this is wcvb newscenter 5 at 5:00. ed: breaking news in the race for president tonight, pope francis weighs in. his target gop front runner donald trump. >> and trump wasted no time firing back. newscenter 5' s maria stephanos joins us with the breaking details. maria: he did not. this race is taking get another turn, this time as pope francis steps right into the political fright, questioning donald trump' s christianity. heading back to rome after visiting mexico, pope francis was asked about trump' s plan to build a wall in the southern border. the pontiff said he did not want to tell americans how to vote, but said-- a person that thinks only about building walls wherever they may be and is not building bridges is not christian. donald trump firing back with this response to the pope' s comments. mr. trump: if and when the vatican is attacked by isis, i can promise you that the pope would have only wished then

maria: trump said that francis' trip to mexico shows that he is a political future -- political figure. and claims that mexico was using him. another gop challenger was asked if the pope' to him as well. >> vatican city controls what comes in. as a result, the u.s. has a right to do that as well. maria: john kasich has much kinder word about pope francis. guy. maria: a new national poll shows the donald trump now in a virtual tie with ted cruz. appeal. sen. cruz: donald trump is in second place with 26%. i expect a storm of tweets any minute now.

concerning the zika virus. when asked if abortion or birth control could be considered a lesser evil when dealing with a crisis, the pope said he would be willing to relax the church' s opposition to artificial contraception. >> also breaking news at home, live sky 5 over boston, where you can see workers trying to fix a big glitch that continues to lead the commuter rail in disarray at this hour. commuters being told to about south station right now. this issue could linger for a while. we have team coverage and we' re going to start with newscenter 5' s nicole estaphan. she' s live at south station. nicole? nicole: mbta officials asking khmers not to come to the station unless that they now trains are running. -- asking commuters not to come to the station unless they know trains are running. the story is, no commuter rail trains leaving south station unless you are headed to

>> the string will not leave. nicole: a day of cancellations that started around 5:00 thursday morning. >> i was on the first train from this morning. we were 50 yards out from alsatian. sat there for at least 20 minutes. nicole: and continued through the evening commute. with the exception of the franklin and providence lines, late afternoon word that he nearly all commuter rail trains out of south station will be canceled. >> if they need to be somewhere this afternoon, needing to pick up a child or an appointment or something urgent, they need to have a plan b. nicole: the cause? and amtrak signal outage. >> when that system goes out, we cannot bring trains in and out of the station safely. just like you wouldn' t want to be in the skies with airplanes when you don' t have air traffic control, or a highway without traffic signs. nicole: while many are

>> why am i paying for this t pass every month when i can' t get to work on time? ridiculous. nicole: or just confused by all the changes-- >> i just have to go to the red line. i think i have the catch my train at jfk -- oh gosh, no, now i have to find out where i have to get my train. nicole: she is not alone. thousands of commuters trying to figure out exactly where they need to go this evening. more bad news. i spoke with officials a short time ago. they tell us this problem could go through tomorrow morning' s commute. we will bring you the latest information as we have it. live in south station, w cvb newscenter 5. >> our coverage continues with newscenter 5' s john atwater. he' s live in the back bay. we barely see you john. john: a lot of crowds here. hundreds of people. they are looking at this board to see when their train is going

i will sneak through the people. hundreds of people waiting for their trains to arrive. when they announced the train, they come this way, go down the escalators, and try to get on the train as fast as they can. i want to take you downstairs from video a little while ago. you can see the massive crowds down there trying to jam onto these trains that are already full. people desperate to get home. obviously these commuters know the problem lies with amtrak, but they are still very frustrated. >> this is disgraceful. >> there are people up there screaming. there are no cops. this is absolutely disgusting, disgraceful. john: a lot of frustration from passengers tonight. another live look inside back bay station. people getting right to the train, which has arrived. all of these hundreds of others waiting for their train to arrive, waiting for forge park.

