that. but the blast was powerful enough that it did quite a bit of damage sparked a short or five workers. now two of those workers are thought to be in critical or serious condition can and rushed to lawrence general and med flighted to boston hospitals. we don't know which ones. the incident trying archdiocese triggered a massive response from fire fighters to in protective suits came and went from the the build willing all afternoon as -- building all afternoon and stunned workers huddled in front of the plant one said i heard a big explosion. other work worse say nothing. now -- workers would say nothing. 45 minutes ago we spoke with the lieutenant of the north andover fire department. >> we are going through the building and check it out. it was a small explosion.

couple have been airlifted into boston. >> reporter: now officials stress there is no danger to the public. there's no chemical leak. there's no chemical cloud. none of that and you -- this comes against a backdrop of a deadly accident that happened here back in 2013. at that time there was an explosion involving the chemical try methel lindium killing a lab worker burning him over half the body. investigators appear to be setting up lights out in the parking lot and i guess they will be here sometime this evening investigating that. we will be here of course and bring you the latest as this newscast carries on. for now, live in north andover, ken macleod, wbz news. >> thanks and as ken mentioned some of the victims of that explosion were taken to lawrence general. >> and jim armstrong is there live where he has been speaking with doctors. what's the latest there? >> reporter: just talked with the chief of the er at lawrence general and gives us a update of what they were dealing with.

just before 3:00 this afternoon with what the doctor described as severe injuries. all four people critically wounded as a result of the explosion that ken was just describing. the injuries to three people so severe they were taken by helicopter med flighted to level one trauma seners. two people have been taken to mass general and a third to brigham and women's hospital to be treated for their very severe and critical injuries. fourth person injured critically injured but that person's injuries are such the physicians at lawrence general feel like they can treat the injuries here without needing to send that person out to boston. the doctor describes the injuries as consistent with what he sees after a chemical explosion. he called them blast injuries again saying they are severe and even to get the four people into lawrence general was a bit of an ordeal. all four of them had to be decontaminated before they were

the doctor described it to me involving stripping them down and absolutely dousing them with water until authorities could be completely certain they weren't going to be bring any of the toxic chemicals into the emergency room. i will let the doctor speak and describe a little more about theextent of the injuries. explosion that occurred. so, with the patients-- what the patient has was blast injuries from the pressure of the explosion and chemicals on their body and burns as well. >> reporter: the preliminary description of the chemical the name of the chemical is trimethel aluminium and it's very toxic and something that can be used in the the type of work that's being done today. at that facility. but in terms of the level of exposure all we know is it was enough to send three people to the level one trauma centers of boston and leave one person here. all four in critical condition. i did confirm with the hospital this is something they see very seldom but something for which they train very frequently.

described the hour or so during which this happened is intense. but he said that his team here prepares for it exceptionally well and according to him everything went by the book and that's why they got the four people the level of care their extreme injuries needed. jim armstrong wbz news. >> thank you. also breaking here at 5, an historic and ugly day for wall street. the dow shedding nearly 400 points. louisa moller is here with what it means. >> reporter: this is the worst start to the year ever for the dow jones industrial average. even worse than the beginning of 2008. let's look at those numbers. dow dropped 392 points or 2%. s&p and nasdaq also down more than 2%. all of this amid huge fears of a slow down in china for the second time this week. china called off trading as the stock market tumbled. the latest concern related to a

so why does this matter to you and me? china is the fastest growing economy in the world and intertwined with our own of course. the worries this is a warning shot from china there could be big problems ahead but there is some good news in all this. thanks to this drop, mortgage rates are below 4%. live in the studio louisa moller wbz news. >> thanks. also tonight, two dollars and a dream. no one had the winning ticket last night and that means at 700 million dollar the power ball jackpot is the largest in history. if we had power gall-- power ball fever before it's frenzy. >> with no big winner the prize reached a record amount. 700 million dollars and that has people excited. bill shields is live in plymouth where a person did take home part of the prize last night bill. >> reporter: part of the prize. a million dollars. but what we are talking about here is by the time the next drawing comes around on saturday they are talking a billion dollars.

