>> anchor: it's must-see tv. donald trump and hillary clinton facing off for the first time. he has been able to connect with people very naturally. when lights are bright like they are now she police brings the a plus game to the table. >> reporter: we're hours away from the first presidential debate. >> anchor: so the stage is set for first show down of the 2016 campaign. we should say official show down because there have been a few. more than 100 million people are expected to watch the debate with donald trump and hilary clinton neck and neck in the polls and everyone does believe that tonight's debate could give one of them an advantage. 7's dan hausle live in new york at hofstra university where the big event will be held tonight. dan? >> reporter: well, kim, the candidates are hidden away. the spin doctors are anywhere they can find a camera. sounding like bill belichick trying to build up expectations of their opponent. we know a little bit more about

hillary clinton and donald trump virtually tied going into the debate. a "washington post" poll puts clinton at 46% and truffle at 44%. the debate will be divided into six 15 minute segments. they will cover three topics, america's direction, achieving prosperity and securing america. moderator lester holt will start the segment with a question and candidates will have two minutes each to respond. both candidates spent sunday prepping for the debate and bo campaigns are expressing confidence. i know this about hilary clinton. when the lights are bright like they are now, she brings the a plus game to the table. people really gravitate toward his brand of authenticity and the way he has been able to connect with people very naturally. >> reporter: but the clinton camp fears trump's newcomer status means he will be held to a lower standard. i am very concerned that donald trump will be graded on on a curve just because he doesn't fly off the handle in

not mean that he is prepared to be president of the united states. the debate is projected to draw up to 100 million viewers and they could get quite a show. the executive director of the debate commission says the candidates should fact check each other. in our history, the moderators have found it appropriate to let the candidates be the ones that talk about the accuracy or the fairness of what the other candidate or candidates might have said. >> reporter: we know a lot of decisions on the debate were handle with coin flips. we don't know who won but we know hillary clinton will get to have the first answer to the first question. live at hoffstra university, on long island in nor, dan hausle, 7 news 13 can't believe it's almost here, dan and we know who is on the stage but who might we see in the audience tonight? >> reporter: well, there is only about 1,000 people in the audience of we're already heard mark cuban might be there in the

campaign. gennifer flowers supposedly invited. other whiz a lot of students in the crowd and there have been big blocks of tickets to each campaigns. back to you. >> anchor: look forward to your reports later on tonight. in fact we'll check in with you again at 6:00, dan. here at home governor baker talking about what he is hoping to see tonight. i hope the debate tonight stays on the issues and that people appreciate the significance and importance of the fact this will be one of the biggest audience that's will ever have the chance to hear directly from candidates and i would hope they would choose to take advantage of that to talk about their visions for the country. >> anchor: side note here, governor baker has said he is not a fan of either candidate. >> anchor: meanwhile, republican vice presidential nominee mike pence is in new hampshire today. he held a campaign rally earlier up in millford and on wednesday bernie sanders will join hilary clinton at the university of new

debt. you can watch tonight's debate right here on 7 nbc. it starts at 9:00. then join the night team at 11:00 for complete coverage and analysis from dan hausle and our political editor andy hiller. >> anchor: we do have some breaking news here at home tonight. federal prosecutors finding that boston latin school violated the federal civil rights law. today the school announced a resolution to improve the racial climate. 7's amaka ubaka live at the school with details. office did determine that boston latin school did violate a portion of civil rights act of 1946 which prohibits discrimination based on race for students. the violation involved the school's mishandling of its review of allegations that a male student addressed a female student during class using pro fanity and a racial slur and threatened to lynch her with an electroical cord. the u.s. attorney's office

associated with the school and reviewed thousands of documents. the investigation also raised concerns about two other racially charged incidents and the overall effectiveness to create an inclusive school environment for all students under the agreement with the u.s. attorney general's office boston public schools will develop mandatory annual training for students, faculty and staff covering racial harassment. they will also hire a die veersity or non-discrimination officers responsible for monitoring any complaints harassment and they will conduct an annual survey of the racial climate at the school. in a statement the superintendent of boston public schools just gave us a couple minutes ago. he says the boston public schools is committed to insuring that boston latin school along with all of our schools fosters a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for each and every student. now back out here live coming up at 6:00 we did talk to a couple parents here and we'll have their reactions in the next

