>> ♪ >> from the cbs broadcast center in philadelphia, this is cbs3 "eyewitness news".

>> it's quiet now but more rain is on the way. storm scan3 showing some soggy weather on the radar there just in time for the holidays. good evening towering i'm jessica dean and chris may is off tonight. it has been wet but relatively warm this week. the snow will stay away but looks like we're in for a very rainy christmas eve. meteorologist kate bilo is here with more on a holiday storm. kate. >> that's right, jessica, christmas eve not going to feel like christmas. it's going to be warm, steamy, soggy, sloppy, lots of adjectives you don't want to use for christmas. all of the heavy rain that has been impacting the deep south all day this lifting up the eastern seaboard and will eventually get here and there's a lot of rain to get through before we can celebrate our christmas holidays. zooming out on storm scan3 the center of the low up here. wraparound snow, there will be snow and heavy snow in portions of michigan but for our area it's just rain. we have dense fog before the

rain gets here, seeing visibility of a half mow mile in dover, 3 miles at the airport, 1.7 in wilmington and 2-mile in reading. watch out for the fog if you'll be out later tonight through the overnight hours and it will come up on you quickly. a couple showers by 3:00 a.m. the first batch of steady rain makes it in about 9 o'clock or 10 o'clock tomorrow morning. watch hot how the rain continues to come in waves all day long. 2:00 p.m. another round of heavy rain. 5:00 p.m. after round of rain moving through and then we get a little break in the action, 7:00 p.m. it's raining pretty steadily down the shore. another batch of showers develop around 2:00 a.m. or 3:00 a.m. and finally clearing the area right around sunup on christmas day. we'll clear it out for your christmas day plans. what to expect for tomorrow, periods of rain, about three-quarter of an inch to an inch and a half will fall. low visibility and very warm. we could be approaching a record high tomorrow.

so definitely not feeling much like christmas eve but i'll have the rest of your holiday week forecast and more on that potential record in a bit. jessica. >> kate, thank you. developing now police are searching for the hit and run driver who left a woman for dead on state road in holmesburg. "eyewitness news" reporter david spunt is live at the police department's accident investigation division in north philadelphia with more on this. david. >> reporter: jess today, i just got off the phone with police a couple minutes ago. they tell me the victim is 33 years old, they're not releasing her name, she died a little after 6:30 tonight after being hit by that tow truck. detectives are working feverishly behind me to try to find the tow truck and the driver. that person facing vehicular homicide charges tonight. >> i don't know how anybody could do that. it's just -- oh, my gosh. one minute she's there and gone. >> reporter: linda says she saw everything happen in just seconds. she was driving her suv on state road in holmesburg

around 5:15 tuesday night when she says a black tow truck hit a woman crossing the street. >> i saw her like walk up to the center line and then she was gone and then her cell phone and purse hit my car. >> reporter: police say the woman did not use the crosswalk. other witnesses tell "eyewitness news" the driver didn't even slow down after hitting the woman. >> there were no brake lights, nothing to even, you know -- and by the time i realized it was a person i stopped my car and just to see if i could help her. >> reporter: police were on scene within minutes spending over two hours collecting evidence. detectives found glass on the road, likely from the tow truck's headlight. >> somebody strikes a human being and then intentionally flees the scene involved in a hit and run that's just a horrific tragedy. >> reporter: a tragedy lynn is a says she'll never be able to forget. >> he knew he hit someone.

whoever the driver was he knew that they hit her. >> reporter: i'm told there are several security cameras in the area. detectives are going to go out late tonight and early tomorrow morning to try to discover what's on those cameras. again, police are looking for a black tow truck. they don't know the plate number or the name on the side of the tow truck, possibly a broken headlight. if you have any information police want to hear from you. reporting live in west philadelphia, david spunt, "eyewitness news" on the cw philly. >> david, thank you. new developments tonight in the sony hacking scandal. sony has decided to release the movie at the center of it all, the '93 view and the theater in wilmington delaware will show the film on christmas. it will open on christmas day. we talked tonight on the phone with the owner of that theater. >> buying a ticket to see this movie and of itself is a statement, you know, it's a statement of support for our country and for the freedom that we all enjoy but really people mostly are just

