those officers describing detective lemm as being awesome and all around nice. and in the words of the pba president, one of the finest of new york's finest who put his life on the line in both of his job, making the ultimate sacrifice. near the christmas decorations outside the 50th precinct station house now hang a black and purple bunting in honor of officer joseph lemm. >> it hurts. it really does. >> reporter: bill gately is visiting the station house this morning to offer his condolences to lemm's police family. >> those cops are -- they do an extra special job. >> reporter: a dangerous and difficult job, detective lemm served 15 years with the nypd. a life of service. it was in his other position with the air national guard in afghanistan when he was killed

drove a motorcycle into a group of u.s. service members stopped at a local meeting point while on patrol with afghan forces. he was one of six u.s. service members who died in the attack. as much as he pride himself as a public servant, his most important role was as a husband and father. seen here surprising his teenage daughter and young son. this time though, lemm won't be coming home. police commissioner bill bratton saying in a statement, detective lemm epitomized the selflessness we can only strive for, putting his country and city first. his selfless dedication to his city and country made him the finest of the finest. his memory will be honored and his sacrifice will never be forgotten. >> protecting us in new york and in the country. >> reporter: back live, you're

of the station house where detective lemm worked for many years. mayor de blasio has ordered all flags across the city flown at half staff today through friday in his memory. reporting live this afternoon in bronx, janelle burrell, cbs 2 news. >> thank you. detective lemm was killed along with another airman from the area. his name has not yet been released but he was also a member of the stewart air national guard base in new jersey. a new jersey family will no longer be starting off the new year in their new home. it took four departments more than two hours just to get the flames under control. diane macedo has the latest on the investigation. >> reporter: flames shot out of the roof and windows of 16 hot brook lane as anybodies watched entire section of the brand new home crumble away. >> i woke up around 3:15 and

really big. the flames looked taller than the house. >> reporter: police say the first call came in around 2:19 this morning and several fire departments all responded. >> we saw the fire trucks come with a ladder. a man shot the water up and over into the roof. maybe 4:00 in the morning. >> reporter: fors finally got the flames under control around 4:45. they say the home was still under construction so no one was inside at the time which helped to avoid injuries. still the homeowners were hoping to move in in two weeks. >> we were hoping that they move in, our neighbors and we feel really sad for them. >> especially right before the holiday. you know, our heart goes out to them. really, really does. >> reporter: the big question now is, what caused the fire? the fire marshall's office and

investigating as well as the home detective department. >> the family's identity has not been released but neighbors say their children were already enrolled in the school district. washington state, heavy snow piled up in the mountains. while it set the mood for hollywood feelings in some areas. and in other area, conditions were so hazardous that roads were closed. winds in portland toppled trees on to homes and forcedded some residents to evacuate but our area is going to be more like may than december. el fell the weather center with an -- john elliott in the weather center with the explanation. >> tell you what, the numbers are well above normal and they'll continue to climb. we've got rain in the area, on and off showers. let's zoom in through brooklyn and queens and nassau county, and suffolk county, through bronx and fairfield county as well. and then a break. and then more rain. and it's not just the rain we're tracking.

through the afternoon, some breaks, still slow going with fog already starting to settle in. and a break for the afternoon commute. and then a quiet morning but the rain returns through tomorrow afternoon. and that's when we could see more widespread and heavy rain. and .50 today. and we could add another .50 to .75 tomorrow through early thursday. before i let you go, i have to let you know that fog is going to be a menace. look at some of the projected visibilities tomorrow morning, less than .10. of. a big warm-up. but right now, we send things back to mary. >> john, it's not just new york experiencing warm weather this week. many parts of the country are also experiencing record highs. >> it's beautiful today. absolutely incredible. >> reporter: at 52 degrees in buffalo, it was beautiful

in a city that was slammed by 7 feet of lake-effect snow last year, temperatures this week are more likely to inspire long walks on the beach. more than 2600 record high temperatures have been tied or broken across the lower 48 states this month. and in washington, d.c., cherry blossoms arrived months ahead of schedule. >> it doesn't the feel like christmas yet. >> reporter: but nowhere is the tale of two climates more obvious than the ski slopes. this connecticut resort can't even keep the fake snow from melting. while in colorado, the real snow just keeps coming. skiers there are enjoy being on the edge of a much larger cold weather band, stretching from park city up to washington. >> this is a tale of west verses east and we're watching to see if it's possible if it will come east or not. say the unreasonably warm, beautiful weather is because of the el nio factor.

