right now the massive fire that tore through several staten island homes leaving firefighters injured and dozens homeless. and an attacker on the run after assaulting a queens. and u.s. swimmers under fire are not victims, they're vandals. "today in new york" starts now. good morning. friday morning, august 19th, i'm darlene rodriguez. >> i'm michael gargiulo. storm team 4's chris cimino is here with today's weather headlines. what will we deal with today? >> not too much. a mixed bag. some sun, some clouds. temperatures in the upper 80s. not a dramatic day. 73 in jersey city. 77 in brooklyn.

boroughs. 60s in morristown. danbury, 65. westhampton down to 64. looking at our day planner, plan on sunshine mixing with clouds. by noon, 83. climbing slowly into the mid to upper 80s. there is a slight chance of a shower or thunderstorm later in the day. high temperatures in the upper 80s. let's get a first check of the commute. >> a closure already. westbound out by the bqe. also two lanes by the kosciuszko bridge, two lanes closed. hamilton avenue, an overturned truck causing a mess out by 3rd avenue in the southbound lanes. take note of that. more weather and traffic on the 4s. >> thank you very much. now to that devastating fire that tore through several homes on staten island last night. more than 20 people were hurt and twice that many are

firefighters are still on the scene. >> reporter: darlene, at one point there was a fear this whole block could go up in flames. i can tell you at least 42 people are without homes. now we have a new look at the reason why. you can see for yourself the flames that engulfed homes on benzinger avenue after 6:00 last night. this is just into our newsroom. seven homes total that were hit by this. you can even see firefigs attempting to make their way into the ground floor entrance as fire erupted on the second floor. this whole area was covered in smoke because of the fire that started in a multi family home and spread down the block. a total of seven homes were damaged or destroyed leaving neighbors here to scramble to safety. >> when it with you smoke at the house down the street, i saw it, i said smoke.

>> at least 21 people were injured including 19 firefighters who suffered from heat related issues. got news, all are expected to recover. this is declared under control after 9:00 last night. but three of these buildings a total loss. coming up, we'll have more on a possible cause to all of this being investigated this morning. back to yo thank you. police are searching for the attacker who assaulted a teen in queens. jen maxfield is on the story with what happened in this case. >> the victim in this case is just 14 years old. and he was punched in the face by someone who snuck up behind him. the attack happened on july 26th but the nypd just got this surveillance video from an auto repair shop.

sucker punched a boy and stole $7 and his iphone 4 before he ran away. the boy was shaken up but not seriously hurt. this is a busy intersection along ace astoria boulevard. it was light out when this happened, but the attacker was able to get away. police hope this surveillance video will lead them back to him. that's the latest live from astoria, back to you. >> tnk time for weather and traffic on the 4s. heading over to chris cimino. good morning. >> made it to a friday. looking pretty good. temperatures in the low to mid 70s out across nassau county. floral park, 73. 73 north merrick. muttontown down to 70. monticello, 64. more comfortable in the suburbs.

mixed into the picture. 83 at noontime. 87 by 3:00. weekend forecast coming up on the 4s. right now the latest on the commute. >> we have fastrack maintenance on the "l" this will wrap up at 5:00 a.m. no service between broadway junction and lorimer street. as far as other overnight track work, 1, 2, and shuttles are affected. police are trying to find two armed robbers who got trapped inside a cell phone store in paterson. they eventually escaped after a slow emergency response. the men with guns approached the store manager, tommy torres wednesday afternoon. he said take whatever they

that connects to another business. he told everyone to leave. once outside the door, torres shut the store's front gate and locked the thieves inside and called 911 several times but the police never showed up. >> you can check the walls, take the phones, what ever you want. when they were busy, i ran to the back. >> 911 says they were not told about a gun until the third call. they then did dispatch police. by the t through a back window. >> now to a story that's almost overshadowing the olympic games. four u.s. swimmers scrutinized after a robbery that authorities say never really happened. "today in new york's" kerry barrett is following the developments. >> we will start with a cover of the "new york post" because that seems to sum up most peoples thinking about this situation. it reads liar liar speedo on fire.

