[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> we are here to announce today charges that have just been filed against william henry cosby. erika: breaking news right now at noon, comedian bill cosby has been charged in a 2004 sexual assault. the announcement coming this morning after investigators re-opened a case involving a former temple university

cosby is expected in court this afternoon, charged with -- that is a felony. a previous district attorney declined to charge cosby in 2005. investigators say new information was released in cosby' s court deposition from the civil case, prompting the criminal case to be reopened. the woman involved says cosby befriended her, and then took advantage of her. >> mr. cosby urged her to take her, and to drink wine, the effect of rendered her unable to move or respond to his advances , and he committed aggravated, indecent assault upon her. erika: this is the first criminal charge against cosby, who has been accused of sexual assault by more than 50 women. cosby'

commented on the charges. also breaking, officials are confirming the remains of this missing avon man have been found in upton. a hunter, stumbling across the newscenter5' s todd kazakiewich is live in upton. with the latest break in the case. todd: there are still a lot of questions in this case, we now know jamie robertson is dead, but police don' t know how he died, nor do they know if the 4 people charged in connection with his kidnapping are also responsible for his death. at a press conference late this morning here in upton, worcester , district attorney joe early and norfolk da michael morrissey that human remains found saturday in the woods here in upton are those of james robertson, age 37, who was home s day 2014. investigators say he was kidnapped from the home by men who said they were taking him for a probation-related drug test. four men have been charged in connection with the kidnapping. this past saturday, a man hunting in the woods near mendon street here in upton found a

then launched an investigation. monday. human remains were found, as well as clothing. yesterday, using dental records and other efforts, it was determined that the remains found in the woods belonged to james robertson. todd: it' s not clear how long jamie robertson' s remains were in the woods. the medical examiner is now working to determine how robertson died. reporting live in upton, tk, wcvb, nc 5. erika: a boston bar is cleared after the shooting death of an mbta conductor outside the establishment thanksgiving morning. only at newscenter 5, we' re hearing from the victim' s family. newscenter 5' s antoinette antonio is live at boston city hall. >> it' s not what jepthe chery' s family wanted to hear, the licensing board deciding no violation was made that night. needless to say, they are very

shaking her head, jephthe chery' s mother leaves the licensing board room, after hearing the decision by the commission. no violation was made by the bar who' s on first, outside of which the 29-year-old t conductor was killed. >> how disappointed is your family? >> we are very disappointed, that' s all i have to say. reporter most of chery' s family : members were too upset to speak on camera, but one did tell us, they saw this coming. >> i seen it played out already in my head so it doesn' t surprise me the thanksgiving day shooting isn' t the only trouble the sports bar has had, just two months earlier it was cited after two women were shot. but lawyers for the fenway area bar argued the night leading up to the shooting was uneventful -- for the most part. the bar even calling the night early. and the licensing board agreed. that happened on that evening

reporter: but when asked about calls to shut the bar down, this licensing board chair had this this to say. >> i have no response, the board found no violation today . reporter the licensing board : says everyone who entered the bar that night was patted down for weapons, but they are working with police to formulate even more security measures for the bar. erika: new at noon, a warning from the littleton fire department, the ice is not safe. this picture was taken at mill pond last night. someone crashed their drone get it. did manage to get out on their own. t make the same mistake. they say stay off the ice. taking a live look now over the city of boston, hazy and cold. an much quieter than yesterday. but still really cold, and ice. >>

there is activity showing up on radar. a lot of cloud cover out there. these clouds are going to persist through the afternoon. the temperatures have barely budged since early this morning. some lower 40' s here on the cape . the temperatures are only going to creep up in boston over the next few hours. notice by midnight, rain, yes rain coming in. the system from the south is going to go to the north. outside of 128 it might be just cold enough for freezing rain overnight. a freezing rain in advice -- advisory in effect. erika: right now, a beverly man is facing several charges, after crashing his car into a pond in hamilton. police arrested 21-year-old james chase early this morning, near beck pond. he was not hurt in the crash. chase is charged with oui and

