. >> a fifth grader took action when two men tried to abduct his frenl friends. >> winter is coming. we are down to the final minutes of fall and we are tracking a weather roller coaster leading up to christmas. two men threatened a group of friends while they were walking to school. the men tried to abduct them while making threats. good morning. i'm erin coleman.

randy has been following this story all morning long. what have you learned about this investigation? >> they were last seen driving away in their green minivan. police increased patrols the morning. the abduction rattling participant as thparent as they got to campus. students with their parns arrive with two child luring suspects still on the loose. >> we need more security. philadelphia and school police are increasing patrols in this neighborhood. he was dropping off his son in person. he won't let him walk to school alone. >> it is important for safety and important i want him to come back home safe as well. >> police say it happened yesterday as four students

walked to class along def devarow avenue. a green minivan pulled up alongside the children. one was in the driver's seat and the other opened the van door. >> he said what do you guys? >> we are going to rape you? >> he said that to you? >> yes. >> the man chased after them yelling threats. >> i said go go go. i ran with them and we had to alert a teacher. >> the principal issued this letter to parents reminding children to avoid walking alone. >> a lot of parents respect able to afford the before and after programs. sl they have to find ways to get their kids to school.

they too yuoung. >> reporter: they said also the four children are safe. detectives stay green minivan was gone by the time they got to the scene. a would be victim shot a man who tried to rob him overnight. it happened just outside a chinese restaurant by beachwood just after midnight. police say a man walked up to the man you see and said give me everything from your pockets. he pulled out his own gun and shot the suspect in the wrist. the robbery victim's wrist said their son had a permit and felt he needed to use it. >> i was like know. he tried to rob my son. i said he's an armed security guard and he dropped his gun down the street. >> this man was being robbed talking with police shortly after the shooting.

he is expected to be charged in the case. happening now for the second day in a row, a water main break causing problems. this is video from when water was rushing from the ground on 18th street. it is closed between spruce and walnut. at least one building doesn't have any power or water i should say. the water department is working on the problem. this is in the same area where a water main break shut down streets yesterday. they can't say if it is the exact same broken main. firefighters had to pull victims from the burning bui building early this morning. one man is in critical condition. the other two are in stable condition. a fire destroyed this home. the fire started on west maple avenue. cape may county just after mid-nigmid

midnig midnight. people were inside the home but able to get out before firefighters got there. nupov none of those people were hurt. >> take a live look right now outside on this winter solstice. today is the shortest day of the year. we have your most accurate forecast. the shortest day but you have an interesting day of looking at it. >> each day after today will get a little longer, about 30 seconds extra of daylight. it all adds up over time. it is not a bad start to winter. it comes in at 11:28. lit come in peacefully this year. nice good visibility, 10 miles there. humidity nice and low. no problems in philadelphia or wilmington. today's highs will top out about

42 or 43 degrees in most spots. we'll have a healthy amount of sunshine. it is 37 in delaware. sunshine out there right now. no issues. a few clouds will come in here. temperatures not terribly cold but not mild either. temperatures in the lower 40s through 4:00 and we'll begin to cool off later this evening. we have lots happening here. another warm up on the way. a damp mild saturday. a few chances of snow. i'll walk you through coming up in just a bit. >> we'll see you then. >> 19 people hurt after an suv slammed into a busy crowd in

australia. no indication it was connected to terrorism but they believe it was a deliberate act. the driver is an australian citizen of afghan decent who has known drug use and mental abuse. could wanter terrorism officials will remain involved to be sure there is no connection. things are starting to get back to normal for commuters. the department of transportation reopened. they spilled train cars onto the highway. one direction of lanes have been closed since then. three people died in that car. . a car crash took the live of an eight-year-old boy. police say the driver plowed into two cars and briefly took off before officers caught him. paramedics worked to free the eight-year-old victim who was trapped in this t-boned car last

night. doctors couldn't saver him. they tell us they got out to check the damage and drove off hitting another car and leaving police on a chase. when he finally pulled over he claimed to be diabetic. the owner of the other damaged cartels car tells us he is devastated. >> we will replace many cars but no way to replace any lives, especial lay young boy. >> the driver who was in the car is in the hospital in stable condition. some neighbors say there have been a number of serious crashes at this intersection and they want the city of philadelphia to improve safety here. philadelphia police searching for this armed man who robbed a pawnshop. they say the man walked in on south 12th street on november 27th. he pulled out a handgun and demanded money. police say he got into a brief

