tragedy overnight for the new york city police department. an officer is dead after a gun battle with a suspected bicycle thief. this morning we have new details about bill cosby's legal team as he continues to battle sex assault allegations and you'll see he has a starring role in a new campaign ad. and if the temperature's in mid-70s have you wondering if it's fall we're going to be above average again before a cooldown in time for the weekend. nice start to the day. good morning. this is "nbc 10 news today" on this wednesday, i'm chris cato. let's begin for a change with

meteorologist bill henley and his first alert forecast. >> we're feeling the change, temperatures running at least 5 degrees warmer than yesterday and a beautiful day ahead. we'll see lots of sunshine in the 70s. but at this hour 44 in pottstown, wilmington is 47 and it's 48 degrees in wrightstown. northeast philadelphia, 53 degrees, chillier for roxborough and south philadelphia at 45 degrees. clear skies, sunshine, we'll warm things up. we'll be waiting for the sun at 6:00. 52 degrees, 55 by 9:00, and look at the warm-up by lunch time 68 degrees and climbing. i'll show you how warm it's going to get when i come back in ten minutes. jessica boyington has first alert traffic. >> we're watching the vine street expressway where we do have still ongoing construction closing it down between the schuylkill expressway and broad street on the eastbound side. we're looking at the schuylkill around 11th street. you can see work in progress in here. obviously left lane closed and

we did see a vehicle move by but they are forcing traffic off so again, that will be out there until about 5:00 this morning. the last few days we did have it open a little earlier than scheduled. i'll keep you updated there. our drive times around the philadelphia area no problems on 95 or the schuylkill into the center city area those times haven't budged yet. a water main break in new jersey i'll tell you where when i come back in the next ten minutes. >> to our breaking news from new york city, an officer murdered. investigators say a bicycle thief shot a new york city police officer in the head. nbc 10's tracy davidson is live in our digital operations center following the developments. >> we know someone shot the officer in the head just before 11:00 last night and medics rushed him to the hospital. he died an hour later. police were responding to a report of an armed man riding a bike. officers caught up with him, a

shoot-out followed, wounding officer randolph holder. they caught the suspect with a leg wound. here is reaction from new york's mayor. >> mourning a man who gave his life as a guardian for all of us, we're humbled by officer randolph holder's example, an example of service and courage and sacrifice. >> the suspect is expected to be released from a hospital later this morning and transferred to police custody. the fallen officer was a five-year veteran of the nypd. he was 33. tracy davidson, "nbc 10 news." >> we're following this news from overnight as well. fire crews in camden quickly contained a fire that spread to a row home. firefighters arrived to see heavy fire and smoke after 11:30 last night at a home on sheridan street. no one was injured in this. investigators are looking into a cause. in philadelphia a firefighter

and two police officers are in stable condition this morning, they breathed in too much smoke while saving man from a burning home. it was quite a scene. this was from sky force 10 on taylor street in north philadelphia. you see the fire coming from the roof. police got on scene first, two officers went into the home trying to rescue a man. the officers were overcome by smoke, then firefighters went in. and their chief later described a tense moment. >> communication could not be established. our team was placed in service. everybody was removed from the building. our firefighters got out safe. >> the man rescued by firefighters was taken to the hospital. no word yet on his condition or what caused the fire. 4:04. today in washington, a house committee wants to hear from the director of veterans affairs for this area to answer allegations of corruption. a recent government report found that senior v.a. officials wasted hundreds of thousands of

dollars and abused authority. the director of the philadelphia and wilmington v.a. is implicated in the scandal. the house committee on veterans affairs invited her to testify at today's hearing, if she doesn't show up the panel will vote on issuing a subpoena. we have new information now about bill cosby. the comedian has a new legal team to help battle ongoing allegations of sex assault. he replaced his long time lawyer to defend him in a pair of lawsuits including a defamation suit filed by janice dixon son. cosby faced several setbacks in those cases. on another front cosby is the subject of an attack ad in the race for montgomery county district attorney. take a look. >> the former d.a. who refused to prosecute bill cosby. he said we don't charge people for doing something foolish. >> assistant d.a. kevin steel released that ad. it takes aim at his opponent. caster, the former d.a., did not

