to their destinations. >> good thing it's friday night. folks getting home hopefully for the weekend. they have to take their time because it's either slow going or no going at all. we have live team coverage. dann cuellar is in center city philadelphia with a check on conditions there. matt pelman has his eyes on the roadways at this hour but first let's get the forecast from meteorologist cecily tynan. hey, cecily. >> hi, rick. really no surprises with this system. if you watched me on "action news" last night at 11:00 i was talking about how it would cause a mess for the evening commute. unfortunately that turned out to be true but double scan live showing that this snow is already cutting out across the poconos, the lehigh valley, berks county and lancaster but we do have some steady snow right now in philadelphia, it's lessened in intensity. it's starting on the radar to move from that bright white to more of a gray and you can see that back edge approaching coatesville right now, approaching malvern as well, lansdale. it will stop snowing there within about the next 15 minutes but we do have some

bands of some heavier snow across parts of south jersey where you can see kind of that pinkish color near hammonton, near medford lakes, atlantic city, lbi, this is where we're getting more moderate snow. generally we're looking at one to 3 inches of snow. so, it's not a lot of snow, it's the timing during the evening commute. it's affecting visibilities. you can see philadelphia and trenton visibility less than a mile. atlantic city airport visibility less than a mile and a half but you can see how things are really clearing out. reading visibility up to 8 miles so this is a very quick hit. the problem, though, temperatures have been stuck in the 20's all day long, so any flake is sticking on the roads. it's 25 in philadelphia. trenton 23. reading 22 and the north and west suburbs, temperatures will be dropping down into the teens tonight. so, do be careful with icy spots on the roads even after the snow ends. so, this is what to expect tonight. that snow will that continue clearing from the west to the east. should be off the coast by about 7 o'clock.

low temperatures 19 to 24 so the roads will remain slick but i'm tracking a big thaw on the way. i'll talk about that in the accuweather forecast. sharrie. >> okay, cecily, thank you. let's head over to matt pelman with the latest on the roads tonight and how are things moving or not moving shall we say, matt? >> ooh, yeah, this is definitely something less than fun sharrie. good evening. we're looking live at the schuylkill expressway right by the belmont salt shed a busy spot on a night like this and you can see the traffic is barely budging in both directions along 76, the schuylkill expressway, here by gladwyne. that means you need to budget a lot of extra time if you need to head out. travel time westbound side of the schuylkill from the vine to the blue route is seven times what it should be right now. i had to do a little patch effect here for the 104 minutes because the travel times are not accommodating to a triple digit travel time. yeah, that number should be 15. instead it's 104 as you try to head out of center city westbound on the schuylkill

expressway this evening and the bad news is i don't have alternates for you because all the roads are jam packed in that sort of fashion. 3 miles per hour on the schuylkill by south street. 4 miles per hour on the southbound side of 676 in camden. 5 miles per hour on the blue route, 476 southbound by broomall. you're moving at a snail's pace if you're moving at all. live look in center city, vine street expressway local vine jam packed. we've had reports of traffic light troubles around center city and out the parkway that's just contributing to the gridlock and checking with 95 at cottman avenue, the good news is we don't have accidents but the traffic is just barely moving. again, travel times here that are about four or five times what they should be. i said before no issues on the northeast extension. now there's an overturned vehicle southbound approaching quakertown taking out one of the lanes. single digit speeds coming down from allentown and in south jersey on the turnpike southbound past exit three a crash there as well but 55 and 295 are just as bad. we'll check it again, rick, coming up in the next half hour. >> all right, matt, thank you. now let's check in with "action news" reporter dann

cuellar live in center city with a look at the commute and the pedestrian situation there as well, dann. good evening. >> reporter: good evening, rick. the timing could not have been worse for the traffic lights to go out on the north side of city hall. right smack in the middle of a snowstorm and, yes, right smack in the middle of rush hour. police are having to direct traffic the old fashioned way by hand trying to move traffic this way and that. let's take a look here. this is the parkway headed east. as you can see it's backed up all the way as far as the eye can see, probably all the way back to the art museum but this is the way it's been since just after 3 o'clock when the lights reportedly went out. peco is working on the problem but they have not discovered what the source is and what has caused this utter nightmare here in center city philadelphia on a friday. here's what some motorists are telling us here this evening. >> i gave up. i was going to radnor for an