struggle with an employee before running off. the worker wias not hurt. if you have any information about this robber call police. a philadelphia high school football star facing robbery charges could end up spending the holidays behind bars. a judge refused to lower bail for young. supporters including his teammates left disappointed by the ruling. >> this is truly something in this young man's life. this is not normal behavior for him. >> young faces a hearing early next year. he had committed to play at penn state. state lawmaker says he does

not plan to resign after reports that the state paid a quarter of a million dollars to settle a sexual harassment claim. he insists he is innocent of any misconduct. >> happening today a call to end homelessness and across the country. they will recognize homeless memorial day with an event at thomas pain plaza. it remembers the homeless who died in 2017. those that worked with them will explain the opioid epidemic. >> republicans have to deal with issues. why lawmakers are fearing a possible government shutdown. slams the state's transit system, how he is moving forward with a fix. >> and how north philadelphia transforms into the north pole.

a new rofeport shows a baby borne last year is expected to live about 78 years in six months. it is a decline from 2015. they say it's largely due to a 21% increase in deaths from drug overdoses during the same time.

dozens of employers are placing job ads on facebook that discriminate against older workers. it says major retailers and even facebook itself ran recruitment ads on a particular age group but not on older users. facebook defends it saying it ais not necessarily discriminatory. >> am says it is slowing down older iphones but doing it to keep older batteries running longer. it suggests the company purposely slows down old phones to debt you to buy a new one. apple claims it is trying to prevent service interruptions. phil murphy says it is a national disgrace. she challenging the next head of

transportation to fix it. the senate has to approve the nominatio nominations. he spent the last six years in florida's transportation department. before that she spent 12 years as executor of d.o.t. >> it is time to not just clean the house but to knock it down and rebuild it. >> there's no doubt that revenue will be required to accomplish the transit. we need to examine where the money is today. >> the new jersey chamber is calling her a proving professional. >> they want you to get on board with its key corard. they will begin to phase out token sales frm it is expected

to be done by march. i giving you a look above center write where the final beam was placed. it is now the tallest building in philadelphia. more than a thousand construction workers signed the beam before a crew lifted it into play. comcast chairman was on hand for that event telling us the crews have a deep sense of pride being part of the construction of the new building. the comcast technology sent lce will also be the new home of our nbc 10 news room and studios. comcast is the parent company of nbc 10. . the north pole came to north philly last flight. -- night. an entire street had to be shut down. our crew counted hundreds of families, one frozen ice

sculptture. she wanted to give something to her community many never get to see. >> i wanted the kids to see something beautiful in our neighborhood. we have to go to other places to see free stuff. i wanted them to know all of this is real. >> she is fot junot just the ow country cooking restaurant she also went all out for her son's prom party complete with camels. i'm steve sosna. it is 11 minutes away. if you're ready to pop open that bottle of champagne. what better place to do it than the blue cross winter rink and the ice nice and solid with temperatures that are in the 30s right now.

what is winter really? it has to do with the sun and where the sun's position is. at 11:28 this morning the sun's direct rays will pass over capricorn. through the vernal equinox it will move north and then the tropic of cancer. each day will get longer from here on out. that's the bright side if you're not a fan of winter. if you are a fan of winlter we have winter weather coming our way next week. we have temperatures up and down to work through tomorrow and saturday. temperatures are going back upment we'll see showers on saturday. a big temperature difference between south and north. lehigh valley a chilly and raw day. on christmas day it is trending a little bit on the lighter side right now. right now the latest information

i looked at kind of leaning towards a solution but there's more opportunities for winter. thursday, friday and next saturday potential storms, which one actually becomes a healthy system? there is potential on the board. radar network, we are nice and dry right now. temperatures right now huddled in the upper 30s across central new jersey. up the jersey turnpike temperatures in the upper 30s through hamilton square. we'll top out in the lower 40s in most spots. not a huge range in temperatures right now. this is the cold spot at 26. 40 in wilmington and dover right now. here is what you can expect through this evening. temperatures cooling off into the lower 30s. lehigh valley dropping to the 20s by tomorrow morning.

a nice quiet start for you in new jersey and delaware. look at all of these winter storm alerts right now. we have them along the upper midwest. that is moving in our direction. it will help bring warmer air. it begins tomorrow. check out the temperatures from philadelphia through the su burrs, lehigh p. i'll break the forecast down and show you our next opportunities for snow and your christmas forecast coming up. >> also coming up, picture this. we'll give you a closer look at the official engagement photos of prince harry and megam markle. teaming up to take on major challenges together.