interested in having a good time and not being told what they can or cannot see. >> we're told "the interview" will also be available on demand. danielle nottingham has more on sony's decision to show that film. >> reporter: sony pictures is allowing select theaters to show the film beginning on christmas day. the seth rogen-james franco comedy is about a plot to kill north korea's leader. after a devastating hacker attack exposed secret internal documents an embarrassed sony pulled the film when the hackers threatened terror attacks. fans, artists and even the president were critical. >> i think they made a mistake. >> reporter: but sony delivered another plot twist tuesday saying we are proud to make it available to the public and to have stood up to those who attempted to suppress free speech. the film will be shown in more than 200 theaters. on social media, the film's stars called it a victory and

said "the people have spoken. freedom has prevailed ." sony says it's working to get more platforms and more theaters to show "the interview" so it can reach the widest possible audience. >> i think it's a really the outpouring of people all over the u.s. and the world who want to support, you know, freedom of creativity, freedom of expression. >> reporter: some theater owners say they will have extra security on hand to ensure the safety of moviegoers. in los angeles, danielle nottingham for "eyewitness news" on the cw philly. >> volunteer firefighters rescue a baby from a burning minivan on the garden garden ste parkway. it happened near exit 74 in lacy township ocean county yesterday morning. firefighter pat o'donnell and eddie barker pulled over after seeing those flames erupt from the hood. the driver told them her baby was in the minivan. barker pulled the baby from the back seat before fire

overtook the vehicle. amazingly nobody was injured. autopsy results are in from last week's killing spree in montgomery county. coroners say bradley stone died from a drug overdose following a two day manhunt. police say stone killed his ex-wife nicole and five members of her family at three locations in montgomery county december 15th. a teenager survived that rampage. anthony flick was released from the hospital today. new tonight, the community is coming together to help the family of a police officer displaced by an arson fire in lower pottsgrove township montgomery county. thanks to the generosity, this holiday season will be a little brighter. "eyewitness news" reporter todd quinones has details. >> reporter: the fire police say was intentionally set by the next door neighbor while the family was away on vacation. limerick township police detective ernie morris and his wife christine were left with virtually nothing. their two daughters were

scared and their family cat was killed. the story sent shock waves through the lower pottsgrove community. >> devastating. sad to know somebody could do this. >> reporter: tuesday night this texas road house in royersford was packed. >> this is a huge turnout which is awesome. i didn't expect anything like this. >> reporter: the staff is telling me here the wait might be 45 to 50 minutes maybe even longer. >> that's not a problem. we're here for a good cause. >> reporter: the staff and management here decided to donate 10 percent of the entire night's revenue to their morris family. the goal was about a thousand dollars which is on top of the thousand dollars raised by members of the limerick fire company. >> it's amazing. it's a blessing that came out of all of this to be honest with you. >> the entire community has been so generous and the support has been overwhelming. >> reporter: according to pennsylvania state police next door neighbor 52 year old donna krupp had an ax to grind and blamed detective morris

for her son's incarceration. she has been charged with setting the fire earlier this month. the morris family is staying in temporary housing and considering the circumstances surrounding the arson at this point they're not sure if they plan on rebuilding on that piece of property and with so much up in the air right now, fundraisers like this one is helping the family look forward to christmas. >> we're kind of looking forward to a peaceful christmas eve, peaceful morning and then family activities. >> reporter: in royersford, todd quinones for "eyewitness news" at 10:00 on the cw philly. >> for many years gay men have not been able to donate blood. that might be changing if the government decides to act on a recommendation to end a ban. gas prices fall in time for the holidays. kate. >> and i'll time out the heavy rain moving through on christmas eve. we'll have your christmas day forecast and the rest of the upcoming weekend with the

