and police converged on the modern art museum in ankara turkey today the scene of a political assassination. the russian ambassador to turkey andre karloff was standing at a podium introducing an art exhibit on russia when a man dressed in a suit opened fire and killed him. the gunman an off duty riot police officer yelled the words don't forget aleppo, don't forget syria. russia has backed syrian president az sadd in the syrian civil war. turkey is on the other side. it has supported the rebels. police killed the gunman. world news tonight with david muir will have much more on these developing international stories. that is next at 6:30 right here on channel6. donald trump has been officially voted president-elect by the electoral college. the state of texas put him over the top at exactly 5:28 tonight but texas had a two

defector electors trump will punish with 304 not 306. walter perez was in harrisburg today as pennsylvania's electors cast their ballots. >> reporter: the 58 electoral college in the commonwealth of pennsylvania made it official today. [cheers and applause] >> reporter: it was unanimous as expected formally giving donald trump all 20 of pennsylvania's electoral votes. it marks the end of a stretch that that most of the electors admit was pretty overwhelming. fresh lawrence tabas the only elector from philadelphia says thousands of people tried convincing him not to cast his vote for mr. trump. >> i'm much more popular than anybody in my family thinks i should be. i've gotten 10s and tens of thousands of e-mails, hundreds and hundreds of letters a day. >> reporter: as you can see, a few hundred anti-trump protestors rallied at the statehouse as the electors

convened. >> i think he's going to be a dangerous president and i think that he inspires a lot of hate. >> reporter: still the electors we spoke with say their responsibility was to express the will of the voters of pennsylvania. >> more people in the commonwealth voted for donald trump than they did for secretary clinton. so i think that the decision was very easy quite honestly uh these elector say this vote was never in doubt. >> i know a lot was made in the media by pundits that there may be some stuff in doubt but it never really was. >> it was so assured that if you had gone to vegas to bet that we would all cast our votes for donald trump you'd have enough money now retire. >> reporter: and donald trump is the first republican presidential hopeful to win pennsylvania in nearly 30 years. and so now the next step, of course, inauguration on january 20th when donald trump becomes the 45th american president. reporting from harrisburg walter perez channel6 "action

news." >> the delegations in new jersey and delaware cast their votes for democrat hillary clinton. new jersey's 14 electors met in trenton this afternoon to formally vote for clinton and her running mate senator tim kaine. and delaware's three electors cast their ballots for clinton gathering at legislative haul in dover. other news at this hour police are investigating the death of a 36-year-old woman in the holmesburg section of philadelphia. police say the victim was found dead at 8:30 this morning in the kitchen of a home on the 8600 block of gillespie street. a man is being questioned but right now no charges have been filed. police have not said yet how the victim died. a pediatrician who is facing child pornography charges has died in the montgomery county prison. 48-year-old david kennedy died yesterday. officials are awaiting the results of an autopsy performed this morning. kennedy was a physician at personal care pediatrics in pennsburg.

he was arrested on november 28th. late today police identified the two people killed in a crash in northeast philadelphia last night. police say ramon rodriguez camacho and lorraine rivera died when their mercedes sedan slammed into the back of a school bus. the accident happened on roosevelt boulevard near woodward street at 9 o'clock last night. the car burst into flames. police say the mercedes was traveling well above the 45 miles an hour speed limit. only the driver was on board the bus and she was not hurt. today a judge dismissed the lawsuit aimed at blocking the philadelphia beverage tax. the american beverage association and others filed a suit to stop the 1.5 cents per ounce tax set to take evening next month. they argue the tax duplicates the state sales tax. mayor jim kenney says he'll pay for prekindergarten community schools and recreation centers with the

tax. today is best known as the busiest mailing day of the busiest mailing week of the year. and one of the busiest mailing facilities is the united states postal service processing facility in bellmawr, new jersey. "action news" reporter bob brooks is live inside the sprawling plant. good evening, bob. >> reporter: good evening, jim. sprawling indeed. it is the biggest night of the year for the workers here at the plant. it is all hands-on deck even the manager says he's staying until 1:00 a.m. so you know it is a big and important night. behind me here you see these letters zipping through the assembly line here. these are christmas letters expected one point million to pass through here tonight. the employees know it's up to them now to make the holidays happy. how do you handle the busiest mailing day of the year? when inn bellmawr we got an up close look at how. it starts with a dedicated team inside the south jersey distribution plant.

