weren'ture if that s a controlled explosion or not. but that is, as cheryl is letting us know, part of the protocol. and part of the process in this. now we can tell you that people are now around that device right now without any of that armored protection on. all right. it is 12:00. and if you are just joining us right now, we continue to follow breaking news out of boston. a frightening scene right there. you see the suspicious package. it was a controlled explosion. this happened live on television. moments ago. it was a controlled explosion, though, of a suspicious suitcase that was on the rose kennedy greenway. officials blew it up: and cheryl fiandaca did confirm to us, though, which we didn't know officially at the time, that it was a controlled explosion. we start off with this breaking news. police say that suitcase was placed behind a vehicle which is marked by homeland security. important to note there.

avenue is shut down. there are plenty of road closures as officials deal with the situation. jonathan hall is live on the scene with the very latest right now. >> reporter: it was jarring. a large explosion here in downtown boston, as the bomb squad does a controlled explosion of a possible ied. we don't know what it was. certainly, it was a suspicious package that was placed behind that vehicle down there. there is a homeland security vehicle parked adjacent to the u.s. coast guard headquarters flat-bed truck behind it. directly behind that particular s.u.v. was where somebody placed a suitcase or package, and it caused suspicion. the bomb squad was called in. s a robot used an arm to bring this package across atlantic avenue to the rose kennedy greenway. package into a wooded area where they did that controlled explosion about ten minutes ago. now the technicians will go

wreckage of that suitcase and try to figure out whether wires inside could have been something innocent or something more sinner the. right now we are seeing boston e.m.s. and fire trucks clearing the scene as the danger has passed. the police commissioner william evans is here. he has been walking up and down atlantic avenue at seaport, not far from james hook lobster company, a big landmark down here. he is about to come over here to give us an update on just what happened. but he is conferring now with his top lieutenants as he tries to figure out what's going on here in downtown boston with this suspicious package. it was just blown up minutes ago. heavily armed police have been on scene here as well. they continue to keep the streets closed at seaport and atlantic avenue. we are live from boston, i'm jonathan hall, 7 news. >> you see the police commissioner william evans walking around along with plenty of other officers. obviously, a lot of questions to be answered.

on the phone with what she knows. >> reporter: right. at this point, we know that a man walked up to that s.u.v., left a package there and walked away quickly. that, of course, raised some concern and suspicion. that is when they brought in the bomb squad. the package was... the package looked to have a power source and some wires in it. we don't know whether or not that is an actual device or a hoax or whether this is a real explosive device or a concern. out of an abundance of caution, they blew that up. at this point, they detonated. it was a controlled detonation. now they are looking at what was left from that: they they will take a look at whether or not this was something real or whether this was nothing at all, actually. that is what they are looking at right now. they do that pretty quickly. the bomb squad is very, very well-versed in all of this. they know exactly what they need to do to determine

something serious. now, they also have a picture, a surveillance photo of the man seen walking away from the package. that's the photo being passed around to law enforcement now. they are looking to identify this person. the person is not wanted for anything. he is not wanted for anything. but they are looking to talk once they determine what the package is, and who this person is, if they are able to find him, and they do have a good surveillance picture of him, they will be able to know a lot more. but this is a controlled detonation, and at this point, the area, i'm told, appears to be safe. >> cheryl, we had that picture. police have that picture. we don't have it into the newsroom yet. have you seen it? do you know anything else about the description of the man? >> i have seen it. it is a white male. he is seen walk away from the area. it appears that they want to speak to this person to find out what he was doing there. why he left the package. package. what his motives may have

whether he has any type of mental illness. who knows what this is at this point? i mean, all of us are speculating. we don't know. we do know this appears to be suspicious. his activity appears to be. the bomb squad thought this was concerning enough that they needed to detonate it. so all of that, those are the facts. and then beyond that, we will hear from the police in terms of what they believed may have been in this package. if anything. and where they are in trying to find the person that may have left it. >> nancy: it is common practice to have this kind of inspection, this kind of controlled inspection. we take a live look right now. to put this in perspective. there is a lot of office buildings. a lot of people nearby. this is also near, as we mentioned, the coast guard headquarters. and the homeland security s.u.v. that was parked nearby which is one reason why people are so concerned right now.

