the transgender women met more than two years ago at an organization. >> keisha, she was funny, you know, she was funny, she was a good person, uplifted. she was into art. >> reporter: pedro redding is charged with jenkins' murder. a tip identified the 24 year old as a known robber in the neighborhood. he's been arrested four times before. he was arrested for a very similar crime, him and another individual, and they went to rob a transgender individual. they were arrested for that. i believe the victim did not show up to court and all charges were dropped. >> reporter: redding told police jenkins dropped back as he and three other men punched and kicked her last tuesday morning in the hunting park neighborhood, but redding says he did not fire the fatal shot. >> the victim was, in fact, a prostitute in the area. >> reporter: police do not believe jenkins was targeted because she was a transgender woman and ruled out her murder being a hate crime.

they do believe robbery was the motive. >> no matter what community, what profession, nobody deserves it. >> reporter: reporting in philadelphia, nbc 10 news. right now the top two candidates running for philadelphia mayor are doing last second preparations before their first debate, which is about 20 minutes away now. jacqueline london is joining us in studio with a preview. jacqueline? >> the republican and democratic candidates will share their vision for philadelphia at 6:30 tonight. our partners at whyy are hosting the debate. jim kenney won the democratic primary and melissa murray-bailey is the gop candidate. the two have different visions for once mayor nutter finishes in the mayoral office. jim kenney has been elected to the city council six times, he's an advocate for the environment, equal rights, and worker rights and has a long list of endorsements, including from the

philadelphia fraternal order of police, the caucus of working educators, and not surprisingly, fellow democrat governor tom wolf. republican melissa murray-bailey is focusing her platform on economic growth. she's a business cheexecutive w a nonpolitical background, a quality she says works to her advantage. she wants to make the tax code less confusing for businesses and she wants to lower wage taxes for residents, but she faces a major uphill battle, as philadelphia has not elected a republican mayor in six decades. both candidates have a few more weeks to rally voter support. election day is tuesday, november 3rd, and you can live stream tonight's debate. there's a link right on our website, nbc10.com, and we'll have a full recap tonight at 11:00. jacqueline london, nbc 10. meantime, the democratic presidential candidates will debate tomorrow for the first time this election cycle. a podium awaits vice president joe biden in case he decides in

the next 24 hours to run, but how likely is it? nbc 10's tim furlong is tracking the possibilities from the vp's home state. >> reporter: we know joe biden spent the weekend at home in delaware, we don't know if he decided if he'll run for president. a university of delaware political analyst says the longer biden waits, the more he specifically looks like he's waiting to target hillary clinton. >> at this point it's starting to look as though he's crashing hillary's part and i'm not sure that's going to look good for joe biden if that's impression the americans have. >> reporter: delaware politicians here certainly want to know if joe biden will run. cnn wants to know, and, of course, delaware supporters of other democratic presidential candidates also want to know what biden will do. yes, it's true, not every democrat in delaware is pulling for biden. kyle is a bernie sanders guy.

>> biden and bernie, but bernie is the one guy for years that's been consistent on wealth inequality. >> reporter: it's possible biden is waiting to see how she fairs in the weeks ahead, but this analyst doesn't think at this point biden needs to be playing politics, he says he doesn't think biden is going to end up running. >> he's had a long and very successful political career and if he leaves the vice presidency, he'll be going out on a real high note at the end of that career. i don't know what a bruising presidential campaign would do for joe biden at this point. >> reporter: in greenville, delaware, tim furlong, nbc 10 news. to our weather now, warm and dry columbus day, a lot of sun out there, but we are tracking showers that could impact your morning commute. sheena parveen is joining us now with the forecast. sheena? >> we're going to see changes as we go into tomorrow.

difference than the perfect day we have around today. this is a live look up in the poconos. beautiful sunset here, and we have really seen perfect conditions from the poconos, to the shore, clear skies, with pretty mild temperatures this afternoon. right now we are still nice and dry. any cloud cover that's far back off to the west still, all part of a cold front, so this is slowly moving towards the area, that's going to spark some showers come tomorrow. i think most of this will be holding off until the later part of the morning commute, so some of you may run into the rain, but not going to be an all day thing. right now temperatures are in the about the low 70s, so we are cooling down here, 68 degrees in wilmington, 67 in millville, 73 in allentown. as we go into tonight, temperatures will stay comfortable by 7:00 p.m., around 70 degrees, clear skies by 9:00 tonight, mid 60s, mostly clear skies and more cloud through the overnight hours. 11:00 p.m., low 60s. changes tomorrow, mild, but showers moving in. i'll show you the timing on it and the cool down coming up.

