inn at the time of his death. based on what police have been able to put together so far the death appears very suspicious. police tell "action news" the discovery was made by a housekeeper just before noon. the 75-year-old man was found lying on the floor face up with a cloth wrapped tile around his neck. how that came to be is under investigation. it's unclear if there had been other guests in the hotel room. detectives have been looking at surveillance footage to see if anyone else entered or left the room in the hours before the discovery was made. almost immediately others who work here in the 1200 block of walnut became concerned over all the police activity. >> i immediately got a little bit worried, you know, because i know it's so many people around but i try to keep calm i told my manager and coworkers to stay calm i would go check out and see what's going on. >> reporter: so far police have questioned hotel staff and others but no one has been taken into custody. right now police have not released identity of the dead man. now t-as is routine the medical examiner will conduct an autopsy he to try and

tippinfigure out the circumstans of how that cloth ended operanuparound that man's neck. >> police in wilmington investigating a shooting tonight. happened just after 4 o'clock this afternoon on east 23rd street near market street. police say the victim was slot in the head and was transported to christiana hospital. police have not made any arrests. and now to the local connection to a terrible crash in las vegas. it was last evening when a car suddenly jumped the curb along the vegas strip crashing into a crowd of people killing one person and injuring dozens of others. police say the female driver did it on purpose. late today we learn that members of the delaware valley university wrestling team were among the victims hospitalized in vegas. the team was there for a tournament but they will instead head back home tomorrow with quite a story to tell. "action news" reporter christie ileto he is live in delaware valley's campus in

doylestown with reaction tonight. christie. >> reporter: well, rick, one students tells me that his friends on the team were looking forward to competing and bringing home some wins. now he says his friends are just lucky to be alive. >> i never thought that that would happen to my friends. jesus. >> reporter: junior reilly had no idea his friends, five student athletes and their wrestling coach from delaware valley university were in harm's way when las vegas police say a woman jumped a curb and drove into a group of pedestrians on the las vegas strip. >> i know this is a big tournament for a few of my friends 'cause they're nationally ranked. >> reporter: the university says the team was on their way to see star wars after working out for monday's dessert dual tournament before the accident. the team was taken to a nearby hospital. they were released after a couple of hours mostly bumps bruises and scrapes, nothing serious, no head injuries. now they're just shaken up emotionally.

>> reporter: rather than seat compete in the tournament the team spent monday counting their blessings. >> coach cantrell believes that they didn't need to focus on wrestling. he said they were looking to come out of this trip with four wins but what they got were six victories. >> it's scary the first reaction was oh my god but i'm glad that everybody is okay and nobody passed away. everybody is fine. >> reporter: now, the team and their coach are expected to return to campus sometime tomorrow. reporting live in doylestown, christie ileto, channel6 "action news." rick. >> christie, thank you. at least three people were hurt when two cars collided in burlington county today. happened near the 2700 block of route 206 in springfield township just before 1 o'clock this afternoon. investigators say that one of the three people hurt had to be freed from the wreckage. police have not released a cause or the crash or information about the extent of the injuries. philadelphia police are hoping to solve a deadly hit and run nearly a year later. theresa pozzi was killed

december 23rd of last year when she was hit by a pickup truck. it happened in the 8500 block oin the holmesburg section. >> our investigators are frustrated because we have little to go with. this is a tough way to investigate. >> police say they have some clues like this surveillance video that shows a dark colored older model truck. there is a 15,000 reward for the arrest and conviction of the driver. supreme court justice michael eakin arrived in easton for a court hearing. the judicial ethics court is considering whether to suspend him for his involvement in a pornographic e-mail scandal he's awaiting a decision on whether he violated conduct rules for exchanging inappropriate e-mails that were captured on government servers. eakin has since apologized. the colwyn fire department in delaware county lab rocked by news that some of its

members were arrested today for stealing money from their own firehouse. and one of the suspects, is the chief. "action news" reporter chad pradelli is live at the delaware county courthouse in media tonight with the latest on the investigation. chad. >> reporter: rick, the delaware county district attorney's office says the trio of suspects stole more than $50,000 using the colwyn fire department's funds as their personal piggy bank. investigators led a handcuffed gary bryce to court this afternoon to face theft charges. the colwyn fire chief said nothing as he was placed into an awaiting cruiser. the delaware county district attorney says bryce, his girlfriend and fire company president elizabeth salini and her daughter the treasurer lauren stole more than $50,000 in fire company funds over three years. often writing checks to themselves or making cash withdrawals. >> we can't determine even after interviewing individuals

