standstill and counting the staggering human toll in the opioid epidemic. that's next. ♪ >> "action news," delaware valley's leading news program with jim gardner. >> this was the scene of confrontation between a minivan driver and police officer. the driver had apparently forced a woman into the vehicle. when the cop arrived, the man slammed the van into reverse and

hit the officer. the cop got off a shot but the driver got away with the woman inside. it's wednesday night, the big story a philadelphia police officer firing his gun at 56th and whit by in southwest philadelphia. dann cuellar has the story. first things first, is the cop okay? >> yes, jim, right now he's recooperating after being dragged by the man in the minivan. as he was trying to make his get away, the search continues for the man and woman with him at the time of the incident. >> investigators say it began at the intersection of 56th and whitney to reports of a man with a gun trying to drag a woman into a minivan. >> officers approached. by that time the male had entered the van and proceeded to go in reverse striking one of

the officers and dragging him several feet. >> the 40-year-old officer managed to recover and engaged the man. >> the officer discharged his weapon one time. we are unsure at this time if the officer struck the subject and the vehicle did proceed from this location at a high rate of speed. >> the driver went in such a hurry he was going the wrong way on the road. the vehicle was found abandoned. the vehicle with massachusetts license tags appears to be a rental. it had damage to the driver side door but it's unclear how that happened. we hope in the investigation we'll be able to put names and faces to this. >> the officer was being checked out medically. information is sketchy tonight. they are looking for witnesses or surveillance video that might be helpful.

anyone with information is asked to call 911. dann cuellar, "action news," wphl-17. >> a fiery inferno led to backups on i-95 and allegheny avenue at 6:00. the tractor trailer was fully engulfed in flames. authorities have not said what if any cargo was inside the rig or what started the fire. >> the two new jersey aides sentenced in the bridgegate scandal vowed to appeal their convictions. they were found guilty in november for the pay back scheme shutting down lanes on the george washington bridge for four days. kelly was chris christie's chief of staff. the single mother of four testified she told christie about the lane closures,

something the governor denies. >> it's been a difficult day for me and my children. i want to assure my children and everyone else, the fight is far from over. i will not allow myself to be the scapegoat in this case. >> kelly was sentenced to 18 months behind bars. bill baroni appointment to the port authority got two years in prison. >> bill's heartfelt statement that what he did was a mistake. >> both baroni and kelly remain free on bail ordered to do 500 hours of community service. >> meanwhile, chris christie met with president trump today where the governor was named chair of the owed yoid addiction crisis. christie dedicating his final year in trenton to the drug

crisis in new jersey will expand that role to a federal level too. "action news" reporter christie ileto is in delaware county after speaking to an addict waging a fight to stay clean. >> he was a good student, great hockey player and never thought he would become another statistic addicted to prescription drugs. this group comes together at one of the recovery homes in delaware county. joe has been clean for 60 days. >> when i was 16 i blew my knee out playing ice hockey. i was over prescribed percocet 678after i took one, as prescri, i loved it. >> he spent the next 18 years on

a downward spiral. >> i had to get help. >> leading him to rehab. >> i'm feeling good today. >> and recovery. >> we focus on how they'll live their lives clean and sober moving forward. they go back to school. they start working, becoming financially responsible. >> of last year's 182 deaths, 121 were heroin fentanyl related. >> heroin has made its way to any town u.s.a. >> the program expanded from six recovering addicts to 50 plus with a 96% success rate. >> are you hoping to be empty? >> that will never happen but individuals come in if and recover and move forward and become positive members of society. >> mccloskey says the hardest part of recovery is mentally

weaning yourself off of the drug. he hopes president trump's task force focuses more on treatment and lesson punishment. christie ileto, channel6 "action news." jim. >> thank you, christie. 56-year-old james harris will spend the lest of his life behind bars after being convicted of murder and rape. >> the victim was a drexel university graduate headed to law school. she was found dead inside her west philadelphia apartment in 2015. harris was a handy man there and had a key to wright's apartment. >> a man accused of gunning down an 81-year-old woman christmas day was in court today. >> buck's grandson and girlfriend testified today admitting they are drug addicts that bought heroin from green. they planned to steal a green

chain from green to buy drugs. investigators say green went into the store looking for revenge. >> whatever the case may be, come to someone's home. ask them for the money. you don't just walk into a store and kill them. you ain't getting your money back or your chain. >> green entered a plea offing in. >> police have arrested a 13-year-old boy in relation to vandalism at a synagogue. detectives say he through a rock through the temple monday. the stain glassed windows have been targeted two other times, december and january. police have not linked the boy to those cases. >> upper darby superintendent showed off the handgun a student aide brought to school today. domonique jordan had more than 40 rounds of ammunition with

