>> 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

worse, especially knowing that this man has been at the white house. >> reporter: authorities say in march, smith climbed the outer perimeter stone wall of the white house. secret service immediately took him into custody. smith was charged with unlawful entry. >> you always think it's not going to happen in your backyard. >> reporter: earlier today we spoke to curtis smith's attorney who tells us that this past spring, he was involved in a domestic dispute with his wife. the attorney also said that curtis smith was here at the justice center to look into court-ordered counseling. that's what he was doing here today. live in west chester, i'm rosemary connors, nbc 10 news. >> tonight, we spoke to the suspect's attorney who told us he had a court date in october. his attorney said quote, all i can say is that you know the young man, you know i know he had the incident in march down in d.c. and that in itself was concerning but he was a truck driver. he worked every day, had a family, a wife. you would have never thought. we will have continuing coverage of the courthouse shooting as we

learn even more about the suspect. we'll have the very latest on the nbc 10 news app and on hewn. three decomposing bodies were found inside a garage in philadelphia's strawberry mansion today. police say the garage is owned by the powell funeral home and that the owner told them she knew the bodies were there. the powell funeral home is located around the corner from the haggard street garage. residents say the garage doors were open and they smelled a foul odor and called 911. counterfeit cash. crooks are using fake hundred dollar bills to buy electronics at walmart, target and home depot stores across the region. the thieves targeted more than a dozen stores in montgomery, bucks, lehigh and northampton county. nbc 10's doug shimell joins us live from bethlehem township. >> reporter: the secret service is going to be analyzing those bills to see if they were printed from scratch or if they are small doe nenominations thay

have been bleached and $100 printed on top of them. chlgts y >> you see the same suspects going out of the store and making purchases. >> reporter: the man is buying $700 worth of beats headphones. the clerk at the target in hanover township counts out the money and the man leaves with his purchase. bethlehem township police say the only problem is those $100 bills are fake. >> they are buying merchandise and going out of town usually to another store and returning those items for full refund. >> reporter: detectives say the counterfeiters get 100% real cash back, returning the electronics to at least 14 walmart, target, home depot and other big box stores from lancaster county to warren county, new jersey. >> camp hill, they attempted -- >> reporter: the sergeant says two men from new york have already been arrested and police want to know where 25-year-old adam touro is. they need i.d.s on the man in the tank top and the guy in the

blue sweater. >> could be upwards of $10,000 or more? >> i wouldn't be surprised if it blossoms over that. >> reporter: detectives say many of these stores are not using the marker pens to see if the bills are real. but what if you really are an innocent customer who unknowingly gets a fake bill and a merchant calls police? >> if you are making a purchase of a couple hundred dollars and one bill is wrong, chances are somebody had a bill that didn't know they had it. >> reporter: police say the simplest thipg to esst thing te bill up to the light, make sure the watermark matches what's printed on the bill. if not, take it to your local bank or police department. if you get stopped at a store and police are called in, detectives say if you give them a reasonably plausible explanation, you probably will get the benefit of the doubt. live in bethlehem township, doug shimell, nbc 10 news. a charter school

controversy. minutes ago a hearing started to determine the future of the financially troubled chester upland school district. the charter schools are testifying tonight. we are live outside the chester high school. the meeting was moved there to accommodate a large crowd. the delaware county district is battling the state for more money. governor wolf recommended cutting the amount of funding per pupil by more than half. the district is already $20 million in debt. just yesterday, teachers rallied outside the courthouse. parents are afraid this could delay the start of the school year. people are taking advantage of this perfect weather down the shore. nbc 10's chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz joined us with the first alert forecast. looks like a great week ahead. >> all the way through the rest of the week it is going to be looking like this, lots of sunshine, it will be feeling similar to this with the low humidity. but it's actually going to get a little bit cooler so if you want

t ed it a little cooler, that's coming we are in the 70s north and west and 80s toward the jersey shore and in southern delaware. we have lots of sunshine out there now. we have some clouds back to the west but they are generally fair weather clouds. the rain is up in canada and pretty much going to stay that way. as we head through the evening, we expect the clear skies to continue and very comfortable conditions because the humidity has dropped so much. we'll have the latest on when it will get back to 90 degrees and the latest on that tropical storm erica and what will happen with it. now to the latest on the investigation into pennsylvania attorney general kathleen kane. kane issued a statement today looking to the court system. she wants to know how and if she should release pornographic e-mails she claims are related to her case.

kane is charged with leaking grand jury information to the newspaper and lying about it. she claims the allegations stem from a pornographic e-mail scandal uncovered by her office. several people have already been fired because of the scandal. two high profile people have resigned. kane claims releasing the e-mails are crucial to her defense. stranded without any warning. three dozen beach goers in cape may had no ride home yesterday after city officials took their bikes. why? city manager says the bikes were parked illegally on the boardwalk promenade blocking an entrance. bikes are not allowed on the promenade after 10:00 a.m. but we are told the ban is rarely enforced. owners say they were hit with a $100 fine to get their bikes back. investors dealt wall street another roller coaster day. just minutes before the closing bell, a huge sell-off. dow jones closed down more than

