mbta now confirms they are investigating a potentially very >> daniel: that's right. they tell us inbound red line train left the braintree station without an operator. that train made no stops and got just past north quincy station when the mbta depowered the line causing that train to stop. now, the "t" says it is investigating initial reports that safety device in train's cab may have been tampered with. we are going to go right now to fox25's catherine parrotta who's joining us with information. catherine, what are you hearing. >> catherine: arrived here at jfk umass and look over here it appears to be business as usual, although it is certainly not the case here a little while ago and passengers from the red line train were actually taken after the train was able to be stopped and mbta personnel boarded and this is where they brought the train. here is information they have right now, newly released by the mbta and there's an incident underway, serious incident on red line train and the red line train started off with braintree station after 6:00 this morning and

the mbta says this runway tree departed braintree at 6:08 a.m. a passenger we spoke with told us the train started picking up speed after it passed through quincy center station right here. she said there were no emergency messages. the train did not stop until the t cut the power line, that was some nine minutes later. the six cars that made up the train that came to a halt just after north quincy over here. they were taken on to a j.f.k. stop where eventually the people were taken off, but that's just over five miles from braintree. >> vanessa: readers inside the train understandably started getting worried when they were not stopping at any of the stations. or robert goulston tracked down one man who said he broke the operator compartment door open to discover nobody was driving the train. this is a picture he took inside. robert continues our team story and an interview you'll news. >> the reporter: when that train left braintree, it was supposed to stop here at quincy avenue, but the train kept going, all the way past north quincy. we did ta

the mbta general manager is incident. he released a statement this morning saying that passenger safety is their highest priority. wcvb newscenter 5. emily: thank governor baker is saying believes that train was tampered with. frank holland is live at the jfk-umass station. frank: the cause of that runaway train is under investigation by t police. the fbi has also been notified. governor baker is confirming that the runaway train was tampered with, but not providing any other details right now. fortunately, all the passengers were able to get off here safely . this is a live look at that we expect investigators to take an especially close look at the entire train and a safety device within the cap. that might have been the with. no specific details about the nature of the tampering, but governor baker says it appears whoever was responsible had and how it works. cooperating with law in the investigation. they are currently interviewing several people, including the gentleman who was the operator of the train. the most imp

meanwhile, outside the mbta's operations center on hyde street ago, an mbta employee who wouldn't identify himself told fox 25 while the disciplinary proceedings are underway, david vasquez did not attend the hearing scheduled for today. fox 25 first reported one of the alleged breach safety procedures that set the unmanned train in motion, a passenger gave thus photo of the train's cab and around the throttle which controls the train's movements. sources close to the investigation said vasquez also failed to engage the train's brake, before he stepped off that train. that mbta employee tells fox 25 that the disciplinary hearings will continue. now we have made several attempts to speak with mr. vasquez, we went to his home, called but have not gotten response. live in dorchester, fox 25 news. >> vanessa: the t workers responsible for stopping that redline train honored for the quick action at the state house. governor baker joining mbta leaders to commend mark mcneal and aims live saunders, both center. other for instance safely out of the wave and cutting power to finally halt the run aw

mbta is going to stop collecting fairs at 8:00 p.m. and run until 2:00 a.m., so partiers, revellers will be able to get home safely there. most lines will run a modified weekday schedule so you want to check to make sure you keep an eye on that. if you are driving regular street parking meter rules are in effect. when it comes to the party, live music kick off in just about four and a half hours. 12:00 a parade starts from here at copley, go down boylston to the boston common at 6:00 p.m. and then that's when the first of two fireworks displays and director really excited for this year, first year this particular organization taken over the festivities, buttons and every part of this event free. >> excited, family friendly atmosphere, going to maintain the traditions as well as a lot of new stuff to be able to see. >> michael: director in participation and boston police department security plan and in studio interview yesterday that they are very confident in that security and go over that in greater detail coming up in about 30 minute

. >>> plus a new report is blaming the mbta for disastrous winter on the rails. the biggest issue facing commuters. >>announcer: complete new england news coverage starts right now. this is the fox25 morning news. >>> and it is 4:30 on your new year's eve. take a live look at times square. you can see it is much empty you can see it is much emptier than later today. it will be packed with hundreds of thousands of people there to ring in 2016. good morning, i am catherine parrotta in for daniel miller. >> julie: i am julie grauert. still a threat of ice this morning, but things will take a turn. fox25 storm tracker weather meteorologist shiri spear say it will be warm for your new year's eve plan. shiri. >> reporter: things are going to warm up and also dry out. i am going to show you the last couple of hours you see a lot of pink moving through north and west of boston and that is the freezing rain and that's we do have a foggy situation right now, but no dense fog showing up. it will be foggy and damp this morning and for some of you it will be icy. just plain r

