>> that's shaday yates on the right with her cousin. they watched a decades' old interview with a mom trying to overcome drug addiction. the baby on the left is sharday. she learned her mother had been on our news years ago. we combed through the archives and arranged to show it to sharday. five days after the old interview, yvonne yates died likely from a blood clot and years of drug use. amazing. now to more of the stories we're following -- >> tracking a major storm. look at the first alert radar. all that green is headed our way with dangerous winds, rain, and a flood threat. scared at school. a threatening instagram post has parents concern busy their children and police -- concerned about their children and police standing guard today. driving up prices. the weather change that's hiking prices at the pump and how much more you can expect to pay.

good morning this is "nbc10 news today." i'm tracy davidson. >> i'm via sikahema. we'll get to meteorologist bill henley with the most accurate neighborhood weather forecast and why there's a flirt for tomorrow -- a first alert for tomorrow through saturday morning. bill? >> it is a major coastal storm that will impact the entire area. that's a large storm. we won't see a lot today, but tomorrow into saturday morning, we'll see the threats continue during this time period for our area. the first of the threat will come from the strong, gusty winds during the day and tomorrow night. tomorrow afternoon, winds gusting 50 to 60 miles per hour. the coastal flood threat moving in saturday. rain could lead to flooding. this morning, skies are brightingen over cape may. complete dry. no sign of rain. today is the day to get stuff done. you'll have all day to get anything done because it's going to be a pretty decent day actually for the first day of

march. cape may, you could see clouds for atlantic city and philadelphia, too. the nearest rain is to the southwest. it's going to take all day for it to come into the area. many neighborhoods won't see any rain until this evening. employment of time to get sun and no sign of cold air either. 40 now in the lehigh valley. 41 in the suburbs and 44 in philadelphia. before the rain, warming up. near 60 in philadelphia, new jersey, at the shore. 62, the rain moving in during the evening hours. i'll break it down hour by hour and show what the threats look like for each part of the area coming up in ten minutes. first, katy zachry has the first alert traffic. yeah, unfortunate news. we're following a crash on 76 eastbound right around the university avenue gray's ferry exit. above the headline, you see some emergency vehicles on the way trying to get to the scene. this has been stopped traffic for about the last ten minutes.

emergency vehicles around the stopped traffic. this is a narrow stretch of 76. virtually no shoulder room for cars to pull over and let the emergency vehicles get here. basically what you're dealing with is stopped traffic all the way back to south street. it extends past passyunk avenue. as we speak, we're seeing vehicles move. that could be good news. in the meantime, if you're taking 76, take south to gray's ferry and get back on 76 at passyunk avenue. back to you. now to breaking news at 6:03. two south jersey school districts are closed today because of a threatening e-mail sent to a staff member. the franklinton school district and delsi school district are closed. parents have been contacted. we've gotten calls from two parents who say they received the calls. the franklin township police department is working to identify who sent the e-mail. no school today for students in

the franklin township school district and delsi regional school district. in philadelphia, a father says he's too scared to send his daughter to school today. >> someone posted a shooting threat on social media. nbc10's randy gyllenhaal is live outside olney charter high school where extra police will be on patrol in response. >> reporter: extra patrols and parents keep something children home. students saw the threats on their phones first. it was posted to social media, specifically on instagram. let me show you a picture of the threat that the students found posted to instagram. somebody threatening to shoot students of a certain ethnic background, even using a gun emoji. philadelphia police are investigating the threat. olney charter high school says they're taking it seriously. they've added extra security. since the mass shooting in

florida, schools across the country have seen similar threats like this, leading to numerous arrests. parents say it's not funny, and police say it's a feloni. >> we take it very seriously. last week a student tried to take a gun into the school. he was arrested. we take that seriously. >> it's funny. when and if you get caught, it's a felony. kids need to know you're about to ruin your life over a joke. >> reporter: the school sent a letter to parents yesterday saying students can stay home today using an excused absence. however, school will go on as planned. meantime, a student assembly has been planned, as well, to talk about school safety as well as the consequences of posting threats like that on social media. live in olney, nbc10 news. 6:05. a fire sends two people to the hospital in burlington tonight. there's a live look on scene. this is hickory street. the flames spread to nearby power lines. the fire chief tells us the two

