and to deliver a message in the face of a menacing act at a jewish cemetery in the city. hundreds of headstones toppled less than a week ago. a show of solidarity from jews, muslims and christians alike. nbc 10's rosemary connors joins us live from independence mall. >> today's rally attracted people from well beyond philadelphia. >> reporter: from students in the suburbs to lawmakers in harrisburg, they all gathered here on independence mall to make their voices heard. ♪ lending their voices to the cause, students at the hebrew academy learned first-hand what it means to be a social activist. >> it makes me feel good that i'm in a community where there is hate in the community, people are willing to stand up together to come together. >> black, white, brown, jews, christian, muslim, rich, poor, gay or straight. together, we stand united.

>> reporter: while the rally may be in response to recent crimes at jewish sites, demonstrators say they stand for all victims of discrimination. >> we're really committed to fighting intolerance and bigistry against all people. and that jewish people anti-semitism is related to islamaphobia. >> reporter: for these, speaking up for others is the best weapon for the fight against hate. >> they came for the jews and i wasn't a juew and i didn't spea up and they come for the next. >> it's not just the people who were affected directly, it's everyone in the community. >> reporter: now, in addition to pennsylvania's attorney general whom you heard from at the podium, philadelphia's mayor, pennsylvania's governor, they were also on hand with others to show their support and demand change and demand that those responsible for the hate crimes get justice. reporting live in old city, i'm

rosemary connors, nbc 10 news. now, to a major announcement from u.s. attorney general jeff sessions late this afternoon. sessions announced he is removing himself from any federal investigation into russian interference in the presidential election. >> it comes after revelations that sessions spoke twice with russia's u.s. ambassador during the campaign. sessions says his decision is based on recommendations from his advisors at the justice department. >> i believe those recommendations are right and just. therefore, i have recused myself in the matters that deal with the trump campaign. >> sessions said at his confirmation hearing he did not have any communication with russia. last night, a spokesperson revealed sessions met with the ambassador in his capacity as a senator on the armed services committee. meanwhile, touring an aircraft carrier in virginia today, president trump told reporters he has, quote, total confidence in sessions. but did not know about the

meetings. >> do you still have confidence in the attorney general? >> total. >> when you were aware that he spoke to the russian ambassador. >> i wasn't aware at all. >> white house aides are said to be huddling tonight to come up with a plan to handle this latest crisis. coverage of today's developments in washington continues on nbc nightly news with lester holt. that's ahead at 6:30 tonight. to your first alert weather now and what's been a windy wakeup call. a live look at the scene in cape may where flags have been taking a beating all day. it's windy out there. >> the gusts have been causing trouble in parts of the area. they toppled this tree in clifton heights. branches smashed through a bedroom window and hurt a man who was asleep in his bed. the wind and dropping temperatures aren't reminders enough it's still winter, this is another one here. a little snow you can see on the

radar. what you see here could bring us a few flakes on friday. nbc 10 first alert meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz is here now. >> sounds like winter's making a comeback. >> it's on the way. as cold as it feels right now it's nothing compared to way it will feel tomorrow night and saturday night. the turbines are spinning furiously as the wind continues. although, it's nowhere near as strong as it was this morning. temperatures generally in the low to mid40s across the area, except for the 31 in mount pocono. that's a sign of things to come. the gusts are not as wide spread as they were. the areas without any numbers indicate there is no particular gust at this hour. down to 22 miles an hour in philadelphia. 25 in dover. we had a peak wind gust of are 51 miles per hour in philadelphia and some places as high as 57 miles an hour this morning. you can see some of these snow

