men made into their house and tied at a 70-year-old woman in her bedroom with dr.. -- with duct tape. police tell us they were wearing black ski masks with black clothing. the victim was able to identify that they were around 5'8" and spoke with a slight accent. they held a her neck and demand of money and the location of any safes. there are a couple parts of this investigation that we police to believe that they might be familiar with the couple. >> it's still under investigation right now. we don't believe it was random that the house was just picked out off the street. you've been there; it's a dead end street. it's a cul-de-sac in the center of town. we don't believe it was a random

public to be on the lookout for the victim's stolen car, a black 2004 cadillac with a lunar roof. the men also got away with about $1000 in cash . we did stick with some other neighbors, understandably stunned by what happened. we will hear from some of them ahead at 6:00. juli mcdonald, wcvb newscenter 5. anchor: right now a warning to parents -- a reminder why you have to check your halloween candy. a small bottle of alcohol was found in a child's trick-or-treat bag. newscenter 5's rhondella richardson is live in walpole tonight. rhondella, police want to know who handed it out. reporter: absolutely. the grandmother who found the nip in the 6-year-olds goodie bag told me the little girl visiting an area home and told

>> when you look at this its got an apple on the front, looks like juice, the child could have consume it. reporter: walpole police want to know who mixed this in with halloween candy handed out last night. police worry if other bottles are out there in trick or treat bags. >> particularly in this neighborhood around pemberton street. somewhere along the line someone had ill intent and put it in a bag in this case of a 6-year-old. most likely couldn't have opened it, but if there are more out there, older kids would have the strength to open it. reporter: police today visited walpole schools to talk about the danger and they're warning parents on social media to check the trick or treat bag again. the child who received the alcohol trick or treated around pemberton street to vane and haynes streets. she does not live here.

>> what is it someone who wants to prank all the time. reporter: they sent out a reverse 911 call. call police if you have a bottle or if you have any information. rhondella richardson, wcvb newscenter 5. anchor: temperature right now is 55 degrees, and thankfully, as we look at this dry doppler radar, there is nothing going on. but we are talking about a warm-up. a little bit of a warm-up compared to the morning, when it was so heavily frosted. 53 around the region now, which is not too bad and skies are mostly clear. the wind is coming around to the south, and that is a tipoff of mild air. tonight won't be as cold as last night. boston drops to the 40's and

the temperatures from pittsburgh. 75 to destroy, 70 -- two detroit, 76 in cincinnati. we'll be talking about how much warm air will come to us in a minute. anchor: a federal judge will now decide whether former house speaker sal dimasi should be released from prison early. his lawyers made their case today, they say it's due to his health. newscenter 5's reid lamberty was in court and joins us live from south boston. reid? l and his attorneys tell us he is caused pain and suffering and that should be the reason he gets out of jail early. the once powerful house speaker has lost almost 70 pounds since his 2011 conviction and is required to have supervision while he eats to protect him from choking to death. it's why sal dimasi's defense team, prosecutors, and the bureau of prisons are making a case for the 71-year-old's early release. >> one of the doctors who saw

with him described him as a thin and chronically ill patient. reporter: dimasi is serving an eight year federal prison sentence for corruption and has suffered from a number of medical issues, stricken twice with cancer, and now dealing the inability of swallowing solid food. but u.s. district judge mark wolf concerned that a compassionate release for dimasi could be seen as preferential treatment for the one-time influential democrat. >> he's not going to get special treatment because he was a they decided this on the merits on the basis on the medical condition and not because of who he was or who he knew. reporter: dimasi's advocates include representative michael capuano and senate president stanley rosenberg, both of whom have written letters urging his early release. dimasi's wife and children made no comment after today's hearing. >> his family wants nothing more than to have sal back with them.

on the judge will make his rolling. reareid lamberty, wcvb newscenter 5. anchor: commitment 2016. just one week to go until election day. new polls are showing the presidential race is tighter than ever. newscenter 5's mary saladna joins us with the latest. mary? reporter: nearly 26 million americans have already voted, but with the race tightening, both candidates are stumping nonstop and trying to control the conversation. 11th hour surprises have translated into tighter polls going into the final week of the election. the daily abc news/"washington post" national tracking poll now shows a mere .7% of a difference separates the two candidates, a statistical deadheat. both sides know it's now about getting out the vote. >> we are going to pull it off the market so it stops burning up our wallets. reporter: republican vp candidate mike pence took the lead while the two campaigned in pennsylvania, again calling for republicans to come home before

and we will do it and we will do it very, very quickly. it's a catastrophe. reporter: meanwhile, clinton triples down on the all-important swing state of florida. she was joined by former miss universe alicia machado, who was criticized by donald trump for gaining weight after winning her pageant title. >> i guess the bottom line is he thinks belittling women makes him a bigger, who doesn't know what that feels like. he doesn't see us as full human beings. he has shown us who he is, let us show him who we are. reporter: both candidates plane to bombard the airwaves with new tv ads in the coming days, especially in those critical must-win swing states like florida, pennsylvania, and north carolina. anchor: right now, iraqi special forces are battling their way through isis-held territory, and they're making progress.