>> the el nio weather phenomenon caused by warm weather is caused by the air off the pacific ocean. it results in unusual weather in different parts of the country. police in new jersey are looking for two armed men who robbed a pharmacy over the weekend. surveillance cameras caught one of the robbers. but it doesn't money they wanted. they reportedly made off with 20 to 30 bottles of medication and cough syrup. a 33-year-old is wanted for menacing with a firearm and has outstanding warrants in new york and south carolina. he may be accompanied by a 33- year-old renee jones who is also wanted by police. if you see them, do not approach them. instead, call 911 immediately. much more to come here on cbs 2 news at noon, a growing problem in the city, there are more and more complaints about

one landing the same way it launched -- fewer arrests. and one landing the same way it launched. hi, i'm in japan. ill like to say merry christmas

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breaking news on the commuter alert. the inbound upper-level of the george washington bridge is closed right now due the to a jackknifed tractor-trailer. you can see the truck on this camera on the jersey side. this is causing major delays. there are emergency crews on the scene. no word on injuries. again, the inbound upper-level of the gwb is closed right now. [ applause ] that's right, wild cheers from workers at spacex after the private space company hit a milestone. instead of splashing down, the rocket landed safely back in cape canaveral florida after delivering satellites into orbit. that's a first for a giant rocket capable of carrying a heavy payload. it means a potentially huge reduction in the cost of space flight. if it seems like you're

york city, there might be a reason for that. scott rapoport with eye-opening statistics. >> reporter: bold graffiti lines the walls here at the lirr train station. >> it's awful. >> most of the time, it's ignored. >> reporter: the new york city councilmember says it's been this way since the summer. and that she's been repeatedly in touch with the mta to get rid of the graffiti but says in the ensuing months, things got worse. it's not an isolated occurrence. city-wide, some say graffiti appears to be more and more prevalent. according to the nypd, the number of complaints city-wide year. this while arrest for graffiti year. and while perhaps a far cry from the out of control

'70s, all of this is getting noticed. >> this is scribble and nonsense and it's ugly. >> reporter: we asked mayor mayor about the situation -- >> some of those statistics are very much of the moment and shouldn't be overweighted. the nypd has some sophisticated tools for going at it. so i expect you will see continued enforcement efforts in that area. >> reporter: meanwhile, back at the forest hills train station, the mta is promising to remove all graffiti by christmas and a spokesperson telling me they have already removed a lot of it, pointing out walls like this one painted over in gray. >> a lot more has to be done. >> reporter: residents are still waiting. scott rapoport, cbs 2 news. a wild chase through new jersey and manhattan ended in gunfire near the palisades parkway this morning. officers were purr suing a stolen car when it crossed the george washington bridge into manhattan and then returned back to new jersey. the driver led police

before jumping out of the car. the officer fired one shot during a foot chase but no one was hit. the driver was taken into custody. a passenger was also arrested. the baby panda at the national zoo is about to go public. and behind the scenes to

get to see. well christmas came early for some panda lovers. >> he won't make his first public appearance until january 16th but some panda fans got an early introduction. >> reporter: 5 million people have clicked on the panda cam since he was born four months ago. so when the national zoo ran a bagram competition to for a chance to get up close to the biggest star, the the response was overwhelming. >> it was really heartening to know that we struck a cord. >> reporter: not only did the videos capture people's passion for pandas but showed why saving this endangered species is so important. the 25 winners came from across the country. >> a loft people know i love pandas but my husband thinks i'm obsessed. >> reporter: she says she went

looking at my email. >> reporter: the winners have the opportunity to go inside the panda habitat. they met the zoo keeper, operated the panda cam and watched the pandas paint and when they layed eyes on the main attraction, it was panda- monium. they drove from michigan when their 13-year-old daughter made the cut. >> we had to wait a longtime and she was so excited, jumping up and down. >> it's one of my christmas presents that i've ever gotten. >> reporter: the zoo hopes the winners will become digital app bass doors and they expect many more to take up the cause after he makes his first public appearance next month. cbs 2 news, washington. >> he is adorable. >> some kind of cute. >> he can crawl and sometimes walk on his own. so this is exciting. >> bigger and bigger every time we see him. >> adorable.