victims, rio's police chief says it was ryan lochte and three other olympic teammates that were actually the ones who were causing trouble on the night that they claim they were robbed. the police chief said witness accounts and surveillance video confirm that the four vandalized a bathroom at the gas station they were pulled over at. the athletes told officials and media outlets including the "today" show that they were robbed at gun point and h as they returned to the olympic village close to three hours later than they claimed, surveillance video shows them pulling out their wallets to show to security yesterday the u.s. oic said they stopped at a gas station where one of the athletes committed an act of vandalism. an argument ensued between the athletes and two armed security

displayed their weapons ord othered the athletes from their vehicle and demanded the athletes to pay the money. it will see if the guards overstepped their bounds as far as the payment goes. but the fbi is following this investigation. the swimmers could face charges of false testimony and vandalism. those charges in brazil to six months in jail. >> kerry barrett, thank you. >> at the games the u.s. men's basketball team takes on spain. this is the semifinals. >> the men's 4x100 relay takes center stage and the u.s. will be looking for more gold and so will usain bolt. in the 200 meter, bolt raced to his third straight gold. afterwards he said he was trying to beat his old world record but his body didn't respond because

again the world's greatest athlete. he won his second straight gold medal in the decathlon. >> new york city celebrating a gold medal winner in the 400 meter hurdles. dalilah muhammad from jamaica queens captured america's first ever gold in that event. denmark took the silver, another american, ashley spencer won the better time. all those things in the past happened for a reason. i look forward to the future. i don't think this is it for me. i have more to go. >> back here at home, muhammad's friends and coaches watched her make history. mayor deblasio tweeted dalilah did it.

women's wrestling. she hit the usa hit the 100 medal mark. 35 goeddels. our total nearly double china's count, that country 58. great britain and russia third and fourth there. check out nbcnewyork.com for the four to watch today. highlights include jordan burroughs going for gold in freestyle wrestles. read up on the athletes, get highlights and details on the must-see match-ups still to come, a different type of wrestling in new jersey. and new information on the jogger killed in queens. why police are searching one area of brooklyn. and we'll have weather and traffic on the 4s coming up. >> follow us on facebook, twitter and on instagram, michaelg4ny and darlene4ny. you're watching "today in new

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four things to know on this friday morning. 21 people were hurt in a staten island fire that damaged seven homes. firefighters say 42 people have to find another place to stay. we're at the scene. we'll have an update at 5:00 m. suspect who punched a teen during a robbery in queens. the 14-year-old was attacked from behind but is expected to be okay. donald trump heading to louisiana today. he will visit flood ravaged part of baton rouge. the candidate will be at a private event. neighbors in parts of connecticut are urged to conserve water this weekend. the aquarium water company wants customers in stanton, new

coming up on 4:44. some rain in the forecast this weekend in the form of showers and storms, probably not until sunday. for today, quiet out there. nothing dramatic going on weather-wise. looking at a temperature in the mid 70s. suburbs down to the 60s. fairlycomfortable. sun and clouds throughout the day today. maybe a spot shower. best chance for that tending to be north and west of the ci stormy later in the afternoon and evening hours. beautiful weather will follow that. we have a strong cold front that will carve out the unsettled weather we've been experiencing and the heat. 76 in chelsea. 74 in greenwich. 76 in dyker heights. a couple of showers weakening. you can see thunderstorms in southern new jersey. maybe a few light sprinkles in

bigger picture, nothing really nearby. in good shape for today. anything that pops would be isolated in terms of showers or storms. this system out to the west and the cold front that drops in will bring the risk of thunderstorms. future tracker, not much going on through noon today. a mix of sun and clouds. a few speckles of green showing up. a few spotty showers later this afternoon and early evening. then overnight tonight, quiet. fridig tomorrow morning starts out good. mix of clouds and sunshine. we go through the bulk of the day rain-free. a couple of spotty showers could develop, best chance from the city north and west. on sunday, a more significant line of showers will get going. that will bring us heavier rain sunday afternoon and evening. for today, temperatures back to the upper 80s. we have a light breeze out of the north. the humidity level not terrible

