chris pallone, new york. >>> and you can hear the screams.usands of people sprinted into the icy atlantic ocean for the polar bear plunge. authorities brought in extra rescue crews to be safe. it's part of a weekend full of events aimed as raising money for a number of causes. it's chilly today but colder tomorrow morning? >> the first alerd continues through tonight and into tomorrow morning and actually into tuesday. near record cold and dangerous wind chills and potential for snow and heavy rain monday night and tuesday. some of the records challenged here, 2 in philadelphia, 6 below in atlantic city. the coldest of the air mass will be moving in over the course of the next several hours. zero in philadelphia. 8 below in allentown. 27 below in the poconos. and the coldest will be in place into the early morning hours. the wind chill warning expires in the poconos around 1:00 p.m. and the advisory in the philadelphia area extending southbound expires at 9:00 in the morning. dangerous into the early morning hours. looking at the radar and sa

chris pallone, nbc news, new york. >>> if you're hoping to see hillary clinton on monday, you'll get a clinton, just not the candidate herself. she cancelled her appearance and her husband is coming in her the clinton camp says hillary will stay in nevada for additional events there. florida holds its presidential primary election on march 15th. to ensure your vote, you have to register by february 16th, that's tuesday. early voting runs from march 5th to march 12th. find extensive coverage of the campaign trail on the nbc 6 news app. >>> still to come, a fatal pileup in pennsylvania closes a busy stretch of roadway. what's to blame for the highway havoc? >>> a horrific accident on a boston interstate. >>> if you're all about art, you're in luck. we head to the arts festival. >>> i'll have the forecast and know if anything chchges. >>> multiple fatalities being reported in a pileup on a central pennsylvania highway involving more than 50 vehicles.% this crash happened early this morning in bethel toship, 75 miles northwest of philadelphia. cars and trucks tangled together on the snow

chris pallone reports. >> for the first time in the 2016 campaign. six candidates will be on the debate stage trying to impress voters in south carolina. it's a state with a large percentage ofvoters who call themselves conservative evangelical christians. a fact not lost on texas senator ted cruz. >> they're looking for a consistent conservative. someone with a proven record of defending the constitution. rights. of defending the free market principles and judeo christian of this great nation. >> they've been sparring online and over the air waves for weeks. will they attack each other in person tonight in a state known for its rough and tumble campaigns. >> you have cruz. find out where he gets his money. >> perhaps the most pressure tonight is on florida senator marco rubio. analysts say he needs a strong debate performance. he was panned for his poor performance in the last debate. cruz is portraying him as a flip-flopping opportunist. the next democratic contest is saturday in nevada where vermont senator bernie sanders hillary clinton. iowa. ha

supreme court justice they @would nominate is a top topic @after the death of antonin @scalia and chris pallone recaps @the night. @>> the 6 remaining republicans @on the debate stage in south @carolina, just hours after @learning the death of justice @antonin scalia. @>> he'll go down as one of the @great justices in the history @of the republic. @>> they're urging the senate to @block president obama's next @appointment to the court. @>> they need to stand strong @and say we're not going to give @up the u.s. supreme court for a @generation by allowing @president obama to make one @>> after their wins in iowa and @new hampshire, it was jeb bush @and donald trump who got into @the most heated debate. @>> he's wrong. @jeb is, just so you understand, @you know, that's jeb's special @interest and lobbyist talking. @>> i'm sick and tired of him @going after my family. @>> when he was building a @reality tv show my brother was @building a security apparatus @to keep us safe. @>> the world trade center came @down. @>> he needed a bounce back @performance after the new @hampshire debate but the @senat

nbc's chris pallone has details. gunman shattered the peace in heston, kansas, people gather to remember those they lost. >> she was a really wonderful person. she was the greatest person've ever met in my life. she was my best friend. we have a big history together. >> reporter: renee benjamin was 30. brian sodowski was 30. joshua higby, 31, a new father. their co-worker at a lawn mower factory walked in and started shooting. as the community grieves, police continue their round-the-clock investigation. they've already interviewed most of the survivors and are still gathering evidence inside the factory. in all, 17 people shot. police say cedric ford used an assault rifle to hunun his victims, and now his former girlfriend is in jail. sarah hopkins is charged with knowingly giving a f frearm to a convicted felon. she could face ten years in investigators say ford had been slapped with a restraining order by a different ex-girlfriend shortly before he went on a shooting industry. his tra of destruction stopped by a l