victims suffered minor injuries. overseas, putinpovladimir p claims a new missile has unlimited range and a speed capable of penetrating any missile defense. putin also posted about an undetectable high-speed underwater drone capable of targeting both aircraft carriers and coastal facilities. philadelphia police say a man is fighting for his life after someone shoot him in the face at pointblank range a block from his home. witnesses say someone walked up to the victim at a car dealership, whipped out a gun, fired multiple rounds. police got there after 10:00 and found the victim with a bullet hole through his eye socket and gun in his hands. the gunman remains on the run. talked about the coastal

storm that's coming in later on this evening. we'll get details from meteorologist bill henley. quiet today, but tomorrow is the day that it all starts to happen for our area. we have issued a first alert for this major coastal storm system that's coming together that is going to impact our area. first for the area, the damaging wind threat tomorrow afternoon and evening. wind gusts of 50 to 60 miles per hour will likely bring down trees leading to power outages. could cause problems on the roadways, as well. then the flood threat finish much of the -- threat for much of the jersey and beaches. moderate to major flooding into saturday morning. even saturday evening. right now it is dry and will be dry for most of the day. philadelphia, abington, deptford, clouds moving in. the rain will wait until this

evening. the nearest showers are to the south moving through maryland and into virginia. this is all part of the system that once it hits the coastline, it will really take shape and impact the area. tonight, 9:00, by then, rain. steady rain for philadelphia, trenton, wilmington. the heavier rain through the late evening hours. meteorologist tammie souza will be updating you and tracking the heavy downpours that come through. i'm not expecting flash flooding, but we're seeing such a large area getting rain all at the same time. that could lead to flooding in streams inland. the threat will increase into the weekend for the shore. the rain totals by the time the rain is tapering off saturday at midnight, an inch and one-third in doylestown. an inch and a quarter in swedesboro. and millville, just over an inch of rain. a tremendous amount of rain moving into the area. we're going to see this threat from the storm system change as

it moves into the area and through the area. the heaviest rain comes tonight and into tomorrow, the damaging winds friday afternoon and friday night, and the coastal flooding, we could see some friday evening, a high tide and possibility again saturday evening. as you see, there are different threats for different areas at different times. here's brittney shipp. >> we'll go over the suburbs and lehigh valley, break it down hour by hour over the next 48 hours to let you know what to expect. here's a live look now at allentown. we're beginning to see clouds building into the rest of today. a lot of moisture is well to the south. pushing into the arch and evening, we'll -- into the afternoon and evening, we'll see the rain moving in. winds picking up. specifically closer to pottstown, breezy conditions by 6:00 with light rain. same thing for parts of allentown. wind speeds moving around 14

miles per hour. steadier rain moves in overnight thursday into friday. then wind speeds start to pick up. now we're at 20 miles per hour for pottstown. 22 in allentown. only nine miles per hour near doylestown. this is going to be friday morning. still going to be wet out there. we could see a bet of a wintry mix mixing in, as well. the concentration it going to be on the wind speeds, especially into friday afternoon. 45 mile-per-hour gusts. 45 in reading. we'll see doylestown, abington pushing close to 40 miles per hour. this could bring down power lines and trees and could continue throughout the day on friday. even as we go friday night into saturday. we don't expect our wind speeds to start to die down until the late morning hours. the first alert goes into effect friday at 5:00 a.m. here are the impacts closer to the suburbs and lehigh valley. we expect downed trees, power

lines. this will all lead to the potential for travel delays. messy roads expected friday. periods of heavy rain and the possibility of a wintry mix. coming up, we'll take a closer look at more of your neighborhoods. >> thank you. 6:11. we've got a full-blown mess on our hands on the schuylkill. >> katy zachry has you covered with first alert traffic this morning. tell us what we need to know. >> you guys know we were doing so well this morning until really all you know what broke loose 15 minutes ago. 76 at gray's ferry avenue, this is a broader shot just showing you in the opposite direction if you're headed westbound, things are running fine. eastbound 76 at gray's ferry to passyunk, traffic is crawling because of a multi-vehicle crash, multi-crash. you can tell the stretch of 76 eastbound, it's so narrow. the shoulders are minimal. there isn't any room.

