he f med the shooting and posted it to social media. he eventually turned the gun an himself. >> it's obvious that there was this -- this gentleman was disturbed in some way the way things transpired at some point in his life. it would appear things were spouting out of control. >> reporter: he was fired from the station two years ago and went by the name bryce williams. he was described as an angry employee. >> we thought it was best if he left the company. he did but not happily. he had to get assistance from the police to get him out of here. >> reporter: a growing memorial outside wdbj is focused on the lives of parker and ward. late wednesday, the community mourned their loss together. a station used to covering the news, now the center of a tragic story of its own.

that woman being intersued at the time of the shooting was also hit. she is now in stable condition. meanwhile, scholarships are being established in the name of parker and ward, a way to pay tribute to theewo lost lives. >> sarah, thank you very much. family and friends still trying to come to grips with the loss of alison parker and adam ward, they're described as ou-getters as you heard the general manager of that station say wha who were dedicated to their jobs. she had recently moved in with her co-worker and boyfriend, chris hearst. they celebratev her 24th birthday. hearst shared wir last words to him. sweet boy. i was startled awake this morning from phone calls from the station telling me that there had been a shooting on live televisionnd i needed to come to the station. >> meanwhile, ward's fiance, melissa ott was watching from the control room of that station when it unfolded. hours before the murder, the

couple was celebrating ott's new job in north carolina. yesterday was going to be her last day. >> do stay with "today in new york," we'll have continuing coverage. you'll find everything we've gathered on nbcnewyork.com and the nbc 4 new y hek app. it's 4:35. let's get a check of weather and traffic beginning with mr. dave price. good morning. >> hey, eat, let's look at what's g thng on out there. michael, temperatures are really nice for this time of the year. dry conditions, cool as you head to the west. numbers in the 50s. 60 in parswipany. out in belvidere. ar61 in the delaware water gap area. we'll widen out the shot. 50s and 60s up north. upper 50s to low 60s. 61 in long branch. as far as what's happening outside, as we take a look, tlts really nothing.

this is quite peaceful. moisture well to the north of us out of our area. that's the way it's going to stay. as we plan for the rest of the day, take a look at this. west winds at 5 miles an hour. it's going to be nice. high of 82 degrees. plenty of sunshine out there. this is as comfortable as we could ever hope for at this time of the year. humidity well in check. that's a quick look at your weather picture. let's take a look at the traffic situation. emily standing by. >> we have fastrack going on, on the 1. no service between 34th, penn station, south ferry as well as the 2. to east 180th. the 3, you will fi service suspended. overnight track work on the a, b, f, g and s. that's for a few more moments this morning. everything looks great for your commuter checklist running on schedule hismorning. for your buses, detours, the b 9, bx 28, bx 38 and s 74. we'll have more weather and traffic on the 4s. >> thank you, emily.

the long island man accused of driving drunk ands killieang a father and two childrenpeill in court today to face new charges. they have videotof o'neill sh warp, 8jr., throwing a bottle of tequila into the woods after rear ending the family's vehicle last month on the southern state parkway. burst into flames there. a friend drove him away from the scene leaving the victims to die in that burning car. hatching today in new jersey, divers are heading back to sir much for the captain of fishing boat that did sonk off the coast of sandyehook. that fishing boat, eljefe was found. the captain, tom anderson, is still missing. witnesses believe he never made it out of the hull. they had a call for dangerous current. anderson started his operation a few years ago friends say. >> he was learning as he went. he would go crabbing in the

winter time and netting in the summertime and lobster plat fishing. other than thats it was all aoi new experience for tom. thegrrea where the ship went down is a shipp g channel. authorities say, becauseoof that, the water can go from 4 feetuto 60e eet ein a short ,distance. there's a crackdown coming to times square courtesy of topless tourist attractions and a classroom brawl. katherine creag joins us with an explanation. >> colorful characters, riept ght, pat, himes square. this police station has been here for hears. we're talking a a new nypd unit. officers would patrol times square and it follows numerous complaints about those ch anracters, the topless women with body pai on them. some question how appropriate are they and the costume characters as well who ask for tips, some of whom are described as overly aggressive and combative when they don't get