>> make sure everyone get their gift, they get their gifts on time and they come like they're supposed to, nice and neat. >> reporter: and one that's confident. >> i been here almost a year and i'm the best. >> reporter: bure the best. >> i'm the best. me and her we the best. >> reporter: the 837 employees know happy holidays for millions of people are riding on them. >> they going to receive all their packages on time. >> reporter: inside it's full steam ahead. according to manager david robinson the number of packages and christmas cards that they'll sort through today is well above average. >> we expect to cancel about 1.2 million letters today we put the postmark on and move it on to its next step. we expect to process about 100,000 originating packages today. >> reporter: the plant more than 360,000 square feet and it's super impressive automated package processing system sifts through more than 8,000 packages per hour. it's necessary when your staff is facing this long lines at the post offices today.

in bellmawr the line was almost out the door. while wait something made friends. >> i might get invited to her house for dinner. >> we're discussing menus and shipping and so on. >> reporter: others reminded us what the holidays are all about. >> package for my son. he's in kuwait he's a marine. kevin god i wish you were here. me and mom miss you, your brothers and sisters miss you. man, we love you and we're proud of you. >> reporter: that is what the holidays are all about. take a look at your screen right now. these are the deadlines for the usps mail. december 20 that's first class december 21st priority mail, and december 23rd priority mail express. back out here live they are busy as long as the packages and letters come in they continue to work as they want us all to have a very merry christmas and happy holidays. reporting live in bellmawr bob brooks channel6 "action news." jim. >> thank you bob. shipping deadlines for other carriers are also quickly approaching.

this wednesday december 21st is the deadline for ups' second day option with fed ex you have an extra day shipping by thursday december 22nd will guarantee delivery in time for christmas. a four-year-old girl from lehigh county is giving back to the friends she made at children's hospital of philadelphia. jillian massey was being treated for brain cancer at chop until her doctors said she was strong fluff to go home a few weeks ago. that's when jillian and her family decided to to do something for the patients who have to spend the holidays in the hospital. so they put out a request for toys on facebook and the donations poured in. today jillian was helped by volunteers to bring more than 3,000 gifts to the hospital. >> it's incredible. i said it's kind of like christmas morning for me today waking up to all this and just seeing all the people that have come out and just knowing

what all these toys are going to do for all the families at chop. >> the ridley township police department was on hand to escort jillian and her family to children's hospital. >> ♪ coming up on "action news" tonight reacting to what he thought was family crisis a-chester county man was scammed out of $8,000 and he shares his story next hoping that no one else falls victim. its eagles lane johnson set to return following his 10 game suspension. doug pederson reacts to having his offensive tackle back on the field. melissa. >> jim, cold temperatures across much of the northeast. yesterday we had a high in philadelphia of 60 degrees. right now we are below freezing and at 29 but a pattern change on the way. details coming up with the full and exclusive accuweather forecast. >> those stories and much more when "action news" continues tonight. >> ♪

>> the holiday season unfortunately a time when police see increased activity by scammers. some of the scams are especially insidious because they play on the victim's emotions. "action news" consumer reporter nydia han says tredyffrin police are working on just such a case. nydia spoke to the victim. >> reporter: an 89-year-old grandfather trying do the right thing has learned a very important lesson and boy did it cost him. $8,000 right before christmas. >> hope nobody else gets circumstanced into it like i was. >> reporter: even though he feels foolish and doesn't want to be identified sam is sharing his story with our "action news" viewers. >> he said to me, don't call my dad.