not a lot of leverage area for cars to move and let emergency vehicles get here. hence there's a lot of holdup. we are seeing it slowly move. to get to work or school fast, i suggest local roads. get off at south street if you're headed 76 eastbound. work through university city, greys ferry, and get back on 76 at passyunk avenue. you'll avoid all that. we are also following a car fire still out there. 202 southbound between the exit for 76 westbound to the pennsylvania turnpike and route 252. i looked, and it is causing a lane closure and delays. >> thank you. philadelphia's mayor wants to raise property taxes to help pay for school education. the new proposal. springing ahead, but we're not talking about clocks. how much more drivers can expect to pay at the pump as the weather warms up. and parishioners at a church in the poconos bring high-powered guns into the sanctuary. we'll tell you why they say assault rifles are a biblical symbol.

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leaders of a worship group in the poconos encourage their follow force bring their guns to a special service. many families showed one ar-15 assault-style rifles. the world peace and unification sanctuary called on followers to bring the weapons in to be blessed yesterday. the group believes the ar-15 is not a weapon of destruction, but rather, a tool of peace that's mentioned in the bible. >> i should be able to protect my family and community. i don't think there's anything wrong with that. >> sanctioning and blessing assault weapons is preposterous and outrageous. >> organizers insist the ceremony had nothing to do with the school massacre in florida. philadelphia mayor kenney

will it the city council to pass a 6% property tax hike to help erase a $900 million deficit facing the city's public schools over the next five years. the city's finance director talked about how it will affect the average homeowner. >> the median home is $113,000. a 6% increase would be about a $95 increase for the year. >> other highlights of the proposed budget include almost $100 million to add police officers and fund the relocation of police headquarters. $60 million would go toward the city's vision zero, a program to prevent traffic fatalities. you'll be able to watch at 10:00 this morning on the free nbc10 app. new this morning, a gas price hike on the way. aaa expects the national average will be as high as $2.70 a gallon in the next few weeks. mailers haven't seen national --

americans haven't seen national price that's high since the summer of 2015. the switch to the more expensive summer blend of gasoline along with the typical increase in demand are expected to cause the price hike. the current averages in our area, philly and the surrounding p.a. suburbs, $2.76 a gallon. in south jersey, $2.51. in delaware, expect to pay about $2.41. 6:18. speaking of driving, we're starting to move on the schuylkill expressway. >> katy, what are you seeing? when i last saw you, went from crawling to things moving modera moderately. we still have delays on 76 eastbound at greys ferry because of an earlier crash at greys ferry and university avenue, then the exit for passyunk avenue. take a look at our live camera here. these are the two lanes we were seeing stopped traffic and utterly crawling. now it's moving at a good clip. things are merging well. hopefully we'll get official

notice that it's cleared. things are getting right in the system. looking at the broader story of how your majors are doing, 95, 76, 476, everything in the green indicates now major crashes. average speeds where they should be, the mid to low 60s. we are still following a vehicle fire, crash and vehicle fire at 202 southbound, between the exits for the turnpike and route 52 around valley road. i looked, it is causing delays because it's in the right lane of traffic. 6:19. we'll show you the poke notice, quiet, peaceful -- poconos, quiet, peaceful. boy are things going to change. meteorologist bill henley with that and the coastal storm approaching. >> the best of what's coming is headed for the mountains. they'll get snow. rest of us are in for a potentially damaging storm. that's why we've issued a first alert for the major coastal storm. a range of effects, but it is