ubaka, 7 news. >> anchor: a gunman opens fire at a strip mall in houston, texas. nine people wounded. the suspect shot and killed and now we're learn morgue about him. here is jadiann thompson in our newsroom with the latest. >> anchor: well, adam, six people shot in a houston neighborhood this morning. one of them remaining in critical condition. the gunman was shot and killed by police. in the standoff shortly after officials say he started randomly shooting at drivers before police arrived. the shooter has not identified but officials say he is a local disgruntled attorney. the information we have at this time is that he is lawyer and there were issues concerns his law firm. the f.b.i. is on scene and is asaying news our investigation. >> anchor: police say the suspect lived in the area and when they searched his car, they found numerous weapons and now investigators are going through

been determined. we'll coop you posted on this of course. ad jadiann thompson, 7 news. >> anchor: the man charged with that deadly mall shooting in washington state over the weekend making his first court appearance. authorities say 20-year-old acron shatin confessed to the killings. investigators say he brought a rifle into the macy's store and shot five people. facing murder charges and being held now on $2 million. the cascade mall did reopen today. authorities say the man got the rifle macy's, shot four women and one man in about a minute. police caught up with him 24 hours later. >> anchor: in charlotte, north carolina, a curfew has been lifted but anger and tension about a deadly police shooting remains high there. as local artists work to bring beauty back to an area marched by violence, the protestors are concontinuing to push their message that change is needed. last night marked the sixth night of protest in the city a day after charlotte authorities

i just don't understand why the police are saying one thing and the parents and other people are saying something different. if we really are going to get the truth and wreck sill vision that we deserve one has to take a step forward and be willing to reconcile. >> anchor: the charlotte city council meets tonight for first time since last us' shooting. protest or are expected to be there as well. >> ancho news today. a man convicted of killing a local veteran will spend the rest of his life behind bars. peter castillo found guilty of first murder last week. steve cooper was in the courtroom for sentencing. all of it is sad. >> reporter: sentencing day for a convicted killer after peter castillo was found think guilty of shooting stephen perez junior to death during an

distribute back in 2012. he was captured in the dom i can republic three years later. it took the jury just 90 minutes to return the verdict. perez's girlfriend delivering an emotional victim impact statement. every song, every wind that passes by strikes strikes my heart and tears form. i have not yet smiled wholeheartedly since the day he left. it is impossible to rely to the court the amazing character of this >> reporter: perez declined to apologize before being sentenced to the mandatory life in prison without possibility of parole. it's the introduction of a handgun which turns what would have been an unpleasant experience to a tragedy. his family left court without come while perez's relatives wanted to remember a young man who fought for his country and died after a senseless tragedy. my cousin was my best

any opportunity i can to talk about him, i will and tell everybody how great he was. his own left the courthouse telling thaws they will appeal this conviction which is something that happens automatically when it comes to first-degree murder convictions here in massachusetts. in boston, steve cooper, 7 news. >> anchor: a save at sea i'm missing boater pulled from the waters off martha's vineyard. the 22-year-old was spotted floating in a raft and was picked up by the crew of a larger ship. he and hith more than a week ago during a fishing trip but the coast guard is not renewing their search for the motherment jonathan hall live at the coast guard station in boston to tell us more. jon? it turns out that young man was floating around in a life raft with food and water and he is fine. he is expected back here in boston tomorrow night after his fishing boat sank more then a week ago. 22-year-old nathan carmen of vermont is in good condition on a chinese frighter called lucky

the crew of the ship rescued him 100 miles south of martha's vineyard yesterday. but his 54-year-old mom, linda carmen, is believed to be dead. somehow she did not make it into an inflatable life raft. when the boat started taking on water, he got his life rafting of he looking for his mom and he could not find her. >> reporter: there was no mayday call. the coast guard spokesperson said she doesn't know if the carmens 31 foot fishing boat called chicken pox was equipped with one. narragansett, rhode island on september 18 early in the morning on what was supposed continue a 12 hour deep sea fishing trip. in middletown, connecticut where linda carmen lives and where nathan grew up people are tying yellow ribbons. they say it's a sign they are not giving up hope, especially now that they know nathan is safe. we are ecstatic, excited and we feel like we're making a

