An 11-year-old boy playing basketball at a Philadelphia playground suffered a vicious beating at gunpoint at the hands of people police say were older teenagers.

Now, police are asking the public's help to identify the boy's attackers.

Police said the young victim was playing at the basketball court in the park at Olney Recreation Center, at A Street and Champlost Avenue in the Olney neighborhood, about 4:50 p.m. July 12 when four teens began chasing him.

The boy ran, but police said the teens caught up with him in a nearby alley. When they did, police said, one pulled a handgun out and forced the boy to remove his clothes before the group began punching him in his stomach and face.

The teens then fled, leaving the injured boy in the alley. It's unclear why they attacked the child in the first place.

Police on Wednesday released a grainy surveillance still showing one of the suspects in hopes that someone can help identify that teen and his accomplices.

Tipsters are asked to call the Special Victims Unit at 215-685-3251 or 3252 or text a tip to PPD TIP (773847).

Michael Phelps, the most decorated Olympian of all time, will carry Team USA's flag during the Opening Ceremony of the 2016 Olympic Games, Matt Lauer revealed on the "Today" show Wednesday.

The Opening Ceremony will be held Aug. 5 at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Phelps, the first American male swimmer to qualify for a fifth Olympics, was chosen by a vote of fellow Team USA members, the United States Olympic Committee said in a statement.

He told Lauer and "Today" co-host Hoda Kotb he learned of the honor from a pool staffer after practice Tuesday.

"I'm honored to be chosen, proud to represent the U.S., and humbled by the significance of carrying the flag and all it stands for," Phelps said. "For Sydney, I just wanted to make the team. For Athens, I wanted to win gold for my country. For Beijing, I wanted to do something nobody else had done. In London, I wanted to make history. And now, I want to walk in the Opening Ceremony, take it all in, represent America in the best possible way and make my family proud. This time around, it's about so much more than medals."

The trailblazer is only the second swimmer to lead the U.S. delegation into the Opening Ceremony. Phelps told Lauer that as swimmers, "we don't think we have this opportunity" and"there will be a lot of emotions."

At the age of 15, the Maryland native became the youngest male to break a world record when he smashed the 200-meter butterfly record at the 2001 Spring Nationals. After qualifying for the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, Phelps became the youngest male to make a U.S. Olympic swim team in 68 years.

Phelps set another record at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 where he won eight gold medals — more than any other athlete at an Olympics.

Twenty-two medals later — 18 of them gold — Phelps hopes to clock in a personal best in Rio.

"I haven’t done a best time since 2009. And you know, in our sport, it’s like you don’t want to work for a year, two or three or four years and not get faster," Phelps told NBC Sports' Bob Costas. "I am swimming faster than I have then, and potentially it could happen. I am not gonna say no, but I would love to see a best time and I think whatever happens in Rio, I'll be able to turn the page and know that that was the best that I can do."

In an exclusive interview with Costas, scheduled to air at 8 p.m. ET Thursday on NBC, Phelps revealed teammate Ryan Lochte, who holds the 200- and 400-meter individual medley records, has pushed him to be the best swimmer he could be.

"I can honestly say that I don’t know if I have had another competitor for this many years, that I still go head-to-head with that we are literally stroke to stroke in every single race," he said, adding that Lochte "definitely pushes me because I hate to lose, and I push him because he is probably the same exact way."

U.S Olympic Team Flag Bearers: Opening Ceremony

1908: Ralph Rose, Track and Field

1912: George Bonhag, Track and Field

1920: Patrick McDonald, Track and Field

1924: Patrick McDonald, Track and Field

1928: Lemuel (Bud) Houser, Track and Field

1932: F. Morgan Taylor, Track and Field

1936: Alfred Jochim, Gymnastics

1948: Ralph Craig, Yachting

1952: Norman Armitage, Fencing

1956: Norman Armitage, Fencing; Warren Wooford, Equestrian*

1960: Rafer Johnson, Track and Field

1964: William Parry O’Brien, Track and Field

1968: Janice Lee Romary, Fencing

1972: Olga Fikotova Connolly, Track and Field

1976: Gary Hall, Swimming

1980: U.S. did not attend

1984: Edward Burke, Track and Field

1988: Evelyn Ashford, Track and Field

1992: Francie Larrieu Smith, Track and Field

1996: Bruce Baumgartner, Wrestling

2000: Cliff Meidl, Canoe/Kayak

2004: Dawn Staley, Basketball

2008: Lopez Lomong, Track and Field

2012: Mariel Zagunis, Fencing

2016: Michael Phelps, Swimming

*Due to Australia’s immigration laws for horses, the 1956 equestrian events were held in Stockholm, Sweden.

A multi-vehicle crash made for a slow go on I-95 south in Philadelphia Wednesday morning.

