this point. bviously people need to draw their own conclusions. >> reporter: school officials say by tuesday they received anonymous information on their bullying tip line and that led to today's decision suspending all varsity football activities through the weekend including forfeiting friday night's game against gloucester. >> sad to see that sports will be taken away due to this. that affects the children's life also. >> reporter: police working for the district attorney's office before determining any students will face criminal charges here and at the very least they hope all this is used as an educational tool for students. >> when these incidents occur, yes, it's poor choices that are made but are also lessons learned. and we need to make sure that in today's world we've learned these lessons. >> so the police chief basically telling us late today that they're taking this

investigation step by step, working hand in hand with the district attorney's office tonight, as for when, the suspended activities from the football team will resume while the superintendent of school says that's all up in the air right now as this investigation with the police continues tonight. we're live in winthrop, steve cooper, 7news. and we have the latest on a developing story we've been following. the u.s. coast guard announcing it will suspend its search for the missing crew of the el faro at sunset tonight. elizabeth noreika is here with what else investigators are saying. >> despite the coast guard's announcements, families are still holding out hope that their loved ones will be found alive. the national transportation safety board is leading the investigation into the ship's sinking. crews will now specifically be looking for the ship's recorder, i would have both audio recordings and basic navigation information such as course and speed. two men from massachusetts were among the 33 people on that ship. family and friends are hoping

jeffrey mathias are still alive. the coast guard says they've done all they can to find survivors. >> i know that the coast guard, along with our brother in the navy and air force as well as the commercial tugs that were out there helping us search did all they could in this search effort. they did all they could. >> we know that there are reports that this vessel has sunk in deep water. there are rovs remotely operated vehicles that are capable of being operated down to these deaths. so far search crews have only found one body in a survival suit. then again the coast guard will be stopping their search for survivors within the next few hours. in the wroal controlroom, elizabeth noreika, 7news. also on 7, a teenager accused in the brutal murder of his math teacher at danvers high school going on trial. jury selection getting underway today. chism was 14 years old at the time of the murder. he is being tried as an adult. jonathan hall was there today and has more on the defense

strategy. >> this murder really shook the northshore to the core when it happened in 2013. now the trial's officially underway, but the widdling-down process called jury selection could be lengthy. >> reporter: it may take more than a week to find the jury to hear the phillip chism murder case. he was only 14 when he allegedly attacked his math teacher colleen ritzer two years ago. the state claims he followed ritzer into a bathroom slashed her throat and used a recycling bin to wheel her body into some woods nearby. investigators say the boy raped her twice and say his dna was found at the crime scene. the judge questioned 115 perspective jurors and excused 56 because of personal issues or because they knew some were on the witness list. the remaining 59 will return to court in the morning for follow-up questions by the lawyers. it's called voir dire. more than three dozen students at danvers high are on the witness list, plus the school's principal. about a dozen other faculty and staff members and an array of

local and state police officers will testify, as well. ritzer's parents also expected to take the stand. public defender denise reagan refused comment as she left superior court. she is likely to use an insanity defense. >> any comment on the trial? >> chism's family, including his mother who's ducking down here, will, attending the trial. >> the process continues at 9:00 a.m. and due to a state superior court decision if convicted, chism will be eligible for parole. in salem, i'm jonathan hall, 7news. a stoughton man is in federal custody accused causing a serious scare at schools in four states. investigators say anthony rice september bomb threats to schools in massachusetts, rhode island, illinois, and north carolina. ray was first arrested in june when police say he set bomb throats schools in norwood. he now faces federal charges accused of sending more threats after the june arrest while under house-arrest. to the patriots gearing up

for a sunday showdown with the cowboys. >> thanks guy. >> he made it clear that's all the qb wants to focus on. the qb bringing his conference to an abrupt end after asked about trash talk by dallas cowboys defensive end. hey, ryan. a lot of guys will tell you that wives and family members are off limits for trash-talk and gearly guardee didn't get that message. >> i really don't care about his personal feelings. >> reporter: tom brady taking the high road when asked if greg harvey's comment beside his wife gisele ticked him off. he only said he's concerned about grarvey's football ability. >> i played him a few years ago and he's a really dynamic player. and there's some good defense. i'm sure having the two guys will help them a lot.

