>> reporter: officers from here at the 22nd district were the first to arrive responding to a 911 call of foul odor. philadelphia police tell us the owner of the funeral home told them she knew the bodies were inside that garage. what were the bodies doing here? why would you put them in a garage? >> i got to do my work. >> reporter: neighbors say this is the owner of the powell funeral home. she refused to talk to us about why three bodies were left in a garage around the corner from her north philadelphia funeral home. >> don't believe something like this happened in our neighborhood. but i do know janet and she's always been a professional person. >> reporter: crowds began to gather on the street after police arrived. inside they say they found three bodies. this was after 911 calls were made to report a foul odor. >> noticed there was bodies in there. >> reporter: you saw the bodies?

>> called 911. they were in boxes. one in a coffin. police came. that was that. >> reporter: police have not said if they identified the remains found inside the garage or why the bodies were there. sources say they want to know if the funeral home had a valid license. central detectives now taking a look at this case. sources tell us they want to know why the funeral home was operating and where it was operating. you see there is a sign in the window saying it's closed for reconstruction. now we are told again, police are taking a look at this. deanna durante, nbc 10 news. also right now at 5 you::00 chaos in the chester county courthouse. a man attacked a sheriff's deputy with a knife. police say that attacker was curtis smith. tonight, nbc 10 has learned new details about his alleged criminal history. it includes jumping the fence at the white house. >> nbc 10's rosemary connors joins us from the chester county courthouse. what else have you learned about that suspect?

>> reporter: curtis smith of coatesville was charged with harassment, assault, disorderly conduct, all allegedly in relation to a domestic dispute with his wife, according to smith's attorney whom we spoke to earlier today. smith was here at the justice center looking into a court-ordered counseling. however, authorities tell us instead, chaos ensued. according to the chester county district attorney, smith used a knife and attacked a deputy sheriff right in the lobby of the courthouse. another deputy shot and killed smith. he died at paoli hospital. the justice center went into lockdown. we spoke to employees who had to evacuate from the building. they tell us that after hearing the gunshots they hid in their offices until they got the all-clear to leave the premises. >> unfortunately, because of incidents like this across the nation, we have learned how to deal with an attack in the courthouse. nobody else was injured. the sheriffs did their jobs. the lockdown went perfectly.

>> this guy could have caused a lot of problems. >> reporter: emergency crews immediately transported the deputy who was attacked with the knife to the hospital. he is in the photo on the stretcher in the back on the left side of your screen. he suffered slash wounds to his arm and his hand. the district attorney says curtis smith is the same man who jumped the white house fence earlier this year in march. however, the district attorney would not discuss any possible motive linking the two separate incidents. live in west chester, rosemary connors, nbc 10 news. >> nbc 10 spoke to curtis smith's attorney, who says he represented smith for a domestic dispute involving smith's wife. he said smith was supposed to be getting counseling. he would not go on camera but told us quote, he was a hard-working young man and you would never think he would do something like this. he called today's violence sad and tragic. meanwhile, a wild chase in

lower merion township ends with a man in handcuffs. it all began when a homeowner on baird road called police about a home invasion. the intruder ran into the woods nearby. nbc 10 cameras were there. more than a dozen officers with shotguns and search dogs took off after him. after a chase, the man was arrested. another roller coaster day on wall street. stocks surged higher earlier in the day only to fall by late afternoon. the dow jones industrial average fell about 205 points to 15,666. while the nasdaq dropped close to 20 points to 4,506. the s & p fell about 26 points to 1,867. for more on the market, nbc's brian mohr joins us live from washington, d.c. >> i know beijing cut interest rates, still are investors getting any relief just yet? >> reporter: no.

in the short term. today's numbers were better than yesterday but really, that's not saying much. wall street soared at the opening and cratered at the closing bell. >> volatile final hour of trading turning this rally into a decline on wall street. >> reporter: wiping out triple dim digit gains. >> you see the real problem occurred in the middle of the day. >> reporter: it wasn't as bad as monday morning's free-fall. >> is this the big one? i don't know. it's certainly noticeable. >> reporter: from that 1,000 point dive, the dow bounced back. but not nearly enough to erase what's looking like the biggest monthly percentage loss in six years. >> the dow jones is a little bit like a boxer who has been knocked to the mat. he's back up again but is a little wobbly on his feet. >> reporter: from wall street to europe and asia, markets are running scared because china's economy is slowing.