, mbta." the mbta is trying to close a gap along with the possible 10% fare hike, steps could include elimination of early morning weekend service as well as boosting advertising and parking revenue. the mbta has been working to prepare for winter weather, spending more than $90 million as they add tens of thousands of feet of new third rail and third rail heating systems. still, according to the report, there is a 7.3 billion dollar backlog of repairs looming over the whole system. a number that will likely grow. and according to the report, the need to make those repairs is dire, and if left unaddressed, it could... the cost could rise by billions of dollars. we're live in boston this morn, jennifer egan, 7news "today in new england." >> sarah: we have new details. the chipotle at cleveland circle in boston could be reopened by the end of the week, this after all employees were tested for norovirus and one manager was fired according to the boston business journal. follow-up of the building.

the mbta could have predicted some of these cost overreturns. three meet again next week to discuss whether and if the green line expansion project should move forward. we reached out again after the meeting today to the contractor they have no comment. for fox 25 investigates i'm kerry kavanaugh. >>> fake page dedicated to defending the rights of white europeans. the creator is a mystery but claims ties to harvard university. the family of an army veteran. they were read in court as the killer was sentenced. >> nothing left except ash and debris after a fast moving fire destroyed a 18th century you house. the fire broke out around 10:00 this morning on hilldale avenue. firefighters arriving were not sent inside that home because of the condition. the you house was declared a complete loss around 11:30. the cause of that fire is still under investigation. >>> a malden man convicted in killing of a local army veteran has been sentenced to life with no parole. jury found eugene tate guilty of first-degree murder felony murder last week. he accused

now the mbta says we will not see that again this year. >>> and mbta general manager frank depaula joins us now on the phone. good morning, frank. >>caller: good morning, sara, how are you. >> sara: i am great. i understand issues on the red line. can you tell us if these are weather related? >>caller: earlier this morning jfk station. it was -- the heater was not functioning so it became impacted with ice. so we had to send a maintenance crew there to -- to resolve that by hand. that has been resolved. and the red line is running normally. all other lines have been running normally since the start of the morning commute. >> daniel: frank, tell us what you all have done to since last winter to keep things moving. >>caller: we have done a lot. for example, overnight last night we ran trains with de-icing fluid on the outdoor de-icing fluid on the outdoor sections of the orange, the red and the blue line to make sure things were free. of course the blueline has overhead cables. we used different equip. 200 additional people assigned throughout the system to make sure that we can resolve th

and the mbta confirms the operator failed to set the the train. we're also learning the mbta is sending verbal and written reminders of its rules to every operator on its staff. tonight fox 25's kerry kavanaugh goes inside the command center to learn more about mbta crews that were train. >> they were able to watch >> correct. >> reporter: eyes on the runaway red line train that took off unmanned from the morning. >> the dispatchers along the nine minute duration of the particular incident made the decision to clear any and all northbound trains that branch. >> reporter: we went inside center with jeff who said dispatchers decided to direct all lead trains to keep on going making no stops until they passed the j.f.k. station. >> however, the fact that this train was not making any station stops had the decision been made to dispatcher to not express those trains obviously that window you would have diminished. >> reporter: at the same time the control center killed power to the third runaway train. the operator identified as david vasquez had brea

the mbta says he will face a disciplinary hearing on monday. transportation secretary pollack said if there is any silver lining in this, it's the reaction of the command center and the people inside here on hyde street. we'll take you inside there tonight at 6:00 p.m., to show you exactly how the decision was made to safely bring this train to a stop. live if boston, kerry kavanaugh, fox 25 news. >> and the mbta says the redline was the oldest in its fleet. it was built around 1970 and then rebuilt in 1985. despite that, the mbta says these older cars are the most reliable of all the redline cars, and all 25 of those older cars are still in service. >> fox 25 did some digging into this mbta operator's driving history as well. records we pulled from the register of motor vehicles shows david vasquez was cited eight times for speeding between 1984 and 2000. he also has been found at fault in two accidents. and we also checked manhattan payroll records. vasquez was paid just over $96,000 in 2014. we first showed you these photos yesterday and rig

the mbta says this run away train departed the station 6:08 a.m. it was still dark outside. the train started picking up speed after it passed quincy center station and said, there were no emergency messages as they proceeded here. the train did not stop until the t cut the power line to the third rail. now that was nine minutes later. the six cars that made up the train came to a halt, just after north quincy. actually, passengers got off at j.f.k.-umass. in tote al, that's just over five miles from braintree. >> vanessa: it was a frightening five miles for everyone on board. fox 25's crystal haynes is live in boston, where the mbta gave all of this happened. crystal? >> >> the reporter: well, vanessa, we know that secretary pollack is saying that the primary focus of this investigation is operator error, but we know it was a scary morning commute, for some 50 passengers that were on the so called ghost train for at least four stops before it actually came to a halt. a nightmare commute for 50 passengers on the redline from braintree. it started around 6:00 a.m., when the o

todd is in cambridge with a tough federal report for the mbta. randy: and antoinette is tracking new details in the case against bill cosby. now that the comedian has not been charged. but first cindy has your forecast. cindy: it is a gl oomy start this morning. it is foggy. the careful, the fog sitting on the cold surfaces can result in icy conditions. march field is running close to 46 degrees. this is where we have the last of the showers and they are we are going to see drying of hours. after the fog lifts in the clouds begin to break, we will see sunshine. by noon, there will be sunshine shifts to the west. temperatures will make it into the mid-40' s on the coastline. everybody is getting melting. this will be moving out and a working in our direction. anywhere. if you are heading into boston tonight, temperatures close -- we begin the new year tomorrow with dry conditions, sunshine and around 40 in the afternoon. upper 30' s and breezy on saturday. action between the north of 395. this is a big vacation week. that means lighter volume thro