>> reporter: harvey will play the pats this weekend after being suspended four games due to a domestic violence incident harvey chose to share his excitement returning to the game this week saying i love seeing have you seen his wife? i hope she comes to the game. i hope her sister comes to the game. all her friends come to the game. >> i personally believe there are lines that you cross and don't cross, and that just comes down to personal respect, but, you know, everybody's different and, you know, like i say, we always just focus on what's going on in the building. >> reporter: the patriots are better than anyone at doing just that, especially brady, who won't let anyone get in his head. >> reporter: brady was at the podium today for less than 5 minutes, walked off saying i'm done, i have work to do but only our guess if brady's extra motivated this week because of harvey's comments. alex corddry, 7news.

now on just one station, a truck goes on a roll when it loses its brakes, came barreling down a hill isn't that correct everything in its path. police say they're shocked that nobody was killed giving the serious nature of the crash and the trail of damage left behind. 7's nicole oliverio with a closer look at what happened there. >> reporter: a three-car crash with a lot of damage. no one is hurt, and no one was behind the wheel. that car was facing my driveway and i was facing the wall. >> reporter: the truck scaled down the road in dorchester, hit a utility pole, smashed into two cars and took out a street light before stopping inches from crossing into busy washington street. >> when i came out, he was like, where's my car? and look over there and just saw my car over there. >> reporter: jim just finished his radio show in a soundproof booth so had no idea what happened. his car, one of the ones

damaged, had to be towed away. >> it's crazy. it's crazy. really crazy. >> reporter: boston police say the flat bed carrying scrap metal and appliances was parked along the street. the driver got out to collect more items when the brakes gave way. the truck began rolling down the street with inning inside. somehow on its own, the truck veered right toward the lot and not straight down the street into traffic or the homes or gas station just feet away. >> that's what i was scared of. when i saw it underneath, that i said, that's what savedded it from going into the gas station, which i'm grateful for. >> i know this area is a busy area, you know. and thank god ain't nothing happen or kids waiting for the school bus every morning. so thank god nothing happened. >> you can see the damage to the utility pole and some of the debris still on the ground here. boston police say this driver most likely won't face any charges and it's because he wasn't actually behind the wheel. in dorchester, nicole oliverio, 7news. a little girl is laid to

unresponsive in a worcester apartment. funeral for 2-year-old gigi brown was held in oxford. the investigators say the apartment in which she was living had electrical problems and a bug infestation, but still no one knows why she died. according to her family, the toddler wasn't breathing when her brother went to wake her up late last month. she was pronounced dead at the hospital, and as i said, cause of death still unknown. investigators are waiting for both autopsy and toxicology results. now to the fight against isis. authorities working with the fbi are arresting suspects and gangs that are accused of black market dealing and smuggling nuclear materials eventual eastern europe. the associated press says the gang's intent is to connect with isis and other terrorist groups. over the last five years, fbi has interrupted four instances in eastern europe where the gangs tried selling radioactive bombing material. president barak obama saying the bombing of the hospital in afghanistan was a mistake. he says he spoke with the

president of doctors without borders, the group that was running the hospital. 23 people were killed in that attack. president barak obama promised the current investigation will provide transparency. now to south carolina where more dams are in jeopardy of failing as they begin to reach their limits from the massive flooding there. the clean-up continues in all those areas where flooding has just devastated entire neighborhoods with families rushing to save anything they can after that intense rain caused cat strophic flooding. and even though they haven't had rain in two days, authorities are still warning people to get ready for more trouble if rivers overflow. 13 dams have failed so far, and crews are working around the clock to try patch the other 62 in jeopardy right now. they're stacking sandbags to block holes and 19 people have died from this flooding with thousands still being evacuated. all right, now to voice your choice coverage. a new ad with a simple message