appointment. i turned around and said forget it. >> reporter: now you're stuck in this mess. >> it's my day off. i don't care. >> it's just a mess down here today, you know what i mean, it's a mess. >> i have to admit it's a mess. going to be kind of hectic to get at home. >> reporter: you trying to get home. >> yes. >> reporter: it looks like he's enjoying it. >> he is. he gets spoiled, though. [laughter] >> reporter: and back live here on the parkway, this is the scene at 16th and arch on the parkway where the three streets meet. you can see, boy, it's going to be slow going until these traffic lights are fixed. stay away from this area if you can avoid it at all. for now live near center city, i'm dann cuellar channel6 "action news." back to you, guys. >> all right, busy, busy out there dann. thank you. let's keep looking outside, shall we? let's take a live look with mobile6 driving along route 38 in moorestown. not a lot of movement here at all. it is bumper to bumper, a lot of red lights. it will take time to get to your destination.

safety is priority but the roads now with the snow covering them not a lot of movement for drivers who are out on the roads right now. >> all right. i think i see my car right there. stay ahead of any changes to the wintry forecast and check constantly updated maps from storm tracker6 throughout the weekend by visiting 6abc.com/weather or by downloading the free 6abc app. in other news at least one sanitation worker is in a heap of trouble tonight accused of snatching packages from homes while on the job. one homeowner's surveillance cameras captured one of those workers red handed. "action news" reporter vernon odom is live in kensington tonight with the story. vernon. >> reporter: good evening, rick. every holiday season we are flooded with pictures of people stealing delivery packages off of porches, out of doorways and on stoops. this one stands out in particular because this video will clearly implicate a city

of philadelphia employee. via home surveillance camera witness this crime. a city sanitation truck yesterday picking up recyclables along the 2200 block of east oakdale in kensington. the collector spots a delivery package left on the steps of a row house, grabs it and cagily hides the package until it's time to pull it out from under the actual trash when down the street. a neighbor sent "action news" this video which has gone viral. she wants her identity shielded. >> their job is to take the recyclables and the trash. not to pick packages off someone's -- someone's belongings. that's sad. it's very sad. >> reporter: the city streets commissioner immediately launched an investigation on the three member crew on this recycling route. >> i can tell you that employees who have been found guilty of a theft, which is a violation of city policy, have been terminated. we believe the vast majority of our employees are honest hard working dedicated employees. >> reporter: the streets

commissioner has now turned over to police the names of the employees who have been implicated in this theft. no arrest yet but trouble is dead ahead. >> certainly the person that's depicted holding the items it looks like that person is going to face charges. we're not releasing names yet because no one has been chargeddism the actual crime victim here whose identity we are also withholding says detectives have recovered the pair of ugg boots stolen from his stoop. >> i think it's great. people being held accountable. it's good to see. >> reporter: you want them to go to jail. >> no, it's christmastime i don't see people needing to go to to jail over a pair of boots. >> we have to look at the whole route now. we don't know at this point if anything else turns up missing. >> reporter: sharrie at least one arrest of a city streets department employee is expected sometime over the weekend. i'm vernon odom, channel6 "action news" in kensington. >> okay, vernon, thank you. well, penn state says it is committed to promoting safety and accountability in fraternities in the wake of a

scathing grand jury report released today. it says the school showed "shocking a path to dangers from excessive drinking." the report was ordered in the wake of the death of beta theta pi pledge timothy piazza. the report recommends a series of changes that the school should undertake including regulating drinking itself rather than hold a fraternity council responsible. >> and still to come on "action news" friday night, chaos and gunfire on the streets of baltimore when officers camp up catch up with a wanted suspect today. why the man refused to stop and what happened when officers finally got him to slow down. >> if you're trying to keep your diet nice instead of naughty during the holidays. >> no. >> we've got the skinny on how many of your favorite cookies you can eat for 100 calories. that's going to be depressing. >> exactly. [laughter] >> stop counting. >> the snow is moving out tonight. i'll let you know what to expect for the rest of the

weekend and then track a big pattern change in the accuweather forecast when "action news" returns. >> ♪