>> they team up students who take on marathons and half marathons together. thanks to you both for being here. z >> you're welcome. >> tell us about the program. it sounds really cool. >> we plmentor students. it is an amazing opportunity to teach students that goal planning and long distance running, that you can accomplish so much and you can also apply it to other things in your life. >> so are you training together and taking things that are never run before. >> yes. >> you're coaching, talking, learning, running? >> yes. >> all of that. >> you just completed your first marathon. >> yes. >> that is huge. tell us about that. were you a big runner? >> so i ran track in fourth

grade. that was my introduction to the running scene. i ran track from fourth grade to about sixth grade then i stopped and then i got back into running last year in ninth grade with students run. i started training fall of last year. continued training into spring of last season. >> it is a huge sense of accomplishment. tell us what you got out of it. >> it is helping a lot. it taught me leadership skills. i helped me socialize with other people. helped me communicate my thoughts and feelings to adults and my fellow peers alike. it taught me how to become a better runner. it made me stronger as a person too. >> and can say you are a marathon runner. >> yes. >> tell me how people can get involved if you want to be a

part of this program? >> you can go to students run phillystyle.com. >> we'll it have on our web site. >> yes. and reach out to the office staff if you're a parent and you want to get your child involved. reach out and they can hook you up with a team. we are based out of tphiladelpha schools. we also have a sister program in camden new jersey. it's a fantastic opportunity. we have a leadership training. you can reach out. >> thanks for being here. >> thank you. you can learn more by tapping the free nbc 10 mobile a. search for find it on 10. >> coming up, danger on the road, how a school bus driver

landed under arrest while driving a bus filled with kids. >> plus, how these crooks pulled off a crime targeting prescription pills.

>> tak taking a look at our top stories this morning. we blurred the victim's face to protect his identity. the suspect is expected to be charged in this case. a house fire sends three men to the hospital. firefighters had to rescue those victims from the burning building. it happened at the corner of 54th street and springfield avenue. two had smoke inhalation and third had second-degree burns. this video of three masked thieves stealing prescription drugs from a pharmacy.

they broke through a back door last friday morning after taking the medication. they took off possibly in a jeep cherokee srt8. winter is officially here. just minutes ago at 11:28 we marked the winter solstice. it means way say good-bye to fall and it also means this is the shortest day of the year. we have tracking somewhat of a weather roller coaster for us. >> it is still 39 degrees. it's not earth shattering right now. if you're headed out and about have the sun glasses with you everywhere from neighborhood to neighborhood as we are expecting a sunny afternoon. temperatures in the lower 40s. it is 38 in lehigh valley. 36 in the suburbs and 40 down the delaware. let's take a look at what

temperatures are in the lehigh valley right now. they on the chilly side. you'll need the hat, the gloves, all of the works here as you heed out and about. we have temperatures in the mid-to upper 30s. you'll stay cold enough to stay cold all day long today. let's take you down into cape may right now. this is the best time of year. no crowds to work with. a little on the chilly side. get out and enjoy the beach. sunshine will keep it nice this afternoon. temperatures will drop tonight into the lower 30s. looking ahead we have a nice warm up on the way. 58 with rain on saturday. as we head to the suburbs your

rainy day at saturday at 51. the rainy day is saturday and july air on sunday. we have to talk about cold and potential for snow. we'll do that on your ten day on ten coming up. >> philadelphia police looking for the two men who tried to abduct students near a school. it happened when a student approached a group of men and then threatened them. now administrators and parents and teachers are on alert. randy is live. you have been ton the scene all morning. what are investigators telling you? >> reporter: we know police and school police have upped patrols in this neighborhood as they continue to look for those two men who were last seen driving away in a green minivan earlier this morning. many parents were dropping off their kids concerned that those two child-luring suspects remain on the loose.

