♪ >> "action news," delaware valley's leading news program, with jim gardner. ♪ ♪ >> this is blaze bernstein. he was a sophomore at the university of pennsylvania when he went home to california for winter break. for the last week lawmen tried

to find him after he vanished january 2nd. yesterday, they did, except he was dead. police say this was a homicide. it is wednesday night. the big story on "action news" is pain and sorrow in the bernstein home lake forest and university of penn. kristi, what is the latest information revealed by police? >> jim, police won't comment on how he died or if they are looking at a person of interest. people at penn are struggling to make sense of what police are calling a murder. >> the coroner office and police department have confirmed our family's worst fears are true. >> blaze bernstein disappeared

last week and was found dead in california. >> blaze was a colorful and charismatic man that shined light on all of the lives he touched. >> the sheriff's office believes this is a merchandise. homicide. >> the authorities spent a week searching for the 19-year-old. police believe bernstein was likely killed the night he disappeared. the friend, the last person to see him alive has been interviewed several times by police. >> it's sad. >> classmates are struggling to make sense of the murder. he belonged to a club for foodies. >> he was excited to work on the cookbook and magazine we were doing, just really, smart, smart guy. >> while the search for the 19-year-old has ended, the hunt for his killer is only beginning. >> no arrests have been made and

police revealed they served a search warrant at a home this evening. meanwhile, an e-mail went out to penn students letting them know there is a campus vigil at noon tomorrow for blaze. >> thank you, kristi. dr. james kaufman is due in court on charges that he plotted his wife's murder. april kaufman's killing was the result of a murder for hire plot hatched by her husband andco conspirator. they say april threatened to divorce him and expose the drug ring. >> the free freedom house on morris street in west mt. airy has been without water since

this morning, 200 units affected by all of this. management has been handing out bottled water. no word on when the tap water will be back. >> no threat of freezing in the streets tonight. temperatures are getting warmer. let's go outside to cecily tynan and the latest word from accuweather. >> jim, we have climbed out of the deep freeze. over the weekend, temperatures in the teens. friday, the high then 17. the past two day in the 40s. that's nearly a 30-degree increase in temperatures, going up > another 20-degrees over the next two days. right now, our high today, 44. temperatures above freezing. if you look to the west, there's plenty of warm air on the way. chicago cold, 55 the high, wichita 60. we'll rise to the low 50s tomorrow and low to mid 60s friday.

double scan live showing a potent storm system strengthening the plain state moving to the great lakes friday. that brings us a slug of a lot of moisture, but we are talking about rain, nothing frozen. it warms to the 50s tomorrow, 60s on friday, fog thursday night into friday and a soaking rain friday into saturday. some areas close to two inches of rain. i have details on the timing and the cold that follows. jim? >> thank you, cecily. last week's snow has mostly melted but that hasn't stopped some from trying to save their parking spots. philadelphia police are reminding everybody in their no savsies campaign that this is not legal.

officer frs the police unit practiced ice rescues today. they took turns in full gear, specialized wet suits designed to stand up to the freezing water. pennsylvania governor tom wolf has declared the state's opioid epidemic a public health emergency. he will be able to call on resources as if the crisis was a natural disaster. dann cuellar is live. advocates are hailing the governor's actions today. >> they sure are, jim. this is what a lot of people are waiting for, for several reasons, the main one that it brings attention to a serious epidemic a lot of people should be focused on right now. >> the fact that he's declaring

an emergency and bringing it to that level is important to us. >> at the addiction and recovery center governor wolf's declaration sends a message. >> everybody, the police, firemen, bartender at the bar -- everybody has to be involved in this. >> it's being forecast we'll lose 4800 people in philadelphia to drug overdoses. to sharon, a former addict, this could go a long way in removing the stigma. >> being out there in the addiction, you feel ashamed to come forward because of the impression of people suffering from drug addiction. >> mike harley has been in recovery 46 years. he hopes this declaration will stem the tide of resources in the battle. >> there are not enough

resources. we are overwhelmed. whatever help he gives us, we are grateful for. >> they are hoping the commonwealth of pennsylvania and others will go after doctors and pharmaceutical companies they feel should be held responsible for the gateway drug to the more deadly drug, heroin. >> they made billions of dollars, some estimates 30 and $40 billion off of overprescribing these drugs. >> but the truth is that the declaration as the governor himself has stalemate stated isr bullet. it takes a lot of time and resources to deal with it. live in center city, dann cuellar, channel6 "action news." >> thank you, dan. there is new information about today's federal court ruling siding with republics and allowing pennsylvanians to keep