>> ♪ >> and you're taking a live

look at the philadelphia international airport through sky6 at this hour and as you can tell plenty of whiteout conditions there. the airport we're told is experiencing delays on arrivals and departing flights so it's a good idea to check with your airline before you head out to the airport. >> a police chase came to a screeching end in baltimore today when a shooting suspect crashed and then a police officer dragged him from his get away vehicle. authorities say the driver was wanted in connection with a triple shooting from the night before. when detectives caught up with him today, he took off and led them on a high speed chase. the suspect hit a pedestrian and also shot at another police officer before it was all over. pennsylvania governor tom wolf signed a children's health coverage bill today and also urged congress to do the same. the governor was at the children's hospital of philadelphia to sign the bill that guarantees state level funding for the children's health insurance program also known as chip. earlier this week governor

wolf was one of 12 bipartisan governors who sent a letter to congressional leaders asking for the program to be reauthorized. federal funding covers 90 percent of the costs of pennsylvania's chip program. >> all right, health check tonight. it is the holiday which means festive foods and sweet treats are seemingly everywhere especially here in the news room. >> yes. >> dietitians say it's okay to indulge a bit but if you're watching your waistline it's best to watch your portions as well. >> consumer reports is helping out by showing what 100 calories look like when it comes to cookies. health reporter and registered nurse ali gorman has the rundown. >> 'tis the season for temptation. if you're tracking your sweets intake, take stock of the cookies you eat. for starters, three of these pepperidge farm ginger man cookies plus a foot have 100 calories. and nabisco winter oreo's they're decked in red but taste the same. about one and a half equal

100 calories. two and a half of these spicy little domes from balance sam are 100 calories. but cookies are a classic and it wouldn't be the holidays without a shore wood danish delights tin. for a hundred calories you can eat about two and a third. as for candy cane flavors, consumer reports checked out two popular minty cookies. pepperidge farm milano cookies candy cane version layers chocolate and peppermint. about one and a half cookies come to 100 calories. and how do keebler fudge stripe peppermint cookies stack up. 1.4 to make 100 calories. a shortcut pillsbury ready to bake sugar cookies they're all shaped like circles. a little less than two come out to 100 calories. but why settle for circles when you can have stars? trader joe's dark chocolate

stars short bread cookies have a certain sparkle and a little less than three of these make 100 calories. ali gorman, channel6 "action news".

>> ♪ >> two police districts in philadelphia came together today to deliver holiday cheer to area kids and all the excitement got everybody moving. >> ♪ >> rick and i know we know this song here. dancing was just part of this annual holiday party in northeast philadelphia. every year officers in the second and 15th district invite youngsters from area schools to celebrate. rick is having a great time in the studio. they had gifts to give away, a magician there to entertain the kids and they all enjoyed hot dog lunch and the philly phanatic showed up to make the party even more fun. next year they'll invite rick. in marlton, new jersey, today, students helped load a truck full of toys for the children's hospital of philadelphia. the items were donated as part of an annual fundraiser in honor of fulton wine grad. he experienced a traumatic

brain injury at 11 weeks old. more than 50 schools businesses and community members throughout the tri-state area filled donation boxes with thousands of toys for this big event. >> well, they say timing is everything and that was certainly the case in spring garden this afternoon for hundreds of excited school children. as the snow started to fall in the city, hundreds of youngsters were trying on new coats to protect them from the outside elements. this was the annual operation warm winter coat give away presented by philadelphia firefighters and the paramedics union. fire commissioner adam thiel was on hand to help youngsters find the right size along with various city council members. the surprise give away took place in the gymnasium of spring garden elementary school. the coats look great. the fraternal order of police lodge five delivered gifts to sick children this afternoon with the help of santa. he took some time off from the north pole and pulled up to the a.i. dupont hospital in children on a horse drawn car ramp filled research filled

with gifts for each little package. santa spent quality time with the anxious youngsters.

>> time for the accuweather forecast. meteorologist cecily tynan is here now with the latest on that snowfall and maybe another half hour or so left in the city. >> yeah, for philadelphia this is a quick hit of snow. the problem is it arrived

right around lunchtime intensified in time for the evening commute. a lot of problems out there. let's head to the "action news" weather center and show you sky6. part of the problem is also the reduced visibility. trying to look at the commodore barry bridge through the low clouds and the snow. can't see it at all but the snow is shutting off west of philadelphia right now. so, double scan live showing again this snow is really moving very quickly towards the coast. philadelphia right now we do have some light snow generally and that heavier band of that heavy more -- moderate snow i should said moving towards cherry hill, the new jersey turnpike. media just leftover flurries, the same in norristown. the steadiest snow continues to be right along the shore points. the garden state parkway near oceanville, you can see that area of pink, that's the steadier band of snow also surf city, also heading towards 322, that's lifting up to the north and the east. it's a coastal low that developed this afternoon really intensified and that's