delaware state police officers are investigating this deadly motorcycle accident in new castle county. this afternoon sky force 10 over the scene around 3:30 along taylors bridge road in townsend. crash investigators believe the motorcycle collided with the tractor. one person was killed here, another is now being treated at the hospital. right now state police are reconstructing the accident scene to try to figure out exactly what caused the crash. a fight between two football teammates has landed one in the hospital and the other in jail this evening. both freshmen in reading. an ongoing dispute led marquis stewart to stab teammate dameer madison several times with a corkscrew. >> people he got into altercation before previously and they were like antagonizing him a lot and led to that. >> pretty much an anomaly. not a place where we have these type of incidents that take

place, an assault with a knife, i've not -- i've never heard of that at albright before. >> madison is in stable condition. stewart has been suspended and is in jail facing charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. many of their constituents oppose modest changes, arguing it could threaten their right to bear arms. >> the president of the new jersey state senate says he'll have state police round up fellow lawmakers if they skip a vote on the gun bill next week. sweeney plans to override the gun bill veto. nbc 10's cydney long is live in glassboro with more on the issue and the response to sweeney's swift action. >> reporter: i can tell you gun retailers and buyers are definitely sounding off about this hot topic issue and at least one state police source who's been with the agency for a long time tells me she can't

remember a measure of this nature in recent history. lawful gun owner antonio knows how he feels about mass shootings that take people's lives and guns potentially in the hands of those suffering mental health issues. >> make sure they don't have weapons at all. if they are trying to do something sneaky, what are they going to do with a weapon in their hand? >> reporter: and now senate president steve sweeney is taking aim at new jersey's senate republicans. the target issue, overriding governor christie's august gun bill veto, this to legislation that would require state police, local cops, and judges being notified if anyone who applies for a gun with an exponged or hidden mental health record. >> i think it's important we don't sell guns to people with mental health problems, but i don't know how to handle that. >> reporter: for an october 22nd vote, state police will, quote, go get republican lawmakers who

skip the session or don't show up. your thoughts about the fact that he's willing to enlist state police to make sure they are accountable for the vote? >> i'm not sure. that's something i believe when they have a vote, everyone should be present and vote the way they should. >> reporter: senate republicans say they've been working on comprehensive mental health reform at governor christie's request. still folks here say lawmakers have a duty to the people of new jersey and should vote voluntarily or with state police persuasion. >> it's their job. state protection, for all of us. >> reporter: now, senate republican leader tom kean responded earlier in the day saying, "the only thing steve sweeney is interested in accomplishing today is grabbing a few politically expedient headlines. he's been setting the stage for a political dog and pony show the last several weeks while senate republicans have been working on finding a real compromise solution."

of course, this is a controversy that gun sellers, owners, anyone interested in the topic will county to follow and so will we. live in glassboro, cydney long, nbc 10 news. $30 million denied to the city of camden. the city was a finalist for a federal grant from the u.s. department of housing and urban development, but camden lost out to atlanta for that funding. camden officials planned to use the grant to build new homes and schools and improve parks. the city can apply for the grant again next year. 103 days, 18 hours and counting that pennsylvania's gone without a state budget, so could gambling fix the fiscal stalemate? republican lawmakers are considering an increase in gaming could balance the budget deficit without raising taxes. the third expansion of gambling in the last six years could bring in millions of dollars in licensing fees, plus lots of tax money from gaming profits. last wednesday the house voted down the $2.4 billion budget,

