we have exclusive team coverage on nbc 10 for the pulse of the crowd to behind the scenes access to wawa welcome america july fourth concert. we have you covered down the shore. we have your all access pass starting with nbc 10 keith jones live along the ben franklin parkway. keith? >> reporter: happy fourth of july. happy fourth of july to you at home. i want to though you something. look at these crowds! this is to the side here looking at the interlace of the ben franklin parkway. you push in you can see all the people still waiting to get in. all right, if we zoom out. you can see everyone in their chairs and parked there waiting for boyz ii men and mary j blige. that's the nbc set. we'll quarterback our coverage and give you the all access pass to everything going on here. i want to show you this crowd now. think about it. store it in your memory. take a look what it used to look

like. thousands of white seats here as far as the eye could see. we were waiting for 4:30 when the gates could open. suddenly they did. back live now. if everyone can wave. there we go. look at this. here waiting patiently. because up on stage there's a big sound check going on for the philly pops. and, of course, boyz ii men and mary j blige. i was bopping to the music for the last few hours. ma mary j blige is here. she's in the trailer back there. that's the excitement right here. erin counting down our special starts at 7:00. about an hour from now. nbc 10 deanna joins us down the way a little bit. people are filtering in. >> reporter: people are roaming here along the parkway. we'll give you an idea where i

am. the stage there where mary j blige will be up there near the art museum. i'm down here in the middle of the party on the parkway. even though there's about an hour here for people to have food and fun, they're setting up for tonight's big concert. >> this is amazing. we love it. >> reporter: this july fourth celebration. that's why this family is taking it all in. >> we've been once in washington. once to the fourth of july in new york. and now we have the moment here. so wondering tonight what the fireworks and everything. >> and the first for the canadian couple in town to see their son. not everyone has traveled that far >> sheila evans said she and her does didn't want to miss a thing. they're staying in the city. >> i'm down here for the celebration and enjoying myself and have a good time. see mary j. understand what i'm saying? >> reporter: i think we do. she'll be at the concert tonight

and so will this mother/daughter duo. this is the best seat in the house outside the gated area. >> reporter: they are not the only ones with the same idea. >> sandwiches, water, bug spray. the usual. >> you're set. >> yeah. >> reporter: so they skipped the taco and sue and even the kids crafts to get the best seats they can and hold them for nearly six hours. >> you dou what you got to do t see mary. >>well, let's hope she's watching. again people are still here taking advantage of everything here on the party in the parkway. if you a look here earlier we show youed the nbc 10 tent. people here have filled in and brought in their chairs and they're ready for the concert and the fireworks. that's the latest. back to you. >> thank you. the wawa welcome america

july fourth concert kicks off tonight at 7:00 and runs until 9:30. then you can watch the freedom festival fireworks at the delaware river front and the wawa welcome america july 4th fireworks on the parkway from 9:30 through 10:00. and taking another look from the crowd on the parkway from sky 10. remember nbc 10 is your only source for live coverage of all the festivities. while live behind the scenes pass to tonight's concert and how you can win big during the wawa welcome america celebration ahead. the live look at the beaches in may. it's a little bit quiet at this hour. i'm blessing folks are home getting showered and getting dinner on. earlier today it was packed with families spending the day in sand and surf and celebrating america's birthday. sydney long is a little bit north of cape may in ocean city. sydney, this is one of the most important days of the year for businesses along the board walk. >> reporter: that's right. i can tell you businesses are

not complaining for two reasons. there's no shortage of people and no shortage of fabulous photos. we see long lines for pizza, ice cream, fudge. every morsel of sand spoken for and the board walk this crowded. businesses are thanking mother nature for four days of spectacular weather. >> it doesn't get much better than this. >> annual tradition. fantastic. >> reporter: the business of relaxing with family and friends on the shore, on the beach on the board walk with a tasty treat or a ride in the sky. holiday crowds, awesome weather, a more lenient fireworks law. >> christie finalized the sparklers so you can have fun with kids. >> and a government shut down. we asked businesses if the park

closures lead to more foot traffic at the shore. >> i think it was probably about the same. >> i think the weather is the most important factor. it's been splendid weather. >> businesses have been picking up because of fourth of july. it's good. >> reporter: with fireworks tonight everyone sticking around. bone fish studios where vacationers can become a mermaid or pirate today. businesses will be packed to the gills all summer long. >> it's magical. we try to incorporate a magical sense to it. we have special scale glitter and they get to try on the tail and flip around on it. it's something new for them. >> we rely on the weather a ton, as you know. so to have both of them come together is wonderful thing for everybody here in ocean city. and there won't be a bad seat in the house tonight for the fireworks show here over the board walk. they'll light up the sky just

