ambush of deadly police officers last night. tonight, the nation continues to mourn, and to ask why. why would someone kill five dallas officers, shoot seven others and 11 are also civilians. that's why unfolded last night in dallas. and today we've learned the shooter is named micah johnson. the 25-year-old was an army veteran from the dallas area who authorities say acted alone. and just minutes ago, dallas police say they found bomb-making materials in his home. law enforcement sources also telling nbc news that he was armed with both an sks-rifle, a semiautomatic weapon, and a handgun. johnson was deployed to afghanistan for nine months. he told hostage negotiators he was upset with the killings of black people by police officers. gunfire rang out during that peaceful protest last night. the organizers of the protest worked with police and said no one showed any signs of

violence. the mayor of dallas says the violence has to stop. >> we will not shy away from the very real fact that we as a city, as a state, as a nation, are struggling with racial issues. >> and we have these pictures of three of the five officers killed. michael crowell's family said he always wanted to become a police officer. brent thompson just got married two weeks ago. and patrick zamaripa served eight years of active duty in the u.s. military. he leaves behind a wife and daughter. thousands of people turned out this afternoon for this prayer service in dallas. you can see the huge crowds from the chopper there. and religious leaders said the community must have faith, hope, and love in the wake of the ambush. here at home, there's a protest planned for the third night in a row. you're looking at sky force 10 in north philadelphia. this group posted on facebook they plan to march. and there you see them in the

streets once again. and last night's local protests was peaceful as well. on wednesday night, there were several arrests. that's just one protest happening in philadelphia tonight. the police commissioner, richard ross, expects them all to be peaceful. nbc 10's mitch blocker is live at police headquarters now with the changes police are making, to make sure that these protests remain peaceful. and safe. mitch? >> reporter: yeah, jim, here at police headquarters, commissioner richard ross said that his officers will now be working in two-person teams. we also talked to septa police as well as the secret service to find out how the events in dallas are affecting how they work. what unfolds before the cameras in dallas has taken its toll in philadelphia. >> those officers were still running towards that chaos. and that speaks volumes. >> reporter: police commissioner richard ross reacted with emotion to what happened in dallas. >> obviously, it prompts us to

take measures that even we weren't taking before relative to protests. >> our network of law enforcement professionals is tight. and this morning, the lines have been buzzing. >> reporter: septa's police chief is leaving officer deployment up to hits command staff. chief nestle was watching coverage from dallas when he learned one of the officers killed was a transit policeman. >> what happened last night hits us all right to the core. >> reporter: in just weeks, all philadelphia area law enforcement will unite to protect the biggest of political stages. protests are expected. >> it doesn't really change the way we approach security. >> reporter: the secret service says its training includes the scenario we saw in dallas. >> that's why we go through this exercise and this planning process is so expensive. >> reporter: for the head of philly police, no denying dallas has made a mark. >> the way we do it is because of events that have transpired in the past. >> reporter: his counterpart at septa is hopeful for what local

officers will face at the end of the month. >> i think that it's going to be peaceful. it scares people, you know, both in uniform and the public. i think that we'll need to take a breath. >> reporter: and here at philadelphia police headquarters, the commissioner said that police have been in constant contact with philadelphia protest organizers. he said that both sides are committed to making sure that the protesters have their first amendment rights, and that the events are peaceful. live at philadelphia police headquarters, mitch blocker, nbc 10 news. >> a.m.e. church leaders are voicing their opposition to the violence against the police officers after the shootings in dallas. the pastor at the philadelphia convention center today, they hit the streets last night in protest. the back-to-back shootings of african-american men in baton rouge and near minneapolis, but they say retaliation is not the answer. dr. williams is a pastor in dallas. he vows to help mend the growing divide.

>> that's one thing i will implement when we get back to dallas. i want to have a prayer vigil for the city. >> officers have a difficult job and they say it does not take away from the issues they continue to raise. that church convention is where hillary clinton is speaking very shortly. if not right now. she canceled this morning's scranton stop. drew smith is live at the convention where clinton is focused on the dallas shootings. drew? >> reporter: jim, hillary clinton just walked out in the last few minutes. she is welcoming all of the people from across the country, and world here to philadelphia who are celebrating the 200th birthday of the a.m.e. church. the focus of her speech tonight will be the recent events across the country, the police shootings as well as the attack on police last night in dallas. of course, one of the organizers here talked about she's going to have to walk a fine line to make

sure that she's respecting the concerns of african-americans as well as being sent tiff to the police, and the courageous police officers who work across this nation every day. we are here in the hall. we'll be listening to what she's speaking of, and we'll bring you the latest at 11:00, as well as the nbc 10 app. drew smith, nbc 10 news. >> clinton's republican opponent donald trump canceled his campaign trip to florida with new jersey governor chris christie. trump posted a statement on facebook saying, quote, we must restore law and order. we must restore the confidence of our people to be safe and secure in their homes and on the streets. he continued, our nation has become too divided. too many americans feel like they've lost hope. crime is harming too many citizens. racial tensions have gotten worse, not better. this isn't the american dream we all want for our children. end quote from donald trump. "nbc nightly news" with lester holt will broadcast a