. >> the driver of the runaway red line train no longer works at the mbta. he was supposed to be at the line. more. since the train flew down the tracks without any man in control. and now he's out of a job. 7news has confirmed david vasquez no longer works for the mbta. there were about 50 people on board last week when the train left the mbta station and traveled mans for about 9 minutes. thankfully no one was hurt. investigators say vasquez tied a cord around the throttle and did not set the brakes before he got off the train, again that driver no longer works for the mbta tonight. in the newsroom, elizabeth noreika, 7news. >>> the first case connected to the death of freddie gray ending in a mistrial. tonight protestors gathering in baltimore, we've got some pictures coming in right now of some crowds that are demonstrating and just listen. >> along the streets, they're lined with police officers. let's get to ryan schulteis here with more tonight. >> freddie gray died after he was taken into police custody and jurors say they could not determine whether

. >>> new this morning the mbta sunday fire again. a new federal report says the t is not maintaining its tracks which isn't good news as we fox25's jessica reyes live at the oak grove station in malden with reaction from commuters, jess? >> catherine, a new report means a number of serious safety issues with the t mainly with maintenance and services for disabled people. we spoke with a number of passengers here at the station at oak grove at the end of the orange line. many of them say they have not seen much of a change at all since last winter. >> with the worst of winter still ahead, a brand-new report is out saying the t still has a long way to go on a number of safety issues. >> i don't see any difference. i mean, the summer, you know, the last few weeks. they are always having a problem every day. >> reporter: the report was done by the federal transit administration and found a number problems number problems with the mbta, specifically its maintenance plan and service for riders with disabilities. riders we spoke to say they

>> every day is different here at the mbta' s operation control center. a day. in fact, the orange line is referred to as the two second line because that is how often the phone rings. >> for a split second or so, i said to myself, did he really just say what i thought he said mbta for 15 years. s no operator on board. they start to kick windows out. now you have people trying to jump on or off. s a dangerous situation. >> supervisor mcneil decided to of it. once they passed jfk, it was >> hands in the air. it stopped. >> his message to commuters is that 24 hours a day, seven days a week, there are eyes on the screen trying to resolve the issues. >> things happen all the time, things the public doesn' t know about. we are always behind the scenes working to resolve the problem. >> even when the train did finally stopped, the dispatchers job did not. the train could roll backward, so they had a very small window to get passengers safely off. mcdonald, wbc be -- wcvb newscenter 5. erika: new this noon, sources tell newscenter 5 the driver of the runaway mbta train

the mbta also confirms the brake. issues addressed by the governor and transportation secretary today. >> there are specific actions by operators that are categorized as prohibited acts. and undertaking such a prohibited act makes an employee subject to termination. vasquez remains on administrative leave as this investigation continues. he could be terminated today we also learned that the t to put trains in bypass mode unless there is a second mbta official present at the time. and that could lead to additional delays for passengers. >> ted: we continue to follow breaking news at 6 '30s p.m. revere police have arrested a man wanted in the deadly shooting of two people, a third victim is expected to survive. fox 25's christine mccarthy is live in revere with information about the suspected killer. christine. >> well, ted, an officer here with the revere police department tells me that michael deloan was arrested in quincy quickly brought here to the police department for questioning and to be held here until his arra

all 25 of the older cars are still in service. >>> fox 25 did some digging into this mbta operator's driving history as well. records we pull from the registry of motor vehicles showed david vasquez was cited eight times for 2000. he has also been found at fault in two accidents. we also checked mbta payroll records vasquez was paid >>> our coverage continues throughout the fox 25 news at 10:00. in the next half hour fox 25 investigates compares the t system of communication with passengers to other cities. that's ahead at 10:00. >>> new at 10:00 a second arrest has been made in the shooting death of a new hampshire man. 21-year-old adrian stillwater has been charged with conspiracy to commit murder. he's from dorchester. the man accused of firing the trigger 25-year-old michael young faced a judge. authorities say young shot 37-year-old michael pittman multiple times last month. investigators believe the crime may be tied to gangs and drugs. >>> young is being held until a judge can determine whether there is probable cause in the case. >>> a potential year back ad pulled before it