him. he dropped a bullet in the bathroom at drexel middle school. he was contracted to help a student. >> he has a concealed weapon permit but carrying it on school grounds is against the law. >> the ?ailt committee will hold a hearing on russian interference to the presidential election. a similar investigation in the house is stalled over partisan infighting. the leading republican and democrat on the senate panel spoke about a thorough, bi-partisan investigation. >> i have confidence that we together with the members of our committee will get to the bottom of this. if we get nothing else from today, take that statement to the bank. >> among the 20 people expected to be questioned, jared kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser who has

acknowledged meeting with russians during the transition period. >> ivanka trump will join the administration as a white house employee, federal employee, title assistant to the president. she won't take a salary but gets a west wing office and security clearance. she said she will counsel her father in a formal capacity but wouldn't follow ethic's rules. now she will be a federal employee. >> dana redd is not running for reelection. she will endorse city council president frank moran to succeed her. she has not disclosed what she will do next. since 2010 she has over seen financial and health and big

business and water front development spurred on by state tax incentives. >> temple university media school changed its name to honor a broadcast legend, the luke kline media education. he created shows such as american bandstand and captain noah. bernie prazenica was on hand to honor kline. kline began teaching at temple in 1952 at the school that now bears his name. >> the aka washington square apartment building in center city philadelphia unveiled the results of million dollars in cosmetic surgery. the site known as the ben franklin hotel on the 800 block of chestnut street has two by level penthouse apartments. modern amenities include a

television that lives out of the food of your bed. >> former vice president jode je biden battles crimes. >> plus mind control, an experimental device plugged into a paralyzed man's brain allows him to move for the first time in years. >> a powerful storm system bringing tornadoes across the south bring us soaking rap soako end the week. what it means for the seven-day forecast. >> and samsung's newly unveiled phones get rid of something to make room for screen space. >> ducis rogers has the sixers taking on the hawks when "action news" continues. ♪ ♪ ♪fast, rhythmic drumming

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kalahari resorts & conventions book your african adventure now! >> 12 people were killed and three others injured today when a van carrying church members collided head on with a pickup truck in texas two hours west of san antonio. the church members were seniors

on the way back from a retreat. the cause of the crash or who was at fault is unknown. >> it was confusion on the grounds at the u.s. capitol when a driver tried to run down several police officers. the lawmen responded with gunfire. no one was hurt but the tourists and workers went running after hearing the noise. the female driver was stopped and taken into custody. investigators say it appears she has mental issues. there was no connection to terrorism. samsung's newest phones are in the spotlight tonight. the galaxy s8 and s8 plus are the first since the exploding galaxy note 7s. the biggest change is the real estate. they made the front almost all screen.

on the sides the glass curves down like previous models. the models have voice assistant similar to siri samsung calls bixby. you can run boinds by plugging into a dock connected by mouse and monitor. the phones will be $100 more expensive than anything else on the market. >> the oscar accounting job goes to pwc the firm that botched the best picture announcement returns for an 84th year. there will now be a third accountant on hand staying in the control room with the director to inform them if the wrong winner has been announced and cellphones will be banned backstage. one of the accountants with you

distracted tweeting a picture of emma stone and handed presenters the wrong envelope. >> technology is allowing a paralyzed man to move his hand for the first time in eight years by thinking about it. doctors in cleveland connected the 56-year-old man to a brain computer interface. two tiny implants pick up signals from the neurons in his brain, to a computer which sends all of this to his arm forcing the muscles to move. it is precise enough that he can drink coffee through a straw and use a fork to eat mashed potato. technology keeps becoming more extravagant. more than two dozen women battling breast cancer had a chance to receive pampering tonight. the susan g. komen foundation

sponsored the spa in center city. attendants had manis and pedis and facials. it was a chance to connect with others for support. >> the defamation league awarded law enforcement in the name of the late bo biden. hundreds gathered in wilmington for the first adl bo biden shield award and joe biden was there to honor his son and speak out against violence in the name of hate and violence. i had the pleasure of m.c.ing the event as agencies from the fbi to the u.s. attorney, wilmington police, philadelphia police, chester county d.a.'s office and others were honored for their fight against hate crimes. >> great event. >> it was an excellent event. the spirit of joe biden perm

permeated the room. the former vice president lent his support. it was a good event. let's go to cecily tynan and the forecast. >> did you see it in the sky? >> do you mean the sun? >> we hadn't seen it six days. finally, it's back. it's dry after our first day of sunshine since last thursday, and in addition to the sun, temperatures nice. 55-degree, five above average felt cooler because of winds gusting up to 25 miles per hour. winds are diminishing now and skies are clear. philadelphia down to 49-degrees. allentown 42. wilmington 49 and cape may 47. we have high pressure in control. this is keeping the clouds at bay. they are trying to move in out of ohio. we can only hold them off so long. there is a developing storm

system. this is a storm system responsible for tornadoes. it's packing a punch. you see it's very powerful. we are not looking at severe weather but we are getting a good soaking friday. friday will be a complete wash out. tomorrow, not bad. the forecast with clear skies tonight, ten degrees cooler than this morning. bundle up. chilly at 6:00, 35. 8:00, 38-degrees. good about of sunshine early. the clouds begin to build as we head through the afternoon with high pressure close to us. it won't be windy as today but it will be cooler with a high of 55-degrees. of friday, the storm system moves in. low pressure of ohio transferring to virginia. that becomes a coastal storm and pulls in moisture and adding insult to injury, it's a cold day with a high of 48-degrees.

