injured. [gunfire] >> reporter: when a sniper positioned above a peaceful protest against police brutality starts shooting targeting police officers. >> he said he was upset about the recent police shootings. the suspect stated he wanted to kill white people especially white officers. >> reporter: with no cover from the spray of bullets from above, officers risked their lives saving others. one seen here taking on the gunman. that officer killed in this final act of bravery. [gunfireism among the victims, 43-year-old transit officer brent thompson who was married just two weeks ago. >> our hearts broken by this loss. we are one people and we stand together. >> reporter: suspect micah johnson killed in the standoff. police searching the former army reservist's home and questioning at least three other suspects. >> this was well planned, well

thought out evil tragedy and we won't rest until we bring everyone involved to justice. (applause). >> reporter: and after johnson claimed he left bombs hidden here downtown, police say they have found nothing but still have the area blocked off as they search. in dallas, marci gonzalez, channel6 "action news." >> thank you marc march marcy. police officers remain on alert. the philadelphia police department is already making changes. >> and despite the recent climate philadelphia police went forward with a community outreach event that was planned for today. "action news" reporter john rawlins continues our team coverage. he's live in west philadelphia where that event just wrapped up. hi, john. >> reporter: hi, guys. that long scheduled evander block party was held here at the 18th district. as for changes, those changes given what happened in dallas

last night and philadelphia scheduled for protests between now and the dnc yes there will be changes we're told but police are not going into many details about that but the man who heads the department and the man who heads the fop say they're both comfortable. >> depending on the routes of those demonstrations, we have to take into account buildings that we weren't worried about before. again, many of our demonstrations, sometimes they're impromptu so we don't always know where they're going. >> the police commissioner and i have been in constant contact with since about 5 o'clock this morning. everybody's on the same page. we're going to work to make sure not only our officers are safe but the community is safe also. >> reporter: among changes for now philadelphia officers will patrol two to a car and in the wake of dallas, when escorting protestors, there will be vigilance for outside threats. this week's police shootings in louisiana and minnesota and last night's ambush of dallas officers renewing the hate

about the just between police and minority communities which brings us to this police sponsored block party. a and annual event of fun an effort for little ones to bounce or try a police siren but there is a serious intent to let kids meet officers in a stress free zone. for teens officerse sore rec center meetups. >> after the event we have a couple young people were like very shocked that we were actually people and we weren't robots and we didn't dislike them. >> reporter: state rep joanna mcclinton applauds the outreach but says the next step needs to be continuing meeting between adults and police to find common ground. >> all of our lives matter. >> reporter: call it dialogue, communication, call it just talk both the state rep and the captain emphasized the need for mutual respect

and then talking. that's the way they say you can only bridge that divide or gap or just that exists between the community and police at times then caution if it is to work, it is going take a long time to work. live in west philadelphia, john rawlins, channel6 "action news." >> john, thank you. another march is planned tonight by organizers of the black lives matter movement in center city. jeanette reyes is live at city hall with more. >> reporter: jeanette. >> reporter: rick, tension surrounding race relations and police brutality reached a boiling point especially after yesterday's tragedy but the difficult conversation continues today in just under an hour, a march will kick off in north philadelphia, it will wrap up here at city hall. emotions are running high today after a peaceful protest in dallas, shootings by officers ended in unspeakable tragedy. today local black lives matter

activists say the movement continues but their message they feel needs to be reiterateed. >> no one wants civil war. we don't want violence in our communities. we have enough of that. on both sides. what we want is for people to understand that there should be equality of justice. >> reporter: in just an hour, cantrell mcduffie and darryl walker will lead a peaceful march from erie avenue and broad street to city hall. other clergy and political figures are expected to join. >> this is not for that, for to us kill anybody or fight anybody. it's time for us to align and get it together. >> reporter: the march was promptd by the deaths of philando castile in minnesota and alton sterling in louisiana. both were shot and killed by police. sociology and criminology professor dr. kelly welch isn't surprised by the national outcry and the controversy surrounding marches like the one today. >> i think the name is right. and of course all lives matter but we also need to focus on

