tv Action News 6PM ABC May 16, 2016 6:00pm-6:31pm EDT
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awareness. the report will say that bostian was distracted by radio traffic concerning a rock falling incident involving a septa train. as for speeding up to 106 miles an hour approaching that curve, the report says bostian may have thought he had already passed the curve. the ntsb is releasing the report tomorrow in washington and "action news" will be there. in federal court in philadelphia today, testimony has begun in the political corruption trial of congressman chaka fattah. "action news" reporter vernon odom is live outside the courthouse. vernon, tell us what happened there today. >> reporter: good evening, jim. all indications are this trial will be long and convoluted. federal prosecutors say the veteran congress plan is a crook. his lawyer says he's being railroaded here. chaka fattah sr. is accused in federal court of masterminding a five scheme fraud and conspiracy racket including taking bribes and laundering
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the money. one phase of the case centers around wealthy friend herb vederman. in court prosecutors called him a human atm machine for the 11 term congressman and his family hoping the powerful washington insider could land him an ambassadorship from the obama white house. prosecutors say he paid off the college tuition and gambling bills of fattah's son chaka jr. and disguised $18,000 he gave over for a dummy car purchase used by fattah and his wife to close on a vacation home in the poconos. late today congressman fattah spoke briefly with reporters. >> i think this has been a good first day and we'll begin again in the morning. >> reporter: fattah's lawyer told the jury of one african-american and 11 white that is vederman was a rich good friend of fattah's and did nothing that rises to the level of bribery. fattah's lawyer dismissed two of fattah's political consultants who already pleaded guilty hoping for light sentences in exchange
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for testifying against chaka fattah. mark lee told the jury to take a close look at the schemes two convicted felons he said who cut a deal here and his client never directed or even knew of their conspiracy. fattah and two other staffers are accused of mail bank and wire fraud in addition to racketeering. jim, this trial is expected to last two months. live at the federal courthouse in center city, i'm vernon odom channel6 "action news." >> thank you vernon. david creato was back in court today attempting to have a grand jury indictment against him thrown out. the father from haddon township is accused of can killing his three-year-old son brendan last october. creato's lawyer argued that the medical examiner's investigation was flawed. the judge denied the motion. creato will be back in court next month for a motion to suppress evidence. it was back to school today following a horrific
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weekend for the bridgeton high school community. that following the after prom deaths of two students and the funeral of a third. "action news" reporter walter perez is at the high school tonight. walter, what about this nightmare that obviously has a very long way to go? >> reporter: that's right, jim as you mentioned this all happened on the same weekend when 18-year-old luz de la cruz of bridgeton high school was buried after dying in a car crash two weeks ago. tonight this town is in mourning again. mark and tony mosley say their 15-year-old daughter mikayla was so full of life they simply can't believe that she is gone. >> she was just so outgoing. people person. funny. just -- just shining. >> reporter: mikayla and daisia sultan killed very early saturday morning. this memorial marks the very spot where daisia's vehicle
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veered off route 49 in maurice river township and slammed into this tree. they along with two others inside the car were driving home several hours following the bridgeton high school barometer on friday night. mikayla's mom says her daughter will be remembered as someone with a larger than life personality. >> she was loved by everybody. she was like a ray of sunshine. when she came in the room everybody knew she was there. >> reporter: school officials tell us grief counselors and clergy members spent the day consoling friends and classmates struggling with what happened this weekend. >> a lot of tears. a lot of hugs. a lot of people trying to support one another during this tragedy. >> nobody was talking. everybody was crying. i was crying because how much i missed them how much they did a lot for me helping me with my work and what i was doing. >> reporter: the mosleys say they deeply appreciate the support they've received from the community but they say nothing can fill the void left when i this tragedy. >> we lost our light. >> lost my helper. >> helper. she just was -- we lost our
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love. >> right hand. >> we lost our love. >> reporter: now, regarding the two other teenagers inside that car, at last check 16-year-old zaiy stocks remains in stable condition. 17-year-old jade barrientos remains in critical can condition at cooper hospital. new jersey state police are still working to determine why daisia sultan lost control of the pt cruiser. toxicology test results are expected sometime early next month. reporting live from bridgeton high school, walter perez channel6 "action news." jim. >> thank you walter. robb denied parole today. kevin steele said the former university of pennsylvania professor will likely serve the rest of his 10 year sentence that expires next year. robb pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the beating death of his wife ellen. the incident happened at their upper merion home in 2006. once released next year robb faces 10 years of supervised probation.