breaking it down, we are looking at rain pretty much all day. the lightest in the morning on friday for the morning commute. it intens intensifies around lu. heavy rain over the i-95 corridor. the evening rain for the commute, take it slow and tapers off late friday night saturday morning. a lot of rain, the latest print out an inch to two and a half inches of rain. that will eliminate the deficit we have for the year for precipitation. the accuweather forecast, tomorrow not as bright as today. increasing clouds, 55 on friday. raw, rainy, and it's cold with a high of 48-degrees. saturday, rain by daybreak, lingering clouds, 55-degrees. sunday, 61. on monday, we cloud up, showers arriving monday evening.

tuesday, another soaking rain with a high of 61. wednesday, clouds and breaks of shine with 64-degrees. next week, one day of rain, two days of dry weather and another day of rain. >> thank you, cecily. we have breaking news in new castle county delaware. police are investigating an officer involved shooting at the coachman manor apartment. killed was a 28-year-old philadelphia man. the preliminary investigation saying officers responded to carriage way at 7:45 to check on the welfare of an individual, a man identified as a 28-year-old philadelphia man engaged in a struggle with the officer. shots were fired. the man was tranc transported to christiana medical center where he later died.

the investigation goes on at this hour. ♪ ♪ dear fellow citizen, i know what it's like to want to relax with your family. but enjoying today doesn't mean losing sight of tomorrow. so while i invest in "the now" my mortgage, vacations i still invest in the future, like my children's college tuition and retirement. i can help you piece together your financial journey for today and tomorrow. if you have a question about investing, ask me. sincerely, amanda etheridge, fellow planner and fellow citizen.

the valiant taste times of death, but once!! uh, excuse me, waiter. i ordered the soup... of course, ma'am. my apologies. c'mon, caesar. let's go. caesar on a caesar salad? surprising. excuse me, pardon me. what's not surprising? how much money matt saved by switching to geico. could i get my parking validated? fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more. ♪ ♪ fios is not cable. we're wired differently. maybe that's why we've been ranked highest in customer satisfaction by jd power 4 years in a row. and now you can love fios too. get 150 meg internet, tv and phone. all for $79.99 per month, for the first year

with a two-year agreement. it's the only internet with equal upload and download speeds. cable only offers upload speeds that are a fraction of the download speeds. plus get hbo for a year and free multi-room dvr service for two years. and verizon wireless customers can stream tv on the fios mobile app, data-free. get the best. go to getfios.com >> sixers hosting the atlanta hawks. not enough fire power at the wells fargo center. the sixers were shorthanded, no okafor, no covington both with knee injuries. sixers down six. sean long, sixers down four. moments later, a charitable mood, seven assists for him.

justin anderson finishes, sixers within two. dennis schroeder with two of his 14, sixers fall. >> we are forming our sidety, being a team that plays hard. we continue to get better and face the teams and continue to improve. >> the nfl owner meeting wrapped up in phoenix but not before jeffrey lowry and doug pederson gave an address. year one saw the eagles beginnish below 500. coach vowed to be better this year. >> are we satisfied 7 of 9? not at all. we are disappointed. we want to be better than that. we will be better than that. >> you are never satisfied first year with new coach and new

quarterback at 7 of 9. i am more than excited about the direction of the franchise. it's great to have the feeling that i do. >> still ahead, a local high school basketball player takes part in the mcdonalds all american game. plus the philly's beat not one but two teams today.

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>> the philly's split themselves in two today, one spring training game against the pirate, the other squad facing the titans.

phillies with a 4-2 lead. sassy goes off of mike. phils win 8-2. the other game against pittsburg, sixth home run. phillies win this one 8-4. the villanova run ends today in the semifinals. >> the guard finishes, seven assists. he's headed to kentucky in the fall. collin sexton, behind the bat pass there. how about this, around the world alley-oop. they'll play at alabama in the fall. that's a look at sports. >> thank you, ducis. finally tonight, dozens of young

people took part many the math challenge in north philadelphia. the youngsters fifth through eighth grade showed off their skills. it's designed to show the importance of education in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math. "jimmy kimmel live" live next on channel6 followed by "nightline. for cecily tynan, ducis rogers and the entire "action news" team, i'm jim gardner. goodnight. ♪ ♪

tonight, dave chappelle, from "saban's power rangers," naomi scott, the results of our youtube snowball challenge, and music from weezer. [ cheers and applause ] ♪ >> jimmy: i'm jimmy, i'm the host of the show. thank you for watching. thank you for coming. it's spring break and we have a special guest tonight. dave chappelle is here tonight. [ cheers and applause ] we have naomi scott and weezer too. by the way, i said we have dave