i'm sure he would be liking the inside with air conditioning. >> good afternoon. thank you to all the weather watchers reports. a lot of them hovering right around 50, 55, 57 here. a little warmer for tony. and i appreciate this tony, i like this picture, more and more blooms coming in. plants are confused as well. a few other pictures i want to share. dense fog, charlie sending that in north and west. and light rain from bruce and up there. i like sparkky. look at that fella. that's a tiny pup. thank you. a christmas card. here's my christmas card to you, covered with raindrops. light rain and 58 right now. around the area, 48 to 59 the temperature spread. these numbers, anywhere from 5 to 10 degrees warmer than we

and anticipating a high of 20 sunsets at 4:32. first full day of winter won't feel like it. the average 11.3 degrees above normal. and we have six day already 60- plus. we need eight for the record. we are going to blow the record out of here. because we have 60 today, tomorrow and low 70s on christmas eve. wednesday. and then the push will bring in the mild air, temperatures running 20 to 35 degrees above normal. and peak heat on christmas eve. anticipating a high in the city of 72 on christmas eve. and again, not trying to monkey around here or have mickey mouse wealth, but that's the normal high for orlando, florida. christmas trees being replaced by palm trees this year. n the city. don't forget, it's busy, 61 today. it's mild but you've got

my concerning for overnight, fog. some of that very dense. we are already seeing airport widespread tomorrow morning. starts with fog and lingers a good part of the day. mild again but slow tomorrow. get-away day. record heat on christmas heat. saturday. >> cannot look at the seven-day and even think about being in december with those numbers. incredible: >> no white christmas this thank you. apples are not just for desert. >> stephanie and tony tantillo have a side dish that's perfect for a holiday meal. >> granny smith am, it's time and they're great. >> the thing about granny smith apple, they have a nice tart flavor and they hold up well to cook. when see them, make sure they have the beautiful light lime green to them. and you want them to be shiny, very heavy for their size. and make sure the stem is still attached.

freshness and then also smell the stem, right here, it should smell nice and fresh. >> great tip. >> when you bring them home, in the refrigerator. >> i've been doing tips for 20 year, these are fantastic. >> we sweated them in olive oil. and once they are sweated out, the sugar comes out and we added in but ther and some of the beautiful granny smith apples which gives it a tart balance. and the it's a strange combination but they work well together. >> look at the colors of this. and all the flavor, and you got different textures going on together. >> yes. and they keep the firmness and this is my favorite ever to put on top of pork. >> beautiful, that sounds like a good thing. thank you, bella. >> we're half way through. >> beautiful.

back to breaking news, the george washington bridge inbound. you can see the outbound upper- level lanes coming towards you are closed due to a jackknifed tractor-trailer. emergency crews are still on the scene. no word on injuries at this point.

of the gwb closed right now. coming up on cbs 2 news tonight beginning at 5:00, after several failed attempt, when should couples give up on in-vitro? and fall from grace, a one time new jersey football star is now suspected in a string of bank robberies. those stories and much more tonight on cbs 2 news beginning at 5:00. well, it's the season of giving and that's exactly what one new york city police officer is doing. and he's asking for your help. officer carlos ramos spent the night wrapping toys he collected for children live live manage shelters. he says he got the idea since he and his wife lived in and out of shelters while growing up. >> it's important for us to give back because someone gave us an opportunity. >> ramos plans to deliver the gifts on christmas eve.

for children ages 1 to 13 through wednesday at the 145th subway station. >> yes. counting. way to go. what a special reason. a great idea. >> that's it for us at noon. for john elliott and the entire cbs 2 news team, thank you for joining us, i'm mary calvi. >> and i'm chris wragge. cbs 2 news is back at 5:00. morning at 4:30.

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