you have to worry about the stock market taking a dive with a billion dollars. your lump um sum-- sum would be 4 hundred unmillion personly i want to pay off my visa bill from the holidays. but they hung a sign up the express mart north plymouth this is where someone got awfully close to that money. >> 6 numbers and the power ball. >> reporter: regulars were coming into the, press mart but there were new lottery players here too after one power ball ticket buyer got 5 of the 6 numbers. >> can lightning strike twice? >> yes. >> reporter: you think it can. >> yes definitely. >> reporter: it's a lucky store. >> i bought another ticket here this morning. >> reporter: the buyer gets 5 right and the power ball didn't match. so instead of 400 million dollars, they got one million. >> i would buy my sea of home in florida and i would go on a lot of trips. >> reporter: okay, so now the power ball jackpot is approaching 1 billion dollars.

are your odds really? >> the odds of winning the jackpot are 1 in over 292 million. >> reporter: no problem he. >> not too bad. >> reporter: well, life is all about hope right? fulfilling your dreams and aspirations. so maybe, this is simply hope. >> it's serious cash and a it-- it would change your life and i would like to experience it. >> reporter: me too. i will share. not that a 400 million dollar lump sum payout will buy hammy -- happiness but aid good start. -- it's a real good start. >> you can't win if you don't play. >> that's very true. >> reporter: and it's only $2 ticket that's really hard to wrap your armed arms around but you haired the odds but in north -- heard the odds of that but in north plymouth they are wondering if lightning stroix twice. >> appreciate it. as bill mentioned, the odds of winning are 1 in 292.2

that means you have a way better chance of becoming president of the united states because the odds of that happening are one in 10 million or being drafted into the nba because the odds of that are 1 in 6.8 million lisa unless you are my height and the odds are much longer than that. >> that's okay. you still might win the lottery and we are in the pool together. we are following two big stories that have been developing all day and another attempted attack in paris on the anniversary of the charlie ebb dough massacre but first d. hebdo massacre but first hundreds of miners are safe and all miners are safe tonight. paul ebben is here with more -- paula ebben is here with more. >> reporter: the moments were pulled to safety. all cold but in good spirits after being trapped for 10 hours, 900 feet below ground. this all happened when an elevator broke down in a central new york salt mine.

officials say the miners huddled together to keep warm and blankets and supplies were lowered to them until a crane could be brought in. the mine manager calls these men inspiring. >> in true fashion they waited until the last one was up until they wouldr altogether. >> reporter: op -- they were altogether. >> reporter: operation mints are -- operations at the mine are on hold. >> thanks. now to the developing story in paris tonight where french police say a man with a knife was yelling and trying to get into the police station when officers had to shoot and kill him. liam martin is live with the latest. >> reporter: the paris prosecutor's office is opening a terrorism investigation. they say the man showed up at a paris police station with a butcher knife wearing what they later discovered were fake explosives. cell phone video captured the moments after a french security force shot and killed a man wielding butcher's knife

of the capital. authorities say the suspect shouted fueling fear of a possible terrorist attack. armed officers blocked off paris streets as the bomb squad moved in. the suspect was wearing a heavy jacket with what appeared to be wires sticking out. police say the suspicious device turned out to be fake. french prosecutors say the man did carry a piece of paper with the isis flag on it. locals say he was known in the neighborhood as mentally unstable. the incident took place on the one year anniversary of the deadly militant attacks on the charlie hebdo satirical magazine and twoa few months after 130 people were killed in the french capital. the suspect has not been identified but believe he came from north africa and found a handwritten note on his body claiming responsibility for the attack. david and lisa. turning to the weather. beautiful day out there today. >> unfortunately this could be changing.

let's check in with eric who is track the whole thing-- tracking the whole thing. >> we are cooling off tonight. temperatures mainly in the 30s orange is down to 26. not quite as cold. so tonight we are are look -- we are looking for lows 18 to 20 in most towns. mild are along the coast. tomorrow wind is turning onshore. with that starts to bring in moisture off the atlantic. clouds expand and with this little drizzle. and temperatures just cold enough especially tomorrow morning where some of that drizzle could freeze on some surfaces. it's a light nuance type of event so what we are looking at is away from the coast a chance for a bit of an icy glaze and this is something we watch through friday through friday night and into saturday. we will take a full look at this and a very wet and warm storm for sunday coming up in few minutes. >> eric thank you. big media shakeup? boston nbc announcing it will pull its affiliation with whdh channel 7. the network will