>> today, they cut interest rates and that does appear to have calmed down sentiment a bit in the rest of the world. but the chinese stock market of course has still fallen. >> reporter: for american investors, the roller coaster may not be over. >> great time to talk to a financial advisor to calm you down. >> reporter: easier said than done after another wild ride on wall street. analysts say this session marked the biggest single reversal since the financial crisis of 2008. i'm brian mohr, nbc 10 news. >> what are you hearing here? all of these fluctuations as a result of fears about china's economy? >> apparently not. these whipsaws back and forth we saw yesterday, dropping down 1,000 points in the first five minutes, a lot of that seems to be the result of that computer trading, the high frequency trading that we hear about. one analyst says that a lot of these programs are written by the same couple number of guys and the computers essentially

are causing each other to panic and acting in unison. that's why things didn't bottom out so quickly. a lot of sell orders today at the end. that, though, seemed to be human activity and not in a good way. >> thank you, brian mohr. moving now to pennsylvania's state representatives. they are debating efforts to override parts of governor tom wolf's budget veto one line at a time. the process isn't expected to go anywhere. that's because democrats say none of their members are expected to vote. republicans with the two-thirds super majority to override the governor's veto. take a look at how long the state has been without a budget right now. 55 days, 17 hours. nbc 10 in center city philadelphia this morning. since the road trip to harrisburg began, this is what happened. a group called public citizens for children and youth got on a bus to demand money for schools. they met with law makers and held a rally in the capital

rotunda. >> we want the legislature to pass a budget, restore the education cuts that have decimated many school districts over the last few years, and pass a fair funding formula for our schools so we don't have to go through this every single year. >> governor wolf's budget stalled in the legislature. he vetoed a republican version of the budget. now to the investigation into pennsylvania attorney general kathleen kane. we learned today kane will not suspend an aide who is criminally charged along with her. patrick reese will remain on the job. reese is kane's driver and head of security. that's him in the suit next to kane. reese is charged with illegally trying to monitor a criminal investigation into the attorney general's actions. kane is charged with leaking grand jury information to a newspaper, then lying about it. a montgomery county judge ruled yesterday that kane will stand trial. kane is set to be back in court in october for a formal arraignment. a new poll by quinnipiac

university shows nearly half of pennsylvania voters think kane should resign. 27% say she should stay. the others have no opinion. voters were also asked about kane's handling of her job as attorney general. 54% disapproved of her performance. 20% approved. about a quarter of those polled have no opinion. the nbc 10 investigators have been following the chaos in colwyn for months. one council member has been especially vocal. tonight, this council member has called it quits. still ahead, the nbc 10 investigators take a closer look at her history with this troubled borough. plus, crooks using counterfeit cash at stores all across the lehigh valley. how they're pulling off the scam and what you should know if that cash is passed along to you. plus new developments on that main line restaurant shut down because of roaches.

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counterfeit cash that could end up in your wallet. thieves are passing fake money at stores across the lehigh valley and into new jersey. now the secret service is getting involved. nbc 10's doug shimell is following the money and joins us

live in bethlehem, one of the towns being targeted. we are talking a lot of money here. >> reporter: yeah, and conservatively police are saying it could total tens of thousands of dollars in fake bills that are in circulation from this one kour counterfeit ring alone. the man walking up to the counter is buying $700 worth of beats head phones. the clerk at the counter counts it out and the man leaves with his purchase. bethlehem township police say the only problem is the $100 bills he used were all fake. >> they are buying merchandise and going out of county, usually, to another store and returning the items for full refund. >> reporter: detectives say the kour counterfeiters get 100% real cash back, returning the electronics to at least 14 walmart, target, home depot and other big box stores in lancaster county to warren county, new jersey. >> on the 12th they hit the home