plenty of office buildings and a lot of people working right now, noontime on a friday. very busy there. and so a lot of road closures people. and our traffic reporter is standing by right now with more information. oh, i'm sorry. we will go to danielle in a little bit. but first, let's talk more to that is going on right now. and cheryl, as you mentioned, have you heard anything about people evacuating that area? does the threat seem to be over at this point now that that controlled explosion has happened? >> right. i don't believe there are any evacuations at this point. i mean, once they do the render the area safe. that is what they are doing . >> this morning, we received a call from the department of homeland security about a package, a suitcase left unattended over here at seaport boulevard and atlantic

the officer... the department of homeland security discovered it with his k-9 dog on routine patrol. due to the suspicious nature of the suitcase left so close to the homeland security looked at the video. and a white male approximately 40-ish with a green coat was seen leaving the suitcase and going across atlantic avenue on to high street. due to the suspicious nature of leaving the suitcase, they called the boston police department, our offices and eod, tactical units responded. the explosive unit at that point, brought in an x-ray machine where they x-rayed the suitcase. inside the suitcase, they saw wires and a power source which drew their attention. due to the nature of that,

back and then working together with other agencies, they did what is called a controlled detonation of the suitcase and found inside that suitcase, items. we don't believe this was anything of a nature that would lead us to believe there was anything regarding explosives. but out of abundance of caution, we went about as if it was at this time. you know, we had to shut down the area. we did a controlled detonation. i think that's the boom you all heard. but there is nothing to lead us at this time, to believe that there was any explosives inside that suitcase. >> were there wires attached? >> again, there were some cable wires. some additional power source in there. >> what does that mean? >> it could be a walkman. it could be a phone.

are going to still investigate what's in there. you know, at this time, we are going to start reopening the area. as you know, given what's going on, unfortunately, around the country, better safe than sorry. explosive units and all the officers did a great job, and you know, at this time, we are thankful that there is nothing more at this time. >> reporter: commissioner, given that this is adjacent to coast guard headquarters, is there a federal element here will atf be involved? >> well, homeland security will be involved. it is their billing, their vehicle. again, we torkd together. i was in contact with the f.b.i. i was in contact with the state, dan bennett, the governor, the mayor, to keep them up to date on what we have. >> are you looking for the man who brought the suitcase? >> yeah, we are. we have a good photo of him. we are looking to see possibly why he left the suitcase and why he apeerld to be in a hurry, scurrying up high street.

looked like? how he was dressed? >> from what i have seen, he was a white male about 40 with a green coat and dungarees on. you know, we can get out a better description. you know, if we think it's needed, we will get a picture out to the media. >> you said he was in a hurry. was there any more suspicious behavior? >> yeah. basically, you know, the camera has him dropping it by the rear of a homeland security vehicle, and basically, then walking off quickly across atlantic avenue up towards high street. >> in your expert opinion, would you characterize that as suspicious. >> yes. that is why we went to the extent that we did. you know, unfortunately, now people leave suitcases, they leave back-packs. given what's gone on across the country , given homeland security and the nexus of

seeing some components inside, we neutralized it out of caution. that is why we had to go to the extent, shuing down the street. >> reporter: are people safe right now? again, there is no threats to the city. but you know, we are working closely, as you can see here, with our federal partners, with our state partners. and you know, again, unfortunately, it is a crazy world we are living in. that is why we tell people, if they see something, say something. that is prime example of why we need people to, you know, call if they see something that is not normal behavior. a homeland security officer doing his patrols happened to see it. and again, due to its proximity to the vehicle and to the building, and the behavior... they are looking at the video. that is why we went in and did what we did. well, someone was seen basically, leaving it there

pace. >> did the dog hit on the bag? you mentioned he was with the dog doing patrols. >> you know, i'm not really sure what the dog's behavior was. you know, it could have been a patrol dog. i'm not sure as far as whether the dog hit on it. >> can you describe where this is? >> well, again, it was by the rear of the homeland security vehicle which was right next to that area. our suspicion was drawn to it because of where it was left. and the manner, the pace of the person who left it. >> you said the man hurried >> no. it looked like he left it there more on purpose and just walked quickly up high street. >> again, that is why we went

