however the u.s. is not out of the woods yet. this a live picture in georgia as the monster storm starts to pound that state. abc's marcy gone sol less has the latest. >> reporter: while the storm is clearing out of central florida, north of here the threat is just beginning. hurricane matthew battering parts of fly. its eye brushing the coast line bringing flooding from the beaches to the center of the sunshine state. >> when you factor in this with high tide, this again could be some unprecedented flooding in some locations. >> reporter: forecasters calling for potential storm surge as high as 11 feet with wind gusts surpassing 111 miles per hour in some places bringing downpour lines and trees. the death toll in haiti climbing. the interior minister saying

nearly 300 people were killed. but with many areas inaccessible, that number could multiply. at least two hurricane-related deaths in port st. lucie florida. >> i just want to emphasize to everybody that this is still a really dangerous hurricane. >> reporter: that danger now shifting towards georgia and the carolinas. officials there urging people especially in coastal areas to evacuate as hurricane matthew makes its way north ward. >> this is going to hurt. we're trying to reduce the amount of lives lost or harm done as much as we can. >> reporter: while here there's some light rain and wind gusts left behind from matthew along with power outages and in some areas, a lot to clean up. >> it's time for a check of the

forecast. >> melissa magee is at the big bored. >> we continue to track hurricane matthew as it moves out of georgia into the carolinas. all of today we had been noticing that the center of matthew has been well offshore or at least off the coast of florida. right now it is between jacksonville and daytona beach at this hour. still a major hurricane, a category 3 storm. it has been paralleling the coast. in fact will go a little tighter to street level and if you look at where the center is, if you measure the dins tans to the center to the coast, it's about 35 to 40 miles offshore and it continues to parallel. we have seen for the most part spared damaging winds the

exception is cape canaveral florida. that's a 50 foot tower in the atlantic ocean. daytona beach, 67 mile per hour gusts reported. so here's the latest with the track. about 45 miles east southeast of jacksonville, florida. this will continue its northerly movement for the rest of the tonight affecting georgia and eventually into the carolinas potentially making a landfall in the carolinas as a weaker system then back out into the open waters of the atlantic and back close to the bahamas as we get into early next week. coming up we'll have the latest hurricane matthew and the potential impacts as we head into the weekend. >> melissa, thank you. it will be a few more days before we know the full extent of hurricane matthew's damage, but fema has a unique way to

unofficially predict how bad a national disaster can be. the waffle house index. it looks at how many of the restaurants close its doors. so far 25 locations have shut down in the south. for reference, 22 closed during hurricane irene. that storm was one of the top ten in history. our courage continues on 6abcnews.com with live streaming videos from within the storm zone, photo galleries of the flooding and also the wind tracking and also trackers there to monitor matthew's progress 24 hours a day. we are following breaking news from new jersey this afternoon. state lawmakers just voted within the past hour to increase the state's gas tax. the green light means that drivers will now pay $0.23 more pur gallon, but it also allows halted construction projects to

move forward again. nora? >> reporter: it was indeed and it seems almost no one is happy about this. new jersey hasn't raised its gasoline tax in 28 years. but sponsors say that the state's roads and bridges are falling apart and money is needed to fix them now. >> i think it's terrible. i don't want my gas price to go up. it would be awful. >> reporter: that's the reaction to one driver to the new jersey legislature's vote today to approve a plan that would raise gas $0.23 a gallon. that money would go to pay for bridge and road repairs throughout the state. >> we have come up with a compromise i don't think anybody is absolutely satisfied with but it's the best we could with the governor. >> it's a historic day in new jersey because it's going to set the stage for the future. >> reporter: this summer governor christie shut down all projects when it went broke.