the mbta is trying to close the projected $240 to $2 million budget gap. steps could include elimination of early morning weekend service as well as boosting advertising and parking revenue. the mbta has been working to prepare for winter weather spending more than $90 million as they add tens of thousands of feet of new third rail as well as heating systems. still, according to the report, there is a $7.3 billion backlog of repairs looming over the likely grow. sarah french, 7news. >>> and we're following more news today. a woman accused of intentionally driving her car into a crowd of people on the las vegas strip facing a judge today. prosecutors say la keisha holloway's 3-year-old daughter was in the car on sunday when she's accused of barreling through crowd on the sidewalk. one person was killed and dozens more hurt. holloway did not enter a plea but prosecutors say the evidence shows she meant to cause that crash. >> in this case a video tells 1,000 words. it's pretty clear that this wasn't just an isolated right turn into a couple of people. >> we'

randy: a new report on the mbta. complaints about t maintenance. erika: a baby born prematurely is home tonight. the medical miracle that is baby noah. almost. cindy: last morning of 2015 and it is a damp one in the south coast and the cape. there is quite a bit of rain happening. farther north and west, i want precipitation is. some patchy drizzle. that is important because the temperatures north and west of town are holding around the freezing mark. to be careful. -- do be careful. 35 in boston. in plymouth, in the low-to-mid 40' s. this storm will move up high pressure will begin to nose in. in. so, after several gloomy days, later this morning we could get some sunshine back. s. 45 for the last day it does cool down gradually tonight. year' s eve forecast coming up in a bit. jeff: good morning. it is a nice ride starting off this morning. the roads are wet. the temperature hovering around freezing. there is a possibility of slick spots on the secondary roads. the leverett connector, traffic moving very well around the city. down to the south ro

and we also went into the mbta command center. coming up in 30 minutes, exactly how dispatchers there were finally able to stop that runaway train. in braintree, i'm stephanie, fox25 news. >> a man accused of killing two people and injuring a third is now in jail. >> he was arrested on friday in quincy, he's charged with the cree, kristi johnson and 66 year old retiree, peter pitari, who is loved by neighbors who call them pops. one neighbor who asked us not to show her face said she heard johnson's boyfriend screaming for help. i'm terrible. i haven't slept. because i know these people. it's very hard. you think you're okay in your own home, and some crazy lunatic in the face. >> the district court. the injured victim is expected to survive. >> this morning a second arrest has been made in the shooting death of a manchester new hampshire man. 21-year-old adrian still well is now charged with conspiracy to commit murder. here's from dorchester. yesterday the trigger man, 20-year-old michael young faced a judge. authorities say you

, while the mbta fixes this emergency, busing passengers, this is the third branch of the mbta having storm. jim shields is live, bill. hoping this is not a harbinger of things to come, one or two inches here and there, a problem on the redline here, this afternoon you had a problem on the green line. then this evening that ceiling, a little piece of a great gave way on the blue line from bode in over to maverick, it was not a great day for the t. you gotta wonder if it wasn't for bad luck the redline would have no luck at all, the first snow storm of the season and there is a problem with the switch. redline. >> just because it's only half- inch of snow or so and some rain, you know, we could have another winter like last year. happen. so, you know, it does kind of stink, but, you know, you would out. >> reporter: the t has spent equipment and upgraded the and today, there was a switch issue. >> complications happen every year, they happen whether or not it's snowing. so they are going to happen here or there, hopefully since we had last winner it was so bad we are going to better kn

reporting live in canton, ted daniel, fox 25 news. >>> mbta says they are focusing on operator error for today's train crisis. the reason the train started to move after he stepped outside is because it was in bypass mode. both sets of the brakes on the train appear to have not been system was disengaged. >> the mbta first and foremost responsibility to its riders to make sure that we keep them safe, as i think everyone knows by now this morning an incident occurred on the red line that represents an unacceptable breach of our responsibility to keep our riders safe. >> in bypass mode the train is supposed to not go over 25 miles per hour but some passengers tell fox 25 they believe the train was speeding during the incident. >> in light of the runaway train at the braintree station, some experts are calling for the return of an old safety measure. while there's one conductor on every train there used to be two. some transportation experts believe today's incident would not have happened if there had been someone else on board. there are other safety mechanisms in place but the conduc

mbta faces a potential $242 million deficit in the next fiscal year. a big reason for that is all the money they are paying out in salary and overtime. nearly a quarter of all t worker are making $100,000 a year or more. rail operators make 30 percent more that. national averageand bus operators make 50 percent higher than the national average. in most extreme camp a maintenance foreman made $315,000 in 2015. he was able to more than triple his base salary because of back pay that was owed him and working 2648 hours of overtime. >> now taking a look at the recent controversy in the race for the white house. donald trump going after hillary clinton calling out the democratic presidential candidate for losing the and some say his language is vulgar. >> she was going to be beat he shoe favored to win she got schlonged she lost. it important to stand up to bullies where every they are. and why we shouldn't let anybody bully his way into presidency. trump received backlash for his comments and tonight he took things to twitter denying the use of using sexua