its congressional matt. the group of democratic voters that sued plan to appeal to the supreme court. the plaintiffs believe the lines were drawn to favor one party over the other. the judges ruled that's not unconstitutional. >> the help wanted signs posted in philadelphia will accept applications for the new city controlled school board that takes over in july. the mayor will appoint all nine members of the board. it's preferred that candidates or parents of the charter school students attended one of the schools themselves. >> the girl scout cookie season gets under way in a week from now. in preparation for the event, a moving van packed with cookies was delivered to the fairmont

section tonight. volunteers worked to unload 12,000 boxes of cookies. >> cameras are rolling when the power goesepower goes out at tht tech show. startling new images of the mudslides in california as the death toll rises tonight. >> coming up, a family sits down with me and describes their tragedy at this petsmart. what the company is saying and what happened is coming up. >> we are dry and mild for january standards, 40 in philadelphia, average high for this time of year but temperatures soar for the weekend. i'm tracking a soaking rain and we have the detail in the seven-day forecast. >> we hear from a teacher dragged out in handcuffs after asking about pay raises and jeff skversky with the eagles getting

ready for the playoffs. statistics 345estatistics may pf fans at ease. wouldn't that be nice? that and more when we return. omise you a lot.

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and add voice and tv >> the search continues for at least 13 people missing in the deadly mudslides of southern california. flash floods triggered the slides that buried neighborhoods. 17 people have been found dead. the coastal community of monticeto was hit the hardest. >> it was unprecedented rainfall on any ground surface much less a fire burned watershed. >> the largest fire in history wiped out vegetation that could have slowed down the fast moving mud and debris. a new jersey family says they are at a loss after their bulldog died at a petsmart. how did this happen?

chad pradelli went looking for answers. >> the family dropped off their dog in late december. an hour later, the dog was dead. now the family wants answers and sat down with "action news." >> my baby was dead upon arrival. they tried to do cpr, but they couldn't bring her back. >> the family says scrufls walked in a happy, healthy dog. ben dinapoli says petsmart called saying she was on the way to the hospital. >> they dropped her off like a pizza. no one was there to answer questions or say why my baby, my beautiful healthy bulldog past.

>> another collapsed and died two weeks later. a third was there in december. on a facebook page set up, justice for scrufls, they and others detail instances at petsmart around the country. the department for cruelty to animals is investigating. they told them this. >> the information they gave him was that my dog was dried in a dryer. they are not supposed to put bulldogs in there. she collapsed. >> petsmart refused an on camera interview but released two statements. the company denied wrong doing. our policies and procedures were followed. we believe the incidents to be unrelated. our thoughts remain with the pet

parents during this difficult time. >> it's a terrible story. we hope something good comes out of this and others don't have to go what we went through. >> the family has done what is similar to an autopsy. then they may get answers. chad pradelli, "action news." >> the civil rights group is investigating the arrest of a louisiana teacher at a meeting. she was complying with orders to leave the meeting. next she is seen screaming as the marshal handcuffed her. she was allegedly kicked out after asking about a large pay raise for the superintendent. >> they were trying to take away

my first amendment right to speak. i'm appalled at this, and you should be too. >> for now the city lawyer is refusing to charge her. the teacher union and aclu are looking into the situation. >> immigration descended on 7-elevens today to check immigration status. it is described as the largest in president trump's presidency, cracking down on those that hire undocumented workers. a change in tone today by president trump over daca. yesterday he seemed open to discussion with democrats. today, trump said that any deal for the dreamers must include a wall. also today, president trump put a potential interview with

special council robert mueller in doubt saying, it seems unlikely. mueller may have a different point of view. >> ironically, it seems the biggest technology show may need to upgrade its electricity. the power went out bringing the demonstrations to a halt. it even interrupted the interview with the ceo of gopro. it took two hours to get the lights back on. officials blame moisture from rare heavy rainfall in vegas for knocking out a transformer. >> today the american kettle club added two new breeds. they can't compete until next year giving us time to practice pronouncing their names. are you ready?

[names the names ] >> the other a french dog bred to hunt rabbits. i knew that one from eighth grade french. >> what was the first one again? >[namesnames in french ] >> say that ten times fast. >> okay. >> let's go live on sky 6 taking a look at the center city skyline, a view from the temple university camera. we have clouds upstairs. the clouds are trapping in the heat of the earth so temperatures are not that cold for january standards and not cold for the weekend never climbing out of the teens.