>> reporter: one of these roll-away suitcases? >> i didn't get a good look at it. you know, again, everyone's suspicion is up when we behavior like this and we have packages left. at the location this one was, that is why we shut down the area. we went through the exercise. we neutralizeed it. we made it safe. now we are going to move quickly to open up the streets again. i want to thank the public's help on this one. and i apologize for any inconvenience that we might have caused. but again, better safe than sorry. thank you. >> reporter: all right. >> nancy: the big take-away is police are saying that people in the city and that area are safe. there are no threats to the city. if you are in that area. obviously, this has created quite a headache for people in the area with the road closures. as we heard the politician commissioner mention, william evans mentioned they are reopening the streets. the traffic reporter with an

there. >> quite a mess out there. the zakim bridge, crawling. the leverett connector g getting on to storrow drive also crawling. now even the pike eastbound starting to back up right now. as well. the ramp is closed in boston. definitely. you are crawling on 93 southbound. back to you guys. ma'am. thank you. things reason clearing up in the next couple of minutes. as police reopen the streets. right now you are taking a financial area. the seaport district. the rose kennedy greenway, to be exact. if you look right there, again, the police commissioner just giving an update saying people are safe. there are no threats to the city. but they are looking for a man

in a green coat. he left this suitcase near an s.u.v. that belonged to homeland security. and right here, you are ago. about... 15-20 minutes ago. a controlled explosion. after the bomb squad removed this suspicious package. a suitcase and took it into this wooded area to detonate it. out of an abundance of caution. though, there were wires and personal items inside the suit case that they discovered after an s.u.v., not related to any explosives inside the suitcase. nevertheless, this is the especially with the events of the past month or so. you have to be better safe than sorry. >> that is exactly what the commissioner just said. speaking to the public and speaking to reporters there on the scene. relieving them of any concern, knowing that that is, in fact, a controlled burn that we just saw a few minutes... another note, the commissioner gave us

about how this all started. now. this is the man that police say they are looking for. this is the man the commissioner just came out and said was seen leaving this brief case-type device out in front of that homeland security s.u.v. and the commissioner said that can't make it out on the a green coat. a man in his 40's. he was seen dropping that briefcase, device or whatever it was outside that s.u.v. f and then walking quickly away as the commissioner put it. up high street. off atlantic avenue. now, we have cheryl fiandaca standing by with more information. >> reporter: a white male. there is the photo right there. wearing a green jacket. probably in his 40's. walking quickly away.

homeland security van. and walking away quickly. attention. obviously, leaving a package and walking away quickly is a concern anywhere. homeland security van. at that point, out of caution, you heard him say they shut down the area. brought in the bomb squad. when they did bring in the suitcase. when they looked in the source and some wires. now, that obviously, doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bomb or any kind of device. but it is a concern. because of everything that's going on in the world in here in this country. they took every precaution possible there. this was a controlled detonation. by the bomb squad. to make sure that whatever was in there was neutralized. that is what they do. now they looked at it, obviously. you could see they went over to it. people walked over to it. the area has been rendered safe. at this point now, police know there were no explosives in the package. they did have some wires and

device in there. but as the commissioner said, it could have just been an ipod or a walkman. could have been anything at all. they said it was not explosive. that is an important point. they still want to talk to the person who left that package and then walked away so quickly, to find out exactly what was goig on and why he may have done. this that is why they are releasing that picture. that picture is only for identification. at this point, he is not wanted for anything. because ofing of course, this was not any type of explosive device. they are looking for the man in the photo that we showed you there. he is wearing a green jacket. looks to be in his 40's. fast white male. he left that suitcase near the homeland security van. he walked away. they said he walked close to the financial district. they are looking for anybody that might be able to identify him. they are looking to talk to him to find out why he may have done this and what this was all about. but again, this is done autoof caution.

