distracted driving, next. the flames shot out from underneath the sidewalk in center city philadelphia wires and electrical equipment, caught fire, spewing not only flames, but thick, choking smoke into the 2100 block of walnut street and at this hour, 90 customers are still,

without power. it the is thursday night, and the big story on "action news" tonight is fire underground. "action news" reporter chad pradelli is live at the scene tonight, chad, what is the situation there now. >> reporter: yeah jim, peco crews are still on the scene trying to restore power to dozens of customers. earlier tonight four hundred customers were without power but as you mentioned peco tells me it is down to 90. you can see crews on the the 2100 block of walnut. now earlier tonight several buildings in this immediate area were evacuated but the police department tells me that everyone is allowed back in their homes although, some without power and heat. underground fire sent thick, black smoke billowing out of the drains and manholes. the residents on the 2100 block of walnut were startled out of their homes. >> all of a sudden there was just a fire fighter incoming on my door telling me to get out. >> reporter: amber woodward said she panic, called her boyfriend and tried to grab a

few items. >> electronic, my thousand dollars camera, and i started to smell something. i asked my boyfriend if there was anything on the oven or stove. nothing was there. >> reporter: jennifer cabrera looked out and saw the smoke and flames right on her front steps. you may lose everything, what do you grab. >> i grabbed my passport, my car keys, my dog, the boyfriend, gas, champagne we were going to take to dinner tonight. >> reporter: as fire fighters worked to get the fire under control, displaced residents waited in nearby restaurants and shops. miriam theater all the way on broad street was also affect. only those with orchestra level tickets were allowed to see it in's performance of rain. and because emergency lighting had been income out, and many people got back in their homes without an hour or so but for others, it was a waiting game. >> they just teased a lot of us. they said that some people could go back in. but not all of us. so we're waiting.

>> reporter: peco tells me a transformer did in the blow. that was not the cause of the fire but actually some equipment that attaches to the transformer. i'm live from rittenhouse, chad pradelli for channel six "action news". jim? >> thanks, chad. if you thought tonight was cold well, as they say in the north pole, you ain't seen nothing yet. accu weather is tracking a plunge in the single digits and even a burst of snow to come. the meteorologist cecily tynan is at the "action news" big board with the first look at the forecast, from accu weather, cecily. >> jim, it is hard to believe it will get colder then this currently in philadelphia a 21 . on sunday our high will not even climb up to that, and then the wind, they have diminished. they are at 15 miles an hour. earlier at 30. we have a wind chill factor that makes you feel like 10 degrees. the bus stop forecast for tomorrow you will want to bundle up kid at 6:00 o'clock. sixteen at 8:00. seventeen. but factor in the breeze, the wind chill will be right

around 10 degrees but this is just the first wave of the cold air, and we've got another one waiting in the wings and this one will really pack a punch. that second arctic front moves through early sat the day morning, could bring us another round of snow squals and behind that dangerous wind chills and record cold. i will talk more about that, and track our next winter storm on the way in the full accu weather seven day forecast, jim? >> thanks, cecily. ursinus college reopened its cafeteria for dinner tonight that following an out break of the stomach bug that sickened 185 students. the will school says that the montgomery county health department gave the dining hall the all clear tonight. however, classes and activities are still canceled until monday. newly formed schuylkill river trail watch met tonight, in the wake of several violent attacks along the popular jogging and biking path. city officials are considering more lighting, emergency phone boxes, surveillance cameras, and increased police patrols,

all as a deterrent. volunteers on the trail watch will serve as additional eyes and ears. tonight victim emill nunez spoke exclusion live to "action news" reporter christie lleto about being held up. >> he had a handgun, waving at my face. >> reporter: did he take anything from you. >> give me your money, watch. >> reporter: police have arrested four teenagers for at least one the of the recent robberies. the 14 year-old lehigh county girl who helped plot her mother ease murder pleaded guilty to day and will be a middle-aged woman before she's eligible for parole. jamie took a plea deal of 35 years to life. she wanted her mother dead after being ordered to break up with her 21 year-old solder boyfriend, army specialist, caleb barnes, who goes on trial in april for allegedly stabbing, 54 year-old cheryl silvonek in the driveway of her upper month kung i home. tonight a south philadelphia restaurant is at

