gunman who opened fire in a brooklyn street killing one man and injuring two others. it happened at 8:45 on saratoga avenue in brownsville. three men outside an apartment building were struck by bullets. one died at the hospital. two others have arm wounds and are expected to recover. in just about five hours, the american flag will be raised at the u.s. embassy in cuba for the first time since 1961. there was rehearsal of that ceremony yesterday in havana. that's the video you're looking at now. reopening the embassy today will mark a major step in the warmthing of relationships between the two countries. secretary of state john kerry will be there. he'll become the highest ranking official to visit there in 70 years. prime minister sim -- the greeks agreed

agreed -- the exact terms are set for talks later today with europe's finance ministers. it is time for a check of weather and traffic. let's get to raphael miranda who is in for chris today. hey, raphi. >> good morning. getting ready for another great weekend. we've been blessed with so many beach weekends. a little hotter than yesterday. temperatures well into the 80s. humidity, not too bad. it's not muggy on this friday. it's comfortable outside and we have some 90s on the way. it looks like a stretch of 90s is heading our way starting this weekend. here's a live look at storm tracker. mostly clear skies from the hudson valley. the first forecast shows 70 degrees. not too sticky. temperatures back into the 80s by lunchtime. 87 degrees at 3:00. as you head home tonight, 85 degrees. perfect weather for your weekend get away. let's see how the early morning commute is going. lauren scala has a look at that.

>> thanks, raich i, good morning everyone. we have overnight track work on the 7 and the e. these have a suspension. no service between main street and willis point. no service on the e between briarwood and jamaica center. we have track work on the 4, 6, a, d and f changes. you can expect delays and service changes. alternate side of the street parking rules in effect today. more weather and traffic coming up on the 4s. thank you, lauren. right now, three people are under arrest after they took a smelly treasure hunt underground in the new york city sewer system. among those arrested, marquis evans, he is suspended from his job as a trainee with the department of environmental protection. he's accused of helping to lift a manhole in east flatbush and east 35th street and avenue h wednesday night. he never ventured down but police say his friends did.

>> i know damn sure i wouldn't be crawling through the sewers of new york. these three were up to something. >> police didn't go after them but they were down there for four hours before they resurfaced empty handed. this security video shows a man pretending to be an officer and stole a vehicle. he approached the owner of an suv in mt. eden. it was for sale. he asked the owner to take it for a spin. when the owner became suspicious, he pulled out a badge and assured him he was an officer. the man then drove off and never returned. mayor de blasio says he will fine the city's huff new laws to fight legionnaires' disease. he was in the hospital on thursday where he thanked health care workers for battling the recent deadly outbreak of legionnaires'. the mayor called the crisis contained. the city council's new law requires the inspection and disinfecting of cooling towers which has been blamed for that outbreak.

since 2012, connecticut banned the death penalty in all future cases. the supreme court ruled it's unconstitution will in previous cases. steven hayes and joshua were convicted of raping and killing jennifer pedestrian ig and murdering her two daughters and setting their house on fire. >> we have to keep in our minds how difficult this is for victims and victims' families. >> damage nnel malloy expressed sympathy for the victims. he said it does not conform to standards of decency. an honor for a fallen long island police officer. i part of the jericho turnpike will be named after him. it's near exit 27e. it will soon be called officer arthur lopez bridge.

he was shot in that location in october of 2012. last year darryl fuller was sentenced to life in prison without parole for officer lopez's murder. international teams are investigating whether isis forces used chemical weapons inside iraq. u.s. intelligence believes the militants attacked kurdish forces this week with mustard gas. this could be the second chemical assault in recent weeks. the u.s. fears isis found stockpiles of mustard gas inside syria. that chemical can cause blistering blindness and breathing problems. rescuers wear protective clothing at the scene of those ground-shaking explosions that we told you about yesterday. breaking news on this program yesterday morning. this happened in china. fires are still burning in tianjin. the smoke could contain toxic fumes. this is widespread. more than 50 people died there. experts believe that firefighters may have triggered

those explosions by spraying water on to volatile chemicals. a new bill to help animals inside pet stores passed city council. they are requiring new york city pet shops to have sprinklers. the rule applies to stores that house animals without 24-hour supervision. according to fire officials, sprinklers save lives and homes and businesses from serious damage. that law goes into effect in december. too cute. too cute. it's 4:38. in new jersey, a frightening ordeal for a school bus packed full of kids. surveillance video shows the aftermath. the driver lost control and crashed. police say the bus owned by horizon link hit an suv and slammed into a liquor store. it was headed to the mt. caramel guild school in irvington. all 11 children on board were take into the hospital. >> he was screaming from his

lungs, another from his mouth. i think his tooth broke or something. >> none of the kids suffered serious injuries. the driver says her brakes failed before the crash. our i-team found out that during an inspection, 90% of the bus fleet had a mechanical issue. so far the company hasn't commented on the inspection reports we found. one of the men who walked away from an inferno on the turnpike tells us what was going through his mind. plus, a stolen wanting worth millions is back where it belongs this morning. how someone tried to sneak it through our area. the weekend forecast is a steamy one. we'll have weather and traffic on the 4s coming up. you're watching "today in new york."