flurries coming across from ohio through western pennsylvania. these are not just lake effect, this is a little disturbance coming through the atmosphere with the cold air. there is a chance that some areas will see snow flurries tomorrow. everybody is going to be seeing the temperature drop, all night and there's enough wind to make it feel even colder. feeling like the mid20s in philadelphia. it's going to get colder from there. i'll have those numbers coming up in a few minutes. new at 6:00 from montgomery county, the recent death of a detective prompt change at the police department. we're talking about how evidence will be handled. it's after a stash of evidence was missing. nbc 10's deanna durante is live in upper dublin tonight. >> a lot of folks asking will this missing evidence affect any of the investigations? >> reporter: the district attorney says right now that is unclear. the evidence in question impacts

about 11 active cases. >> it's tragic. and we all wish we weren't here talking to you about this today. >> reporter: investigators say they had no choice but to release the findings of an internal audit and investigation. it was in december an officer took his own life. in the days after, the district attorney's office was brought in to review the suicide. they said they found missing evidence from the evidence room. >> there were $7,000 in cash missing and a lot of pills and a lot of drug evidence. >> the district attorney announced the findings this afternoon, saying most of the cases are inactive and defense attorneys are being alerted to the issue in the 11 active cases. he saysist n it's not clear if will impact the outcome of the cases. he's saying the respected officer concealed a drug problem from those closest to him. >> no one is immune from a drug problem that we are facing as a society. >> reporter: police announced changes to prevent evidence

tampertam tampering in the future. >> many including myself regret that he never sought help through our employee assistance program or turn to us to tell us the truth and maybe save his life. >> reporter: here's more on how police plan to change the procedures. there will be security cameras in the evidence room. they will also have electronic coding on the evidence. and multiple officers will be present whenever any pieces of evidence in cases are handles. reporting live, deanna durante. berks county a reverend is facing charges in the death of a young girl. he is accused of failure to report child abuse. he is considered a mandatory reporter of child abuse. that means if you know about child abuse you are required to report it by law. this all comes after a 2-year-old ella grace died of

pneumonia back in november. her parents are charged in her death. they say their faith forbids medical treatment. philadelphia's mayor calling for hiring additional firefighters and paramedics, more spending to fight the opioid and heroin epidemic and millions of dollars for a project connecting the waterfront to center city. the mayor kinney introduced his $4.5 billion budget today. the mayor went beyond talking about philadelphia, saying there's a lot of uncertainty about the future. >> we don't know what's coming out of washington and we don't know what's coming out of harrisburg. every day it's something different and it's not good. >> some state and federal funding could be in jeopardy for sanctuary cities like philadelphia because of efforts to crack down on undocumented immigrants. and while the mayor was laying out his buft plans, peope were protesting the soda tax. the philly tax coalition says

that tax is harming small businesses. a l . new details about a violent home invasion, tied up and locked in a closet for four days without food andwater. prosecutors say a 17-year-old boy escaped from a nearby behavb behavioral school and walked two miles to the house. they say it was random attack. he beat the woman and put a shopping bag on her head and locked her in a closet. he stole her credit cards and car. the victim was found four days later barely arrive. >> choking her out, telling her she'll see jesus soon. putting the bag over her head. then he threw her away like she was garbage. like he couldn't care less. >> police tracked the teenage

suspect down after tracing the grandmother's stolen credit cards. school officials are cooperating with police. tonight, there's renewed optimism in atlantic city about the rebirth of the shuttered taj mahal as we first told you last night. hard rock international and its partners have agreed to buy the taj from the billionaire investor. the company will reopen and transform the boardwalk property into a hard rock casino. experts say they have high hopes about the future of the building. >> very, very excited for me. i'm thrilled to bits about it. >> it's more than just a casino coming into atlantic city. this is an iconic brand that people recognize around the world. >> the taj closed last fall after union workers couldn't agree on a new contract. local leaders agree the casino will reopen next year. 25 correctional officers