but a lot of confusion here tonight. live at back bay station, john atwater, wcvb newscenter 5. ed: we have a list of alternative stations you can take. you can find that on the wcvb free app. you can do that right now. >> this video another dramatic reminder of the dangers at sea. the coast guard releasing the footage showing crews training in chatham. the waves so powerful they nearly crash over the vessel. the coast guard says the 42 foot boat is specially designed for conditions in chatham. when the biggest shipping lanes in new england reopened after a disaster at sea. the north channel of boston after a tugboat crashed and sank. pieces of the vote fell to the ocean floor, major concerns that they were near the channel and could damage other ships. the coast guard was restricting large vessels like natural gas tankers and other ships from entering.

>> we had to put safety in place to keep traffic from moving through. the ship is about 160 yards outside the channel. >> again, that the distance that she said means things are safe for now. but the tugboat will have to be completely removed to have future problems. >> about 30 degrees in the area. not as nice as yesterday, but decent for this time of year. harvey: you hit it right on the head. a little colder than it was yesterday by about 10-12 degrees in boston. we are set up for a cold night. boston at 32. upper 20' s in worcester. the wind is coming straight down out of the n the skies are clear. the winds will become late. cold air, light winds, it' s going to be a cold night. some clouds just offshore worked with the ap -- some clouds just offshore flirt with the cape.

the temperatures dip to about 20 degrees, maybe even 19. look at worcester. be prepared for a tranquil but cold start to the day. we will cover the c for friday night, when some of us can get is no, when we can temperatures -- so this could get snow, when we can to temperature going to change. >> dcf has been under fire after a series of high-profile death. the progress been -- a p p p has been interests. they were not checking the sex offender registry. a permit man is dead, killed in his massive house fire overnight. flames broke out in the garage. investigators still don' t know what went wrong. >> in the light of day, you can see the damage done by this intense fire. the marshals office says the home was a total loss.

64-year-old robert drude, a longtime resident here. orange painted the sky in plymouth last night as flames engulfed the large 2.5 story home on ellisville road. >> the whole house was engulfed. it was just awful. the fire kept going and going. serea: the next-door neighbor called 911. >> i heard popping sounds and smells smoke. i went to the dining room window and saw the garage side of the house was on fire. sera: the plymouth da' s office says one of the homeowners was killed. they found 64-year-old robert drude in the entryway of the home. his wife was not at the home at the time. the couple lived there for over 2 decades. >> they were nice people, very good people and family-oriented. very much community oriented people.

sera: the fire marshall' s office estimates the damages at $800,000. the cause is under investigation. no fa oul play investigated. >> commitment 2015 coverage continues tonight. >> new endorsements crating fireworks just 2 days before the primary in south carolina. >> this slippery ride on a snow-covered highway. look at the video. a reminder to us all about hitting the road during a storm. new at: 30. -- new at 5:30. >> yes, we texture every day. >> we sit down with jerry remy and talk to future of the red sox. >> must take a look at first alert traffic. it' s 5:10, this is the bunker bridge. sun shining off the bridge. and it' s moving in both directions. taking a look at maps for the rest of the area. let me get you to the

44 minutes from massachusetts -- 34 minutes from massachusetts avenue. further west, about a half hour from 495. where we started, the stretch of 495 between the mass pike and

t they're one of the wall street banks that triggered the financial meltdown -- goldman sachs. just settled with authorities for their part in the crisis that put seven million out of work and millions out of their homes. how does wall street get away with it? millions in campaign contributions and speaking fees. our economy works for wall street because it's riggedt by wall street. and that's the problem. as long as washington is bought and paid for, we can't build an economy that works for people. sanders: i'm bernie sanders,