compensated. aggressive over where they're wae lkinesant mingling with tourists. the nypd is in the process of recruiting officers for this new unit. you have to wonder if they have to go downtown too. in battery park, a statue of liberty was posing for pictures. minnie mouse and mickey house as well. and coney island, the luna park area, viewers told us, that they well. the borough peesident trying to figure out what is going on back to you. >> thank you, kat. in brooklyn, a neighborhood is mourning the loss of an 8-year-old girl killed while crossing the street. neighbors on east 22nd street in flatbush lighting candles and saying prayers for the little girl. she was crossing the street when she was struck and killed by an suv. the 35-year-old driver did stay

on the scene. still unclear if he'll face any charges. meanwhile, friends much her mother say she's absolutely devastated. >> she's not doing well. she just went by the olice had to take her to the hospital. >> another man connected to that tragedy was arrested police charged 25-year-old ryan romans who lives in the neighborhood with assault. they s y hsee attacked the driver accident. police in new jersey trying to track down a pair of thieves wh wo snatchedmourses from carts. a man is seen snatching a purse when the perso isn't looking. the young woman works with an older woman who pushes a toddler a separate shopping cart. they then allegedly use the stolen credit cards and go on a shopping spree. >> it's pathetic. it th's ridiculous. >> i just always have it on my shoulder and i try to keep i

closed or closer to my body. >> now, police believe this pair struck at a target in paramus. but this time a customer chased the young woman down and got the purse back. investors wondering if maybe wall street will go on a rebound now. there were some hopes in china, the shanghai exchange closed 5% higher. that's the biggest gain in eight weeks. other asian markets closed higher. investors hope wall street builds on that the surge yesterday. >> it's amazing how times -- 4 thunder showers is a different story. >> swings a different way. still ahead on "today in new york," we have a consumer alert. before you grab that breakfast, something you nd to know about counting the caluries you're putting in there. >> i use my own counting sysu m for that. how one airline is trying to make amends for those impacted by the ashley madison scandal. pat, they're doing what they can.

we'll have your weather and traffic on the 4s coming up. follow us on facebook and twitter. darlene4ny. chaelg4ny. pat battle 4 ny.

4:44 right now. time for a check of weather and traffic on the 4s. dave price is here. this pretty much like the perfec morninm >> botnle it. write a note in your diary and reference it all winter long. let's take a look outside, see what's going on. it is a gorgeous morning. michael, pat, you got it right. it's perfect outside.

take a look at the plaza. e crowd beginning to trickle in forbl tockstoday" show. we have a temperature right now of 68 degrees. we have clear conditions out there and it doesn't get much better than this. in ct, that's our first headline this morning. let's get to it. it is near perfect weather for this time of the year. if you're to the north and west, you'll see that hint, that clim ological ht, if you will, that september is coming around and fall is not far behind.flthe heat wils build this weekend. we're tracking erika closely. not on for our friends a $27, the southeast united states, but also watching how it goes up the coast. we'll keep an eye on it. temperatures ic the area, 68 in ntral park. 60 in white plains. 66 in valley stream. pao rsiprapany -d up the 95 corridor, 57 in poughkeepsie. bridgewater at 55s and 57 in monticello. warm but retty much.average for this time of the year. why ispat going to feel so nice?

check. is nice and dry and it's how we like it. storm tracker shows othing to be concerned about. any moistu out of the area to the north. our eyes go to the caribbean. let's see what's happening now. all. this is a tropical storm. watches around warnings posted throughout san juan, the u.s. virgin islands. working towards turks ands caicos. what's the path g ng to be like? this is the spaghetti map. not a lot of agreement where it ends up, if it makes landfall. we'll continue to track it. working west at 16 miles per hour. we'll keep an eye on it all weekend long and through the day. sunrise at 6:18 today. we'll widen out and looks like temperatures are uniform through today into tonight. beautiful sleeping weather. winds out of the north, 5 to 10.

as far as the seven-oay forecast, hugamidion builds in, into the weend. we sum it up. humidity will build to the extend that we see thunder showers in the picture. rm temperatures to 91 degrees on tuesday. that's a quick look at your weather. emily has traffic and transit. >> for your roadways, still dealing with the roadwork, especially on the bqe. a live look. traffic notngoing anywhere fast. delays heading towards cadman plaza. that's going to be taken up. also the staten isyeland expressway, near clove road, busy with construction. also two lanes blked. that left lane getting by. this is again by clove ad.oeu'll find the delays heading towards richmond avenue. that construction is going to be there a little bit. fdr northbound to 71st, roadwork. as well as 79th to 96th. you'll see fastrack continuing. two trains on the -- east 180th and then the 3, service is suspended.