depot. >> reporter: the sergeant says two men from new york have already been arrested and police want to know who the man in the tank top and the guy in the blue sweater are. >> we are finding out there were other stores also hit. >> could be upwards of $10,000 or more. >> i wouldn't be surprised if it blossoms over that. >> reporter: detectives say many of the stores being hit are not using the marker pens to see if the bills are real. >> they err on the side of the customer in a lot of cases. obviously these gentlemen were taking advantage of that. >> reporter: detectives with bethlehem township police say they will be meeting with the secret service this week to analyze the bills, but what should you do as a consumer if you think you may have gotten ahold of a few of these counterfeit bills? we will examine that coming up tonight at 6:00. i'm doug shimell, nbc 10 news. indy car driver just inwilson is being credited with saving six lives. his brother tweeted that he saved those lives by donating

his organs. the british driver died last night after suffering a head injury over the weekend. he was hit in the head by debris from a car crash during the race sunday. he was 37 years old. a popular delaware county restaurant shut down by health inspectors took to facebook today to apologize to customers. yangming was recently cited after radnor township inspectors found dead roaches, mold and spoiled food inside. it was the second time inspectors found poor conditions inside the restaurant. the post reads quote, a sincere apology to our patrons. we are very very sorry for the problems which caused the township to temporarily close our restaurant. there are no excuses. we owe you better. we will renovate, refurbish, renew and refresh our establishment. we hope you will give us another chance to your trust, end quote. another group of firefighters from our area is headed to the front lines to fight wild fires out west.

members of the new jersey forest fire service are going into a desperate situation in california. the first group has been out west for two weeks. it is so bad, reinforcements are coming from australia and new zealand, heading to washington state. so many fires are burning, 200 active duty u.s. soldiers are also joining the effort. summer heat can be dangerous for animals. >> a bill was introduced this morning at the humane society that prohibits confinement of dogs or cats in unattended vehicles when it endangers their health and safety. under the motor vehicle extreme protection act, a police officer or humane officer would have the authority to remove the pet from the vehicle and would not be liable for any damages. >> people think if they leave a pet into a car, go in a store it's not a big deal. in a very short period of time

because of the biology of dogs and cats in particular it can lead to serious health issues. >> owners who violate the law could be fined up to $300. well, if you are along the shore this morning, you saw the clouds early. this is cape may here. they cleared out for the afternoon so it really did turn into a nice day down the shore. but this morning, not so great. a lot of people still made it out and enjoyed the weather. we are going to have a nice stretch for the next several days. cooler temperatures, even as we go through tonight so the dry air will give us cooler overnight temperatures. humidity will stay low as we end out the week, then over the weekend the humidity starts creeping back up. and we will of course over the weekend keep a much closer eye on tropical storm erica. that tropical storm has an updated track now. i will show you that in just a second. live look at citizens bank park. nice day, mostly sunny, 87 degrees. humidity only at 32%.

feeling very comfortable outside. tonight we will get cool but for now, we are kind of cool through allentown and reading, 80 degrees. 80 degrees pottstown. 84 glassboro. 85 degrees millville. mid 80s in dover. also wilmington. so it is a very nice comfortable afternoon and tomorrow i think will be even nicer, especially as we go into your thursday and friday. radar is nice and dry. nothing heading this way. we will have a nice dry stretch. now we are looking down into the tropical atlantic. we have the remnants of danny over puerto rico, not a big deal. then we also have tropical storm erica. this storm is barely holding on to tropical storm strength. winds are 40 miles an hour, moving to the west at 20. we will be watching this very closely over the next several days to see if maybe it will continue to weaken or at least barely hold on to the strength. look at the storm track, though. it keeps it moving mostly west and this is pretty much in agreement with a lot of the models. it will keep it going west possibly over the bahamas by the weekend. at this time by about sunday,

