laze leaves dozens without a place to live. ♪♪ "action news." delaware valley's leading news program with jim gardner. the winds sure didn't help. firefighters arrived at 9181 academy road in northeast philadelphia to find flames attacking an apartment building. the wind whipped the inferno to four alarms before firefighters

could get control. by the time they did, 116 units were either destroyed or damaged. it is tuesday night and the big story on "action news" tonight is the destructive blaze in northeast philadelphia. officials had to set up a shelter at lincoln high school to handle displaced residents. "action news" reporter sharrie williams live at the fire scene. what's the situation right now? >> well jim, right now this fire is still flaring up. it started some six hours ago, but take a look firefighters are in what they call a defensive mode. they are using one of their ladders to continue to pour water on this fire. they say their goal is to literally down out this building. this of course started just before 5:00 tonight. two buildings are likely a total loss. it has done considerable damage. intense flames and fast-rising

black smoke filled the skies for hours in northeast philadelphia. >> it's just horrible. the flames are shooting out. >> the philadelphia fire department says it was 4:45 when the fire started in the utilities room in the basement of the rita grace manor apartments. >> there were a lot of firefighters up there working hard and it looked like it started getting out of control. >> out of control, in part because of weather conditions and strong high winds. >> the fire began to spread through the third floor because of wind conditions. spreading north to south through the third floor. >> that's when the firefighters decided to evacuate two of the building and had to rescue self from the third-floor balcony. and dora turner was asleep when a firefighter knocked on her door. >> i heard banging on the door and i just jumped up and it was the fire -- i opened the door and the smoke shot in here and he pulled me out. >> turner lost everything so did dozens of others.

>> there's no words to describe it honestly. it has been my home for two years. >> burned out of a home many residents boarded a septa bus that was brought in to transport them to a temporary shelter at the lincoln high school. >> i would have thought by now the fire would have been out. it is devastating. my kids are out, my family is out that's a blessing but your home i don't know what i am going to do. >> as you heard, devastating for the families without a home tonight. this fire again flaring up but firefighters tell us it is considered contained, although there are flare-ups at this point. we know five people were taken to the hospital. only with minor injuries. the firefighters telling us they know where the fire started, but they still have to determine how it started. live in northeast philadelphia sharrie williams, channel "action news." jim? >> thank you.

chester firefighters rescued five people tonight from this house on the 300 block of east 12th street. run of the residents is staying in the hospital overnight for observation. authorities are thanking a weidner university security guard to alerted firefighters. and a man's decision to stay up late may have saved his life. king was watching tv downstairs when the fierce winds howled and a 40-year-old tree on his property came crashing down on his roof right into his upstairs bedroom. >> and normally i go to go to bed at 7:00. but i stayed up later, so i guess somebody upstairs is watching over me. >> saying it felt like an earthquake and sounded like a train crashing into his home. the home on the 2300 block of franklin avenue he lives alone with his two dogs and says they

are all ok. shaken up but okay. this is 21 year old jovan thomas of trenton and charged in connection with the death of his daughter. and they went into his apartment and removed bags of evidence. the infant pronounced dead last night. they say thomas was high on marijuana and neglected to feed or care for his daughter. a new lead in the murder of a man walking his dog in overbrook last week. looking for three men in connection with the death of james stillman. shot on woodcrest and the break comes as his family and friends attended his viewing tonight in havertown. he had ties to cumberland county, new jersey. but tonight pugh is in federal custody charged with trying to join isis. "action news" reporter dann is live with the full story. >> jim, word of pugh's arrest

continues to startle a former roommate. and he was working for a company in millville and lived in bridgeton. >> it was total shock. i couldn't believe it. >> the reaction of neighbors in bridgeton where pugh lived in this former boarding home. "action news" learned he lived here six months to a year while working as an airplane mechanic. and bryce is a former roommate. >> seemed like a nice guy. knew that he was muslim. >> hi how are you doing? a wave across the driveway and he seemed like a dessert dessert -- decent sort. >> and he traveled from egypt to turkey trying to cross the border into syria to join isis. and he game islam and increasingly radical in his beliefs. first on the f.b.i.'s radar in 2001 after a co-worker said pugh

showed sentiment and sympathized with osama bin laden and felt the '98 bombings of the u.s. embassies overseas why justified. and they said that pugh had interest in joining jihad. and he hid to his wife i will use my skills -- >> i think it is sad that people lost their way and need to resort to joining terrorist groups. >> here i am living next door to someone of that nature. it just totally floored me. >> palmer says pugh had taken an interest in martial arts but nothing about his demeanor had him believe he wanted to join isis. >> and i wouldn't call him a strict muslim he would sit and from wine with us out on the porch. like i said, he seemed like a nice guy. >> tonight pugh facing charges of attempting to provide

material support to isis, obstruction of justice and related offensens and scheduled to be arraigned tomorrow morning in brooklyn. >> thank you. a flight to denver was forced to circle back to washington, d.c. last night because of a passenger's bizarre behavior. a man rushed the cockpit while allegedly screaming about jihad. and they tackled him to a ground and the pilots reported an emergency on board. and they also said that he was acting suspiciously during the boarding process. the man was taken to a hospital for evaluation. a professor at penn state-abington arrested on charges of disorderly conduct based on this bizarre behavior on an american airlines flight. authorities say 52 year old karen halnon lit a cigarette on the flight. and talked about the u.s.'s