police say they were in the green minivan when they pulled up alongside four children. one of those kids tells nbc 10 that he and his friends were walking to school when the men pulled up. the kids say one of the men was behind the wheel and the other jumped out of a door and started makes threats. >> he was saying what to you guys? >> he said i'm going to rape you? >> yes. i was going to let the littler ones go first. i was like go, go, go. i ran with them and we had to alert a teacher. >> reporter: the 1k5school said that the four kids involved are safe and that the investigation continues. that letter also reminding stubl stub students to avoid walking along and to never talk to strangers on their way home from school. nbc 10 news. all right. to washington now with tax

reform congress turns to something more urgent preventing a government shutdown tomorrow. tracie potts reports from capitol hill where it looks like the solution will be another delay. >> reporter: taking a victory lap on tax cuts. >> the message is your tax relief is on its way. >> reporter: celebration could be short livid. congress has less than 48 hours to come up with a budget and avoid a got shutdown. democrats say since republicans are in charge they have to fix it. >> they have the signature. >> no budget leaves childrens health insurance up in the air. a new report says nearly 2 million kids could lose fupdind in january if kopg doesncongres act now. >> they are counting on us to

renew the program's funding. >> reporter: also disaster relief, low-income health subsidies and protection for young immigrants. >> we have been dealing with issues like what is the scope, how many kids will be protected? is it more than 800,000? how long will it take them to achieve the status once they become citizens. >> the senate cannot pass without a few democrats on board. >> picking and choosing what you want to get done won't work this time. >> a budget showdown just before christmas. for now it looks like lawmakers are going to try to put a mandate on it and stop a possible shutdown tomorrow pushing many of those decisions into mid-january. tracie potts, nbc flnews, washington. senator al franken's last

day will be -- he announced he would resign following a string of misconduct allegations. smith will be sworn in january 3rd. >> olympic gymnast is suing u.s.a. gymnastics. she claims they paid her to keep quiet about sexual abuse she endured. they say she was the only athlete who was asked or compelled to sign a nondisclosure agreement. u.s.a. gymnastics says alred initiated the concept at the time of the settlement. it says alred asked them for a confidential mediation process. one statue was of confederate jefferson daifvis a the other a slave trader and ku

klux klan leader. it with was removed after it was the sale to a nonprofit organization. they were able to remove the statues which is city was unable to do. arrested yesterday while on his route in lakewood ocean county. an officer said he msmelled alcohol on his breath. he had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes. he faces charges of drkui and child endangerment. the search is on for the drive their hit a bicyclist and left him for dead. the driver was racing when the crash happened tuesday night.

police say kevin williams was killed by that driver racing a mercedes. rescuers found him not far from a decorative license plate. >> i don't understand how you would just leave someone there. i don't know what that person was doing or what they were thinking. you can just hit somebody and leave them. >> police are looking for a silver mercedes-benz similar to this one and a mitsubishi lancer involved in that race. four victims died at a senior living facility last month. mary and her brothers lost their mother. officials know the fire started

on an out itdoor patio. it shows a fire sprinkler might have been in the off position. >> if it was off during the night of that deadly fire it would give a complete explanation for why the spripg lers were not working. >> that's why we are here. we want answers. why was she not protected? was there a failure in a mechanical system? >> they have not released an official cause of the fire. coast guard working to make sure the water is safe for boaters even in the winter. yesterday a coast guard team hauled a bowie out. they have been installing led lights for other markers. christie is moving forward to transform the landfill into a park. it will allow people to bike,

walk and fish. that stretch has been closed off to the public for 70 years. >> now a happy ending that had a sad beginning. the spca through a party for a dog found thrown away in a trash bag last year. this is dran berry after she was found in a bag last year. she was emaciated. they nursed her back to health and found her a loving home. they threw her a party and it doubled as a fundfundraiser. the alleged abuser is facing charges. take a look. they released the images. you can see her stunning engagement ring right there in both of these photos. they will be married next may.

coming up, a sweet deal, miking up something new. plus politics are taking scepter stage with a staple of the philadelphia theater season. we'll introduce you to some of the people behind the comedy.