the gas tax is a bipart son compromise. aaa estimates it will cost an extra $170 a year. >> when you raise the gasoline tax, you're not only hitting the people in their pocketbook when they pum up to the pump, but also the cost of everything goes up. >> $0.23 to the average family, $0.23 to the average small business. it's simply too high for a gallon and the cost has a chance to go up. >> reporter: the package also comes with 1.4 billion in tax cuts, including breaks in the sales, income and estate taxes. critics say the loss of that revenue will just create massive budget holes down the road. >> we've been taxed, tolled, assessed to death quite frankly and i think it was one good thing, we had low gas prices. >> reporter: but no more. the governor needs to sign the

legislation into law. his office tells us they don't know when that will be, but the target date was november 1st. after that you can expect to dig deeper in your pockets when you pull up to the pumps. live at the state house in trenton, i'm nora muchanic. >> thank you. all philadelphia public schools will have their drinking water tested for lead. the district began taking samples from certain schools back in august, but today that testing is being expanded and every building will be tested within the next 18 months. we're also seeing results for 22 of the 40 schools tested so far. 86% of the water outlets passed the safety guidelines. the ones that failed were immediately shut off. we'll have more on the results coming up at 6:00. >> in other news, a bethlehem police officer is facing charges for allegedly exposing himself. he was caught touching himself

inappropriately, twice. the incident happened inside his car in a target parking lot and again again while driving on hamilton boulevard. he has been suspended from the force as the investigation continues. >> an unconventional robber used a drive-through to get his hands on cash at a north philadelphia dunkin' donuts. it happened not once but twice this week. video shows him climbing through the window and going straight for the register. the first robbery happened around 9:00 tuesday night and employees say he came back around 2:00 a.m. on thursday. philadelphia police are also trying to identify the man who robbed a fairmount pizza shop at gun point. workers were getting ready to close when the suspect walked in with the handgun sunday night. he demanded a customer's cell phone and money before turning

to the employees and the cash register. if you know anything about these crimes, you're asked to call police. >> a solemn ceremony honoring the memory of domestic violence victims was held in south jersey today. this was a scene here at the burlington county campus of rowan college. the exhibit is called the silent witness project organized by various agencies in burlington county to hopefully encourage those in abusive relationships to seek help before it's too late. >> and it's time now for the action news traffic report on this friday. >> friday afternoon. matt pellman standing by in the traffic center with the latest on the way home tonight. >> pretty much made it through the week. now we just have to make it home and it looks like that is not going to be the easiest feat on this friday afternoon. this is the schuykill expressway where there's been a medical emergency in the east lanes by

gerard avenue. they just got all the activity pushed off to the right shoulder. but the damage is done, eastbound is now a parking lot as you head in towards center city. not to be outdone, 95 is also a parking lot. here in the southbound lanes it's because just up ahead there's an accident taking out the center lane. so delay is really stacking up quickly coming south of woodhaven you hit this wall of traffic. 476 also a crash, this is the northbound side approaching the schuykill but it lookings like this is going to clear out soon. it remains heavy up to the mid county toll plaza because we've had two separate accidents on the eastbound turnpike and westbound on the turnpike there's a fire approaching virginia drive mostly off to the

side but still jammed in that area. let's grab the ipad on this finally friday afternoon. if you're in delaware don't think you're getting off scott free, a crash on 95 northbound, route 7 has things slow with just 15 miles per hour. we'll check in coming up in the next half hour. >> see you then, matt. thank you. still ahead on action news, accused of ar soun and murder, a woman heads to court. >> atlantic city has another way to help a state take over. details to their new employees. >> how does live with kelly and richard sound? a local teacher is in the running to cohost with kelly ripa. and he's not the only contestant. fiip find out how you can help them make their nd out how you c make their national tv debut, next. red 97! set! red 97!

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you want a piece of cake? switching to fios is easier than ever. now get 100 meg internet, plus tv and phone for just $69.99 per month online. cable can't offer these speeds at this price. only fios can. another step in efforts to fix its financial troubles and avoid a state take over. the mayor is offering early retirement buy-outs to 162 city

workers. full-time employees with at least 20 years on the job are the only ones who qualify for the program. they have until october 17th to decide if they want to accept this offer. atlantic city is roughly $500 million in debt. job growth in the u.s. slowed down a bit in september. employers added 156,000 jobs which represents only a decent gain. however it is also a sign that hiring has slowed compared to this time last year. the unemployment rate ticked up to 5% which indicates more people resumed looking for work. here's a look at today's closing numbers to end the week. and that jobs report likely being blamed for what you see on the stocks today. the dow down 28 points. the nasdaq down 14 and the s & p500 down 7 points. >> turning to presidential