alternate side meter rules are in effect. more weather and traffic coming up on the 4s. >> emmyl thank you very much. four things to know this morning. today indy cars will be driven heacross san francisco's golden gate bridge in honor of indy car driver justin wilson. wilson was killed when a piece of debris struck him during a race in pennsylvania on sunday. general mills is recalling about 60,000 packages of cascadian farm frozen green beans. at least one tested positive for listeria. the ten-ounce bags impacted have the best if used by dates between april 10th and april 11th, 2016. president obama returns to new orleans today,hoays ahead of the 10th anniversary of hurricane katrina.ymr. obama will visit various ighborhoods and meet with residents there. if you're complainings bout halloween decorations being out already, listen to this. walmart starting holiday lay

away program two weeks early. they will make 40,000 items available. about 20% more than last year. shop on. a fresh crew of firefighters heading out west to battle those destructive wildfires we've been telling you about for weeks. governor cuomo authorized the deployment wednesday. the team is made up of volunteers, forest rangers and new york state workers. the crew is going west as home. those new yorkers spent time in oregon fighting a 27,000-acre wildfire. the worst of them raging in washington state. the smoke so thick there in some places that helicopter and airplane support crews were grounded on wednesday. the quality of air in spokane is considered unhealthy for some people to breathe. the port authority and the september 11th memorial insists the remains are safe. families are demanding they be removed after a report that hudson river water was leaking into the memorial site. the port authority says it's

inspected what's known as the found. a fight between passengers on a jetblue plane is raising security questions. it landed at kennedy airport from jamaica when the fight broke out. 61-year-old from brooklyn slashed two other passengers with an eyebrow razor. one of the passengers pepper sprayed her. it's not clear how the razor or the pepper spray made it through security. one travel website is offering ashley madison customers a chance to repair the damage done with their spouses. cheap air.com is offering hacked customers a discount. all you have to do is e-mail the site. if your e-mail address matches a hacked account from the ashley madison websites, you can get that $50 discount certificate. a lot of folks are saying it's going to take more than that to repair that damage.

>> how did you get the discount? long story. 4:50 now. parents are scared kids engage in risky behavior at college. it usually starts closer to home. they first try alcohol, drugs and alcohol during the summer months, not during the school year. that's according to a report from the federal government. the first use of stimulants using does happen during the school year, especially during mid terms and final exams. in another study, british researchers say what you eat is more important than counting the calories. doctors say we put too much emphasis on weight loss and cutting the amount of food that we eat rather than improving the quality of what we consume. nuts high in calories, but they significantly reduce risk of heart attack and stroke. >> makes perfect sense to me. it is 4:51 on this thursday morning. the battle over a really bright

house in new jersey. >> what's behind this flashy si cation that's giving some neighbors the blues. the bears are back in town. remember them? where the furry family has been spotted. look at that, mom and five kids.

4:54. a live look at the bridge near laguardia. it towering wall of dust. that's dust. taken over phoenix. the wind speeds clocking at 30 miles per hour as the dust storm darkened the skies. soon after, they got heavy rains. the wind along with the dust

mixed with rain is enough to cause that carport you're looking at to collapse. >> oh, no. fortunately, nobody was hurt. time for traffic on the 4s. we're having the greatest morning. >> it's been a great summer too. you have to wonder when the luck ends. as the calendar changes, everyone is worried about that. the rest of today, 82 degrees. pleasantly warm. ed the humidity in check. 50s in the distant suburbs. 65 in central park. as you head to the far north and west, you could see a number in the 40s. how about that. >> 40s? >> 40s. >> cold weather. >> canada. >> thanks, dave. i had a jacket on this morning. fastrack wraps up in the next few moments. just letting you know it's out there. a live look at the grand central parkway at laguardia. things moving very well. a good start to your morning as

you get the jacket and head out. >> thanks, emily. california strip mall burned to the ground, this happened because of a car accident. a woman drove into a gas line in santa clara. set off two explosions followed by a massive fire. they're still looking for the woman to find out what went wrong. we have a look at what another accident in california caused. created a geyser in northridge north of l.a. a car ran into a fire hydrant, knocked that over. took crews a while to turn it off, not before it created a mess and made a mess of the commute last night. neighbors want to pull the plug at a nightly light show at one house in new jersey. it's in margate in south jersey. it's lit up by an elaborate show every night. it attracts a crowd. true. neighbors say it's over the top and the owner says it's not hurting anybody, plus he's