in the city of mosul. now it's a big city. forces say they have taken the state television building amid heavy fighting. the effort is a coordinated attack from the ground and from the air but the operation is expected to last several more weeks. anchor: the driver accused of hitting a four-year-old out trick-or-treating last night in lowell has had her license revoked. police say she initially stopped, but then drove away. newscenter 5's sera congi tells us the little boy is expected to be ok. reporter: halloween candy strewn on the ground after a trick-or-treater was hit by a car. the four-year-old boy and many others going door to door on busy marshall avenue. >> i don't think they saw the kid run in front, and it went right over the kid. and because the headlights were shining forward, i could see the kid underneath the car. i saw the car go over the kid.

above his right eye. reporter: the woman behind the wheel with her toddlers of the vaccine initially stopped, but then took off. >> she had a conversation with people at the scene, saw the child in the street, got back in her car and left. reporter: a witness followed the driver and reported the plate number, who quickly tracked her down. now the 27-year-old woman is cited >> as a licensed operator you know what your responsibilities are. she knew the right thing to do was to stay. reporter: police tell us the little boy had surgery but is in stable condition. two trick-or-treaters were hit by cars in lowell last night. the other was a seven-year-old with minor injuries, but in that incident the driver stayed at the scene. sera congi, wcvb newscenter 5. anchor: winthrop police are searching for a purse snatching suspect, and want to identify

thursday. a woman robbed around 8:20 p.m. as she walked home along shirley street. the suspect is a white male wearing all black, including a black beanie hat. anchor: and taking a look at first alert traffic. you can see the zakim bridge. it's a long ride leaving the o'neill tunnel and it's also a long way to the ramp on the left. minutes upper deck to 128 -- to the split it is 32 mass ave to route three. 128 pretty much all the way down to the construction zone at route 9, from where the healthiest to be in for 95 up to 290 is about seven minutes. anchor: next on newscenter 5,

a school bus and a commuter bus to collide. the fatal accident just moments before kids were set to board. anchor: a frightening scene caught on camera, a child rides his toy car into rush hour traffic. the quick action that saved his life. anchor: this little girl is trick-or-treating on a plane. new at 5:30, the great lengths her dad went to make sure she

interviewer: what would stop you from voting this november? woman 1: working late. man 1: lines -- i hate long lines. woman 2: no babysitter. william f. galvin: for the first time ever we have early voting. if you're registered, you can vote any day between october 24th and november 4th. avoid election day lines -- man 1: wow, that helps! william f galvin: early voting is easy voting. interviewer: so what do you think? woman 2: it' a timesaver. i love it. william f. galvin: it's easier than ever for you to vote.

anchor: an awful story out of baltimore tonight, six people killed after a school bus and a commuter bus collide. luckily there were no students on board the school bus at the time of the crash. images from above show the impact of the powerful collision between the buses this morning. you can see the front part of the school bus smashing the side of a commuter bus. the front of the yellow bus crumpled. the drivers side of the other bus ripped off, debris spilled down onto the road. >> it literally looks like a bomb exploded, catastrophic

his home when he heard helicopter come out. >> it was hard to look at, it was hard to look at. seeing people removed -- it's a mangled mess. anchor: police say at first struck a car, continued eastbound, then hit a pillar outside the cemetery. then it went into oncoming traffic and slammed into the other bus. >> there aren't any skidmarks so something catastrophic to life and it is something we are continuing to investigate. anch onboard. at least six people died, including the school bus driver. police say those who survived suffered what they called significant injuries. ntsb investigators are now in baltimore investigating the crash. anchor: a man killed in a home explosion in maine, intentionally set it off himself according to the state fire marshal's office. it happened at about 1:30 this morning in saco. investigators believe 71-year-old stephen laughton doused the inside and outside of his home with gasoline before setting the fire that caused the explosion. investigators say no one else

anchor: it's a rush hour ride that miraculously ended safely. take a look. this is china where a little boy took his toy car for a spin in the middle of rush hour. drivers managed to steer around the little guy, but it was close. a police officer eventually comes to the rescue. he scoops up the child, and his ride, and gets them to a safe spot. a few minutes later he's back with mom, who's probably going to revoke his driving privileges for a bit. anchor: the manatee rescued off the coast of cape cod is now back in the wild in florida. the manatee, named washburn after an island in nantucket sound, was released today by a team from seaworld orlando. washburn is pregnant, because of this successful release she will be able to have her baby in the wild, in about five to six months. anchor: glad it worked out well. anchor: that or she should be.