turned out to be nothing. in this day and age, you heard the commissioner say, they can't take any chances. >> jadiann: that's right. you look at that picture right now. we can make out the man that police say left this package. jonathan hall asked if the people were safe. the people are safe right now. but they are actively looking for this man. they want to know what his intentions were. why he left that briefcase there behind that homeland security s.u.v. they want to know what exactly was inside of it as they continue to investigate after that controlled explosion that they did there. the commissioner saying that this man, he believes is in his 40's. wearing a green coat. and this all happening in the area of atlantic avenue. the commissioner said that, cheryl, he took off up high street at a rapid pace. implying he was walking quickly, if he was literally running. how far away he could be at this point. >> reporter: you know, they just want to talk to him.

clear in the bulletin that he is not wanted. they do want to talk to him. if there is not a warrant out for him or anything like that, he is wanted for identification to determine why he may have done this. now, he is seen walking away quickly after placing something of concern. something what they believe to be suspicious near a homeland security van. taking no chances, and you know, when they bring in the x-ray and the x-ray shows that there are wires in there and there is some sort of a remote or some type of control device in the package, you can't take any chances. that is why they did that controlled detonation. and rendered the package and the area safe. the commissioner was clear to say that. he was going to reopen the area to traffic. at this point, they have examined the package and determined that they did not find any explosives or any type of explosionich device in the package. just some wires and what appeared to be some type of a control. now that they know all of that, the next step for them is to try to find this man who left it and figure out wile he

the purpose of this was. >> nancy: thank you so much for bringing in some of the expert advice from your sources. and the scene still very active. so be advised, if you are planning to be in that area, to the best of our knowledge, atlantic avenue still shut down there. this is a busy time of day for people in the area. the commissioner apologizing for everyone's inconvenience. of course, this is out of an abundance of safety for the people of boston right now. the traffic is opening up a little bit there. the road continues to open up. there are still going to be a lot of delays because of the traffic. also breaking here. investigators now reporting the female shooter in the california shooting tashfeen malik pledged allegiance to the isis leader on facebook. this is major news here. this comes after a u.s. intelligence official says her husband, syed farook contacted

f.b.i. scrutiny. >> nancy: their behave could indicate the motive behind the massacre that killed 14 people, injured 21 others and jay gray is in san bernardino with more details on the story. a stunning discovery in the case this morning. nbc news has learned tashfeen malik pledged allegiance to the leader of isis in a facebook post just before she and her husband syed farook allegedly killed 14 and wounded more than 20 during an attack at the inland regional center wednesday: >> this took days, weeks, if not months to plan out. there is nothing impulsive about this shooting at all. >> reporter: investigators going over evidence pulled from the couple's home. according to officials, there is evidence that farook had been talking with people in the u.s. and overseas during the past year who showed an interest in radical jihad. nbc news has learned the couple tried to cover their digital footprint. destroying computer hard drives and cell phones prior to carrying out the mass

and as investigators tried to understand why, so does farook's family. his brother-in-law sat down overnight with nbc's lester holt. >> did somebody brain-wash him? something snap him? >> reporter: why would the couple choose to carry out this attack and leave behind their six-month-old daughter? questions and grief that still fill this tight-knit community. jay gray, nbc news, san bernardino, california. >> nancy: obviously, a lot of nude to get to.