one-hour edition tonight right after this broadcast at 6:30. now, your nbc 10 first alert neighborhood weather. we're tracking storms on the nbc 10 first alert radar right here. chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz here with a look at your neighborhood weather. things firing up a bit tonight, glenn? >> firing up in some parts of the area. and really dying out in others. we hardly have any rain left in our pennsylvania counties, with the one exception, a part of bucks county. the heavy storm that was in central new jersey and going down toward south jersey has really weakened. just inland from atlantic city coming right down the atlantic city expressway, white horse pike. but it's weakening. the lightning really diminished during the past hour. we do have the flash flood warning in effect for part of bucks county, part of northern

mercer confideunty, until 9:15. newtown, grant, north hampton, penndale right now. that cell moving very slowly to the south. meanwhile, the larger area of rain in red, a couple of hours ago moved toward philadelphia and tonightly fell apart. in the meantime we have heavier showers and storms heading into delaware now. this one just crossed the border going in the general direction of dover. we'll talk more about tomorrow's storms and more comfortable air in just a few minutes. >> glenn, we'll check back with you. meantime, a solution for septa's slowdown. today the transit agency said it plans to get enough trains from its neighbors to add extra passengers. keith jones is following developments from our digital operations center. keith, what's the latest? >> reporter: there's good news and bad news here. first the good, septa is borrowing train cars from

regional neighbors. but the bad news, the fix will take a little bit longer than first thought. they'll be leasing trains from amtrak. that will add about 1,700 more seats. all in an effort to fill the holes after septa's entire silver liner v fleet was pulled from service. to fix the fleet, crews may be forced to replace the entire system of defective steel beams. the simple repair would have been easier, but now there's enough concern that that might not be enough for a fix. >> at this point, it's not looking good for a repair or a quick return to service. but we're not done. but it's not at this point. >> septa hopes to have fixed cars back by labor day. a brand-new train schedule will be out sunday night. keith jones, nbc 10 news. people living in camden can rest easier tonight knowing an accused arsonist is off the streets now.

police arrested charles ricks jr. this morning. he's charged with 14 counts of setting homes on fire. those fires began last saturday, and lasted into monday, destroying mostly vacant buildings across the city. seven firefighters were injured, but they're expected to be okay. someone stole thousands of dollars from a berks county church, near fleetwood. $8,500 in cash and checks are missing, taken overnight wednesday. the church dates back to 1735. a south jersey man's behind bars accused of are killing his girlfriend's 2-year-old daughter. michael disporta faced a judge this afternoon. someone called 911 on sunday. the girl died a few days later. her mother, amber, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. next on nbc 10 news at 6:00, why daily fantasy sites are now off-limits in one of our local states. also, add $1, one ticket, one big dream, the rush to grab

a ticket for the giant jackpot. glenn? >> i'm tracking friday evening storms. plus is the weekend going to get any cooler? the weather in your neighborhood is next.

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priorities usa action is responsible you're looking at live pictures here of some of the activity we've seen in our city in the wake of police involved shootings. we're continuing to keep an eye on some of these protests. some of which now are pro-police protests. you see the police vehicles there in the streets. some of these are protests, protesting police-involved shootings recently in louisiana and minnesota. once again, keeping an eye on this. we'll keep you posted. meantime, space so tight at one local animal shelter it is waiving adoption fees to save cats' lives. the animal care and control team of philadelphia said it's seen an unusual spike of cats coming in. on top of that, the fourth of july weekend was a slow time for adoptions. so today and tomorrow, it's doing ail way with fees for anyone who wants to get a cat or kitten. the animal care and control team

shelter is on huntington avenue. a mission, clear the shelters, join us on july 23rd as we try to get as many dogs and cats adopted from shelters from pennsylvania, delaware and new jersey. to find out more information about clear the shelters, go to nbc10.com. daily online sports fantasy games are no longer allowed in delaware. the delaware department of justice sent a letter yesterday, delaware requests to be added to the list of states players are not legally permitted to win money in. the debate is whether those games are games of skill or chance. speaking of big chances, if you don't have a ticket, you cannot win the giant mega millions jackpot. it's $540 million now. the drawing is tonight at 11:00. nbc 10's randy gyllenhaal found long lines of people dreaming up of becoming rich overnight. >> reporter: by 11:00 this morning, the line was growing outside the carolina food market in strawberry mansion.