mbta police will continue investigating this women's death. all we know about her at this point she was about 42 years old. from downtown crossing. victoria warrens, 7 news "today in new england." new details on changes that could be coming to fenway park. major league baseball recommends more safety measure at ballpark after some fans were hurt by broken bat and foul balls. nicole oliverio has more from fenway park. >> reporter: the red sox agreed league teams to try to better protect fans from getting hurt by foul balls and broken bats. announcing the organization will add more netting between home plate and the dugout. hurt. do. >> those nets will likely prevent injury including the one carpenter. carpenter was nearly killed by a broken bat last june. she and her son were near the dugout not behind nets. weeks later wapenski was also hit in the face by a foul ball. imagine. the connecticut women received dozens of stitched. told the "boston herald" she was surprised they decided to add new netting rules but thinks it's a good idea. the red

. >> pollack said a new policy put in place yesterday now requires a senior mbta official to go to the train whenever a signal system has to be put into a bypass mode which t officials , say happens up to a dozen times a week, systemwide. >> we have focused and rightfully so on what appear to be the irresponsible action of a single individual. >> there are a myriad of unanswered questions. for example, how can commuters communicate with the mbta which they couldn' t do yesterday if the conductor isn' t available? and do other operators ever rig the throttle? they couldn' t answer that question. wasn' t the result of sinister motives, do you have any confidence that someone with bad intentions, could do something even more dangerous? >> i think that' s one of the ll be looking for our the federal folks to help us think through. >> she also declined to answer that question. basque asquez is on administrative leave. j.c.: inside the mbta' s control center. the split-second decisions needed to keep riders safe. more than one solution to the complex problem came up. julie mcdonald continues

and he said that the passenger safety is the highest for the mbta and this is troubling. it's under investigation by the transit police detectives, and witnesses be obviously are going to be interviewed here, the train operator as well. people able to tamper with the safety device contained in the cab, and you have as well, and i do too, a statement from the press secretary for governor charlie baker, saying that the governor is grateful that obviously no passengers were injured in this incident. and he's calling it troubling as well. and they will be monitoring the investigation very closely too. >> and again, the mbta is confirmed that an employee was struck by this train and received a minor injury. we're waiting to hear what capacity this employee worked with the mbta and where it occurred as we look live over sky hd. and the boston fbi is aware that there's an incident and they're in contact with the transit police. so it's very interesting that the fbi is involved. and again, the investigation includes a look into this initial report that a safety device within the

. >> sarah: with the winter weather hitting as commuters venture out, the mbta says they now last year the "t" was pounded by the storms and couldn't keep up with the snow. 7's nicole oliverio live in worcester this morning with more on how things are going today. but not as much snow this morning, nicole? >> reporter: no. not a lot of problems this morning. so this is definitely a nice way to sort of ease into winter. right now we're sort of seeing the change over that jeremy was talking about with the rin rain. the snow that stuck on on the ground here became wet and heavy snow and that causes the problems for the mbta, is when they can't get that snow off of the rails. improvements for the pafl several months to try and make sure that what happened last winter does not happen again this year. they have sprayers on some of the red line, blue line, and orange line trains and also some de-icers to make sure that the third rail does not freeze up. passengers we spoke with today who are getting ready to take the train still say that it is a in and that so far, so good. >> it's good to ha

the mbta blames those severe delays on mechanical problems. the mbta saying it was the commuter line trail, the kingston plymouth line that got stuck between braintree and south weymouth station around 10:00. the mbta posted alerts on twitter advising people that the train would be delayed, but that delay kept growing and growing to between 70 and 80 minutes. now another train was finally brought in to help get that one here to kingston, which arrived at 12:45 a.m. now one man who was on the train posted this picture to social media. it shows one of the cars on the disabled train. another passenger we spoke with when she made it off expressed her frustration saying it feels like winter all over again, but keep in mind we're talking about temps in the 60s right now and this train was only stuck a few hours ago some a far cry from last winter, but passengers say they hope it's in the a sign for things to come. live in kingston, nicole england." >> sarah: new this morning, the driver of last week's runaway red line train is denying claims he rigg

they said the mbta lacks maintenance plans for subway and trolley tracks. the ride, which is the door-to-door service it uses for disabled riders and boston harbor cruises, which operates the oak grove station in malden was mentioned by name in that report, saying it is not accessible at all for disabled drives right now. >> thin rash or space to get over to the elevator. i know they probably struggle to get over to the elevator and on and off of it. >> jessica: mbta says it will be extremely expensive to get everything up to par. coming up next hour how much they say it could cost. live in malden, i'm jessica reyes, fox25 news. >> julie: issue drivers could get pulled over tonight. drivers are only allowed to work there if they register with the city. former driver created an app that let's people request rides from unregistered drivers and pay for the ride on tip based model. officers say they will be on lookout for unregistered >>> julie: live look at pike through brighton, volume nice and light and it has been pretty quiet throughout the morning. it is