60s in the suburbs. similar temperatures to overnight last night. moving forward through the weekend. warm, muggy weather. thunderstorms sunday night. that front goes through. look at those dry northwest winds. it will feel refreshing by next week. check it out in the ten-day. monday, 82 for a high. 60 for the low. 81 the high on tuesday afternoon. middle 80s for wednesday and thursday. all with sunshine, comfortable levels of humidity. all right. let's see if there problems out there. here's lauren. >> good morning. very early problems already. not used to this. heading over to the long island expressway, all lanes shut down westbound between the bqe and maurice avenue and an accident eastbound in the same area blocking two lanes. this is a mess. once you get past this, delays on the bqe westbound. two lanes shut down there by the kosciuszko bridge. lower level of the l.i.e. is affected by this.

have road work out there. heavy delays already. just two lanes getting by, they may have gotten this up. and a live look at the alexander hamilton bridge, looks like they may be clearing construction out there. some police activity and two cars in the right lane. no delays at the moment. i'll let you know what that is as soon as i get that information. alternate side of the street parking rules are in effect. 4s. to an unthinkable murder on long island. a 23-year-old man has been arraigned for drowning his mother in their backyard pool. suffolk county prosecutors say dennis cullen confessed to grabbing his mother in a head lock and dragging her into the deep end of the pool. investigators say this started as an argument over cullen not taking his medication. he did plead not guilty. detectives investigating the murder of a queens jogger are inpekting a new area for clues.

entered the howard beach park where katrina vetrano was sexually assaulted and strangled. vetrano's parents are now calling on the killer's family for help. >> we need for them to come forward. >> grandma, mommy, daughter, you have to do this. >> the vetrano family is offering a $100 information leading to an arrest. emotions ran high outside a queens courtroom where oscar morrell was arraigned for murder. they say morrell is innocent but members of the muslim community wanted him to face hate crime charges. they say they feel less safe after the murders.

officers should be fired in an alleged cover up in the shooting of an african-american teen. the seven officers are accused of filing false reports in the police shooting of laquan macdonald two years ago. the video shows officer jason van dyke firing 16 shots into macdonald. in california, some residents in san bernardino county are returning home to where houses once stood. officials are battling the blue cut fire from the air. it's burned 36,000 acres. it's forced tens of thousands of people to evacuate. so far it's just 22% contained. a qatar airways plane made an emergency landing in istanbul after taking off because of an engine fire. a bird hit the engine starting that fire. video shows the blades of the engine fan peeled back at the corners.

crew on board made it back safely. so many people moved by this story a 5-year-old boy is quickly becoming a symbol of the horrors of serious civil war. video showing little amran daknesh sitting in an ambulance covered in blood. the boy was pulled out of the rubble of a building hit bay syrian government or russian air strike on the rebel held city aleppo. eight people, among them five children, were killed in that attack. weather hearing his parents and three siblings did survive. in new jersey, high school studentses will be heading back to school with life saving training under their belt. dozens of students spent a week training for an emergency. it includes what to do during an explosion and fire or a shooting with mass casualties. the students also trained on what to do if they come in contact with an active shooter.

equipped if they happen to be someplace where that happens. >> you have to think fast. they can bleed out. it was nerve-racking. but i had my partners right here to help me out. it was fun. it went well. >> they go back to school, each student will carry a trauma kit in their backpacks including a tourniquet and chest seal to seal wounds. frightening information about the zika virus and why infants are not only ones at risk. you're watching "today in new york." fried everything! there's so many bands. the bands! those pigs are just so cute! cheesecake, on a stick. a rollercoaster! the great new york state fair just got greater. with all new fairgrounds, more rides and more fun. from august 25th to september 5th in syracuse, new york. order tickets before opening day for just $6. it's all here,

fios is not cable. we're wired differently. so we wired the wagner's house with 100 meg internet. which means that in the time it takes mr. wagner to pour a 20 oz. cup of coffee, tommy can download 30 songs, and jan can upload 120 photos. 12 seconds. that's the power of fiber optics. and right now you can get 100 meg internet with equal upload and dowloads speeds, tv and phone for just $69.99 per month online. cable can't offer internet speeds this fast at a price this good. welcome back. friday morning. 4:53. 75 degrees. the power of mother nature witnessed off the coast of north carolina. you're looking at a waterspout recorded on a cell phone. it formed on the outer banks