joe, run. >> a super pack released the ad urging joe biden to run for president this morning. the 90 second spot uses audio clips of biden talking about his family and ends with a message for him to run. the vice-president has not announced if he will enter the 2016 race. on the republican side, jeb bush's allies are also putting more ads on the airwaves. bush's campaign and a super pack supporting the republican hopeful are spending almost $2 million this week in iowa, new hampshire and states. it's much more than bush's rivals are spending. a vatican spokesman announcing the catholic church needs embrace reacialght on the issues of marriage and family. bishops are meeting in vatican city for a three weeks now to debate controversial family issues. the bishops are deciding how the church should welcome gay people, divorceies and other catholics in what they caller regular unions. spokesperson made those comments after just day 2. >> the jubilee of mercy requires

particular in speaking about homosexuals or gay persons we do not pity gay persons, but we recognize them for who they are, they are our sons and daughters and brothers and sisters and neighbors and colleagues. >> and pope francis has told the bishops that the catholic doctrine on marriage has not been touched. still to come, a long road to recovery. >> a little bo walking out of a local hospital after spending more than a year battling a rare illness. what he cannot wait to do. and then at 5:30, a new hampshire city council candidate accused of crossing the line when he saw a dog using his backyard as a bathroom. the charges he's now facing. a priest accused of pointing a we at am little boy due to a sports rivalry and what he's saying about that. and why one local man says his close encount -- close encounter with a shark was divine intervention.

and these guys are apparently interested in showing off some of their dance moves.

a boy had a rare autoimmune response to a scriers it left him unable to move. >> he spent weeks in intensive care and had to build up his muscles to learn to walk again. his road recovery has not been easy but doctors are calling it remarkable. >> ready to go. >> reporter: just days away from his fourth birthday, christian carruso is getting the gift he's been waiting for. he's going home, christian has spent the last 13 months at fransiscan's children's hospital recovering from severe lesions in his spinal cord. doctors believe it could have been from a rare virus. >> when christian came to us from another hospital, he really couldn't do much of anything. he couldn't breathe or heat or talk. >> reporter: his family credits the amazing medical team who helped him get back on his feet and breathe on his own. >> everybody has been incredible. it hasn't been an easy journey that's for sure and they put up with this and helped us through. we're getting our little boy back. >> reporter: his doctors impressed with his determination.

he is likely to continue to improve . his improvement has been slow but steady. >> reporter: today his dad explained how he got a little help from superheros. >> we always wanted christian to know that we were a team and going through this together, so we had different shirts for different days of the week, so we had flash mondays, superman tuesdays, spider-man wednesdays, we had batman fridays, captain america sundays. unless the patriots were playing. >> reporter: even his doctors got into dressing up to see him. but as much as he loves superheros and the patriots, there was something else he couldn't wait to do. >> what's the first thing you're going to do when you get home. >> i'm going to play with my toy fire truck. >> the one thing he wants for his birthday, a cake. mom and dad says that should not a problem. doctors say they are convinced from the way he is progressing, he will make a full recovery, which is amazing. i hope so. next on 7, jay leno returns to

fallon isn't going anywhere. >> our forecast looks great. just a few showers on friday. we'll take a look at that and a nice weekend coming up. >> then at 5:30, a flu shot scare after a nurse refuses the same syringe.

if you work hard, and you do your part, you should be able to get ahead and stay ahead. but the republicans... v they want to go

back to letting v the super wealthy call the shots. they don't stand up for equal pay for women. they don't support paid family leave. they don't even really support refinancing student debt. we've got to get this economy working for the vast majority of americans, not just for those at the top. that's what i intend to do as president. i'm hillary clinton and i approve this message. does this $20 family fill up meal have eight pieces of original recipe chicken? yes. [ding] two large mashed potatoes and gravy? yes. [ding] and are you the real colonel sanders? yes... [buzzing]