which included a 60% increase in state income tax. the philadelphia archdiocese is hoping the pope's visit has inspired more young men to become priests. catholic officials announced today a major promotion initiative. the call by name program asked parishioners to accept candidates by fuelling out pew cards. you can submit a name on the weekends of november 1st and november 8th. speaking of the pope's recent visit, we have learned late this afternoon that nbc 10's coverage of the pope's two days in philadelphia will be stored in the vatican archives, a permanent part of vatican history. ♪ and now may recall they played for the pope during his visit to philadelphia and now the show will go on for the philadelphia orchestra. the musicians agreed to a new one-year contract to keep performing. they say they signed in order to

avoid a work stoppage to continue bringing music to the fans without interruption. coming up next on nbc 10 news at 6:00, slavery, stealing, and murder? a new petition launched today says those are the reasons we should all stop celebrating christopher columbus. we'll tell you what activists want the philadelphia mayor to do. plus, no relaxing on this columbus day for home owners in montgomery county. a look at the damage three days after severe storms smashed through their neighborhood. sheena? >> well, today we have perfect weather, clear skies, comfortable temperatures, some showers in the forecast. followed by a cool down. i'll show you the numbers and the timing on the rain coming up. patients across the country have spoken.

they recently rated their care experience at over 3,500 hospitals nationwide in a survey conducted for the centers for medicare and medicaid services. fewer than 10% received 5 stars. among them was cancer treatment centers of america in philadelphia. learn more at cancercenter.com/eastern. cancer treatment centers of america. care that never quits. appointments available now.

this is nbc 10 news. >> light traffic on the roadways this evening as a lot of people got the day off for columbus day, but a new petition launched today wants people in the philadelphia area to stop commemorating columbus. the petition on change.org asks mayor nutter to remove the christopher columbus monuments. the petition's creator writes, "more and more people inside and outside of the philadelphia area are recognizing that christopher columbus raped, enslaved, murdered, and stole from

countless indigenous peoples and ruined their lives." the petition has about 150 signatures. cleanup continues this evening in montgomery county after the storms smacked parts of the area on friday. here's a look at those intense storms on radar. they packed strong winds and rain for about two hours straight, so this columbus day holiday has been anything but a day off for crews chopping trees and cleaning up debris. deanna durante takes you to damage. >> they've been doing it all weekend. >> reporter: the lucky ones are out checking out the damage. >> i was sitting out on the front porch, i didn't know it went by, we had a downpour. >> reporter: downed trees, smashed cables, and more in the front lawn. >> it shocked me at first. >> reporter: corn was sleeping inside his house. he didn't know his backyard tree came crashing down until the police showed up. at first corn said he didn't think the damage was that bad and certainly didn't think two days later he'd still be cleaning up. >> punched a hole in my dormer

on the other side, ripped out my rain spouts. >> reporter: corn isn't alone with the damage, and this isn't the only crew that's putting in overtime this weekend. >> this is all storm damage, and we're cleaning up this area right now, then we got some more down the street that we'll hopefully take care of here in the next few days. >> reporter: now that the tree is off his house, he's taking a look at other damage and hoping it's all covered by insurance. deanna durante, nbc 10 news. now your nbc 10 first alert weather with meteorologist sheena parveen. >> well, perfect day today. tomorrow we're going to see some changes. in the meantime, the fall foliage is at its peak or close to its peak up in the poconos. you can head there to see that. tomorrow, though, instead of the clear skies we had today, we'll see more clouds and we'll be looking at scattered showers around for part of the day. another cool down coming after the rain clears. that's part of a cold front and

even into the weekend, another cold front moving through, giving us colder temperatures come this weekend. right now in philadelphia, sunny skies, 71 degrees, humidity very comfortable and the temperatures are starting to drop through the lehigh valley now, closer to 70 degrees in reading and pottstown, 69 westchester, upper 60s for wilmington, glassboro, 66 now in dover. for the rest of your evening it will stay comfortable, but by tomorrow you'll notice more clouds because of this cold front, showers with it, too. not for the entire day, but we'll see spotty showers through part of your day. here's a look at future weather, temperatures in the 50s as we go overnight tonight through most of the area, come tomorrow morning, clouds are here by 9:00 a.m. most of the showers could be in the early afternoon hours. can't rule out a couple for the morning commute, though. 1:00 in the afternoon still in the 70s, still a mild day, but by the evening commute we could have another line of scattered showers move through, by 8:00 p.m. heading to the shore then we start to clear out again. going into wednesday you'll