it's 4:42. four things to know this morning. police in brooklyn looking for three people wanted for trespassing. they entered the room of a new mother at nyu lutheran medical center and asked to take a picture with her baby. she's never seen them before. this morning this cuba, the u.s. embassy will reopen in that country for the first time since 1961. there was a rehearsal ceremony yesterday in havana. today's reopening of that embassy marks another major step in the warming of relations between the two countries. new yorkers could one day reach out for help through text messages. the city council introduced a bill to set the course to develop a way to text for 911 services. texting 911 would allow video and photos to be sent from the scene. a whole lot of people going

to be puckering up in times square today. hundreds of couple will recreate one of the most famous kisses in history. the one between a sailor and a nurse signifying that world war ii had come to an end. >> that iconic kiss. >> uh-huh. >> 4:43. that would be interesting. you didn't know what was happening. just a tourist in new york city and all of a sudden everybody starts making out. >> so friendly in times square. >> lot of love in new york. what are they talking about? >> the more love the better, right? lots of sunshine. a nice start to your day already. mostly clear skies. temperatures comfortable. it's warm, 70 degrees. not feeling that stickiness. that stays away but comes back over the weekend. there's a look outside. the plaza looking quiet. not much wind going on. little light breeze, but it's warm. 70 degrees, mostly clear skies in central park. that will lead to lots of sunshine as we head throughout the day today. you can see on storm tracker,

looking good in the hudson valley. fairfield county, dry in norwalk norwalk. we're tracking dense fog in the hamptons. visibility down to .25 of a mile. that's the only spot. temperatures in the 60s and 50s in nassau county. 61 north merrick. 65 in massapequa. temperatures cooled down to the 50s. refreshing in morristown. 50 degrees right now. year. that's something. 52 in monticello. 55 in danbury. we have 60s out on long island. let's plan that weekend escape. starting out down the jersey shore tomorrow and sunday. lots of sunshine both days. great beach weather. temperatures are comfortable. back to the mid-80s. not too hot but more humid as the weekend goes on. patchy clouds and fog, especially in the morning. temperatures in the low 80s. more sunshine in montauk, sag

harbor. temperatures rebounding into the 80s. north and west of new york city, tracking a couple of spotty storms tomorrow afternoon and evening. great weather for places like the catskills and the poconos. bright and hot on sunday with a high in the low 90s. here's a look at future tracker throughout the day. lunchtime, beautiful sunshine, blue skies and temperatures are warm. but it's not too muggy today. quiet as you head home at 6:00 or making that weekend getaway. great travel weather there. 6:00 a.m. saturday looks good. heading into the afternoon, we start to see spotty showers popping up. really hit or miss. most of the weekend will be dry. we've done it time and time again this summer. we're going to do it one more time so far. at least one more time heading into fall. 87 degrees for a high today. mostly sunny and hot out there. but it's not too muggy. seven-day forecast shows the heat is building. you will start to notice the stickiness coming back, especially by sunday. temperatures in the 90s throughout the weekend. that is a stretch of 90s up

until tuesday. maybe some storms cooling us down by wednesday. all right. let's see how the commute is rolling around. lauren scala has a look at that. hey, lauren. >> good morning. better in some areas than others. the grand central parkway, an accident westbound by 168th street in the construction area. that blocks a lane there. we have a disabled vehicle on the manhattan-bound lower level of the queensbridge. roadwork on the new york state thruway starting at exit 12. it's still pretty quiet out there. not so quiet on the bqe. a live look at it heading into your lower east river crossings. eastbound, it's usually not this jammed up this early. i'll keep an eye on that. more weather and traffic on the 4s. >> lauren, thank you. it's 4:47 right now. we've seen the dramatic images of the explosions caused by two trucks colliding on the new jersey turnpike.

