today it is thursday december 18th, good morning, i'm ukee washington. i'm quarter von tiehl. here are stories we are following today. the students at bensalem high school mourn the loss of the classmate trying to catch a school bus when suv struck her. the movie the interest right will not be playing at a theater near you, now feds think they know who is behind hacking that caused the studio to pull the comedy. will he run or won't he? new jersey governor chris christie is closer to making his mind up but a bid to the white house. we will get into that and more but first lets start with the forecast. it wasn't that cool or cold yesterday, in the 30's. >> it is better nice for weekend too.

>> yes, we had an eyes on the storm system but it is looking like it the will bypass us. it doesn't mean we're totally out of the woods. you might want be taking back that high five but next week could be just as stormy for us. models have been all over the place lately abe we will talk about the possibility of course just because so many people will be traveling into next week now that we are just one week away from christmas. but yes, at least initially, the forecast is on our side. it is looking dry for us. we will have a all of the details. as erika and ukee mentioned it is feeling colder. we have to talk temperatures too. we will go over everything in the next few minutes. grief counselor will be at bensalem high school where a student was struck and killed. >> sixteen year-old, minute net zeka was struck and killed. jane carabao is at the high school right now. >> reporter: ukee and erika, school district officials will be discussing school bus

safety issues in hopes of seeing something more can be done to protect students here. crossing guards are in the used for high school student but parents say something more must be done especially at busy intersection where this deadly accident happened yesterday. now friend, family, this school district and the entire community is mourning loss of a 16 year-old student, last night, dozens came out to a candle light vigil for minute net zeka a sophomore at bensalem high school. he was killed crossing bensalem boulevard near bridge water road. her bus was stopped on the road with its flashing lights on and stop arm out when an suv ran through the signals, drove past the bus and hit zeka. sheep was rushed to the hospital where she was pronounced dead. driver has in the been identified but also a teenager. a 18 year-old student at a technical school in bensalem. the driver did stop on the scene and is cooperating with police. the students and parents are questioning the safety of that

intersection. >> the in the morning, come 7:00 o'clock it is jammed pack and everybody is rushing to get out of here. >> unaudible. >> reporter: the sudden loss, very hard for many student here, to deal with and because of that, counselors and other help will be available for students throughout the the week as necessary, in the meantime, no charges have within filed at this point. that will be up to the district attorney. we're reporting live from bensalem, jane carabao for cbs-3 "eyewitness news". developing right now a car has driven if to a group of pedestrians in southern will california. at least within person is dead and up to 11 others are injury. police say that the driver want a red light on the pacific companies highway and rodunndo beach, hit a coach, and then struck another car. that driver is in custody. right now 4:33. lets get back to katie and hear who about the forecast. >> forecast is still pleasant

out there, we can bank on dry weather for yet another day. difference today is you will notice it is colder outside. on top of this, you cannot see necessarily on a view like this the wind is the the other factor but at least you can make out the entire center city sky line. in problems there. we are expecting generally sunshine out there today. the lets go to storm scan three, quiet as can be for now. we will put satellite coverage on top of this. we are seeing some trailing, additional, you know, flurries, very light snow showers at worst, generally all out of the delaware valley but maybe a flurry around the pocono region in the last few hours but as we said, we expect any cloud cover to break for some sunshine. here's where we stand on the thermometer. we will take a mental note of what you are seeing here, mid to lower 30's, upper 20's but that wind, it is out there and even though it is relatively modest, it is not a super winnie day it is knocking your feels like values back in the 20's. we are at 30 degrees if

wildwood. feeling like the teens in mount pocono. factor that in. hugging that winter coat tighter here on a day like this. with the sunshine you'll need sunglasses but that high of 43, may in the feel any better than say, oh, in mid to lower 30's as we go through the day, up in the poconos, those temperatures may in the feel better than 20's. we have to bundle up. vittoria, good morning. >> good morning, everyone. traffic wise we really are in the dealing with any major delays or problems. it is a beautiful commute this morning. a great time to wake up and jump on the roadway if you are not inclined to still stay in bed for a little bit longer. schuylkill expressway looking good. no matter where you are traveling, throughout your western suburbs, it is great out there. i-95 reflecting a good commute right through construction zone, in delays around cottman or girard just yet but when the rush comes in, you'll definitely see those big time problems through construction zones. that is where the rush usually starts. the as of right now speed sensors have been in the 50's