after 9:00 here. you'll see taillights back to back on the parkway and the expressway. for the crowded board walk, especially if they're on vacation this week, they picked a good one. no one is complaining. happy fourth from ocean city. sydney long. back to you. >> happy fourth to you, too. you don't have to be at the shore to catch waves on the fourth of july. taking live look from the nbc 10 camera at camel beach mountain water park in the pocono mountains. plenty of people. they're having a great time today. enjoying the sunshine. first alert meteorologist glen "hurricane" schwartz is here with the independence day forecast. somehow it looking for the fireworks tonight? >> it's not looking perfect. let's put it that way. a close call developing at least for part of the concert. by the time we have the fireworks, we may be in better shape. this is the main area we're watching. and it has started moving in the general direction of philadelphia. we'll get to that in a minute. the area in delaware central and

southern delaware is having so much rain. there was some flooding. that certainly has weakened all though there's another cell from maryland about to come in. this is the one in the northeastern maryland moving to the northeast. a lot of these cells have been moving in different directions. so far this is moving in this direction general direction of philadelphia. if it continues on its current track, it would get to wilmington in about 6:48. upper darby 7:50. philly just after 8:00. and we track this about a half hour. came up with similar times. of course, it could change track a little bit. we'll keep a very close eye on that and the rest of the radar coming up. >> thank you. now a quick check of some the other headlines that we're watching today. it's a bittersweet day for the family of the teenager killed in a road rage murder in chester county last week. the cousins of 18-year-old

bianca rober performed this morning. we spoke to them before the parade. they told us it's a day to celebrate but they're it with a heavy heart. this afternoon we learned a life tribute service will be held for bianca roberson this. she died after she was shot in the head last week. investigators tell us it happened during a road rage incident. the suspected shooter turned himself into police on sunday. bucks county a philadelphia man is dead after police say he in washington crossing state park. police recovered the body around 12:00 this afternoon. according to investigators, the man went under while he was swimming and never resurfaced. police have not released the man's identity. u.s. officials are meeting this fourth of july to discuss how deal with north korea. u.s. officials confirmed to nbc news it was a two-stage ballistic missile, which is the first test of its kind marking a significant advance in north korea's weapons program.

it would have a range of at least 3500 miles and could be capable of reaching alaska. party on the parkway. the crowds continue to build in philadelphia as we get closer to the wawa welcome america concert. tim furlong has a backstage pass. >> they did the sound check and look at the crowd filling in on the parkway. it's going to be a great night. we'll bring you here live when we come back. celebrating their citizenship. how the diverse group is pledging that are allegiance this fourth of july.

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♪ ♪ proudly we hail at the twilight's last gleaming ♪ >> let freedom ring. that'ses liberty bell. philadelphia mayor preserved the importance of the iconic piece of history today. the annual included bag pipes and a bell tapping ceremony. 47 people became american citizens today aboard the battle ship new jersey. here is a picture of the group as they took the oath of allegiance. together they represent 33 countries including bulgaria, costa rica, germany, and south

africa. today nearly 15,000 people became u.s. citizens at fourth of july events across the country. taking a live look at the parkway. thousands of people are gathered for the wawa welcome america july 4th celebration. from tonight's concert to the fireworks northbound 10 has your all access pass. and nobody has a better birds eye view of the festivities than nbc 10 live in sky force 10. what are you seeing? >> reporter: rosemary and denise. we're keeping a close eye on what, for many, will be the highlight of the evening. check it out. these are folks putting the final touches on those fireworks. right the front steps of the top of the rocky steps at the philadelphia museum of art. now if we can pan out a little bit, you can see how the crowd has been growing. there's the stage and the crowd on the parkway all the way until 10:00 tonight. the party on the parkway building since it opened up at

about noon. of course, many of those folks awaiting the concert at 7:00. just less than an hour away. and following that the fireworks at 9:30 to 10:00. if you saw they're getting set up for that. happy fourth of july. back to you in the studio. so the main road that runs right through -- was shut down this morning. fayette street was jam packed with traffic. homemade derby cars were racing down the town's main thorough fare. part of the annual soap box derby. it's a tradition that dates back 66 years. kids constructed their derby cars from scratch. >> steer into it. you got to keep your head down as long as you can see. >> i don't think it will change. i couldn't imagine a fourth of july without the derby. >> derby winners will move on to the world championship final to take place a little bit later on this month in. popular spot in new jersey

are back in business this fourth of july after a budget deal ended the state's three-day government shut down. bass river state forest was at capacity today. grills going full force after many were kept of the first three days of the holiday weekend because of the government shut down. the impasse ending overnight when governor chris christie signed off on a budget deal with lawmakers. some burned up about the stalemate. >> it's a shame that all the people in new jersey had to suffer because the people in trenton couldn't get organized. >> hopefully we learned from what happened. with the next governor will be a better choice. >> the 34.7 billion bujtd includes more than $300 million in democratic spending priorities and overhaul of the state's largest health insurer. let's talk about the weather now. pretty decent all things considered. warm and sunshine. let's check in with glen

