the d.o.t. hopes the new lane markers and a signal giving pedestrians a head start for the crossing will make a difference. a big birthday to tell you about. tony bennett is planning a big event for his 90th birthday today. that will be seen for miles. and you can watch the light show in your very own home. we'll explain. >> lee says great weather for the rest of the week, but this weekend could be off to an iffy

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legendary tony bennett is celebrating his 90th birthday today. looks fabulous. look at him. he and lady gaga among the many stars. she's helping him celebrate. she presented the queens native with flowers today at the empire state building. both of them look so she can. tonight the skyscraper will present a choreographed music to light show to honor bennett's my 90th birthday and i really feel like it's my 20th. i'm just thrilled about the way everybody has reacted to my 90th birthday. something i'll never forget as long as i live and i'm going to live a long time. >> that's fantastic. the video and light show will be posted online later this evening. we'll have a link to it on our

voice, it sounds like it did years ago. >> making a mess with my papers. >> you're in my area a little bit. >> he's very organized. [ laughter ] it's gorgeous outside. >> my turn. >> aww. [ laughter ] >> outside we go on a quiet weather wednesday. blue of room. subway series game number 3. beautiful at first pitch. temperatures will be in the mid 70s. 50% humidity. southeasterly wind at 12. pressure is on. just shy of the 80-degree mark. there are your sunrise and sunset times. going to be a pretty evening. really a perfect pair of days on the evening. the humidity is climbing up a little bit. we're still in the low 80s. 70s at the beaches.

e week goes on. near 90 on saturday. but there's going to be some clouds and a thunderstorm threat especially right in the middle of the day in to about midafternoon. i think we're going to be drying out by late day and evening hours. our numbers are down to 73 in west hampton. maybe a sweatshirt on the beach. 76 degrees, babylon. 76 in danbury. we're still in the mid to upper 70s. even low 80s in poughkeepsie away from the ocean breeze. 77 in newark. same thing in toms river right now. early evening. it's clear overnight. mostly sunny during the day tomorrow. once again, the winds will be turning onshore. maybe we get in to the low 80s but then back in to the upper 70s at the coastline during the afternoon hours. satellite is mainly clear. high pressure in control. little weak front falling apart in between the highs. this is a front that will arrive on saturday. that's the storm threat from late morning in to midafternoon. it's right in the middle of the day. earl unfortunately strengthening just prior to landfall, looking

earl and a hurricane hunter flew in to the storm. pretty broad right here. going to make tonight, wee hours of the morning. belize city is right about here. we'll be watching it closely as we go to eyewitness news at 11:00. it will go in to southern mexico over the next couple days. 6 to 12 inches of rain. picture-perfect for us. great day. even nicer friday. beautiful day in the low to mid 80s. there's your thunder maker on saturday. mainly clear and comfy. mostly sunny. 68 tomorrow night. low 80s the next two days. 70s at the beaches. watch out for the rip currents. saturday storm threat is about 11:00 in the morning to 3:00 or 4:00 in the afternoon. it's a couple storms that roll

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same teams, different place. >> it is the same subway series, but with the change of series. after the yankees and mets clash for a pair of games at citifield in flushing to open the week tonight. they've moved their way over to the bronx as the interleague rivalry sets up c pair of games at yankee stadium. the new york teams have each taken a win. they'll both look to double it tonight for the yankees. they'll also be looking in to the future. after calling up prospect gary sanchez who will start tonight at designated hitter, that means alex rodriguez is once again benched because right now it's all about the youth moment. >> i'm still thinking about winning games now and how we play today, how we beat steven matz who's got really good

excited about coming here. this is if you have power, this is a good place to play. >> the mets evened out the series with the yankees in a big way at citifield thanks to a pretty clutch home run from alejandro de aza as he took tanaka deep for the two-run jack. then it was travis d'arnaud. game. jacob degrom was degrominating on the mound. that's a word according to the mets. he struck out eight in seven scoreless innings of work. the mets may have won last night, today though, another loss in the injury department. lucas duda has been shut down from all baseball activities for another 30 days after suffering a flare-up in his injured back. the 1st baseman has been out since may. time now to go camping as the giants continue their work today. odell beckham, jr. did not practice. it appears though he could

to the side today. as for the rest of big blue's offense, the receivers not the only ones who will be heavily relied upon this season. the giants hope to have a strong run game led by jennings, perkins, williams, starqua also in the mix. >> we're evaluating all the backs. they're all getting plenty of reps. we have the microscope on the run game. the jets also practiced today, but no, that is not biggest news to come out of florin park on this day. are you ready? ryan fitzpatrick has cut his hair. we repeat, ryan fitzpatrick has cut his hair. that's what gang green's quarterback looked like yesterday. today, a much more streamlined fit. however, if you will notice that beard, it's still going quite strong. qb did not comment on his new look. when you think of the summer olympics over the last decade and a half, one name comes to mind. it's quite appropriate michael

flag in the opening ceremony in rio. the owner of a career record, 22 olympic medals, will lead the u.s. in the parade of athletes after he was voted in by those athletes. phelps says this will be his final olympics. >> it's a dream come true to lead our country in to this olympics is something i honestly never thought i'd have the opportunity to do. >> there are few things more frustrating than having someone get in the way when you're just especially if you're a baseball player, even more so if it you're joey votto apparently. it's a reds fan. he wasn't too pleased with the guy. after a chance to cool down, he realized maybe he overreacted. signed a ball for the guy. then posed for pictures and everyone lived happily ever after. i think that's the least he could have done. >> i like what he wrote on the ball. i was having a bad moment and i

[ laughter ] thanks for joining us. world news tonight is next. tonight, breaking developments as we come on. the crash-landing. the passenger jet exploding into flames. and this evening, we now have images of the panic inside the boeing 777. 300 passengers an crew racing to escape down emergency chutes. and now reporting here. did the pilot forget to put down donald trump onstage moments ago. what he's now saying amid reports of turmoil inside his campaign. as a key republican says they're now supporting hillary clinton. as we come on tonight, the tropical storm just upgraded to a hurricane. the track right now and when it makes landfall. also, massive flooding shuts down highways, as new wildfires erupt in the west. the tragedy behind the