going to affect the entire area. the first alert runs tomorrow through saturday morning. the threat will change through the day. heavy rainfall tonight, then damaging winds during the day tomorrow and into tomorrow night. winds 50 to 60 miles per hour. brarc branches leading to power outages and travel delays. coastal flooding, the threat ramping up into the weekend. the worst of it could be saturday morning. heavy rainfall during the night. during the day, a lot of just clouds. no rain. kind of a waiting game. today's a day of action. this is the day you can get things done ahead of the storm for tomorrow. this is the forecast for tomorrow. the winds gusting to more than 30 miles per hour. steady at 31, 35 miles per hour. the winds gusting 50 to 60 miles per hour and into the area. narrow it down, 6:30 friday evening. wildwood close to 60

mile-per-hour wind gusts. 53 mile-an-hour gusts in wilmington, even pottstown seeing 50 mile-an-hour gusts. widespread damage is possible with that kind of wind. right now, a very light wind. mostly cloudy, yes. we'll get breaks of sunshine, filtered nine. the nearest rain is to the southwest. it's going to take most of the day if not into the evening. this computer model shows at 4:00, we're waiting for the rain and the entire area. once the rain moves in, we'll see it wrap up. at 8:00, light rain for philadelphia, trenton, and wilmington. you see the heavy downpours that are to come that are going to move in tonight and be with us during the day tomorrow. the threat will change. threat for the heaviest rain tonight and tomorrow morning. the damaging winds tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night. then the coastal flood threat, the greatest threat around high tide saturday morning. we could see another round of moderate flooding again saturday

evening. >> all right. 6:21. the way you park in philadelphia could soon change. the proposed idea next. plus, joining the chorus for gun control. at 6:30, two major retailers with new rules on who can buy weapons and what will be on store shelves.

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u.s. opsepta and driving au are considering letting drivers use septa key cards. there's no timeline now for when it could begin. all this week, nbc10 has brought you stories about how fostering a child in need has been a fulfilling journey for local families. >> today we're answering your questions about the process. so nbc10 and telemundo 62 are hosting a phone bank this afternoon from 4:00 to 6:30 to

answer any questions you may have about fostering a child. we will air the phone number when the phone bank opens. it will also be on our nbc10 app. you can see all of the stories we've done on the importance of foster care and meet the families answering the call right now on nbc10.com. a live view from cape may. getting ready for a coastal storm system. it's not just the coast that will feel the impact. it's the entire area. cape may won't see rain until tonight. strong, gusty winds, and the flood threat will increase heading into the weekend. as the storm approaches, the people jersey shore preparing now. next, what you need to know about protecting your property. ♪ we buy any car dot com ♪

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triple threat. a storm that will bring dangerous wind, rain, and

potential for flooding. new gun limit. two retail giants are tightening the rules on who can buy weapons and what will be in stock. a woman's search for answers from her past leads her to nbc10 and an emotional discoveri. >> the story is powerful. good morning, i'm via sikahema. >> i'm tracy davidson. 6:30, quiet outside now, but significant changes coming up. we'll get you prepared with live coverage, tracking the storm that will start to move this this afternoon. let's begin with meteorologist bill henley. >> that's why we've issued a first alert. it's a major coastal storm coming together. it's not just the coast that will feel the impact, no, we've issued first alert for the entire area. from 5:00 tomorrow morning to saturday at 10:00. we'll start with heavy rain tonight. then tomorrow, potentially

damaging winds, 50 to 60 mile-per-hour gusts. flooding, a possibility tomorrow, but especially saturday morning and saturday evening when we could see moderate and some spots seeing even major flooding potentially. the heavy rainfall will start tonight. most of the day, areawide. thin clouds, watch for sunshine. quite a warmup before any wet weather moves in. today is the day to get stuff done ahead of the storm. philadelphia, west chester, lymerick drive, high clouds that are moving into the area. the entire region is dry. the storm that we're watching will come together and fire up off the coast. it's not going to move in until the evening. the heaviest rainfall will move in tonight. moving out the door, no issue at all. 40 in new jersey. 41 in the suburbs. 44 in philadelphia. no sign of cold air for the lehigh valley and delaware. the temperatures will climb into the 50s. that happens by late this