the fact that black lives who are getting killed matter tremendously. >> reporter: it's a message mcduffie says he'll keep on repeat nothing matter how many marches it takes. >> people are tired of seeing people being killed and there being no consequences. >> reporter: organizers tell me they have reached out to the police commissioner. they're hoping to meet him here upon arrival and discuss with him hiring practices. they want to -- they wander officers to be vetted for racial bias. no word yet on whether or not police commissioner will be here and that discussion will take place as soon as they get that. we'll let you know if we get any word. reporting live at city hall jeanette reyes channel6 "action news." back inside to you sharrie. >> jeanette thank you. people closer to home are reacting to the violence against police in dallas. residents across the delaware valley express grief and frustration about the images that unfolded in texas. people are grasping for answers after a peaceful protest ended with five dead

and seven wounded officers. >> only takes one thing to set people off. they're already riled up so i'm really praying. that's so sad for innocent people to lose their lives. >> many we spoke with say they are not giving up hope despite the recent incidents of violence. the ambush in dallas came as protestors were marching against two deadly police-involved shootings this is week. philando castile was shot and killed in minnesota wednesday. his fiancé live streamed the aftermath and today diamond reynolds, that girlfriend, that fiancee called for justice. >> this is bigger than philando. this is bigger than trayvon martin. this is bigger than sandra bland. this is bigger than all of us. >> authorities have now identified geronimo yenis as the officer who approached castile's car from the

driver's side. another officer was at the car's passenger side but authorities say yenis was the officer who opened fire. both are on administrative leave. the family of alton sterling who was shot and can killed by police in baton rouge louisiana they are denouncing the police killings in dallas. in a statement the family says regardless of how angry or upset people may be, resorting to this kind of sickening violence should never happen and simply he cannot be to lated. responding to violence with violence is not the answer. the justice department is currently investigating sterling's shooting. the officers involved are also on paid leave. >> and stay with "action news" and 6abc.com for the very latest developments from dallas, texas. you can join the ongoing conversation about this tragedy on our facebook and twitter pages where we will bring you constant updates. also world news tonight with david muir will have more on this continuing story. he is live in texas tonight. you can watch there at 6:30 following "action news" at 6:00. and this note, abc news

will air a one-hour special america in crisis ambush in dallas tonight starting at 9:00 on 6abc. >> and in response to the deadly shooting, the presumptive presidential nominees postponed several speaking events today but democrat hillary clinton is still expected to talk this afternoon at the african methodist episcopal convention which is being held at the philadelphia convention center. we plan to stream that live on 6abc.com. clinton and vice president joe biden postponed a morning rally in scranton and earlier today clinton also tweeted, "i mourn for the officers shot while doing their sacred duty to protect peaceful protestors for their families and all who serve with them." presumptive republican nominee donald trump also reached out on twitter. he wrote, "prayers and condolences to all of the families who are so thoroughly devastated by the horrors we are all watching take place in our country." trump also canceled an

event that was scheduled today in miami. >> all right. switching gears now, if you spend any time outdoors you definitely felt the heat today. and here in philadelphia we officially reached a heat wave but with the heat comes a chance of precipitation namely storms. >> let's go over to meteorologist melissa magee with a check of the accuweather forecast. hi, melissa. >> hi, sharrie and rick. we're tracking showers and storms. you can see it on storm tracker6 live double scan radar 3-d a lot of activity to the west. notice showers and storms pressing to the east and south jersey a lot of lightning associated with that. that's the cluster we're tracking. a severe storm warning issued for portions of atlantic and burlington counties at this hour. it stays up until 4:15 this afternoon. we're finding winds with this cluster in excess of 60 miles per hour. the storm system as we speak is moving to the south at about 10 miles per hour so moving fairly slowly across this region. street level showing you the

showers and storms for speed well, to the north of washington getting heavy pockets of rain and lightning associated with that. just to the east of route 206 and also moisture to the west of lower bank. it does look to be strong in nature. this is what we can expect as we go throughout the rest of the after into and into tonight. scattered showers and storms, heavy rain and lightning, winds anywhere from 40 to 60 miles per hour and because these storms are moving so slowly, ponding on the roads which could lead to some localized flash flooding across the region. all of the showers and storms are being fueled by the heat and humidity so it is official today, we've got heat wave number two here in philadelphia. it starter out on wednesday with a high of 95. yesterday 94. and today 93 degrees and so far we've seen heat indices anywhere from the 90's to near 100 degrees. coming up we're going to take a closer look at the forecast and let you know when this heat will break and the lower humidity comes bacharach convention center our region. details with that accuweather forecast. rick. >> we'll see you then. thank you melissa. a gloucester city man