200 points. at one point today the dow was up 440. the last few trading days, the market has lost more than 1,000 points. one last chance or strike. that's the threat from the union representing atlantic city's casino workers. local 54 says it hopes billionaire carl icahn changes his mind and reinstates health and pension benefits for employees of the taj mahal. union members trained picket captains today. icahn is in the process of buying the casino. tonight, a south jersey man is behind bars accused of trying to kill his girlfriend by holding her head under water until she lost consciousness. police in runnemeade arrested the man. she managed to escape from his car, run to a neighbor's house and called 911. he is charged with attempted murder. a traffic alert for drivers in camden county. the ramp from i-295 northbound to route 168 westbound will be

closed tonight and tomorrow night. the closure begins at 10:00 each evening. the ramp reopens at 5:00 a.m. the following morning. this is all part of a $900 million direct connection project that's set to provide a seamless route for drivers through route 42, i-295 and i-76. hundreds could soon pay more for a license. the first hike in 16 years. today the pennsylvania game commission revealed its plan to raise the cost of a hunting license by $20 over five years. the current $19 fee would go up $10 next year. the price hike needs legislative approval. next on "nbc 10 news at 6:00," quit whining. find out who is spreading that message to the people in philadelphia. that's about the pope's trip and the inconveniences it will bring. kevin hart headlines at lincoln financial field but plans to hit the streets of

philly. how you can join him, next. i'm keeping a close eye on a tropical storm named erica and its future.

new jersey governor chris

christie blasted iran's nuclear deal with the united states. today the republican presidential hopeful calls on democratic senator cory booker and other new jersey law makers to vote against the iran deal. >> we cannot permit a treacherous, murderous, deceitful regime to possess the mo most dangerous weapon the world has ever invented. president got himself in too deep here, too obsessed with his open legacy. >> christie was joined by jewish leaders during his speech in new brunswick. a bridge closed, roads detoured. getting around town the weekend of the pope's visit will be difficult. some say people are complaining too much, though. nbc 10's tim furlong reports about a letter that sparked a lot of reaction. >> reporter: if you haven't heard, the pope is coming to philly. >> i think it is very exciting. >> reporter: according to this seminarian, too many of us are

whining about it. >> this is such a big civic moment and i think you don't want to lose sight of that. >> reporter: in an article on the archdiocese of philadelphia facebook page, he says philadelphia has become the capital of whining. he says the same folks who said philly never got any respect even after winning the world series are now the same ones whining about the inconveniences associated with the pope's visit. >> my big thing would just be this is our city, our home, and we are welcoming a pretty important guest. yesse yes, it will be inconvenient. i get that. >> reporter: in the article, eric, who is from south philly, even rips philly for worshipping a fake boxer with his own inferiority complex. >> i don't hate rocky balanboa. >> reporter: he says we are getting bogged down in something that will be a very good thing for our area even if it means big crowds, traffic boxes, papal play books and long walks.

>> part of that is just being able to man up in a sense and say this is a city we want to be the next great american city. this is our opportunity to do that. so let's do it. >> reporter: tim furlong, nbc 10 news. >> you can read the entire letter on the nbc 10 news app. that is your guide for the pope's visit to philadelphia. we have a special section as well on nbc10.com. his act will fill the stands in south philly this weekend. comedian kevin hart will perform at the linc on sunday. crews are getting the field ready right now. i'm sure it will be packed out there on saturday. you can do something else. you can run with kevin hart. he teamed up with nike for a 5k run on sunday. register for the run on the nbc 10 news app and on nbc10.com. i'm sure kevin will -- now your nbc 10 first alert weather with chief meteorologist

glenn "hurricane" schwartz. >> the weather should be pretty good on saturday morning, although the humidity's going to be starting to increase then. we have days of comfort until then. day after day after day. rest of the week, it's going to be spectacular. we have an active tropics. the pacific has been going crazy all summer. now the atlantic is starting to get more active. one of those systems is erica, tropical storm out in the atlantic. pretty good baseball weather here for the rest of the week. nice and comfortable and not quite the same home run conditions we saw last night with the southerly wind and higher humidity. it's 86 right now, feels like 86. the wind is generally out of the west. the humidity's pretty low. the temperatures are below average to the north and west but above average from philadelphia down toward the shore. 89 degrees was the high today. the average high is only 84. we are in the low 80s at the shore, another beautiful day. 78 degrees ocean temperature off atlantic city.