what brought us that quick hit of snow that's basically sticking everywhere thanks to temperatures in the 20's. so, snowfall amounts again not a lot of snow but enough to cause problems generally one to 3 inches, newark delaware reporting 2-inches of snow, hammonton 1.1, mount laurel 1.8 bensalem 2-inches and berwyn chester county reporting two and a half inches of the white stuff. causing lost problems on the roads but also some christmas card-like pictures. corinne sent this in on my facebook page from wilmington, delaware, the snow definitely putting people in the holiday season if they can get home. a lot of problems with that. so that winter weather advisory continues for the i-95 corridor all areas south and east until 9 o'clock but the snow should be gone well before that. temperatures right now philadelphia 25, allentown 22, cape may 30, trenton 23 and allentown also 22 degrees. so, satellite and radar showing that snow arrived right on schedule, by 11 o'clock right around lunchtime, that snow breaking out in parts of chester

county, filled in early in the afternoon and now the snow is pushing across south jersey and it should be off the coast again by about 7 o'clock. we'll be drying out and then temperatures dropping in our suburbs down into the teens. so, future tracker showing 7:30 it's dry out there still a few lingering clouds. we clear things out overnight. tomorrow will be a dry day but it's going to be cool and windy. tonight turning clear icy spots, 19 into the suburbs, 24 for center city so temperatures holding steady in philadelphia. tomorrow the wind chill tracker show wind chills will be in the 30's. the actual air temperatures should make it up into the low 40's but we will have wind gusts up to about 30 miles per hour. so, the five day at 5:00 showing tomorrow mixture of clouds and sunshine, a gusty day 42 but wind chills in the 30's. sunday mostly cloudy with a high of 40. on monday, we start to warm up. 47 degrees, tuesday 56, that's 12 degrees above average. no snow left on the ground by tuesday. then temperatures start trending down back near

normal, 45 degrees but winter officially arrives on friday. adam will let you know what is in store for that in the accuweather 7-day forecast, guys. >> okay, thank you cecily. much more still ahead in our next half hour of "action news" at 5:30. we continue to track the snow that's making a real mess out of the rush hour commute tonight. coming up, we'll head live to camden county to check out conditions there. >> plus, developing news. two republican holdouts in the senate have signaled that they are ready to sign off on the tax bill. >> and the phils trade short stop freddy galvis to san diego. we'll tell you what they're getting back in return. >> those stories and much more when "action news" at 5:00 continues tonight. >> ♪

>> ♪ >> "action news" continues with meteorologist adam joseph, jaime apody, rick williams and monica malpass. >> ♪ >> hello again. monica is off. i'm sharrie williams. here's what's happening on "action news" tonight. it's a snowy commute for the evening rush hour. we're tracking the forecast and the conditions in our team coverage, plus some big news for the phillies today. the team trades a long time player to the san diego padres. and a harrowing rescue

caught on camera. the bystanders that jumped into action when a fell local commuter fell into the subway tracks in new york city. >> ♪ >> but first details of our accuweather alert tonight. the snow is falling out there at this hour making for long and slick commute home. let's head out to the roadways live from mobile6 which is making its way along westbound route 38 near the moorestown mall and you can see the situation there, lots of traffic, snowy conditions and it's just going to take you a long time to get to your destination so you do need to be careful out there. we have team coverage of the storm this evening. "action news" reporter jeff chirico is live in oaklyn, camden county. traffic reporter matt pelman keeping an eye on the many trouble spots on the highways and byways but let's begin with meteorologist adam joseph who has been tracking this storm all day long. adam. >> yeah, rick, this is that example of little snow, big impact. it's all because of the timing here during the afternoon and also going into the evening rush hour. as we take a look at storm

tracker6 live right now, there you can see the snow is wrapping up in some of those western suburbs there and in fact those western suburbs that drier air is now puncturing in so this is more a new jersey and extreme east southern delaware event for the next hour or so and you can see a wall of white here. glassboro hammonton the atlantic city expressway, 49, 72, the garden state parkway, it is snowing very steadily right now and there you can see it right along the shore. we're also dealing with some of those purples on the radar and those purples indicate some moderate snowfall along long beach island down to atlantic city. getting a lot of photos in on social media. dawn sent me this from bensalem bucks county. you can see a couple inches of snow on the railing and the snow covered roadways as well and we're dealing with that areawide so even though the snow is ending to the north and west, it's going to be sometime before they can clear some of those roadways and it's so cold that everything is going to freeze up and so far we've seen 2.4-inches in