charged in the death of his girlfriend's two-year-old today. 22-year-old michael disp o. are. to charged with murder and aggravated sexual assault a911 call was made from the 100 block of south king street. the victim was taken to the hospital and passed away two days later. the child's smother charged with endangering the welfare of a child. police in new jersey release new information about the man who was shot by police in toms river. authorities say they fired on 29-year-old si29-year-old timot. he ran away and jumped into the toms river. tactical teams found him an hour later. he was injured by the police gunfire but he is expected to survive. >> it's time now for the "action news" traffic report. >> it is friday. matt pelman in the "action news" traffic center folks trying get a head start on that weekend, matt. >> we are happy to see friday here. it has been a long week that's

for sure, rick and sharrie, especially for septa regional rail riders. more bad news coming this afternoon from septa. as of just about 10 minutes ago we're getting word that the paoli thorndale line is suspended. all service currently canceled because what septa is calling an amtrak fatality. so, all trains halted along the paoli thorndale regional rail line, the old r5 this afternoon. some of you may be able to use the route 100, the norristown high speedline as an alternate. that's the one in purple but the paoli thorndale line currently suspended. of course we'll keep you posted on the situation. melissa mentioned the storms. they rolled through northeast philadelphia a couple minutes ago. road is very wet, road being 95 here by woodhaven. you can see it's jamming southbound but just a couple miles down the road approaching cottman it's completely dry but there is an accident off to the side as you enter the work zone. also have a crash this afternoon on the northeast extension coming southbound south of lansdale involving a tractor-trailer taking out one of the lanes. speeds there coming down from

quakertown are just in the 20's that also has a little bit of a gaper delay for you headed northbound up towards the poconos and on the east west turnpike watch out far a crash approaching norristown eastbound. some slowing there coming away from valley forge let's grab the ipad do the commuter report on this friday afternoon. a lot of people headed down the shore. if you're taking the back road through millville watch out for a major crash along main street. we'll check it again, rick and sharrie, coming up in the next half hour. >> will do. thanks matt. >> still ahead on "action news" at 4:00. septa just gave us new details about the troubled regional rail lines. find out how they are trying to ease the traffic nightmare that travelers have endured this week. >> plus, the attorney general weighs in on the fight involving off duty philadelphia police officers and former eagle lesean mccoy. we'll be right back. fios is not cable. we're wired differently. so we wired the wagner's house with 100 meg internet.

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>> septa officials announced today they have leased train cars from other transportation agencies across the country to help with their regional rail troubles. septa took more than 100 trains out of service saturday because of a potentially fatal defect. well, 33 hope to get the loaner cars up and running by monday; a new interim scheduled is expected to be released on septa's web site sometime sunday and septa's general manager said today of the 120 silver liner cars pulled off the tracks, 115 of them had cracks in the suspension system. >> given the magnitude of the problems and the types of things that are -- that are being evaluated, it suggests that a repair is not going to be possible but we can't rule it out yet. >> septa says before the problem, they ran about 788 trains a day and now they're down to about 549.

packed trains have caused some ride stories get passed up along the routes. stops between glenside and center city where that problem has been the worst. >> checking money news now, employers have been looking to hire this summer. they added more than 280,000 jobs last movement the unemployment rate climbed to 4.9 percent up from 4.7 but that's mainly because more americans are optimistic about finding work and began seeking jobs again. experts also say the report suggests the u.s. economy was improving before the united kingdom voted to leave the european union. and the market reacted positively to the news today. here's a look at the day's closing numbers. all three indices in positive territory to end the work week. the dow up more than 250 points the nasdaq up almost 80 and the s & p 500 up 32 points to finish your friday. >> the mercury has been up this week. time for a check of the accuweather forecast. >> let's go back over to meteorologist melissa magee with a check that of weekend

forecast. smell. >> yeah, rick and sharrie, because of the heat and the humidity it's actually fueling some showers and storms across our region. here's storm tracker6 live double scan radar. you can see the activity scattered about the delaware and lehigh valleys. in fact we are still watching and tracking that cluster off to the south and east across areas in atlantic and burlington county. we've got a severe thunderstorm warning that will stay up. it has been extended until 5 o'clock this evening because we are tracking this whip with winds in excess of 60 miles per hour and possibility of hail. it's moving slowly across new gretna and into egg harbor city north of pomona. moving to the south at about 10 miles per hour. we've got about 82 lightning strikes associated with this cluster within the past 15 minutes. if you're in washington also into lower banks just to the east and north and east of hammonton take cover because we're tracking those those