that is as warm as it's been all summer. for tonight, it's going to be much, much more comfortable. you can leave the windows open. temperatures in the 50s for lows north and west and the 60s across much of the rest of the area. when it's below 70, it's fairly comfortable for summer. a lot of clear skies in the east, some fair weather clouds around the great lakes and dry air around the rest the company. there's the northwest to north wind flow. the future cast showing any clouds or rain, not showing much of either over the next couple of days anywhere close by. you see the northwest wind continuing. that's now into thursday with hardly any kind of significant cloud cover and certainly no rain. very low humidity. now, in the tropics, this is remnants of danny bringing much-needed rain to puerto rico. then erica, little bit farther out. if anything, erica has weakened

this afternoon, now down to 40 mile an hour winds, moving at 20 miles an hour and the track of it is potentially threatening so we need this thing to weaken or fall apart. this bermuda high out here is not going to allow it to curve out to sea. so with the track taking it toward the bahamas, what we need is for it to be weak and this may very well do it. it did it to danny. wind shear. you got too much wind high up in the atmosphere, it just rips the top of the storm apart and so it can't strengthen. as long as we see these colors around here, that will rip the storm apart, keep it from strengthening or even have it destroyed. the greater the shear, the more the storm weakens. here we are on friday and there's plenty of colors out there. there's a lot of shear. as it comes into the bahamas, if it survives into the bahamas, now the shear disappears.

then you have a chance for strengthening, and then the potential threat to the u.s. for the next couple days, going to determine this if it manages to survive or not. clear and comfortable tonight, 65 for the low in philadelphia. low humidity tomorrow. cooler than today, so it will be real comfortable. and that way through the rest of the week. no doubt about that. a little more humid over the weekend, especially on sunday, when it gets hotter up near 90 and perhaps even hotter early next week. i'm john clark. eagles linebacker mychal kendricks talks about his new contract. is it people demeco won't be ready for the season opener?

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i'm john clark from comcast sports net. eagles defensive coordinator bill davis says he's not sure if demeco ryans will be ready for the season opener but demeco says he will be. here's mychal kendricks practicing today fresh off signing that contract extension. he's one of the birds' best play makers on defense. he says the birds approached him just two weeks ago about this. he says this is about security and he believes the birds are on a path to greatness. >> my goal is to become the best inside pass rushing linebacker in the league. that's a huge weight off my chest, off my shoulders. now i can just do my thing. what's done is done. now it's just about playing football. and trying to be the best. >> the talk about the hit sam

bradford talk from terrell suggs continues. seahawks coach pete carroll says it's not right, the hits quarterbacks are taking on zone read plays. defensive coaches say they train their players to hit the quarterback if they're involved in these type of plays. bill davis says if you hit a quarterback low around the knees there will be a flag. >> we teach them tackle the guy with the ball. if it is the quarterback, you got to tackle him in the framework set up. if he's back there, it's got to be above the waist and below the neck or you will be flagged. you go below the knees, absolutely you will be called 100% of the time. whether you said he might be a runner or not, it doesn't matter. the nfl will protect quarterbacks. >> we have eagles/packers saturday night right here on nbc 10 at 8:00. our pregame show starts at 7:30. complete post game coverage afterwards. nbc 10, the official tv station of the eagles. former eagles pro bowl guard evan mathis who was cut by chip

has signed with the broncos. he could make up to $4 million after bonuses, a lot less than the $6.5 million the birds were going to pay him. michael vick is visiting the steelers today. phillies got whuped by the mets 16-7 last night. the mets with a team record eight homers. they combined for 11 home runs, matching the national league record, one short of the major league record. here's phils manager pete mackanin who said last night was embarrassing. >> first of all, i'm only going to talk about three home runs. our three home runs. i will get out of breath if i talk about the other ones. sure, we were facing another real tough pitcher and i feel like we will score off him. i don't know if we will score seven runs off him but i think we will compete and that's the main thing. >> if you are a kid and want to get a home run ball, head out to the yard tonight. back to you. now for a look at what's coming up on "nbc 10 news at 11:00." a young man murdered just weeks after graduating from temple

university's law school. where police found him and the search for a motive. that's tonight on "nbc 10 news at 11:00." we work weekends here.

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school starts in a few weeks across the region and some districts still need crossing guards. today the city of allentown says it needs crossing guards. you must be at least 18 years old and must pass a criminal background check. it pays between $8.50 an hour to $9.50 an hour. school begins september 8th. a grocery store chain in our area is hosting a food drive to help feed people who can't afford groceries. several shop-rite stores will each have a bin in front of their stores where shoppers can donate nonperishable food. the collection runs for the next three weeks. it's so easy. so many pantryes are filled with food we may never eat. it makes a big difference if you can donate. you want good weather? >> always. >> you got it.

next three days, picture-perfect. then it starts getting hotter and more humid over the weekend. "nbc nightly news" is next. tonight, whiplash. as the meltdown continues on wall street. stocks surge, then come crashing back to earth at the bell. more money wiped out as jitters spread with a major wild card still to come. it was a terror plot. startling new details about the potential massacre stopped by those american heroes. the jadi message the attacker played before grabbing his guns, and prosecutors say he had help. a new war of words erupts as donald trump unleashes another tirade against megyn kelly. now fox news firing back, demanding an apology. and the guilt trip caught on camera. the boy who broke his fall by ripping a hole through a 17th century masterpiece. and what happened next. "nightly news" begins