politics now, hillary clinton is off the campaign trail today but vice president joe biden stepped in on her behalf in bucks county college in bristol. he appealed to young voters and encouraged students to register to vote before the deadline on tuesday. jim garner speak with him as well and he'll have more after that event. you can see their conversation coming up tonight on action news at 6:00. republican presidential candidate donald trump spent his day in new york. he went to a roundtable at trump tower where he received an endorse: they're now preparing for the second presidential debate this weekend in st. louis. coverage starts sunday at 9:00 p.m. right here on 6abc. >> you know, when it comes to tv gigs, this is a hot one. a chance to cohost with kelly ripa as the search continues to

find a replacement for michael strahan, ripa is giving one lucky fan to sit beside her for the day. there's one high school teacher who really wants that shot. >> now it's time for live with kelly and richard. >> reporter: right now it's just a dry run. but it's the show open finalists, richard curtis, hopes the nation hears if he gets a shot sitting in that chair. >> this tape got him into the top 20. >> i only teach wearing my snap chot doggy filter mask. >> i need philadelphia, i need the surrounding areas to back me on this to go on kelly live and vote. >> reporter: curtis is no stranger to live tv. he wants you to know it wasn't

his idea to audition for the kelly and you contest. his wife gets credit for that. >> my wife said in the morning, she said do not come home unless you have applied for this competition. needless to say i needed a place to sleep so i applied that afternoon. >> reporter: his biggest fans are on board. [ cheers ] >> there's no one else that deserves it more. >> you guys had another fantastic week. i'm super proud of you guys but we've got a show to rock here today. >> america deserves to get to know such an influential guy. >> reporter: he has no plans of leaving the high school. >> i literally have the best job in the world. >> reporter: the father of two admits, the national live experience just for a day is good for his street cred. >> this could be the biggest opportunity for me to be able to actually put a little weight behind my words and say guys, i've done it. trust me. >> reporter: and his enthusiasm is contagious. a really cool guy and a great teacher.

by the way, curtis isn't the only local. dina blizzard is also in the top 20. we will show you how to vote on abc6.com. you have until the end of sunday to cast yours. >> it would be nice to have some local folks. >> that's right. kelly is from this area. >> it's time now for a check of the accuweather >> let's head over to melissa magee. >> it's certainly not bad and we do have a couple of showers on the way saturday but a nice recovery on sunday. outside we go sky 6 live in hd looking at the center city skyline, we've got a blue sky, fair weather clouds across the region and pretty mild temperatures for the month of october. right now in the city coming in at 77. 75 in reading, 77 in allentown

at the coast in cape may it is a touch cooler and it's 68 degrees and it's 75 degrees in trenton. here's satellite 6 along with action radar. you can see it's still dry around quiet along with high pressure in control. a couple clouds and showers streaking northward. off to the west we're tracking a cold front and this is going to be our weather maker as we head into the weekend. so the call from accuweather tonight, increasing clouds, not as cool as recent nights. we'll drop down to 51 in the suburbs and 59 in philadelphia with the overnight low. tracker 6 taking you into time, saturday 9:00 in the morning, it's a moustly cloudy start to our day, but we will start out dry. as we go throughout the afternoon hours, we track that moisture that will be approaching. it stays with us light in nature along that 95 corridor from trenton down to wilmington and it moves off the coast as we get into the overnight hours with some lingering moisture as we get into sunday morning.