policy regarding venezuela. and halnon said federal agents threatened her, and likened her reaction to protest like fascism. the university is investigating the matter. and a paternity suspended for a year. members of kappa delta rho accused of using a private invite-only facebook page to post pictures of nude and partially-nude women. in some cases the strike -- victims were asleep or passed out. and a former brother tipped off police. the fire martial has not pinpointed what killed a philadelphia firefighters in december and officially today ruled the cause as undetermined. lieutenant joyce craig died while fighting the blaze inside of a home on middleton street in west oak lane. the a.t.f. philadelphia politicals and specialists assisted in the investigation which included interviewing 40 witnesses. craig was the first female

firefighter in the department's history to die in the line of duty. atlantic city's fire chief placed on leave for dropping his pants at the public safety building this month. a female security guard told the investigators that she ask said chief dennis brooks to remove any metal items before through metal detectors and the cameras caught him unbuckling his belt and partially undressing and it is under investigation. and tonight the neshaminy school numbers voted 7-2 to close the school in middletown. they want to shutter three elementary schools and build a large new one. the decision was met by strong opposition from residents who threatened to oust the board numbers at the next opportunity. and two students have come home with whooping cough.

and parents are asked to check their records. and the booster is given, and the adolescents need them too. and facebook wants to help you share the wealth. and riding on rims a roll-over ending. and a perfect pitch, with member -- memoir and charity in the works. and it felt like spring around lunchtime, now wind chills in the 20s. letting you know how cold it feels for the morning commute and tracking late-week snow in the accuweather forecast. and ducis rodgers with villanova and lafayette leaving for round one. that and more when "action news" continues. and anywhere.

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a high-speed chase over 70 miles came to a violent end this average in san jose california. after driving the final stretch on a blown tire the s.u.v. lost control and flipped over. amazingly, the driver just got out of the vehicle on his own, dusted himself off and waited calmly for police to move in. the israeli election is over but the result is anything but certain. prime minister benjamin netanyahu was quick to declare victory but it appears that the party is almost equally divided. and congressman who called himself the house's first millennial lawmaker resigned.

stepping down after questions into his lavish spending everything from overseas travel to $40,000 in office decor. hopefully we will get to see that in just a second. office decor resigned to replicate the abby. and the presbyterian church and united states with a new definition including gay and lesbian weddings. the largest protestant to recognize same-sex marriage. and mo'ne davis hold the spotlight moving forward after her pitching in the world series. regardless, hers is not the typical life of an 8th grader. and kenneth spent some time with her tonight. >> nine months ago we met south

philadelphia pitching phenom mo'ne davis. >> all you have to do is throw strikes. >> today the world knows her. >> how do you describe the last year? >> crazy. really crazy. >> after the taney dragons made their run in the world series. the girl that can play with the girls on the covers hanging out with big names and playing ball with the former philliee kevin hart. >> everyone treats me the same. >> walking in comfortable shoes, sneakers designed by her and the proceeds make a difference every day helping less-fortunate girls around the world. >> giving them confidence and letting them know they have a future ahead of them. >> and playing on the varsity basketball team she has not stopped with shoes.

her book on her life hit the shelves, and she created a watch. and the money will rebuild the field where she plays with her baseball team the anderson monarchs. >> i was pretty much discovered on that field. if it wasn't for that field i wouldn't know what my life would be like right now. >> one more thing, mo'ne got a movie deal. >> it is pretty much like the book about my journey. and hopefully it is really good to read. >> inspiring kids and adults on and off the field. mo'ne will have a book signing at the rittenhouse square barnes & noble saturday starting at 2:00 p.m. when i asked her what's next mo'ne similar three said baseball season. facebook will soon let you send funds to friends. the social network announced that people can transfer money through its messenger app in the coming months. the similar service to pay pal. and facebook says it will be

free working with credit card accounts. "healthcheck," a head's up for parents that there's a very good chance your child is not eating a healthy diet. 9,000 kids between ages 5 and 11, less than 1% of them were eating healthy according to heart association standards. the heart association says in particular the amount of whole grains was strikingly low. four in ten children in a similar age range were considered to have elevated cholesterol levels. doctors say it is never too early to teach kids healthy eating habits and protect their hearts. potholes have been a complaint and one woman taking it on herself to do something about this. this is kathleen and fed up with the craters near her home she fills them in. watching the drives swerve around the potholes and doesn't want to see an accident.