it's between one to seven degrees milder now then a few days ago but you and i will be doing a in again. but boy, we were all shivering this morning. it was frosty out there, well below freezing in many cases degrees. it was 23 degrees in norwood and about 27 on the vineyard. it was respectable that we moved up into the 50's after starting so cold. in boston tonight won't be as cold. 50 degrees, but you can see a light southerly breeze has developed inland which will prevent the temperatures from

or so and myth or even boston. the skies are mainly clear but there is a fair amount of cloudiness to the west side tomorrow won't have as much sun is today. the trade-off is the temperatures because it is so mild, from pittsburgh to detroit, chicago, cincinnati. we won't be that warm but spots could get close to her touch 70 degrees. everybody getting into the 60's, not super windy. the recent changes coming on thursday, mainly affronted making an approach with an area of low pressure heading across the region.

like the southern part of our area could get a quick downpour. there you are tomorrow with some clouds, a mild day, really going to be able to enjoy that. the wind may become like to have easterly, so along the coast tomorrow will be the warmer of the two days when they could be fairly similar. we could have more in the way of cloudiness thursday and there could be some showers to the north of us but eveua get in early thursday evening. it will introduce blustery and chillier weather. so there you have it, 67 average tomorrow, 60 on thursday, some areas in the 60's along the water in the upper 50's to around 60. only about 49 on friday, a

shower as the chilly air comes in that water rates early next week. the wind gusts on friday -- they will be very busy with many gust between 20 and 30 miles per hour. that water rates early next and this is also the weekend where we will be changing -- that means late saturday night before you go to sleep. things because it will be changing automatically. the sunrise gets better for a while starting sunday morning but it looks like a dry weekend for the most part. anchor: a couple years back they changed the lights on the empire state building and they are putting it to good use. this was last night. new york's iconic skyscraper was illuminated in a pumpkin-like orange glow, then every 15

light show. ever since 1976, the building has changed the colors of the lights around the top floors to celebrate special occasions. anchor: it's like the eiffel tower. next in your health, controlling asthma in kids. steps can be taken to avoid attacks. the advice from doctors tonight. cool painful cramps. new at 5:30, why a harvard scientist and a nobel prize winner say their recipe works. anchor: thousands of toys meant for military families destroyed in fires.

and we took it for granted that our kids would go to great public schools. but some kids aren't so lucky. where they live, they don't go to a great school, and they have no choice. imagine if your kids were trapped in a failing school. public charter schools give parents a choice and are a pathway to success for these kids. if you like your school, question 2 won't affect you. but question 2 will change the future for thousands of kids who need your help. please join me and

om and i but you know what -. she could still learn a few things from me - just like i've learned a lot from her. mom helps with homework... she helped dad start his business... and she even fought to put bad guys in jail. now, mom helps make laws that help people - especially when they need it most. i'm really proud of her. and she's taught me that with hard work - i can do... anything. kelly: i'm kelly ayotte, kate: and i'm kate. kelly & kate: and we approved

anchor: checking your health, a new waing about indoor air ality for kids with asthma. the american academy of pediatrics warn kids are more vulnerable to pollutants and allergens as their airways develop. doctors say reducing exposure to things like second-hand smoke, dust mites, and furry pets car be as effective as medications to control symptoms. doctors also say the exposure is linked to more severe asthma. google is adding a little harry potter magic to android phones. you can outcast a few spells after saying "ok google," turning the flashlight on and off by saying lumos and nox. you can also turn off your ringer by saying silencio. this is all part of the run up to the latest potter movie.

last night, but it's already -- starbucks is getting into the holiday spirit. baristas are now serving up the chain's holiday beverages, but in these green cups, not the iconic red ones. the cups feature an illustration with the faces of more than a hundred people, drawn with a single continuous line. you'll remember last year the red cups were plain for the first time, causing outrage criticized for lacking holiday spirit. rumor is red cups will return later this month. dunkin' donuts also releasing its holiday menu. this year, it features this, the turkey feast sandwich. all the fixins -- stuffing, cranberry sauce, and turkey on a ciabatta roll. the new addition only available at dunks in new england for a limited time. holiday themed macchiatos,

anchor: i can't believe we are talking about the color of cups. do you really care? next on newscenter 5 at 5:30, the new concern in new hampshire's opioid crisis. the alert going out from police to doctors across the state. anchor: and we take you to groton for this week's a-plus. the outstandingh

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>> from boston's news leader, this is wcvb newscenter 5 at five 130. anchor: arrests made at 1 ashburton state. people at the building. some of them are inside right now -- they say they are trying to call attention to the need for more funding for the disabled. anchor: sterling police looking for men who tied up a seven-year-old woman inside her home. the suspects got away with $1000 and the car. the suspects are still on the run. the victim was tied up with duct tape and threatened with a

will be much warmer. anchor: i like that. meteorologist: i think everybody does. most everybody. it was cold enough early this morning for all of us that were early risers. we made a respectable come back and are generally averaging the low 50's with the southerly wind. so while boston got down to 34 last night it will be no lower than the 40's tonight the cool spots may edge into the upper 30's. norwood was 23 early this morning. look how warm it is from pittsburgh to st. louis. details are coming up. anchor: health concerns in new hampshire tonight after four cases of an invasive strep infection are found in i.v. drug users. the cluster discovered in the past 10 days. anchor: new at 5:30, our ed harding is here with the steps being taken to stop the spread