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>> ♪ >> how about this. "american idol" will be back on air in 2018 right here on 6abc. host ryan seacrest back at it. and even though the show is still several months out the audition process is well under way. >> thousands of singers waited for hours today hoping to get their big break. our alicia vitarelli was right there with them in annapolis, maryland. >> ♪ >> reporter: colby swann of chester delaware county's golden voice is one of thousands vying for a golden ticket. are you the next "american idol." >> yes, i am. i want to be a singer and

that's my dream. >> reporter: as they gear up for idol's first season on abc producers spent the day in annapolis looking and listening for star power. >> they want to immediately if they move on to the next round or not but it all starts right here today. >> ♪ >> reporter: michael heartily from fredericksburg virginia looks familiar. >> yeah, i made it to the celebrities in 2011 and then i was actually -- i made it to hollywood week in 2014. >> reporter: the crowd talked him into singing his original song and it worked. >> yeah, so you said i was going to make it. you're my little good luck charm. >> reporter: thank you. i like to say we have excellent taste in talent. this was emory barton's very first audition and she, too, sailed through. >> it feels really awesome but i had no idea that i would even get through like the first round. >> reporter: also heading to the next round. >> ♪ dream a little dream of me. >> reporter: caleb folks from williamsburg, virginia and his ukulele.

>> i'm ready to go. i want to be the next idol. >> ♪ >> reporter: so is deja burnett from annapolis. >> it's remarkable. it's something i can't really describe with words. great to have my family supporting me and having fun. >> reporter: us, too. we can say we knew you when. unsee that #there, the next idol. use it on social media to audition online. producers say they are scouring social media and of course meeting people at these bus stops in person all to find the next "american idol." in annapolis, alicia vitarelli, channel6 "action news". >> a lot of raw talent. wish them the best. >> i love it. can't wait. much more ahead when "action news" comes right back.

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you learn something new every day. the surprisingly affordable john deere e series tractors. now you can own america's tractor for just $99 a month. learn more at your john deere dealer. >> "action news" continues with meteorologist adam joseph, alicia vitarelli, sharrie williams and brian taff. >> ♪ >> it's 4:30 and "action news" continues with an update on that extremely dangerous hurricane heading towards florida right now. >> plus, a warning for students today. if you're late to class, it's going to cost you. how much they're charging and why. >> and a mother has a request for strangers. please don't ignore my kid when he tries to talk to you in public. why she felt the need to issue that appeal online. >> but we're going to begin here at 4:30 with the very latest on that south philadelphia block party that turned into a demolition derby

by suv on a rampage yesterday. eight people ranging from children to the elderly were struck. "action news" reporter bob brooks talked to the husband of one of the victims today. he's now live in south philadelphia with the details. bob. >> reporter: well, brian that man says he's hopeful that his wife will simply be able to walk again, that's how serious of a situation this has become. that is the reality now for some of the people that were hit here yesterday. when we spoke with alphonso free land around 3 o'clock today he just came home from the hospital. his wife, flora is there. he says her legs are hurt bad. >> both of her legs is having difficulty so hopefully she'll be able to walk. >> reporter: his wife is one of the many victims hit after this suv came speeding into their block party in the 1500 block of ringold street in south philadelphia. freeland says his first instincts was to help his wife but says there were so many others hurt even worse. >> it was a pretty harsh scene to see all these bodies laying

all over the street and one was worser than the other and you didn't know which way to go. >> reporter: it was just after 4:00 p.m. yesterday a woman in the suv as seen in surveillance video going around cars and through tape. she doesn't stop until she crashes into the tent in the street. you even see her trying to back away. almost a dozen people from a six-year-old child to a woman in her 90's were hurt. we spoke with several witnesses at the scene. >> someone said their legs couldn't move. others bleeding out their head. >> i never seen anything like that before in my life. >> reporter: neighbors say the block party is an annual labor day tradition. the real purpose of it is to give kids back to school supplies. >> i hope the children are okay because they were here to just get their book bags. they was excited and then this happened. >> reporter: that's ivory robinson. she says the woman behind the wheel needs to be held accountable but like so many around here they're for giving. >> but i pray for her, whatever that was. >> reporter: you pray for her. >> yeah, like something had to

