night. he told her he was a friend of the family, a doctor who knew her father and even took a cell phone photograph of her. for neighbors, even the arrest is unsettling. >> things that are going on these days in this world, it doesn't surprise me. knowing that there was somebody that close, that scares me. >> reporter: scott is charged with child luring and burglary. unable to make his $40,000 cash bail, he is no longer in this apartment complex tonight, being held right now in the salem county correctional facility. in washington township, i'm george spencer, nbc 10 news. now a major announcement from the vatican. pope francis says he wants all priests in the church's upcoming year of mercy to absolve the quote, sin of abortion if women seek forgiveness with a contrite heart. the pope explained his decision by saying god's forgiveness

cannot be denied to those who repent. nbc 10's tim furlong reports on this new revelation. >> i didn't feel worthy of even continuing to live. >> reporter: life after having an abortion was way tougher than elizabeth expected. it took her years and years to come to peace with herself. >> it wasn't until i realized that god had forgiven me that i was able to begin to receive that forgiveness. >> reporter: now in a letter, pope francis says in the catholic church's upcoming holy year of mercy, he will allow priests to absolve women who have had abortions if they are contrite append come to confess. the church considers abortion among its most serious sins. >> there is nothing really terribly new here. >> reporter: father leonard kline leads the diocese of delaware. his diocese has offered women absolution after abortion. he says the pope isn't doing anything ground-breaking. he's not liberalizing the church or changing policy but rather reminding people the church is in the forgiveness business. the pope readily admits he is

this new directive seems to be the pope's way of bringing more people back to the table. >> come to confession. come back to the church. grace and forgiveness are freely offered. many women have had abortions and god is willing and gracious and eager to forgive them all. >> reporter: elizabeth says after her abortion she realized she needed to feel god still loved her. she says many other women do, too. >> that's what's important for women to know, that yes, while they did do something that was displeasing to god, his forgiveness is available. >> reporter: tim furlong, nbc 10 news. >> one hour ago the philadelphia archdiocese released a statement. archbishop charles chaput says for many years parish priests have been given permission to absolve the sin of abortion. this action in no way diminishes the moral gravity of abortion. what it does do is make access to sacramental forgiveness

easier for anyone who seeks it with a truly penitent heart. this isn't the first time the pope took a side on the controversial issue. in 2013 francis uttered who am i to judge when asked about gays. the pope is also expected to raise issues ranging from climate change to income inequality when he visits d.c., new york and philadelphia later this month. some are calling philadelphia second rate when it comes to hosting the pope. the city's response and what people in philadelphia have to say in about ten minutes. a developing story now. one of the most famous wrestlers of all time arrested and charged in the death of his girlfriend more than 30 years ago. jimmy superfly snooka faces charges in allentown. nbc 10's keith jones is in the digital operations center with the very latest on this case. >> reporter: today prosecutors in allentown announced superfly snooka has been charged with

involuntary manslaughter and murder. his girlfriend at the time, nancy argentino, died after a call to a hotel room in 1983. a grand jury reopened the cold case two years ago. the former wrestling superstar starred in the ring for four decades. he wrote an auto biography in 2012, saying he was innocent and her death ruined his life. her family won a wrongful death lawsuit against snooka i-(zs 19. a grand jury heard testimony from more than 20 witnesses. prosecutors say it was snooka's conflicting and callous accounts of that night that resulted in the murder charges. >> repeatedly assaulted nancy argentino on may 10, 1983 and then allowed her to lie in their bed at the george washington motor lodge without obtaining the necessary medical attention. >> snooka is now 72 years old and lives in camden. he is battling a terminal disease. live in the digital operations center, keith jones, nbc 10 news.