have resigned or applied for early retirement at vaughan correctional center. four employees were taken hostage, lieutenant steven floyd was killed. one counselor was rescued and two others were released. an emotional day in camden county. governor chris christie celebrated the opening of a center. a.z. solomon was the main character in christie's state of the state address. >> when you're in leadership, the ideas don't have to be yours. if you're really good most of the time they're not. that >> beyond my wildest dreams and a gift for everyone who is suffering. >> solomon grew up in haddonfield. the treatment center called victory bay will focus on a 12 step, six month program for addicts and their loved ones. now, to a celebration in south jersey, the first ship

docked today at the new marine terminal in gloucester county. state officials joined local leaders and businesses celebrating the opening this afternoon. it is the first port constructed on the delaware river in more than 50 years. biden bombshell. it's the romantic relationship within the former vice president's family that has everybody talking tonight. what delaware's favorite son has to say about it. next. a return of winter, at least for a while after today's winds, the temperatures are about to tumble. the cold is coming, plus a few flakes. all next in my exclusive first alert forecast.

can a filet, or a new york strip ever be topped? well, no. but for our new delmonico ribeye, perhaps we can make more room at the top. you can't fake steak longhorn steakhouse

tonight's special, steakhouse cuts. featuring, for a limited time, the new delmonico ribeye, our tender flo's filet, and the juicy new york strip. and for lunch, try our steakhouse burger or any steakhouse lunch combo. only at longhorn.

biden's in love. a stunning development within the family of former vice president joe biden. his son, hunter, is now dating the widow of his late son, beau. it's been nearly two years since the death of beau biden. >> tim furlong spoke with a grief counsellor about how the couple is finding love after heart ache. >> i was surprised a little bit. >> reporter: the news was a little surprising, beau biden's widow in a relationship with beau's younger brother, hunter. you see hunter holding hallie and his now estranged wife's hands on the day before beau's

funeral. it makes you think how it would work in your family. >> weirder things have happened. >> reporter: the first reaction from people says this is a little bit strange. everyone usually goes on to agree, it's none of anybody's business. this doctor is with a psychology group in newark. she says it sound taboo it makes sense. they shared the same experience losing the same person. >> if i can relate to you, feel connected to you more than other people because they're not in a similar situation, i might be drawn to spend more time with you and i might be drawn to feeling like you get me and i feel cared about and i feel loved. >> reporter: hunter tells page 6 hallie and i are lucky to have found love and support we have for each other in a difficult time. that's been obvious to the people who love us most. hunter is going through his

divorce. he has a few kids, hallie has two. this could be a tricky transition period. joe and jill biden say they support the relationship. family and friends want all the bidens to find peace. >> i wish them the best and hopefully they'll find love and it staywise them forever. >> reporter: tim furlong, nbc 10 news. yesterday, we were talking about record warmth. severe thunderstorms and now getting toward winter time. the northwest winds bringing in that colder air. 45 degrees now. 62 at midnight, a little after midnight. that was the high for the day officially. temperatures down into the low 40s with the northwest winds not quite as strong as it was a couple hours ago. look at this, 20-30 degrees colder than it was at this time yesterday. and that's without the wind. so you add the wind in, it feels like it's more than 30 degrees colder.

this is going to be the coldest weekend in two months. beginning of january was the last time we had temperatures this low. again, that doesn't include the wind. which is going to be gusting to 40 miles an hour or more tomorrow and saturday. that will make it four straight windy days. snow? well, could get flurries in parts of the area tomorrow, mainly in the afternoon. but, of course, they would be melting as they would hit. the feels like temperature is going to be the big deal here. because it's feeling like it's in the 20s for much of the evening. again, compared to the 70s yesterday, haven't justadjusted there. tomorrow morning, feeling like the teens. doesn't warm up much during the day tomorrow. feeling like 20s. 25 potts town. tomorrow night, headed out friday night, think you're not going to need a winter coat? you probably are.