. >> check out this masterpiece. that is david ortiz made out of legos. local artist enlisted 100 students at andover elementary school and they all completed the work of art, each student adding a few parts of the project and now it will get hung up at the elementary school. >> looking cool. >> i wonder if they picked up any tips from the lego museum. >> exactly. so pete we're here asking about weather. can i just say this was the most gorgeous day. agree or -- how would you rate it? >> i'd give it a 10 for october standards, absolutely. absolutely. 71 still outside right now, dewpoint reading about 49. west wind at 6 miles per hour. i was wondering how you're gonna take it. sometimes you know the take is -- it was good, sometimes it wasn't. it's a difficult thing when you get into october, everybody wants something different,

everybody wants their pumpkin spice and that cold weather and then have you those folks that want to hold on to the warpt, anyway, we're cooling off, a super weekend in store as the temperatures start cool and finish warm. another warm-up, which incidentally starts on sunday and goes into next week, too. so we're not quite done with these 70s. hold your horse there is. about 70 degrees right now in nashua and 70 in norwood. mellow warmth last into the evening hours. once that sun goes down, it's gonna cool off. the front now crossing through the canal and pushing out through the cape. that's the cool front. behind that a caboose of clouds coming through upstate new york, might see these sink down. i don't think this will be much of a big deal right now, the hilly terrain of the upstate new york and the adirondacks are holding that together but once it descends into western mass a lot of that will melt away. nonetheless it will be a cool night tonight and a cooler day top. about 60 degrees right along the water's edge. cape ann through boston, down through the southshore.

route 1, route 3, and then we still make it almost mid-60s, mid would be pushing it, i think, through framingham. it's the higher elevations that are cool and also the coast line that's cool, elsewhere we still managed to make it into the low 60s. there will be a breeze out of the northeast, too. then friday we turn the page, start a little bit of a warm-up here where we close in on the upper 60s. 70 might be pushing it. the shower activity will be coming in, as well, it remains to be seen how much rain we get. i think a lot of it will be across northern new england, just a couple of scattered showers pushing through here. might get a downpour into the evening on friday as a front crosss and brings in a new batch of cool air for the weekend. this does not look like a big soaking for us in southern new england. by the way, the foliage has been updated now. we see peak colors coming into at least montreal, quebec and also northern-most maine. elsewhere moderate colors across the green mountains and white mountains and then have you low color now getting closer to the canal. typically we'd be close to peak right now across central new

england in parts of central maine, the lakes region of new hampshire, maine and back into the berkshires, but we're about a week late hurry up, leaves. clear skies, 48 to 61. although if you booked reservations and hotels and everything and think i missed it by a week, are you golden this year. cool skies, 59 to 64. there's why you are 7 on 7 forecast. great weekend to apple pick. i think we're transitioning out of the max now and going into the colder apples. weather, in the 70s. see you at 5:30. thank you, pete. jay leno making his first return to the tonight show. >> leno wasting no time starting by taking shots at presidential candidates. >> how's that last debate marco rube oh being called the best communicator in the republican party, which is kind of like

that show debuts tonight on cnbc. 7 nbc caps off a big night of tv starting with the mysteries of laura at 8:00 "law & order: svu" today's stories with the nightteam right here at 11:00. still ahead on 7 this evening, a police chase down under goes underwith water. what happens to that driver? >> then when a family claims their toddler was exposed to e. coli at a petting zoo that led to his tragic death. and new at 6:00, a change coming for commuters. what you need to know if you

all right. we made it to wednesday. feels good. >> i thought it was thursday. >> i wish it was. >> another hour of 7news straight ahead. i'm ryan schulteis. >> 7news at 5:30 start right now. >> reporter: first at 5:30, a well-known businessman in new hampshire arrested for animal cruelty. the political campaign that could now be in jeopardy. >> deadly equities exposure in maine. what one mother says killed her son after visiting a petting zoo. >> and then a church crisis. a priest in trouble with the law after allegedly pointing a gun at an 8-year-old boy. and dozens of patients now at risk after a nurse use as flu shot syringe repeatedly. a candidate for city council in keene new hampshire is arrested for animal cruelty. police say the man kicked a dog while using the bathroom in his yard neap say he kibed it so hard the dog died. >> kelli o'hara has the very

latest. reporter: forilly and his