now in an exclusive interview with news 4, we're hearing from one of the drivers. >> i'm amazed and other people have said it that i'm talking to you right now. >> 61-year-old dale mailer spoke from his hospital bed in st. barnabas medical center. he can be seen jumping out of his truck with his pants on fire. you can see a woman rushing in. she was among the three australian tourists who helped him. >> there was the young fellow that helped me get my pants off and there was another gentleman there that let me use his cell phone to call my son. i thanked him because basically he saved me a great deal more of punishment and suffering. >> miller says the fiery crash left him with burns on 20% of his body. he doubts if he will ever work or use his hands again. in new jersey, police have

released a sketch of a vandal who slashed the tires on nearly two dozen cars in the span of an hour. look at the picture. this is a man spotted lurking in new milford on friday night. the same night that nearly 40 tires were slashed on cars that had been parked along charles street, mckinley and madison avenues there. police believe he used a flathead screwdriver and carved a graphic message on the hood of one car. >> it seems very mean-hearted and destructive and pointless. >> if you think you recognize the man in that sketch, please give new milford police a call. reward has been offered for information leading to an arrest. a stunning revelation about the man arrested in connection with a deadly hit and run in paterson, new jersey. it's a story we brought you earlier this week. the suspect, james rinehart, had had his driver's license suspended 20 times over the past

16 years. investigators say he was driving with an invalid license when he allegedly hit 15-year-old javier burgos and fled the scene. a stolen painting in the hands of its rightful owners. it's called the hairdresser. on thursday, it was given back to the french government at their embassy in washington. the $14 million work was missing for 14 years. it was grabbed from a paris museum, then turned up this past december on a cargo ship in newark. it was labeled as a $30 hand craft. can you imagine that? >> really. >> wow. $14 million piece of art. >> $30 hand craft. it's 4:50 on a friday morning. still to come, the major visit to new york city that commissioner bratton is already giving him a headache. sesame street getting a new address. the other big change that's coming to the children's program ahead at 5:00. you're watching "today in new york."

4:52. the tappan zee bridge. it's 70 degrees out. tomorrow is the big day. it is a big day for us. news 4 and telemundo 47 are working to clear the shelters in our area. animals like this cute cat up for adoption at a reduced cost. really reduced. this is a cat who lost his original home and weeks later, his owner died. the owner passed away. the patricia h. la due foundation in oyster bay describes him as a total character. looks like a cool cat. help us clear the shelters tomorrow. many shelters cutting their adoption fees for the day. for more information check out nbcnewyork.com. this is a perfect opportunity if you're thinking of adopting a

pet, i mean, the fee sometimes can be prohibitive. the shelters are cutting the fees, in some cases cutting them altogether. in some cases reducing them. go visit. >> guarantee, you'll see somebody. >> walk in the door. bring your children. >> they'll push the parents in the right direction. >> it's not just cats and dogs. gus rosendale, i think he adopted a pig. >> i saw bunnies as well. >> are you serious? >> check out his social media. i saw a picture yesterday. >> he's taking it to his mom's. i don't think he can have a pig. >> he's bringing it here, actually. >> to the studio in. >> yeah. >> let's look at the beach cast and shorecast. lots of folks heading to the shore. jersey shore, long island, a fantastic day. sunshine and temperatures back to the 80s. fire island, 84 degrees. 1 to 3 feet waves. wind out of the south at 5 to 10 miles per hour.

water temperatures, 70 to 76 degrees. uv index is 8, very high. there is a low risk for rip current. even though there's a low risk, use -- this beach weather goes on into next week. looking like a nice hot stretch. and the humidity creeps back. the mugginess is coming back. >> we've had a great stretch. no complaints. >> none whatsoever. >> any complaints on he road this morning? >> always. >> come on, keep it ream. we have construction out there. start with a live look at the george washington bridge. it's a little bit of a slow ride on the outbound upper level. the outbound lower level is shut down with roadwork. heading into the tolls, i know where it says george washington bridge is blocking it. no delays there. a live look at the gowanus expressway, things are moving along past the belt merge through industry city. it is a slow ride once you get to the battery tunnel. we have two lanes shut down with construction.

uber is getting a legal green light in connecticut. a federal judge threw out a ecomplaint against the app-based car servfrice. taxi and limousine companies brought the lawsuit accusing uber of racketeering and deceptive business practices. the judge says the plaintiffs failed to make their case. up to 2 million people are expected to head to philadelphia when pope francis visits with more than a third passing through new jersey. nj transit will be pushed to capacity and that drivers should expect a lot of congestion. all along i-95. the turnpike. for those who hope to see the pope in person, they'll be required to walk across the ben franklin bridge into philadelphia. wow. from the most remote jersey suburbs, that's an 11-mile trek. >> if you're not prepared to walk a considerable distance, you may want to reevaluate your attendance. >> seriously? at least they won't have to pay the toll.