. >> all while trying to get the mbta on track after the disastrous winter. andy hiller went one on one with the governor reflecting on his year in office and looking ahead. here's andy with his hiller instinct. >> hello, governor. >> you better go easy on me. >> has it really been a year. >> reporter: charlie baker was sworn in in january. within months he was being called the most popular politician in america. the which was quite a turnaround for a candidate who runs a competent but chairsmatically challenged campaign. >> you always wanted to get in to manage. you had to convince people that you would be a good manager so that they would overlook certain -- >> character flaws? shortcomings. >> okay. i'm clearly the better i i would agree with that and more comfortable in the role of of candidate. >>> it might be interesting or clever but it doesn't get us anywhere. >> reporter: unexpectedly the t has become his big issue. there might a snow covered mbta train stuck on the top of the state house. >> when you came in here, you were saying i'm not even the t.

mbta safety is the topic of our eyeopener now poll. does the agency have enough safety controls in place? add your vote to our wcvb facebook page. antoinette: right now, police for a man who swiped a donation our todd kazakiewich is here with the efforts to get it back. todd? todd: good morning. $30 in it, but that money was intended to provide christmas gifts help families in need. it's known as sun santa fund, a charity effort run by the lowell sun. the paper posted this surveillance video on its website. the suspect is seen picking up the jar, looking at the money bag and walking out. it happpened sunday at the 7 eleven on chelmsford street in lowell. police are still searching for the thief. in the meantime, though, a new donation jar has been put on counter at 7-eleven. antoinette: the hunt for answers in the california shooting rampage moves under water. fbi and local divers are searching the lake about three miles from the scene of the shooting. they are looking for digital devices the killers may have tried to destroy. investig

many mbta trains broke down or got stuck stranding thousands of commuters. the governor wasn't happy. next week everybody comes back to work and the thing better be working. but it wasn't all bad. by summer, the winter blues were one, 2. three. >>> he took an ice bucket challenge. wearing a free brady t-shirt. in new hampshire, the presidential race heated up in 2015 because of one politician who was on everyone's lips. donald trump. donald trump. if you look at donald trump, donald trump jumped into another republican race and from the start said whatever was on his mind. >> they are bringing drugs, they are bringing crime. they're rapists. donald trump is calling total can complete shut down muslim entering united states. i would bomb. frank talk boosted his poll numbers. >> his opponents tried to pull him down. to no avail. really tough you're never going to be president united states. by insulting you're a 42 and you're 3. doesn't matter. doesn't matter. >> on democratic side of new hampshire, former secretary of and neck with vermont senator bernie sand

mbta. they are trying to close a gap. along with the possible 10% fare hike step could include elimination of service as well parking revenue. the mbta is working to prepare for winter weather spending more than $90 million as they add tens of thousands of feed of rail as well as heating systems. still according to the report there's a 7.3 billion of backlog. a number that will likely grow. >> according to that report the need to make the repairs is dier and could rise by billions of dollars if they are not addressed. >> now to the race to the white house. donald trump coming out the media in wake of controversial comments. in the mean time her campaign isn't officially responding. this morning simply her answer to young girl's question at rally about bullying is got so settle hit. explain. >>> at that rally clinton was asked ability bullying. comparison to campaign. this as he tweeted overnight what he called the bias media incorrectly defined his word. >> that's why it's important to stan

we have been talking about the mbta. they are running rush-hour service after 3:00 on the subway and exit commuter rail service throughout the night. erika: starting with big changes for first night. this is the first year boston is not running event. all events are free of charge. there is heightened security but no specific threat. brussels is canceling its new year' s fireworks because of terror concerns. two people a been arrested for plotting against the belgian capital. he was arraigned wednesday. randy: not surprise passengers who have been stranded in the cold. but a new federal report is putting the mbta in the hot seat over gaps that could cause big problems for riders. todd is in cambridge with the findings. todd: good morning. this report obtained by the global and among the many revelations, the most troubling maybe this -- federal regulators do not think the t has a plan for maintaining its system of trolley tracks and subway tracks and its stations. the report specifically says the mbta engineers and maint

and the mbta is reviewing its procedures. since 2011 its red line trains have had only one operator on board. live in the studio, jean mackin, wmur news9. shelley: state police say a woman from windham drove the wrong way on the everett turnpike for nearly 60 miles overnight. troupe say around 1:00 this morning the 24-year-old was driving north in the southbound lane starting your exit 13, going to the bedford toll' s all the way up to the hooksett tolls plaza. officers used spike strips to slow her car down. she has been charged with driving while intoxicated. >> many persons who are under s -- which direction they are driving it. point of reference for them to notice they are driving the wrong way. shelley: she was arrested. a senate committee has given its approval to the president' s nominee for the next u.s. attorney for new hampshire. senator jeanne shaheen and kelly ayotte say they will support emily rice. she would replace the acting u.s. attorney. there is one annual event in the city of manchester tailored especiall

major delays on the blue line as we speak as the mbta makes some emergency repairs. we will tell you about that. the repairs come as the first storm of the season hit the bay state. a flash freeze is causing tell you how that is going to happen and a shooting turns deadly in mattapan. police are trying to track down the person who pulled the trigger. those stories and more coming up next at 6:00. we hope to see you. >> the business of space flight took one giant leap. we'll tell you more about the rocket that made history today not wits launch but with its return. we continue our series target cancer with a being look at the experiment that what would you do with five minutes to kill, and a smart phone? check the scores. probably post a pic. text a friend. how about register to vote? really? you can. five minutes online and a massachusetts drivers license is all it takes to register so you can vote for our next president. go to registertovotema.com. it's that easy. done. i just registered. that was easy. register today. what makes this simple salad the heart healthy

