here, richard o'rourke said he didn't want to hurt anybody, he merely wanted to kill rodents on his property. so he admitted to stealing the cyanide from his workplace. and then when investigators started asking questions, he said he dumped n eed it in a st drain. richard o'rourke tries to hide his face as he's led into court by police. investigators say he admitted to selling 200 dprams of si grams from merck and company laboratories on december 14th. >> so he stole chemicals from work to kill raccoons at his house? >> that's what he told us. >> reporter: but according to police paperwork, o'rourke was seen by a corker taking the cyanide and leaving with it. when o'rourke returned to work the next day, they say he was confronted by a coworker about the theft and he was able to leave the campus with the approval of merck representatives. police were called two days after the theft occurred. >> they told him to go home. and do you think that would have lent you time to find the

chemical before it was dumped? >> we always encourage, whether it's merck or anyone else, to notify us about a possible crime as soon as possible. >> reporter: within cyanide in his warrington home and now under suspicion, police say o'rourke dumped all of it in a storm drain before they were able to interview him. once confronted by police, they say he was helpful, but couldn't remember the exact location of the drain. only that it was somewhere near county line road and street road. perhaps in lower bucks county. it was a snowy night and that, police say, could have helped dilute the cyanide, that has not shown up in any drinking water in the last two months. >> as soon as law enforcement was made aware of this, we were in constant communication with the epa and other environmental groups to let them know about this and try to locate it. >> reporter: police say the criminal charges are not just for the theft, but risking the lives of other people. o'rourke told police, he has no knowledge of how storm water inlets work nor did he know where the water went once it entered the storm water inlet. now, officials with the dep and

aqua all say there has been no sign of any drinking water contamination and that they monitored the water for several weeks. we also asked merck officials why police weren't called within those first two days and why o'rourke was allowed to leave the property. they sent a statement that read in part they take this situation very seriously, the safety of its employees and the public are of paramount. they also say that the employee's actions violated the law and that o'rourke is no longer working for the company. reporting life in blue belt, deanna durante, nbc 10 news. tonight, the trump administration's budget plan could change the way tens of millions of americans eat. take a look, the new budget proposal calls for a major spending increase for programs like defense, but it comes at the cost of other social programs like snap, formerly known as food stamps. nbc 10's lauren mayk is joining us live in our studios to show us just what this could mean for many families in our area, lauren. >> jim, this could save the government billions of dollars. they want to replace some of the snap money that you would get to

buy food at the store with a box of food that will be packaged up for you. but some say it just won't work for everyone who needs the help. >> reporter: in west philadelphia, mom deanna brown is shopping with her 4-year-old. he likes pizza, but mom tries for the healthy stuff. >> i try to buy a lot of veggies and i try to cook his food. >> reporter: to get some help with the grocery bill from snap food stamp benefits. but that could change under a new proposal in president trump's budget plan. anyone getting at least $90 in benefits would see half of them replaced by a packaged box of food. >> it's a problem that doesn't need to be fixed, right? snap already works the way it is. >> reporter: kathy fisher is policy director at the coalition against hunger, which helps people sign up for snap benefits. she doesn't think the change is a good idea. >> being able to tailor what you buy that meets your family's needs makes a lot more sense. >> reporter: one administration official likened the budget's new snap proposal to blue apron

meal kits. but there's a big difference, because those include fresh foods and produce. >> milk that doesn't have to be refrigeratored. >> that's the stuff in the senior food boxes that are made up here in the philadelphia area and are a model for the new boxes. >> so can people make a request of what they want in their box? >> no, you cannot make requests. you get the box and it is what it is. >> reporter: here at phil abundance, that's part of the big concern. >> so let's say you're a vegetarian or you have an allergy, that doesn't matter. you get the same box of food and you probably might just end up throwing away some pieces that are in the box if you can't consume everything. >> reporter: it could be a new challenge for families trying to get kids to not eat healthy but eat what's offered in the new boxes. >> reporter: the amount of food you get would depend on the size of your household. there are some more logistical questions about this, like who would put these boxes together and how would people get them? under this plan, distribution is left up to the states.