paying the bill. however, the city is looking for an answer to shut it down. >> it creates an intrusion into the neighborhood. >> if you look at it -- >> we're studying other ordinance this is other communities that might have been faced with this same scenario. >> the owner says he's gotten compliments on the light show and it's grown over the past few years. as you can see, not everyone is giving it glowing reviews, michael. >> no. it may keep the burglary s away. a family of bears went swimming in a family's pool. they're back apparently in rockaway township. >> here they are. this is the video of them going for a dip last friday afternoon in that family pool. a neighbor down the street took this new photo of the bears on his block on tuesday. as far as we know, they haven't gone pool hopping this week. coming up on 5:00 a.m. if you're about to head out the door, take us with you.

>> please keep watching "today in new york". download our news app. the next hour begins now. a growing memorial at a small virginia television station as we remember the two young journalists killed on live tv. what the fire chief told us about this fire. fake i.d.s, governor cuomo is putting college students on notice as they head back to class. "today in new york" starts now. good morning everybody. coming up on 5:00 a.m. i'm michael gargiulo. i'm pat battle in for darlene rodriguez who is taking time off. she'll be back on monday morning. dave price is here with the forecast. nice one it is as we head towards the end of the workweek. >> absolutely. big smiles for everyone. why? take a look at the weather map. nice cool morning in ramsey, new jersey. 67 in central park. roselle park at 63. 66 in newark and as we widen out

that picture and give you a look around the region, danbury checks in at the speed limit, 55. 57 in sussex. 57 in monticello. trenton at 61 degrees. 56 in bridgewater. as far as the day goes, looks like it's going to be terrific out there. let's get to it. cooler in the suburbs. temperatures in the 50s. as we head to the none time hour, 79 with a high this afternoon of 82 and pleasant at 6:00 p.m. for the return trip home and dinner, 80 degrees. dip down into the 60s. that's a quick look at the weather picture. lower level outbound was closed. everything has reopened. a live look at the alexander hamilton bridge. everything is moving along fine. you should not see delays but we have delays on the n train. you'll find the trains running on the d, 36th street. keep that in mind. more weather and traffic on the 4s.

thank you very much, more details about the tragic deaths at two yunl journalists at the hands of a colleague. tracie strahan joins us from the newsroom of what we know about the victims and the gunman. >> we're learning not only about the mind-set of vester flanagan but how the loved ones of the shooting victims found out about their shocking deaths. >> a reporter, alison parker, was conducting a live interview with her photographer behind the camera when flanagan opened fire killing both of them and wounding vicky gardner being interviewed as a guest. even thoef that happened on live television, flanagan actually filmed the shooting himself posting it on social media as he was being pursued by police. now, he was a former wdbj reporter and turned the gun on himself, pronounced dead at a local hospital. alison parker started at the station as an intern and shadowed flanagan, whose on air name was bryce williams. parker's father says the

shooting has him alternating emotions, as you can imagine, between shock and grief. >> i'm holding up, i guess okay. but i've been crying my eyes out all day long. you know, it's gone back and forth and now the anger is starting to creep in there because this should not happen. it shouldn't have happened to someone like alison. >> a colleague of adam ward and alison parker posted a photo on facebook that you're seeing here. thoefs are custom ribbons, turquoise was parker's favorite color, the maroon color, ward's alma mater, virginia tech. the woman in the interview underwent emergency surgery after being shot in the back. vester flanagan, described as an angry employee during his time at wdbj. in the next hour, we'll have

more on how he described himself. >> we've been talking about this and so many of us who worked at the small tv stations. it's like a family. you're together for a long tiemt. so, so difficult in light of what has happened. >> it has everybody thinking about where you worked at that age and the intern shadowing and the people behind the camera and in front of the camera. put everything in perspective. >> thank you tracie, very much. in washington, d.c., there's a tribute to both of them at the broadcast museum. there are pictures at the news ee um. a memorial wall honors reporters and photographers from all over the world who were killed while on the job. >> the purpose of the memorial is to say, look, you may have issues with journalists and journalism as they do their job, never forget there are hundreds of thousands of people risking their lives to bring you the news.