summer is still here. our heat wave will last a few more days. but there is some rain as we head towards this holiday weekend. nbc 10 meteorologist sheena parveen joins us with the first alert forecast. >> it's hot outside. we hit the 90s again today so that officially puts us now in a heat wave, the fifth of the season. it's 92 still in philadelphia. 90 northeast philly all the way down to wilmington. still in the 90s. about the mid to upper 80s through the lehigh valley. the heat wave is going to continue. not just for the rest of today but also into wednesday and thursday. so temperatures will be staying in the 90s. we have seen a lot of hot days this summer. it will definitely stay feeling like summer. we are going to stay about ten degrees above the average high. radar nice and dry, nothing through the area. just the heat outside. live look at center city right now, we still have dry conditions and as we go through

the rest of the evening, it will stay warm and also humid for tonight. by 7:00 p.m., still near 90 degrees, still hot. by 9:00, 83, warm and humid. yes, more rain before the week is over coming in the forecast. we will take a look at the timing and how it could affect your labor day weekend. a philadelphia funeral director is facing charges tonight after police say they discovered decomposing bodies at his funeral home. blair hawkins is charged with three counts of abuse of a corpse. he is the director for an unlicensed home in west philadelphia. hawkins funeral services. it is the second time in a week that a discovery at a local funeral home shocked the community. we asked the president of the philadelphia funeral directors association what you can do to protect your loved ones when you're choosing a funeral home. >> the best way to ensure that you are going to be treated well is get advice from other family members and friends who have dealt with funeral homes, reputable funeral homes within the city and around the state. >> police say the man arrested

blair hawkins, who tried to keep an inspector from looking inside their preparation room. the iran nuclear deal is almost a done deal. two local senators gave their support to give president obama a foreign policy victory. the president is just one vote short. nbc 10's cydney long is live from the national constitution center where iran will be the key topic in a major address tomorrow. >> reporter: that's right. u.s. secretary of state john kerry has been working tirelessly this summer with world leaders in vienna. we are looking forward to his remarks and exactly what he will say tomorrow morning at the constitution center. tonight, kerry has two local leading democrats with the power to swing this vote in his corner. >> i think the agreement as i said enhances our own national security but also enhances the security of israel because right

now, the reality is as we sit here today, iran has only two or three months before they would have enough material to make a bomb. >> reporter: the clock is ticking with just 16 days left for the u.s. senate to vote on the iran nuclear deal, freezing iran's capability of building nuclear bombs but not destroying their arsenal. today, decisions that are being watched around the world. u.s. secretary john kerry, part of the lengthy and difficult negotiating process with u.s. allies and iran. you have seen the ads on nbc 10. >> their past history of cheating on deals, using their resources to support terrorism. >> reporter: this by a group of former senators called the american security initiative, calling on delaware's senator to vote no. the senator says it's not the deal he had hoped for but with inspections and access to iran's nuclear enrichment, the u.s. is safer with this agreement. >> i will support this agreement because it puts us on a known path of limiting iran's nuclear

program for the next 15 years with the full support of the international xhupt. the alternative to me is a scenario of uncertainty and likely isolation. finally, i will support this agreement despite its flaws because it is the best strategy for the united states to lead a coalesced global community to contain the spread of global weapons. >> reporter: the address happens here tomorrow morning at 11:00. he has said in the past if we reject this nuclear deal with iran, it will weaken the u.s. dollar, it will also force our allies to lose confidence in the united states. i'm cydney long, nbc 10 news. your usual routine on the rails will soon change. patco changes its schedules on saturday. this really impacts riders on thursdays and fridays until the end of october. it is part of the final stages of its $103 million track rehab project. employees started handing out the new schedules this morning. we have the schedules on the nbc

10 news app. drivers have two weeks before they will have to pay double to cross the tacony palmyra and burlington bristol bridges. starting september 15th it will cost you $4 to pay cash or $3 with an ez pass. the bridge commission approved its first toll hike in 15 years to cover the $100 million cost for bridge improvement. two plus months with no bum budget. the governor is holding meetings with top lawmakers in small groups without their staff before the aides join the lawmakers. republicans say wolf's budget plan would require the biggest tax increase in state history. a health alert in delaware. four people tested positive for the west nile virus. three people in new castle county and one case in kent county. the four did not show any symptoms. when they went in for routine

procedures, blood work performed they had west nile. there were no reported human cases in delaware last year. next, is philadelphia a second rate city? the mayor responds to the criticism. plus, what a ride. a flight with the blue angels before they get set to perform. we are in a heat wave. the fifth of the season. the heat continues for the rest of the week. then i track the next chance for thunderstorms. i will show you the timing and your labor day weekend forecast.