on everyone of our majors and it is not only in pennsylvania but it is also in delaware, and new jersey. just a lot of good news this morning. unfortunately if you are traveling on the roosevelt boulevard southbound at f street we have an accident, you will want to be mindful of have that, avoid that area if you can. if you are traveling at ridge avenue at 26th street you will notice vehicle fire that has been extinguished but it is out there and net is police and emergency teams on the scene. if you are traveling in new jersey, we have a down pole at the route one southbound at college avenue no delays for mass transit, ukee. vittoria, thank you. happening today security will be tight around the federal courthouse in boston where marathon bombing suspect dzhokhar tsarnaev is scheduled for an appearance. the it is his final pretrial conference before jury selection begins next month. tsarnaev has pled not guilty on 30 federal charges related to the april, 2013 bombings. three people were killed and more than 260 others were injured. well, federal believe north korea is behind hacking of sony pictures

entertainment. the studio has pulled the film at the center of the fire storm. sony with ill not released interview which was set to open christmas day. the it stars seth rogan and james franco, features reporters on the in mission to kill the leader of north korea. an on line threat believed to be from the hackers warned movie go tours stay away. the threat referred to the september 11th terror attacks. >> i would be laughing if it weren't kind of a sad day for hollywood. in the history of cinema this has never happened where a major studio says we will in the show movie out of concern for safety of the movie goers. >> we should ab wear and not afraid. if we're afraid, they've won. >> north korea's regime denies any involvement in the sign's tack. right now, 4:37. it is not happening overnight, but the u.s. and cuba are improving relations. the decision was cast by a conversation with president obama and cuban president raul castro and release of american

contractor alan gross. he had been imprisoned in cuba for five years. president obama wants to open an embassy in havana and ease travel restrictions and allow for more business between the two countries. >> i believe we can do more to support the the cuban people and promote our values through engagement. after all, these 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked. the it is time for a new approach. >> only congress can completely end the embargo against cuba that has been in place since 19 # one. cuban americans in our area were surprise by the news. many welcome the policy shift hoping it will lead to positive changes in cuba farrah jimenes is a school reform commissioner whose parents were born there she worried the oppressive regime could continue on the island on. it is still a place where people don't have freedom of expression, where individuals don't have a true and full democracy where people are restrict in how much they can

earn because cuban government determines what a salary is. >> new jersey senator robert menendez, whose parents came from cuba, spoke out against the president a's decision saying his actions vindicate the brutal behavior of the cuban government. new jersey governor chris christie will soon deciding whether to run for president, now the governor says he will discuss with his family over the holidays. christie says he will announce his decision early next year. this week former florida governor jeb bush said he would actively explore his own potential campaign, governor christie and burba peel to many of the same donors. there is much more to come on "eyewitness news", who won't be taking the field when the eagles play washington. and broad street will not be the only place, you can see the mummers strut this year. we will tell you bit the on the other side. good morning. seek a minute net.

the mummers are looking ahead to 2015.

this year they won't be strutting only to ring in the new year. they will have a high profile for mardi gras. >> we will be hosting a mummers parade on main street in manayunk this february. >> the parade will feature string bands and it is not the just for fun, it is a fundraiser designed to ensure that the philadelphia tradition keeps going strong for years to come. the parade is set for sunday, february between the second from 10:00 to noon. in case you missed it on new years day, your second chance. >> um-hmm. >> i love the mummers. >> look at you, getting our strut on. >> yes. >> it will be here in the next couple weeks. i'll break it out. >> how is it today. >> the not looking bad but it is colder. you guys noticed that already. >> and some wind too. >> now, the wind is not what i would call a super windy day but very noticeable breeze. >> yes, fine line. >> yes good but it is enough that now that the temperatures dropped off it it does feel colder too, to us outside.