continue working. we'll keep praying and keep putting positive energy together and hopefully linda will make her way back really soon. a six day coast guard air and sea search covering $62,000 miles of ocean from block island to new york turned up nothing the coast guard called it off friday believing both carmens could not have survived. you really feel you did all you could? we did everything we could with the information that we had. >> reporter: that at that time they say they did not know there and didn't know about the food and water so they were under the assumption under their survivability rules that both mother and son had died. now the search for the mother will not be renewed. they say at this point they really do not believe she is alive. live in boston, jonathan hall, 7 news. >> anchor: jon, thank you. bruins star brad marchand extending his stay in boston. the forward agreeing to a deal that will keep him here for the next 8 years. >> anchor: let's go to 7's

excited fans. >> reporter: with every goalie scored for team canada that world cup of hockey you can hear the cash register ringing for brad marchand but instead of breaking the bang on an extension the free eight to be gave the bruins a break on a deal that will keep him in black and goal for the long haul. marchand agreeing to an 8 year, 49 million extension that's an average annual value of 6.125 million. big-time bargain for the 28-year-old winger who likely would have topped that figure on the open market if his 36 goal outburst from the last year. boston has been, it's become my second homement i love it there. i am very excited about what's ahead for our team. i believe in our team. it's a place that i am very excited about being for the next number of years and potentially my whole career. >> reporter: red sox enjoying

regular season riding high on an 11 game winning streak, their longest since 2090. they swept away three state divisional opponents and built them service a five and a half game lead and sit in a dead heat with the rangers for the best record in the american league. the red sox magic number to clinch the division now down to two. any combination of sox wins and jay's losses equalling two will wrap it up. the red sox open up their second to last series of the year tomorrow a three-game set with the yankees down in the bronx before returning home to close out their home slate with three games against toronto. reporting live in the newsroom, joe amorsino, 7 news. >> anchor: still to come this evening, could it be a school shake up? the proposal to start high school a couple of years earlier. so what does boston's superintendent say about that? >> anchor: ahead at 5:30 the latest on the search for a missing bu grad student who disappeared in new york city. >> anchor: plus, a neighborhood

in weymouth about this decision to open fire. >> anchor: coming up here in just one hour, more than a dozen cats are removed from someone's home in brockton and police say it's not the first time there has been trouble with a bunch of animals inside one house. >> anchor: then a mural on a vfw building in revere that flag hit by vandals who are trying to

>> anchor: could big changes be coming to the boston public school system? school administrators are looking at making the grids a little different. that proposal on the table would end elementary school in the sixth grade. >> anchor: actually you think grades you mean abc but we're talking about high school beginning with 7th grid. victoria warren has more on the why and how it can declining enrollment. a big picture look at boston public schools aimed at keeping families in the public school system. we are seeing our enrollment in boston public schools severely drops in middle school grade levels. at an event at getting school employees to volunteer to mentor students, superintendent tommy hang said he is looking into whether they should change the landscape of the schools moving away from k through 8 then high school to a model

7 through 12. he said a lot of families hit sixth grade then move to charter school. right now many of our middle schools and k 8 did not have programming our young people need so we want more kids in boston public schools and we want more academic programming those grades. he said about a dozen schools have expressed interest but initially some people say it's hard to imagine a 7th grader in with kids who are 17 or 18 years old. that's such a difficult age and it's they need and if they get put in classes with older kids they will fall through the cracks. >> reporter: hours though say with right support, more efficiency is a good thing. a little bit smaller would be fine. we're just exploring our options right now. nothing is going to be done this year. >> reporter: a draft plan that could include these ideas will be unveiled next week. in boston, victoria warren, 7 news. >> anchor: next on 7, the royalties making the rounds in

the next leg of their trip. >> anchor: very dashing, we are talking about rain for the tuesday morning commute. the forecast for the week is up next. did you know your business doesn't have to suffer from slow internet? comcast business now offers that's 10 times faster than dsl. get internet for as low as $59.95 a month. call today. comcast business. built for business. did you know that sharing wifi with your customers could leave your business exposed? only comcast business offers wifi pro. two separate networks - one that's private for you, and one that's public for your customers. upgrade to wifi pro for only $19.95 a month. call today. comcast business.