you're a parent. we're both busy people. so pick up my new hand prepared $20 family fill up meal. eight pieces of original recipe chicken, two large mashed potatoes and gravy, a large coleslaw, and 4 biscuits. i'll get back to ya. (door squeaking) it's finger lickin' good.

as the city of brotherly love prepares for the pope, the "washington post" is taking shots at the city. the "post" suggests philadelphia is a second rate host city. not everyone agrees. nbc 10's rosemary connors joins us from the ben franklin parkway. strong words here. >> reporter: yeah, absolutely. that recent article in the "washington post" describes the planning for the papal visit here as far from heavenly for r residents. we asked mayor michael nutter about this criticism. he says on the first day of september everybody needs to turn the page and look forward.

>> sometimes we are our own worst enemies in our own city. we are hyper critical at times and seem to create our own dialogue. >> reporter: the mayor is changing the narrative, reminding the critics that the papal visit is unique and in many ways especially in terms of security, unprecedented. >> the event as great as they are in new york and washington, d.c. are nowhere near the scale and level of what's taking place here in philadelphia. >> big brother to the south and big brother to the north. we got to do our own thing. >> reporter: any notion that philadelphia is a second rate city with something to prove seems to be an urban legend of the past. at least among millenials like john. >> i'm from cincinnati originally. philadelphia's a huge step up. is it new york, no. but i don't want it to be new york. >> i'm from new york. i transplanted to philadelphia. i think that philly is such an

underrated city and it's bringing great attention to philadelphia and everything we have to offer. >> reporter: there is plenty of attention and scrutiny on the city right now. residents like cory bradwell of northern liberties understand that because of the magnitude of this historic event and the planning involved there will be challenges. >> there will be hiccups. that's part of life. things will happen. we're handling it very well. philadelphia is a strong city. >> reporter: people we talked to were positive, upbeat, ready to take this all in stride, looking forward to the papal visit. i'm rosemary connors, nbc 10 news. >> we are a little over three weeks away from the pope's visit. the nbc 10 news app is your one stop guide for everything happening during the world meeting of families. late again. today, delaware students showed up late to school for the second day in a row but it's the bus driver's fault. we told you yesterday at 6:00 about the bus driver who got

lost going to dickenson high school on the first day of class. today, there was a different driver and that driver also showed up more than a half hour late. the pilots and organizers of atlantic city's air show are ready to wow an audience of more than half a million people tomorrow. nbc 10 captured pilots getting ready for a practice run along the jersey shore today. the roar of jet engines could be heard as they rehearsed a few maneuvers over the atlantic city boardwalk. this year's air show includes the return of the breathtaking blue angels. the elite navy group has not flown in this show since 2006. >> it's a challenge and every challenge comes with its own excitement. i'm looking forward to this just because of all the nice hotels and everything you have always seen in the news around atlantic city. >> the air show begins tomorrow morning at 11:00 and runs until 4:00. hopefully, the blue angels will have beautiful blue skies. yeah, the weather actually

looks really good for that tomorrow. dry conditions but it is going to be hot once again. that's going to continue our heat wave. heat wave number five officially set in today with temperatures reaching the mid 90s in the philadelphia area. other spots got to about the low 90s. we have a rain chance in the forecast. that should help cool things doup a little bit. that's not until the end of the week. until then, we keep staying hot. that heat continues into the labor day weekend. we will notice nice changes for the labor day weekend. that forecast is coming up in just a second. as far as the past month is concerned, august 1st to today, september 1st, we have had about 13 days with temperatures 90 degrees or hotter. this is obviously fitting that we are in our fifth heat wave of the season now. here's a live look at cape may, one of the spots you want to be for relief from the heat. a perfect day along the shore. 79 degrees right now. feels more like 84 degrees when you factor in the humidity.

definitely one spot which this weekend i'm sure will be packed for your labor day holiday weekend. right now, it's 92 in philadelphia, still hot. 90, wilmington. 90, northeast philly. mid to upper 80s, lehigh valley. mid 80s in millville and dover. big area of high pressure, this is pretty much controlling the weather through the eastern half of the country. the central plains all the way to the eastern seaboard, this big area of high pressure, this is giving us the heat and will keep us dry as we go through the most of this week until about friday. 90s well off to the west. that extends into the philadelphia area and also down to the southeast. this weather pattern is not really going to move until about friday. locally, nice and dry on satellite and radar but the temperatures will be staying hot along with the dry air. this is future weather so through the overnight hours we stay warm and pretty humid. tomorrow, mostly dry across the area. temperatures stay in the 90s. feeling a lot more like summer.