so overall we're calling for 0.10 to 0.25 inch. by sunday it's starting to depart. down to the tropics, hurricane matthew a category 3 storm, winds sustained at 115 miles per hour. the center of the storm in between jacksonville and daytona beach. a tornado watch popping up for charleston and savannah at this hour. by 7:00 a.m. on saturday you notice another potential landfall there in charleston, south carolina as we get into the weekend and as we get into saturday niilt it's starting to move away from the carolinas and moving away to the south and east once again. jacksonville, florida, anywhere from 2 inches to as high as 7.84 inches there in virginia beach. so rain is a big issue. storm surge is another concern

for our coastal communities from the carolinas back down into florida. you can see we've got clouds around as we go throughout the day on saturday. then there's afternoon and evening showers on the way and it's 70 degrees. again not a whole lot of precipitation. on sunday, cloudy, some sun, it's breezy. high temperature of 66. definitely a cooler day in the wake of this front. monday sunny but cool and 65 and on tuesday, partly sunny with a high temperature coming in at 67 degrees. so we're also keeping a close eye on matthew and we've got the latest on the track coming up too. >> thank you, melissa. >> next on action news, local students get help finding the money to go to college by competing in a challenge. >> also a city-wide grin much is trying to take the fun out of halloween. details straight ahead. the roses are blooming in herbal essences

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taking part in a nationwide push to help students pay for college

responsibly. dr. william height officially launched philadelphia's citywide facts of completion finishing college initiative. the goal is to equip students with the financial plan to cover the cost of post-secondary education. city and state leaders were on hand for the announcement. the local initiative is in partnership with the philadelphia college prep roundtable. >> it was all about italian-american pride today at city hall as council members hosted a proclamation for columbus day. on sunday once again she will co-host the columbus day parade. it kicks off with a big festival that runs all day long. the grand marshal is actor danny iallo. police officers got a break

from patrols this afternoon. mcdonald's hosted a coffee with a cop event. as part of the recognition, every officer with the camden police department was treated to a free breakfast. the canine community also there to interact with the community. >> still to come on action news at 4:00, we'll take you inside hurricane matthew on what is likely the most dangerous flight anyone could take. >> a woman accused of setting a house on fire that took the lives of two firefighters goes before a judge. >> and a man pulled out a gun inside a cell phone store and leaves with a handful of cash.

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rick williams joins us. incredible images from florida. hurricane matthew sideswiped the state's atlantic coast early this morning. >> we just received updated numbers moments ago. power has been knocked out to more than 1 million people and many folks who chose to stay rather than evacuate are now surrounded by water. >> hurricane matthew is still being felt in the northern part

of florida, and it is now making its way into georgia. >> and officials on georgia's southern most county announced a curfew ahead of matthew starts at 10:00 tonight. meantime matthew hit florida as a category 3 and hung just off the coast line. the spared the most heavily populated of shoreline. but there wast torrential rain and massive storm surges. it was the most powerful storm to hit in over a decade. >> the potential for severe flooding, loss of life and property damage continues to exist and people need to continue to follow the instructions of their local officials. >> in the meantime, officials in haiti raised the death toll there more than 800 and say it could go up once again. let's get the very latest on the track of matthew from meteorologist melissa magee.

>> we continue to track hurricane matthew. you can see that the center of the storm has been paralleling the coast of florida. it's right in between jacksonville and daytona beach. this is a category 3 hurricane, winds at 115 miles per hour and you can see that riin from the carolinas all the way down to florida. we have the capability to flip over the mode and show you the buoy data right along the coast here. we've got wind gusting up to 75 miles per hour right off the coast of the center of the storm. we can show you some other numbers popping up near jacksonville. we've got strong wind gusts but as we have been saying gusts just off the coast of jacksonville about 46 miles per hour. we have seen the damaging wind gusts spared right along the coast with the exception of cape canaveral. but with all that moisture, the

wave heights are certainly on the high side. charleston we've got waves as high as 17 feet, 15 feet just to the south of savannah. right along the case from carolinas down to daytona beach. we've got tropical storm and hurricane warnings posted from the coast of the carolinas down to florida. the details coming up? >> thank you. hurricane hunters flew into the eye of matthew as part of the mission to sample the environment around the storm and help determine the track. >> meteorologists put their lives on the line to drop instruments into the storm to measure pressure, temperature and humidity. take a look. >> i'm talking to you from noaa49 which is a gulf stream jet flying at 45,000 feet. we're in the middle of an 8-hour