possibly, it could get a little bit stronger if it still is able to hold on and kind of remain as a storm at that point. but there is a big high over bermuda so that should keep it from going out in the atlantic. and a big high which will be moving into our area so that could block it, too. again, the track's pretty uncertain at this point as we go oef the weekend. but as we get closer to weekend, we will have a much better idea on what's actually going to happen with that storm. of course, we will watch it very closely for you. for tonight, we will be getting cooler. 50s for some of the suburbs north and west like allentown and reading, mid 50s there, upper 50s for pottstown. 65, philadelphia overnight. 64, wilmington, also dover. about the mid to upper 60s closer to the shore. tomorrow's high temperatures through the lehigh valley will be cool, too, once again. sunny, less humid through the afternoon. really comfortable, 82 for allentown, quakertown, norristown. philadelphia area, about the mid 80s tomorrow, 83, west chester, glassboro, voorhees. 85 degrees in wilmington. along the shore tomorrow, low 80s. water temperatures in the upper

70s so warmer for this time of year, especially it feels much nicer. 85 degrees in dover tomorrow, 83 for vineland. we have a nice stretch of weather. take a look wednesday through friday, sunny, low humidity, temperatures in the morning at about the mid 60s. afternoon highs at about the low 80s. over the weekend, saturday and sunday, we do warm up. humidity comes back into the forecast so we will be closer to 90 on sunday and possibly starting off that way next week, hot and humid. the temperatures warm back up so enjoy the fall-like mornings through the next few days. this is cool here. an opportunity to learn about baseball from those who know it best. >> today, dozens took part in the phillies baseball 101 clinic and luncheon for women at citizens bank park. they learned about the game will in an interactive clinic with phillies coaches. then they got a behind the scenes look at the batting cages, the bull pens. now they are about to wrap up the day's festivities with a

party before the phillies/mets game tonight. don't forget, nbc 10 is your official eagles station. the countdown is on for the team's next preseason game. >> the birds visit the packers saturday night. you can see that game only on nbc 10 at 8:00 p.m. our pregame coverage starts at 7:30. every winter it is a sure sign that spring is on the way. tonight, we have new details about the theme for next year's philadelphia flower show. plus paying up. why hundreds may have to shell out more cash for a license in pennsylvania. plus, the new jersey congressman who is giving one lucky constituent a chance to see the pope up close.

it's been more than 24 hours since crews started working to fix this massive sinkhole in kensington and it is still being worked on today. the city tells us it was caused by a 12 inch water main break. crews have been working to repair it since yesterday afternoon. we are still not sure when they will be finished. here's what the sinkhole looked like less than 24 hours ago. skyforce 10 over huntington street when crews began to repair that hole. the cost of a hunting license in pennsylvania could go up. the state game commission said

it's asking to boost the cost by $20 over the next five years. right now a license costs $19. the cost of junior and senior licenses would not change. the state legislature would have to approve. the theme of next year's philadelphia flower show will honor history. this is video of last year's event. today the pennsylvania horticultural society announced the show will celebrate the 99th anniversary of the national park service. the philadelphia flower show is the largest in the nation. it runs from march 5th through the 13th at the pennsylvania convention center. tickets are on sale now. one thing's for sure. she hasn't been afraid to make her voice heard. >> tonight a member of city council is calling it quits. next, the nbc 10 investigators take a closer look at her role on the council and what's next as the borough faces more questions about its spending.

plus, what was his motive? tonight, investigators have uncovered new details about the foiled plot to attack train passengers in france. why they are leaning more toward terrorism.

[ speaking simultaneously ]

calling it quits. a member of the divided and financially challenged colwyn borough council steps down. this comes months before her term is officially over and in the middle of a district attorney investigation. >> nbc 10's harry hairston gives us a closer look at one of the council's most vocal members. >> reporter: if you have seen our stories or been to a colwyn council meeting, you are no stranger to this. the borough councilwoman isn't one to bite her tongue. here she scolds me over my reporting on the borough. she didn't like our tough questions about allegations she misused borough funds. allegations she has denied. >> i don't have any comment. >> reporter: she accused us of trying to bring a black woman down. the delaware county district attorney's office confirms an ongoing investigation into the

