sanctuary cities could lose federal money if they fail to cooperate with immigration fishes. sessions was basicallily restating a position taken by then candidate donald trump during the campaign but philadelphia mayor jim kenney today refused to back down despite the apparent sacrifice philadelphia might have to make if it remains a sanctuary city. lie at city hall is "action news" reporter vernon odom. vernon you've got the full story. >> reporter: jim, mayor kenney questions the timing of the attorney general's announcement today. presiding over a celebration of immigrant owned businesses he responded the trump white house ultimatum that philadelphia drop its sanctuary city policy of refusing to turn over undocumented persons for deportation unless they're

suspected criminals. >> get a warrant we'll be happy to turn the person over to you. it's just the way it's -- it's the way it should be. it's the way it is with everybody else just get a warrant. >> reporter: the attorney general issued the warning from the white house today. president trump has long been threatening to withdraw millions of dollars in law enforcement funding unless sanctuary cities like philadelphia change their ways. >> the department of justice will require that jurisdictions seeking or applying for department of justice grants certify complies with 1373 as a condition of receiving those awards. >> reporter: the mayor believes the timing of this is designed to draw the focus away from the troubles of the trump white house. >> took a thumping on healthcare pretty badly amongst their own party. they need to shift the focus back on something they're comfortable bullying people about. >> reporter: this reaction from one of the immigrant business leaders today. >> one thing that -- when it comes to those laws is that it does give the impression that

immigrants these crimes which is not the case. >> ultimately this will be resolved in the court. this is why we have courts. >> reporter: jim, the mayor's staff says in 2015, the city received $26 million in federal funds for law enforcement and so this potentially could be a very costly standoff with the trump white house. live at city hall, i'm vernon odom channel6 "action news." >> vernon, thank you. world news tonight with david muir will have more continuing coverage on the trump administration announcement, that is next at 6:30 right after "action news." a man was killed early this afternoon during some kind of industrial accident at the cheltenham mall. live at scene is "action news" reporter bob brooks. bob, i know that information has been scarce throughout the afternoon. have you been able to learn anything more about the specifics here?

>> reporter: well, jim, it has been scarce but i just got an update from police. this is being pegged as a horrible construction accident. we are hearing that a man was crushed when an old bank safety deposit box fell on him at the old wells fargo bank as they were trying to move it. this is the situation behind me right now. you can see special operations are out here. they've been out here all afternoon trying to get this massive deposit box removed. it's been a tragic situation going on all afternoon. cheltenham police confirm a man is dead inside the cheltenham mall. he is 35-year-old jonathan mouse of elizabethtown pennsylvania. they say he was and crushed to death after an old bank safety deposit box fell on him. detectives say work was being done at the old location of the wells fargo bank. crews were trying to move that safety deposit box. we're told it was up on a lift and it fell killing him. for hours fire crews worked to try and free the victim but the safety deposit box is so

big and so heavy special operations have been called in for the removal. and that's happening right now. just about two hours ago a montgomery county structural collapse unit arrived on scene. they've been busy inside trying to get that box lifted. and again, this is a live look here, this operation is still going on, those official special units here trying to remove that deposit box. now, we are hearing that this victim is also leaving behind a wife and a young child. for now reporting live at the cheltenham mall bob brooks channel6 "action news." jim. >> thank you bob. philadelphia police are trying to track down the student who brought a bb gun o the school at simon gratz mastery charter. officers were called to the school in the tioga-nicetown section of philadelphia at 9:20 this morning. police confiscated the gun. fortunately nobody was hurt. a synagogue in the tacony section of the city has for the third time been attacked by vandals. although to say vandals may be

under stating the seriousness of the crime at least to members of the congregation. somebody hurled a baseball sized rock through a stained glass window of temple menorah kenesetmenorahkeneseth chai. walter what do police know. >> reporter: they have good surveillance video came courtesy of newly installed high resolution surveillance cameras outside that synagogue. officials here at northeast detectives say they have very clear photos of the two young people involved in this case describing them as two caucasian boys between the ages of 12 and 14 years of age. now, they're not releasing the video because the suspects are minors. investigators say they believe at least one if not both of these young suspects were involved in the first two cases. the first in december when one rock was thrown through a window, the second in january when eight windows were shattered and then yesterday afternoon when one more window was and smashed. now, investigators say they're not approaching this as a hate