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a broken water main is still causing problems for businesses in west philadelphia tonight. a dialysis center is among those that could be without water through the night. as the water department works to fix the 12-inch main. the break happened at 4:30 this morning at 43rd and market. 5 feet of water flooded the basement of engine five ladder six fires. fire station. fortunately there was no damage to any of the firefighting equipment. philadelphia's new fire commissioner was sworn in this morning. adam thiel took the oath in a private ceremony at the fire administration office in spring garden. thiel comes to philadelphia from a top cabinet post in virginia. he served as deputy secretary of public safety and homeland security. thiel is the 20th fire commissioner in philadelphia's history. a fish store in clementon, new jersey, has been shut down because of a dangerous and even potentially deadly mercury spill.
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new jersey correspondent nora muchanic has that story. >> reporter: a pile of trash bags with a discarded white hazmat suit tossed aside can be seen through the window at the aquarium center. it will be a locked up since may 9th when elevated levels of mercury he were found inside a fish tank and on the floor triggering a hazmat situation and response. >> my staff, myself, my family, we were walking through it for five days. >> reporter: dominic is the owner of the aquarium center. 12 employees are being asked for urine samples to be sent to the centers for disease control for testing. exposure can cause kidney and brain damage and in extreme cases death. the readings found other floor of the fish store is 10,000 time the acceptable level. >> we're hopeful that no one is sick, no one has exhibited any signs of sickness so far but we're taking every precaution because we want to be careful. >> this is a criminal act.
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we're doing the best we can. we're working with the police. we're working were you the dep. >> reporter: officials say at this point there's no reason to believe customers would have been exposed. the gloucester township police are conducting a criminal investigation into who put the mercury in the fish tank and why. >> this is a pretty bizarre case. this isn't something that comes up every day where somebody uses a chemical like mercury to try to create the kind of chaos that they have. >> reporter: this woman came to buy food for her husband's fish but found the store locked up. >> it's got a great selection, all the products and everything. he likes the people there work there. so, i don't know. >> reporter: the store owner has been ordered to clean up the mercury but he must now also dispose of all the fish that have presumably died inside in the week since the store was shut down. in clementon, i'm nora muchanic channel6 "action news." >> the philadelphia school district announced today a new plan to reduce its consumption of energy. school officials and mayor
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kenney detailed the initiative called green futures much this happened this morning at city hall. they say it will be implemented over the next five years. it includes increasing green school yards and decreasing energy consumption by 20 percent. coming up on "action news" tonight, he laid his life on the line and paid the ultimate price. and today president barack obama honored philadelphia sergeant robert wilson, iii. and the phillies sit a game out of first time place in the nl east. ducis rodgers with a preview of tonight's matchup with those florida marlins. cecily. >> sunny windy and cool today but i'm tracking yet another round of wet weather moving in tomorrow. i'll have all details and the timing and what it means for your commute in the accuweather 7-day forecast. >> those stories and much more when "action news" continues tonight. >> ♪
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>> more than 5,000 students filed into franklin field this morning for the 260th commencement of the university of pennsylvania. this year's speaker lynn manuel miranda the pulitzer prize tony and grammy award winning composer best known right now for the hip hop musical hit hamilton. amy gutmann president giving him a big hug of appreciation. miranda was one of eight people to receive honorary degrees and he wasn't the only famous face in the crowd. there he is vice president joe biden came to see his granddaughter naomi receive her diploma today. president barack obama awarded the medal of valor to 13 public safety officers today at the white house including sergeant robert wilson, iii from philadelphia. he of course died during a
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slootout march fifth of last year. "action news" reporter john rawlins has that story. >> the men and women who run toward danger remind us your courage and humility what the highest form of citizenship looks like. >> reporter: the president awarded the public safety officer medal of valor to 12 law enforcement officers who survived dangerous encounters, one was given posthumously to philadelphia sergeant robert wilson, iii. on a snowy march day in 2015, wilson was inside this game stop store when two armed robbers entered. >> he had his life when two men opened fire on inn a video game store where sergeant wilson was buying his son a birthday present. to his family who is here, his grandmother constance, his brother and sister, please know how deeply sorry we are for your loss, how grateful we are for sergeant wilson's service. >> reporter: a tearful constance wilson received the
