>> this was a global tragedy. an asian airliner destroyed in european skies, filled with citizen from many countries. >> president barack obama speaking today about the horrific tragedy yesterday in ukraine. also making the point that it's time for the world to pay attention to russia's role in supporting the growing violence in that country. it is friday night and the big story on "action news" tonight is the day after. and here's what we know according to the president. malaysia airlines flight 17 shot down by a missile fired from ukrainian territory controlled bicep -- by separatist militants. 298 people on board including 80 children. the largest from the netherlands, 192 passengers. officials identified one man

carrying an american passport, quinn schansman. and over 100 agent visits headed to the aids conference in australia. and they insist that the rebels fired the missile and video surfaced reportedly showing the rocket launches missing the missiles used to bring down several military aircraft this week and the malaysian plane. and president obama would not go that far but made it pretty clear how he is thinking. >> a group of separatists can't shoot down military transport planes are claim they shoot down fighter jets without sophisticating equipment and training, that's coming from russia. >> and they will open the crash site to international investigation of the u.n. today endorsed such a probe and obama

said all members of the security council, including russia, will be held to their world. ukrainian persons are gathering to express themselves, including in philadelphia. and chad pradelli live on the ben franklin parkway. >> roughly 100 people are expected to attend a vigil here tonight. there will be flowers, candles, and prayers. then a march. it will begin here at the ukrainian flag. it will go down the parkway to the malaysian flag and end at the netherlands. >> we invite all communities to join with us t, e finro-rar andy are sht.ingsd e y.tunari

th >> thaw ne. t bfar. onr someat w omettn r y ves t pletns. thhe ed out. e tevea itatyot a good fea vebehe oth't thinkut fter masiyaightcontinsab apnd a

devices. other news this hour, firefighters are battling a two-alarm blaze at an atlantic city apartment building. the fire reported an hour ago at 4 north providence avenue. heavy smoke showing at the four-story building. at least one person taken away in an ambulance. no word on that person's condition. other residents had to be rescued, but that number is not yet known. police in wilmington are trying to track down the vandals who have desecrated the riverview cemetery. actions reporter david henry has that story. >> you really have to wonder who could do something like this? vandals went on a rampage in this cemetery knocking mother of dozens of monuments and

tombstones. >> it is beyond disrespectful. >> and this historic cemetery they knocked over 72 stones. and the deceased victims include a war veteran and wilmington police officer. >> very big, large heavy ones. it had to be one or more people. >> it will take heavy machinery and skilled stoneworkers to retear all of this damage. it is an insult to the deceased buried here and their loved ones. >> why they do this stuff? why? >> maria's mother buried here in 1982. she had been resting in peace until now. her daughter had been carrying for the site. >> embarrassed. can't have peace in the ground in america. >> founded almost 150 years ago, over time it was neglected.

and six years ago a group volunteered thousands of hours and now looking at repairs totaling up to $25,000. and they are hoping that someone saw whoever did this. >> we canvassed the neighborhood leaving fliers for all of the people that live surrounding the cemetery and the businesses and churches. asking for their help. >> the monuments and tombstones are owned by the families of the deceased and the caretakers are hoping the homeowner's insurance covers the cost of the repairs. in north wilmington, david henry channel 6 "action news." a teacher and former councilman going to prison. today sentencing charles riley to 15 years behind bars. riley admitted to inappropriate sexual communications with 17 male students. the boys ranged in age from 12 to 16. they were students at pine hill middle school. riley pleaded guilty to official misconduct, child endangerment

and attempted child endangerment. the driver of a dump truck facing criminal charges after this deadly accident in lawrence township yesterday. police say daniel everett hit the car that ended up in the water at the intersection of brunswick and lakewood drive. 59 year old james mclean of trenton was killed. witnesses say that everett was driving eradically and at a high rate of speed. the coast guard and emergency responders in ocean county searching for a missing swimm swimmer tonight off the coast of island state beach park. a 25 year old man missing before noon today. they say the man was swimming at a beach with no lifeguards. and officials say that it was the man's first time swimming in the ocean. authorities say they also say they rescued four others from the rough water today. a highway in chester country

reopened following the investigation into a purple substance on the roadway. chopper 6 hd was over route 113 in chester springs this afternoon. officials believe that the material spilled from bottles that fell off the back of a truck at 12:30 near pickering roads. and they determined that the coloring agent was not toxic. coming up on "action news" tonight, a hot air balloon makes an unexpected landing in a chester county neighborhood. and dozens of people from nations around the world become u.s. citizens in bucks county today. clouds are pushing in from the west as you can see from the ohio valley and tennessee valley. lets you know what it means for your weekend. plus, another heat wave in the seven-day forecast. a local golfer qualifies for the pga championship next month. and ducis rodgers with that story and more when "action news" continues tonight. hiiiii.