borough's spending. she also said she feared the borough police chief and former borough manager might cause her harm. >> if i go missing, or i wind up dead, you better look at paula brown, chief hill. >> reporter: now, after all the fighti fighting, the three-term council woman is calling it quits. in this written statement she says in part quote, i'm happy to announce my retirement. pray goes on to say i have served the borough of colwyn to the best of my ability for the past 12 years. pray was the first black colwyn council person and first black council president. in a phone call today, pray told the nbc 10 investigators she is tired of the fighting and no longer has interest in politics or working for the borough. the next step for the borough council is to vote to accept or not accept pray's resignation. council has 45 days to do so.

harry hairston, nbc 10 news. >> as the nbc 10 investigators first reported back in march, the delaware county district attorney's office is also investigating the colwyn fire company. investigators raided the station earlier this month, taking away financial records and computers. officials at the fire company have denied any wrongdoing. switching gears now. a man who owns a local skating rink was arrested on sexual assault charges involving a minor. john carlo owns the franklin skating center in franklin township, gloucester county. prosecutors say he made recordings of a child. he also showed child porn on his computer at the skating center. carlo turned himself in yesterday. he is being held on $200,000 bail. to this now. a high honor for two members of the pennsylvania state police. today, trooper heather hefner and robert hess received the district attorney's commendation and commissioner's citation.

the award is for the arrest and conviction of 54-year-old warren yuerger of douglasville who was accused of abusing four children in his care over the course of 20 years in three different counties. >> these troopers from the state police and these prosecutors from our d.a.'s office put that case back together again, put those kids back together again, and all worked together as a team to convict warren yerger and the two others. >> yerger, his wife and a girlfriend are accused of sexually abusing and beating the children. he was sentenced to hundreds of years in prison. two men bring their own ladder to burglarize a home in west oak lane. watch as they climb into a second floor window of a home on pickering avenue. more cameras inside show them grabbing what they can. you see that big box he's pushing? that's a safe. inside is a hand gun. one man throws the safe out of the window as the other man gets

in the car. if you recognize the man or what they're driving, call police. to the latest on a looming strike at the taj mahal casino. today atlantic city's main casino workers union said it will give billionaire carl icahn one last chance before hitting the picket line. icahn is in the process of acquiring the taj from bankruptcy court. local 54 held a strike preparation event at the casino today. it's threatening to walk if the casino doesn't restore its health insurance and pension coverage. carl icahn has called the benefits unaffordable. a setback to new jersey's struggling gambling industry. the state has struck out again in its efforts to offer legal sports betting. today, a federal appeals court panel denied the garden state's latest appeal. new jersey has been trying since 2009 to offer sports betting at its casinos and racetrack. today's ruling leaves the door open for new jersey to file another appeal. the state has indicated that will happen shortly.

a judge today approved an environmental contamination settlement between new jersey and exxonmobil. under the deal, exxon will pay $225 million for damage at 18 industrial sites and more than 800 gas stations across the garden state. environmentalists have criticized the settlement. new jersey wanted nearly $9 billion. his plot to attack a train in france was foiled by a group of passengers. now investigators have released new details about what an attacker did moments before he slung an assault rifle across his chest. still ahead on "nbc 10 news at 5:00" how one lucky new jersey resident could get a chance to see the pope up close.

more information revealed today about the attack foiled by four americans and a british man. plus new video of the suspect n entering court in paris. >> reporter: french investigators formerly charged ayoub el khazzani, the gunman who boarded the plane found for paris on friday trying to carry out what investigators believe to be a terror attack. french investigators revealed a lot more details about the attack and the attacker. they say that the man specifically targeted that train. he paid $150 for a first class ticket, then when he boarded the train, he watched on the train some kind of jihad videos, calling the faithful to take up arms, and came out of that bathroom with a short kalashnikov with nine cartridges full of ammunition, 270 rounds. he had a hammer, box cutter and bottle full of gasoline. all that would have caused carnage if it weren't for the

swift action of the americans. they received a hero's welcome yesterday at ramstead air base in germany. the third american, anthony sadler, is a college student. he is starting to enjoy the life of a hero. last night here in paris he was invited on the red carpet of the opening of "straight outta compton." >> two days ago we were just on the train and two days later, all this has happened. it's pretty crazy. >> reporter: we learned a lot more about the attacker. we know he traveled to istanbul as early as may, where he could have continued his journey into syria. he returned to france in june only to reappear on that particular train to carry out what investigators believed was a terrorist attack. nbc news, paris. >> while investigators try to determine if the attack was an act of terrorism, the attacker says he was simply trying to rob the train.