prosecute cosby for allegedly drugging and molesting a woman. we got responses from both candidates. >> despicable distortion of what happened when you are as far down the polls as he is desperation takes over. there was insufficient evidence to prosecute bill cosby at the time i had to make a decision. >> still calls caster's actions a failure. the woman who made the allegations in 2005 settled the case in civil court for an undisclosed amount. 4:06. the city of philadelphia will take steps today in the battle against bed bugs. the city's newly established bed bug task force will meet at the pennsylvania convention center the goal to learn more about how other cities fight that bug and to get educated about state laws and regulations when it comes to pesticides, this meeting is open to the public. the task force was formed in february to curb the rise of bed

bug infestations in the city and the surrounding area. from the south jersey bureau, parents in burlington county armed with more information about a series of threats at an elementary school. charles street elementary school has had three lockdowns in the past month. nbc 10 was at the school last night where dozens of parents attended an advisory meeting. the school superintendent didn't give specifics about the threats, but he did say that they were written in the restrooms. parents we spoke with said that the school is taking the matter very seriously. >> i think most of the concerns that the parents have is the fact that whether or not what issing told is what's really going on. >> they were still trying to investigate what was going on but we were notified look, this is what happened, this is the procedure we did. so the school's very good with that. >> officials in palmyra say they are investigating leads to find out who made the threats. we have new information

about that toddler found wandering in philadelphia's love park over the weekend. yesterday a judge ruled that the baby and his older sister could not be reunited with their parents. instead, the homeless couple was offered visitation twice a week t 2-year-old was found walking alone bare foot friday night. turned out his mother and father and their children had been kicked out of their home and had no place to live so they were spending the night in the park. the story inspired offers of help. >> i thank you all for everything and love everybody and thank you. >> when you said that you were having furniture donated to your home. >> i just felt warm, you know. money don't grow on trees. >> nondenominational group raised $12,000 to provide that family with one year of housing. >> happening today, what's

popular main line chinese restaurant will be open two months after inspectors shut it down because of roaches. nbc 10 and other media got a look at renovations. the owner spent $500,000 they say to clean, repair and repaint the restaurant. inspectors closed it in august after they found a roach infestation and other safety violations. the management told us that the building's age and careless pest control company were partly to blame. >> a small problem corrected properly and i'm sorry to create the problem. >> the owner said they hope that they can regain the trust of their customers. 9 minutes after 4:00. the temperatures are a little warmer on the way to a beautiful autumn day. lots of sunshine, temperatures in the 70s today and again

tomorrow. but then things change as we get to the weekend. a real chill will be in the air and tracking a chance of showers over the weekend as well. you won't see that today. we're in the clear this morning. 47 in reading, it's 53 in philadelphia and cape may, clear skies, 55 degrees at this hour. nice clear view of boathouse row. we'll see lots of sunshine, just like yesterday except today is going to be warmer. yesterday's high was 71 degrees. which isn't bad either. already warmer this morning. 7 degrees warmer in northeast philadelphia and atlantic city at the airport. and it's 4 degrees warmer in wilmington. dover up by 6. a nice start to the day. sunshine, clouds there to the north, they are farther to the north today as high pressure is still in control of our weather which means we're on the way to temperatures like the 74 in fleet wood. and morgantown will see 73 this afternoon. middle 70s for new hope, abington and morristown. sunshine for the shore. 69 in cape may, the rest of the region in the 70s.

up to 73 degrees for symrna and plenty of sunshine for wilmington and woodstown, malvern all up to 74 degrees. a change for the weekend, the weekend forecast when i'm back in ten minutes. >> we'll look forward to that. until then, let's join nbc 10's first alert traffic reporter jessica boyington for a look at what's happening around glassboro. >> we have a water main break, chris, which is closing route 322 in both directions, pretty much in this little stretch in here. from main street to route 47. so again, all lanes closed in both directions, you can take 55 to go by this scene now, but if you do have to locally drive around in glassboro the best bet, ellis street, and it will put you back to 322 and you'll be fine. otherwise follow local detours posted. here we have 95. watching out for road work. we have lane restrictions.