temperatures are where where they should be on the thermometer at least but when you factor in the northwest wind and that drop will feel at least 10 degrees colder then that and, new lets take a look at storm scan three. nice wide zoom. ukee was funny, earlier this morning he looked at midsection of the u.s. and said what is that. >> what is that. >> what is going on with that. >> don't worry, it is all good. i'll let you know if something is coming our way. what is going on is a system that will break apart and fizzle away. we don't have have to worry about that. as we zoom in on it, it has good punch to it right new but it very likely will fizzle will away. we don't to have deal witt. with that said we are awaiting a system from the planes and get its act together by week end and that was the storm we had had our eye on for possibility of snow this weekend but it looks like that will pass buy to the south, next week you may have started to hear rumbling of the possibility of the christmas eve storm? there will be something out there but we are just way too

far out to tell you exactly what will happen. if we had to do, tell you exactly what we thought right now, going by guidance, it appears as though he will be a christmas eve storm system, bringing in generally rain for our area but further inland you go even into central pennsylvania, snow could be a factor, if that particular track were to pan out. then it would get out in time for christmas day. with that said today lots of sunshine. in precipitation today. 43 degrees. bringing, colder. we will drop down to 31. again it may not feel like 31 anytime that wind blows. looking forward in the forecast we will keep you in the low to mid 40's in the weekend. we will get more clouds on the weekend we expect to it to stay dry. it is looking quiet. then we will head into next week. we will start to see potential for steady rain already looking ahead to monday. ukee, back over to you. and in sports, of course, the the flyers get back on the ice tonight hosting the florida panthers a at wells fargo center.

fly guys are in the tough stretch of games right now losing last five out of ten. puck drops at 7:00 o'clock. the eagles defense will be without one of its veteran leaders this saturday against washington. trent cole had surgery to have a plate inserted if to his hand. he broke it last sunday in the loss to the cowboys. brandon graham will take his place and head coach chip kelly is confident he will get the job done. >> brandon can set an edge, brandon can rush a quarterback, he can do a better job in pass coverage and we have been happy. he has really dedicated himself. he has played better from a special teams standpoint, in every phase we have had bg on the field, he has done a good job. >> quarterback nick foles is showing progress. he is still out with the broken collar bone until at least next week but he was back at the practice yesterday making more throws then he had has in recent weeks. coach chip is in the ruling out a return at some point but not just yet. >> he didn't do any, we didn't

throw at all yesterday. it was a walk through. he threw the ball around. the bonus not healed. biggest thing, i think nick contacting throw. i don't think you cane any different. if he gets hit he cannery inn injury himself. that is the biggest concern right now. a big game this saturday. you can watch it right here on cbs-3 at first with our toyota kick off special at 3:30. then at 4:00 it is nfl network pregame show followed by the game at 4:30. and then, stay right here for bonus coverage, the night game at 8:30 as chargers take on the 49ers. the push for the playoffs is on. >> um-hmm. >> still ahead on "eyewitness news" this morning last minute holiday shoppers perkrk up business at a popular hang out. >> but first here's what is coming up tonight on cbs-3.

thanks for waking with us

everyone. here is another look at headlines. grief counselors are on hand at bensalem high school have after minette zeka was struck and killed by a car trying to catch her school bus. federal investigators say north cover reace behind a sign's tack on sony pictures entertainment. film company announced it is canceling the christmas day release of the interview because of the threat from the hackers. new jersey governor chris christie is considering a run for the the white house. he is expected to make his final decision early next year. lets get a check on business. >> jill wagner joins us from the new york stock exchange and what a difference a take makes. dow jones had the best day of the year on wednesday, what are investors watching. >> reporter: yeah, good morning. we can thank janet yellin on that one. federal reserve says it will be patient when deciding when to racial interest rates. yellin says they will probably raise interest rates sometime next year but that the fed isn't convinced that the economy is strong enough just yet.

investors like what they heard, ukee and erika. >> with just a week away from christmas but we hear the that the very popular gift for all of the people really like to wait until the final hour, final minute even. >> reporter: that is right, i will not name any names but it does look like those last minute shoppers out there will be stocking up on, star bucks. now the coffee giant expects to set a record for star bucks gift card purchases on december 24th. so, last year on christmas eve, star bucks sold more than 2 million gift cards, and that comes out to about 1500 minute, ukee and erika. >> 1500 a minute. >> wow, boy. >> yes. >> the line will be long. >> yes, it will. >> thanks, jill, see you later. coming up next, traffic and wet are together, we will do it on the three's. >> we will be

coming up on 7:53.