the center of an emotional dispute that has to do with a waitress and what she did or did not the do to a cancer stricken child. "action news" reporter dann cuellar has that story. >> reporter: b2 after a owner nancy a and her staff got an alarming lesson when they are target of the something negative and it goes viral on facebook. >> we're being bombarded with bad reviews. >> it began tuesday when south philadelphia woman and her three-year old daughter battling cancer and her friend visited in the 16 hup block of east passyunk. three-year old was playing music on the cell phone that was too loud causing serve tore visit their table. what happens next is under dispute. >> they asked, the table to turn off the cell phone. >> reporter: mother on have the child declined to speak went on facebook and claims that the server grabbed the even if out of the child's hand and said i don't want to listen to your music right now. the post went viral being shared over 400 times. the with most people outrage, that someone would allegedly do that to a cancer stricken

child. a number of people threaten violence. late their night someone indeed threatened to serve her with physical harm. she showed this video of the incident. it shows server going to the table saying a few word and waving her hand but never touching the child or the phone. >> since it was finally out of control and further away from the truth, i decided to give them the proof that they absolutely deserved. >> reporter: woman later admitted by phone that no one at the table saw the server touch the child or the phone, because it happened so fast. she now points to threat that she has received on the internet and people calling her kid ugly. for her part she says that her employees are also in fear, and, bear witness to the ugly terrifying side of social media. >> is there a very difficult to imagine what it would be like to be in the shoes of a person suffering from what happened when a lot can go viral. >> reporter: dann cuellar for channel six "action news". unaudible. >> cabdrivers, swarmed the

streets outside philadelphia city hall today, demanding the speaking with mayor jim kenney they say ride sharing services like uber x and lyft are operating illegally. mayor kenney did not meet with them but did say when it comes to ride sharing, there are a host of issues that his administration still needs to sift through. and kenney also ordered an end to the brown outs policy of the philadelphia fire department. a rotating list of fire stations would close in an effort to save money. that is the brown out policy. fire fighters hail the decision today, saying that the temporary shut down, did effect response times. dozens of members of the ed snyder youth foundation accepted a two million-dollar check from the flyers alumni association tonight at the wells fargo center. money will get toward a brand new rink. that rink will be named for snyder, who is chairman of comcast spectacor and, of course, the founder of the philadelphia flyers.

the two democratic candidates for president squared off in a don't tonight in milwaukee. hillary clinton and bernie sanders, carried on the economy, size of government, criminal justice system, campaign finance reform, race, national security, and foreign policy. there was relatively little political diatribe but calmer and more substantive presentation of their respected positions. imagine that. in other news, there is suddenly talk about the possibility of a seized fire in syria. the civil war has claimed more than 400,000 lives, and secretary of state john kerry said in germany today that major world powers have agreed to a seized fire that could be put in effect in just one week. the pack would not apply to terrorist organizations like isis. the humanitarian aid is being stored there and can be immediately broad to the sieged areas in syria. still to come on "action news" tonight, several arrests

for a deadly new york city explosion caught on camera. einstein's mind bending prediction about space and time is proven to be true. scientists are hailing it as one of the great break throughs of a generation. the cecily? get ready for record cold weather here in philadelphia, from two in philadelphia, 12b le in the poconos. wind chills will make it feel colder then this i'll explain and track snow, ice and rain next week in the accu weather forecast. some parents are claiming that a popular smart phone app may motivate young people to take dangerous chapses. investigative reporter wendy saltman is here with that. >> this may not be on parent's radar but it should be. tonight we are looking in allegations of social media tool may have played a role in the fiery crash that claimed the lives of three young philadelphia woman. we will have more on the messages family members were say were sent in the minutes before the accident. and ducis rodgers hears from new eagles head coach doug pederson when "action news", continues tonight.