mission where we're sampling the environment around the storm and across the top of the storm. >> and they will repeat this mission until the storm is no longer a threat to land. >> right now i'm holding myself up against the wall. as the water and wind comes in from the ocean. >> reporter: also this video which gives you an idea just how strong the winds were this morning. this reporter was reporting live from daytona beach, florida. fortunately she and her photographer did make it through the reports unharmed. and our coverage of hurricane matthew continues on 6abc.com and the cabc news app with live streaming video with photos and a hurricane tracker to monitor matthew's progress 24 hours a day. >> the woman accused setting fire to a home that claimed the

lives of two wilmington firefighters will go to trial. a detective testified that the suspects confessed to committing the crime. action news reporter bob brooks is covering the story. he's outside the courthouse with the full story. bob? >> reporter: sharrie, good evening. investigators say the woman confessed. they accused her of being drunk and on anxiety medications before she lit the flames. it was a rough day in court for so many. that's the family and friends of the fallen firefighters. for the first time we heard testimony from investigators who arrested and charged 28-year-old beatrice ruiz. the family is too upset to speak only saying -- testimony on the investigation came from the wilmington police department's

chief investor. he stated that the woman was seen by two witnesses going in and out of the basement of her home around 2:00 a.m. the fire reportedly started in the basement. he adds after a second round of questioning, she confessed to starting it. it was stated she even took investigators through a walk-through of you how she lit a piece of paper on fire and put it inside a toy dollhouse. today wilmington fire chief didn't comment on the investigation specific, but he asked to keep firefighters in mind. we heard in court that both suffered from burns andstill in >> they're holding strong. they're doing a great job trying to hold things together. >> in her defense, her attorney says they're working on building a case but wouldn't specify details. >> there's a lot to learn about what happened and we just began learning about it today and i think the full story will come

out in court over time. >> reporter: she is charged with two counts of first degree murder, four counts of assault, seven counts of reckless endangerment and one count of arson. rick? >> bob, thank you. police are searching for a man who robbed a north philadelphia business at gunpoint. he stroels into the metro pcs store back on september 21st. he initially appeared to be a regular customer, until he pulled a large handgun and threatened the person working behind the counter. police say he got away with cash and was last seen riding a bicycle away from the scene. in berks county people are looking for thieves who targeted a popular house t the suspects

stole more than $1,000 in power tools being used to construct the house in exeter. the haunted house has helped to benefit local charities in years past but now police say it could be in jeopardy. >> philadelphia students had the chance to explore a career in manufacturing today. they took a tour of the ptr baylor facility and learned how the company creates recycling equipment. afterwards they sat down with the mayor to discuss what the city can be doing to build a skilled work force. >> writer, comedian and snl star tina fey made a trip home today. she was at tample university to receive an award for excellence in media. she talked to students and gave

advice. six other alumni were also honored. the event ended with a luncheon awards program. >> in less than 90 minutes, the philadelphia parking authority says it will begin cracking down on uber x and lyft in the city. this comes after a month-long legal battle between the two companies and city officials. the fight was laid to rest for the dnc but now the city says they are ready to enforce the law until those ride sharing companies strike a deal. there's more coming up tonight at 5:00. and coming up in health check tonight, protecting yourself from the sun is usually the top of your mind during the summertime, but what about the rift rest of the year? coming up tonight. >> voorhees police officers took a moment to sit down with the people they served today. citizens were invited to share a cup of coffee and a conversation with the officers. police are hoping to spark

positive interactions and held their second annual event in conjunction in national coffee with a cop day. >> the ncaa is making a big move to oppose north carolina's so-called bathroom bill. >> a warning, watching this video can make you completely relaxed. find out about the work that has become an online sensation.