>> police officers, politicians and members of the community observed a moment of silence in new york city today in honor of the two police officers murdered over the weekend. as marley hall reports the incident has inflamed tensions nationwide regarding police conduct especially involving minority communities. >> reporter: at this candlelight memorial in bedford-stuyvesant marking the spot where two policemen were

gunned down on saturday a moment of silence at 2:47 eastern time. the exact time they lost their lives. >> in memory of officer ramos and officer liu. >> reporter: the silence was also observed at city hall and elsewhere. >> they have families and it's really heartbreaking. >> the pain and suffering they're going through right now is shared by many people. >> reporter: earlier mayor deblasio and his wife paid their respects to officers wenjan liu and ramos here at the makeshift memorial. the mayor has been under fire with rank and file police, many saying he has supported protesters at their expense. deblasio and police commissioner bill bratton have vis said the homes of both officers. the commissioner has defended the mayor saying friction between the nypd and city hall is a tradition. >> can you point out to me one mayor that has not been battling with the police unions in the last 50 years?

name one. name one. >> reporter: a steady stream of comrades continuing to pay their respects to the fallen officers. >> ♪ >> reporter: joined today by citizens of many races and nationalities in grief. marley hall for "eyewitness news" on the cw philly. >> federal health officials are recommending an end to the nation's 31 year ban on blood donations for gay and bisexual men. the food and drug administration says it favors replacing it with a new policy fda officials say that policy will put the thus line with other countries including australia japan and the uk. a big boost in the economy lifting stocks to record highs the dow jones closed at 18,004

closing above 18,000 for the first time. analysts say businesses are more confident about the economy and hiring. they predict growth will continue into the new year. and shoppers looking for last minute deals are enjoying some falling gas prices. aaa says prices have dropped for 89 days in a row. the national average stands at $2.38 a gallon. nielsen surveyed consumers and found 36 percent are using gas savings on holiday gifts this year. nearly half say they have an extra $25 to $75 a month to spend. >> just went to fill up my tank last night and there was a $30 savings over six months ago and i said you know, i'm going to go to the mall and i'm going to spend that $30 on christmas. >> this will strengthen holiday spending butter also strengthen spending into the first quarter of 2015. >> half of those surveyed plan to use their savings to pay their bills. >> a lot of people hitting the road and traveling for the

upcoming holiday unfortunately we're not seeing that great of conditions out there for travelers. fog tonight, then heavy rain tomorrow. we'll check in with some of our weather watchers. we'll start in delaware, 48 degrees in newark and a lot of cloud cover. heading into new jersey looking at 47 degrees, this from douglas. he's in vincentown reporting rain there. another one of our weather watchers near new jersey is reporting 46 degrees, so temperatures are actually not that bad. hal in collingswood at 46 and as we head a little bit further into pennsylvania, we're looking at 45 degrees and that's reported by chris. he's in berwyn and again reporting some rain there. so light rain, mist, drizzle, that's what we've been dealing with all night long and if you love the whether you can be featured in our newscast. become an eyewitness weather watcher like these folks. sign up now at cbsphilly.com/watchers. take a look at what we're dealing with outside and notice the ben franklin bridge. obscured in fog right now. looks a little worse about an hour ago so the fog kind of comes and goes and it can come up on you quickly.

you can see patches of fog on the bridges on many of the roadways. not seeing a lot of heavy rain now but that will change as we head through the overnight. a lot of cloud cover and mist and drizzle. radar often has a hard time picking up those fine particles of precipitation but doesn't have a hard time picking up what we're seeing off to our south. all this rain lifts in from the deep south right into our area. you can see the heavy rain in tennessee and that's all moving northward through the overnight hours but especially during the day tomorrow. so, temperatures right now warming up a little bit. 47 at the airport, 47 degrees in wilmington and 49 in millville. timing this out you can see 7:00 a.m. we're dealing with the steady rain across the region and it doesn't get much better. watch how the rain lifts along the i-95 corridor. travels along i-95 down into the carolinas. that will be a problem no matter where you rvmentd here's 3:00 p.m. another batch of showers by later on wednesday night for your christmas eve plans. the good news is we may get a