>> commitment 2016 -- seeking support in south carolina. with the gop primary two days away, a new poll shows donald trump in first place in the palmetto state. newscenter 5' s aixa diaz is live

s showdown with the pope and what the other candidates are up to. aixa? aixa: we saw donald trump not only talking about the pope, but his lead in south carolina. new polls show him at the top, while the rest of the candidates are battling for voters in south carolina. after his visit to the border, pope francis was asked about donald trump' s plan to build a wall between the u.s. and mexico. the pope answered "that' s not in the gospel." while he gave trump the benefit of the doubt, he said "this man is not christian" if this is what he said. mr. trump: for a religious leader to question a person' s faith is disgraceful. aixa: two days before the primary, a new fox news poll shows come in first place in south carolina, with ted cruz coming in second. sen. cruz: our constitutional rights are under assault each

aixa: marco rubio picks up the endorsement of governor nikki haley. sen. rubio: 2016 is the most important election in a generation. aixa: jim bush stumped -- jeb bush stumped hoping for a victory on saturday. >> there is a dogfight between marco rubio and jeb bush for third place. third there. aixa: tonight, hillary clinton and bernie sanders are campaigning in a nevada ahead of saturday' s democratic caucuses. live in washington, aixa dai iaz, to be cvb newscenter 5. >> this new york driver' s wild ride caught on camera. it happened tuesday morning in rochester. you can see the driver struggling to stay in control of the car as it repeatedly fishtails through inches of snow. yikes, this is not the way to go. the man who caught the scene on his dashcam says it went on for about 15 minutes. by this morning the video had gone viral with over 60,000

that is why, harv, whenever we have snow here, you don' t have to go out. it could be an emergency, but still. harvey: you should keep more distance when you have weather like that. if somebody else goes out of control, the closer you are, the bigger chance you have to causing problem. but not a problem today. actually a bright day. 35 the height in boston. a bit below the average. the low of 29 so far, even though they might get lower by midnight. turns out to be an average day. you take this month, and it too is turning out average, despite both sides. another nice sunrise picture. here is our month. extreme warmth -- you remember last weekend -- extreme cold. and now a seasonable day.

that is nice and clear in the skies. still a bit of sunshine. we gained well over an hour since the earliest sunsets in december. 32 degrees currently in boston. rated the freezing mark. north-northwest wind 12 miles an hour. it feels more like 23 out the when we look at the temperaturesre. around -- when we look at the temperatures around 30. only 28 in selma. we are in for a cold night tonight with clear skies and light winds. be prepared for that. the timbers will fall quickly this evening. make sure the kids are bundled up early. we will have a torture recovery tomorrow afternoon. --temperature recovery tomorrow afternoon. the winds could trend to a slight sea breeze tomorrow afternoon. it could touch 40 and touch 30' s along the shoreline. the high elevations of worcester

the way to plymouth and onto the cape in the 30' s for tomorrow. it is still chilly, but there is warmer air not far away. st. louis at 60 degrees right now. the warm air is trying to come in. some will make it this weekend. before it does, the quick period of snow possible tomorrow night. this evening, clouds over the water and on the cape, slight chance of a straight snowflake. the rest of us are clear. the cable will become completely clear later tonight. a lot of centime our morning. clouds advance from the west. that is ahead of the weather change. during tomorrow night, from west to east, there could be in our or two -- an hour or two of snow. maybe 11:00 for eastern massachusetts. i could only see a coating to one inch out of this, and it is a done deal. then we warm up with breaking clouds on saturday. this is reflected we check out the next seven days. from sonic to class friday

rom sun to clouds friday late-night. we have breaks of sun. mild on saturday. a small storm might affect us early monday and late sunday night. it is not a big storm. but it might be a little too far south to get us. if it comes close enough, we might be mild early. it could be rain changing to wet snow. it could be by small jubilation in both spots. -- small accumulation in both spots. as the storm tries to come up with the coast with gulf moisture, a lot of borderline temperatures. that could be anything from snow to sleet to rain -- or all three within our viewing area, roughly about wednesday next week. we will certainly stay about that as we get closer to it.