be -- i don't think it was intentional. i hope it wasn't. >> reporter: freeland adds he has a message for his wife watching in the hospital tonight. >> high flora -- hi flora. god bless you. >> reporter: we hope flora makes a full recovery. a woman is in custody right now. police say she will be charged whip dui but no word yet on her identity. reporting live in south philadelphia, bob brooks channel6 "action news." sharrie. >> all right, bob, thank you. well, firefighters made quick work of a house fire in philadelphia's germantown section today. chopper6 hd was over the 5400 block of hexall street. firefighters got it under control within 30 minutes. no one was hurt. investigators are still looking for a cause. philadelphia police are asking for the public's help identifying a man who broke into a trucking business in port richmond. surveillance video shows the accused thief inside that

facility on the 2400 block of east venango sometime between august 30th and september 3rd. police say the man stole more than $2,000 worth of power tools. if you have any information on the break in, you're asked of course to call east detective police. >> penn state apparently plans to sue the charity founded by exfootball coach and convicted child molester jerry sandusky. the university reportedly filed paperwork friday indicating that it might eventually sue the second mile. the charity was that founded by jerry sandusky and has since been dissolved. sandusky is serving 30 to 60 years in prison for child sexual abuse of young boys he helped some of them through that charity. now some of the victims were molested on campus. the scandal has cost the university 10s of millions of dollars in legal fees and other payments. amid the devastation caused by hurricane harvey we are learning of yet another good samaritan helping total strangers. camden county freeholder bill

mullen just returned to new jersey after cleaning a flood damaged home in texas. he originally planned his trip to houston to celebrate a friend's birthday but after the storm he felt compelled to volunteer. he wound up using a web site to track down a family in desperate need of help. >> a single mother who had three children, one who has autism, went to home depot, went and got some equipment such as gloves and masks and went back out to the house i joined with a few other volunteers and we ended up cleaning, removing dry wall and basically gutting the home to the standards that fema has suggested. >> mullen is now urging local residents to get involved in the disaster relief. >> harvey still top of mind but of course we are also now watching another hurricane that's developing and we've got severe weather moving in our area as well. >> that's right. meteorologist adam joseph tracking all of it joins us now at the "action news" big board with the latest. >> we have irma, we have josé out in the atlantic but we're

also dealing with severe weather that is moving through right now. this warning continues until 5 o'clock for northern parts of berks county north of reading in kutztown allentown up to slatington bethlehem easton right on the fringe of this warning. winds near 60 miles an hour and some hail with this storm. as we take a look at it kind of lining up here just to the south of i-78 and starting to bump over i-78 into lehigh county right now allentown, a downpour just erupted with some downpours and also some thunderstorms and some lightning strikes but the most severe storm right now is just to the east of leesport east of 61 along 22 here west of fleetwood. this is hail on storm tracker6 live anywhere between mount pleasant and leesport. the hail has been under an inch in diameter but still a dangerous storm passing through parts of berks county and more will be pushing in. as we take a look at this line this is trying to bow out here just to the south of state college and south of harrisburg.

there's aor this storm as it's heading towards lancaster county right now. these storms are moving rather slowly, so it's not going to push through philadelphia, at least the main line until a little later on this evening, so we do have a severe thunderstorm watch in effect until 9 o'clock for areas around media, philadelphia, trenton, all points to the north and west, any of the storms could have dangerous winds as well as some hail and vivid lightning. again there could even be a tornado warning that pops at some points in this area. we'll continue to monitor this and also have the very latest update from the national hurricane center on hurricane irma coming up in that full accuweather forecast in just a little bit brian. >> lots to watch adam. thank you. just in time for students to head back to school there is new evidence of benefits to pushing back the start time of classes. "action news" anchor monica malpass live in the news room with one that probably won't be popular with students. >> maybe not. all right. well, brian, that's right, studies have always touted the health benefits of getting kids to school later but now a new study is also talking

about the impact of a.m. clock shift on the nation's economy. ali gorman breaks down the new research coming up for that you tonight in health check. plus a chilly competition in south jersey. coming up you'll meet some of the local butchers hoping to make their name on national stage. >> what kid wouldn't want to sleep in. >> i would think most kids except their parents. >> you got it. monica, thank you. the winners of a scavenger hunt were treated to lunch with a cop today. the monroe township police department and papa john's teamed up to throw the kids a pizza party. it was their reward for finding one of 10 rocks hidden at various historic sites throughout the township. now police wrote anticrime messages on each rock in hopes of teaching the children a positive less s the winners also got to see a k-9 demonstration. >> pretty cool. george washington high school had two special visitors today to kick off the first day of class. philadelphia mayor jim kenney and school district