morning in wilmington. then this afternoon, much of the area, new jersey, philadelphia, into delaware, even the lehigh valley, close to 60 degrees this afternoon. the wet weather is on the way and the damage potential ramps up into tomorrow afternoon. we'll break it down and show you what the threat looks like for each part of our area coming up in ten minutes. first, katy zachry has your first alert traffic. >> yes, and good news. this 176 at greys ferry avenue. 20 minutes ago traffic was completely stopped because of a crash there. it has since been cleared, and both eastbound and weekestbound greys ferry, passyunk, everything is smooth. we have slowups on 95 because of volume at this time. as you make your way between woodhaven and the vine street expressway, a 23-minute drive. as you go eastbound on the schuylkill expressway between the pennsylvania turnpike and the vine street expressway. seeing slow-outer loops -- there you go. it changed to green. hit or miss tapping the brakes

or not. no major crashes, just more volume on the schuylkill expressway to account for the little slow-up. we are still seeing this vehicle fire on route 202 southbound between the exits for 76 west to the pennsylvania turnpike and the exit for 252. tracy? >> 6:33. breaking news, two south jersey school districts are closed today because of a threatening e-mail sent to a staff member. the franklin township school district and the delsea regional school district are closed. both school districts are contacting parents who have already gotten calls from two parents who say they've gotten the calls. the franklin township police department is working to identify who sent the e-mail. again, no school today for students in the franklin township school district and the delsea regional school district. we'll keep you updated on air and on our nbc10 app. now to the first alert. coastal mayors are telling residents to tie things down that may come loose in a storm. signs are also warning about the threat for high winds and flooding at the shore.

nbc10's matt delucia is in west wildwood with how people are preparing for the incoming storm. >> reporter: the conditions now might fool you because it actually doesn't feel too bad here at the moment. there's barely any wind, and it's a picturesque scene here along the bay. the problem is that is going to change over the next couple of days. mother nature has other plans in store. two big concerns we're talking about, as bill was mentioning, high winds and coastal flooding. here the sea wall is keeping the bay at bay. the northeast winds and full moon coming up is keeping the barrier islands down the shore on alert. take a look at some of the preparations underway in the area. last night we took a drive around, the warning signs are posted. high winds are expected with gusts upwards of 50 to 60 miles per hour. the mayor says public work will be making the rounds to check on all properties in the borough.

>> we'll take furniture like this and put it on the top deck so it can't float away or be blown away. i'm hoping to god that it changes and we get west winds and everything goes up north. if it doesn't, we'll be ready. >> reporter: some homes have gone lady being cautious, boarding up the doors and windows. the mayor told us people may get reverse 911 phone calls once the plans are finalized this morning. nbc10 news, matt delucia. >> thank you. count on nbc10 to track the storm and bring you any weather alerts that may impact your neighborhood. you can also follow the storm with our live radar on the free nbc10 app. 6:35. two retail heavy weights are restricting gun sales amidst the outcry following the florida school shooting. walmart raised the minimum age to buy guns to 21. so has dick's sporting goods. dick's also says it will no

longer sell assault-style rifles. along with announcement dick's tweeted, "we believe the country's most precious gift is our children. they are our future. we must keep them safe." >> i thought that was a great idea. i think the tide has turned. i think this is a big step for the country. >> at clay's indoor shooting range, the staff will continue to sell to anyone 18 and older because the law allows it. the shop won't hesitate to question anyone buying the assault rifle. >> what are you going to use it for? is it going to be for target, for house? >> clayton's says federal laws might change in the wake of the school shooting. in washington, president trump took his own party and -- on his own party and took on the national rifle association. >> in a bipartisan meeting yesterday, he called out pennsylvania senator pat toomey

for not including an age limit increase in a proposed background check bill. >> do you know why? you're afraid of the nra. >> the president says his administration is drafting an executive order that would ban rapid-fire gun bump stocks. i'm meteorologist bill henley. you're looking at a live view of boathouse row. pretty quiet, flags at rest. there's virtually no wind. that's going to change considerably in the next 24 hours. the area ar-- the entire area under a first alert, first of the damaging potential coming from the winds. gusts of 50 to 60 miles per hour tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night. coastal flooding could get worse into saturday morning. saturday night, we could see