PennDOT tweeted shortly after 9 a.m. about the crash, which involved several vehicles and occurred in the southbound lanes of the highway near the Allegheny Avenue exit.

SkyForce10 video over the crash scene showed just one lane of traffic passing by slowly as firefighters and paramedics worked to help victims.

Pennsylvania State Police said one person was taken to a local hospital from the crash. There was no word on that person's condition.

Repairs to SEPTA's 120 broken Regional Rail cars are expected to begin this month, and the transit agency's top official said "things will get better and better" over the next two months.

September, with increased ridership expected after Labor Day, will be a an important "transition month" in getting the swamped rail system back to its former capacity, SEPTA General Manager Jeff Knueppel said at a news conference Wednesday.

"By October, it is projected that we return to a normal weekday schedule," he said at SEPTA headquarters on Market Street. "Things will get better and better."

Regional Rail riders have dealt with packed trains and schedule delays and changes since the transit agency took 120 of 125 Silverliner V cars out of service the weekend of July 4. The Silverliner Vs cars were built at a South Philadelphia factory by Hyundai Rotem of South Korea, starting in 2006.

Knueppel said repairs will begin soon on the defective cars and at least 10 per week will be brought back into service once the repair process commences.

That would mean 60 Silverliner Vs would be back to carrying passengers by the end of September, he said, adding that about 40 train cars leased from other transit agencies would bring the total up to 100.

That would provide enough capacity to return to a normal weekday schedule, he said.

A few more details emerged about the "fatigue" cracks that were found on the steel beams of the Silverliner Vs' undercarriages. Knueppel said engineers have performed intense stress tests on the defective cars, which are the newest additions to the Regional Rail fleet. Two options for stabilizing the cars' steel beams are being evaluated by Hyundai Rotem and SEPTA engineers.

A decision will be made this week and the repairs will begin immediately, Knueppel said.

The train cars, which are less than a decade old, account for about 13,000 daily seats. The result has been trains so packed during peak hours of the work week that SEPTA on Monday initiated a new fare collection system. Fares are now being collected on platforms of the four major hubs in Philadelphia: Suburban, 30th Street, Jefferson and Temple stations.

Hyundai Rotem spokesman Andy Hyer said last month that the manufacturer is working "literally around the clock to get the cars back into service as soon as possible, safely and soundly."

The defect was discovered during an inspection by an engineer during the holiday weekend last month. Only five of the 120 cars were found to be without problems.

Will Smith is speaking out about his dislike for Donald Trump.

In an interview with news.com.au about his new film “Suicide Squad,” Smith criticized the Republican presidential nominee for his derogatory comments toward women.

“My grandmother would have smacked my teeth out of my head if I had referred to a woman as a fat pig,” Smith said. “I cannot understand how people can clap for that. It’s absolutely collective insanity.”

In an April primary debate, Fox's Megyn Kelly confronted Trump about having repeatedly calling women "fat pigs" on Twitter. Trump responded at the time that he had only used the term to refer to comedian Rosie O'Donnell.

Smith said he would not tolerate such behavior from his own children.

“I am getting furious just thinking about it, if one of my sons said that in a public place, they couldn’t even live in my house anymore,” Smith said.

But the actor said he's hopeful Americans will not place their trust in Trump come Election Day.

“For me, deep down in my heart, I believe that America won’t and we can’t [elect Trump]," he said. "Of all the things he has said, and we could go through the laundry list, that was the one that was such an absolute illustration of a darkness of his soul.”

More than a hundred other Hollywood stars and industry professionals including Kerry Washington, Julianne Moore and Neil Patrick Harris have signed an open letter to voters urging them not to vote for Trump.

“We believe it is our responsibility to use our platforms to bring attention to the dangers of a Trump presidency, and to the real and present threats of his candidacy,” the letter reads. “Donald Trump wants to take our country back to a time when fear excused violence, when greed fueled discrimination, and when the state wrote prejudice against marginalized communities into law.”

The oldest United States Olympian will be riding into Rio on a horse and calls Chester County, Pennsylvania home.

Phillip Dutton turns 53 next month but that hasn’t stopped the equestrian from making his way to Rio. [[143564576, C]]

So what sport can a soon-to-be 53-year-old able to keep up with competition less than half his age? Eventing, also known as "equestrian triathlon," features dressage, endurance and show jumping requirements in which the rider and horse must go through a series of obstacles and movements, according to the United States Eventing Association.

Basically, in eventing, you don’t need to run faster or be quicker, you need to show control of your horse instead.

A native of Australia, Dutton won two golds in Team Eventing in the 1996 and 200 Olympics. He would represent Australia again in 2004 before joining Team USA in 2008 and 2012 after becoming a United States citizen in 2006. [[388950021, C]]

Dutton, who is just two months older than fellow equestrian Olympian Beezie Madden, manages and trains out of True Prospect Farm in West Grove, Pennsylvania. He will ride Mighty Nice in Rio.