jim? >> lauren mayk. turning now to our first alert weather, warming again. an up and down weather week continues with a big warm-up on the way. nbc 10 first alert meteorologist glen "hurricane" schwartz is joining us live. glen, we're talking 60s in the middle of february. >> and next week we could actually hit 70 degrees on one day. but we also could get some snow in between. we have some clouds, especially in southern parts of the area right now. rehoboth beach, for example. you can see a little bit on radar. it's very patchy, very light. a lot of it not reaching the ground, but it could be a couple of sleet pellets in parts of delaware this evening. this is the area that we're watching for the next area of rain that comes and hits everybody. that is not going to be coming during the day tomorrow. it's 38 in philadelphia. pretty close to that across the rest of the area right now. it is a dry night. it's not going to be all that cold if clouds increasing in addition to the atmosphere warming up is going to prevent

those temperatures from dropping. so it is going to be not too cool when you get up in the morning. a warmer day tomorrow for valentine's day, but we've got rain, we've got snow, we've got 60s, we've got 70s all in the forecast. that's coming up. after a year hiatus, philadelphia's iconic love statue is back at love park tonight. the city celebrated the statue's triumphant return with a love on the move parade to show off the statue and its new red, green, and purple paint scheme. it stopped at places like the art museum to let people snap some photos. locals say they're happy the statue is back in time for valentine's day. >> i think there's a really great energy in our city and we're still in la-la land from our big win. so i think this just keeps solidifying why we love the city. >> the love sculpture has been a staple for tourists and philadelphians for decades and has become a plaopular place fo

pictures. you can send us your pictures, tweet us @nbcphiladelphia. dozens marched this afternoon for fair workweek protections. just a short time ago, the marchers said they wanted advanced notice of shifts and more consistent work hours. workers say knowing their schedule in advance is key to what winds up in their pocket on payday. >> i count on every single hour of work to make ends meet. and unpredictable scheduling makes its impossible for me or so many other philadelphians to do that. >> the group says no one company is single-handedly to blame for the scheduling problems, but they hope philadelphia can follow cities like new york and san francisco and enact changes. governor phil murphy wants to make new jersey safer by cracking down on gun violence. today, he met with gun safety advocates in cherry hill to talk about prevention strategies.

just days after being sworn in last month, murphy started the process to reverse a rule by former governor christie. the policy made it easier for people to carry concealed handguns in the state. closing arguments underway in the federal racketeering trial for alleged philadelphia mob boss, skinny joeym merlino. he was among four dozen defendants arrested back in 2015. the 55-year-old was the only one to go on trial on conspiracy charges. local immigration advocates are banding together to help prevent a family living in sanctuary from deportation. members of the new sanctuary movement gathered outside the office of immigration and customs enforcement in center city today. they want to stop the deportation order for carmela hernandez and her four children. they delivered thousands of signatures and letters of recommendation to help keep the family here. >> and we had a reasonable conversation and she found a way

that she could receive the, the stay that they were trying to -- the stay against deportation. >> today marks two months since the mexican family went into sanctuary inside a philadelphia church. we reached out to i.c.e. for comment, but we have yet to hear back. police seized nearly $3 million worth of illegal drugs, guns, and cash during a raid on a house in fentonville. and today, attorney general josh shapiro said there were enough drugs inside the house on north fourth street to create a quarter of a million doses of heroin and fentanyl. two men were arrested sunday night after police moved in. they've been charged with drug dealing. shapiro said the men mixed fentanyl, which is a synthetic opioid, into the heroin to make it stronger. next on nbc 10, parade vandalism. tonight, the search for suspects accused of damaging this corvette during the super bowl celebrations. also, life behind bars.

the man accused of setting off bombs in new york city and the jersey shore learns his fate. what his father said just after the sentencing. and i'm tracking both temperatures in the 60s and snow. your roller-coaster first alert forecast for the week, next. >> announcer: nbc 10's competition to watch is brought to you locally by the jeep presidents day sales event. hello, peco. hi. can you help me save on my energy bill? old appliances. like a hot water heater? it's around here somewhere. nope. nope. what is this thing? sir, have you looked in the basement? huh. oh, yeah. no wonder. it was hidden behind all of my free weights. if you're not an expert, peco can help. we have lots of ways to help you save energy and money. peco. the future is on.