heavy rainfall. cape may, quiet. there's virtually no wind. you see the clouds. no sign of rain until tonight at the shore. it's saturday that we'll see the biggest threat from coastal flooding. waves up to nine feet. surges up to three feet. roads could be covered with water, and there's a potential for property damage. there's a flood threat on friday but there's a greater risk saturday morning and saturday night. now it's just a waiting game for the storm system. a great day to get stuff done. bring in the lawn furniture, trash cans, and about then down the hatches. we have some rain that is going to be moving in tonight. today, dry and mild. on the hour-by-hour forecast, at 9:00, we've got rain that's a steady, light rain for trenton, wilmington. here come the heavier downpours at 11:00 tonight. meteorologist tammie souza will

update the first alert forecast and track the heavy rainfall that will continue through much of the night and into the day tomorrow. there could be breaks during the day, but during the afternoon and evening, we'll still add to the accumulation. there's a potential for over an inch, not just in a spot or two, but for the entire area. an inch and a half in allentown. more than an inch in philadelphia and the shore. with such a large area getting rainfall, that can lead to streams and river flooding, as well. the heaviest rain tonight, damaging winds tomorrow afternoon and tomorrow night. a potential for flooding saturday night. it depends where you are and what time you'll be out and about that this will impact your area. meteorologist brittney shipp here to break it down. we have been breaking it down neighborhood by neighborhood. we'll head to philadelphia and south portions of jersey. a live look outside to the

lehigh valley in allentown. a closer look at the hour-by-hour breakdown. a lot of moisture and rain is to the south. that's going to change as we go into the afternoon and evening. as we time it out, we're going to see light wind speeds for today. it's going to be fairly nice until we get to about 6:30. then we see breezy conditions. and also lighter rainfall amounts starting to move in. then wind speeds will pick up as we go into your early morning hours tomorrow. this will happen first near pottstown, stretching to wilmington. still lighter wind speeds for philadelphia at 4:00 a.m. by the morning commute, starting to see wind speeds over 20 miles per hour. staying at 46 miles per hour near philadelphia, gloucester, same near parts of cherry hill. this continues through the entire day. by the time you head home from work, now we're tracking wind gusts up to about 40 miles per hour for parts of philadelphia and cherry hill. and this conditions even through

the night are frid-- through th night. we expect strong winds to stick around. what this basically means for the area is we expect to see downed power lines and trees. travel delays expected. periods of heavy rain. you want to be careful heading to work and home from work, as well. coming up, the closer look at the weather story as the coastal storm continues to move our way. >> thanks. 20 minutes before 7:00 now. katy preparing you for what you'll see on the roads on 95. >> what are you seeing? >> our drive time is creeping up minute by minute, but not because of a crash. it's because of volume. and you see that looking 95 southbound at injugirard. the drive times 26 minutes between woodhaven and the vine. i'll probably see you with that increase in the next ten minutes. and it will be up to about 30 minutes. we are following along route 202

southbound a car fire. that's slowing things up. it will take about 15 minutes to go southbound on 202 between 76 and route 30. the car fire is on route 202 southbound before valley road. a woman's mission to salvage a mystery from her past led her here to nbc10. >> all my life i felt like there was something missing. and i just got that last puzzle piece. >> up next, the emotional discovery that brought her to tears.