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medal from the president who later gave her a hug. at the time of sergeant wilson's death officials said by not moving for cover in the gun battle he drew the assailant's fire away from customers and staff who were huddled behind the store counter. after today's ceremony, constance wilson spoke about the 30-year-old father of two she knew as robbie. >> big hole was put in my heart when he lost his life but he loved his job and he did what he was trained to do and i miss him a lot. i look forward to seeing him again in the future in the resurrection. >> reporter: john rawlins channel6 "action news." >> wheel of fortune's philadelphia week kicks off tonight on channel6. all of the contestants competing for big dollars and all the prizes are from our region and tonight jamie hendel of philadelphiaological spin the wheel. she work in the career management officers at the wharton school of business has been watching wheel since she was a child. and she tells us that she applied 11 times before she
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>> association if the phillies keep winning series two games out of three, they're going to the playoffs. >> math tells me that's -- we are six weeks into the season but it's never too early to check the standing. the phillies sit one game out of first place in the nl east. remarkable considering the pundits predicted the phillies would be the worst team in baseball. tonight they begin app set with the marlins. jaime apody is live at the park with more on the phils. jamie. >> reporter: ducis the phillies are 22 and 16 nearly a quarter of the way through the season. that's seven games ahead of the pace 38 games last year. they're doing it with pitching, defense, they're
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doing it with small ball. who cares. as long as they're doing it. ton they begin a three game series with the equally surprising marlins. no question these guys are fun to watch again. the phillies 14 and three in 100 games, two wins coming against these very fish. pete mackanin told me it's not too earl to get excited about the fact that his team is one game out of first place and boy is the manager ever having fun. >> you can notice in our clubhouse the guys are enjoying winning and i think it's part of their development especially close games. so that being said winning is why we're here and every game we go out there we compete to try the beat the other team and when you win it's a great feeling. >> reporter: he said it's contagious. cameron rupp is not in the lineup. he says he's available to catch in an emergency. tommy joseph playing first for
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ryan howard. it's dollar dog night so come on out. i'm hungry i'm going to get one or two or five as well. live at citizens bank park jaime apody channel6 "action news." ducis. >> thank you very much jamie. >> all right jamie. >> nba draft june 23rd. the draft lottery is tomorrow when the sixers find out where they pick. brett brown will be the sixers representative in new york city tomorrow night. sixers could end up with four first round picks. they have the best odds of landing the top overall selection. >> i am quietly confident and surprised that the draft is as deep in that higher end as it is. there are some good players, really at that high end of the draft. and obviously with the first pick, you -- you know, you control your destiny a little bit more. >> the sixers are back from the draft combine in chicago but they have not stopped scouting. today they hosted villanova's josh hart saint joe's diondre bembry and others for a workout. bembry expected to be a first round selection knows his
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stock is rising. >> i've always had this confidence in myself so i think that's pushing me but i feel like a lot of people got to see me that didn't -- or may -- haven't seen me throughout my years at saint joe's so i guess just people being able to see me for once opening a lot more odds. >> get ready for a slight yet big change to the sixers uniforms. team has inked a deal with stub hub that will allow the company to advertise on the player's jerseys. it goes in effect for the 2017-2018 season. the sixers are the first u.s. team among the four major pro sports to allow this type of advertising. nascar does it, mls does it. of the big four this is the beginning. >> and just the beginning. it doesn't stop here. >> can you see it on the yankees or red sox. >> i don't know. we'll see. >> cecily tynan with the accuweather forecast when we continue in just a moment. >> ♪
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>> the week ahead from the accuweather and cecily tynan. >> find the umbrella again. >> no. i'm tired of this. >> i know, i know and i am, too, but it's on the way at least you'll be prepared now but it's not raining out there now. >> oh, great. >> there you go. storm tracker6 live double scan showing, yes, we did get some dry weather today. definitely on the windy side but at least the sunshine is back. sky6 taking a look over the commodore barry bridge and seeing the blue skies and sunshine don't get used to it, though, because we have another round of some wet weather on the way. and this morning it didn't feel like the middle of may. it felt more like early april. the normal low for this time of the year 54. the record in philadelphia 40. so, not quite a record but we