shore. we have the availability to flip this over into hail mode, to lower back, washington ton we are picking up an indication of penny sized hail associated with this cluster. a few of the showers and storms we want to track for you across the lehigh valley region and easton and also into milford we're tracking heavy rain associated. there's just a lot of moisture associated with the cluster. now we take you down to the south of our region into pottstown honey book and coatesville, we're dealing with these showers and storms that will continue as we get throughout the rest of the early evening hours. heat index in philadelphia 96 degrees, 90 in trenton, a little cooler where you are get something rain cooled air in allentown, 81, 107 the current heat index in dover at this hour. satellite6 along with action radar shows you the showers and storms with the cold front off to our north and west. you can see the swirl of activity over the northern great lakes and the trailing cold front just to the east of chicago. that works its way eastward as we get into the first half of

our weekend and with that comes the threat of more showers and storms. future tracker6 showing you 6:30 this evening we're still tracking that activity for philadelphia, points to the north and east and as we get into 10 o'clock tonight a lot of that moisture starting to skirt on off to our north and east and it doesn't pick back up until we get into saturday afternoon, 2 o'clock you can see things starting to fire off across our region, especially with the warmth be wd humidity overhead. 6:30 you see that cold front come through and behind that the relief is on the way. in the weekend in the city 89 with thunderstorms on the way. in the poconos heavy thunderstorms, a high temperature tomorrow of 76. you can see the four day at 4:00 it's another warm and humid one on the way tomorrow and at 89. then breezy and less humid by sunday, high of 86 degrees with that northwesterly wind, comfortably warm on monday and at 86.

back up to near 90 on tuesday, sunny and warm so definitely one more day with the showers and storms. then that relief comes as we close out our weekend on sunday, guys. >> okay. >> something to look forward to. >> yes. >> "action news" will be right back. >> ♪

>> ♪ >> the pennsylvania attorney general has dismissed its investigation into former eagle lesean mccoy. he was accused of fighting two off duty philadelphia police officers at the recess nightclub in february. the philadelphia district attorney's office already announced that they would not be charging mccoy. the ag's office and the philadelphia fraternal order of police say they now consider this a case closed. >> well, the fourth of july may be over but today marks the 240th anniversary of the first time that the declaration of independence was read publicly. >> we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor.

>> today they reenacted the reading at statehouse yard which is now known as independence square. missouri's governor jay nixon took part portraying his ancestor colonel john nixon. >> still ahead on "action news," we continue to follow the latest on the deadly ambush in dallas and we have brand new information about a string of arsons in camden. late this afternoon police say they arrested their suspect. >> also, the showboat reopens its doors. details about atlantic city's revamped hotel and the jobs that are coming with it when we come back. >> ♪

>> it is 4:30. brian is off. rick williams joins us and we are following the latest developments surrounding the ambush in dallas which is the deadliest attack on police since september 11th. >> five officers were killed, seven more injured after what had been a peaceful protest of officer involved shootings in louisiana and minnesota. abc news has learned that the shooting -- or the shooter was this man 25-year-old micah johnson. dallas police chief david brown says johnson wanted to kill white people and especially white officers. >> now, police say micah was killed when negotiations with their department gave way and they detonated a robotic bomb as the investigation continues chief david brown says his city will stand strong. >> we are not going to let a coward who would ambush police

officers change our democracy. we're not going to do it. our city, our country is better than that. >> this afternoon hundreds of people attended an interfaith prayer service in dallas. leaders from the christian, jewish and muslim faiths all stood together addressing racism and ways for our country to move forward. meanwhile, the philadelphia police force relies on its relationship with the community to help prevent tragedy and to reduce crime. and often those relationships begin with children. "action news"'s gray hall is live in kensington where an outreach summer camp just wrapped up. gray. >> reporter: indeed it did sharrie. the police athletic league just wrapped up a baseball event behind me. they have been working with kids now for 70 years and officers tell me that community policing is an everyday event.