And, he isn’t the only horseback-riding Olympian, originally from Australia, representing the United States in Rio as fellow equestrian Boy Martin is also a member of the team.

A baby screech owl rescued by staffers at a suburban Philadelphia arboretum will be released back into the wild Wednesday night after he was nursed back to health at a nearby nature center.

The owl, aptly named "Owlbert Barnes" will return to the wild at 7 p.m. at the Barnes Arboretum in Merion Station. Staffers at the Barnes Arboretum, which previously housed the Barnes Foundation art collection, found Owlbert with an injured wing at the arboretum in March.

They brought the baby owl to the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education, where the owl was rehabilitated for several months.

A year after a deadly daylight shootout on a residential Philadelphia block, Philadelphia police arrested one of the shooters suspected in the gunfight.

The second gunman, though, remains on the loose -- so police are asking the public's help to track him down.

Police last week arrested Evin Kersey, 30, of Kinsdale Street near 15th in West Oak Lane. They say Kersey was one of two shooters who sprayed the block around the corner from his house, on 17th Street between 67th and 68th avenues in West Oak Lane about 4 p.m. July 16, 2015. Kersey is charged with murder and related offenses.

Still on the loose is 33-year-old Victor Brown, whose last known address is on the 6700 block of North 15th Street in the same area. Police said Brown is wanted on a murder warrant for the shooting, which left 23-year-old Sharif Derry dead.

Derry also lived on Kinsdale Street, police said, on the same block as Kersey. It's unclear what motivated the deadly shooting, but police at the time said they found more than a dozen spent shell casings at the scene.

Tipsters should contact the Homicide Unit at 215-686-3334, text a tip to PPD TIP (773 847), or call 215-686-8477. A $20,000 reward is available for information leading to Brown's arrest and conviction.

A power outage forced the closure of the Philadelphia Premium Outlets in Montgomery County for a time Wednesday, as reported by the shopping plaza's facebook page.

The power outage was reported after 2 p.m., but a note saying it was restored was posted a short time later.

All stores were closed during the outage, but were reopening after 2:30, when the power was restored.

Bill Cosby's attorneys filed a motion asking that a recording of a phone call between him and the mother of his accuser be suppressed as evidence in the sexual assault case against him, saying that the call was recorded in violation of Pennsylvania law.

Cosby's attorneys filed the motion asking that the Jan. 17, 2005 phone conversation between him and Gianna Constand, Andrea Constand's mother, be suppressed because it was "obtained in violation of Pennsylvania's Wiretapping and Electronic Surveillance Control Act."

The motion says that Andrea Constand told her mother in January 2005 that Cosby assaulted her in winter 2004, and that Gianna Constand contacted Cosby by phone at his Elkins Park home. She and Cosby spoke at length on the phone on Jan. 16, 2005, discussing the alleged sexual assault of Andrea Constand, according to the motion.

The motion goes on to say that Cosby called Gianna Constand again from his Elkins Park home on Jan. 17, 2005, and that, "Unbeknownst to Mr. Cosby, Mrs. Constand recorded the telephone call without his consent."

It's unclear when the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas will hear arguments on the motion. Cosby's next court appearance, for a pre-trial conference, is scheduled for Sept. 6.

He is charged with aggravated indecent assault without consent, aggravated indecent assault of a person unconscious or unaware and aggravated indecent assault of an impaired person, according to his court docket.

MORE FLOODS & MORE BIG SNOWSTORMS

"There are rivers of moisture in the atmosphere. Only you can’t see them."

This is the way my former boss described how hurricanes are steered by upper-air winds. Dr. Neil Frank was Director of the National Hurricane Center, and he had an amazing ability to explain complex things in easy to understand ways.

It’s all about moisture.

There’s even moisture up there when skies are clear. Of course, there’s a lot more moisture around when it’s about to rain or snow. But just how much moisture is up there? Is there actually more moisture around now than in decades and centuries before? In a word, YES.

That extra moisture has helped produce more rain in storms all over the world. And when it’s cold enough, it has helped produce bigger snowstorms.

HOW DO WE KNOW?

It’s easy to say that there’s more moisture in today’s world. One way to tell is to measure the rain and snow. Let’s stay home and use Philadelphia as an example (many other cities around the world have similar results):

Here are our recent weather records -- all since 2009.

WETTEST YEAR

WETTEST SUMMER

WETTEST SINGLE DAY

WETTEST MARCH

WETTEST JUNE

WETTEST JULY

WETTEST AUGUST

SNOWIEST WINTER

SNOWIEST MONTH

SNOWIEST DECEMBER

SNOWIEST FEBRUARY’

2nd & 3rd BIGGEST SNOWSTORMS

We have kept official records in Philadelphia since 1871. That’s 145 years. Yet all of those records happened in less than EIGHT!