>> give me ten of them. >> reporter: d.j. from southwest philly said this is his lucky store, and he used his lucky numbers. >> 9, 16, 21 -- >> reporter: hoping to hit tonight's mega millions jackpot which has grown to more than half a billion dollars. >> i need half a billion dollars. >> reporter: the price has been rolling over for four months now, fueling ticket sales. it's the third largest mega millions jackpot in u.s. history. >> i would disappear. disappear from the face of the earth. >> reporter: it's been a banner year for u.s. lotto sales, including some local winners. the smith family from new jersey hit the powerball back in the spring, giving hopes to customers here in north philly. >> i would pay all my bills and buy me a home and look out for my family. >> reporter: the half a billion dollar drawing is tonight. randy gyllenhaal, nbc 10 news. >> i know some people around the

office have their tickets. he's not saying if he has one. >> nope. >> keeping it close to the vest. no, you don't have one is what you're saying? >> i don't have any. we have showers and thunderstorms -- >> we do have. >> yeah, we've got plenty of that. le plenty of clouds. some folks were happy about it, because it puts a lid on the temperature a lit bit. of course, it would have been hotter if we had more sunshine. and we had some showers to cool things off. not much left in pennsylvania. things really quieted down, even south jersey has really quieted down here. we had one heavy storm come down south toward atlantic city. and it has just fallen apart as it's approached. i'm sure folks are happy about that. this one has not fallen apart. this is hitting bensalem now. it was up by north hampton.

so it's sliding southward, i-95, and the pennsylvania turnpike are affected by it. and it was heavy in newtown. grant part of that. moved to the southeast. so that's where the storms have been strongest. we've got another one that's headed very close to dover. as you can see, it's moving straight west to east from hartley. rising sun, and dover area about to get some heavier rain. but most places not seeing it, and some more will move into new jersey, maybe the maryland stuff, and the dover cell will move into the extreme south jersey. then things quiet down later on tonight. we've reached 94 degrees today. made it an official heat wave. we may get another one tomorrow. it will be a close call, depending on how much cloud cover we get. and how early the showers form. temperature down now to 89 in

philadelphia. 77 in coatesville. mount holly, atlantic city, trenton only 74 degrees. you can see what the rain does to those temperatures. now, tomorrow, we've got some rain affecting it. we've got some clouds affecting it. so i don't expect it to be as hot as it was today. look at allentown, going from 85, easton 84 degrees. barely 90 in parts of the philadelphia area. chestnut hill may not even get to 90 tomorrow. it will be fairly warm at the shore. but again, not quite 90 degrees. and i've got wilmington at 91. that's about it. and then we have more showers developing. just a few in the morning. some midday. a little bit more into the afternoon. you notice less activity in delaware and south jersey. so there will be more rain farther to the north. then things really dry out on saturday night, setting us up

for a beautiful sunday. so you have a choice for outdoor activities, that's today. no rain. not quite as hot. and much lower humidity. the jersey shore is going to be warmer, because of a land breeze. but the humidity will be down. so sunday is definitely the pick of the litter. and in the poconos mountains, the same story. 76 with thunderstorms tomorrow. 74 on sunday. without any storms. sunday and monday, nice and comfortable. tuesday and wednesday, we start to heat up. and then super hot again thursday, friday and into saturday. thanks so much, glenn. coming up, our latest look at the sixers' top pick ben simmons. we hear from one of the flyers' top prospects coming up next. ♪ we buy any car dot com ♪

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glimpse into their future. it looks bright from top pick ben simmons. simmons playing in a second game in the summer league last night. the spin move and the dish there. the pass in the lane. watch this nifty move coming up. behind the back no-look pass. simmons showing off. drives the lane. gets the bucket and the zone. he was asked what he needs to do to prepare for an nba season. >> just keep focused.

listening to the vets around me, and whoever comes in. be willing to learn. >> now it's on to the las vegas summer league for the sixers. they play saturday and sunday. so we should see more from simmons this weekend. the flyers on display this week as well. the development camp where many of the franchise's top prospects taking part. that includes last year's round pick provorov. there are plenty of expectations for this young player. >> this camp is about learning. just trying to learn as much as i can this week. and then after this camp, go back home, have a good summer, and train, get better, and then come back ready for september. >> phillies are back in coors field tonight. last night, not so pretty. the starting pitcher morgan sent back to aaa after the game. that's because the rockies pounded out 11 runs against the it was a typical rockies

performance out in coors. tonight at 8:00 on comcast sportsnet. larry brown has stepped down as the head coach of snu. brown had a year left on his current contract. according to reports he wanted a long-term extension. the school declined that. brown is 75 years old. they did go 25-5 last season, but were banned from the post-seas post-season.

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as we leave you these images of protesters approaching city hall in center city, in the wake of a violent week in our nation and strong emotions. more on the dallas police ambush is just ahead. for all of us here on nbc 10, i'm jim rosenfield, along with glenn "hurricane" schwartz. a special one-hour live "nbc nightly news" edition from

dallas be against right now with lester holt. join us again tonight at 11:00. tonight, breaking news. dallas police ambush, five killed, 11 injured under sniper fire. by stander videos, capturing the horrors downtown dallas, a war zone. a suspect identified, an army veteran who said he wanted to kill police, how he laughed at police and how they used a bomb killing robot. on the heels of two african-american men killed this week. police departments nationwide on edge after the deadliest day for american law