>> nancy: welcome back, everyone. almost 12:30 right now. the weather is a big topic today also.

looks nice out there. >> jeremy: yes. straight forward. a message loaded with sunshine. fantastic weather through the day. temperatures, middle and upper 40's. sunshine continues over the weekend. we have a warping trend coming at us with temperatures this weekend headed into the 50's. right now, 46 in the city. bedford, 46. fitchburg, 45. some leftover wind from yesterday. not as feisty or as strong as what we saw yesterday. yesterday, winds were gusting 0-35 miles per hour. right now winds between 10-15 miles per hour. there is a bit of a chilling effect going on with that breeze. boston feels like 41. fitchburg, feels like 39. clouds, they are mostly sunny there are more clouds back through western and northern new england. some of these clouds may find their way into metro-boston through the afternoon. but otherwise, it is an afternoon that features a fair amount of sunshine. high pressure on the move. that will begin to get closer to us this afternoon. and overnight tonight. temps throughout the afternoon, just about where we should be this time of year. boston, around 47 later on today.

breeze to start the afternoon. then that will fade away as we approach sunset. merrimack valley in the 40's. worcester hills, in the low 40's. on the cape and the islands, chatham at 48. mashpee, 47. tonight, mostly clear. chilly. boston, here is your number. 36. most of us will find our way down to low 0's tomorrow morning. the weekend, a lot of sunshine. a bit of a sea breeze, i think, tomorrow. a little cooler at the coastline tomorrow. upper 40's, metro-boston. low 50's farther inland. for sunday, a lot of sunshine. milder of the two days. tomorrow, again, upper 40's. low 50's. as we work towards sunday, mostly sunny skies. some of you may get close to 60 in particular, norwood. cold and then warms up real easy. upper 50's. metro-boston, middle 50's. worcester hills, close to 50 degrees. high super bowls down at gillette, football games featuring mostly sunny skies through the day. it will cool off for the evening games. temperatures heading down into the lower 40's. then eventually, the upper 30's.

sunday afternoon, a 4:30 kick. tail-gating warmest part of the day, close to 60. kickoff still mild. 48. but it will cool during the game. hoodies and jackets and sweaters are a good idea. temperatures at the end of the game in the low 40's. your forecast, sunshine into next week. and still really mild. temperatures on monday near 50. tuesday, we will watch a storm. right now it goes to our south. but to be honest with you, even if that path were closer to us, without arctic air, it would be a rainstorm. not a snowstorm. at this time, looks like it stays to our south. wednesday, near 40. 7 news pson, the holiday season's just like football season... you got your big games... ...cheese plates, turkey, appetizers. and regular games. get it all at a great price... ...and the holiday season is won. that's my boy! fill your cart with everything you need this s eason, all at one place.

>> nancy: all right. we continue to follow breaking news right now at 12:30. a frightening scene in boston. a suspicious suitcase is discovered near atlantic avenue. and police robot moves that package to a secure location. then officials actually, not long ago, did a controlled

police say the suitcase was placed behind a vehicle which was marked "homeland security." right now, traffic is backed up all over the seaport area. jonathan hall is live on the scene with the very latest. jon, what do you have for us? >> reporter: good afternoon. atlantic avenue remains closed at this hour. come with me. i want to give you a closer suitcase that we are talking about. you can see some of the clothes strewn about there on kind of a wooded area which is the beginning of the rose kennedy greenway. this is right by a ramp to 93. you can see all those yellow markers with the numbers on them. that is where investigators had started to do their work. we see remnants of the suitcase. we see some of the clothing as well. investigators now going through that with a fine-toothed comb. they are trying to figure out what was inside. the commissioner told us there were wires. was it something that was expected to detonate? they don't think so. there was no sign of

bit earlier. the boston police did a controlled detonation of this device. let's see if we can hear it right there on the tape. perhaps it is just a view of it at this point. but they blew it up about ten minutes of 12:00. then the police went and started to go through this. they have started now to open up atlantic avenue. earlier, a robot went over and picked up this suitcase from behind a homeland security vehicle and brought it across atlantic avenue for that controlled detonation. it was all kind of a very slow, controlled thing. they didn't want to get too close to it. we come back live right now. we will show you the homeland security vehicle which was the point of this investigation. the vehicle parked right there. this is adjacent to the coast guard headquarters. homeland security has offices here. right behind that k-9 unit was