looking from the outside this may appear to be a group of kids just playing baseball but it is much more. it is community policing at its finest. >> this is what needs to be seen on tv not us locking people up or chasing somebody. >> reporter: this activity in philadelphia's kensington neighborhood is just one of many events held by the police athletic league or pal year round. the organization has been working with police to build positive relationships with kids since 1947. >> the police athletic slowing about cops helping kids. it's about keeping the kids out of trouble in high crime communities with low income. >> reporter: officers say it's behind the scene involvement like this that the public many times never gets to see. police say they don't do this for media attention but say it's about commitment to community and service. >> that these kids see our officers do this, that, you know, they inspire kids like, hey, being a cop is not bad. being a fire assemblyman not bad. serving our community is not a bad thing. >> reporter: in light of the recent police involved violence around the country

those connected with pal say they hope the public does not let bad situations cast a dark light over all the positive that's done by officers every day. >> we see the incidents that have happened in recent days in cities across the country and we go to bed at night figuring out how we can do more. >> reporter: members of pal say all lives matter. they say one key to reducing crime is a stronger presence in there community and building relationships with those in the neighborhood they serve and protect. >> it's really personal. i take it really special because i am a philadelphian, i'm from this neighborhood. and i feel that's what police work is all about, you know, giving back to the community. >> reporter: and back out live we're told that some of the kids that actually have participated in the program in the past went on to become philadelphia police officers and parents, if you want your can kids to attend this program, we put a link on our web site, 6abc.com. live in kensington, gray hall channel6 "action news." rick. >> all right, gray, thank you for that report and our coverage of the ambush in dallas texas continues tonight

at 5 o'clock. that includes the calls to action from local lawmakers and community leaders in light of last night's shooting and streak of violence across the u.s. this week. "action news" reporter vernon odom will have much more on that story at 5:: the recent events across the country are hard for anyone to hear but they can be especially traumatizing for children. coming up at 5:00 ali gorman speaks with a specialist about how to help your young ones cope with the news. and sure to stay with "action news" at 6abc.com for the very latest developments from dallas and you can join the ongoing conversation about the tragedy on our facebook and twitter pages where we will bring you constant updates as we get them. >> now to a developing story out of camden. a 44-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly setting several fires in less than two days. the suspect is identified as charles rick injury o jr. of can charged with 14 counts of

aggravated arson. officials say residents where the fires were set helped police come up with a description of the suspect and technology also helped find this suspect. >> through the use of our eye in the sky technology as well as multiple business and residential surveillance systems an image of the described suspect was captured. >> now, most of the fires set were in vacant buildings and seven firefighters were hurt fighting those blazes. charles ricks jr. of camden is behind bars on $200,000 bail. we have new information about two attempted abductions in newark. police announced today they have a warrant out for this man's arrest, 35-year-old joseph rudge is still on the run tonight. police believe he is the one seen in surveillance video near the crime scenes along the 300 block of east main street. earlier this week, he allegedly put a chemical

soaked rag over two women's mouths and tried to kidnap them. investigators say rudge has a previous sex crimes conviction. they believe he is still in the newark area. if you see him or know where he is, you're asked to call 911 immediately. >> all right. meteorologist melissa magee is back now with a closer look at the weekend forecast from accuweather and we will cool off a bit this weekend. >> yeah, eventually we're going to find some relief from the heat and the humidity but right now we're tracking showers and storms across the region guys. we'll show you that with storm tracker6 live double scan radar. you can see the activity across the region and what we have been focusing on is this cluster of activity. you can see we're circling it now just to the east of philadelphia there in south jersey. so, we are underneath a severe thunderstorm warning for atlantic and burlington counties, this will stay up until 5 o'clock in the evening. we're finding winds in excess of 60 miles per hour for hammonton, egg harbor city and just to the north of pomona you can see that warning

starting to come down a little bit for areas in southern burlington county so winds in excess of 60 miles per hour. you can see it on storm tracker6 live double scan radar street level about 83 lightning strikes associated with this. you can see a lot of heavy rain for lower bank, also just to the north and east of route 30 and also to the east of the atlantic city expressway at this hour. what we do have the capability of doing with storm tracker6 is giving you a vertical profile of this storm here and it's pretty tape. it's about 30,000 feet high and the yellows, the reds, just give you an indication where in heavier rain is moving in at this hour and some indication of penny sized hail with this cluster. now to the north and west of that, we do have a flood advisory until 8:30 this evening for areas in mercer, also lehigh county. we've seen in this location already over an inch of rain and we are expecting more showers and storms to move through as we go throughout the rest of the afternoon and into the early evening hours. and eventually the relief is coming and you will knowles