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all week we've been showing you the toll medical debt can take on a person's life. the consumer financial protection bureau says in the

u.s. one in five people has delinquent medical debt on their credit reports. >> nbc10 and nbc universal own television station -- universal-owned television stations, has teamed up to report on facilities that help forgive the debt. >> reporter: i want to tell you, the nonprofit can buy $1,000 worth of medical debt for just $10. at nbc 10 responds, it makes it easy to help pay for it. to pay it forward with a donation. take a look. this is a map of our viewing area. from delaware to new jersey and into pennsylvania, there's a total of more than 1.1 million people drowning in medical debt right now. helping to erase the medical debt is just as easy as logging in to your computer. go to nbc10.com, scroll halfway

down to nbc10 responds. once there, click on to this page -- "erasing medical debt." and tap the blue bar to pay it forward. select the amount of money to donate. just $1 will erase $100 of debt. we'll help you to erase $1,000 of medical debt in our viewing area with this $10 donation. after selecting your amount, complete the form by entering your name, e-mail, and address, including your zip code. click on the "enter payment" button. you're almost done. just fill out your credit card information. click on "donate." all of your money and information goes directly to r.i.p. medical debt. nbc10 does not collect or touch any of the donations or information. remember, your donation to r.i.p. medical debt goes to helping those right here in our back yard. some people have been stepping up and donating.

listen, so far viewers have donated more than $2,500 to r.i.p. medical debt. that will erase $250,000 in medical debt in our area. nbc10 universal-owned station v-- stations are already donated $150,000 to the nonprofit to help erase $15 million of medical debt nationwide. that donation includes helping to erase $2 million of debt in our area alone. >> yeah. looks like -- again, if you want to pay for it -- going forward -- if you want pay for it going forward, go to nbc10.com, and click on the story. you'll see the steps we just showed you for making a donation and frequently asked questions and resources to help you work through your medical debt. >> i have two questions. one, how do people know if

they've been helped? and can people sign up for the help? >> let me take the second first. no, you cannot sign up, we want to be clear. there's no way to sign up or to be registered. the only way to get debt erased, that is random by r.i.p. medical debt, it's anonymous. as a matter of fact, privacy laws will not allow nbc univers universal tv-owned stations or nbc10 to have any idea who've's getting debt erased. the other is how do you know if you're selected? this is how you will now. the yellow envelope. this envelope has r.i.p. medical debt on it, folks. if you're one of the people to get this, it's not a bill. this is some help for you. open it up, and you'll see the debt being erased. if you do get one and your debt is erased, we would really love to hear from you. >> all right. thank you very much. appreciate that. now an exclusive. a woman's search to discover the mother she never knew. >> this is incredible. that search led her here to

nbc10 after she learned that we interviewed her mom decades ago. >> from her hospital bed, yvonne yates -- >> my goodness! >> hooked on heroin, in recent nea years -- >> look! >> "she looks just like me." that's sharday yates with her cousin as they watched a decades' old interview with a new mom trying to overcome her drug addiction. the baby on her lap is sharday. yates reached out when she heard her mother, yvonne, had been on our air years ago. we combed through the archives and arranged to show the clip. >> all my life, i felt like there was something missing. and i just got that last puzzle piece. it's complete now. it's complete. >> sadly, five days after the nbc interview, yates died from a blood clot and years of drug use.

for sharday, that's the missing piece to the puzzle. >> there's unsung heroes to the story. kathy mcdermott, our producer at nbc10, reached out and did the story. and steve mccauley who is the one who looks up the archived tapes -- >> a master. >> really did a great job. amazing. let's talk about the weather. that's important that you hear everything today so you're prepared for tomorrow. it will be different where you live, but down the shore, officials saying be prepared. do what you can to prepare for coastal flooding. let's fieb aep's find out more meteorologist bill henley. >> the only sign of the incoming storm this morning are the high clouds moving in. we've issued a first alert for the major coastal storm that will bring damaging winds tomorrow. 50 to 60 mile-per-hour gusts, and the flood threat that will continue into the weekend. barely any wind this morning. watch how it changes. tomorrow, winds will be picking up. we'll see eight mile-an-hour winds. this afternoon. tomorrow evening at 7:00 in the

evening, 50 mile-an-hour gusts for reading. 52 in wilmington. and closer to 60 degrees in wildwood. those are potentially damaging winds. count on trees and tree limbs leading to power outages. then there's the rain. that's going to come in tonight. most of the day today, it's going to be dry. this is 4:00 this afternoon. no rain. you have plenty of time today to get things done before that steady, heavier rain moves in. it will continue into tomorrow morning. the rain is only one aspect of the storm system. it is going to be heavy rain, gusty winds, the gusty winds bringing down trees and leading to power outages. coastal roads will be flooded into the weekend, and property damage is a possibility, as well. that heavy rain will be rain for most of the area. the mountains, it is going to be snow. in fact, check out the snow potential for mt. pocono, close to seven inches by friday night at 10:00. the storm will be changing as it moves through the area. today, mostly cloudy and warm near 60.