hi. sorry, we're closed. what? i need help with my deposit. the bank has rules. it's really quick. i can't hear you. i promise, i'm gonna be really quick. i don't under...i can't hear you through the glass. i'll...be...quick! you'll be quick. that's what you just said? yes. i'm sorry, i can't hear you. we're closed.

you know what? okay, that's... hey...sir? i just...okay. [ male announcer ] it's time to bank human again. that's why td bank has the longest hours and even stays open an extra ten minutes for when you run late. td bank. america's most convenient bank.

>> a driver lost control of her vehicle early this morning, flipping it over and taking out a utilities pole. it happened just before 5:00 a.m. at the interseconds of 70th street and this was southwest philadelphia. a 46-year-old woman was trapped inside for over 20 minutes while peco crews worked to deenergize the wires. and they said about 150 people were without power for several hours. the philadelphia police released surveillance video in hopes of capturing the suspect wanted for shooting. at 1:30 tuesday morning a 44-year-old female says she was leaving coopers bar in

feltonville and saw a man with a hand gunfire a shot. she says she dropped to the ground injuring her shoulder and the suspect then fired a second shot. the woman went back to the bar, the suspect fled the scene. people in a chester county community had something unusual drop into their neighborhood last night. this is video from a resident, tammy cooper, saying that the hot air balloon made an emergency landing on the street at 8:30 last night. according to cooper, the winds died down and the pilot didn't have enough fuel to make it back to lancaster county. the f.a.a. hasn't released information on the emergency landing. dozens of people from around the world can now call themselves american citizens. taking the citizenship oath in bucks county this morning. and katherine scott was right there. >> this petition for citizenship, please raise your right hand. >> with this oath of allegiance 45 people from 22 different

countries became u.s. citizens today. for some, it is many years in the making. >> i have been here about 24 years. i love this country. the opportunity here, it's great. so i am going to be a part of it. >> the ceremony held at the country estate of william penn the founder and first governor of pennsylvania. rebuilt in the 1930s as a memorial to penn it was a fitting backdrop for what the occasion represents. >> he was, you know, led the original waive of european residents in the 17th and 18th centuries in this country, helping build the country and making what it is today. >> the boy scouts presented colors and the crowd looked on. some came here because their families were here and others for opportunities. and arriving from costa rica, he served in the u.s. navy ready to make the next step.

>>the beginning of my new life as an american citizen. >> not just a proud day for the new citizens, but for many of the families here in support. and john from philadelphia is celebrating his mother-in-law. >> after a long five years and study very hard to overcome the language barrier he passed the test and now officially become as u.s. citizens. >> a proud day for your family. >> yes, a

>> all-star break over, the phillies brass have a lot of decisions. >> taking on the braves tonight and seeing how many players stick around going forward. calling it the second half of the season. in reality the season is 59% complete. that basically means the phillies have less time to turn it around. they will try beginning tonight against the braves. the phillies are 10 games out of first place. the last time they faced atlanta they suffered a four-game sweep. there hasn't been too much

positive things to talk about. jeff skversky talked to the skipper. >> to maintain the positive attitude, has it been difficult? >> that is a priority and the thing that i try to concentrate on and continue to have the guys work at the game and try to get better as a team. and trying to put together win streaks like we did two or three different times. rory mcelroy a two-time major winner. if he keeps it up he will win the third in runaway faction. the second round of the open, he shot a 66 yesterday, shoots a 66 again today. a four-stroke lead at 12 under par. sergio garcia, it is hard to believe as talented it that he has not won a major. and you can leave that putter in the bag, it is an eagle. 6 under par.

and tiger woods, oh, he struggles. just making the cut. a 5 over 77 and he is at 2 over for the championship. golf's final major of the season less than three weeks away. one local pro will be there competing. jeff skversky has his story as he prepares for the pga championship. >> dave mcnabb waiting for a shot on the pga tour his entire life. he turned pro in 1983 and trying to qualify ever since. finally after all of these years his hard work paid off. last year the head golf pro in malvern qualified for the pga championship. sure enough, he has made it to next month's major once again. >> it is obviously the fulfillment of a life-long dream. the second time around, it is validation of a lot of hard work. >> missing the cut last year at the pga championship in rochester, but he did have a taste of what it was like to hang with tiger woods.

