service for the passion of christ ended a short while ago here at the basilica, the doors are still open for anyone who wants to come in and pray to observe this solemn day in the christian faith. ♪ on one of the holiest days of the year for christians, parishioners packed pews to listen to "the passion of christ." ♪ through the streets of center city, a procession observing the way of the cross symbolized the suffering jesus endured good friday. >> opened the gates of heaven taking on the sins of the world and we remember that. >> means it's time to get with your family and close friends. >> oh, my god. i feel like they're my family. >> reporter: at this bakery in south philadelphia, this weekend is one. busiest of the year with loyal patrons picking up traditional treats. >> got the ham pies.

pastini. >> reporter: neighborhood markets making sure families have everything they need for dinner easter sunday. signs of spring also help usher in the holiday. >> we always depend on easter to get things going. >> reporter: john lynch, owner of the secret garden nursery kept his inventory stocked. >> a nice saturday in the spring. you're busy. >> reporter: back at the basilica, easter weekend is just beginning. >> sunday is kind of like a re-birth of, a renewal of the lenten season and the sacrifices we all make with christ at the forefront. >> reporter: tonight here at the basilica at 7:00, another service in spanish, and for anybody who still has last-minute items to pick up, last-minute gooeys, jeremy brothers in south philly is open until 7:00. reporting live, rosemary connors, nbc 10 news. on this good friday in center city this afternoon, worshippers observed at st. john the evangelist, the church

re-enacted the stations of the cross, which marks jesus' walk to his crucifixion. a chester county church is opening in time for the holiday. hosting its first service in their repaired church on easter at 8:00 a.m. back in january of last year, heavy snow crushed the church's roof causing it to cave in. fortunately, no one was hurt. people out and about in south philadelphia. seasonably warm afternoon. a look at a tennis game at the franklin delano roosevelt park. the start of a warm easter weekend. even seeing 80s on easter, and sunday will be the warmest day of the weekend. >> and chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz is with us. >> we're going to expect warm weather. really warm weather for easter sunday, but not much different tomorrow temperaturewise than we

saw today. a lot of sunshine on the roads. but it's not very much traffic. this, for a friday afternoon on, this time of the day. you can see that we have mostly clear skies across our area now. the clouds increase back to the west starting in ohio. but there's no rain to get back to illinois. so it's still a long way away. 67 in philadelphia now. 69 in allentown. 66 in wilmington and in trenton, just a little light wind out of the southeast right now, and that's keeping the temperatures at the beaches in the 50s, and the temperatures at the beaches tomorrow should be in the 50s as well. be prepared for that if headed down to the shore for the weekend and you need a jacket or sweatshirt or something. it's not going to be 85 degrees on sunday like it is in philadelphia. how about 71? quite a difference. this, across the area. the rest of the region should be

in the 80s and very limited chances for rain until sunday night. more on the timing for the weekend, and what's ahead for next week in a few minutes. airmen charged. two air force members in delaware accused of sex crimes against a minor. investigators say the men had been having sex with a 15-year-old girl at the dover air force base. nbc 10 is in dover where the department of justice says one of the men picked up the girl from the dmv. >> it's a sad, sad world we live in. >> reporter: loretta and many others folks in dover disappointed to hear the news out of the airs base here. >> when i hear about children, yeah, i'm saddened. >> reporter: the u.s. attorney's office said this airman from philadelphia met an acquaintance at the dmv location and bought a troubled 15-year-old runaway for $20. they brought her on and off the base had sex multiple times in his barracks and would bring food from the base mess hall and

restaurants. also he would have his army's akeem beazer look at her as well. he both had sex with her many times over the months. during a meeting the girl told was was going leading to their arrest. they're hoping the girl is getting the help she needs. >> that she feels she had to do that to survive. >> neighbors are glad to hear the airmen are locked up. >> yeah. high standards. they're supposed to protect us against anything. shouldn't be doing stuff like that. >> reporter: commanders wouldn't go on camera but e-mailed a statement saying they're cooperating with the investigation and i asked to get a look at regulations about taking people on and off the base including kids. they haven't gotten back to me with that information. at dover air force base, nbc 10 news. the u.s. government says the mother of all bombs killed 36 isis militants in afghanistan.

the military dropped the largest non-nuclear explosive in its arsenal yesterday. the commander of u.s. forces says, no civilians were killed, and that they hit the right target with the right weapon. >> the enemy created bunkers, tunnels and extensive mine fields. and this weapon was used to reduce those obstacles. >> a series and caves and underground tunnels, weapons and munition also destroyed in the bombing. and talking about developing military situations, the military expect says the american leadership is well aware that the world is watching to see how they respond to threats. >> i think you're sending a message to our allies as well as to potential enemies and adversaries that we will have a proportionate response, and even if there needs to be something pre-emptive we're not hez toosi

to do that as well. >> tensions continue to grow tw between the u.s. and north korea. north korea says the u.s. is creating the problem by sending an aircraft carrier strike group near the korean peninsula. two women are dead tonight after the suv they were riding in slammed into a tractor trailer on roosevelt boulevard. the truck was legally parked. first responders had to cut open the suv to free the three people inside. two women died. the man driving the suv is in stable condition. neighbors we spoke with say the boulevard is dangerous enough without letting trucks park there. >> always concerned about trucks parking there and about cars parking in the outside lane in the boulevard. it's crazy. you have so many cars running, speeding. >> the driver of the trashctor trailer was not in the truck at