we saw man hurried off. that is the focus of the investigation right now. apparently, the homeland security officer was with a dog happened upon this suitcase and then called in a possible threat. now here we are three hours later with the investigation still going on. i'm jonathan hall, 7 news. thank you. police want to talk to that man jon mentioned seen leaving the suitcase. >> jadiann: cheryl fiandaca is live for with us more from her sources. cheryl? at this point, police are that bag. he walked away very quickly. that, of course, remains to be very suspicious. here. the police commissioner described him as in his 40's wearing a green jacket. looks like he is wearing blue jeans and possibly a t-shirt. he left that scene now. there is no arrest warrant for this man. he is wanted just to be identified. my want to talk to him about why he would have left this package there and what this was all about. the package, as jon said, was

they found that it did not have any explosives it in. they did find when they x-rayed the package, there were some wires and some type of control in the package. and that, of course, was very suspicious. that is why they decided to detonate it. just to be on the safe side. now, of course, the area has been rendered safe. they are opening it back up to traffic. they are looking at what this package... any evidence in the package that could lead them to this person that they are interested in talking to. you see this man right here. seen walking up high street. the commissioner saying that he was wearing a green jacket. looks to be in his 40's. a white male. wearing, looks to be a t-shirt and maybe some blue jeans. anyone that may know this man, the police are interested in speaking to him. just to sort of figure out exactly what may have been going on here. cheryl fiandaca, 7 news. >> jadiann: obviously, this has created a headache for people in the area. jon mentioned in his live report that atlantic avenue was still closed when he did his report. sky 7 hd.

this is near high street. where the original package was found. it seems that traffic is now moving. you know, slowly. because there has been so much back-up for so long. but it seems like it is now moving through atlantic avenue and with more on the mess that this has caused elsewhere, here is danielle with traffic. >> reporter: they did just reopen the ramp from 93 southbound to purchase street. that is good news. the backups still over the zakim bridge, the levitt connector just crawling. let's go to the maps. the biggest issue is 93 southbound. you are pretty much stopped beginning at mystic avenue into boston. traffic not really moving. if you are getting ready to head out the door, you might want toe take route one instead. we are starting to see some back-up on the pike. we want to tell you, 128 into boston, 93 southbound, that is going to take you 40 minutes right now. the pike from 128 into boston, a 14-minute ride. you are a little slow right

boston. but the main issue right now is 93 southbound. a very slow ride from 128 into boston. but again, they did just reopen the ramp to purchase street. that is good news. back to you guys. >> jadiann: thank you so much, danielle. it appears that those roads are moving again. through. you can see the end there of the rose kennedy parkway. that is where that suspicious device was taken by a robot to be detonated. that was a controlled detonation you saw right there live on sky 7 hd. a little while ago here on air. the police commissioner coming out a little while later to talk about what had happened. basically, a homeland security officer doing a routine patrol. they spotsed the suitcase. that person scurried away, for and then shortly, that detonation. jonathan hall on the scene, that the people aren't safe as the investigation continues. the big news there.

female shooter in the california masker tashfeen malik pledged allegiance to isis leader on facebook. obviously, alarming news there. this comes after a u.s. intelligence official says her husband syed farook contact extremists who are under f.b.i. scrutiny. >> jadiann: their behavior could indicate a motive. we have more details on the tragedy. the case this morning. nbc news has learned tashfeen malik pledgedded allegiance to the leader of isis in a facebook post just before she and her husband syed farook allegedly killed 14 and wounded more than 20 during an attack at the inland regional center on wednesday. >> this took days, weeks, if not months to plan out. there is nothing impulsive

continue to go over everest pulled from the couple's redlands home where according to federal officials, there is evidence that farook had been "talking with people in the u.s. and overseas during the past year who showed an interest in radical jihad." nbc has learned they tried to cover their digital footprint, destroying computer hard drives and cell phones prior to carrying out the mass shooting. and as investigators tried to understand why, so does farook's family. his brother-in-law sat douj overnight with nbc's lester holt. >> did somebody brain-wash him? something snap him? and why would the couple choose to carry out this six-month-old daughter? questions and grief that still community. jay gray, nbc news, san bernardino, california. >> nancy: we are learning more about the 14 lives that were lost in the attack. officials have released their names as families and friends

