States, also the tallest states, also the tallest habitable building. Pope john paul ii is there. So very important to the Catholic Church and, of course, this canonization ceremony with Junipero Serra at the center of it. The first saint canonized on u. S. Soil, a very important moment here for catholics. And right now you can just see everybody just overwhelmed seeing the pope in person. This is a wonderful moment for them. You can see the pope is trying to make eye contact with a few individuals, waving to people, of course, giving the sign of the cross and this is a special moment for these believers. The chance to see the pope in person on their territory, right . Yeah, absolutely. Earlier today during his parade around the ellipse and washington, d. C. At several times he stopped, secret service brought over a child, the crowd loved this. This was a very special moment for them just to see the humanized side of him, children obviously playing a very Important Role with him and the church. And speaking of children, we saw that moment in washington, d. C. Where he was in the possibly mobile and pope mobile and you saw him embrace that kid. Its always difficult, secret service, they want to keep people at bay but when the pope says i want to see that child, they are going to bring the child to him. Later in the newscast we hear from one of the children he talked to and he tells us what that was like for that person. This basilica houses 70 chapels honoring mary and reflecting the origins of the catholic immigrants and religious orders whose generosity erected them. Crowned with numerous domes, decorated in mosaics. If you know this, in venice, italy, but much larger, again, this is a very big church, the largest Catholic Church in the united states. And we see pope francis now making his way often the pope mobile and making his way into the basilica, certainly speaking to other cardinals there and this is quite a special moment for them as well. You know, its not just the people who are there hoping to catch a glimpse of the pope, but certainly to see the leader of the church and, again, just connecting with the crowd. This is what he likes to do. Yeah, this is the moment many, many wait for because they dont have access to the of course weve got the cameras in there but we have own our dave evans at the site right now and maybe he can set the scene for us of what its like to be mock the people among the people there. Reporter it is a warm afternoon here at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at Catholic University, the pope arrived here probably about 10 minutes ago driving right behind me in his pope mobile. He went to the other side of the crowd and is now has now exited the pope mobile a couple minutes ago and every time that he would go by this very, very large crowd here in washington, there would be a loud cheer of people. He, of course, waving to all of the people as he went back and forth. He has been he has exited the pope mobile and we assume he is now preparing for the mass here at the National Shrine which begins probably in about 10 minutes. We are told that there are three Supreme Court justices here, also republican president ial candidate jeb bush and also thousands and thousands of people, we have heard anywhere from 25 to 40,000 people here at Catholic University waiting to hear from the pope. It is a beautiful, Beautiful Day here in washington, very warm and people are anxious to hear from the pope. Yeah. Thank you, david. And, you know, you couldnt ask for better weather. I mean, just look at it out there. It is, it is a Beautiful Day. And the pontiff looks so energized despite having such a full day, hes 78 years old, full day ahead of him and then he comes to new york tomorrow and, of course, everybody is waiting. Waiting for the pontiff to arrive. All part of this process. This canonization ceremony is the final event in a whirlwind day that he has had already for the pope. The day began with a welcome ceremony at the white house, the pope speaking in english, not his native language, wasted no time jumping into the hot button issue of Climate Change saying it is an urgent problem that can no longer be left to a future generation. Later the pope attended a Prayer Service with bishops at a cathedral in washington and during his homily he told them they must begin to focus on mercy and build relationships with others. But arguably i think the most anticipated events today were the papal motorcades. The pope waved to throngs of people gathered on the streets and as we mentioned, kissed babies and even shook hands with people outside of his residence. We have several reports this evening from both washington and here in new york. Lets get back out to dave evans in washington, outside the cathedral where the pope is getting ready for that canonization mass. Dave. Reporter good afternoon again from washington. The pope is now here at Catholic University, he exited the pope mobile just a few minutes ago, he is now preparing for the mass, which is supposed to start probably in about 10 minutes or so. Of course another big cheer going on behind me because they have caught a glimpse of the pope going into the basilica, that is what is happening inside the basilica right now. But the big news earlier today happening this morning at the white house, this pope not one to shy away from controversy. This morning the pope woke to a joyous crowd at the Vatican Embassy leaving in that humble house. And there he was greeted by the president and first lady. Your holiness in your and deeds you set a profound reporter one of the largest crowds ever at the white house, 11,000 on the south lawn listened intently to the popes remarks and what he said surprising. Climate change is a problem. We can no longer be left to our future generation. Reporter the pope today did not avoid controversy. Instead, diving right in, on immigration, global warming, even quoting our best known civil rights leader and urging of mother earth. Use phrase of the Martin