>> anchor: lots of sunshine, temperature in town at 62. dew point 47.

30's and even the 40's. boston had a low of 48. worcester now that's down at the airport up on the hill and chilly air it likes too find its way down into the low spots so i know a lot of neighborhoods in and around worcester were probably in the low to mid 30's. similar to norwood at 28 right there in the neponset river valley. bedford at 32 and plymouth at 38. nice recovery though norwood as always. upper 60's, plymouth at 63. and mostly clear skies, few high thin, cirrus clouds marching into southe my nice fall evening. over here is the next weather system i'm band of rain that will march across new york state overnight tonight and into new england well after midnight tonight and so we're dry up until about 4:00 or 5:00 tomorrow morning and with increase in clouds and showers threat not as cool as it was this morning. temperatures tomorrow morning in the 50's but tomorrow morning will feature rain. here is that narrow ribbon of rain which is again it's tied to this cool front right hear as well as an area of low pressure

through the day tomorrow morning showers and then some sun in the afternoon, clouds will linger in the south coast and cape. temperatures tomorrow in the low to mid 70's despite the morning showers. so at 5:00 a.m. again we have rain approving worcester, hartford, spring feel, not into downtown boston just yet but that will change i do think we'll see rain in the city by about 6340 tomorrow morning kids will need rain gear tomorrow as well as yourselves. they may even have indoor recess because the rain may linger up until tomorrow afternoon that rain does taper off and metro boston. again, still lingering on the cape and island. amount of rainfall on the way tomorrow not overwhelming but we'll take what we can get with most towns about a quarter inch of rain on the way. state around 75 tomorrow afternoon. plymouth at 72. the farther north and west you travel from boston i think the brighter the afternoon will be. manchester at 76. into the worcester hills, partly sunny skies, fitchburg and keane in the mid 70's and out on to the cape you have rain to start the afternoon and then i think

tomorrow afternoon. chatham at 69 and nantucket at 68. now for wednesday a lot of clouds, much cooler on wednesday behind that cool front with an isolated shower. i don't think the chance of rain is all that high on wednesday and into thursday we hold on to the risk of a few showers. it's from this area of low pressure which will be out there for most of the week but slowly drifting to west virginia as well as virginia itself by the end of the weekend as it gets closer to us then our chance of rain will go up but even though it's lot of clouds and the risk of a little bit of patchy drizzle and an isolated shower wednesday afternoon, thursday afternoon, friday and then a higher chance of some scattered showers perhaps a few downpours saturday and sunday but we do need the rain. that is not a bad looking forecast if you are in a drought. see you at 5:30. >> anchor: see you then. duke and dutchess of cambridge return to canada over the weekend for their first-ever royal tour with both of their children. prince george and princess charlotte.

canada. >> anchor: they have already while there made several stops. a rare glimpse of prince william kate and their children together. kate carrying princess charlotte now 16 months and apparently teething while their three-year-old prince george walked from the plane. the duke and dutchess usually shield children from occasions and it had been a long flight. we are very pleased to be here. thank you for well coming us so warmly. >> reporter: flying to this time without the children william promising to pass on a gift. george would love this. >> reporter: while simply meeting a princess an exciting mope for one little gil. she smelled so good. how did she smell? like flowers. >> reporter: later the couple met vulnerable parents in the city's downtown east side. this year they launched a charity helping young people with mental health issues.

country's young prime minister and his wife, sophie. today william and kate are visiting the great bear rain forest. litter tonight they will attend a performance a community center before a reception tonight the a government house. >> anchor: ahead on 7, why this photo inside a high school bathroom in michigan is in there somewhere. got a student suspended. >> anchor: coming up at 6:00 taking the fight against als on the road of how you

i just want what's best for my kids. when i hear arguments that massachusetts needs more charter schools, i think: what about the students in all of our 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.

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>> anchor: great being with you on another monday and another hour of 7 news is sill ahead. >> anchor: stay right there for