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made it doyne to 42 degrees. allentown tied the record low of 37. trenton a new record low of 40 and millville also a record low dropped all the way down to 33 degrees. it was a chilly morning. tomorrow won't be quite as cold as this morning but there is some rain on the way and all the computer models showing really the next two days we're looking at generally light rain generally between about a quarter to a half inch of rain should be dry for the morning commute tomorrow but then that rain will be moving in. but today really the big story the winds, peak wind gusts philadelphia 36 miles per hour, 35 miles an hour in reading, trenton wrightstown and millville the week pigs all in the mid 30's so a blustery day and a cool day. right now 66 degrees in philadelphia. yesterday's high only 59. so, at least we made it into the 60's. normal high for this time of the year 74. allentown and trenton 66. cape may .62 and wilmington 66 degrees. satellite6 along with action radar showing we still have a
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bubble of high pressure over us. that's keeping us dry right now and cloud free. however, the really -- there are really two systems on the way. there's a cold front across the great lakes and then there's what's known as a short wave, a piece of energy moving up from the southwest so we get a bit of a squeeze play. that's what will bring us increasing clouds tonight and bring us some rain tomorrow and even into wednesday morning. tonight clear early clouds rolling in late tonight. winds diminishing. when you get the cloud cover it acts like an atmospheric blanket. not going to be quite as chilly as last night. 51 philadelphia, allentown 46, wilmington 48. and cape may 53 degrees. future tracker showing 8 o'clock tomorrow morning, looks like it will be dry for the morning commute, just a lot of cloud cover but then as we led into th head into the afe get a steady light rain primarily along the i-95 corridor into south jersey and delaware and then we get a few ripples of energy rolling through so that will keep us unsettled into wednesday morning. 7:30 wednesday morning
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scattered showers and then in the afternoon on wednesday we should be drying things out and maybe even some peeks of sunshine. so, wednesday afternoon is looking better than tomorrow. so, the exclusive accuweather 7-day forecast showers develop around midday into the afternoon and evening hours, 62 degrees the high. wednesday the opposite. early showers a brighter afternoon, 66. thursday and friday high pressure right over us. gorgeous weather. 72 degrees on thursday. friday 74. unfortunately looks like an upper level low will bring us an unsettled weekend. rain is likely on saturday. could even linger into sunday and monday clouds break for some sun with a high of 72 and i will have an update on the timing of the showers coming up on "action news at 11:00. thursday and friday look fantastic this week. >> not good enough. >> that's all we got. >> abc's world news tonight with david muir is next on channel6. "action news" continues at 10:00 on phl17 with brian taff sharrie williams adam joseph and ducis rodgers. then please join us for a
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special report at 11:00 here on channel six. they are your neighborhoods being overrun by trash. investigative reporter wendy saltzman tracks down some of the illegal dumpers responsible for the mess. >> reporter: junk garbage and debris cluttering our streets and where you live. a blight to our community. "action news" investigates the hot spots where vacant lots are becoming illegal dumping grounds and you're paying to clean it up. now we're tracking down those dumpers caught on camera. don't miss my exclusive investigation illegal dumping grounds on "action news tonight at 11:00. >> and for cecily tynan, ducis rodgers and the entire "action news" team, i'm jim gardner. we hope you'll join us for "action news at 11:00. >> ♪
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pat toomey started his career as an investment banker. then, a wall street wheeler-dealer overseeing stock trades in new york, london and tokyo. next, toomey moved to hong kong to work with wealthy chinese investors. in the senate, it's no surprise toomey's been siding with wall street. voting to allow banks to continue making the risky investments that wrecked our economy. afscme people is responsible for the content of this ad.
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tonight, the former model now coming forward. donald trump under siege. "the new york times" report and trump's treatment of women. tonight, that model, who now says she was unfairly quoted. plus, trump responding to britain's prime minister now, saying, i'm not stupid. also tonight, the deadly plane crash. barely missing a neighborhood. you will hear the emergency call right before. the missing mother overboard. plunging from a cruise ship. that ship returning to port would her. the family now demanding answers tonight. anger mounting. they warned of major delays and now they're here. hundreds in line at america's airports. the new images, a three important tips to get you through the lines faster. and the image tonight, and the park tragedy that followed. what one family did with this baby bison, and
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