on january 1st of 2017. the new nbc station will air over the air on channel 60 which is currently tell miewnd yoi. this means nbc programming will -- telemundo. this meanings nbc -- means nbc programming will no longer air there. sun beam television says that this matter will be taken to court. still to come, we know what we like but what should we eat. >> the government is out with their guidelines that offer up a few surprises. dr. mallika marshall breaks it down. >> and we are following breaking news. 4 people critically injured in an explosion at a chemical plant in north andover. we have a team of reporters working the story right now. we will bring you new

rin the middle of a time when senior povertyt is increasing. republicans and some democratsp came up with a brilliant idea for cutting cost-of-living adjustments for social security. we said, "it will be over our dead bodies if you cut social security." as president, i will do everything i can to extend the solvency of social security and expand benefits for people

i'm bernie sanders, and i approve this message. a lot of poem asking which diet is best in the new year. dr. mallika marshall joins us and tonight we have answers. >> reporter: it's the diet right for you of course but u.s. news and world record report low rei leased-- report released the best diet where most are reviewed by a panel health experts and scored based on several things short and long-term weight loss and nutrition and safety and how

so for the 6th year in a row the dash diet developed by nih to lower blood pressure was crowned the best overall diet. weight watchers ranked number one for weight loss for the second year in a row. and interestingly, the fertility diet which aims to boost ovulation and improve fertility ranked number one for people with diabetes. now while all of these diets have differents they generally focus on avoiding bad fats and eating more vegetables and whole grains. there's similarities. >> so that brings us to something beyond weight loss the government is out with new recommendations for healthy eating. what's changed in this? >> reporter: sugar. the new report. >> eat more of it. >> reporter: no. no. no. it's tougher on sugar but backs off on previous recommends about -- recommendation about cholesterol after there was not a real connection between eating those high in closet role and bad cholesterol that end up in the blood. sugar is the real target --

that ends up in your blood. sugar is the real target. she cut down a few months ago. >> i lost weight without doing anything else. >> reporter: for the first time the guidelines limit add sugar to no more than 10% of daley calories. >> about half of the-- daily calories. >> we know about half of the sugars in diet comes from sodas. >> reporter: the updated recommendations remove the limit on dietary cholesterol. it had been no more than 300 milligrams a day which is about 2 eggs. >> it's an excellent source of protein. there's about 70 calories in one egg and 7 grams of protein. >> reporter: the report says teenage boys and men eat too much protein. and should cut back on eggs, meat and poultry. and instead, they should eat more fruits and vegetables. >> i get a steak and my side comes and the steak is going to my steak. i will eat more vegetables. >> reporter: and there's good news for coffee lovers.

healthy as long as you don't add the sugar flavorings or toppings. okay and you should get no more than 10% of your daley calories from saturate -- daily calories from saturated fat and limit sodium intake to less than 2300 milligrams a day. what is that? about a teaspoon of salt. i am dr. mallika marshall. >> did you hear that 3 to 5 cups of coffee a day is okay. >> but the salt is a bum another that's a bummer -- bummer. >> that's a bummer and the sugar. >> things are going to change eric. >> it's going to be hot coffee day tomorrow. >> take the salt and put it on the road. you may need little that. beautiful sunset mary reflecked on the gorgeous winter day. which one is the sky and which is the water. hard to tell. i want to take you across the country. huge storm out in the pacific right now. this is the next one that will move into the west coast. there's just -- they are getting a breather in

moving off our coastline look at this storm. hurricane center is monitoring it. it may get a name alex as a subtropical storm over the next 24 to 48 hours. we are on the edge of it and will stay away from that storm. it's moving out to sea. so cloud provided the great sunset from the major storm. weather is a game of miles if you will. temperatures are falling back through the 30s across the region still fairly comfortable. in the 20s in most locations boston closer to the freezing mark. milder right along the immediate shore. now what we are watching over the next to two days is the same thing. we will do this hour by hour. tomorrow morning, we are going to see northeastern winds and you see the moisture starting to move in. low cloudiness and perhaps a little bit of drizzle. also notice the temperatures here below freeing for many areas a-- freezing for many areas away from the water. a little fog and drizzle can provide a slick glaze on roads and surfaces. this is the setup where nothing is going -- setup where nothing is going to fall. little accumulations of ice