violence. brandon gunnoe has more. >> this is a picture of the exact moment ryan found out his boyfriend had been killed. until that moment, he could only hope that 42-year-old daniel kofman was alive. >> i immediately freaked out. tried to text him. >> the couple had been together for three years. he is one of 14 people killed during an office holiday party. also killed, a 37-year-old father of six, coached youth soccer. a 27-year-old loving sister and a 52-year-old loving husband. >> i'm sure that he went down fighting and protecting people. >> reporter: her husband and the gunman knew each other. they were both environmental health inspectors. >> he knew syed. he worked with him.

say about him. >> reporter: his wife believed believes he may have been targeted. tradition. i feel like my husband was basically martyred. i'm wondering if they did get into an argument. my husband is very outspoken. >> nancy: stay with 7 news on air and on-line for the latest developments. the investigation, we will send out breaking news alerts on whdh.com as well as the 7 news mobile and tablet app. we are also posting updates throughout the day on facebook and twitter. also breaking right now out of lynn. a mass i fire claiming the life of four people. firefighters say two others were pulled from the fire and are now in stable condition. crews are still on the scene trying to figure out what went so wrong. we did speak with one of the survivors. nick emmons joins us now live

snick >> reporter: nancy, from what we understand, this fire happened around 1:00 this morning: i want to show you some of the damage. what we can see here. again, a very active seen still this morning. after this devastating fire on you can see the roofer has the fire department describes this as two and a half apartments here with the fire starting somewhere on the second story. and what we understand is there were as many as 19 people inside when this fire started. the fierce flames captured on cell phone video as firefighters arrived. the extreme heat and thick smoke trapping four people inside. >> they were nice people. >> reporter: firefighters say the four victims were in their late teens or older. floor with his 7-year-old daughter. he says he didn't hear an

>> i smelled it. victim. they told me that they heard moans beyond that from where that victim was. >> reporter: this man describes what it was like inside. >> when you open and the fire is on full blast, and the fire hits you in the face. he tried to rescue a woman who was getting others out. >> she didn't have time to knock on everyone's door. everybody was passed out with the smoke. >> reporter: the fire-fight intense. even after the flames were out, firefighters narrowly avoid disaster. during an interview, part of the building collapses with fire crews below. now the attention turns to

>> i lost everything. everybody lost everything. >> reporter: back out here live again. another look at the damage here. devastating fire for everyone involved here. from what we understand, the red cross is helping everyone who has been displaced by this fire. as far as the investigation goes, the fire marshal is looking into this as well as the district attorney's office. they are looking at the ownership of the building and if the fire alarms were working at the time of this fire. you heard from someone inside say there that they didn't hear an alarm when this fire started. so that will play into the investigation as well as how many people were living inside and the amount of apartments. it was two and a half apartments. that is the latest live in lynn, 7 news. >> jadiann: thank you, nick. happening now: the philip chism murder trial under way. more witnesses being called to the stand. this comes after a judge denied a request by the defense to use brain m.r.i. tests from two years ago. victoria warren has more on the proceedings.

that he really is a ninja. he feels helpless because he voices. all positive feelings are gone. report tt defense attorney reciting the teen murder f suspect. she is upset after a judge ruled the jury will never hear those statements. >> i feel this court ruling now has ham strung me to the point where the defense has been evis rated. >> reporter: the judge saying the defense expert can talk about chism's demeanor and give his medical opinion on mental health but says current law doesn't allow the precise statement. chism is accused o'murdering his math teacher. he barely looked up during the back-and-forth. when the doctor took the stand, he told jurors he believes chism suffers from an unspecified psychotic disorder and is on the schizophrenia spectrum. >> it is my opinion that as a

defect, he lacks substantial capacity to conform his conduct to the requirements of