mcnabb played under par through the first five holes. [applause] >> they were flashing the scoreboard up on the screen and i was tied for seventh place. >> and your dad, do you think he can play better than tiger? >> i think so. especially now. >> and leading up to the championship in louisville, mcnabb says he will spend most of the time on the greens working on the short game, believing his experience from last year will give him more confidence this go-round. >> the comfort level will make my odds increase, the chance of making the cut. >> and he hopes it will payoff, looking for the first payday on the tour. his story is anything but par for the course. jeff skversky, channel 6 "action news." >> and good luck to him. >> the local boy makes good, thank you, jeff. i did that on purpose. >> of course you did. [laughter]

>> i did. i swear i did. adam joseph with the exclusive accuweather forecast when we continue in just a moment.

>> weekend accuweather forecast, adam joseph. >> small changes coming in over the weekend, but nothing that will ruin your saturday or sunday. as we look now double scan live, in the region a few clouds, moving from the west. mainly high cloud cover, that will be the gentle trend going through your saturday and sunday. as we look at the highlights, first we talk about what a difference a year makes on this particular day.

and again, the clouds rolling in from the west. one year ago today it was 98 degrees. that was the hottest day of last year. and we were in the middle of an 8-day heat wave, which was the longest heat wave last year or this year. a complete opposite with a low humidity, a fall feeling in the air. and now we are watching the clouds push in from the west and futuretracker 10:00 tomorrow morning will show the veil of clouds in the region. the farther east the clouds pick up a bit, some cover where clouds penetrate or filter through, but not tracking any rain for your saturday. as we look at the numbers, 79 in allentown, 79 in reading, 77 in lancaster. all of the suburbs started in the middle 50s this morning. a fall feeling to the air, and really comfortable this afternoon. 80 in trenton. 77 in millville. and a sea breeze along the shore temperatures around 74 degrees.

clouds breaking away from the return of the heat and humidity to the deep south, and energy with southerly winds. and we filter in the cloud cover tonight into saturday. and in addition to that area to the west, we have a low that is developing off of carolinas. and the low humidity, 83 degrees. and on sunday, the system does stay off the coast and out to sea. however, it could be close enough that at the shore communities on sunday morning could be a couple of showers to start and returning sunday afternoon. but again 83, low humidity. 67 the ocean temperature. at the shore tomorrow a little more in the way of clouds cover. there would be an evening shower with wind coming in and system off the coast at 78. early-morning shower sunday, more clouds and late in the day

the sun will return with a temperature of 77. up in the poconos, same story there for tomorrow. a lot of the high clouds, 75. and then on sunday a mix of sun and clouds, still low humidity and a temperature of 75 degrees. overnight tonight, still comfortable. not as cool as the last two nights but not bad. and the exclusive ago fact seven-day forecast, rather cloudy tomorrow, but again some of the sun trying to filter through the cloud cover 83. and returning sunday west to east. and more humid monday. and tuesday a dry day. and wednesday, spark the pop-up thunderstorms.

and it could be heat wave number three if we have three consecutive days of 90 degrees. and not as hot if we break the heat wave at 88. the weekend cool, low humidity and not much in the way of rain before it changes next week. an international poetry competition continued today in center city, philadelphia. who knew it would be so competitive. day three of the 17th annual brave new voices international youth poetry slam. 50 teams went head-to-head in a series of bouts. and the contest wraps up sunday. "world news with diane sawyer" is next. and "action news" continues at 10:00 on phl 17. and join us for "action news at 11:00" on channel 6. for cecily tynan, adam joseph, ducis rodgers and the entire "action news" team i'm jim gardner. we hope you will join us at 11:00.

♪ if he were a lobbyist... if they were political contributors... maybe tom corbett would listen to them, instead of cutting... funding for their schools. but corbett's huge tax giveaway to the oil and gas... industry has cost us billions. forced deep cuts in education. and his mismanagement caused a massive budget deficit. now corbett wants to give the oil and gas industry even...

more handouts. because that's who tom corbett listens to. and this is who pays the price.

tonight, a special edition of "world news." the disaster in the sky. new clues in the field, what we're just now learning. also, who was the american onboard? the doctor, the grandparents and the children. and why the world is now studying this wedding tape. and we ask, why was this plane flying over a war zone. also, the crisis in the middle east. inside the tunnels the israelis are trying to destroy.

and at home tonight, the wildfires. "world news" begins now.