newark, delaware, toms river near the shore already 2-inches of snow. exton is done at 2-inches, garnet valley two and a half and ambler pretty much done there as well with 2-inches of that fresh fluffy powder. when i come back we'll talk about a warmup, sharrie, where we'll melt the snow soon enough in that full accuweather forecast. >> sounds good adam. thank you. let's head to "action news" reporter jeff chirico live in haddon township. jeff, what can you say about the conditions where you are. >> reporter: well, the snow continues to come down pretty heavily right now and has no signs of letting up at this point. if you take a look down here you can see we have a couple inches of snow on the ground. but the real story is the traffic behind me. this is the white horse pike. you can see traffic is snarled for as far as the eye can see. all of this playing out as rush hour beginning creating a longer commute for many but putting some in the spirit. >> taking me about 15 minutes to go this far which is not far but i have my heat and i'm

just being patient and going with the flow of traffic, so i'll just be glad to get home safely. >> reporter: the timing couldn't have been worse. snow started to accumulate just as rush hour began. snarling traffic and extending commutes. >> when i got out of work it was kind of a mess. we're just heading to the store to grab a couple things up before we go home for the day. >> reporter: is it taking a while. >> yeah, it's been pretty busy back and forth. >> reporter: the slick roads making travel tricky for school buses, too. >> couple times back there, i was like oh, my gosh, yeah its bad. >> reporter: earlier in the afternoon, the light falling flakes didn't cause this guy to miss a beat or this tree stand to miss a sale. it's frosted inventory in westmont looking more festive than just an hour earlier. >> the snow definitely put me in the christmas mood, yes. that helped, it helped definitely. >> reporter: what brings you out today to buy a tree. >> well, i need one. [laughter] >> and i wasn't expecting the snow but it's here and it's really great. >> reporter: what's not great, the roads. plows and salt trucks are

doing their thing but as the sun sets and snow kept falling, drivers were forced to make the best of an extended friday commute. >> fun. >> reporter: how are you making the best of it. >> music, yes, keeping an eye on the roads. >> reporter: and some christmas lights really putting a lot of us in the christmas spirit. you're taking a look at a gift shop across the street. we have the nicest "action news" viewers. they just brought out some hot chocolate and cookies for us. can you beat that? right now we have -- like i said slow going here. now, camden county schools did in fact cancel all afternoon activities so folks are traveling home, nothing going on in the school district at this point but as this commute extends, it could be a very long drive home and if you're waiting for a loved one, you should expect to put dinner in the microwave. reporting live in oaklyn, new jersey, jeff chirico channel6 "action news." >> enjoy those snacks, jeff. that's always nice. thank you very much.

now, let's head over to matt pelman in the "action news" traffic center with more on how those roadways are looking tonight and boy, oh, boy, what a commute for a friday, hm, matt. >> i'm recommending that people do one of your favorite things, rick. >> what. >> and that is stay on the couch and do nothing, if you can. >> that's true, that's true. >> yes, stay home this evening. it is really nasty but i know not all of you can stay home so if you have to head out, here's what you're going to encounter. 111 minutes on the westbound side so, yes, we're going on two hours now on the westbound schuylkill to get from the vine out to the blue route. ideally that would be 15 minutes so we're going eight times what that westbound travel time should be and now adding insult to injury there's a broken down vehicle here in the westbound lanes by the spring garden on-ramp taking out the center lane. if you have to head out this evening make sure you've got a full gas tank, make sure your window washer fluid is topped off, make sure your cell phone is charged. you need to be prepared because you're not going to get anywhere quickly. i have been with you guys now over a dozen years and this is one of the worst commutes i've ever covered for you.

