>> this is wcvb newscenter 5 at 5:30. maria: breaking news. officer richard cintolo has just been discharged from mass general. he is grateful for the outpouring of prayer and support. he and officer matt morris were injured in a shoot o ben: two people are now charged with blowing up a newspaper box in salem with an lgbt newspaper inside. the two suspects will be in court on friday. maria: a third suspect is under arrest in a violent home an invasion in new hampshire. epping police say three men broke into a house on lamprey

running off. two were caught shortly after. police say the third suspect is still out there. ben: what a day today. we know it cannot last long. harvey: a lot of folks had this weather two days in a row. it was a lot cooler yesterday. today, 81 for boston and beverly. it has not been this late in the season since 1979. 37 years, if my math works well. a little cooler around the great lakes. not sharply colder, but cooler. first in the 70's, then in the 60's overnight in boston. some areas north and west and maybe if you pockets to the

this is the next rainmaker. a little complex. we will try to break it down and let you know what it means. maria: right now, this swimmer in ipswich is recovering after being stranded at sea for hours. his rescue and this emotional reunion is video you'll see only on 5. the man was swimming with his out by a rip current. this coast guard video shows the moment the helicopter crew hoisted the man to safety. newscenter 5's sera congi has new information on the team effort to save the man. reporter: a beautiful clear day right now, but last night the near zero visibility made it a tough search for a swimmer half a mile out. rescuers aboard a coast guard

an infrared camera. after four hours in the water, randall hackett set foot on dry land, then falling into the arms of relieved loved ones. the 58-year-old ipswich man safe and sound despite a tough search mission. >> the fog was very thick. reporter: the marine vessel with the ipswich fire department, one of the many resources used to find the swimmer. hackett and his son-in-law went out around 5:30 the younger swimmer made it back to shore on his own, but hackett was reported missing at 7:00 by family. >> they are experienced swimmers. but i would not recommend swimming a half hour before nightfall, regardless of experience level. reporter: the fire chief says hackett's wetsuit likely helped delay potential hypothermia, with water temperatures in the 60's. >> but being in the water in a

heat inside and allowed him to maintain buoyancy for a little while. reporter: one of the many factors that helped this search mission end with a happy reunion. maria: donald trump is finally holding his own in one key battleground of presidential campaigns -- tv advertising. until this month, he fell far short in political ad spending compared to hillary clinton. janet wu takes a look at both candidates' latest ads. >> donald trump will turn washington upside down. reporter: trump's latest ads are a shocking contrast to the rest of his campaign strategy. as his poll numbers slide backwards, his ads focus on the message that got him here. >> a vote for hillary is a vote for more of the same. reporter: but will these ads cauterize the wounds from the last couple of weeks? backwards, his ads focus on the >> yes, it could work. he should have been running hundreds of millions of dollars behind ads like this all along. reporter: berkovitz said the attacks in these traditional ads

romney or mccain campaign also pass any fact-checking, unlike his accusations on the campaign trail. >> his assertions are general enough. you can get away with it. >> yes, it could work. but in this day and age of truth-checking, many voters don't care. reporter: still, trump's spending since the conventions is about a third of what hillary clinton has invested in this traditional campaign tool. since last week, however, he is now spending about $0.94 for every dollar she's spending. >> america already is great, but we are great because we are good. hampshire, florida, ohio, and pennsylvania, clinton's newest ad counters trump's message with a positive spin. but in these final weeks, trump is on track to outspend her on final tv messaging. >> if trump doesn't implode any further, then ads like this can help. but the thing about donald trump is he does so many things that are so against the grain. if that happens again, no amount of advertising is going to save him.

election day, nevada and new hampshire. but the state to win the largest number of dollars, florida. both clinton and trump will spend about a quarter of their entire general election tv budget in the sunshine state. maria: you can watch tonight's debate live at 9:00 right here on channel 5. our emily riemer is in las vegas. she'll have a live preview coming up on newscenter 5 at 6:00 and will join us again at 11:00 for post-debate coverage. still to come, fallout police confrontation caught on camera in minnesota. ben: outrage after an encounter between a white police officer and a black man went viral. maria: professors on strike at 14 universities in pennsylvania. reporter: it is pretty hard to find flaggers in massachusetts. ben: the state paved the way for the use of civilian flaggers a decade ago.