tomorrow through tomorrow night and into saturday morning and letting up eventually saturday afternoon. temperatures not moving a lot this entire time. so aid ready gray and -- it's a gray and raw stretch not a lot is falling. there's. >> a -- there's not a big storm. aid tough event to forecast. if you work at dpw basically keep a close eye on the roads and make sure things are not slick. potential for icy streets, away from the coast loon along the water southeast mass too warm for that. regular drizzle. and a scum couple snowflakes will mix in heading into friday night and saturday especially around northern massachusetts and southern new hampshire. all told you are not going -- tolled you are not going to notice a lot except cloudy and a little icy glaze. heading towards sunday big change. a larger he storm system and -- larger storm system and arm of sweep through. of rain. wouldn't be surprised to see light nipping and hear thunder and there could be spots of street flooding on sunday in

it subsides as soon as the rain moves out. gusty south south eastern wind. no ice or snow involved in the forecast and records to beat. wore store's is 53 -- worcester's is 5#. we will be in the ball -- 53. we will be in the ball park. temperatures will fall through the day on monday. the next chance for snowflakes is wednesday. we will keep an eye on that. >> thanks. it cost a lot to live here but we are getting the education we pay for. education week is out with the quality counts report and parents the report puts massachusetts at number 1 our kids getting the best education in the country. the report ranks states on student achievement and how well schools prepare students k through 12 to succeed going forward. >> and you mentioned it's expensive to live here for the furs time ever the average boston rent is more than $2,000 a month according to the boston business journal.

are up more than 5% and making the apartments the fourth more francisco and san jose. still to come, the pesky fired up. >> and what was he thinking? a fearless driver with no respect for his car drives the lamborghini in the flood waters. coming up new at 6, dozens and dozens of fake guns pulled off the street. >> look at the guns and you you can't distinguish the difference. >> a new push by police that could help avoid a tragedy. and another day of big losses for wall street traders. meet the two local teens who

days after the paris attacks, senators came together for a top-secret briefing on the terrorist threat... marco rubio was missing - fundraising in california instead. two weeks later, terrorists struck again in san bernardino... and where was marco? fundraising again in new orleans. over the last 3 years, rubio has missed important national security hearings and missed more total votes than any other senator. politics first: that's the rubio way. right to rise usa

hundred americans working for a solid year, to make as much money as one top ceo. it's called the wage gap. and the republicans will make it worse by lowering taxes for those at the top and letting corporations write their own rules. hillary clinton will work to close the wage gap. equal pay for women to raise incomes for families, a higher minimum wage, lower taxes for the middle class. she gets the job done for us. i'm hillary clinton and i

. tonight's boston police are investigating vandalism outside fenway park as someone wrote over johnny pesky's number 6. you can see the writing on the red lit up number. it has been cleaned up red sox say graffiti is not uncommon in the area. patriots are taking advantage of the bye week resting and healing. dan roche is here and gronk says this is what the doctor ordereded. >> he is right. gronk one of the litany of patriots who missed time due to injuries this season. every week it seemed like new names were on the injury report but they percent vorred enough to earn the second sea--

second seed. we saw brady jogging and that's good because of the right ankle injury he has been dealing with. they elected for a walk through instead of a full practice. it's bye week and gronk and company need to dial it back just a little bit. >> got to take advantage of this opportunity. a bye week i. mean we want to take advantage of what you can get your body right and working out and staying conditioned and just excitement just being here together with the team and getting right. >> and for more on patriots bye week and all things patriots a state of the pats join us for patriots all access tomorrow night at 7 right here on wbz. then on saturday night we will have the afc wild card matchup between bengals and steelers at 8:15. and then on sunday we will preview the divisional playoff matchup on game day and sports final. we will know both. coming in up in sports at 6, the patriots talk about the importance of leadership and

post season hopefully on a long run. lisa. >> we hope so thanks. monkey business in federal court. >> still to come a. judge makes a big decision who owns this primate. you probably have a answer. >> and just as one devastating storm moves out of california, another one is moving in. we will show you the toll el nino is taking in communities desperate for water. and then. >> des appointing day. a bad day for swampsscott. parents frustrated how a high school principal resigned in disgrace will not be charged. >> we are following breaking news at 5. four people critical injured in an explosion at a chemical plant in north andover. the state fire marshal and the north andover lieutenant will be holding a news conference at 6:00. we will bring you that news

rin the middle of a time when senior povertyt is increasing. republicans and some democratsp came up with a brilliant idea for cutting cost-of-living adjustments for social security. we said, "it will be over our dead bodies if you cut social security." as president, i will do everything i can to extend the solvency of social security and expand benefits for people who desperately need them.

and i approve this message.