crime, they're approaching it as young people doing something really, really stupid. >> they caused a lot of alarm, you know, last two times especially and everything going on across the country and in the cemetery as you know, which is also in this division, so, you know, obviously we're going to get this cleared up in the next day or two. >> reporter: now, that cemetery reference refers to the dozens of toppled headstones at mount carmel jewish cemetery about a mile away from the synagogue. we should mention that investigation is still wide open at this point and there's absolutely no link between that case and the vandalism at the synagogue but anyone with any information about either of these cases is asked to call northeast detectives. reporting live from tacony, walter perez channel6 "action news." jim. >> thank you, walter. also in philadelphia members of black lives matter are calling for the resignation of district attorney seth williams. they rallied outside the center city d.a.'s office today. williams faces a 23 counts indictment for allegedly

seeking out thousands of dollars in bribes. he pleaded not guilty in federal court last week. aside from rallying for a resignation protesters are calling for judicial review of all cases williams has prosecuted. new jersey governor chris christie is expected to join a white house effort to combat opioid abuse. christie has dedicated his final year in office to curbing heroin and prescription drug addiction. his role on the federal task force is expected to be announced later this week. christie met with president trump about the issue in february. tonight investigators are still trying to determine what sparked a two alarm fire that damaged several businesses in wilmington today. this is what is left of the sports connection along the 400 block of market street. a fire broke out in the building yesterday afternoon. the fire chief says all the stock inside the store made it difficult for his crews to battle the flames. it took more than 60 firefighters three hours to get the fire under control.

this morning they were still putting out hot spots. >> it took a joint effort. we had to call in the county to assist us but our goal was no injuries and we kept it to the building of origin. >> a building next to sports connection suffered smoke and water damage. the red cross is helping five people who live above the businesses. officials from virtua health defended their ems service and employees today. virtua says it is under attack by camden county freeholders who claim that their care is woefully inadequate in some municipalities. >> virtua ems teams and our community partners work tirelessly to provide top notch medical care at your doorstep each and every day with passion and more importantly with compassion. >> camden county freeholders are hosting local mayors for a public safety forum tomorrow. virtua says the meeting wreaks of back door political deal making and that freeholders want cooper health to take over ems services in the

county. a county spokesperson says the issue is virtua's response times and two few rigs on the road to serve the population. coming up on "action news" tonight, the philadelphia museum of art is set to break ground on a massive expansion project. we'll give you a sneak peek of the plans. and the eagles brandon brooks talks about his weekend as a wedding crasher. >> well, keep the umbrellas on hand. i'm tracking some scattered showers and thunderstorms tomorrow and a steady soaking later this week. i'll run it all down in the accuweather 7-day forecast. >> those stories and much more when "action news" continues tonight. >> ♪

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>> they have been talking about this for years and doing prep work for about a year but on thursday it all begins in earnest. they'll begin a huge expansion of the philadelphia museum of art including the construction of galleries beneath the great east terrace in front of the building. "action news" reporter katherine scott has the story. >> reporter: the philadelphia museum of art opened to the public in 1928. as it approaches its 100th birthday the museum will officially break down thursday on its $196 million core project to improve and expand the museum. >> well, the core project as the title suggests really starts at the heart of the museum. >> reporter: museum director timothy robb explains this comprehensive plan will be rolled out in phases the result of more than a decade of work and was developed by architect frank gary. >> it's a extraordinary design

that will make it ared again for the next 100 years. >> reporter: as evidenced by the equipment, work has already begun. the plan is vast. it includes a vaulted walkway running from the kelly drive side of the museum which will serve as the primary entrance. lenfest haul at the west entrance will be renovated. the auditorium will be removed. this wall carved away and a two story public space known as the forum will be created. >> why? because we'll be expanding the museum down at the lower level. we need to get more people there. we need more space for american art, modern and contemporary art. >> reporter: most of the public collections will remain accessible before the core project's completion in 2020 but you'll see some closures along the way partitions like this one as the museum is updated and reorganized. this thursday the museum will be unveiling its plan to the public. admission will be pay what you wish. you can coming you can get a hard hat tour, watch some videos and learn a little bit more about what will be

happening here. at the art museum katherine scott, channel6 "action news. >> philadelphia mayor jim kenney kicked off a city wide celebration of jazz appreciation month. it presented late show with stephen colbert band leader jon batiste with the benny colson award. batiste was honored because of his work in schools and universities across the country including philadelphia's curtis institute. jazz guitarist received. it was awarded pos posthumously