Luther king, we can say that we have the full we have defaulted on a promissory note and now is the time to reporter and the president , who has fought so many battles with the Republican Controlled Congress today seemed pleased with what he heard. The lords most powerful message is mercy, and that means welcoming the stranger with empathy and a truly open heart. Reporter at the basilica where thousands waited for francis, there was appreciation for what francis said both catholics and noncatholics alike grateful for francis being so direct. Thats one of the greatest things i think about pope francis so far is he really does tackle the issues. I think thats great. Those are messages that we want to hear, no matter what, you know, side of the aisle that you stand on, you know, we have a responsibility to this earth. Reporter and what is going on right now, pope francis inside the basilica, he was going down the aisle just a few minutes ago waving to everyone, even doing high fives to several of the pilgrims assembled here to hear the pope. The mass, again, supposed to start here in just a few minutes. The pope is still inside the basilica right now. Earlier today at the white house the president and the pope did exchange gifts. The pope giving the president a brass plaque commemorating the conference of the families which will take later this week in philadelphia and the president giving the pope an iron sculpture of an ascending dove, of course that being a symbol of the holy spirit. The mass due to start here in just a couple of minutes. You can see the pope inside the basilica waving, greeting everyone, just to his right, of course, that is cardinal who arely of the Diocese Cardinal worrellly of the diocese on his right. When we come back, we might be whispering a little bit because the mass will be underway at 5 00 and 6 00. We will see you then. For now reporting live in washington, dave evans, channel 7 Eyewitness News. Thank you, david. We heard about the pope high fiving people. I believe that we were going to try to get some of that video of him earlier, but, you know, this just speaks to his energy, you know, that hes giving to people. Hes known as the peoples pope, very much connecting with people and i think he feels a lot more comfortable in this type of setting, interacting with people instead of the pomp and circumstance. No question. His list of charming episodes continue to grow. Yesterday when he got in the fiat, everybody was talking about that and the hem mall nature humble nature he is, stopping today to talk to the kids and hold them up and kiss them and high fiving as hes coming into the church. A lot of new yorkers are waiting for that too. They want to be able to connect with him as well. The pope spent time talking and blessing some of those who turned out to see him. This morning when he left his residence in washington, the pontiff shook hands with the crowd that was gathered that crowd and he spent several minutes with them before getting his in his car. Getting in his car. Later the pope waved to the crowds and gave many a big thrill. He stopped to bless and kiss babies. Children secret service brought to him. You can hear the crowd in the background. A child about being blessed. Did he tell you to come over to him . What did he do when you walked over to him . I give him a letter. You gave him a letter . Yes, she did. I dont think she will ever forget this moment. Sophia said she handed the letter a letter and a t shirt and the tshirt reportedly had pro immigration message written on it, something that the pope has been a champion of. And we are told that sophia and and a papal visit at 2015 wouldnt be complete without a selfie or two with the pope. The pope posing with some people gathered outside of his residence this morning letting them get a shot at him, go back to the basilica, live pictures of the immaculate shrine. The canonization ceremony is expected to begin in just minutes and, again, look at the grandeur of this picture. This is the largest Catholic Church in the united states. 10th largest in the world. Pope francis will be welcomed by some 3000 seminarians, all lucky enough for them to be there, a crowd of 25,000 expected during the mass. And we will talk more about the man who is being made saint in just a few minutes, bring you a live picture when that happens and if you want to watch this entire mass, we will have it streaming at our website, abc7ny. Com. Lets move to tomorrow right now. The popes schedule includes a to a d. C. Area church and then, yep, he is headed to our area. And here in our area there are signs everywhere that the countdown is almost over. Street blockades are ready to put in place and people know the pope is almost here. Eyewitness News Reporter n. J. Burkett is live on the Upper West Side with how some of the people closest to the action are reacting today. N. J. Reporter thats right, sade, 67th street and central park west, you can see the huge 8foot fence is in place, tow trucks are standing by to tow cars. Police officers massing akatrina the street, an nypd amassing across the street, an nypd command post. Its beginning to look and feel like a military zone with fences and barricades everywhere you turn. We took a drive in the park that the pope is going to take and you can already see the beginning of all of the security measures, the precautions taking place. The barricades lined the drive but despite the barriers, people are still able to use the park, neighbors are out enjoying the day and tourists are making the best of things before the southern third of the park gets shut down on friday morning. The closure will take effect at 5 00 a. M. Friday, very important to note that. 59th street to 81st street from the east side all the way over to the west side. We found a couple from long island enjoying the park today with their grandsons. Trying to find a garage to park in was a little challenging and we found one about seven or eight blocks away. We went to central park and we did