superintendent william hite ate lunch with the ninth graders in the northeast today. the two leaders also checked out the diversity mural at the school on bustleton avenue. it was a rousing start to the school year for students in southwest philadelphia. dozens of men lined up to cheer on and welcome the youngsters back to class at william c. bryant elementary. and they brought supplies. back packs pence sills and notebooks for all who needed them. the heartwarming show of support for the students was organized by the church of christian compassion and muslims for humanity. good stuff there as well. >> yeah. here in the market for a used car stick around. from reliability to customer satisfaction we'll run down which preowned vehicles the experts are recommending. >> plus, get to class on time or pay up. that's the ultimatum one utah school has now and issued. how much students will be fined for being late coming up. >> and a mother has an unusual message for strangers.

please talk to my child. what made her issue that unusual public appeal. >> and before we head to break you are now looking at just some of the back to school photos that our viewers have been sending and sharing all day. so send us yours as well and use the #6abcaction. we'll be right back. >> ♪

been trying to prepare for this day... and i'm still not ready. the reason i'm telling you this is that there will be moments in your life that... you'll never be ready for. your little girl getting married being one of them. ♪ ♪

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>> brian at the big board with today's big talkers beginning with the controversial way one utah high school is trying to curb tardiness. as of last tuesday, students who show up late are getting fined. the first offense is a warning. but if students are caught a second time, well you need to pay up three dollars. from there, the fee goes up to five dollars each time the student is late. stance bury high school says the goal of the new policy is to teach students personal accountability and responsibility but many parents say, wait a minute, that logic is flawed because they're the ones who will wind up having to pay. >> a lot of families out here that are economically stretched. they're not going to be able to pay these fines. >> we're not after the money. we just want our kids to be in class. >> the principal says if students can't pay the fees, well, they can take lunch detention or show a clean tardy attendance for a few weeks. any money that's collected will go into a special school

fund that that school has set up. now a message for adults. or shall we call it a request for grownups to consider. if a child tries to strike up a conversation with you, could you please oblige and take a moment to communicate back. one mom says she's a bit frustrated with how much her toddler gets ignored and here's why. audra rogers is the mother of a three-year-old son. in an article on babel.com she writes nothing makes her son happier than running up and talking to every person he sees. she says that may be a little jar for strangers but says the little boy is bright eyed and bushy tailed and has a passion for talking. she adds he's not overly bothersome just outgoing but some adults respond to her thirty four yield with complete silence or simply walk away so she writes he's simply a child that is excited about life and he likes to talk about it and i want him to hang on to that as long as he can before the world tells

him to be quiet. she says adults consider please acknowledging children when they talk to you may be a quick polite smile maybe could work in that case. your response helps shape their view of the world she says. this one getting a lot of reaction and some strong ones. some support this mom, others say well, they ignore a lot of people and that your kid isn't that different so what do you think about this? you can weigh in on our facebook page at 6abc.com. all right. brian, back over to you. >> sharrie thank you. time to get another check on the roadways. mr. matt pelman standing by in the "action news" traffic center. hey, matt. >> drone6 live over shafer road right by route 202. watching the big sinkhole that resulted from the water main break early this morning since about 8:30 this morning. yeah, there it is and wow, what a big sinkhole it is that resulted from that water main break. so, this is all happening just across from the mall, across

from sullivan's steakhouse. this is shafer road that's blocked off. if you want to cross 202 it would be mall boulevard. on this side it's shafer road a residential street that is closed indefinitely because of this big sinkhole so wilson road or crockett road would be some alternates. shafer road though out of commission for the time being here in king of prussia. let's go to the maps. not so far off in conshohocken we're watching a motorcycle crash this afternoon. it's along cedar grove road close to spring mill road there by the cedar grove recreation center. so you want to avoid that as the emergency cre still on the scene. and near worcester elementary school there's a bad crash giving us some big delays along 73 near 363 valley forge road. sliding into hatfield we still have that awful pedestrian accident with the public works employees that were injured along west broad street. this is close to the west broad street elementary school so that's all blocked off. cowpath road can get you around it and a couple iues along 113 in chester county. there's a crash in phoenixville ang 23 at 113

and 113 is blocked in lionville by the pizzeria uno. that, too another serious accident. there are a lot of them out there. we'll talk more about them, brian and sharrie, in the 5 o'clock hour. >> all right my friend. thank you. meteorologist adam joseph standing by with that exclusive accuweather 7-day >> ♪ca ♪ health, is having the freedom to do what you want to do with your life, every single day. so at aetna, we promise to keep finding new ways to join you so nothing gets in your way. because no matter where it is you're going, or whatever stage of life you're in. we believe that when it comes to health. you don't join us. we join you.