will. a lot of pleasant days ahead. we are also watching the tropics very closely. an update on that and how cool the overnight hours will be, coming up. you probably heard us mention the pope is coming to philly. one local seminarian says he is tired of hearing people whine about the inconveniences the trip will cause.

federal agents raided the new york city headquarters of a popular escort website today, arresting the chief executive and six of his employees. they raided the red boy.com headquarters as part of a money laundering and prostitution

investigation. the website has disclaimers stating its ads are not for sexual services. prosecutors say it's an internet brothel that made millions from promoting prostitution. officials are taking steps to shut down the website. legal fallout from the ashley madison breach. eight people are now suing the cheating website. they are seeking class action status to represent the estimated 37 million registered ashley madison users. this all comes after hackers released the list of people who used the website along with their personal information. the lawsuits claim ashley madison failed to take the steps needed to protect its files. now to decision 2016. new jersey governor and presidential candidate chris christie continues to speak out against the iran nuclear arms deal. >> today, christie urged new jersey senator cory booker to oppose the deal.

booker has yet to take a position on the controversial deal. >> i'm not here today to threaten anybody. not what we're here for. we are here to persuade. >> reporter: governor christie is publicly pressuring cory booker to oppose president obama's iran nuclear deal. >> particularly to my friend senator cory booker. this cannot be about politics and it cannot be accepting the flawed idea that a bad deal is better than no deal. >> reporter: surrounded by jewish leaders at rutgers today, christie said the president lied to voters about the ability to inspect any time, anywhere when in fact, there's a 24-day delay. >> even the stupidest criminal in new jersey would know to get that evidence out of there. >> reporter: last week, democratic senator robert menendez broke ranks with his party to oppose the deal. booker is still undecided. his spokeswoman today said senator booker will make his

decision on the iran deal based upon what he believes is best for america's national security, regardless of political pressure, lobbying or theatrics. the senator's decision will be derived from thorough and thoughtful analysis of all the facts. given that the governor has been speaking to booker privately about the iran deal, christie, who has been trailing behind in presidential polls, defended the need for a public news conference. >> i'm the governor of the state of new jersey. >> reporter: he declined to take questions about other subjects. a new poll out today shows christie barely registering with south carolina republicans. he's down near the bottom of the pack of 17 candidates with just 2%. >> that was melissa russo reporting. law makers vote next month on whether to reject the nuclear agreement with iran. president obama says he will veto any measure that derails the deal. donald trump has something to say today about fox news channel's request for an

apology. he's saying no. fox news channel called for the apology after trump took to twitter to resume battle with one of fox's biggest names. trump welcomed megyn kelly back from vacation with a series of tweets. in one he wrote that kelly must have had a terrible vacation because she's really off her game. he claimed kelly was afraid to confront a guest on her tv show, dr. cornell west. trump said kelly has no clue about immigration. trump also tweeted that he liked the fox show more before megyn kelly took it over. trump suggested she take what he called another 11-day unscheduled vacation. trump has been criticizing kelly ever since her questioning of him during the first republican presidential debate on fox. and calling for an apology today, the chairman of fox news channel says megyn kelly represents the best of american journalism. trump tweeted a response saying he disagrees and doesn't think

kelly is a quality journalist. according to a new monmouth university poll, 30% of voters likely to take part in south carolina's gop primary support donald trump. that's double the support of his closest challenger, ben carson. after that, it's jeb bush, marco rubio and several others. senator lindsey graham received just 4% from his home state. meantime, jeb bush criticized donald trump at a campaign stop in colorado today. he discussed several issues including his use of the controversial term anchor babies. >> i was talking about a very narrow casted system of fraud where people are bringing children -- bringing pregnant women in to have babies to get birthright citizenship. i support birthright citizenship, by the way. >> the former florida governor also criticized planned parenthood saying the organization should not receive federal funding.