And it’s not just happening here. Heavy downpours have clearly increased across the U.S., especially in the Northeast.

Can we measure direct evidence of an increase in moisture? It wasn’t possible before weather satellites. It is now. The satellites measure something called "Precipitable Water" (PWAT). That’s defined as "the total water vapor contained in a vertical column." That’s from the ground to the top of the atmosphere. The more water vapor, the more precipitable water there is. And that extra water vapor is what leads directly to increased rain or snow.

WATCHING THE RIVERS OF AIR

It’s a beautiful thing to see. Animations of those "rivers" of moisture show tropical moisture spreading westward across the Atlantic from Africa. The yellow and brown colors show the "thickest" moisture areas…

Water vapor has increased in recent years, according to more and more sophisticated "remote sensing" of the atmosphere.

Notice that the greatest increase is in the tropics. But the yellow to orange colors off the U.S. East Coast show significant increases too. That’s the general picture. Now imagine a coastal storm, with a long path of onshore winds. We’re now adding extra moisture. This is confirmed by measurements of precipitable water in individual storms. I’ve seen many National Weather Service forecast discussions in recent years mentioning “record” or “near-record” PWAT ahead of a storm. I saw it in January of this year ahead of our giant snowstorm. I also saw it this past Thursday ahead of the system that brought 3-5 inches of rain in parts of Delaware and South Jersey.

We can look back at storm after storm where record rain or snow has fallen and see extremely high PW ahead of it.

SO, WHY HAS PRECIPITABLE WATER INCREASED? AND WILL IT CONTINUE TO INCREASE IN THE FUTURE?

"Observations and climate model results confirm that human-induced warming of the planet is having a pronounced effect on the atmosphere’s total moisture content."

That’s the first line of a report nearly 10 years ago from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. It’s been around since 1952, and is managed by the University of California for the U.S. Department of Energy.

Yes, global warming has already contributed to an increase in PWAT, which has then contributed to more record rain and snow. And future warming is likely to cause even higher levels of PWAT, which will likely contribute to even more record rain and snow. It won’t necessarily happen everywhere, for every storm, of course.

AND TO MAKE MATTERS WORSE

There’s this other thing about water vapor. It is considered to be a "positive feedback" that will increase global warming beyond what increases in carbon dioxide (CO2) will do. You see, water vapor is the most effective of all greenhouse gases, which warm the earth. Of course, almost all of it is natural, but not all.

Here’s how it works: the atmosphere warms due to human causes, then water vapor increases, which then helps increase temperatures, which helps increase water vapor even more, which then helps increase temperatures even more……and on, and on, and on…..How much of a positive feedback will it be? That’s one of the actual debates going on among climate scientists.

Water vapor isn’t the only positive feedback, either. Melting arctic ice leads to more heat being absorbed (ice reflects sunlight much more effectively than the darker ocean), which then melts more ice, which then causes more heat being absorbed, which then melts more ice…and on, and on, and on….

So, now we have carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases) leading to warming, plus the positive feedbacks of water vapor AND melting arctic ice. This is why many climate scientists are concerned that future warming will be even more (and faster) than many current computer models show. Climate skeptics often suggest that future warming will be slower than current models show. The positive feedbacks suggest that there’s at least a reasonable chance the models will underestimate future warming.

Glenn "Hurricane" Schwartz
Chief Meteorologist, NBC10 Philadelphia

Vice President Joe Biden accepted an award in Philadelphia Wednesday night honoring his work in coordinating the federal government's cancer research initiative.

The World Affairs Council of Philadelphia celebrated Biden at a ceremony at The Bellevue.

Biden is heading up the National Cancer Moonshot, an acceleration program to eliminate cancer. An estimated 600,000 Americans die from cancer every year, according to The White House.

The moonshot is providing new funding for research and fostering coordination between different research centers to attack the diseases.

Beau Biden, the vice president's son and former Delaware Attorney General, died last year after a battle with brain cancer.

A person was killed after being struck by a SEPTA Regional Rail train in Delaware County, Pennsylvania Wedenesday evening.

The incident happened around 10 p.m. on the Media-Elwyn line as the train traveled through Lansdowne, the transit authority said.

The victim died at the scene, officials said.

The line was shut down as authorities investigated.

Firefighters rescued two people trapped in their vehicles after a serious, multi-car crash at a busy intersection in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania Wednesday night, officials said.

Several vehicles were involved in the crash at Easton and Blair Mill roads in Upper Moreland around 9 p.m., officials said.

Two people were trapped for a short time before being rescued. The crash sent three people to the hospital. Their conditions were not immediately known.

The intersection was shut down for hours as authorities investigated the cause of the crash.