the sail boats, we went to alice in wonderland and ate in the park and now heading home. Tomorrow i wouldnt want to be anywhere near here. But for today, great. Reporter and most residents are saying the same thing, yes, they are a little concerned about the inconvenience but they say the inconvenience is going to be well worth having city. In fact, the one person who may be the most upset about this may be pope francis himself. He is said he does not want fences, does not want barricades, doesnt want to be protected from the people if in fact that is what happens here. He says he wants to embrace the people. The secret service is in charge and they have insisted on all of this. Live on the Upper West Side, n. J. Burkett, channel 7 Eyewitness News. Thank you, n. J. If you wait to figure out your transportation plan, you might be too late. Street closures in our area start tomorrow but we have you covered. Right now the top of our facebook page, we have broken down those closures by time and neighborhood so check it out. Its all in a video that you can share with anyone who might want to stay away from the chaos over the next few days. As we go to the break one more time, we are going to take a look at the basilica in washington, d. C. , a live its the final countdown the final countdown if youre the band europe, you love a final countdown. Its what you do. If you want to save fifteen percent or more on car insurance, you switch to geico. Right now we are back with breaking news. There is an accident involving a special needs bus in queens. Shannon sohn is lye in newscopter 7 shannon sohn is live in newscopter 7 with an update. The front of that car looks completely totaled, shannon. Reporter yeah, it almost looks as if that car completely drove underneath that special needs bus. All of this happening at the intersection of woodhaven boulevard and 81st road. You can see clearly the damage to this vehicle. What we know at this point is that there were eight injuries in all involved in this accident. You can see they are working to get some of the special needs patients off of that bus but clearly the brunt of the damage done to that passenger vehicle. What you need to know as you travel through this area is really no detour is set up but woodhaven boulevard completely shut down in both directions. Your northbound delay is going to take you back to jamaica avenue and we are going to bring you along the southbound side to give you an idea of how bad this is because its stopped dead back to st. Johns cemetery. You can see volume spilling onto that as well. 88th road gets you around this as best you can but this is going to take some patience to get through. Reporting live over queens, shannon sohn, channel 7 Eyewitness News. Thank you, shannon. Yogi berra was a hall of famer with 10 world series championships to his name. One of the greatest catchers in baseball history, but nobody could turn a phrase like him. Today with his passing fans are honoring his memory. The marque at Yankee Stadium flashing his name and photo on the big screen. And a memorial outside his museum in little falls. And president obama paying tribute with this statement calling berra an american original, a humble veteran, a prolific jokester and a jovial prophet. Rob powers here with more on the famed yankees legacy. There are stars, there are hall of famers, there are baseball icons, yogi berra fit every one of those definitions. He died last night at the age of 90, a gentleman, a gentle man. Baseball star u. S. Veteran, there was only one yogi. He was one of the most beloved figures in all of sports and perhaps the greatest catcher of all time, Lawrence Peter berra, yogi to most, was indeed a true yankee icon. Yogis break to the bigs began in 1946, the list of accomplishments on the baseball field for berra read like this, 10 world series titles three mvp awards, 18 all star appearances and of course larsons Perfect World series game, better was was berra was inducted into baseballs hall of fame in 1972. In addition to his achievements on the field berra also served as a proud member in the u. S. Navy during world war ii. His museum in montclair will continue to honor him and the memories of number 8 will live on for this pen striped pen striped legend. They will honor him this evening on their lives. By all accounts, david, an even better person. Everyone says the same thing. Its those phrases that you keep coming back to. Among other things, it aint over until its over. Its impossible not to remember those famed yogiisms. We looked to the streets. Deja vu all over again, thats a classic. The restaurant thats so crowded that nobody goes anymore. Yogi says one more crack of you and youre out of the game. And he said ump, im only be ferocious, and he meant facetious. It aint over until its over. It aint over till its over. It aint over till its over. So many great ones and sadly it is over. If you want to see more pictures of yogi berra throughout the years, head to our website, abc7ny. Com. And as we head to break, one more look at the basilica in washington where in just a few minutes the first ever canonization on north american soil is set to begin. We will be right back. Thats a big bull. I think thats old cyrus. 1800 pounds of do whatever the heck i want. Take the long way, huh . Thank you cyrus. Lease an mkc for 299 a month only at your lincoln dealer. Smells like spaghetti with johnsonville italian sausage. My favorite. Bad news. The johnsonville factory burned down brian. Its terrible. Well if you cant serve tasty sausage why are we even a family . I may as well move out. Well, if thats what yo. Youre right. Ill stay. And tomorrow were going to help johnsonville rebuild that factory. Ill take dinner in my room, with chocolate milk. Make pasta tastier with johnsonville italian sausage. And welcome back. Right now youre looking at live pictures from the basilica, the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception where in just a few moments the pope will begin a canonization