. >>> and learning his fate, the conductor of a run away redline train goes through the mbta disciplinary board. >>> and honoring a staple in the community, the sweet way brookline is saying good-bye to sweetness to their neighborhood . >>> breaking news right now at noon, the entire los angeles school district, the nation's second largest is closed because of a threat. good afternoon i'm chris mckinnon. >>> and i'm cath ridge hauser, that threat forced them to shut down more than 900 schools. this morning they ordered the school busses back to the yard because of this threat. right now authorities will only say the threat was received electronically. chris martinez reports from los angeles. >> we are closing all district campuses today due to a threat that has come. >> calls like this one went out to parents in los angeles this morning as authorities closed down the entire los angeles unified school district over an unspecified electronic threat made to "many schools." >> some of the details talked about backpacks, talked about other packages. >> police are investigating the further deta

emily: an mbta train operator is off the job right now. the mistake that has the agency under fire and the reaction from union leaders. antoinette: breaking overnight, canada welcoming syrian refugees with open arms. the pledge to help those in a war-torn region on the eye. a heated exchange between two lawmakers in brazil leads to quite a scuffle here. we will show you to rest of it. it is pretty eye popping. i'm emily riemer. the fog out there is kind of ridiculous this morning. cindy: it is widespread. widespread fog out there. dense fog advisory for most of the area until 9:00 a.m. this is where visibility will drop down to around a quarter of a mile or less. there is some fog out to worcester county but the visibilities are not down as much. 2 1/2 miles worcester. four miles orange. outside of this area, you head toward the coast and notice how the visibility drops. in boston it is 1/3 of a mile. beverley under a mile. plymouth as well. you get the idea. the fog is out there and will be 52 in plymouth this morning. a very mild start a

meanwhile, outside the mbta's operations center on hyde street, an mbta employee who wouldn't identify himself told fox 25 while the discipline david vasquez did not attend the hearing scheduled today. fox 25 first reported one of the alleged breached safety procedures that set the unmanned train in motion, a passenger gave us there photo of the train's cab and told us he saw a cord wrapped around the throttle, which controls the train's movements. sources controls to the investigation said vasquez failed to engage the train's brake before he stepped off that train. since last week, fox 25 has made several attempts to speak with mr. vasquez. we have not received any response. we reached out today to the carmen's union that represents them and all they would say is the process is ongoing and he should be afforded his due process. >> mark: tonight, there are new questions about what the public was told and whether, fox 25's sharman sachetti is also learning about how t police learned of the runway train, she continues our team coverage. new at 6:00 p.m. >> we've learned transit police ac

the mbta says the switch has been fixed. we'll keep you posted. >> jeremy: still monitoring the rain/snow/freezing rain babtdz. the pink shade marching through massachusetts at this time. reports of heavier sleet across southern new hampshire. traveling this morning, it is a slow go. as we work to the middle part of rain, more rain, but even rain itself will be a nuisance when traveling. as we work into the latter half of the afternoon as well as this evening, pockets of drizzle as well as some freezing drizzle. flying out of boston today should not be major issue. just rain in the city. then you get out of new england. the air does warm up. chicago 34. pittsburgh at 51. scattered showers in florida. scattered showers in the pacific northwest. dry in san francisco and los angeles today. >> sarah: still ahead at 6:30, we're keeping a close eye on the roads. drivers facing the first test of the season as winter returns to new england. there are already a lot of delays. stay with us. we'll give you an update after >> nancy: win

this is all coming from the mbta fiscal control board. they voted to allow hike up to 10% every two years. some state lawmakers are vowing to fight that saying the law on the books is for hikes every two years with the hike maxing out at 5%. even with the 5% hike the mbta is looking at $242 million budget gap next year. a big reason for that is all the money they are paying out in salaries and overtime. are making 100,000 or more. rail operator make 30% more than the national average and bus operator make 50% more than a national average. and the most extreme example a maintenance foremen made 315,000 he was able to more than triple his base salary because of back pay owed him and working 2,648 overtime hour. a big reason for all of that overtime pay was the record breaking snowfall that happened last year. but now some people are asking for an audit saying the numbers seem way too high. we should know in the new year a little bit more information about the exact amount of any proposed fare hikes. in boston, victoria warren, 7news "today