including the suspects themselves as to what this money was being utilized for. >> reporter: the trio has maintained their innocence and told investigator any checks or cash withdrawals were legitimate but investigators say they failed to provide any supporting documentation. >> one allegation when we foundry seats that they gave us what they spent it on dog treats and dog toys. well, i don't even think they have a dalmation at the fire complete the daa's office caught wind after former borough manager paula brown went to them earlier this year. the bankrupt borough itself is under investigation for missing money but so far no one has been charged. the d.a. says the two cases are not connected. gary brundig is a former councilman and showed up at today's press conference. >> i think this is a good first step but it's a first step. there's a lot of stuff going on there. this is like the tip of the iceberg. >> reporter: and here within the last hour the cellinis did

turn themselves in to authorities accompanied by their attorneys. they'll be formally charged later on this evening. live in media, chad pradelli channel6 "action news. rick. >> chad thank you. a train safety system has been activated along amtrak tracks between philadelphia and new york. technology called positive train control or ptc aims to prevent crashes like the deadly derailment in the port richmond section of philadelphia back in may. that accident killed eight people and injured 200 others. ptc uses gps and other tracking systems to automatically stop trains in danger of derailing because they're traveling too fast or are about to collide with another train or about to enter a work area. advocates for the homeless gather dad in atlantic city to remember those who died this year. atlantic care mission healthcare held a candlelight vigil for national homeless memorial day. the day is observed at the start of winter as a reminder of the dangers the homeless face in cold weather.

still to come on "action news" tonight flames destroy a delaware house leaving a family of seven out of their home just days before christmas. hear what investigators say sparked the accidental blaze. and the eagles lose, the giants lose and the redskins win. jaime apody breaks down the nfc east playoff picture for us. cecily. >> well, after a seasonably cool weekend we're already rebounding, temperatures 16 degrees warm interphiladelphia than this time yesterday and i'm tracking what could be all time december warmth on the way right in time for christmas eve. i'll have all the details in the accuweather forecast. >> all right. those stories and much more when "action news" at 6:00 comes right back. >> ♪ he. son, the holiday season's just like football season...

you got your big games... ...cheese plates, turkey, appetizers. and regular games. get it all at a great price... ...and the holiday season is won. that's my boy! fill your cart with everything you need this season,

all at one place. my giant.

all at one place. >> a family of seven, five children and two adults are alive but homeless tonight after fire destroyed their home in newark delaware. the action cam on the scene just after 10:00 this morning. this is the 200 block of edge hill drive. one person a 41-year-old man was hospitalized for smoke inhalation. investigators say the cause of the fire was an unfortunate accident. vernon odom has more. >> reporter: it look like this home in the yorkshire section of newark had been fire bombed but the fire marshal has ruled it an accident, a small space heater too close to to flam platt bridge material. by 10:00 this morning the scarborough children ages 20 to six had long since left for school. their mother amy had left for work. only the father chris was at home preparing for another round of christmas shopping when the fire started. >> down the first set of stairs got to the foyer. when i turned the corner there was flames engulfing coming up the bottom set of stairs. >> reporter: chris scurried to safety getting the family dog out with him but inhaled

enough smoke to require a brief trip to the hospital. by the time his wife was called and got home, 95 percent of their earthly possessions will be destroyed, clothes, pictures and the like. >> i got here and saw my husband's car and thought he was inside but he was across the street and he got out and he got the dog. >> reporter: family friends and neighbors are pitching in to provide shelter, clothing and meals for the scarboroughs. >> it's just one of those hard things to where you lay in your front lawn and you watch your house engulfed. >> reporter: nobody was killed. >> that's right. there's always -- there's always someone out there a little worse and you never know each day what you have until it's gone. >> reporter: for the scarborough family, 15 years of memories have suddenly gone up in smoke and flame. but as christmas day approaches, they give thanks that no one was lost in this inferno. >> nobody was harmed. didn't happen in the middle of the night. it was broad daylight. i was the only one in the