. we have breaking news where crews are dealing with a tree that has fallen on to some electrical wires. officials have not said what caused the tree to fall. it happened just before 4:30 this afternoon. there are no injuries, but power has been affected in the area. peco has been called out. the street is roped off as crews work to clear the scene. we will keep you posted. the ncaa has chosen a new

location for the men's college basketball regional tournament next year. they withdraw the games from north carolina because of a state law that restricts the rights of the lgbt community. the rounds will be played in greenville, south carolina instead. the ncaa pulled other sporting events in protest of that so-called bathroom law. those games have also been moved to other states. >> people came out to cheer in japan. they won 41 medals, which is a record for that country. the paralympians. this is the first time both group of athletes joined together for the parade. in roselle park, new jersey,

this is a veteran's memorial that stands right outside the public library but council members voted to remove it. why? this cross right here. the imagery of a soldier kneeling over a grave marked by a christian cross was apparently offensive to some and sparked three different lawsuits. the american humanist association, a local councilwoman and her husband, all sued roselle park over it. they say by placing it in front of public buildings like this library here, it implies that that government endorses that religion. roselle park's mayor bought this with his own money but now it is coming down, but not without controversy. if you need a moment of peace, people all over the world are having a zen moment watching the incredibly beautiful mesmerizing art of calligraphy.

good handwriting is not dead, people. it is the thing. she says it takes her away from computer screens, it creates a sense of calm and it helps her connect in a special ancient way with clients looking for an elegant and lavish touch to their event. her videos are wildly viral on instagram with chan making calligraphy super hip again. and hello, thank you for being a friend and for celebrating the world's continued obsession with "the golden girls." they're back as action figures. yes, you will soon be able to bring rose, dorothy, blanch and sofia handbag home with you. these are the true super heros.

and i'm thinking stocking stuffer. >> it was a funny show. >> it still is. >> let's get another check of the roads tonight on your friday. >> matt is standing by with the update. hey, matt. >> i want everybody to watch some calligraphy before they hit the roads this afternoon. nice and zen because the ride is not going to make you feel calm. we've got several issues including a broken down truck for anybody heading down the shore, it's here on 42 southbound approaching 55. police are here as well but it's taking out the right lane. so extra slowing coming south of the walt whitman bridge. route 1 northbound side bucks county because of a crash right behind the overpass is taking out the right lane. wood haven out of north philadelphia into bucks county,

it is clogged up this afternoon. coming in 95 it's also clogged. a broken down trick here in the work here takes out the right lane. it has been a mess already this afternoon on 95 southbound. northbound side has another broken-down truck. that's taken out one lane with heavy delays. a medical emergency on the schuykill by gerard. delays are not gone. several earlier accidents on the pennsylvania turnpike still have us jammed. it's not quite as bad as it was yesterday afternoon on that turnpike. >> up next at 4:00, we get the latest on hurricane matthew and details on your weekend forecast. >> speaking of which, looking live at center city. it's a nice friday evening and the weekend, not too bad.

meteorologist melissa magee will have your exclusive forecast when we come right back. katie v/o: she works hard.

she stays late. but she gets paid 21% less than her male coworkers. pat toomey has voted time after time against equal pay for women, against pay that helps hard working families get ahead. katie o/c: for my daughters and yours, i'll fight for equal pay for women. families need it; you've earned it. katie v/o: i'm katie mcginty, and i approve this message because it's your turn to get ahead.

homeowner in palm coast, florida today. it shows the storm surge coming up and crashing into the sliding glass doors of a beachfront home. many people believe the wind in a hurricane is the biggest threat, experts say storm surge does the most damage. >> so many images coming out related to matthew and we have a different story happening here locally. >> it's really nice. we're going to get into matthew because we just got an update but our weather here at home is very nice. you can see it's dry, high pressure is dominating. it has been a beautiful afternoon with temperatures so far in the 70s across the region. right now in the city coming in

at 77. same thing in allentown, 67 out to the poconos, 75 at the coast, satellite 6 along with action radar, you can see we've got dry conditions now throughout new england, some showers streaming northward but what we are awaiting as we head into the weekend is a cold front off to the west. we could have a few showers on the way as we get into saturday afternoon. tonight increasing clouds, not as cool as recent nights. we drop down to 59 in the suburbs and 59 in philadelphia for the overnight low. here is the set-up as we head into our saturday. it's a mostly cloudy start to our day. we start out cloudy but dry. a high temperature coming in at 70 degrees. we track this cold front that comes on through so afternoon and evening showers are likely with matthew still staying to our south and east. by sunday in the wake of this cold front, it's certainly a cooler day.