the difference by then. details coming up with that full accuweather forecast. >> all right, melissa, check back in later. thank you. a judge ruled today that a former elementary school employee will led to trial for child sex assault charges. only "action news" was in montgomery county as marcus forte walked into court this morning. forte allegedly met his 13-year-old victim while working in the i.t. department of gwynedd-mercy academy. court documents say the alleged incidents took place at the school and at the young girl's home. forte will stay behind bars until his trial. philadelphia police are looking for a thief who committed his crime while riding a bicycle. the thief can be seen pedaling up to a from that time door along the 500 block of south 26th street in center city. he a snags packages left inside of a storm door drops them into his basket right there and then rides off. it happened back on june 30th at about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. police want to know if you recognize the suspect. >> atlantic city's former

showboat casino reopened today but as a hotel and there is no gambling. 850 rooms are now available to book. there are also 38 ocean front balcony suites. hotel guests can enjoy a beach bar coffee house and a restaurant. >> showboat has been closed a couple years now. we're short every week on rooms so it's really throughout full to see the boat opened up again. the staff is really friendly, excited. >> the hotel also comes with jobs. 200 people were hired to work at the new showboat and the reopening comes as union workers at the trump taj mahal is just next door enter their second week of a strike. >> still to come on "action news" this afternoon, a south jersey family still desperate to find this flag which holds a special place in their heart. someone stole it back on the fourth of july. we've got new details about the case an reward for its return coming up. >> and on a lighter note and a

very much lighter note, fur balls are getting trod take over the ball needle new jersey. we'll talk about katurday coming up in big talkers. melissa magee will be back with that full forecast from accuweather when "action news" continues next.

>> ♪ >> we've got some braking news to get to here. this is involving information that we're getting from septa. we're told that the inbound service for septa's paoli thorndale regional rail line has been shut down due to an amtrak police activity presence near bryn mawr. this is near the bryn mawr station we're being told. what we're being told from septa is that amtrak is dealing with some type of

fatality near bryn mawr. again, the inbound service has been suspended as chopper6 hd is flying over the situation. of course matt pelman has been talking about this in his traffic reports and we expect that matt will also have another update as "action news" continues this afternoon. a south jersey vietnam veteran is doing his part to reunite a cape may county family with a priceless heirloom. as we told you earlier this week someone told the corcoran family's american flag from their north wildwood home on the fourth of july. that flag was laid across the casket of their brother patrick who was can killed in vietnam back in 1969. at a news conference today vietnam veteran and radio host joe griffey announced a reward for the return of the flag. mostly funded by donations from complete strangers. in addition, patrick's brother says people from around the country have been offering their family's flags as well. he thanked them today along with the community and the

veteran. >> they stood behind me when i was nine and my sister was 14. 46 years later they're standing behind me again and i can't say enough thank yous to them. >> meanwhile north wildwood police say if the flag is returned to the 15th street volunteer fire company or griffey, griffey's before their investigation ends, no charges will be filed. >> well, if you haven't bought it yet you have about a few hours left to get your chance at winning $540 million. lottery officials say the tickets are selling at about twice the rate of last week as people get excited about tonight's big drawing. the action cam was at whitemarsh, beverage in montgomery county as folks were lining up for their shot at winning and there was a similar scene at the convenience store in wilmington. this is the third highest mega millions prize in history and the seventh highest u.s. lotto jackpot ever. you can see the winning numbers tonight on "action news" at 11:00. good luck. >> to big talkers now and a

ballpark that's gone to, well, the cats. yup, you heard that correctly. one of the phillies minor league teams is calling on all fans to bring their cats to saturday's game. the blue claws are hosting caturday this weekend. combining fly balls with fur balls and the players will be wearing these cat covered uniforms. take a look here which will later be auctioned off to benefit charities. all cats will be admitted to the game with a two dollars paw pass. owners must sign a waiver and the felines have to be in carriers or on a leash. the team says they have had success with buck in the park flight for dogs so it's time to give some love to the cats and give them the same opportunity. some great news here. milestones are meant to be celebrated and one of our very own here at "action news" has truly gone the extra mile. nora muchanic is celebrating 30 years here at "action news." let's take a stroll, shall we