40 in philadelphia. that's the normal high for that time of year. trenton 39. cape may, 45 and reading 35. satellite and radar showing we have a veil of high thin clouds, thicker clouds out over the ohio valley. they are moving in tomorrow. winds out of the southeast bring warmer air. the bus-stop forecast, a lot of snow melting, not too chilly with mostly cloud ji skies. suburbs, 31, philadelphia 36. tomorrow, lots of clouds and temperatures soaring ten degrees above normal. 49 in cape may and wilmington 5. friday, here comes the rain. future tracker showing rain comes in waves around 11:00, heavy rain north and west of philadelphia. then we have a break in the action in the afternoon with lingering shower, lots of fog, clouds and a cold front starts

to push in overnight friday night into saturday morning. this brings us another wave of heavy rain early in the morning around 6:30. notice the ice north and west of the viewing area. it's rain for us, dries out around lunchtime and cooler air moves in. snow melting combined with rain means we could get localized flooding. the froze be ground cannot absorb water. be careful driving around, there could be minor flooding, ponding on roads. the seven-day forecast, mostly cloudy tomorrow, mild to high, 50-degrees. foggy but warm, saturday deceiving. 50 early then temperatures dropping for the eagle game start time, 47.

it will be breezy, so bundle up. monday, the high of 40 down to 38. >> tuesday, a clipper brings a chance of snow. at this point, looks to be a weak system with snow showers. behind it, temperatures drop with a high of 30. indications that we'll start to warm up against next week. rollercoaster temperatures, don't forget the umbrella. >> students set their studies aside to raise money for the make a wish foundation. young guests showed their talent to the event. this young man busted a move. this showcased the young people's knowledge of science. since 2010 they have raised 47 thowd for kids. >> the 22,000 square foot

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you prosper. >> spotlight on nick foles. he has to respond. >> they are in good shape. they'll be fine. they have never lost at home in the playoff games.

jeffrey says foals looks more confidence and relaxed. eagles hope the demeanor stays that way saturday against the falcons. coach pederson told foals to stay simple. they have never lost as underdogs at home in the playoffs. >> having a week to practice, you are itching to get back out there and hit somebody else. >> it's everything we worked for and talked about. you know what i mean? you have to ignore the crowd noise and get out there and play. that's what it comes down to. >> matt ryan back at practice for the falcons, red hot in the playoffs. ten touchdowns, no interceptions, he expects the eagle d to be tough. >> they are playing well in the secondary. different coverage than last year, but for the most part,

similar. they have had a great season. they have played extremely well. it's a good challenge for us saturday. >> so much for claude giroux being passed as prime. he's headed back to the all stars for the fifth time one of his best seasons ever. >> sixers are eating fish and chips and doing sightseeing in london. they have their sights set on beating boston tomorrow afternoon sixers looking to win their sixth straight. we are right back with number one ranked villanova. ,000 in america last year.

we need to stand up and say enough. the only way this problem is going to be solve

hope over hopelessness. make sure that the lives we've lost will not have been lost in vain. addiction is a disease. >> back with college hoops, villanova playing since reclaiming the number one spot. villanova gets on the run

against xavier. cats up 12 after 20, second half, all nova, 89-54. temple trying to end their five game losing streak against southern methodist. temple wins 66-64. it's their first win in a month. wild finish for st. joe's, up one, five seconds left to george mason. how do you defend this? otis livingston at the buzzer. st. joe's loses 81-79. losail coach may lose his mind at umass, up 21 in the second half. not enough. pitkin scores 44. losail loses 86-79 in overtime,

their third straight loss. that is a long trip home, up 21 in the second half. >> all right, jeff. the arden theater company in old city put on a special performance of "a doll's house." patrons paid whatever they could to sit in the audience. ticket sales benefit career wardrobe, an organization that provides career clothing and development for those looking for work. "jimmy kimmel live" next followed by "nightline." >> "action news" continues at 4:30 with pamela edwards, matt o'donnell, meteorologist david murphy and karen roger withs traffic. for cecily tynan, jeff skversky, ducis rodgers and the entire "action news" team, i'm jim gardner. goodnight. ♪ ♪

tonight -- chris hemsworth. from "the assassination of gianni versace, american crime story," darren criss. and now, here we go again, here's jimmy kimmel! [ cheers and applause ] watchin. thanks for coming. i'm glad you're here. i'm glad we're all here. very nice. you know, there are a lot of things to dislike about l