>> we have a lot of traffic here going to the school and a lot of people travel back and forth. so i just -- and it's me i just am always doing something. >> kathleen says that the gravel put in by the borough gets kicked out and she sweeps it back in. we're inviting viewers to show photographs and locations of the worst potholes in your area. email them to jointheaction or post them to twitter or vine with the #6abcaction. given what the weather will be like the next few days we may see more. >> and potholes are worse with extreme temperature contrasts and we had that just today. 68 degrees earlier and temperatures are dropping. and stormtracker showing at heat we don't have to worry about rain or snow tonight. we have clear conditions out there. and the action cam with a look of the wearing of the green on

this st. patrick's day. i hope you had a nice one. plenty of green from a different view the space station. and they are forecasts and we could possibly see it in the mid-atlantic. no reports of viewing of that this evening, we still have a few more hours. the temperatures are really the big story today. right around noon 68 degrees. it felt like springtime. 9:00, a 25-degree drop in nine hours. and the temperatures continue falling. 39 degrees in philadelphia. 33 in allentown. 35 in reading. and trenton. and 40 in millville. and you factor in the winds at 10-20 miles per hour we have wind chills of 29 in philadelphia, 24 in allentown,

27 in trenton and 26 degrees in reading. and the wind chills are dropping down into the teens in some areas by your morning commute. satellite 6 showing clouds earlier today carved out the skies. and it is going to feel like went. 43 the afternoon high about 10 degrees below normal. but will have ginnedwind gusts about 40 miles an hour. and bundle up tomorrow. heading into thursday, the high pressure is right over us it is still chilly 46 degrees. not as windy as tomorrow. and then friday tracking the low pressure currently over texas. this will emerge off the carolinas, and this will bring us some wet snow and rain for the last day of winter. it looks like extreme south jersey, central and southern delaware, it is mainly a rain event perhaps mixes with wet

snowflakes. the i-95 corridor wet snow in the morning changing over to rain in the afternoon. and the far west suburbs looking at wet snow most of the day. tough for snow to accumulate on paved surfaces this time of year. it looks like there could be a grassy coating. the exclusive accuweather seven-day forecast sunshine and wind chills in the 30s. tomorrow 46 degrees thursday. friday, hello spring. arriving at 6:45 in the evening. the first day of spring not shabby 55 degrees, partly sunny. temperatures dropping back down into the 40s and increasing clouds by tuesday. and tuesday night and wednesday we have another storm that could bring us rain or wet snow yet again. 68 degrees seems like so long ago just noon today, not going to see it again for awhile. >> thank you. the luck of the irish for a valley forge women. looking lovely in emerald.

turning 102, and they are son took her to joe's pub in phoenixville to celebrate. >> across america with megajackpot it is going ma millions. it is tuesday, march 17 and the jackpot estimated depends 40 million. and the first is 44, followed by 45. up next we have 11. that's followed by 58 and your final white ball this tuesday evening is 27. and the megaball number is 3. and the numbers are 44 45 11 58, 27 and the egg egg -- megajackpot 3. play on america!

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so are we allowed to mention point spreads on television. >> i do every chance i get. >> 23 meets villanova over lafayette. there is no way that lafayette will let them get beat by 23 points no way that is going to happen. >> calling you the greek? >> absolutely not. >> villanova a 23-point favorite over lafayette in the ncaa tournament game thursday night. the top-seeded cats with quite the sendoff this morning as they departed for pittsburgh. coach wright admits anything short of a final four appearance would be a disappointment. he also says this runs is not just about his team but the entire villanova community. >> i take great pride that we can share this with everybody at villanova. we get to do a lot of fun things

during the year playing in a lot of fun games, but this is something we get to share with everybody. and i am proud we are able to do that. it never get old. it just never gets old. >> lafayette sends off in easton a bit more subdued and spring break likely the cause. and the head coach continues to field questions about his emotions playing against his alma mater. he says thursday night will be about basketball. >> we up into -- we knew we would be playing a difficult opponent in the first round. that it happened to be my alma mater and villanova, it is an interesting story but still a difficult game. and penn's new basketball coach says he is ready to roll up his sleeves to get the program where it needs to be. steve donahue is interviewed as the replacement. he has been head coach at cornell and boston college. spending a decade as a penn assistant in the 90's surreal to be back in the building. >> i would never have dreamed i

could be a big five head coach. there are only five of us and to i am major -- that i am one of them sin -- is incredible.

our apology it is you are still holding out hope for the playoffs, the flyers are playing out the spring. and an excellent chance but it hits the post. and then the second period and they are getting physical. and scoring the flyers lead 1-0 in the second period. the phillies not in regular-season normal yet, still three more weeks before the opener. the finesse game is already

where it needs to be. is that the river dance or an irish jig? i am not sure. the phills and rays. and forsyth with two hits both are home runs. the phillies lose 5-3. that's sports. >> thank you. and finally a redhead made famous on broadway returned to philadelphia. ♪♪ >> "annie" taking the stage, the musical first opened in 1977 with andrea mccartle going on to win seven tony awards. there is always tomorrow to catch the show but you also have through sunday. do you like it? all right. hard-knock life. jimmy kimmel live next. for "action news," i'm jim gardner. good night. >> "action news" is sponsored in part by --

>> announcer: from austin, texas -- it's "jimmy kimmel live!" tonight -- julia louis-dreyfus, director, robert rodriguez plus, music from gary clark jr., and spoon, with cleto and the cletones. presented by ibm cloud solutions. and now, here's jimmy kimmel! ♪ ♪