back three decades ago and here is nora right before she got the job here at channel6 and what a collection of stories that she has covered from being in panama with photographer andy doan on a military trip and nora was also there when pope john paul ii visited the united states in 1995 and of course she was also right there in 2015 when pope francis came to philadelphia. nora has been a constant trusted voice telling the stories of people places and pets. she loves animals. for 30 years and we are glad to call her a part of the "action news" family. and if you want to see more photos from nora's career and across her journalism career you can go to our web site and also to our facebook page, that's of course the 6abc facebook page. a lot of more pictures there for you as well. >> 30 years and slaw only 12 when she started. >> that's the word, 12. >> congratulations, nora. time now for an update on the commute home as we check our "action news" traffic report tonight. >> all right, matt standing by

with the update this friday. >> one of the funniest people in the news room, that nora muchanic. she's fantastic. can congratulations to her. good afternoon sharrie and rick. we continue as we have all tweak watch problems with the regional rails and this afternoon it's not only the delays that we're seeing but also the suspension of the paoli thorndale regional rail line. i mentioned this during the last half hour. we've learned a little more since then. it's again septa saying because of an amtrak fatality near bryn mawr but now we're learning that it's just inbound service on the paoli thorndale line that is impact. outbound trains coming out of center city are running. they're running with delays because of these reduced service schedules but it's the inbound service that's not running at all on the paoli thorndale line. some of you might be able to use the norristown high speedline there instead. drive to one of those stations but at this point inbound paoli trains not headed towards center city because of that police activity. coming south on the northeast extension still have the truck accident past lansdale. now it's on the side. still though speeds in the 20

south of quakertown. east west turnpike speeds in the teens coming east of valley forge. problems in order villanova wildcats. route 30 lancaster avenue shut down by the university and the stadium because of a crash that brought down a pole. stay up on montgomery avenue or conestoga road as alternates. we'll have issues in new jersey. we'll talk about them rick and sharrie, in the 5 o'clock hour. >> we'll see you then. thanks matt. quick break, more news when we come right back. don't go away.

>> ♪ >> meteorologist melissa magee is back now with more updates on the -- this is the first official heat wave in what -- last time was a few months ago, wasn't it. >> yeah, the last time was in may so officially this is the first one of our summer season but the first one for the city and the second heat wave of the year, guys. so, we'll look at it that way and we are tracking showers

and storms because of the heat and the humidity. you could see storm tracker6 live double scan radar across the region. we've got some activity scattered about, especially for areas west of philadelphia. also just across areas in south jersey and another cluster to the west of trenton. we will show you what's going on because we've got a severe thunderstorm warning. it's actually starting to shrink in size and it has now been extended until 5 o'clock this evening and it's really for atlantic county so if you're in egg harbor city take cover and also to the north of pomona. the winds in excess of 60 miles per hour associated with this storm. still moving fairly slowly to the southeast at about 10 miles per hour. here's street level with storm tracker6. about 54 lightning strikes associated with this cluster that we are tracking, so if you're south of lower bank and just to the north and east of route 30, you are dealing with that heavy rain. same thing along the garden state parkway. this moisture is moving to the south and east very close to the airport here in atlantic

city so i wouldn't be surprised if there were some weather related travel delays because of the moisture that's currently moving on through. also showing you this other cluster across areas in bucks county, in doylestown, you're dealing with the rain, same thing for new hope and also as it presses to the north and east out of our region into flemington. so we'll be tracking the moisture from a west-east direction as we go throughout the rest of the early evening hours. the heat index because of the humidity up to 96 in philadelphia, 107 in dover, 89 in wilmington, getting some rain cooled air for reading and lancaster, temperatures feeling like the upper 70's. you too in atlantic city at the airport. things will -- 92 in atlantic city at the airport. for the rest of the evening we've got showers and storms scattered about and they will start to tail off as we get into 9:30, 10 o'clock tonight. you can see some moisture left over for the poconos but the bulk of that energy moving away from our region but as i mentioned with the actual cold front things will trigger once again as we get into tomorrow