chris pallone, nbc news, new york . >> anchor: straight ahead taking flight and tying the knot a couple coming together in a midair marriage. why the special ceremony could not have come at a better time . >> anchor: trouble inside a local chipolte is caught on camera. an armed suspect pull a gun on employees . >> anchor: on 7 news at 5:00, highway horror. a mega bus packed with people ignites. passengers on board sharing their stories today. all that and much more coming up next on 7 news. >> reporter: it's almost march and that means if you haven't done them yet it's time to get moving on your taxes . >>> there are important deductions you should be looking for that add up quickly . >> anchor: we have dea toll morning on 7 news today in new 5:00 a the world a president has to grapple with. imagine. that's the job. she can get it done. in nuclear weapons... of women... ...protecting social security... ...expanding benefits for the national guard... ...and winning health care for 8 million children... the presidency is the toughest job in the world and she's the one who'll make a real d

let's get right to nbc's chris pallone outside the courthouse in norristown, pennsylvania with the latest chris? >> reporter: good morning. court is now in a brief recess, its first break of the morning. bill cosby's long-time general counsel was the first witness on the stand this morning. he's been questioned by both the prosecution and defense for the past couple of hours. cosby arrived much as he did yesterday, to cheers from many people in the area who gathered to watch the 78-year-old comedian enter court. he arrived around 9:30 this morning. court started shortly thereafter. in questioning this morning, cosby's general counsel said it was fully his understanding that cosby would never be criminally prosecuted for this incident that happened in 2004 between cosby and one of his associates, andrea constand. he said the only written thing he had guaranteeing that cosby would not be prosecuted was a press release issued by then-district attorney bruce pastor in 2005 that said he would not prosecute this case. he admitted there was no other verbal or signed agreement that said cosby wou

chris pallone is following charges on cosby -- and has more today... entertainment icon bill cosby. in court in a philadelphia suburb. facing tuesday's hearing: a pivotal moment in the case against the 78-year old. all eyes are on former montgomery county district attorney bruce castor. he told prosecutors last year he made a promise to cosby a decade ago. prosecute, if cosby testified in a civil lawsuit. cosby did, and settled that lawsuit in 2006. "i remember thinking that he probably did do something current district attorney ys there's noo evidenn such an agreement ever existed. cosby is charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault stemming from a 2004 encounter with former temple university basketball employee, andrea constand. constand contends in early 2004 cosby ddugged her and sexually assaulted her. cosby kevin steele decided to file charges last year after a judge other things, cosby admitted he gave constand pills and wine that night. "it t oesn't get any y etter than having the district attorney at the time say i made this deal and it should be honored. that's

here's chris pallone with a recap for us this morning... the six remaining republican candidates for president on the debate stage in south carolina. just hours after learning of the death of supreme court justice antonin scalia. the candidates heaping conservative stalwart. great justices in the history of this republic." now with an unexected court vacancyy many of the candidates are urging the senate to block president obama's next appointment to the court. "the senate needs to stand strong and say we're not going to give up the u.s. supreme court for a generation by allowing barack obama to make one more liberal appointee." while donald trump and ted cruz have been sniping at bush who got in the most heated exchanges in the palmetto state. "jeb is so wrong. jeb is interest and lobbyists talking." "i'm sick and tired of him going down during your brother's reign." many analysts say marco rubio needed a bounce back performance after stumbling in the new hampshire debate. but the florida senator disappeared from the discussion for long str

nbc's chris pallone has the latest details. >> reporter: just a day after a gunman shattered the peace in heston, kansas, people gather to remember those they lost. >> she was a really wonderful person. she was the greatest person i've ever met in my life. she was my best friend. we have a big history together. >> reporter: renee benjamin was 30. brian sadowski was 30. factory walked in and started shooting. as the community grieves, police continue their roundndhe-clock investigation. they've already interviewed most of the survivors and are still gathering evidence inside the facry. in all, 17 people shot. police say cedric ford used an assault rifle to hunt his viims, and now his former girlfriend is in jail. sarah hopkins is chargewith knowingly giving a firearm to a convicted felon. she could face ten years in federal prison if convicted. investigators say ford had been slapped with a restraining order by a different ex-girlfriend shortly before he went on a shooting spree. his trail of destruction stopped by a lone police officer who followed him into the factory and shot him to

we'll go to nbc's chris pallone, live in norristown with details on the argument. >> reporter: yeah, barbara, this hearing has been under way for a little more than two hours now. cosby's attorneys basically arguing that three sexual assault charges against him should be thrown out. cosby arrived at the courthouse before 9:30 having a tan suit. he did have a cane with him, but he was whisked quickly into the courthouse. he did not say anything as he went in today. at issue here is an agreement. cosby's attorneys say that ten years ago the district attorney here promised cosby he would not be criminally prosecuted for sexual assault if he testified in a civil trial. cosby did do that and now the attorney must decide if that agreement is valid. cosby is charged with three counts of aggravated sexual assault stemming from a 2004 encount irwith a former temple university basketball employee. she contends that in 2004 cosby drugged her and sexually assaulted her. cosby says that that contact was consensual. now, montgomery county's new district attorney brought new charges after the trans