little bit of a break in the action but another batch develops through the overnight hours. 7:00 a.m. on christmas morning we may see some sun as we clearing everything out, it will be breezy but it does clear out pretty quickly so christmas day looks better. the high for your wednesday, christmas eve, 62. the record is 64 set way back in 1990. we may get close to breaking our tying that record. so, for your christmas forecast, christmas eve rain, heavy at times, about theater quarters an inch to an inch and a half. christmas day clearing, winds gusting to 35 miles per hour but at least the sun will return. let's take a look at the overnight outlook. fog and drizzle through the early part of the overnight and then steady rain early tomorrow morning. 46 degrees will be the overnight low. christmas eve forecast, periods of rain breezy and mild. normal high is 43 and we'll get up to 62 for the daytime high, about 20 degrees above average but it's a sticky warm soupy kind of bay with heavy rain on and off all day long.

not the best day to be out and about. critz mass day looks better. windy, 55 degrees. temperature will be dropping through the afternoon so we'll end up a little bit colder than how it starts. will. friday 50, sunny and nice. saturday 53 degrees and then it does tart to turn colder as we heed into next week or at least more seasonable back to the low 40's as we head towards the end of 2014 next week, monday and tuesday highs only near 40 degrees. but san tan reindeer it's going to be unseasonably warm for them. >> rain slickers or something. >> yes. >> well, they'll make it. >> what's growing -- going on in the sports world. >> too many names on it to be out of the playoffs. we'll talk about that. flyers efforts in min

>> flyers tonight in minnesota against the wild. game three of a eight game trek. here we go, first period we pick it up flyers with the lead and they would add to it. captain claude giroux knocks home the rebound. the orange and black with a two goal advantage. now in the second, the game's all tied up until wayne simmonds delivered his 15th goal of the season. flyers take the lead again. in the third andrew mcdonald shoots and vinnie lecavalier redirects the puck into the

net. his third goal in the last two games and the flyers move to three and zero on the road trip. five to two is your final. sixers taking on miami tonight just eight players available for brett brown. tony wroten was a late scratch with a right knee injury. game tied in the fourth, mcw passes to jeremy grant he drives to the basket scores, he's fouled. sixers take a three-point lead. sixers now up by one. luke scores in the low post and the sixers back up by three. final seconds the heat need a basket to tie the game but they can't. the sixers win back to back games for the first time this season, 91-87 is your final. college hoops now villanova hosting new jersey. institute of technology. who you ask? well, they upset michigan earlier this season. they had a seven-point lead in the second half but the cats came clawing back. dillon ennis drives down to

score. then ryan arcidiacono drives the three ball home. seventh ranked wildcats move to 12 and zero with a win at the pavilion. professional pride on the line. final week of practice at the novacare complex. chip kelly is going to practice and play like they are going to win the game down in the meadowlands. >> going to play football. nobody put us in this position but ourselves. we take full responsibility for it and we got to go out there and play football. it's still one game left in the season against the giants team that is playing pretty well right now, against a division team so we got to get excited about it. >> five pro bowlers for the eagles. the honors announced tonight. congrats to first timers darren sproles, jason kelce and connor barwin. third time for shady mccoy and the seventh time for offensive tackle jason peters.

fletcher cox should have made it but he's an alternate so congratulations to those men its a lot of names on the pro bowl list for a team that's going home next week. >> n

>> talk about a unique letter to san today. many children put toys at the top of their list. but not julian. he wrote my greatest wish is that you talk to my grand father's boss mr. john mathers and ask him if he could give my grandfather chris nas day off. ps if you have time and think i earned it i would also love a xbox 360. >> i had to do something. >> leo shared the letter with his boss a hotel manager. the boss showed him a memo saying work can wait until

after christmas. we don't know, though, if santa is going to bring julian that xbox 360. hopefully he gets it all. >> what a great thing to wish for. >> santa is going to be out in the rain tomorrow night. >> yeah, santa better pack his slickers. reindeer need their chicagoers as well. going to be a wet one all day. look how warm it is 62, christmas day 55 degrees. we have nice weather friday and saturday turning colder sunday into monday with showers returning. >> thanks for watching "eyewitness news" on the cw philly. for kate, beasley and all us here, i'm jessica dean. have a good night. we'll see you at 11:00 on cbs3. >> ♪