>> cecily tynan just had some commercial up behind her -- umbrellas in that the shot. >> you'll need them pretty much all day tomorrow as wet weather comes in. we're dealing with severe weather. we go to the weather send and we center and we can look at severe thunderstorm warnings up in lancaster county, berks county northampton county until 5 o'clock. been dealing with really strong winds and hail with these storms. any of the storms reporting

winds of near 70 miles an hour, especially for the storm that is entering lancaster county as well as some penny sized hail. as we take a look at the radar right now on storm tracker6 live you can see most of the area, it is sunny, it is quiet but it's those far northwestern suburbs getting rocked by some severe weather right now. a lot of heavy rain, vivid lightning and strong winds. you can see some of these individual cells kind of poking themselves ahead of the main line here near kutztown fleetwood and some of these when they kind of go ahead that of main squall line can be more dangerous than some of the storms in the squall line so you can see kutztown right now being rocked by a lot of lightning and thunder and that extends down to woman mels dorf towards lebanon elizabethtown, south to york. these bright pinks and purples on the radar is some of the hail in those storms as they approach lancaster downtown itself, 57 lightning strikes in the last 15 minutes. it's moving into an atmosphere that will continue to these

storms, let them survive so to speak until they hit about philadelphia. heat indices around 90 degrees but as we go into the evening hours they'll outrun their energy source and should fall apart and most of south jersey and delaware and that's why we don't have a watch box up for areas south and east of philadelphia. that watch box up until 9 o'clock tonight. in fact at 7 o'clock the storms don't move all that much to the south and east. still far to the north and west of philadelphia but as they approach the city, tries to fall apart and then this is the latest model update here at 11 o'clock tonight tries to refire some storms in southern areas again. we'll have to see if that is the case but again you want to be prepared for some of the severe storms that pass through during the evening hours tonight and then the front puts on the brakes. low pressure develops during the day tomorrow so waves of rain throughout our wednesday going into the afternoon, much cooler temperatures and that even continues into tomorrow evening and tomorrow night and we're looking at anywhere between three-quarters of an

inch to as much as an inch and a half of rain tomorrow in some spots. we're still awaiting the update from the national hurricane center. comes out around 5 o'clock or just before. winds as of the 2 o'clock hour was 185 sustained. you can see that well defined eye and again, the outflow of the storm, it is a massive storm. when you talk about the winds and the scope of it as it approaches the leeward islands. this was the track as of earlier this afternoon. it should be changing momentary but it still shows it passing over the turks and caicos, north of the dominican republic and haiti north of cuba on that exact path that keeps it over water to keep it very sonory four as it approaches near south florida early on sunday morning but again, awaiting that track to see if it stays the same or did it shift to the south or to the north. that is still yet to be determined. the exclusive accuweather 7-day forecast periods of rain, kind of a dreary day tomorrow at 72. and then we start to dry out on thursday, turning less

humid with temperatures in the 70's and we're staying in the 70's for the rest of that seven-day forecast. well below average and a very quiet period ahead as we go into the weekend and the beginning of next week, some clouds start to thicken up on tuesday but overall a pretty nice seven-day stretch here and no matter where irma goes at this point, it may not bring anything more than just some clouds or showers here by next wednesday. >> all right. we'll be watching very closely. thanks adam. >> all right. >> need help with buying a used car. we'll talk about that in what's the deal. >> ♪ at carmax, we buy all the cars. uh, all the cars? all the cars. old cars? yes. new cars? oh, yeah. sports cars? indeed. a big ol' boat-like car? permission to come aboard! what about a car that's all (makes awkward car noises) hgnnnn-nn-nn-nnnn-ayy-ayyy i don't see why not. what about, let's say...