>> jeremy: good afternoon. for the afternoon, fantastic sunny skies. seasonal this afternoon. upper 40's with a warping trend coming at us for the weekend. boston right now, at 46. beverly, 45. worcester, 41. fitchburg at 45. all sorts of sunshine in the city of boston. more clouds, though. monadnock region, worcester hills. some of them will drift into our sky. it is a nice afternoon. high pressure gets closer to

that will shut down that wind. still some wind out there for the start of the afternoon. but not as feisty as it was yesterday. temps, 44-48. tonight, mostly clear. chilly. 31-36. the weekend, simple forecast. it is great. lots of sun. a little cooler at the coastline tomorrow. odd that we are talking a sea breeze in december. it can happen here and there. it is going to happen tomorrow. upper 40's, metro-boston. low 50's farther inland. sunday, a lot of sunshine. so there are the numbers tomorrow. a little bit above normal. sunday, way above normal. by ten degrees in boston. normal high of 45. sunday afternoon, 55. some of you, south of town, making a run into the upper 50's, getting close to 60 degrees. patriots forecast, taking on the eagles. that will feature mild conditions for kickoff. temps near 50. and then working through the game, clear skies. it will start to cool off as we work through the evening hours. first part of december, again, i don't have any arctic air. if you don't have arctic air, you don't have to be worried about snowstorms.

they typically have a lot of warm air at the front end of winter. and that limits the snow. so we did some research last evening. this is from bri eggers. you notice when you have slow starts to december, except for last year, usually, they are quiet winters in terms of snow. again, last year, very unusual. so then this morning, i thought you know, i want to see what el nino winters look like. these are powerful el ninos. this winter will be a powerful el nino for new england. forecast last year we had one. that was '97, '98. in these strong el nino winters, only two where we talked about snowfall slightly above normal. much more tolerable compared to last year. and not as cold either. there is your forecast. tuesday, a lot of clouds. that could be some rain shower activity. we will keep an eye on that for you throughout the weekend. we are copping back after the

if you're doing everything right but find it harder and harder to get by, you're not alone. while our people work longer hours for lower wages, almost all new income goes to the top 1%. my plan -- make wall street banks and the ultrarich pay their fair share of taxes, provide living wages for working people, ensure equal pay for women. i'm bernie sanders. i approve this message because together, we can make a political revolution and create an economy and democracy that works for all

>> it is time now for this week's class act. a student or frown of students who go above and beyond. it could be academics or athletics. or someone who really helps in the community. >> we do a segment every week called class act. and we honor students. in our community. all over the state of massachusetts. they are doing amazing things. her name is maggie. i was wondering if she could come to the front of the class. maggie is going above and

feel inklupded at school. she is going to walk in the grand bhaj her friend robert who has an intellectual disability. >> everyone said that is really nice of me. i went to the prom last year. i had fun. i want to make someone else's senior year better than mine. >> reporter: maggie on the field. and robert as team manager. . >> she is a leader. each time he just smiles. they had anti-bullying shirts on the other day. we took a picture of them together. >> many see maggie's warmth rubbing off on others. >> i look up to her. as a field hockey player, especially. definitely the best on the team. she always talks about robert. >> reporter: robert let his

like to go to the prom. when maggie caught word of it, she didn't hesitate. so this week, a simple act of friendship that has the potential to last a lifetime. . i'm christa delcamp, 7 news. >> nancy:. all right. that is a sweet story. if you know a student between 6-12 doing something outstanding in school, sports, or their community, nominate

>> jadiann: we have an update on breaking news. a frightening scene. you see that explosion right there. a suspicious suitcase discovered on atlantic avenue.

official location. they did a controlled explosion. naens looks like roads are opening up again at this point. the boston police commissioner william evans says at this time, nothing is the all is leading authorities to believe that there were explosives inside that suitcase. police want to talk with this man seen here. in surveillance photos. the man is in his 40's. we have seen leaving the area dropping the suitcase. and then briskly walking away. they say he was in a green coat at that time. authorities are attempting to locate him as we speak. we will have the very latest on all of this at 4:00. thank you for joining us. i'm jadiann thompson. >> nancy: i'm nancy chen. have a wonderful afternoon. have a great weekend,