don't call my dad. you can't call my daddism sam believed his 16-year-old grandson was calling him for $8,000 in bail money after having been arrested. >> it shook me up a lot because i thought he's never been in anything in his life before any kind of problem i'm said this is really strange. >> reporter: although strange sam did what he was told. he loaded wal-mart gift cards as well as itunes gift cards from wawa with $8,000 then gave the codes on the back to another caller an alleged police officer. >> he said you were scammed. >> reporter: tredyffrin police say this is a common scam. and to avoid it, families should come up with their own code word to use during emergencies. also, if you get a call like this one, hang up and investigate. >> they're trying to push you to get you to do something immediately before you have time to think it through. buy yourself some time by getting a number. >> reporter: police also say retailers should better educate their staff to be on the lookout for suspicious

activity and take action. >> engage the potential buyer of the gift cards in this case our victim. they might be able to stop something before it even gets started. and they could even call the police if they think the person is liable to be part of a scam. >> reporter: wawa is trying to be proactive. right now it has a cash only policy for the purchase of third party gift cards and says very recently it set a $550 limit for any single gift card purchase. i'm nydia han in tredyffrin channel6 "action news." >> in delaware the christina school district is forming a new partnership with the university of delaware's college of education. officials gathered at stubs elementary school in wilmington today to sign the agreement making it all official. the new partnership will that support the students and teachers at stubs elementary school. nearly 500 children enjoyed an afternoon of fun at the archbishop's christmas benefit for children.

the saint athanasious choir sang carols to welcome guest to the sheraton hotel in center city philadelphia. archbishop chaput also spent time with the kids before the catholic community choir performed songs from how the grinch stole christmas. this is the 61st year for this benefit. >> ♪

>> all right, let's not look backwards. >> we will in a second. >> let's not second guess anything that happeneded. >> we will in a second. >> let's look ahead because one right tackle is coming back. >> yeah a guy they absolutely need but we don't know what kind of shape this guy is in right now. lane johnson's 10 game suspension is over. the too many went two and eight in lane's absence. the birds have a game thursday night against the new york giants. they don't dare johnson at righy l johnson has been at his home in oklahoma. no word what kind of shape he's in if he's in any kind of shape at all. yesterday the birds were on

their fifth different right tackle. coach says he has no other choice but to play johnson. >> well, yeah, barber is injured. what else do i have left? you know what i mean. i'm just going lane you're the guy. i don't care if you're x weight. you got play. he was about 318, 319 when he left us so expect to see him about that weight i guess later today and, you know, with the injury situation you got to go. >> all right now to yesterday's loss in baltimore. forget monday morning quarterbacking. the second guessing began before the eagles even tried that failed two-point conversion. the birds scored a touchdown late. instead of kicking to tie the game coach elected to go for a win with the two-point converge. ravens went all out blitz pass dee flecked at the line of scrimmage and the eagles lost. coach pederson says he wanted to win the game right then and there as opposed to going to overtime.

as for the play call he defends it. >> in my mind there was zero opportunity to to run because what -- what we anticipated is what we got defensively. they gapped out. they zero blitzed us. there was not going to be a lane. it was going to be a 1 yard loss if we tried to run the football at that time. >> to the ice flyers suffered a set back over the weekend. they're back at action tonight at home against nashville. the 10 game win streak was snapped saturday in dallas. regardless they have made some headway in the standings. they are within six points of division lead. tonight's home game offers the flyers an opportunity to get back on the winning track. >> coming back home, you know, we've got our next two games here we've got to take advantage of that. we've played pretty well here at home. obviously there's no guarantees, you know, in terms of what that provides for you, wins losses wise but we got to do what we can to control our performance and like i said come back and be determined team for 60 minutes at home tonight. >> the sixers are off tonight.

meanwhile joel embiid has been very much on. it's bone a short career but it was career night nonetheless. embiid poured in 33 points in last night's sixers win over the nets. embiid scored 17 of those points in the third quarter. he also had 10 rebounds and blocked three shots. the sixers won 108-107 and embiid gave the fans an up close look at his athleticism. sixers will host the pelicans tomorrow night. jimmy rollins on the move once again. signed a minor league deal with the giants. this will be his third team since leaving the phils. j. roll spent last season with the white sox before he was designated for assignment in june. last season he batted just .221. trying hang on. >> all right. >> coming up on "action news" melissa magee with the accuweather forecast when we continue in just a moment. >> ♪