by thursday, we will keep staying in the 90s. still mostly dry. into friday, that's when we start to see changes. the rain chances go up a bit and we could see scattered thunderstorms across the area. one thing that will do is lower the humidity as we go into the weekend. if you're heading to the shore or delaware beaches, friday, kou see showers around, temperatures in the low 80s but the rest of the week all the way into labor day looks fantastic with low 80s. philadelphia area will be seeing lower humidity across the weekend with nice conditions. still hot temperatures but dry. poconos around 80 degrees and sunny skies as well. your labor day monday, actually looks pretty good for any plans you have for the last unofficial weekend of summer. tonight, warm and humid, 73 for the low in philadelphia. mid 60s north and west. tomorrow, hot and humid, temperatures staying in the 90s, about the mid to low 90s. it continues for thursday so the heat wave continues into the weekend. lower humidity, pretty nice for the last unofficial weekend of summer. we stay feeling like summer into next week. danny?

at least one starter seems primed to see action on thursday night in the eagles preseason finale. plus college football time. the road to hell is paved with good intentions. mr. president, we know you tried to make a good deal with iran. whose leaders stone women, hang homosexuals, sponsor mass terrorism, scream for the destruction of israel and death to america. so, what if you're wrong? and they can't be trusted? senator casey, don't trust iran. vote this down.

i'm danny pommells. the eagles had to make one roster move by 4:00 and they did so, releasing former villanova running back kevin mononga. the team plays the jets thursday night right here on nbc 10. the final tilt will be all about the quarterbacks. chip kelly confirmed today that matt barkley will start and tebow will play as well. as far as chip is concerned,

that's just one of the areas to keep an eye on. >> almost every position, there's still decisions that have to be made towards the bottom end of the roster. there's not one that's more important or that we're looking at harder than any other position. there's a lot of competition still going on. it will be an important game for a lot of guys on thursday. >> every starter will likely get the night off. kiko alonso will probably see action in a couple series. he is returning from an acl injury last year. he hasn't seen any action yet this preseason. don't miss the final preseason game on nbc 10 thursday night. eagles/jets. pregame coverage comes your way at 6:30. nbc 10, your official eagles television station. believe it or not, we were just days away from meaningful football on the college level. it's opening weekend and the hometown matchup kicks off with temple and penn state at the

linc saturday. they feature nittany lions quarterback christian hackenburg who is getting nfl draft hype. he struggled behind an inexperienced offensive line last season. >> these guys are really ready to roll. i'm ready to roll. i think we have a great game plan. we are going up against a team that's a veteran team, well coached. and they have a good plan. they are very comfortable with what they do. i think it will be a great challenge for us. >> high school football is back. we want you to see the game of the week. head to nbc10.com right now to cast your vote or text us. we will have the high school blitz of highlights friday night at 11:00. the phillies take on the mets tonight at citi field. that's sports. we'll be right back.

you're a parent. we're both busy people. so pick up my new hand prepared $20 family fill up meal. eight pieces of original recipe chicken, two large mashed potatoes and gravy, a large coleslaw, and 4 biscuits. i'll get back to ya. (door squeaking) it's finger lickin' good.

a warm night. >> leading into a hot week,

staying in the 90s. for all of us at nbc 10, the news continues now with "nbc nightly news." developing news tonight. a massive manhunt as a veteran police officer is gunned down. a trio of cop killers on the loose, armed, dangerous, and desperate. and a city on lockdown. fears they could be hiding anywhere. forgiving abortion. the pope takes the world by surprise ahead of his historic visit to the u.s. his powerful message tonight to women and to the church. the vanishing. happening near the top of the world. our team on an extraordinary journey to a place that is rapidly disappearing. families bracing to flee what could be the first american refugees of climate change. and hidden treasure. as one of the world's great mysteries finally been solved? "nightly news" begins right now.