s expected in court tomorrow. right now one person is dead after a crash in new hampshire involving secret service agents. it happened on route 16 in wakefield around 7:00 last night. the secret service says 4 of its agents were driving south when a car crossed the center line and struck them head-on. that driver, bruce danforth, died at the scene. his two passengers were taken to the hospital, but their injuries are unclear. one of the agents was transferred to mass general hospital. the 3 other agents suffered serious but non life-threatening injuries. new at noon, police on cape cod are searching for this yarmouth man. the family of william fleming says they have not seen him since december 20. police found his car after responding to a report of a suspicious vehicle, stranded on a dirt road in wellfleet monday. state police joined the search today. the victims in a drive-by shooting in mattapan were both in state custody at the time. the department of youth services tells the herald the teens were

they were shot on willmore street yesterday morning, one injuries. survive. police are now looking for a black acura seen leaving the area. new at noon, the officers who saved two women from this burning home describe the rescue for the first time. the community hailing them as heroes for their quick action. our sera congi is live in webster. where the officers never hesitated to help. >> each police officer received a letter of commendation. this is a copy. they were honored this morning they went into a burning building not just once, but several times, to rescue to victims. >> my first initial thought, i was going to die. reporter: despite the danger in front of them, these three webster police officers ran into

street monday to rescue residents inside. >> i got hit with smoke and heat and dropped to the ground. reporter the officers say thick : black smoke made it nearly impossible to see or breathe, they dropped to their knees to scope around. unconscious. >> she was laying on the floor, on her back, one leg wedged behind the door. we had to try to get in. once we did that, we were able to pull her outside. reporter: the officers ran in several times to free the woman, as well rescue another resident on the second floor, all despite difficulty breathing. >> i couldn' t even bring myself to speak to tell officer donovan, that there was someone in there, someone was still in the apartment. >> at that point you' re not thinking, you' re just acting, you go. reporter: the officers managed to get everyone out safely, but

suffered smoke inhalation, today, webster police department honored the group with letters of commendation. >> we get paid to take reasonable risks, these guys went above and beyond. >> you don' t think, you just do. >> everyone says heros, i don' t like the use of the word, anybody in this police dept -- department would have done the same thing. erika: commitment 2016, donald trump is planning a big infusion of campaign cash. the republican frontrunner says he' ll start spending at least 2 million dollars a week, starting monday. that includes big ad buys in iowa, new hampshire, and south carolina. he' s self-financing his presidential run and says he' s $15 million under budget. democratic frontrunner hillary clinton wraps up a busy visit to new hampshire. the primary there, just 6 weeks away. clinton hosted town halls in portsmouth and berlin.

equal pay for women and challenged gun owners to take the lead on more gun control. her husband, former president bill clinton will make his first , campaign stop on her behalf in new hampshire monday. not much support for democrat martin o' malley in iowa. just one person showed up to his event in a small town there yesterday. with a powerful winter storm, he wasn' t expecting a big turnout. o' malley did spend one-on-one time with the man, but says he didn' t get a commitment on his vote. following breaking news in the case of the so-called affluenza teen. his battle to stay in mexico right now and what we' re , learning about the moments before his arrest there. also, changes to the chicago police department after a string of deadly shootings. the new steps for officers. and the protests today after an accidental shooting. more rain on the way the areas that could see freezing rain tonight and the cold on the way for the new year erika: a priest in the why church leaders were not

erika: we'

news at noon. bill cosby is charged with sexual assaulting a woman in a 2004 encounter outside of philadelphia. prosecutors say the comedian urged a former temple university employee to take pills, and drink wine, before assaulting her at his home. cosby will be arraigned this afternoon. investigators reopened the case after excerpts from cosby' s deposition in a civil case were released. also breaking, the teenager sentenced to probation in a deadly drunk driving case is now fighting extradition to the u.s. the associate press reports the so-called affluenza teen, ethan couch, and his mother have won a temporary stay to remain in mexico. they traveled there in an effort to evade authorities after couch allegedly violated his probation. a pizza order leading to their discovery and arrest at a resort. couch avoided jail time in the drunk driving case after his attorneys argued he was coddled into irresponsibility by his

right now, two people are under arrest after a foiled terror plot in turkey. they were believed to be plotting new year' s eve attacks. authorities say they detained two turkish nationals suspected to be isis militants. the men were arrested in a raid on a cell house. police found a suicide vest, armed with a bomb, and another explosive device. a new poll shows americans place higher priority on defending religious freedoms for christians than muslims. the associated press/norc poll protections are important for christians. that number drops to 70% for those of the jewish faith and 61% for muslims. experts say the findings reflect deep divisions among americans about the meaning of religious liberty. new at noon, city leaders in chicago say they' re planning a major overhaul of the police department there. mayor rahm emanuel announced the changes today which include new steps on how city officers are trained. there have been calls for the mayor to resign following the release of this video showing a black man shot 16 times by a