13 minutes. mass transit, we're great this morning and no problems for new jersey transit, patco, dart and septa. >> when police commissioner charles ramsey calls it a career the police department will have big shoes to fill. how two well known names in law enforcement are already distancing themselves from the rumor mills. also ahead. >> reporter: chris, we're live in south jersey this morning focusing on the forest. coming up i'll explain why there is an increased risk for forest fire this time of year as opposed to others.

>> it's about quarter after 4. new this morning that beautiful fall foliage is also an indicator of a threat that always comes around this time of year with the change of seasons comes the increased risk that thousands of acres of trees, forests and brush can quickly catch fire. katy zachry is live in medford. you spent time with members of the new jersey forest service and they take this time of year seriously. >> reporter: they do. a lot of eyes on the forests throughout the state. fire department likes medford and others throughout new jersey are aware of the increased risk of forest fire now as opposed to other times of the year because we have just entered fall forest fire season. it extends until about december 1, the extremely cold nights we've had in fact most recently brought a killing frost which makes the pine barons extremely susceptible to fire. >> the leaves and everything are curing out, they are brown, all

of the vegetation is going into winter dormency so that takes the moisture levels out of what we call the forest fuels. >> reporter: it makes things really ripe to catch on fire. to keep ahead of this threat the forest fire service monitors the area from about 100 feet up. coming up in the next 45 minutes we'll take you high atop one of the towers and show you the signs of danger that they look for. reporting live in medford, new jersey, katy zachry, "nbc 10 news." 4:16 now. today on capitol hill, homeland security secretary jay johnson is expected to testify at a hearing on threats that the u.s. faces from overseas. lawmakers will examine isis and the impact that europe's refugee crisis could have. the fbi director is also expected to appear. now to decision 2016.

and still no word, no decision from vice president joe biden on whether or not he will become a presidential candidate. he spoke last night at a dinner for former vice president walter mondale, but he didn't address all of the rumors and questions about whether he'll run. earlier biden sounded more like a candidate when he took a jab at hillary clinton saying she is proud to have the republicans as an enemy. >> i still have a lot of republican friends. i don't think my chief enemy is the republican party. >> now, if biden does announce the white house run he would be the fifth democrat in the race since jim webb dropped out yesterday. >> on the republican side we know that donald trump sometimes, sometimes, has a flare for the dramatic. ahead at 4:30, you'll hear his latest pseudo endorendorsement t it this way the name of his endorser may surprise you. two top cops are downplaying if

not squashing the chatter that they may be candidates for police commissioner, a job that will be open next year when current chief charles ramsey retires. bill, the current superintendent of radnor township police and a former philadelphia chief inspector, is one of the names that has been tossed about out there as a possible replacement. but this morning he's putting the rumors to rest. >> i know rich ross who is the first deputy for a number of years in my opinion would be an excellent police commissioner for the city of philadelphia. i think he has all of the traits that are needed to be successful. as far as myself, i have been at radnor five years, radnor is my home and this is where i want to be. >> and another name that had been mentioned, chief of septa police thomas netsle, he also shot down any notion he is making a run at replacing chief ramsey. he tweeted this, he does a lot on twitter.

he tweeted negative, i love being a caretaker of the underground. >> 4:18 now. this is how former nba star lamar odom was photographed in the hours before being found unresponsive at a nevada brothel last week. the daily mail released several photos from inside the love ranch suite where he was found. two show him lying in bed, in the other his eyes are barely open as he holds a water bottle. odom is undergoing further treatment at a hospital in los angeles after regaining consciousness. his family says he continues to make progress with walking, talking and eating. his estranged wife khloe kardashian, his father and two children from a previous relationship are by his side in that hospital. and kardashian broke her silence yesterday issuing a statement thanking everyone for support it reads in part quote you can never be prepared for an experience like this. but without the outpouring of love and endless prayers that lamar has received and the

strength i was given from my loved ones it would have been difficult to endure. thank you for your continued support. god is great. >> 20 minutes after 4:00. what a gorgeous day yesterday, this is what it looked like from here at the nbc 10 studios where you can expect more of that today. right now it's 53 degrees in philadelphia. cool but not as chilly as yesterday. and we are in the clear so once the sun is up we're going to see a quick warm-up. faster than yesterday's warm-up. so, we're in store for a pretty nice day today. september-like conditions. 40s to start and 50s, 50 in doylestown, 53 at philadelphia international, and atlantic city is 53. some of the chilliest weather tends to be farther north and west. doylestown, warrington, in the low 50s. it is cooler for quakertown,