here's traffic and weather together. good morning, vittoria. >> good morning, everyone. traffic is just fine right now no delays on the majors. it is beautiful. roads are wide opened for you. look at 309 around the pennsylvania turnpike, no delays in either direction, maybe you are heading in and out of the cheltenham area, glenside, heading towards the a pennsylvania turnpike, no problems once you get there. northeast extension, all clear. as we move new to the ben franklin bridge maybe you are commuting from pennsylvania into new jersey or reverse in, problems on any bridges as well. speed sensors are still high up, all over the map, because really in major volume at this time. we usually don't see, any major delays, at 5:00 a.m. and that is the case right now. speed sensors 50's on the schuylkill, blue route and so on and so forth traveling in new jersey and delaware. just a lot of good news every where. we had an earlier accident on the roosevelt boulevard southbound at f street that has been cleared out of the way. if you are traveling in new jersey you do want to be mindful of the down pole situation on route one southbound at college avenue.

compromising a lane you may notice police activity if tell were to get this cleared out of the way but it is out there and if you can try to avoid it i would suggest you can do that. no delays for mass transit. things at the airport are just fine. a great way to start your morning and the one thing, however, it will be a little chilly today. >> just a little bit. >> we might need to warm the car up before we hit the road. it is one of those days, variety tore y but we can bank on some sunshine. i have a feeling you will be talking about sun glare. but you know what, sometimes it is a nice trade off, right. as we look at storm scan three all that is lefties very light snow showers, that for the most part fizzled over pennsylvania, still at this point, still finding some of that across new england as our latest system pull is a way. we are done witt. now it is aftermath issues that come in the for the of the winter chill, it is setback in for sure. we will talk more about that eagles game, taking you down the the highway here, into

landover where there may be a shower, definitely a question mark on that. i think more than anything, guys we are talking mainly cloudy skies and temperatures in the lower 40's at kick off. they will very likely stay somewhat level than that for the better part of the game. taking you forward in the forecast though we should actually eke out a very quiet weekend. we had an eye on the storm. now it looks like that storm will be out there but it is off to the south and will bypass us. just some clouds throughout the course of the weekend. but by monday not so lucky here, there will be another system in the works and we could also be looking at a christmas eve, storm. so, just a chance right you this but it is looking like a decent chance that we will have steady rain in time for santa's flight. we will see how we do there. ukee, back over to you. here's some of the stories our sister station kyw news radio 1060 will be following today. new regulations will make it easier to visit cuba what does it mean if you want to head to havana. if you are a comcast customer you may be getting money back from your last

bill. the future, the furniture where former homeless people can make their new house or apartment feel more like home. check in two, three, four times a day, kyw news radio 1060 on the am dial. 4:56. coming up next on "eyewitness news", saving the taj mahal, we're talk about atlantic city. it is just days befefore another casino is set to close and we're told there is word there could be a deal to keep it opened, we have details on that coming up after the break. crowd control becomes a problem, as people lining up, for new air jordan shoes, get way out of control. we are back at the top of the hour, good morning.

a community in morning comes together for a teenager kill trying to catch a school bus, and new two young lives are change forever. >> also this morning, a life line for the trump taj mahal, last minute deal that could keep another, atlantic city casino from folding this weekend. >> it is thursday, december 18th i'm's ukee washington. i'm erika von tiehl. sony pulls the plug on a controversial comedy, now we're learning more about who is behind the hack attack threatening violence at theaters, we will tell you what is next for that film, katie. erika, we are expect to go see more sunshine out there today, but winter a's chill has absolutely, settled back

in for us, meanwhile, we have had an eye on the storm this weekend, how sit looking now in we will have the answer coming up, vittoria. so far, so good on the roads, but when the the sun comes up, the rush comes in, right now 95 is free and clear but things will change, we will have the full report coming up in a few minutes, ukee. vittoria, thank you. grief counselors are on hand at bensalem high school after student was killed by an suv. >> minette zeka was crossing the street at bridge water road at bensalem boulevard in bensalem yesterday morning when she was hit. "eyewitness news" reporter jan carabao joins us with the details, jan, good morning. >> reporter: erika and ukee, good morning. grief counselors will be available again today and also a happening today, school district officials will be discussing school bus safety issues and whether more can be done to protect students here. high school students they don't have luxury of having crossing guards at this point. that will be discussed. parents and students alike are