grover cleveland here. yes, the dashing fellow on the thousand-dollar bill. with 'cash4life', the great game from the pennsylvania lottery, you could win a thousand dollars a day for life!

you could buy a new house! or maybe even treat yourself to a trip to the islands. and with drawings every monday and thursday, that means 2 chances to win every week. cash4life from the pennsylvania lottery. you could win a thousand dollars a day for life.

indicted foreman slaughter and homicide, in connection with a deadly gas explosion in new york city last year. the building's owner, her son, a contractor, and two plumbers have been accused of illegally rigging a gas line for apartments that cost an average of $6,000 a month. the the explosion last march in the east village left two people dead, several injured and reduced three buildings to ruble. excitement is rippling through the scientific community and beyond tonight, after a land mark discovery that finally confirms one of einstein's predictions about the universe. physics had detected gravitational waves. a violent collision of two black holes merge nothing to one more than a billion years ago rippled the very fabric of space and time. those waves hurtled across the university, moving the earth like yellow but to a microscopic degree. it required one of the most sensitive instruments humans

have ever built to detect tiny disturbance in the fourth dimension. many say that this break through will bring a new era of discovery about the cosmos, similar to when gale leo turned his telescope to the skies. that is something. tonight an exclusive "action news" investigation, let's look in the popular app snap chat and how it may have played a role in the crash that killed three young women. investigative reporter wendy saltsman is here with that story. >> reporter: most people know snap chat as an app to allow users to send their friend pictures, videos or text that disappear within seconds but a triple faith willal accident on torresdale avenue raises questions about whether it has another feature that could encourage young people to speed. >> people get airborne and flying. >> reporter: in the early morning hours of sunday, december 28th, 5 taste before christmas, 30 lease say a black camaro carrying three philadelphia boys was speeding down, torresdale avenue. that car slammed in the parked tractor trailer carrying

herbicide and burst into flames. >> witness on the scene said they could hear people screaming from inside the car but could not get to the vehicle due to the flames. >> reporter: inside was that driver, amani barton and two others. all in their early 20's. they were all, possibly burned alive. >> i really wanted to thank god who tried to save them. >> reporter: what prompted the driver to apparently break the speed limit? new evidence uncovered by "action news" points to the possibility, an app, explode nothing popularity may have played a role. >> she was a big fan of snap chat. she would check from where she was at. >> reporter: according to several sources, including her uncle, that fatal night ge a posted several snap chats documenting their whereabouts. >> apparently showed them at a bar earlier this is day and then house party. >> reporter: and then there was what may have been the final snap. >> and then allegedly showed them in the car holding up how fast they were going. i believe the miles was 73

they said. and could have gotten more. >> reporter: he provided with us this surveillance video showing us the car flying down torresdale avenue. the girls were told, they were snapping, their speed. we found others on the internet also using the filter, to brag about their speed. one snap chat posted 106 miles an hour. students at temple told us they used the miles per hour milter in innocent ways but also, being used in potentially dangerous snap chat speeding. >> you watch how fast you get. >> people go a hundred town schuylkill. >> one time i saw 120 miles. >> reporter: here's how it works. users can record video from inside the app. when one filter reports speed. the problem is it automatically disappears. the there is no way for family to prove what she sent, her phone was destroyed in the fire. her uncle says that family members saw gia snap. >> speed was on the phone, from the app. >> i think it is really horrible, that it is something

that is there. >> go faster. >> reporter: barton left behind two young children and a devastated family. >> unaudible. >> reporter: police are trying to determine whether the app played a role in the accident, fit did her mom has very strong feelings. >> if that happened, and it helped kill my daughter. >> reporter: "action news" reached out to snap chat multiple times for a comment. they said they wouldn't share a statement but they do take distracted driving seriously. the first time someone using the miles per hour feature a message pops up, warning not to snap and drive. her uncle's opinion. >> fix it. i would not comment. would i not say anything. would i try to fix it. >> reporter: the attorneys plan to subpoena that video from snap chat, the philadelphia a police, accident investigating unit has yesterday released their findings of the official cause of the crash, although, speed was an initially stated as a factor. >> all right, wendy. tough story. thank you. a young girl, received a