single digit speeds on 95, on the schuylkill, on the blue route, on all of the major highways. it is an absolute mess. vine street expressway in center city gives you an idea of what you're looking at. it's basically a parking lot in all directions. the traffic light being out doesn't help the gridlock in center city. vehicle flipped over on the northeast extension southbound approaching quakertown. one of the two lanes is blocked. speeds in the teens. come down 309. it will be at least a little bit better. here in delco this is 95. these travel times should be about eight minutes. instead we're nearly a half hour so about three times what they should be. no better in the state of delaware. single digit speeds like 3 miles per hour on 95. six on 495. 13 there on highway one by christiana. we had the wilmington newark regional rail line not running for a time in delaware. it is running now but with delays and across-the-board on mass transit expect about 10 minutes and south jersey not immune. we've got a broken down vehicle on 295. we've got a crash on the turnpike and a lot of single digit speeds in south jersey

as well. rick and sharrie, we'll talk again at 6 o'clock. >> yeah, we will. i just put the waze app for my commute home. it says forget about it. >> stay at work and just stay here with us. >> that's a new one. thank you, matt. keep up with changes to the wintry forecast right on your phone or tablet. that includes realtime views from storm tracker6. the 6abc app is a free download for your mobile device. >> a dog that was severely abused by his owner has been nursed back to health and is now ready for his forever home. in the meantime, the pennsylvania spca is hoping to file felony charges against the man allegedly responsible for abusing him. well, meet tase, a four-year-old pitbull mix. he was surrendered last month with severe injuries to his hind leg. turns out he had a number of broken bones. investigators say his owner admitted to intentionally hurting him and now the spca is working to bring felony charges against that owner. haze had to have his leg amputated but has made a full

recovery and is available for adoption. >> good for haze. well, you got a gun? well, get a lock. that's the message sheriff's deputies were spreading today as they handed out free gun locks to philadelphia residents. they set up stations like that one you just saw here in west philadelphia all across the city. along with the locks they handed out gun safety pledge cards to children to make them aware of the dangers of firearms. the newest class of recruits on the philadelphia police academy are ready to hit the streets after graduating here at temple university today. the class includes 84 new officers with the philadelphia police, six temple police recruits and five for the septa police department. these men and women range in age from 22 to 48 years old. mayor kenney was on hand as well to congratulate the new officers. >> and they look great. >> uh-huh. >> still to come tonight on "action news" developing news from washington as two key republican holdouts signal they will back the tax plan. we'll tell was compromise was reached to get the vote.

>> also a terrifying scene on a new york subway platform when a man passes out and falls onto the tracks. what his fellow commuters did just as the train was barreling towards the station. >> and we continue to keep an eye on the latest conditions as the snow continues to fall. a live look now outside at the 76-476 interchange. looks like an emergency vehicle now is there on the road to help someone out. drivers taking it easy to get home safely. "action news" at 5:00 will be right back. >> ♪

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geico. >> as we continue to track the storm and the snowy commute tonight here are some pictures just in to "action news." this was the scene a short time ago on macdade boulevard in holmes delaware county. you can see it's slow going as everyone tries to get home safely and we're continuing to track the road conditions and the snowfall throughout our newscast. >> ♪ >> developing news tonight from washington where the republican tax plan could be one step closer to the president's desk. late today florida senator marco rubio signaled that he is now on board after assurances that the bill would include a larger child tax credit for low income families. senator bob corker, another

holdout, has also decided to back the plan. the bill includes cutting the top tax rate for the wealthiest americans. and nearly doubling the standard deduction for married couples. the legislation is now on track for a vote next week. >> sir, please wake up. sir, wake up. >> dramatic scene here as commuters jumped into action to save a man who fell unconscious on the subway tracks in brooklyn. fellow strap hangers tried in vain to wake him up. luckily the training operator spotted the man on the tracks and was able to stop in time. and that gave bystanders a chance to scramble down onto the tracks lift the man up and onto the platform. >> i started cheering and crying 'cause i never seen such a thing. >> the man was taken to a local hospital where he was in serious condition. but there's no doubt the actions taken by those bystanders surely prevented the outcome from being much

worse. >> time now for sports. jaime apody is here and some news coming out of the phillies today. >> i know how about that, right? here we go. it might be snowing outside but today sure got me thinking spring as the phillies took the chill out of the air by making major moves. to start we have a bat folks. reports say they've signed carlos santana to a three year $60 million deal. he spent his entire career with the indians. the switch hitter had 23 homers, 79 rbi's last year for the division champs. add him to the lineup with rhys hoskins and some of the younger bats we can keep our fingers crossed for some offense finally. hoskins will likely be moved to the outfield to make way for santana. now that move overshadowed what would have been the big story. earlier in the day the phils traded away freddy galvis to the san diego padres in exchange for a minor league pitcher. galvis had been the starting short stop the past three seasons. why the trade? for one he's