the rain coming in, high winds and heavy rain for friday. the coastal flood threat continues on saturday with gusty winds. by sunday, things are quieting down, and monday, both days will see lots of sunshine. there's more wet weather coming in on wednesday. no sign of cold weather. 40s for wednesday, thursday, and the sun returns next friday and saturday. seven minutes before 7:00 a.m. we'll get another quick look at the schuylkill. >> katy zachry has you covered with first alert traffic. >> unfortunately, we can't get away from the schuylkill expressway. earlier it was a crash at greys ferry, now a crash at south street. this is affecting traffic headed westbound. and where it is, as you see to the right of your screen, it's traffic westbound slowing consider ae considerably as it goes by the ramp at south street. this is blocking the left lane of the exit ramp at south and 76 westbound. abways, of that. -- be aware of that.

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two school districts in gloucester county are closed after someone sent a threatening e-mail to a staff member. >> the franklin township school district and delsea school district are closed. police are working to identify who sent the e-mail. and breaking in burlington county, two people recovering from minor injuries after a fire

tore through a home in delanko. this is hickory street. flames also spread to nearby power lines. the jersey shore is preparing for a coastal storm expected in our area. it's expected to bring heavy rain, strong winds, and even flooding. we'll check in with our first alert meteorologist in a moment for the latest on how the storm will play out. meanwhile, today philadelphia police will have extra patrols at olney charter school after someone posted a shooting threat on social media. the school sent a letter to parents saying students can stay home today using an excused absence. this morning, mayor kenney will ask city council to approve a 6% property tax hike to help fund philadelphia public schools. you can see the mayor's budget address beginning at 10:00 on our app. meantime, jurors in the allentown mayor's corruption trial continue to deliberate. ed pawlowski is accused of running a pay-to-play scheme through his office. he says he did nothing wrong or unusual. i'm katy zachry with a check of the roads. it looks like the crash that we last reported along 76 westbound at south street has cleared.

earlier we saw a lot of brake lights on the exit ramp headed up to south street. in the last few minutes, no more break lights. it looks like the crash cleared. we are seeing volume building, 95 southbound as you make your way between woodhaven and the vine street expressway. that drive is almost 30 minutes. the schuylkill expressway eastbound between the pennsylvania turnpike and the vine street expressway about 23 minutes. then the blue route is looking good at 16 minutes. finally, we had an earlier car fire and issue on route 202 southbound. that has cleared. the drive times on route 202 are back to normal southbound and northbound. i'm meteorologist bill henley. the entire area under a first alert for a major coastal storm. the worst of it tomorrow into saturday morning. strong, gusty winds, potentially damaging winds. coastal flooding and heavy rain. today is the day to get stuff done. it's going to be quiet for most of the day. clouds are moving in. but we may not see any rain until late this afternoon or even more likely this evening. and then late tonight, that's when the heavy rain moves in. first the heavy rain, then the

damaging winds tomorrow. then the coastal threat that continues into the weekend. good morning. breaking news. the new cold war. in an address to his nation, vladimir putin touts russia's new nuclear weapons, including a powerful missile and underwater drone he claims cannot be stopped by the u.s. what these new military capabilities could mean for the growing rift between the two countries. turmoil in the west wing. hope hicks, a key member of president trump's inner circle, abruptly resigns. her decision just one day after testifying in the russia investigation, and admitting that sometimes telling white lies for the president. the dramatic departure that now has the president searching for a new communications director for the fifth time in just over a year. we're live at the white house. corporations, not congress.