area. more storms are expected today. >> 4:54. time for weather and traffic on the 4s. so different between the waterspouts but it's all kind of the same thing. >> was a big waterspout. that was impressive looking. this is the time of year where we have to watch the skies closely. today maybe a spotty shower, for the most part a mix of sun and clouds. high temperature of 87. i wouldn't call it oppressive. tonight, partly cloudy skies. mild night, 74. heading into the weekend t gets more humid. a better chance of late day showers or storms tomorrow. saturday 85. more numerous showers and storms on sunday. not a washout of a day. but outdoor plans, saturday is better than sunday. >> thank you. >> hi, lauren. >> good morning. we have a bunch of service

fast track on the "l" which will wrap up in five, six minutes. no service in both directions between broadway junction and lorimer street. and other overnight track work, ten lines affected. major commuter lines are doing well. commuting in the air now, the faa is planning to hire 1400 people to make up for a critical shortage of air traffic staffing levels and what that means for flyers. controller staffing is at a 27-year low. total number of controllers has been dropping steadily since 2012, now just over 13,900. the number of fully certified professional air controllers is just below the faa's required range. that shortage is being seen at busy radar facilities that handles jfk, laguardia and

certified professional controllers, those are the individuals who are fully certified. no longer require training. we're authorized to have 226. that gives you a sense of the deficit. >> we're told despite the staffing shortages, there's no compromise in safety but the shortages could lead to more flights being delayed. five of new york city's largest parks are now going to get a major facelift including new soccer fld trails. mayor deblasio outlined plans to dish out $150 million in new funding to improve the parks. the ones selected were saint mary's park in the bronx, high bridge in manhattan, betsy head, fresh kills, and astoria park in queens. city officials say they were picked on historical underinvestment high surrounding population and potential for development. >> great. that will really make a big

setting. >> starting in the fall, the parks department will hold public meetings to determine which renovations are the most need. a long island company has got a quicker way to test for the zika virus. chem bio diagnostics will sell their rapid test for zika throughout the caribbean. right now the testing involves lab work and can take weeks to come in. chem bio said their process takes 20 minutes. understand and travel alerts for 26 island nations. new research suggests the zika virus may do damage to adult brains. the harmful effects on the virus, on unborn babies is widely known. now certain cells in the adult brain may be harmed by the zika virus. the tests were only done on mice, but the researchers are planning on doing additional

for people who wear contact lenses. new government study shows serious eye infections are common and caused by improper use and care of the lenses. 1 in 5 infections can lead to scarred cornias, even vision loss. people can avoid infections by taking contacts out at night, following label directions and replace the contacts as directed by your doctor. for men who are the family bread winner, the pressure can take a toll on their health. researchers at the university of connecticut found mental health declined in men as they take on more responsibility. for women, their mental health improved as they made more money for their families. a new law is allowing new yorkers to give the gift of life before they can register to vote. governor cuomo signed the bill on thursday lowering the oregon donor age from 18 to 16. it includes a provision for

child dies before the age of 18. thousands of people are waiting for organs and lowering the age will save more lives. thanks to police at the 49th precinct this little boy is going to disney world. officers started a fund-raising effort earlier this year for 7-year-old tyrone lowe junior. last december he lost both of his parents in a murder-suicide. police knew tyrone wanted to meet mickey and they wanted to help that dream come true. and tyrone couldn't thank them enough. >> they're great. they're awesome. thank you. i love you. thank i for all the stuff you did for me. i was so proud of you guys. i love you all. >> he is the sweetest. the precinct raised $5,000 that will be put towards a college fund for tyrone. >> 49th precinct. >> a bunch of good people.

take us with you. >> keep watching "today in new york" by watching the news 4 app on your mobile device. our next hour starts now. house after house after house, a devastating fire in staten island. and it never happened. police in brazil say four u.s. swimmers flat outlayed. and introducing storm ranger 4 technology and no other. we'll show you how it works to track and analyze storms all over the tri-state area. "today in new york" starts now. debuting in a bit. very excited. good morning. 5:00 a.m. on this friday, august 19th. i'm michael gargiulo. >> i'm darlene rodriguez. storm team 4's chris cimino is here with the forecast. we'll talk about the new toy later, chris. >> we have some exciting news. storm ranger 4 out in the field this morning. out in the rockaways.