afternoon. society setup tomorrow, still warm, pretty muggy, up to 89 for a high. those thunderstorms will be moving on through and as we get into sunday in the wake of that cold front, high pressure returns. the humidity drops. we've got a northwesterly wind at 10 to 20 miles per hour. this is a good looking day a-very comfortable day as well with a like that in philadelphia of 86 degrees. so down the shore tomorrow we're still dodging those showers and storms, a high temperature of 79 degrees. a warm breeze by sunday and at 87 the ocean temperature coming in at 66. up in the poconos, still unsettled with those heavy showers and storms a high temperature of 76. refreshing on sunday and at 73 for the high. the exclusive accuweather 7-day forecast looks like this. on saturday, it's soupy with thunderstorms, breezy less humid. on sunday and at 86 degrees comfortable warm still on monday and at 86 sunny and getting a little bit more warm -- warmer i should say tuesday, a high of 89. hot and more humid on

wednesday and at 92 for the high. hazy, hot and humid and at 94 degrees and as we get into friday another heat wave on the way. potentially with a high temperature of 94 degrees. so, this is the second heat wave of the year for philadelphia and it looks like we're dodging those showers and storms for the first half of the weekend guys. >> all right thank you. >> "action news" will be right back. >> okay. to watch while she's... up in the air. that's the power of fiber optics. and right now you can get 100 meg internet with equal upload and downloads speeds, tv and phone for just $69.99 per month online. cable can't offer internet speeds this fast at a price this good. only fios can.

prodders, shuckersers, and sniffers, [ inhales ] all giant produce is triple checked.

farm, crate, and store. we're focusing on fresh... ...so you don't have to guess. my giant. >> all right. it's friday and that means freebie friday now. we start off with a family friendly outdoor movie. grab the picnic blanket and the chairs and head to mount airy tonight to see the minions. the movie will begin at 8:30 at pleasant playground in the 6700 block of chew avenue but the fun actually kicks off at 6 o'clock tonight. >> this weekend the hispanic fiesta takes over penn's landing. the free two day festival

celebrate's philadelphia's latino community. there will be music dance ethnic foods and crafts starting tomorrow. and if you're looking for a break from the heat, there's free story time for kids at barnes and nobles tomorrow at 11 o'clock there will be a reading of dr. seuss' daisy head mazy. >> looking ahead monday is july 11th and 7-eleven is marking the date with free slurps. >> nice. >> all you have to do is download the mobile app to get a coupon for a free small slurpee on 7/11 at 7-eleven. head to 6abc.com for more details on all of today's freebies. >> that's going to do it for "action news at 4:00. coming up is "action news" at 5:00 now for sharrie williams, meteorologist melissa magee brian taff alicia vitarelli adam joseph the entire "action news" team join us for "action news" at 5:00 but also this note sharrie. >> join me along with brian adam and ducis rodgers tonight and every night for a full hour of "action news at 10 o'clock. >> "action news" at 5:00 next. we're continuing to follow

developments out of dallas after last night's deadly attack on police. we're learning new information about the ambush and about one of the suspects who was shot and killed in a standoff with officers. also new details on septa's train troubles and what's next for commuters after they pulled one third of their rail fleet out of service. >> delaware valley official in ailette wave. meteorologist cecily tynan has another check from accuweather all coming up on "action news" at 5:00.

>> ♪ >> "action news." delaware valley's leading news program. with jaime apody meteorologist cecily tynan and monica malpass. >> we have got to get out of here. >> 169, get them here. >> there are no words to describe the atrocity that occurred to our city. >> yet another act of deadly gun violence has sent our country into another period of mourning and a state of high alert tonight. this time the epicenter dallas texas during protestors over two recent deadly police

involved shootings and now it's fueling the fire for already heated conversations about race and firearmsly in america. it is friday night. monica malpass is off, sharrie williams is joining us and big story on "action news" is that ambush on police in texas which left five officers dead. >> this evening we are learning more about one of the suspects who has been identified as as 25-year-old micah johnson. johnson was killed in a shootout last night with police and also the use of a robotic bomb. we're told he was an army veteran. police say johnson was upset about the police shootings of two black men earlier this week, one in louisiana, the other in minnesota and wanted to target white police officers. initially police said three other suspects were in custody but now they're not saying how many shooters were actually involved. today officials did say the attack appeared to be deliberate. >> through our investigation