the time of the crash. investigating the murder of a burlton county woman and her 8-year-old son, found stabbed to death in maple shade. police say found by their husband and father who had been as a work event. no arrests. another message from the governor of pennsylvania to the philadelphia district attorney. resign. governor tom wolf says it's beyond time for seth williams to step down from his post and district attorney. williams is facing federal bribery and extortion charges. his law license is suspended as he awaits trial and he won't make any legal determinations. the trial is set to begin next month. the lee high county coroner's office trying to figure out what killed a 27-year-old man found dead in a hotel room. emanuel ramirez' body found this morning at the suites in a township. his friend sick in a hallway as well. in their room investigators found a chemical powder and are working to identify it. all new at 6:00, an accused

drug dealer in montgomery county charged with homicide after one of his customers died of an overdose. investigators say angel leon was selling heroin mixed with fentanyl, about 50 times more deadly than heroin. charges like this are part of their war against drugs. today is the first day on the job for the new wilmington police chief, robert tracy, taking over the police department for delaware the largest city. he is succeeding bobby cummings who retired. up next, giddyap! a horse's great es stape takes her through philadelphia during rush hour. how she was reunited with her owner. painful prank. a bench bounces right back and it's caught on camera. police are searching for this failed vandal. spending easter in the 80s. breaking it down, your weekend warm-up in the first alert forecast.

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a great escape to tell you about. this horse broke free from a riding club and took a kind of tour of philadelphia today. >> her name is big mama. she got loose this morning and

has since been reunited with letter owner. big mama ran from the fletcher street urban riding club in strawberry mansions making it to the shooler house casino before caught. we have how the horse was able to make that cross-city trip. >> reporter: on this beautiful spring day, she quietly planned her escape. >> this is big mama. she got loose this morning. >> reporter: big mama, a 7-year-old female horse, decided today was the day to explore the big city. >> i never see the horse do that. >> reporter: lonny sullivan feeding her at the riding club when big mama took a big leap out the front door, i looked out. she was coming. so i jumped. hit me. i fell down. i said, wow! >> reporter: philadelphia police in hot pursuit from strawberry maengs all the way to fish town. she was finally corralled near the sugar house casino. >> how did she end up all the way over there? >> reporter: owner thinks she went there since they rescued

her from a casino racetrack a few years back. >> she suffered an injury to her rear leg. we rescued and gave her a better life. they were going to send her to the killers. >> i saw her running around. >> reporter: this man saw the police chase on tv and brought her son to see up close. >> my son loves animals. >> reporter: big mama back on her north philly farm may be plotting her next adventure around town. for nbc 10 news. we have video from bucks county showing crime definitely does not pay. check it out. guy right there picks up that bench along sycamore street and tries to throw it over the fence, but the bench decided to -- ouch! bounce back. hit the guy in the head. police say several businesses were vandalized there last night and now they're looking for the man in this video. tonight in new castle

county, looking tore a man who rob add wawa. the man took out a gun, demanded cigarettes from the clerk before running off with several cartons. if you know anything about this case, call police. [ explosion ] the spotlight, scientists showcase best experiments at the franklin institute part of the countdown to the 2017 philadelphia science festival starts one week from today. the festival has events to get your kids interested in science. a new turf field and sport complex opened in delaware today. the menu on the highway in dover. heads up if you're traveling that way this weekend. 84 youth hockey teams from across the country playing there today and saturday. here's a south jersey easter tradition you just have to see right here. that's the easter bunny. skydiving in williamstown, gloucester county. every year this daredevil easter

bunny jumps out of a plane to the delight of hundreds of young ones kicking off the easter hunt at cross keys airport. >> announcer: now your nbc 10 first alert weather. many people are already getting started on their easter travel. a live look at the ben franklin bridge. a comfortable weekend to spend outside. >> chief meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwartz is here with a really warm easter sunday forecast. right, glenn? >> yeah. going to be kind of windy, too. that might help you a little bit, because 85 degrees is pretty warm. especially when the sun is out, and our bodies are not used to that. so it's really going to feel warm on sunday. 67 degree s and virtually no wid in philadelphia. 69, lee high valley. look how blue the sky is. no wind there either. you don't see that a whole lot this time of the year. well, let's head to the shore. check on the wind and those

temperatures. and ocean temperature up to 52, but with the wind coming in, 54 in the city, all afternoon that way. 55 at summer's point. 54 in cape may point. doesn't matter how warm inland. a wind coming in off the ocean and the ocean is that chilly, it's not going to warm up a whole lot and that's the case this weekend at the beaches. only up to 68 degrees today. pretty close to that tomorrow. held down by the cloud cover they're prishedicting. sunday add sunshine and more westerly wind and warmer air mass, you get into the mid-80s. it will be easy to get into the 80s on sunday. the record, by the way, is 90 degrees in philadelphia. so we're not going to quite get there, i don't think. we have dry air in the east. and some showers and thunderstorms in the chicago area. that's pretty far back to the west. certainly not going to get here tomorrow. the wind is out of the south.