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surprising. what's not surprising? how much money aleia saved by switching to geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. people were treated to traditional german music today as they waited in line for a box of fasnachts at hagel's bakery in mayfair. the sweet fried dough is a traditional fat tuesday treat in our area. some customers scooping up several dozen. summer britcher started out last night with a lot of promise. unfortunately, her run ended in disappointment when she came off the line and hit the wall. she finished almost at the bottom of the standings. she could still medal the team

event in the finals coming up on thursday. two members of the women's usa hockey team are allowed to take to the ice despite having the statue of liberty emblazoned on their helmets. olympic rules say that athletes cannot wear or use equipment that has any form of publicity or propaganda on it. today usa hockey and the ioc said the helmets are fine. nbc 10's keith jones is live in pyeongchang. look for his live reports coming up on nbc 10 news at 11:00. well, lack closely right there. that's a 1985 chevy corvette those people were jumping up and down on during the eagles' victory parade last weekend. now, police are looking for the people in this cell phone video. the owner parked the car before the parade began. she returned to find the hood and roof badly damaged. the man accused of setting off bombs in new york city and on the jersey shore will serve

the rest of his life in prison. ahmad khan rahimi learned his fate tonight for the attacks in new york. ted greenberg got reaction from people in the beach town where that terror spree began. >> reporter: in the quiet coastal community rocked by the first blast, relief after a convicted terrorist, ahmad rahimi, was sentenced today to multiple life terms in prison. >> i'm glad that justice was served. >> reporter: inspired by isis and al qaeda, authorities say rahimi planted a bomb that blew up in a trash can along the route of a marine corps charity run in seaside park in september of 2016. the explosion coming just minutes before the race began. >> it was by the grace of god that nobody got hurt. >> reporter: but hours later, 30 people were injured when a pressure cooker bomb left behind by rahimi exploded in lower manhattan. at his sentencing in federal court for the new york bombing, rahimi blamed the government,

the fbi, and the media, but took no responsibility for his alaska -- actions. >> you told us your son said he was sorry to you? >> yes, a hundred times, he told me that. he said, i miss god. he told me i'm not a terrorist because i'm misguided. >> reporter: but federal prosecutors say rahimi has not shown remorse and has even attempted to radicalize other inmates behind bars. >> maybe he should be in solitary where he can't radicalize anyone but himself. >> reporter: rahimi also accused of leaving a half dozen bombs in a backpack near the train station in his hometown of elizabeth. in sleepy seaside park, an evaluated level of vigilance remains in place. >> the mind-set is different. anywhere in this nation, you're vulnerable. anywhere. >> reporter: rahimi faces additional federal charges connected to the new jersey incident. but at this point, there's no timeline for a trial. in seaside park, i'm ted greenberg, nbc 10 news.

pennsylvania republicans are drawing the line when it comes to a new map of the state's congressional districts. the state gop is threatening a federal lawsuit after governor tom wolf rejected their latest efforts to draw up a new map. the state supreme court recently ordered the map to be redrawn, saying it was gerrymandered to unfairly favor republicans. the court will have to redraw the map if the state cannot come up with its own solution by monday. all right. back now to your first alert weather. we're tracking a winter warm-up across our area. a live look right here at i-95 in south philadelphia. nbc 10 first alert meteorologist glenn "hurricane" schwarz is back and timing out a big warm-up headed our way. also, rain for your valentine's day, glenn? >> yeah, but only if you stay out pretty late. most of the day and even into the evening are going to be dry for valentine's day. and it's going to be warmer. we're seeing this warming trend coming. we're tracking more rain, not just for later tomorrow night, and some possible weekend snow, as well. even though we're going to be in

the 60s on thursday. on the radar, a very weak system moving through. and most of this precipitation not reaching the ground. so we won't worry about that. not going to bother anybody. this is going to be bringing some of that rain later tomorrow night and into thursday. 38 degrees in philadelphia. we're in the 30s all across the area. grooim fairly uniform temperatures, but let's see if we find anything above 40 in the city. yes, we do. 42 in fairmount, 40 degrees in potter richmond, the other areas in the upper 30s. for tomorrow, more like upper 40s, not upper 30s at this time. 48 at 7:00. still cloudy in the evening, but it may be well after 9:00 before the rain comes in. and even that is going to be on the lighter side. but you can see, it's a good bit milder than today. the high temperature today was 43. we should get to at least 50 during the day tomorrow.