notice cooler temperatures, highs in the mid to upper 60s and clouds moving back in. cooler air moves in for wednesday after the cold front, lasts until friday and into the weekend we have even colder air moving down. we're talking temperatures possibly in the 30s come sunday morning. tonight, though, we stay in the 50s across the area. about the mid to low 50s, then tomorrow in the 70s again, mostly the mid 70s. we'll see more clouds around with scattered showers, so just grab your umbrella before you leave and then by wednesday we're back in the 60s. mid 60s thursday and friday, into the weekend high temperatures may not get out of the upper 50s and sunday morning will be in the 30s. sheena, thank you very much. i'm john clark, the flyers goalie steve mason going to miss tonight's home opener. and will chase utley be playing against the mets tonight? that is next.

this is the xfinity sports desk brought to you by xfinity, your home for the most live sports. >> hey, i'm john clark from comcast sportsnet. the flyers home opener tonight, boys are back, flyers hoping to avoid going winless in their first three games for a fourth straight season. flyers without goalie steve mason. he's left the team for a serious personal family matter. no word when he's going to be back, so backup michael noivirth will make his first start with the flyers. >> mason has been a big part of our team, you know, but we got to play hard for him tonight. ever since he's come to philadelphia, he's been probably one of our top players every

single game and we owe it to him to return the favor. >> chairman ed snyder is also not here tonight, he should be back in a few weeks and told me he's feeling great. the eagles are going to host the giants next monday night for the lead in the division, can you believe it? the birds with their best game of the season yesterday and it was sam bradford who motivated the offense before the game, got the offensive players together right before they were going to go out on to the field. he was in the shower for privacy reasons and yesterday in full uniform sam told them we've got the talent here, we just need to show it. >> obviously, the guys that speak also have to be able to back it up, so you can be -- sometimes they say the empty barrel makes the most noise, you're not going to get anything out of it, a lot of guys talk all the time and don't perform. it's a matter of kind of matching it up. i know our players listen to sam and have a good feel for sam. >> what did that show you from your quarterback? >> he's a good leader and how good our team is.

this is a big test for us this week, good defense and just felt good to get the running game going again. on to baseball, chase utley is back in new york but not in the lineup with the mets even though he's hitting .333 against matt harvey. chase has appealed the two-game suspension for his slide into tejada saturday night. he is active, available to play for the dodgers tonight, and the mets are not happy with chase. they feel he's done this before with tejada, you see it before and matt harvey has hit chase three times before. the only chance harvey will get tonight is if chase pinch hits. >> i know him personally, you know, after watching in 2010 and hearing about it with ruben, as well, you know, there's some situations that need to be taken care of. i think the league's going to do their best to do that. >> new york, they are not fans of chase utley already. he was booed at the 2008 home

run derby at yankee stadium. he had the famous response, boo, you know the rest. that is your sports, we're right back.

all right, so some showers to deal with tomorrow. >> yeah, showers around tomorrow, so grab your umbrella before you leave. different than today, but we'll still be in the 70s, so it will still be mild. 75 degrees, more clouds, scattered showers. i think most of them will be missing the morning commute, but could be around for the evening commute. then we go into wednesday, we are back down in the 60s. going to get cooler wednesday, even thursday and friday mid 60s, but look at the weekend, saturday and sunday high temperatures for some areas may not get out of the 50s and in the morning low sunday, there's a 39 there in the forecast. i don't know how many people want that, how many people don't, but some areas through the lehigh valley could be close to freezing. jim just gave that a big thumbs down. i'm not going to disagree. >> nothing against 30s, but just not yet. >> definitely jacket weather.

>> all right, sheena. for all of us here at nbc 10, i'm jim rosenfield. the news continues now with nbc nightly news with lester holt. have a great evening. tonight, a critical decision coming into the race for the white house. is the vice president in or out? new clues tonight as his potential rivals prepare to debate in vegas. also benghazi bombshe bombshell. and thecongressman leading the investigation is breaking the law. gun store on trial. wounded police officers take action against the store that sold the weapon used to shoot them. a case that could have sweeping ramifications for gun dealers. and unlimitied vacation. more and more companies with offering it. is your company work. it is good for worker and it is also good for business.