10 to 15 miles an hour meaning it's going to be a sea breeze for the jersey shore. so you'll see temperatures are lower there. 67 in fairmont. melwood, 61. a lot of cloud symbols there but no rain drops. chances of rain are so small. don't want to bother you with that. that doesn't mean the rain chances are zero, but they're pretty low. long port, 58 degrees. avalon, 59. for the high temperature tomorrow, once again, going to be in the 50s all day. the hour by hour going through the night and into the morning. you can see the clouds coming in. a lot of clouds during the day tomorrow. but you don't see any of that green. the rain. where is it? oh, maybe a shower in the middle of the night. but that's about it for saturday night. then sunday, left with a lot of sunshine. look at that. not even seeing the cloud cover. but sunday evening, that's a different story.

got, perhaps, a band of showers racing through the area. wouldn't be lasting very long, and then that clears out, and we're dry again for monday morning. so any rain that we get on sunday evening would be pretty brief and just scattered around. tomorrow, a lot of clouds. temperatures in the 60s, except for at the jersey shore. sunday in the 80s, except for the jersey shore. and this is sunday. sunrise services you're talking about near 60 degrees. so that's pretty warm for easter sunday in the morning. and then in the afternoon -- got that chance at lee high valley. much later in the day. the first chance starts at 3:00, but the best chance is not until evening. but that's a pretty nice looking easter sunday, and then we gradually cool down next week. i'm john clark. sixers tell us why they're

all-in. and which hall of famer do they compare this player to? and what restriction could be lifted next season? that is next. closed captions on nbc 10 is brought to you by -- vanessa: i got hurt and was given painkillers.

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>> announcer: this is sports desk, brought to you by -- i'm john clark from csn. speaking ar the team's future saying they're looking for shooters to play with the others. and where will ben play? they got right to the point. >> i think that ben simmons has a chance to be a matchup nightmare. >> reporter: brett brown plans to play ben simmons at point

guard next season saying ben has always wanted the ball and is a great passer. the president says ben could be a once in a generation player. like a former lakers hall of famer. >> he's a transformational type of player at that spot. not dissimilar to what magic brought years and years ago. >> it's going to be tough but i definitely will earn it. >> reporter: expecting him to be ready to go and with the nba expanding the season to lessen games on back-to-back nights, joelle may be able to do that for the first time. >> i don't think just forecasting that back-to-backs will be an issue, but there may be an occasional time where it might not be a good back-to-back for him to participate in. >> reporter: the sixers have the worst record in the nba over the last four seasons, trying to rebuild, and they believe they

are ready to take the next step. brian says bret will be the man to lead them. >> incredible what he's gone through to get to this point. i'm excited for him to be on the cusp of really being able to turn the corner. >> hopefully they are turning the corner. still willing to trach okafor. top of the second, tommy joseph, 2 for 9 against stephen strasburg. his career, both home runs. that is tommy's first home run of the season. jump to the 5th, 1-1. rbi single giving the phillies the lead. leading 2-1 in the seventh. and how cool is this? playing before the angels game with a 13-year-old kid. trout gave this kid an experience he will never forget, and that is why you're a kid, you always bring your glove to the game. you never know what may happen, jim and jacqueline. >> have to be ready. >> if you're an adult, too, by the way.

>> a rule against that. that's a violation to me. over the age of 38, no glove. >> unless you give it to a kid. thanks. what's coming up on nbc 10 and 11:00. >> on st"star trek," how it wou revolutionize the way we monitor our health. congressman macarthur promised to protect our health care.

but when right-wing politicians tried to pass a disastrous health care repeal bill that raises costs

and cuts coverage, macarthur wouldn't oppose them. macarthur wouldn't protect us from a bill that raises premiums and causes 24 million to lose their insurance. wouldn't oppose a massive "age tax" on people over 50. but supported a 600 billion tax break for the wealthy. tell tom macarthur - stop trying to repeal our health care. temperatures om going up getting closer to easter. gorgeous night out there. >> beautiful. sun shining on city hall. >> and it's just going to jump, skyrocket, between tomorrow and sunday, into the mid-80s. then we drop down to mid-70s monday. the rest of the week looks like the 60s. getting into a wetter period wednesday, thursday and into friday. so -- enjoy this weekend. need rain, get rain by the time

the phillies come back to town, decent again. >> temperatures back to norm's. thanks for watching at 6:00. >> see you at 11:00. test test test . tonight, nuclear fears. high alert as concerns mount that north korea is about to take another provocative action. the u.s. making moves off the coast as north korea lashes out. moment of impact, for the first time we seen images of the actual explosion of the massive bomb dropped on an isis target in afghanistan. what t pentagon says it hit. caught on camera as a second cell phone video emerges, a second police officer is fired. a man beaten by police during a traffic stop tells his story to nbc news. the price you pay to go to the doctor, an increasingly popular kind of primary care, how families are saving big and getting more time at their appointments and make way for ducklings, kids learning a lesson