"hurricane" schwartz. how are the fireworks weather shaping up? >> we have the threat of showers at least between now and then. at least in part. so the area may be the philadelphia area. it's this cluster that we're looking at coming in through northern delaware. it's coming in. and eventually to wilmington and keep going on that particular track, then it would be threatening into the philadelphia area. it's not a solid heavy thunderstorms. it's not a lot of lightning so far. but the core of this, if it continues on the current track chester around 7:30 around philly a little after 8:00. we've been tracking this cell for the last hour or so since it developed and we keep coming up with the same times every time we track it. so that shows it's moving at the

speed we think it is. about 20 miles an hour. when it comes to the shore, the only part of the shore that is getting bad weather is cape may itself. with the cloudy skies and some light rain there. the rest of the shores may be okay. at least for the next couple of hours. you see this cluster that is moving toward the wilmington area into chester county and the future cast continues to show this. and it also continues to show moving toward the philadelphia and wilmington areas. as we get toward 8:00 and 9:00 tonight. so might need some protection for some rain as we go into fireworks time. some of the latest updates here continue to show the rain holding off until the beginnings of the fireworks. 86 degrees in philadelphia. now it's in the 70s across most

of the rest of the area. only 72 at mat renee. it's cooler. winds coming in off the ocean. for the concert, we have a chance of some of the showers moving in. could potentially last until the beginning of the fires. for tomorrow looking at dry weather and cooler weather in the 80s except for 70s at the shore. >> thank you, glen. if you don't want to brave the heat the fourth of july. you're in the right place. >> yeah. silting in the right spot. nbc 10 is your only backstage pass to the wawa welcome america concert starring marry j blige and boyz ii. men and you have just over an hour left to register to win big on this fourth of july. a thank you to our nbc 10 viewers. we're offering the nbc 10 summer of fun giveaway.

we'll announce the weaponers during tonight's concert.

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back with you live looking live from the sky force 10. you see someone getting ready to midline on the parkway. hundreds of people have packed the parkway as we await the start of the wawa welcome america july h4th concert. the concert kicks off at 7:00

this evening. tim furlong is live backstage with the all access pass to the show. >> we see that, tim. >> i'm showing off. that's what the big boys get there. we're getting ready for the philly pops big band had their rehearsal. they sound awesome. at this point, i'm getting a little bit impatient. we've been talking about this all day. it's time to make it happen. time to have this concert. we're also trying to remind you to download the nbc 10 app. i'm supposed to hold it out like this so the crowd sees to download the nbc 10 app. i didn't see that coming. it's going to be a great night here on the parkway, if you can get down here, get down here. if you can't watch it on nbc 10. it's going to be a last. ma mary j blige and boyz ii men. i've offered my services if they need back up singers. i can do a sexy dance. it would be great. tune in. i might get my shot tonight in front of these awesome people on

the parkway in philadelphia fourth of july. like said before as a kid who grew up in the area, it's like dream come true bucket list. i hope you'll be psyched to be here. >> tim, i knew you were a multitalented but i didn't know you could sing. are you share you don't want to sing a little more with us? >> reporter: seriously, we'll jam out. if you want to jam out. don't get me started. >> we're trying to keep the crowd there, tim. we're trying to keep them there. >> reporter: wow. [ laughter ] that's rough. there that was denise. that was all denise, tim. >> appreciate that, denise. >> love you, tim. we'll see you. coming up tonight on nbc 10 news at 11:00. a tour of the best july 4th celebrations. we'll stop in delaware, new jersey, and pennsylvania to bring you the best independence day parties. plus a recap of the wawa welcome america concert and fireworks tonight at 11:00. (vo) this fourth of july

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learn more at myakathisia.com. we're just about 30 minutes away from the start of the wawa

welcome america july 4th concert. this is a live look behind the strange. this is a live look at the crowd that is gathered. we have mary j blige, boyz ii men, and philly pop. if you want a front row seat, tune in to nbc 10 and we'll be broadcasting it live. now a forecast. >> i've been concerned a couple of hours especially the one cluster of showers that have gotten more and more organized and continues to move the northeast, which means towards wilmington and eventually toward the philadelphia area and tracking it would time it out to philadelphia right around 8:00. and probably give at least a hoof hour to an hour of rain and chester gets it a little after and then the conditions improve. now we've got an east wind that will keep things cool over the

next couple of days. >> all right, glen. thank you. thank you for watching. happy fourth! breaking news tonight, the u.s. now believes north korea for the first time fired an intercontinental ballistic missile, the type possibly capable of reaching alaska. a significant threat. how will the u.s. respond? stepped-up security in cities across the country as crowds gather for fireworks. a major show of force. authorities taking no chances. firefight, a growing danger in the sky. recreational drones hampering efforts to save homes from burning. an urgent call to ground them. zika threat -- this summer mosquitos are back and the fight is under way to prevent a repeat crisis. wounded warriors going for gold. "nightly news" begins right now.