high temperature just 66 degrees. we've got a stiff north to northwesterly wind so it will be cool and it will be quite breezy throughout the day on sunday as high pressure returns across the region. here's the very latest with hurricane matthew. the update just came in from the national hurricane center. this is now a category 2 storm with the winds sustained at 110 miles per hour. so there has been some weakening, just a little bit, by about 5 miles per hour sustained with hurricane matthew. it's moving to the north at about 12 miles per hour. so it continues to move to the north and takes that hook over the carolinas with potentially another landfall as we get into saturday afternoon. as we get into the latter end of our weekend, it's back out into the open waters of the atlantic and moving back down to the south and east potentially close to the bahamas as we get into early next week. right now the center of matthew is about 40 miles to the east of jacksonville, florida. the warning is really from the

top of wilmington, myrtle beach, down to savannah and jacksonville. this will remain as we head into the start of the weekend. as we've got wind bands and rain that continues to batter the eastern coast of florida and storm surge is going to be a concern as well for these coastal communities. back here at home, the 7-day forecast showing you cloudy tomorrow, high temperature up to 70 degrees. on sunday, clouds to sun, it is breezy. sunny but cool on moon and it's 65 for a high. on tuesday partly sunny 67 and 70 on wednesday with clouds and some sun. on thursday, a mix of sun and clouds, 71. seasonable next friday. a high trer coming in at 68. the latest update with matthew is that it is now a category 2 storm with winds at 110 miles per hour moving to the north. that's the big change with this update

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it is friday and that means it's freebie friday. we start with a pretty special and pretty cool freebe from chuck e. cheese's. they are giving away 50 prize tickets. in order to get them and print them, you must take their antibullying pledge. the offer is good through november 13th. we have the link on how you can grab that deal and spread the love. through sunday it is free coffee week at 7-11. get any size hot coffee friday when you download the 7-eleven app and you click the link for that. cycle bar, a brand new national indoor cycle studio is opening its first area location here. they open on october 23rd in exton, pennsylvania.

but from october 13th until october 23rd they're offering free classes to anyone who registers. they're also having a grand opening party on october 19th with lots of freebies, food and drinks. details on cabc.com. speaking free classes for new members and moms. for the moms, bring your baby for a free baby bjorn barre class. for new members, your first class is always free, mom or not. and there are of course so many free events on top, including this one. this weekend it's philadelphia open studio tours which is pretty cool. all the details on 6abc.com have a great weekend. >> a birthday party at the philadelphia zoo today was full of monkeying around.

the female orangutan turned 17 years old today. there were treats for the guests of honor and visitors also sang happy birthday. >> she opens her gifts more politely. >> that will do it for action news at 4:00. i'm sharrie williams. join me along with brian, adam and ducis rodgers tonight and every night on phl17. >> action news at 5:00 is next.

>> ♪ >> "action news." delaware valley's leading news program. with jaime apody, meteorologist cecily tynan rick williams and monica malpass. >> ♪ >> this is a triple threat. we're going have significant rain. we will have potentially record setting surge and very, very dangerous winds. >> i contain there's nothing humorous nothing funny about this the event that we are about to experience. >> hurricane matthew still hammering the southeast. tonight we're getting our first look at some of the damage and the destruction the storm left behind along the

florida coast and while some officials there say they dodged a bullet, authorities in georgia and south carolina say the worst could be on the way. >> looking live now at jacksonville florida in a matter of hours matthew is expected to cross state lines. difficult to see through this picture here potentially though the storm would plow right into south carolina's coast. now officials are making their pleas to evacuate even more urgent and here's why. haiti continues to feel the effects of matthew days after it made its first landfall there. tonight the death toll has topped at least 270 and threatens go more. >> the big story on "action news" is the continued threat hurricane matthew continues to pose. >> we have live team coverage on its effects on travels in philadelphia first the latest from the storm from