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maria: more now on a police stop caught on camera sparking outrage in minnesota. a confrontation between a white police officer and a black man. upset community members are speaking out tonight. abc's elizabeth hur is in new york with more. reporter: residents, frustrated and outraged. letting city leaders in minnesota know they want answers. >> i hate to think what would have happened if it were not taped. reporter: this video went viral. two people in the video were not there -- larnie thomas and lieutenant t. olsen, who claimed he stopped thomas for impeding traffic. the woman who recorded the

right side of construction. >> the officer should not have put his hands on the guy. reporter: according to officials, thomas was later released and a citation dropped. >> officer olson maintained his calm. reporter: they also say the officer will not be disciplined. but that was clearly not the answer. city officials policies to see if reforms are necessary, including retraining officers. elizabeth hur, new york. ben: professors at 14 state universities in pennsylvania are on strike. faculty members hit the picket lines early this morning after contract negotiations broke off without an agreement. no further talks are scheduled. the strike affects more than 100,000 students at smaller universities within the pennsylvania system.

affected by the strike. maria: outrage from police when massachusetts started using civilian flaggers. 5 investigates why they are so hard to find. harvey: chances are you really enjoyed today. it is starting to cool down. there is some rain on the way.

i just want what's best for my kids. when i hear arguments that massachusetts needs more charter schools, ur schools? every new charter takes away more money from the existing public schools. that's 400 million dollars, just last year. we can't afford to drain even more money from our kids' schools because they're already losing so much. i'm not just standing up for my own kids; i'm fighting for yours, too.

ben: caught on camera, a police officer nearly hit by her own cruiser. the wisconsin officer was helping a driver with a flat tire when a truck slammed in the back of her parked cruiser. the impact sent the cruiser careening into the concrete railing just feet from the officer. as you can see, she was not hurt. police remind us to slow down and move over when cars are pulled over on the side of the road. a police officer in newburgh, new york manages to escape after an oxygen tank in his trunk yesterday morning when he noticed smoke coming from his car. he radioed for help. then, as he opened his door to get out, the tank exploded. incredibly, the officer suffered only a few cuts and bruises. maria: t-mobile, the country's number three wireless carrier, will pay a major fine for not clearly telling customers unlimited plans were not really

t-mobile had a policy to slow down the speeds of heaviest data uterus but never told customers. the website now indicates slower speeds for those using 26 gigs a month. ben: facebook is helping you plan your night out. a new app will place links on a map embedded in your posts to make it easier to find things to do and make your plans in a single app. maria: what do you want to talk about for the weather? no complaints here. ben: we could complain if we look towards the end of the seven-day, but we won't. harvey: it is still great out there. evening hours, still beautiful.

pittsfield, a sign that slightly cooler air is ready to move in. it feels delightful outdoors. this is compared to 24 hours ago. if you are watching us from worcester or springfield, palmer, anything like that, plymouth and marshfield, we eventually got warm. but in boston and points it did not happen until the nighttime. boston, beverly, lawrence, all the places that had not warmed up yesterday are 15 or 20 degrees warmer. worcester, about the same. same thing in providence. 11 degrees colder in pittsfield than it was 24 hours ago. here comes the cooler air. these are the readings tonight and tomorrow morning.

it would almost have to be changing this time of year. even though we start with clear skies, you can see a system moving in. down here east of the bahamas, there is a tropical disturbance. it may develop somewhat. some of its moisture may get to our north as the system approaches. that would especially be true around friday, friday night. we will see the with it. by the way, it is going to be blustery and chile during the weekend. especially early next week. be prepared for a change. sun gives way to class tomorrow. -- clouds tomorrow. we will be awaiting what will happen with the tropical moisture for friday and friday

thursday. then clouds come in. a little wet weather thursday night into friday. then heavier moisture may work in friday, friday night. we will see how it pans out. some models are showing a good deal of rain. then heavier moisture may work i am thinking there is a good chance we will get some fairly decent rain. how much could we get out of this? one computer model showing about half an inch to an berkshire and nantucket. trying to locate where that is going to happen is impossible right now. part of the area will be getting heavy rain at times friday, friday night. see you at 6:00.