last week, a woman was accidentally shot to death by chicago police, during a domestic violence call. as part of the changes, all officers will be required to carry tasers. right now, 20 people are confirmed dead in missouri and illinois as that region deals with historic flooding. a state of emergency as the floodwaters continue to rise. though the storm is over, abc' s elizabeth hur reports, the central u.s. is struggling with the aftermath. >> even though the rainfall has stopped, the rivers are still rising. the mighty mississippi or river has spilled over its banks. residents say they have not seen a flood like this in 20 years. notice.

reporter: entire neighborhoods cut off. this mcdonald' s surrounded by floodwaters almost to its roof. the gas station nearly submerged. similar sites across the state, businesses and homes underwater. some store owners tried to save whatever they could, but they were no match for the rising water. >> it' s brutal. we were working to get everything out. we got what we cut. reporter: and now a new concern. raw sewage in streams and rivers. >> we expect the plant will be flooded completely before this is over. reporter: it is a race against time and it' s not over yet. north of st. louis, the river is expected to crest today, 17 feet above flood stage.

will reach their highest level in decades. the governor has called in the national guard. >> be safe out there. reporter: abc news, st. louis, and is very. -- st. louis, missouri. erika: finally moving out. >> it is finally moving out. there is going to be rain. it is so cold this morning in boston. it got down to 25 degrees, which is the coldest we have been in many months around here since the end of march . many areas dropping down to the 20' s. temperatures have not climbed too much. you still might encounter a slick spot or two if you are headed out now. it is a gloomy day around here, and it is still just 27 degrees in boston. fortunately, the wind is calm, so no big windchill to deal with.

s nashua to manchester. down to norwood, 29, and just at freezing on plymouth and the cape. the temperature will change very little over the course of the day, primarily due to the cloud cover out there. the clouds are hanging tough. sunset around 4:20 p.m., and the clouds will be with us through then. the energy is shifting through the state of maine. we are drive through the afternoon, dry into the evening. as we come north, there will be some warmer air associated with this. you can see the temperatures in the 40' s in new york, 50' s in d.c. we are not going to get that warm, but most areas are going to climb above freezing.

should be above freezing in boston, worcester, and or range. this should stay close to the freezing mark, which could be problematic is that rain starts to come on in. north and west of 495, we do have a freezing rain advisory through the overnight hours. notice through the evening commute some showers start to break out across the area. the area north and west of 495 is showing a little paint. that goes all the lien to northern worcester county. you may encounter brief freezing rain overnight. by tomorrow morning, this is shifting offshore, so i don' t anticipate it will have a big impact on the morning commute. .1-.2 inches of

tomorrow, we will dry things out with a westerly winds developing. temperatures in the 40' s. s going to be chilly friday. have plans tomorrow to head into the city, we are drying out. then dropping down close to the freezing mark as we ring in the new year with that windchill. make sure you dress warmly for that. friday is new year' s day. the winter classic is happening at gillette. not much wind to deal with. and just in time to make sure the ice is frozen. look at the temperatures next week. it is colder. we may not get out of the 20' s by monday of next week. it is winter. erika: and it feels like it. thank you, cindy.

philippines. a priest there has been reprimanded for using one inside a church. he thought the idea was creative, to get a younger generation of worshippers interested in the service. but church leaders say it was disrespectful. though many enjoyed the performance, the priest says it will not happen again. and a hoverboard takes down a boxing legend. mike tyson posted this video to twitter writing quote seemed like a good idea but guess not. we all know the champ is tough. he was able to get back up, and laugh off the fall. a lot of people watching that today over and over again. shining a spotlight on a popular vacation destination in

erika: a new accolade for cape cod, this image taken in provincetown was ranked one of the top of the year. it is very beautiful, and it' s

>> it was taken on june 13 from the international space station, ranked top 15 on space station earth images of the year. other images include the snow-covered himalayas, the sahara desert, and volcanoes in hawaii. >> cold and a couple of flurries over the weekend. erika: thank you for joining us. that' s newscenter 5 at noon.