house. thank god the kids are okay. >> reporter: in newark, delaware, i'm vernon odom, channel6 "action news. >> the borgata cass flow is asking a judge to order atlantic city to pay more than $62 million in tax refunds. the court already ruled the borgata is entitled to the money finding the city had assessed the cass flow's property at too high a level. but the city missed a deadline yesterday to pay refunds for 2009 and 2010 and overall the city owes more than $150 million to the borgata. mayor don guardian says the city could be forced into bankruptcy if it has to pay it all at once. we are getting our first look at what target's newest philadelphia store will look like. the company released these renderings today. target will take over the whole foods location on the 2000 block of pennsylvania avenue when the supermarket relocate to a larger space now under construction. this store is slated to open in october of 2017. this july target plans to open two other stores at 12th and chestnut and 19th and

chestnut. carvision was on the move today putting smiles on faces for the holidays. the company delivered 100 hams to a known profit in norristown that serves the hispanic community. the owners of carvision say they want to do their part to help families in need and spread joy at christmas. the philadelphia parking authority continued a holiday tradition of giving back today. at the ppa's headquarters in center city, santa, mrs. claus and plenty of helpers loaded vans with wrapped toys, clothing and food baskets. it's part of ppa's annual santa express. then they drove around the city handing out the donated items to more than 60 families in need.

flush

>> time for sports. jamie is here. eagles suffer a brutal loss but their season far from over. >> this is what you want to do after a 40-17 loss talk playoffs. the six and eight eagles are remarkably still in the playoff hunt.

that is because, folks, a lot of stuff can happen. if they beat the redskins and the giants in the last week of the season yes they're going to win th the nfc east. let's talk about yesterday. this was proof. david johnson ran all over the eagles, a rookie 187 yards, three touchdowns much there's a lot 33 need to fix in six days. >> i think everybody is aware of kind of what's at stake and how this thing is going to shake itself out at this point in time. >> the good news is we have wie got to have a short memory. we have to learn from this one and get ready for saturday because it's coming quick and the next two games are really important. >> we can go out and get a good win this next week and set ourselves up to do what we want to do. i'm really optimistic. i know the guys are, too. >> all but maybe this guy demarco murray their 40 million-dollar back got two carries for a whopping 3 yards yesterday. ryan matthews told me he didn't even notice that murray hardly played. please. chip kelly clearly noticed but

tried to down play it today. >> we're not running the ball consistently enough from anybody whether it be ryan, demarco, darren for us to be successful in offense and that's why we've been up and down. we can run the football and get those guys carries then we're doing a good job but we also have to be successful doing it. just not going to run it for the sake of running it and average 2 yards a a carry. it's not about getting touches it's about winning and productivity. >> for more on last night and a look ahead to the redskins here's espn's analyst sal paolantonio. >> the eagles gave up 230 yards rushing in week 15. you can't do that and be taken seriously as a playoff contender and after the game defensive coordinator billy davis said i promise we'll get that cleaned up before we play washington on saturday night. >> should have had them and they he let him escape for a

47-yard touchdown. >> safety mal couldn't jenkins summed it upper if he cannily. he said that was a good football team we lost to the arizona cardinals. we don't have to be better than the cardinals we just have to be better than the washington redskins so we've got to get this game behind us and move on to the next one or we're going home for the post season. trouble for odell beckham jr. could be a break for the birds. the giants starry receiver suspended for one game after his antics yesterday drawing three personal foul penalties as parts of some beef he has with the carolina corner josh norman. beckham will appeal so maybe he plays next week and sits next week against the eagles. the question which former sixer might get a call to the hall? and the answer, well the answer is one of them. allen iverson on the hall of fame ballot for the first time. bobby jones and mo cheeks also on the ballot. temple owls getting in preparation for the boca raton

bowl against toledo. they hit the beach. from the turf to the surf matt rhule's guys hoping to make a splash tomorrow and making memories in the meantime. >> i mean our can kids are really appreciate tiff of every opportunity they've h i hope they're appreciative of the schedule. we've worked really hard and given up time to go out and be -- just go out and enjoy each other so i think they're appreciative. >> hopefully they come back with a win and a tan. >> exactly. in that order. thank you jamie. cecily tynan with your accuweather forecast when we come right back. stay with us.