50th anniversary of ?it's the great pumpkin, charlie brown.? the peanuts gang celebrates halloween with linus hoping that, finally, he will be visited by the great pumpkin. you can watch it right here on channel 5 at 8:00. ben: quite a turn. charlie brown and then the debates. maria: enjoy them both. ben: civilian flaggers are allowed to direct traffic around road construction projects in massachusetts, but when's the last time you actually saw one? maria: 5 investigates with the story behind the story that's costing the state millions of dollars. at 6:00, we are at the debate in vegas with five things you need to watch. ben: he is one brave kid. he grabbed a bow and arrow, defending his brother as a man tried to break in. maria: the local mom who did not know she was pregnant.

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>> 5 investigates, discovering massachusetts wasting millions of dollars as a program intended to save the state money limps along. >> investigative reporter mike beaudet digs into the numbers and the reasons behind the failure. reporter: in massachusetts, they are almost an endangered species -- sliders directing traffic. use will steadily increase, active projects, like this bridge in brockton. those were in 2011. the deputy chief engineer for construction. >> you are pointing to projects years ago. is it windowdressing? >> i think it is windowdressing. reporter: road flaggers have been controversial in massachusetts ever since the

into detail pay. >> do you hear me? reporter: eight years later, the protests have disappeared. so have the flaggers. data shows state spending more than doubled from 2011 to 2012. and then fell off in 2013 and has continued dropping to less than $1 million in 2015. costs over the same period. it decreased the following year as fire spending increased. flagger spending kept dropping. detail costs rose higher than ever to $37 million in 2015. is the program a failure? >> not at all. we can use flaggers below 45 miles per hour.

says -- hold on, says greg sullivan. >> there is a spectral interest law that trumped reform. reporter: it requires flaggers to be paid $40 an hour, not much less than officers. across the country, they are paid an average of $11 an hour. sullivan says they shod savings? >> absolutely. reporter: another explanation for the failure, lack of support for civilian flaggers. according to richard hughes, who ran a company that certified flaggers. >> police pressure continued. reporter: hughes shut down in part because of a lack of demand. >> it seems like there was a weakness of enforcement of the

reporter: does the acre administration not care about saving taxpayers money? >> again, safety is the issue. reporter: we asked the governor's office if it is missing an opportunity to save taxpayers. a spokesperson said the administration would carefully review proposals regarding the prevailing wage law. we tried to talk to largest police unions in massachusetts but never heard back. ben: great news for one of the police officers injured in a shootout in east boston. maria: wcvb newscenter 5 starts now. the stage is set for the final presidential debate. reporter: the key to victory in las vegas. maria: a major shift in a new poll in new hampshire. ben: the family of a murdered teacher suing the state.

the round of next wet weather. maria: she thought it was a bad stomach ache. wait until you hear how dad reacted to the surprise arrival. >> this is wcvb newscenter 5. ben: breaking news. boston police announcing officer richard cintolo has been discharged from mass general, telling us he is grateful for the outpouring of prayers and support. maria: were issued in a shooting last week in east boston. morris is still in hospital. let's talk politics. the clock is ticking. about three hours until the final debate. what happens in vegas definitely will not stay in vegas. a big gamble for hillary clinton and donald trump, and the stakes could not be higher. ben: ed hardy is on assignment.

donald trump in new hampshire. a granite state poll by wmur shows hillary clinton opening a 15 point lead. a majority of polls see the democrat as the candidate best equipped to deal with the economy and immigration, topics sure to come up tonight, where emily riemer is. reporter: a big night for sure, will address each other face-to-face. the stakes could not be higher. we have five things you should watch in this debate. this is donald trump and hillary clinton's last chance to connect with undecided voters. watch the tone of the debate. will they sell voters on the issues or more personal attacks? will donald trump talk about a rigged election? he has brought it up repeatedly

believe he will abide by the results. how will clinton deal with content of e-mails released by wikileaks? allegations of quid pro quo proposals. how will chris wallace keep them on task? it could be impossible. >> hillary clinton usually just has to set the bait. for her, it is a constant reassurance of which is more presidential. donald trump goes into the debate thinking he is going to lose the race, he will take hillary clinton with him. that is what i expect him to do tonight. reporter: we will have to wait and see. both candidates arrived in las vegas last night. to give you an idea of format, the debate was broken into six segments. hillary clinton will get the first question and trump will be