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i got instant game, gus. instant game. (giggles) keep on scratchin'. >> one philadelphia eagle gained some fans for life this weekend. he'll never lose them. >> this is a very unique story, jim. it will be awhile before we see the eagles on the field after all we're still in march but eagles guard brandon brooks made some news recently as jaime apody tells us brooks is part offensive lineman and part wedding crasher.

>> i'm j collins. >> bobby o'shea. >> reporter: strangers showing up at a random wedding. unlike the movie brandon brooks was extended an invitation. the big surprise, he accepted. eagles fan jeff lane reached out to brooks because he's a fellow miami of ohio alum. never expecting him to actually say yes but. >> i got the letter. i opened it. it says miami alum and from there, you know, i kind of thought to myself, you know, why not. >> reporter: the fact that this wedding what you in ohio didn't matter. so brooks sent an rsvp and booked a plane ticket. what is the reaction from this guy when you show up. >> it was funny 'cause he was like i didn't think you were going to show up. i'm impressed you showed up. >> reporter: he did posing for pictures with lane and his new bride marnie along with friends and family. lane told me couldn't be nicer. brooks said the pleasure was all his. >> he had the nerve to write me the letter and that's good

enough for me so, you know, i definitely knew i was going to go. the thing is i don't look at doing something look that reaching out to the fans kind of as an exception. i kind of wonder why it's not the rule. a lot of times because of who we are we get put on this pedestal and, you know, sometimes people believe we're larger than life but at the end of the day we put our clothes on like anybody else. it was my honor to be invited to the ceremony. >> reporter: one thing for sure brooks and his relationship with eagles fans will be a happy marriage indeed. jaime apody channel6 "action news." >> the nfl draft is exactly one month away if you haven't heard it will be held in philadelphia. if a few players from villanova have caught the eyes of nfl scouts. >> the 6-foot seven defensive lineman took part in novembers

pro day he was definitely the star attraction. nearly every nfl team was represented. he's projected as a third or fourth rounder but there's talk he might go higher. either way he knows he still had as to prove himself. >> it's real important 'cause i mean there's still questions just coming from nova, that's a big question. do i love the sport, that's a big question because like honestly like people see like with my finance degree or accounting degree that they say i don't really need football but like i need football. they don't know how much. >> nfl news. in a 31 to one vote the owners approved the raider moves to las vegas. raiders owner mark davis says he plans to stay in oakland though for the next two seasons. flyers needed a win last night and they got it. in pittsburgh of all places. they beat the penguins six-two. the flyers remain alive in the wild card race but just barely. they are six points back with seven games to play. the flyers will host ottawa tomorrow. the final four is set.

north carolina will face oregon while the upstart south carolina gamecocks will take on gonzaga. both games are saturday in glendale, arizona. top seeded tarheels got there with a thrilling victory over kentucky. wildcats tied the game at 73 with 10 seconds to go but in a blink of an eye north carolina went the other way and luke may hit the eventual game winner with less than a second left on the clock. north carolina won 75-73. good games in this tournament thus far. >> thank you ducis. cecily tynan with the accuweather forecast when we continue in just a minute. >> ♪ horns on their helmets.

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and cecily tynan. >> little bit unsettled out there. storm tracker6 live double scan showing we have dried out since the rain this morning and finally our skies are clearing. sky6 taking a look over the commodore barry bridge. took awhile but we're finally seeing some sunshine and blue skies in philadelphia. and temperatures back up above normal. past three days a bit of a rollercoaster ride. saturday ahead of that cold front 77 degrees the high. yesterday the clouds, the showers, our high only 45 degrees. today 61 degrees which is 4 degrees above normal and temperatures should rise even a little bit more tomorrow. right now 61 in philadelphia, millville 69, wilmington 64. we have a warm front that's kind of limping through our region so areas to the north quite a bit cooler. allentown 57 with the clouds, reading 57 and trenton currently 56 degrees. satellite and radar showing that steady rain this morning, the thick clouds really beginning to break up. we're seeing a slice of nice south of philadelphia with some sunshine.