new developments tonight in the corruption case involving new jersey senator bob menendez. the justice department is pushing back against efforts by menendez to dismiss the indictment against him. federal prosecutors have filed their response to hundreds of pages of legal filings from menendez. the democratic senator wants his case tossed out and has raised allegations of misconduct by government prosecutors. but the prosecutors say the indictment is the result of an exhaustive investigation that spanned more than two years. menendez is charged with accepting gifts and bribes from a florida doctor in exchange for political favors. immigration is one issue. pope francis is expected to discuss it during his trip to the u.s. next month. that's according to the u.s. ambassador to the vatican. he also expect the pontiff to talk about income inequality, family problems and the environment. he believes francis may also allude to gay marriage which is now the law of the land, in addition to visiting philadelphia the pope will also

make stops in new york and washington, d.c. he will become the first pope to address congress. a congressman from new jersey is offering people in his district the opportunity to see the pope during that visit. congressman tom mcarthur announced his office will hold a district-wide lottery to see pope francis on the west lawn of the capitol september 24th. if you live in his district, which includes parts of burlington and ocean counties and want to enter, visit nbc10.com or the nbc 10 news app. the deadline to enter is september 14th. a major honor for a local family today. the carnegie corporation of new york will honor a family with the medal of philanthropy for designating private you wealwea the public good. the family has been committed to fostering learning, protecting watershed and cultivating

creative communities. they will be honored october 15th. in washington, d.c., two panda cubs born over the weekend are doing well today. >> officials at the smithsonian national zoo say they are paying closer attention to the smaller of the two, because the mother isn't letting keepers swap in her smaller newborn cub for feeding. since pandas won't usually nurse twins on their own, officials are trying to switch the cubs every several hours. that would give mom a chance to bond with one cub at a time. right now, keepers are bottle and tube feeding the smaller cub which they say seems to be doing just fine. well, a nice day today. temperatures still warm but the humidity, that's going to keep dropping even as we go through the rest of the week. that will give us a cooler night tonight, too, so some areas will be in the 50s. humidity's going to stay low through the rest of the week. it will come back over the

weekend and over the weekend, a very close eye we will keep on tropical storm erica. we will watch it over the next several days to see if it can still hold on as it approaches the bahamas. right now we have 80 degree temperatures in allentown and reading, even pottstown, 81 in west chester, 87 philadelphia, mid 80s through much of interior parts of new jersey, 88 at the atlantic city airport, 84 degrees in dover. really nice day in cape may, now. earlier this morning we had the clouds and some rain around. but that has all cleared out. we are seeing plenty of sunshine so it's turned out to be a pretty nice day along the shore. in cape may, temperature around 83 degrees, sunny skies and it will stay nice as we go through the rest of the week, and especially for the weekend. so far, the shore weekend forecast is looking pretty good. right now, we are nice and dry, lot of sunshine around and this is going to last for the next several days. all the way through the weekend. big area of high pressure off to the west is going to keep building in as we go through the rest of the week so that will keep us dry. we really have no rain heading

this way any time soon. and really, in the next seven days. one thing we will be watching, though, not so much danny so if you are wondering what happened to danny, just the remnants now over puerto rico. that disturbance will keep moving off to the west. the one we will really keep an eye on is tropical storm erica. this one's farther away from puerto rico and the united states. it's farther off in the tropical atlantic, barely holding on to tropical storm strength. winds near 40 miles an hour but it's still moving west and the official track continues taking it to the west. so as we go through thursday and friday, that storm should be approaching the bahamas, could still be a tropical storm. if it makes it ocould strengthe to the a hurricane. we will keep a close eye as it approaches possibly florida the farther we go out in time the better grasp we will get on it. high pressure starts to build over the southeastern part of the united states by then and eventually our area. we will watch that as well as we get closer to the weekend.