eligible to become a free agent. the real reason they cleared the way for jp crawford to take over at short. that is exciting. also the phillies made the two year deal official for pat meshach. need we forget a winner may clinch a first round bye in the playoffs. this game also key because it's the first time we'll get to see how capable nick foles is of leading the team in the absence of carson wentz. the birds have been preparing all week and while we're hoping saint nick comes to the team's rescue they have been about much more than the quarterback all year. fletcher cox wants us to make sure we remember that. >> i mean honestly if you really want to know the truth the defense has been carrying the load all year. this team has been carrying the load all year. i don't think this team is just made of one person. this is a team. you know, nick going to step in and do a really good job and nobody want to see anybody in this league get hurt and if we lose our starting quarterback it's a lot but let's not forget that, you

know, nick is a really good player, too. >> sixers snapped a four game losing streak on wednesday. tonight they look to keep rolling as they host the thunder. we love joel embiid because he's different. i've seen him sporting flip-flops and slippers but barefoot. he's not wearing any shoes. just trust me. there you go. the sixers had a rough go against oklahoma city. they've lost to them 16 times in a row. the thunder believe it or not are a game under .500 but the sixers know they'll have their hands full with their all-star lineup. starts with russell westbrook. >> he's a special player in our league. he's tough to contend one-on-one. so it's going to be a group effort tonight. and carmello and paul george, takes a team and just following your principles and playing hard. that's all you can really do. >> i'm calling it. they're snapping that losing streak against them tonight. they're winning. >> espn great special on the sixers. have you seen it yet. >> i have not. they have a great article

about joel embiid on espn.com. >> a lot of sixers news. jamie thanks. >> much more. we and continue to track that snowy commute out there. >> as we take a live look through our sky6 camera at the philadelphia international airport. not only are the roads moving slowly so are the airplanes. meteorologist adam joseph with the latest snow totals in the exclusive accuweather seven accuweather 7-day forecast when we come back. hey, think ben will like it? yeah, was i the only one hearing the angelic music? i'm serious, i never know what to get him. just tell me you got him fios too. sigh. mrs. layne, fios is a 100% fiber-optic network. that, plus this sick console, he'll be like whaaaaaattt. your new tech is best on the 100% fiber optic network. so get fios. now just $79.99 per month with a 2-year price guarantee with a 2-year agreement.

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>> a live look now at penn's landing where you can see the snow continuing to come down and cover the roadways. it is one of the most challenging friday night commutes we've seen in years. a lot of folks trying to get home and it's going to take a long time. very slow going out there tonight as we continue to track the evening commute that was certainly impacted by the afternoon snowfall. >> yeah, the timing has been the big deal. >> yeah, this is not a big storm. we talk in general 2-inches across much of the area and 2-inches has done this much damage all because of the timing here this afternoon but it's about to end. let's take a look at the weather center here and our wind weather advisory, this in effect until 9 o'clock tonight basically this just means in this area we're dealing with those snow covered roadways and this is where the majority of the accumulation has fallen. yes, it has fallen to the north and west of that area, the pennsylvania turnpike, but it's that turnpike all points to the south where we saw most

of that snow or the heaviest amounts of the snow here this afternoon. as we look at storm tracker6 live double scan, there you see that drier air puncturing in now from the west and northwest so the last few flakes are falling now in center city. it is done in wilmington, the same for basically the entire state of delaware, southeastern pennsylvania, even mercer county. it is just about over there with just a few flurries floating in the air. and it's only going to be another hour or so for south jersey and the shore. you can see it is still snowing moderately in this region along route 70, 72 near medford lakes, a little pop of purple right there in central parts of burlington county, the tame for long beach island down to atlantic city in cape ce may county there it is ending as well. as we look at the totals cinnaminson 2.3-inches, voorhees 2-inches, palmer ton up in blue mountain about an inch and a half or so. phoenixville 1.5-inches and eaglesville close to 2-inches

of that fresh fluffy snow. you look at these totals and you say that's easy to handle. it would have been if it was overnight when most folks are not on the roads. 22 allentown right now, that's the problem, the surfaces were extremely cold, so even with treated surfaces it didn't really do all that much to prevent the snow from sticking. 25 in wilmington, 24 in millville and right now 25 degrees in dover. this storm we didn't track it across the country. it just blossomed right over our region late morning into the afternoon. it is now pushing away as a coastal storm developing south of new england. these snow showers to the west they're going to fall apart and dry up before they come in here. so, the snow exits the coast by 7 o'clock. the skies will clear by 11:00 and temperatures will stay well below freezing overnight tonight so everything that was slushy will be rock hard if it's not treated and then turning very breezy again tomorrow with the winds tomorrow and that fresh snow on the ground it is still going to be pretty bitter in the morning, feeling like the