>> the week ahead from accuweather and melissa magee. >> jim it's chilly outside right now but temperatures will be slowly moderating as we get into the end of this week into the holiday over the week. we'll show you what's going on with storm tracker6 live double scan radar. you can see it's dry, no issues with precipitation. but it is pretty cold. we'll show you the picture outside. sky6 live in hd from our city hall camera looking at dillworth park. a lot of people on the ice rink bundled up for sure. you can also see the christmas tree there in the distance as we are getting closer to christmas. the high today in philadelphia just 34. in fact we've seen a wild swing in temperatures. on friday we had a high of 26. saturday 36. we peaked to 60 yesterday.

and only today in philadelphia coming in at 34 well below the average of 44 for this time of year so looking at the highlights, the six to 10 day outlook, the greatest above normal temperatures will be across the southeast but this is good news for us because we're also expecting a pattern change across the midatlantic and the northeast with temperatures above where they normally should be for this time of year. it's 29 in the city, 26 in allentown, 13 the poconos and 30 at the coast in cape may. here's satellite6 along with action radar. it's dry and quiet with high pressure in control. cold canadian high across our region and a small band of clouds setting up across the midatlantic region but it will be turning clear as we go throughout the rest of tonight. in fact that's the call from accuweather over the next 12 hours. otherwise it's cold. it is calm. 17 in lancaster for the overnight low, 17 in reading. we'll drop down 24 in cape may and 20 degrees in trenton for the overnight low. here's the day planner for us on tuesday. still plenty of sunshine despite the sun temperatures

once again below average. the high tomorrow 39 but we'll start off the day 7:00 a.m. with a temperature of 23. the lower 30's at 10:00 a.m. we're in the upper 30's at 1:00 p.m. 38 by 4:00 p.m. and 33 by 7:00 p.m. tomorrow night underneath a mostly clear excitement here'sky.high pressure in contr. high pressure at 395 degrees below average. area of low pressure stays to our south. then a southern high pressure moves in and that warms us up on wednesday for the first day of winter officially a high temperature of 44. so it's a bright start but cloudier finish as we track this area of low pressure that moves through as we get into thursday and really thursday night. here's the exclusive accuweather 7-day forecast. sunny still chilly tomorrow, high temperature of 39. wednesday sun to clouds, a high of 44 for the first day of winter. thursday cloudy with some sun around. the eagles at home at the linc, high temperature coming in at 46. and kickoff around 8:25. it's going to be a cold one,

rather cloudy with that northwesterly wind at 12 to 20 miles per hour. kickoff temperature only 38 so extra layers definitely needed if you're heading over to the linc. fourth quarter 35. gusty breeze friday. christmas eve 48. sunday mostly cloudy with a shower around for christmas day it's mild, though, a high temperature of 49 so it doesn't look like it's going to be too white across the area if you're hoping for some snow on christmas day. on monday, very mild for kwanzaa and a high temperature coming in at 55. so, it's chilly early this week temperatures slowly coming up jim. >> melissa thank you. finally the sounds of the season fill the air outside the delaware county courthouse in media today. >> ♪ "action news" was there as more than 75 third, fourth and fifth grade students from ridley township elementary

schools performed christmas classics for employees of the courthouse and for all passersby. abc's world news with david muir is next on channel6. "action news" continues at 10:00 on phl17 with sharrie williams, brian taff, adam joseph and ducis rodgers. then please join us for "action news" at 11:00 here on channel6. for cecily tynan, melissa magee, ducis rodgers and the entire "action news" team, i'm jim gardner. we hope you'll join us for "action news" at 11:00. >> ♪

tonight, breaking news. the horrific images coming in from the christmas market. the truck plowing into a crowd in berlin. at least nine killed, dozens injured. you will hear from witnesses on the scene tonight, and what the white house just said about this apparent terrorist attack. also breaking tonight, the chilling moment. the assassin pulling out his gun in the middle of a gallery. then, the ambassador assassinated in front of the cameras. the gunman shouting his message. >> it's official. just a short time ago in this country, electors finalizing election day. but not before tensions boil over. >> this is my america! the manhunt under way, and the new reward tonight, after the deadly road rage. the little boy shot and killed, riding with his grandmother. and the deep freeze tonight. wind chills 50 below zero. thousands of flights