low temperatures tonight. some areas will be in the 50s north and west. mid 50s for allentown and reading. about the mid 60s through the philadelphia area. tomorrow, sunny, low humidity. temperatures in the mid to low 80s. really nice day thursday and friday. going to be spectacular. morning lows in the 60s, suburbs in the 50s. afternoon highs in the low 80s. weekend looks good but it does get hotter. coming up, we take a closer look at tropical storm erica and some of the trouble it might encounter as it gets closer to the bahamas. coming up on "nbc 10 news at 6:00," calling out the city of brotherly love for whining. tonight, who says people should quit complaining about the pope's visit.

now to storm threats in the atlantic and pacific oceans. this is a satellite image of all the tropical activity brewing in the pacific. >> there's a new storm in the atlantic. erica has strengthened to a tropical storm and is on a path toward the caribbean. this is the most activity we have been seeing this entire hurricane season so far. >> the nbc 10 first alert weather team is tracking the tropics. meteorologist sheena parveen joins us with a closer look at erica and where it could be headed. >> now we will take a little closer look at some of the troubles erica could encounter on its way toward the united states. still a tropical storm barely but this storm may be

encountering unfavorable conditions. if it actually makes it through it, we could see it strengthen afterwards. here's what we're talking about. the red and yellow and orange areas, this is what we call wind shear. so wind shear basically higher up in the atmosphere. these are winds that are very unfavorable for development. they tend to rip the top off the storm essentially causing it not to strengthen. so now we are at friday, there's the tropical storm right over puerto rico. then you see all this wind shear ahead of it. so that is not going to be favorable for development. so the track still keeps it as a tropical storm. friday, same thing. the greater the wind shear, the weaker the storm becomes. by friday, we still have all this wind shear right over cuba and the storm is kind of approaching this area. at that point, we are going to see it approach the bahamas. now this is sunday. at this time you notice we don't have the wind shear in place. so if it makes it through this wind shear area, and eventually gets over the bahamas, still as a storm, that's the time where we could see it possibly

strengthen into a hurricane. of course, florida keeping a very close eye on it as well as we are. but we will be keeping you updated on that track as we get closer. of course, glenn will have a closer look at the local forecast coming up. >> you can track the tropics too. download the nbc 10 weather app and use the interactive radar to see where storms are headed, whether in the middle of the ocean or right in your backyard. coming up next on "nbc 10 news at 6:00," new details about the white house jumper shot and killed inside a local courthouse today. we are live with new developments. really nice stretch of weather ahead. find out when we will be slipping back into the 90s. the first alert forecast is next. plus, thousands will see kevin hart perform his act this weekend. how you can hit the city with the comedian.

now at 6:00, violence inside a courthouse. the local man who climbed the fence at the white house attacked a sheriff's deputy, shots fired and the suspect is dead. good evening. i'm jacqueline london. a sheriff's deputy was hurt during the attack that happened in chester county. the shooting took place this morning inside the chester county courthouse on west market street. nbc 10's rosemary connors has been gathering new details all day and joins us live from the scene.

>> reporter: that deputy sheriff who was injured went straight to the hospital and has been recovering from his wounds so that's the good news in this case. in the meantime, the community here in downtown west chester is disturbed by what they have learned about curtis smith's past. >> it's a crazy world. that's all i can tell you. >> reporter: trying to make sense of what happened at the courthouse, now a crime scene, employees and witnesses find it hard to understand how there could be an attack here. according to the chester county district attorney, curtis smith of coatesville busted in with a knife and slashed a deputy on the hand and arm before he was taken down. >> another deputy sheriff immediately pulled his firearm and shot smith. >> he didn't get past security. he got through the door and through the, you know, the metal detector and that's where they popped him. >> reporter: witnesses also describe what smith allegedly said in the moments before the attack. >> i'm going to get you, that's what i heard. >> it could have been a lot