security, by the way, a big concern, especially during the pope's stop here in new york city. >> c he has made it quite clear in his travels around the world, he wants to interact with the public in a way we're not used to having public figures deal with the public. that's going to be a challenge for us as well as a wide range of events he's engaging in for the several days he's here. >> you can stay with news 4 for continuing coverage of the pope's visit and all the stuff that you need to know before he arrives and when he arrives. head to nbcnewyork.com for much more. in sports this morning, the jets kicked off their preseason under todd bowles, their new hoed coach, in detroit. it took the lions all of two minutes to score. matthew stafford hits golden tate and splits three defenders and races into the end zone. the jets first string offense put up three points under quarterback ryan fitzpatrick. that's all the scoring they do. they lost 23-3.

the patriots hosted the packers with tom brady making a surprise start. his backup, jimmy garoppolo completed 20 passes. however, it was in a losing effort. the packers beat the patriots 22-11. the giants begin their preseason in cincinnati taking on the bengals. you can watch that game here on nbc 4. coverage starts tonight at 7:30. it's 4:57 right now. coming up on 5:00 a.m. if you're heading out the door, take us with you. we want to go. keep watching "today in new york" by downloading our news 4 app on your mobile device. the next hour of "today in new york" starts now. all night investigation, police looking for the person who opened fire in brooklyn. three people are shot. one of them is dead. we're live with the story. >> plus, an underground treasure hunt lands three men in jail. what police say they were doing

scouring the sewers. history in havana. in a matter of hours, a new chapter in the united states relationship with cuba. "today in new york" starts now. good morning everyone. it's friday morning. it is august 14th. i'm darlene rodriguez. >> i'm pat battle in for michael gargiulo who is enjoying this week off. we hope. we're sure he is. >> i'm sure he is, right. absolutely. chris is off this morning as well. raphael miranda is here this morning. good morning. >> good morning, ladies. a beautiful day to have off. it's ai friday. the weekend is here. we're looking at a great stretch of weather again coming our way. 70 degrees outside right now. up to 83 by lunchtime. sunny skies and blue skies all day long. today's high 87 degrees and it's still not muggy. we're not feeling that humidity today. that comes back over the weekend. we'll look at when it gets sticky again in your full forecast. right now, here's a look at your commute with lauren scala. >> hey, good morning everyone. let's head over to the queensboro bridge.

a disabled truck blocking the right level. head to the upper level for now. the grand central parkway, this isn't causing too much of a delay. there's an accident by the construction delay, 168th street. we have roadwork out there. i'll have the details on the 4s. >> lauren, thank you so much. 4:59. police in brooklyn investigating a triple shooting. one person is dead. "today in new york's" tracie strahan is in brownsville where police have been investigating all night. tracie? >> reporter: darlene, officers from the 73rd police precinct will blocking off saratoga avenue. let's show you vidno from the crime scene as it happened around 8:45 last night. the shooting happened in front of a building at 807 saratoga enue. the three victims were standing outside of the apartment building when gunfire rang out.

a 21-year-old man died from a gunshot wound to his torso. 18 and 20-year-old man are recovering from shots to their arms. they're said to be in stable condition at this hour. they are expect d to recover, but the search is on for a gunman. authorities are asking for anyone with information to contact them immediately. no co word on when this stretch of saratoga avenue will reopen. back to you. >> tracie strahan, thank you. this morning, three people under arrest for tak g a smelly treasure hunt underground in the new york city sewer system. among those arrested, 21-year-old marquis evans. he's suspended from his job as a tan ee with the department of environment will protection. >> it happened on wednesday night. he never went down into the sewer. but police say his friends did. they were identified.

>> i know damn sure i wouldn't be crawling through the sewers of new york. these three evidently were up to something down there. >> police never went down after them. waited for them to come up. they resurfaced four hours later empty handed. the far rockaway rapper born lionel pinkens was killed in may in a drive-by shooting. two men pulled up along his porsche on queens boulevard a 84th drive and opened fire. if you have any information, please give th a call. the u.s. embassy will reopen in cuba. nbc's gabe gutierrez is in havana with a look at the historic day ahead. >> reporter: darlene, the stage is set for john kerry's visit here the first fo by a u.s. secretary of state in 70 years. john kerry even says he plans to stroll through the streets of