oh, i don't know, a purple van with a painting of a wizard just shooting lightning out of his fingers riding a unicorn sneezing rainbows? definitely. just asking for a friend. yea, i figured. (whispered to camera) wow. fios is not cable. we're a 100% fiber optic network. and with the new fios gigabit connection... you get our fastest... internet ever. with download speeds up to 940 megs - 20 times faster than most people have. switch to fios gigabit connection with tv and phone for $79.99 a month online for the first year.

plus hbo for one year and multi-room dvr service for two years, all with a two-year agreement. and switching has never been easier. get out of your contract with up to a $500 credit to help cover your early termination fee. go to fiosgigabit.com >> ♪ >> buying a used car is of course a great way to save money on a pretty big purchase. >> but those savings can go away if the car isn't reliable or if you don't like driving it. >> here with some help for used car buyers is consumer reporter nydia han.

>> hey, guys. consumer reports is out with new results about which used cars will cost you less over time and keep you on the road for thousands of miles. consumer reports polled more than 200,000 subscribers to see how satisfied they are with their vehicles and whether they would buy them again. >> in addition to be reliable they were fun to drive got great fuel economy and had high tech features or looks sureus ious cabins. >> reporter: consumer reports says you need to take a hard look at maintenance costs to see if the vehicle will work for your budget. >> we broke down our data to look at three and 10-year-old vehicles. the three-year-old models are a little more expensive but they'll and comfort features. on the other hand while a 10-year-old model is far less expensive to buy you have to figure in the cost of repairing it. >> reporter: for example a mid-size favorite the toyota camry hybrid will cost youabout0 about $55 in maintenance and repairs in year three. at year 10, expect to pay around $6,500 to $7,800 but

$370 in annual maintenance costs. no matter the age, consumer reports tests and satisfied owners alike found you can't go wrong with these two small suv's. the honda cr-v or toyota rav4. need a minivan. consider the honda odyssey or toyota sienna both are likely to make it to 200,000 tour more. subscribers like the toyota tundra pickup truck for its driving and reliability. consumer reports says you can save money by buying used and save the planet. the toyota prius was among the most satisfying cars for both three and 10-year-old models for its combination of fuel efficiency and reliability. back to you guys. >> all right, nydia, thank you. >> well before we leave you at 4 o'clock let's take one more look at a few of the back to school photos that our viewers have been sending all day. we love to see these smiles and happy faces. keep them coming by using the #6abcaction on social media and enjoy it, kids, a lot of fun to come. >> the more the better. we want more pics.

>> oh, yeah. that will do it for "action news" at four: for sharrie williams alicia vitarelli and adam joseph i'm brian taff. join me along with sharrie adam and ducis rodgers tonight and every night for a full hour of "action news" at 10:00 on phl17. >> "action news" at 5:00 is coming up next. >> good night. i will never wash my hair again. i will never never wash my hair again now, i fuel it

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>> ♪ >> "action news." delaware valley's leading news program. with jaime apody, meteorologist cecily tynan, rick williams and monica malpass. >> ♪ >> ♪ >> looking live at double scan radar right now we are under an accuweather alert. a severe thunderstorm watch is in effect for parts of our viewing area with the possibility of damaging wind, hail and tornadoes on the horizon. plus, tracking hurricane irma. the storm is now a category five and it's being called potentially catastrophic. taking aim at florida spurring a state of emergency in the sunshine state tonight. it is tuesday evening and the big story on "action news" is the accuweather forecast. >> and let's get right to meteorologist cecily tynan in our weather center with the very latest from accuweather. cecily. >> hi, monica and rick. i'm starting local with this line of storms working toward our region. this view we've had about 800 lightning strikes in the past 15 minutes and there was a tornado warning for york

county. as it continues to move in, we had reports of some wind damage in berks county also hail, so we have severe thunderstorm warnings in effect for parts of lehigh, berks, lancaster county, the poconos until 6 o'clock. this means that any storm does contain the potential for damaging winds and even hail. so, zooming in, you can see it's kind of a broken line with some renegade storms ahead of it. one passing east of kutztown right now, 222 another one north of i-78 near allentown, leesport, womelsdorf getting hit very hard. these are moving northeast at about 30 miles per hour but then tire line will be pushing east as we head through the evening hours. so, because of that, a severe thunderstorm watch has been posted until 9 o'clock for philadelphia and essentially all areas north and west. th is wre we havehe potential for damaging winds. it's closest to that low pressure. this is where we do get the greatest lift, the storms will