once again, that rain coming in toward midnight and you'll see what happens after that. we've got a lot of moisture down south. that's what we have to keep watching for. first of all, during the day tomorrow, the clouds increase. the rain generally comes in later tomorrow night into thursday morning, but thursday is going to be very warm. it's going to be in the 60s, even with a lot of clouds around. here's thursday night and here's the second wave of moisture. so thursday night and into friday, there we go. rain. but not as heavy as what we saw this past sunday. and then that moves out of the way and then we wait for the next system to come up from the southwest. that's after the cold air comes down briefly. so maybe cold enough for snow. and that is late saturday and saturday night. it shifts a little bit to the north. it would be warm enough for rain

or a mix. shifts a little bit to the south, you can miss the whole thing. that's still a long way away. it's still fairly quick storm that is going to be affecting us over the weekend. look at these temperatures. 66 on thursday. close to 60 on friday. then there's the storm that we're watching for the weekend. generally late saturday, saturday night, possibly into early sunday. look at the warm weather coming in next week. amy? thanks so much, glenn. pitchers and catchers report to at least spreing training tomorrow. our john clark joins us live today from clearwater and tells us what the phillies could learn from the eagles. that's next in sports. >> announcer: nbc 10's olympic medal count is brought to you locally by royal caribbean.

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this is sports desk brought to you by xfinity. >> hi, i'm amy fadol. i know, football season just ended, but the boys of summer are ready to get things going. we check in down in clearwater. john clark has more on the start of phillies' spring training. hi, john. >> reporter: hey, amy. you know gabe kapler, the new there phillies' manager, he's an out of the box thinker. he's pushed back the workouts to mid-morning, changed up some of the routines. and he says a lot like the eagles, they're going to be bold, they're going to be relentless. and this is a bold statement

today. >> i don't think there has to be any like major declaration made here. we are fighting for the national league east in september. >> reporter: gabe kapler watched the eagles win the super bowl. he said it's the best three hours he's had in a long time. and he remembers how much coach doug pederson made his birds believe. >> we would be foolish to not take cues from what the eagles accomplished. not just over the last couple of weeks, but since the summer, when coach pederson addressed his team and said, you know, this is what the world thinks and this is who we think you are. and what we think you are is really special. >> reporter: gabe is using that theme. he believes these underdog phillies could have more bite than people think. >> i think if everybody on our roster takes a small step forward, we have an opportunity to shock people. >> reporter: gabe is passionate, intense, and emotional. soy asked him, can he be that way all the time? he said with certain players, he

needs to dial it back. >> it's my job to turn my energy down, to talk a little bit quieter, to project a little bit less. maybe he's not ready for that, in that moment. so, in that moment, my job is to come on to his turf. and so the answer to your question is, yes, i will manage my intensity level. >> reporter: that is great to hear. and how innovative is gabe? he was out there at the workouts today with his i-pipad and cell phone as well recording video of his players doing drills so he can then send them on his phone to the players and go over everything. that is connecting with the young players in our social media world. i'm john clark in clearwater, florida. we'll have more at 11:00. back to you. >> thanks so much, john. a flyers' note for you. they host the devils tonight, but they will be without goaltender brian eliot. he is out five to six week after undergoing core muscle surgery. that is your look at sports. we're right back after this. i q when my vehicle was hit by an ied.

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all right. mild valentine's day on tap tomorr tomorrow. >> and even warmer on thursday. >> that's our news tonight. i'm jim rosenfield. "nightly news" is text. breaking news tonight. a dramatic rescue mission on oregon's mt. hood. dozens stranded in deteriorating conditions as a black hawk helicopter crew scrambles to save them. a startling new national security alert from the nation's intelligence chiefs about the midterm elections just six months away. what's being done to protect your vote. team u flying high here in pyeongchang. chloe kim strikes gold. and we're with her for that triumphant moment. >> it hasn't really sunk in yet. and i still feel like i need to go back out there and compete again. >> and tonight we're with shaun white before his shot at redemption. another tragic turn in this flu epidemic. a mother dies after putting off medicine because it was too expensive. tonight, why has the price of tamiflu doubled?