mbta police say it happened around 6:40 and the 40-year-old victim was killed by a northbound train. >> we are working on getting the victim from under the train. >> one of the rails arced before testing it to remove the victim. >> there was a slight injury, but they're fine. they went to the hospital to be checked out. >> while the red line was shut down, shuttle buss were taking people to harvard or j.f.k. station. >> i went to the green line, and it was a whole mess. >> reporter: there were long lines and frustrated commuters standing, waiting at the end of the long day. >> we're going to j.f.k. our car is near the area. something. >> reporter: she was one of the lucky ones. once again, the red line is open once again, but there are major delays if you're taking that subway line. in downtown boston, john monahan. >> more remains missing from a worcester cemetery with six sets of bones vanished six days ago, and police think this could be connected to a cult. we are live in worcester where other cemeteries are asked to take a closer look at their graves. . >> reporter: vanessa, tha

once again, the mbta tells 7news the driver of the runaway red line train no longer works for the mbta. >>> also, an explosive discovery in foxboro. police sending us these pictures of boxes of unstable dynamite found in an old construction business. the cleaning company found the boxes and then called police. officers say the state police bomb squad took the dine night a safe location and detonated all of it. explosive experts say the dynamite was volatile and could have been dangerous. we'll bring you more information just as soon as we get it. >>> also at 5:30, a doctor's denial in a worcester courtroom. police say he went into a woman's bathroom at u-mass medical school and took a picture of a student while she was still in the stall. >> and in khat today the doctor what he says really happened. >> kelli o'hara joins us now with what the doctor said in comfort. >> yes. the doctor said he didn't do it but walked into the wrong bathroom by mistake and even gave police his cell phone but police didn't believe him, got a search warrant for the phone and still charged him with a crime.

it p passed through four stations before the mbta cut power, bringing it to a stop. thankfully none of the approximately 50 passengers on board were hurt. fox 25's ted daniel was live for us in canton now where an operator under investigation lives. ted. >> according to public recordings david vasquez a long-time resident of canton and a long-time employee of the t. 28 years. the train he was in charge of this morning has safety to prevent something like this from happening. that leaves only two likely explanations. the safeties failed or they were tampered with. >> the mailbox is full, we cannot accept any messages. >> we called, emailed and knocked but no sign or word tonight from 52-year-old david vasquez, the man sources under investigation for the runaway red line train. >> it was a very scary situation. >> reporter: fox 25 was the first to get the incredible story from a passenger named ed, who asked us not to use his last name. he says his fellow red line riders were unaware they were on a ghost train as it blew past four stations. the train eventually stopped

as the snow moves in mbta rides are wondering if the t is ready for winter. last year you remember t was couldn't keep up with all of that snow. today the governor trying to reassure everyone the t is on track. 7's jennifer egan continues team 7 coverage live in boston with more. jennifer? >>> ryan, the governor and officials with the mbta knew they had to make some changes heading into this winter. they say they are ready. this was last winter, long delays on the commuter rail, frozen tracks, one storm that shut down the mbta entirely. since then, the mbta has worked to better prepare the system for winter weather. >>> we expect tomorrow will be a normal day providing normal services. of course it is going to be winter weather . >>> for the first time, the t will use anti-icing solution on the third rail. two rains on the red line are outfitted with these sprayers, so are a blue and orange line train. >>> the t had never used that chemical before in any previous winters so this is something we've implemented as part of our after action review of last year ye

you can see a little bit of wet coverage, not as much as the snow as earlier, we are taking time, mbta saying the redline braintree branch experiencing moderate delays due to a switch problem at the jfk u mass stop. chris and kathryn over to you. >>> it's funny to think about it, couple days ago we were talk being 70 degrees, a lot of people trying to find the winter weather gore. >> talking about people lining up for shovel the, snow plowers, salt and sand all to deal with today's mucee weather out there, it's a. >> reporter: it's not too bad out here though, on the roadways certainly it is slick, we've seen several plows and salt trucks come through treating the roadways, many people who are new englanders, tried and true to night. this one may be pretty low. >> i had people here at l in the morning, it was kind of >> but the preparation for winter's first appearance is all the same starting with the ice melt. up till now has been require actually untouched. >> i would see a couple gone and be excite bad that. >> this one is set to be nothing like what we know new england can bring a

he is a 28-year veteran of the mbta. the trouble ought started when -- there was a signal problem and stepped off the train to allow the train to safely by allow the train to safely bypass a broken signal. it rolled out of the braintree through four stops before power was cut to the third rail near the north quincy stop. a passenger we spoke to yesterday said he didn't realize what was going through first and he got the shock of his life when he broke into the operator's apartment and realized it was empty. >> i saw it -- did he kill himself, he did try to kill us? the conductor was not in there the conductor was not in there. >> reporter: and the focus of the investigation this morning that operator. he is now on leave for the time being, and, of course, there are a lot of questions about this still to be answered this morning. one of them being how fast the train was going as it left the braintree station and it barrelled all the way to the north quincy stop. the union who represents that operator, they are backing him