surprise that she will never for get the today. morgan brunell has been counting days until her stepfather u.s. air force sergeant timothy land was to arrive home from his deployment. the big day was scheduled for tuesday, but her mom, and teachers of williamstown middle school in monroe township decide that had she had waited long enough. >> i missed you. >> morgan says she's looking forward to a special dinner at the texas roadhouse, and her step dad's retirement, in 17 months. these stories always make me cry. they are just so nice. >> absolutely. yes, emotional. >> lets get the accu weather forecast. it will be a cold, cold weekend. here's cecily tynan. >> my years will be tiering this weekend too.

>> yes. >> exactly. >> storm tracker six live double scan, showing that we are dry out there and the action cam is taking a look at old glory really blowing in the breeze and the winds has diminished greatly from earlier today. we had wind gusts to 30 miles an hour. now those wind are sustain at 10 miles an hour but that still does create a wind chill factor. currently 21 in philadelphia. nineteen in allentown. twenty in wilmington. twenty in trenton. atlantic city airport 21. factoring in wind not strong at the 10 miles an hour. feels like ten in philadelphia zero in lancaster 56789 in reading. 7 degrees below zero and the poconos and thinks the first of two, cold snaps, the second one is going to be a lot more harsh. the a satellite six with action radar showing once sunsets the cloud really diminish. the next front is north of the the great lakes. the this is moving through tomorrow night and early saturday morning. tomorrow will be a cold day but with less wind then today. it will feel better. the at 7:00 o'clock

18 degrees. the bundle up kid for bus stop. by 1:00, 25. by 7:00 o'clock 26 degrees. building cloud, and not much wind, and then future tracker is showing that next arctic front like the one today, it could contain some heavier snow squalls that can quickly coat the road. most of these will be in the middle of the night when most people are off road at 1:00 in the morning the saturday. some across the poconos, far north and western suburbs. moving through and reaching the coast by about 5:00 o'clock. not everyone will see them but anyone who does, could get a quick coating of one or 2 inches of snow on the the ground. 22 degrees at philadelphia at 5:00 in the morning. the but then temperatures dropping throughout the day as the dreaded polar vortex, we have in the seen this since last winter, makes a return and we are looking at wind picking up through the day on saturday gusting higher than 40 miles an hour. so the wind chillies dropping near zero. but they will keep dropping, into the sunday morning and this is what it is going to feel like on sunday morning. it is the heart of the cold air.

the northwest suburbs, wind chill, 25 below to 20 belows. i-95 met the tro area including philadelphia, 20 below to 15 below and central delaware and southern new jersey, ten below, to 15 below with wind chills like it this the takes less hand a half an hour to get front bite on exposed skin. so just limit your time outside on sunday. if you have to go outside cover up and dress in layers. so the exclusive accu weather seven day forecast, it is a bitter cold one. 29 degrees tomorrow. saturday, the high of 20789 temperatures falling. wind picking up. valentines day below a record cold, too. afternoon high of only 19. and then for president day, 31 r storm, arrives with some snow late in the afternoon and then monday night and then this track looks to be inland. so what that will do is pull in milder air, change that snow over, first to an icy mix and then all to rain on tuesday with a high of 50. wednesday and thursday, temperatures in the 40. i am still concerned about a

period of icing relevant i tuesday morning. when you get a cold snap lick this even if you get rain you have frozen ground and that could cause freezing rain. >> you know what he guy whether it combine polar vortex with retro grade? >> what? >> i don't know, you are the meteorologist. >> i thought it was a joke. >> it was a poor excuse. >> where is the punch line. >> that was the punch line. it was graduation day for hundreds of high school students in philadelphia. more than 200 students donned their caps and gowns to receive their diplomas at ben franklin high school. this was the second chance for these students, all previously dropped out of school but returned for an accelerated learning program, and midyear graduation is now in the sixth year. in an age of texting and social media one new jersey youngster was honor tonight for his old fashion hobby. eleven year-old hunter grim is the youngest person in the

state to have obtained his ham radio license. tonight, an egg harbor, he was presented with a state proclamation celebrating the achievement. he studied basics of electronics and even learned fcc rules to pass the test. congratulations.