10 in doylestown and allentown. single digits for saturday morning. this is more than just a few hours of cold weather. even saturday afternoon is feeling like it's in the teens. this will last for a good bit of the weekend and all saturday night, sunday morning cold too. nothing close by on the radar. these are snow flurries coming down across ohio and pennsylvania. they build up during the afternoon with the heating of the day and then die down at night. so you won't see that first thing in the morning. it's clear. and then there are these snow flurries, poconos could see some snowshowers out there. it moves through very quickly. and then that's the end of it. and then it's just dealing with the cold. so these are the low temperatures for the weekend. followed by the highs. you can see the highs only in the 30s, the lows in the teens. these are not feels like temperatures, these are the actual temperatures. 11, lehigh valley sunday morning. been a while since we've seen

that, isn't it? teens in new jersey, jersey shore could be down to 19 by sunday morning. we start warming up a little bit next week. and i'm john clark the flyers welcome their new player today. we'll hear from him. was carson wentz playing hurt last year? the eagles respond. that is next.

hi i'm john clark. big game for the flyers, they're facing one of the teams they're chasing, the florida panthers. here is a new flyer at the

morning skate this morning. he'll center the second line. he had to accept the trade to come here. and he did that after talking to some former fellow finish flyers. >> he played here. and had a lot of good things to say about the city and the guys and the team. so it's always nice when you get feedback. it makes it easier. >> steve mason will start tonight in goal after shutting out colorado on tuesday night. mason's deal is up at the end of the season. the other goalie, he agreed to a new two year deal. what does that mean? >> it doesn't change anything for me. it doesn't make me bitter or anything like that. if anything, just classified things and puts your guessing game away from the forefront of your mind. >> remember tuesday might we all

thought wayne simmonds had a hat trick. jake is donating $6,000 in lieu of that. hats off. with the trade, pierre dellmar will take his place. carson wentz's elbow became sore. how he responds today. >> not true. not true. two words. not true. >> absolutely totally not true? there was no issue at all? >> there was no issue at all. >> not true. espn reports the eagles and saints about trading for the receiver brandon cook, a speedy receiver who has had two very good years. sixers forward sorch is the rookie of the month. joel embead won it before.

phils blue jays ended in an 8-8 tie. most players duck out of the way when a bat goes flying but not this player. ninja-like reflexes. i got this. wow. i'm john clark. we're right back. dear fellow citizen,

i know what it's like to want to relax with your family. but enjoying today doesn't mean losing sight of tomorrow. so while i invest in "the now" my mortgage, vacations i still invest in the future, like my children's college tuition and retirement. i can help you piece together your financial journey for today and tomorrow. if you have a question about investing, ask me.

sincerely, amanda etheridge, fellow planner and fellow citizen. ♪ we buy any car dot com ♪ ♪ we buy any car dot com ♪ ♪ any any any any ♪ did you know trading in your car at a dealer could cost you money? a recent study found consumers who trade in their car pay an average of $990 dollars more. so don't trade in... sell it.... to we buy any car. learn more and get your free online valuation

now at we buy any car dot com ♪ find out how much your car is worth at webuyanycar.com ♪ bundle up. >> yeah. we got a couple of more bad hair days, too. that's the wind symbol for friday and saturday. wind gusts over 40 miles an hour both days as the temperatures keep going down each day. saturday's going to be really cold and saturday night, too. we start warming up nicely early next week and then it gets real windy again for a couple of days as colder air returns. nothing as cold as what this weekend is going to be. the coldest weekend in two months. >> 21 for the overnight low. >> that's in the city.

>> that's in the city. watch out in the country. that's our news at 6:00. >> up next nbc nightly news with lester holt. see you at 11:00. tonight. under fire. the attorney general jeff sessions announces he will recuse himself from the investigation of russian interference in the election. democrats want him to resign. snap billionaires. the addictive app that makes messages disappear goes public. it's this 26-year-old founder the next mark zuckerberg. where is winter? unusual warmth sweeping the country. concerns about why spring is creeping earlier and earlier. fighting cancer. researchers unveil a new approach to the debilitating side effects.