low teens for reading allentown, 15 philadelphia, 20 in millville, 20 degrees in dover and even the afternoon tomorrow feeling below freezing most areas philadelphia, trenton, allentown, 27 tomorrow afternoon. so, another very cold day with that jet stream down to the south locking in that cold for the beginning of the weekend but there are changes heading our way. the jet stream goes back to the north, mild air punctures up the eastern half of the country so we'll get a little break here from the snow and that winter cold. the exclusive accuweather 7-day forecast, sun and clouds tomorrow but it's a gusty day. wind could be over 30 miles per hour. 42 degrees. feeling much cooler than that. 40 here mostly cloudy on sunday and then monday it is milder but still cloudy at 47 and tuesday that's the winner here. 12 degrees above average, 56 degrees but then we do go back to normal wednesday, thursday. it is dry, fairly sunny, mid 40's. and the first day of winter comes friday with maybe a few showers and very mild temps

back into the middle 50 before we head into the christmas holiday weekend. >> boy, that is going to be a nice day. >> look forward to that. adam thank you. employees at mercer philadelphia hospital took part in a live nativity scene today. they did so as a narrator recited the traditional story of the birth of jesus. and just to show how talented these employees are, the entire performance was complimented by music from the hospital's gospel choir. this is tradition that takes place every year. >> well there's big changes coming to septa service for senior citizens. starting january 16th, medicare cards will no longer be accepted for free and reduced fare rides. the change was supposed to take effect on the first of the year but septa's extending that deadline to give riders more time to prepare. the phaseout is part of the transition to septa key cards. many seniors have already received those key cards but those that haven't are encouraged to do so as soon as

possible and we'll be right back.

>> san too took time out of his busy schedule to visit students in bellmawr new jersey. children shared their christmas list with them. the event was sponsored by local police officers and first responders donating their time to make this day very special for all of the youngsters. >> good stuff. >> right now jim gardner and the "action news" team are standing by with these stories and much more next at 6:00. an afternoon of snow is making for a nightmare of an evening commute. live team coverage of the messy situation. >> plus, a massive effort to haul away hunger in the delaware valley. that story coming up as well next at 6:00 now for monica malpass, meteorologist adam joseph cecily tynan jaime apody sharrie williams and the entire "action news" team, i'm rick williams.

have a nice night. good night. michael: i'm thankful that i'm alive and have a second chance. james: i'm thankful for the help and the opportunity that i received. darlene: i'm thankful to be able to help people in crisis. vanessa: i'm thankful that addiction is treatable, and that help is available. christie: new jersey is experiencing a heroin epidemic fueled by opioid painkillers. but if you or someone you love is struggling with addiction, i want you to know: we are here for you.

this holiday season, choose help. call 844 reach nj or visit reachnj.gov. >> ♪ >> "action news." delaware valley's leading news program with ducis rodgers, meteorologist cecily tynan and jim gardner. >> ♪ >> it is friday night and the big story on "action news" tonight is a nightmarish evening rush hour. sky6 is showing i-95 and delaware avenue in philadelphia and this is typical of the stop-and-go traffic all over the delaware valley. actually stop and go would be the generous way of describing it. it is barely moving. the snow combined with heavy friday night volume has caused a brutal commute home.

let's get right to matt pelman. matt, we know it's bad. how bad is it. >> it's mostly stopped on most of the highways, jim, yeah, really nasty commute. in fact, one of the worst i've covered in the last 12 years. looking live at the schuylkill expressway here by spring garden street, a nice little flurry still coming down in the overhead light but the traffic is anything but nice. we're now sitting in an even hundred minutes on the westbound side of the schuylkill. again, that's about six times a little more than six times what it ideally should be coming out of town. at least they moved that disabled vehicle out of the way here in the westbound lanes by the spring garden on-ramp but we've seen a bunch of disabled vehicles. if you need to venture out this evening top off the gas tank charge the cell phone. there's a good chance you're going to run into some problems or at least some huge delays. gridlock across-the-board in center city. doesn't help us out that this evening a lot of our traffic lights aren't working. so we've got police officers out here trying to direct traffic. it is just a mess as we look at center ci.