one of the giant panders -- pandas at the zoo showing us that the struggle israel, rolling out of his --struggle is real, rolling out of his cave. after he figure out where he was and got his bearings, he went on to play in the snow. >> in his defense, real estate is all about location, location, location. his cave was at the top of a snow-covered hill. >> what else can you expect? >> of course we don' t need another study to show us, but we have one that arguments are not getting -- that us humans are not getting enough sleep. >> what the experts say we can do enough to fix it. >> at 5:30, a would-be robber stopped in his tracks. the person that took them down just happened to be in the right place at the right time. >> at 6:00, helping with unspeakable loss. the little girl killed by a falling tree limb, the parents

phil: new research confirms the u.s. military is struggling to provide adequate care for thousands of our troops suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and depression. the rand corp study reviewed 40,000 cases and found many of the troops are not getting the minimum number of therapy sessions. officials blame it on a lack of mental health professionals and say the military will turn to civilian therapists who are available through pentagon contracts. the military plans to examine the rand study and find ways to improve. jc: research from the cdc reminds us something we already know -- americans are not getting enough sleep. it finds hawaii, despite being thought of as a peaceful s. south dakota is getting the most

researchers remind us 7-9 hours a night are recommended. they believe several factors play a role in why we are not getting enough sleep. what do they recommend? sticking to a regular bedtime schedule, getting daily exercise, and avoiding caffeine and nicotine at night. phil: i would hibernate if i lived in south dakota, too. it' s cold! jc: maybe that is part of it. phil: next on newscenter 5 at 5:30, the feds issue their final collapsed in it new hampshire. jc: the deadly safety violations found and the thousands in fines. phil: calling out the most violent gang members in louisiana. the toughest job for a police

the world a president has to imagine. that's the job. and she's the one who's proven she can get it done. ...securing a massive reduction in nuclear weapons... ...standing up against the abuse of women... ...protecting social security... ...expanding benefits for the national guard... ...and winning health care for 8 million children... the presidency is the toughest job in the world and she's the one who'll make a real difference for you.

>> this is an editorial by wcvb president and general manager. >> governor charlie baker spoke directly about waste. >> to the taxpayers that may never ride the t, that write a $1 billion check the system every year, i say you deserve to know that your support that is delivering a reliable, affordable, transparent, and efficient service. s has uncovered a scheduling nightmare, allowing 1800 drivers to handpick their work schedule.

and up with shifts that conflict interviews. some are paid overtime while others have to rest. the total cost? in 2015 a load, the t paid drivers almost $400 --$400,000 to stay home. this antiquated manual shift problem. the t' s administrators has switching to an electronic schedule system would limited to waste. jim o' brien says it' s an issue of safety, but is willing to bargain. he would consent to a trial to test electronic roster and if management would consider a four day work week. cutting waste and eliminating paid sleep time should not be an item for negotiation. it' s in the interest of team manage and of the union to fix the problem right now. concurrent with any discussion

afford -- demand the portal and transparent service envisioned by governor baker. while this waste is a drop in the bucket, optics to matter. they make writing that $1 billion check slightly lessf infuriating for bay state taxpayers. >> from ed: -- phil: we begin with late-breaking news. a nightmare ride home on the commuter rail. amtrak can' t figure out how to fix a signal problem near south station. so riders need to catch their trains at other stations. this is video from back bay station, completely packed tonight. jc: live sky-5 is over south station right now. you can see workers trying to fix the amtrak signal problem that has been affecting service since this morning. the mbta says there is no guarantee that it will be fixed

phil: also breaking tonight, donald trump is taking on pope francis. the front runner is saying it is disgraceful for the pope to question a person' s faith. today the pope said trump is not a christian because of his immigration views. >> 29 right now in needham. >> and still not ridiculously cold. also, when you have a day that is sunny, and we are into the second half of february, sun are getting longer, so it kind of mutes the cold a bit. night. starting out cold, skies are clear. s s. these are the temperatures to expect, roughly in the teens. but there is a change coming. precipitation in the upper midwest could change. if you want to hear it we can warm up, i forgot. we will take a look.