if you look out to the west, though, thicker clouds and scattered showers beginning to roll in and a wider view showing those low pressure really strong system east of saint louis and this is actually causing some severe weather across parts of kentucky and tennessee and this whole system is sliding to the east. so that will keep us unsettled tonight, tomorrow and really tomorrow night. so, tonight lots of clouds, a few late showers possible, 52 degrees the low in philadelphia. so, pretty mild. yet again like last night, some patchy fog developing and some of that could be dense, could cause some problems tomorrow morning. 46 in allentown, cape may 48 and wilmington 52 degrees. future tracker showing keep the umbrellas on hand. around midnight scattered showers perhaps a rumble of thunder out to the southwest. as we head through the day tomorrow we'll get some waves of showers and thunderstorms. about 11 o'clock in the morning, another wave moving through. we get a break in the action early in the afternoon, another wave with some showers perhaps some thunderstorms south of philadelphia for the

evening commute and then more lingering showers into tomorrow night. so, tomorrow in a nutshell we're looking at scattered showers, perhaps some thunderstorms oh not a washout, no the all day heavy rain. however, any areas that get a thunderstorm, best chance south of philadelphia. there's going to be a lot of moisture in the air so any thunderstorms could pull down some heavy downpours. temperatures depend on where you are. north of philadelphia only in the low 60's. south of philadelphia the low 70's. philadelphia we should make it up to a high of about 69 degrees. then on wednesday, this is the pick of the week. low pressure moving away from us. high pressure building in. loads of sunshine. it will be breezy but temperatures above normal, 64 degrees. winds up to about 15 miles per hour. that high pressure builds in on thursday bringing us much cooler conditions temperatures only in the 50's and then friday is looking to be a washout. so, the exclusive accuweather 7-day forecast, tomorrow temperature-wise it's mild, 69 degrees but lots of clouds,

scattered showers and thunderstorms on and off through the day. behind this system on wednesday, sunny, really a nice day, 64 degrees, on the breezy side. cool air arriving on thursday. we start the day the with sun increasing clouds. friday is a great day for indoor activity. a strong low pressure will move right over us. that means a soaking rain probably one to 2 inches of rain. it will be cool and raw. the high only 48 degrees and heading into the weekend, saturday transition day. probably a few lingering showers in the morning, then mostly cloudy skies. the afternoon high a seasonable 58 degrees. the better of the two days this weekend should be sunday looking really nice, partly sunny with a high of 61 and monday clouds will break for some sunshine and a high of are 63 degrees. so, you definitely want your umbrella on hand tomorrow. scattered showers perhaps even a rumble of thunder. that's a sign that spring is here. >> all right, thank you cecily. the next time you report for jury duty in philadelphia

you'll notes a bright colorful change. the court system unveiled several murals today that will be going up in that room 195, that's where jurors report for civil cases. nathaniel lee who works at mural arts philadelphia came up with the designs. he says they highlight the concept of justice, community and diversity. the artwork will be installed this coming fall. abc's "world news tonight" is next with david muir right here on channel6. "action news" continues at 10:00 on phl 17 with brian taff sharrie williams adam joseph and ducis rodgers. please join us for "action news" at 11:00 here on channel6. for cecily tynan ducis rodgers the entire "action news" team, i'm jim gardner. we hope you'll join us for "action news" at 11:00. >> ♪

tonight, several developing stories as we come on the air. the severe weather alerts up in several states right now. major storms, damaging winds, the tornado sirens. and images of twisters. bracing for a potentially dangerous night ahead. we're also watching a category 4 storm, packing 155-mile-per-hour winds. also breaking tonight, the mystery meeting at the white house. the republican congressman leading the investigation into russia's meddling. now, new questions tonight about his secret meeting on the white house grounds. the school plot revealed tonight. the plan to shoot it up and bomb the school. the honor student and her alleged arsenal right here. the two plane crashes. one into a home, the other breaking apart in mid flight. authorities say the family was coming home from spring break. and the consumer