that is the cool spot at 41 degrees. at the bus stop we'll see bright sunshine and a bit of a chill in the air in the sunshines. 52 in the city. the sun will be bright. a temperature warm-up will be rapid. it's going to stay dry u. see the showers to the north. no sign of showers for us today. the weekend, though, that's a different story. look at that, mostly sunny, mild, 70s this afternoon. the weekend, 60s. the chill saturday morning but we rebound up to 63 degrees saturday afternoon. then a chance of showers, a little warmer on sunday, 66 degrees. the seven-day forecast coming up in the next half hour. >> sounds good. 4:21 now. let's check the roads. nbc 10's traffic reporter jessica boyington watching one of the major outs. i missed the cue on what your road is. sometimes i listen and sometimes i don't. i'll be honest. >> we have to help you out.

it's okay. good morning. i know. it's early. we'll give you a break. route 73 now, see, there we go, route 73, approaching the tacony palmyra bridge. i didn't give him that much. you're good. approaching the tacony palmyra bridge we were scheduled for a 4:10 opening and as you can see no backup right now. so unclear whether it's open. i am trying to look ahead. you can see the ships go by from this camera but it's dark out and you can see no backup approaching the toll plaza. right now good to go, take the betsy ross bridge if you want to get an alternate to get around that. for the rest of the area bridges no problems. no problems for the ben, construction the walt whitman is clear as well. down the p.a. turnpike moving along smoothly. all green, westbound, eastbound, from route 1, the valley forge, the most a 23 minute trip. >> work is under way to remove the remains of a shorehouse that is partly submerged under water. it's not just an eye sore. ahead we'll tell you why the

home is lls causing damage. >> a plan is discussed to save the state of pennsylvania $200,000. next hear what may soon vanish from along the pennsylvania turnpike. >> if you want to see what happened behind the scenes during commercial breaks and off camera here at "nbc 10 news today" there is this invention called periscope. it allows us to be on tv at all times. just what we always wanted. you can check us out there. we'll talk to you, answer our questions and tracy davidson is giving away a prize right now. our address is nbc philadelphia. see you soon.

dayquil liquid gels and go. hey buddy, let's get these but these liquid gels are new. mucinex fast max. it's the same difference. these are multi-symptom. well so are these. this one is max strength and fights mucus. that one doesn't. uh...think fast! you dropped something. oh...i'll put it back on the shelf... new from mucinex fast max. the only cold and flu liquid gel that's max-strength and fights mucus. start the relief. ditch the misery. let's end this.

>>. >> 4:25. this is your chance to vote in our nbc 10 "high school blitz" game of the week. the choice this is week, hammonton at delsia and marple newtown. log on and vote now. vote all week. >> lawmakers in pennsylvania may soon get rid of those wreckage call boxes you see on the turnpike. state senators discussed that possibility yesterday. that move they say could save the state about $200,000 a year. supporter sas the phones are really no longer needed because most drivers have cell phones. crews are trying to find out if there are spots on the turnpike where cell service isn't good. from the delaware bureau a heads up near dover air force base. for the next three days that base will be testing its major response capabilities, this annual drill is a training requirement the base has to do it. residents can expect an increase

in emergency response vehicles, possible traffic delays near the base, and sirens going off more frequently. we are in the clear and it is warmer this morning. 53 degrees at 4:27. your hour by hour forecast just ahead. >> next t test results are in for a controversial exam for students in new jersey. you'll see what the numbers show and hear what state educators plan to do with this information.

bing. >> the investigation is far from over into this assault caught on tape. this morning there are new charges in the case. >> what is next for kathleen kane? the attorney general's law license will be suspended. >> expect a day of above average temperatures, warm into mid-70s but a cooldown is in the first alert seven-day forecast. we'll get you details. good morning. this is "nbc 10 news today." i'm tracy davidson. >> i'm chris cato. after a cool start yesterday it warmed up nicely. let's have more of that. meteorologist bill henley is taking orders now. in his first alert forecast. >> you know, for some that wasn't warm enough so we'll go warmer today. we're starting off warmer this morning with clear skies, the temperatures are in the 40s and 50s. right now 53nd