>> meteorologist cecily tynan is here now as we count down not just to christmas but the arrival of winter. >> and it's not going to feel like winter a all. if you're planning your christmas eve dinner. >> i am. i've got my menu planned. >> they want to grille. >> really? >> going to be perfect for that. change your plans. >> call the wife. >> storm tracker6 live double scan showing that there are a few showers out to our west near harrisburg and they will be working in through overnight hours and we've got quite a few opportunities for some wet weather this week. i do want to show you a picture that was posted on my facebook page by norman in mount laurel, new jersey and the geraniums, not typical to see this in late december. they are looking spectacular and these geraniums are going to be lasting right into the new year because we have warm air on the way and we also have some rain. so, the accuweather highlights as rick mentioned, winter is arriving tonight. the count down for winter officially arriving at 11:48

tonight. this is when the sun's direct rays are over the tropic of capricorn but as winter arrives, temperatures are going up. the next three days it is going to feel like spring and future tracker showing thursday afternoon at 1 o'clock christmas eve we're looking at the surge of temperatures in the 70's, so santa will likely be wearing shorts on christmas eve. may want to leave him some gatorade. he's going to be waking up a sweat. right now in the 50. 56 degrees in philadelphia, that's our high for the day. that's 13 degrees above normal. allentown 47. little bit cooler there. millville 55. sea isle city 53 and wilmington 54 degrees. satellite6 along with action radar showing plenty of cloud cover. if you look to the west, you can see some showers trying to move in. tonight with the cloud cover, temperature not dropping below 50 in philadelphia. we will see some showers developing in the overnight hours and this frontal boundary is really going to be complicating our forecast over

the next several days. tomorrow the warm front pushes up to the north. that will bring us a round of showers, mainly the first half of the day. it will be mild with a high of 64 degrees. on wednesday, this front moves through and then advancing up with a warm front so that will bring us some dense fog, a soaking rain, 64 degrees and with that front up to the north on christmas eve we he will get in the warm sector of that system with temperatures surging is up into the 70's. association the next three days we he do have some rounds of rain on the way. tonight late tonight into the first half of the day occasional showers on the light side, less than a quarter inch. the real wet day will be wednesday and this is when a lot of people are traveling so i do think the fog and the rain could cause some problems, a steady rain especially the middle of the day through the afternoon up to about an inch of rain and late christmas eve around dinnertime when folks are heading to some christmas eve services, we he will have another round of some showers, light generally less than a quarter inch of rain as that

cold front moves through. clouds with occasional showers again mainly the first half of the day tomorrow, a high of 64 degrees. on wednesday, plenty of fog, periods of rain. it will be warm with a high of 64 degrees and thursday we're talking about record warmth. 74 degrees. put this in perspective. the average high on christmas eve is 42. the record for december 24th 64. set that last year. the all-time december record for philadelphia, 73. if we hit 74, that will be breal those records. behind the can cold front on christmas day mix of sun and clouds a high of 64 degrees. could have a late day shower. saturday for the beginning of kwanzaa rain at times f you're heading to the eagles game saturday night take the rain gear, 57 degrees on sunday it's cloudy with a possibility of rain 60 and monday mostly cloudy, a little bit cooler, 54 degrees and i will have more details on that warmth and the timing of the rain on "action news at 11:00.

>> cecily thank you. the sounds much holiday music could be heard outside of the delaware county courthouse today. >> ♪ >> the ridly elementary school band performed today for courthouse employees and people walking around downtown media. the performance is part of the holiday annual song fest celebration. abc's "world news tonight" with david muir is next on channel six. "action news" continues at 10 o'clock tonight on phl stein with brian taff sharrie williams adam joseph and ducis rodgers and join us for "action news" at 11:00 right here on channel six. now for jim gardner meteorologist cecily tynan jaime apody i'm rick williams. have a nice evening. you can join us at 11 o'clock. i won't be here. we'll see you at 11:00.

tonight, the deadly chaos on the vegas strip. the mother behind the wheel, accused of intentionally plowing into a crowd in has say gas. now charged with murder. her 3-year-old daughter in the backseat. and what authorities have just revealed about the mother. also tonight, the deadly attack on american troops overseas. the suicide bomber on a motorcycle. six soldiers killed. the war of words tonight. donald trump demanding an apology from hillary clinton, after what she said at the debate. the clinton camp with a fiery response tonight. trapped at the top for hours. the families, parents and their children, stuck inside the sky tower at sea world. and, the epic blunder. >> i have to apologize. >> crowning the wrong miss universe, then taking the crown away. what steve harvey