i do everything on the internet. but, it's kind of slow. my friends say i should get fios because it's the fastest. i just downloaded 600 photos in 60 seconds. that's seriously better. (husband) we're out of 2%! i wonder what else could be better around here? (husband) i heard that. switching to better internet is now easier than ever. only fios has the fastest internet available, with uploads up to 5x faster than cable. get 100 meg upload and download speeds. plus tv and phone for just $69.99 a month online with no annual contract. switch to better. switch to fios. presented espn's tom renaldi with its annual father bill atkinson humanitarian award tonight. renaldi was honored for his stories of athletes who

overcome physical challenging. father atkinson was an up are darby nate turf taught at monsignor bonner and was first quadriplegic to be ordained as a priest. but doug pederson, in the the house, and talking about quarterback and other stuff. >> talk about sam bradford. wow like to have him back. we shall see. doug pederson has been, eagles head coach for less than a month. he has been one busy man. he told jeff skversky he has been getting staff up to speed on his offense, evaluating the roster he inherited and scouting for nfl draft. pederson is confident that this come season the bird will be a playoff contender. this team is very close. when you evaluate this team, this roster, you are a few piece's way. whether you do that through free agency and draft. you are looking at that every year anyway. i feel like this team has the talent, you know, on this roster to really make a run

here the next couple of years good all right. flyers are trying to put brakes on the skates. they have dropped three games in the row in the middle of the playoff push, hosting sabres tonight. scoring is not a problem this evening. second period no score rj umberg are his first goal in 50 games, five to zero. one to nothing flyers. less than a minute later brayden schenn. it is two to nothing lead. we are still in the second when wayne simmonds puts home his team heating, 20th goal of the year. he scored eight goals, in the past eight games. the flyers win, easily five-one. >> tonight was a good night to have that kind of output in the second period. you know, going in the third period with that kind of a cushion for myself is a nice feeling. >> still ahead temple basketball, a big deficit to overcome and big night for quinton decozy, see how owls faired against u-conn.

temple and u-conn tonight when nine team met a month ago it was a tight one with the owls copping out on top. tonight deja vu all over again. tie game just before half time, quinton decozy with a filthy jumper. owls lead 31-29 at the break. u-conn will come out on fire in the second half. at one point owls trailed by a dozen point. that is hamilton. decozy shows his senior leadership down the stretch. down two with a minute to play, damage and circus shot. he scores 23. temple erased a huge deficit to win 63-58. a rare bright spot for delaware comes at drexel's expense tonight. blue hens beat dragons 69-60. delaware snaps a 15 game skid. top ranked villanova will host st. johns saturday at wells fargo center. cats coming off a win over

depaul, coach jay wright feels playing that game lessens the pressure on his team. >> i sensed a little relief at least playing one game as a number one team in the country now. going into chicago, you can sense everything was different. people are treating us different. they were a little bit more hype about us being there. what he didn't necessity how we would react. i thought we handled it well. >> cats have st. johns sat the day and next week they take on temple. that is sports. i'm buying. okay. jimmy kimmel live next on channel he will six followed by night line. michael willbone, tony cornhisser and music. for the entire "action news" team including a generous, ducis rodgers, i'm jim gardner, good night.

and now abc's "jimmy kimmel live." >> dicky: from hollywood, it's "jimmy kimmel live!" tonight -- tony goldwyn. from espn, tony kornheiser and michael wilbon. shaquille o'neal. this week in unnecessary censorship. and music from alessia cara. with cleto and the cletones. and now, as luck would have it, here's jimmy kimmel! [ cheers and applause ] ♪