>> the current political climate can be tough to handle with con

standpoint updates on social media. it puts a cospin on it. jennifer and sean are here. thanks for being here. >> thanks for having us. >> it has been around for more than a decade? >> yes. >> tell us what people can expect. >> well, this is our third presidential administration that we are doing. you can describe it as a carroll burnett show meets the daily show. the second half is always the news which is updated tonightly and weekly to keep up with what's going on. >> how has this changed over the years? >> each new president and each new administration sort of

provides their own challenges and their own students. it really changes with the people who are involved. sean has been with them for three years. the people who are doing and writing the show, they bring their own character and personality to it. >> tell us about the role that you play and what you like about it. >> in the second act i get to hound the news desk and do my job probably not as well as you but it's also a weekend update sort of snl sort of aim. it is a blast and also disor ye -- dis dis disorienting in ways. >> it is always new. how do you get into character? with our show it changes and

it's like we have an audience tonight. we have to get out there. you just do it. >> yeah. it gets done. >> and in the first act i play george w. bush. i looked at will's person nation and i love that dearly. you find one or two little things you can put into your body and your brain. >> he plays chris christie. >> really? >> yes. the costume does a lot. >> this is the week that is". it's running through december 31st. tap the nbc 10 mobile app and search found it on 10. >> i'm meteorologist steve sosna

here on this first official day of winter. we had plenty of sunshine out there to welcome us into the first day of winter. if you're out and about here is what you need to know over the next couple of day. this chill that we have right now isn't too bad. it is going to get much milder ironically now that it's winter. temperatures into the 50s. tomorrow near 60 degrees on saturday. hard to believe. then we head back into a wintery direction. by christmas a chill is back in the air. some hints that there could be snowfall on christmas day itself. it's not off the board just yet. a few more chances of snow. winter will feel like winter here. this is at the comcast scepter

lo -- center. this is our newest building in philadelphia. as you can see it's about 1,121 feet high. the clouds are at abiliout 21,000 feet high. temperatures right now, it's 39 in park side. fox chase at 39 degrees right now. it so we have the high clouds from the dcomcast center. they are very thin and very few and far between. we have a nice sunny day on the way. we do not have sunshine in the midwest. that first storm will bring us milder air. tomorrow 54 philadelphia. it is 50 south jersey. that's the mild day. we'll have rain coming in here. it looks like friday night into saturday.

let's start your on the tracker. by 7:00 maybe patchyrn drizzle. saturday you wake up it's a cloudy sky. the best chance of showers are in the afternoon. then we'll see the changes ahead in the ten day forecast. sunday looks quiet itself. as we head into christmas day morning there's a morning threat for snow. glenn and i will be here giving you the latest update. 31 on tuesday. here is our segd dare potential of snow heading into the second part of next week. that could be a bigger potential. we'll follow it for you and of course updates on the app all day long. sweetening the deal a musical legend is cooking something new. patty labelle's pies have been hot. randy reports she is adding cakes to the mix.

>> with her strong voice she has a legion of fans. >> she is cooking up a lot more attention by diving into culinary arts. >> it began with patty's pies. in 2015 suddenly flew off the shelves. >> when we came in it was always sold out. >> it is thapnks to a you tube reviewer. >> go to walmart and buy the patty labelle pie. >> he posted this viral clip online. racking up more than 5 million views. walmart sales increased. >> and now this year a new line of patty cakes for you to try, large sweet holiday treats in

flavors like caramel, red velvet and chocolate. >> all cakes are named after her songs. >> walmart gave out free safrmps this week. >> the cake is very moist. plenty of chocolate. >> it is every woman's dream. [ laughter ] >> so far no viral review video posted just yet but you can grab this and post one yourself. retail price $14.98. nbc 10 news. from pies to the eagles now. the eagles wept back nt back to the practice work. the birds are getting ready for their match-up with the raiders.

the last time he made history by tossing seven touchdown passes. a lot has changed since that day including the rise of carson wentz. >> i love that guy. i work with him every day. he is the franchise quarterback. my job is to lead these guys on the field. i have been thehere. i have done that. i know the responsibility. this is carson wentz' team. >> nbc 10 is your official station. on christmas day our gifts to you is coverage of the birds like you won't find it any where else. they take on the raiders. the eagles game plan right afterwards at 10:00 a.m.

welcome back. here is your ten day forecast. no excuses. showers on saturday and drying out christmas eve. still watching potential kri christmas morning storm. more on that coming up at 4:00, 5:00 and 6:00. >> sounds good. i'm erin coleman.

for steve sosna and all of us here on nbc 10 have a great day. we'll see you here at 4:00.

[low, dramatic music] ♪ >> jj: "i've come to see that i can only pay for taking your life by taking my own. so i'm going out to the square, to the same place where i shot you, with the same gun. and maybe, in some small way, it will help balance out the universe, make up for what i took from you." ♪