operation. it does say there was unwitting participation by some members of the trump campaign. it also says the russians stole american identities to go on facebook, twitter and the like to sow discord in the election and our political system. this case does not include the allegations of russians hacking the dnc aren't and the clinton campaign chairman. an immediate result of the indictments president trump as he left for florida today seemed to accept unequivocally for the first time that the russians did meddle in the election. in proclaiming his innocence, he posted this tweet. russia started their anti-u.s. i announced that i would president. the results of the electio were not impacted. the trump campaign did nothing wrong. no collusion. "action news" reporter vernon odom has been talking to an expert about the indictment. vernon, what did you learn

today? >> reporter: jim, the indictment of the 13 russians today reveals a great deal about the size and scope of this investigation of the mueller investigation and according to many, it makes it impossible for the president to continue virtually impossible for the present to continue calling the mueller investigation a "total hoax." >> there are new allegations that there was direct collusion. >> reporter: no smoking gun on the president or any more of his top team members in today's mueller indictments but our legal expert finds much in the bombshell the special counsel dropped today to concern people close to the president's 2016 campaign. >> if i were someone who were involved in contacts with russian officials during campaign, it wouldn't -- i wouldn't have a good night sleep tonight. but, again, if you aggregate

all the information we have it's pretty obvious they're getting close to making some conclusions. >> reporter: the indictment announced today does represent the most direct allegation to date of illegal russian meddling during the 2016 election. aimed at helping donald trump and harming hillary clinton's white house bid. deputy attorney general robert rosenstein emphasized there is still no hard evidence the russians tampered with ballot totals in key states like pennsylvania. but that is apparently not the critical issue at least here. >> not to be a good bank robber to be convicted of a bank robbery. you don't have to be seone who is good at to be convicted of fraud. the fact that you did it is the crime. so whether or not you actually influenced the election is not the point. >> reporter: jim, the experts with whom i talked today -- jim the experts with whom i talked today say today's developments are no surprise to them and they expected more major

developments in the mueller investigation will continue coming. i'm vernon odom, channel6 "action news," live in center city. >> thank you vernon. world news tonight with david muir will have much more analysis on these developments into the russian meddling charges. that is next at 6:30 right after "action news." other news at this hour, we are gearing up for some snow tomorrow which means there is an accuweather alert in progress. let's get the latest information from cecily tynan and accuweather. >> reporter: and jim, hard to believe we're talking about snow on the way when you consider we hit 60 degrees in philadelphia today. but the first step is bringing in the colder air. double scan live showing us this front that brought us the showers, the showers moving off shore right now that will supply us colder air with winds out of the northwest. future tracker showing by the time on the air at 11 o'clock we're already down to 39 degrees. the temperatures really crash after midnight. down into the 20's. tomorrow morning. the colder air is in place and the same front moving through

tonight stalls to the soh, a wave of low pressure develops along it so that means we've got snow arriving right in time for dinnertime tomorrow niere will be some mixing along the coast and that rain-snow line will be moving northwest. the big question how far north and west. but the biggest concerns are areas like che montgomery, bucksouy, mercer county and all areas northwest. that's where we do have a winter storm watch in effecto vy early on sunday morning. this is the area where the travel could get very tri so, the time line moving it forward a little bit a couple hour it's rushing in, snow moving in from the southwest to the northeast between 4 o'clock and 6 o'clock tomorrow evening. the steadiest and heavieid is ag system. it's out of here between midnight a back on sunday. then the melting will begin. i'll talk about how much snow to expect where you live and then record warmth next week in the accuweather 7-day forecast.

jim. >> thank you, cecily. and you can visit 6abc.com for the latest worm winter storm watches and warnings plus storm tracker6 live radar and the updated accuweather forecast for snowfall totals. >> ♪ >> the fbi now says it has received warnings about nikolas cruz the alleged gunman who killed 17 people at a florida high school this week but the agency failed to follow up. the fbi received a tip last month cruz's gun ownership, his erratic behavior and his desire to kill people. the fbi has apologized for additional pain it may have meanwhile there were moments of high anxiety today at a philadelphia middle school. wagner middle school was placed on lockdown in west oak lane. "action news" reporter bob brooks is live at the school tonight. bob, officials acted quickly when they heard there was a gun inside the school. >> reporter: yeah, jim, they

did but the real hero today is a little girl. she told the principal she saw a fellow student with a gun inside of the building. it's because of her quick actions that help was able to come so fast: these hugs felt a little more special today. >> this is a good feeling, this is a g >> reporter: that's because these students from the wagner middle school and their families didn't know what was going to happen. police say at 9:00 a.m. a student reported to the principal she witnessed another student with a gun inside the building. after it was clear students spoke with us about the lockdown they say each one of them were individually searched. s.w.a. teams and k-9 units looked through every room. >> i had to hide all the way in the back of theom. it was -- it was scary. >> they checked me and they said just stay calm. >> reporter: parents could only watch as police went to work. many say they were talking to their children on the phone while it was all unfolding. does she have a phone? >> yeah, i just spoke to her

not that long ago. >> reporter: what did she tell you. classroom. >> reporter: there was a pistol style bb gun. detectives say it looked like this model. police believe one of the students dumped it ere. >> we're going to talk to as many administrators as we can and get some answers. >> reporter: just two days ago the country watched the tragedy unfold in south florida. everyone here today knowshey're. >> you see what just happened with 17 people lost they you know, the kids are so we're blessed today. >> to the young woman or to anyone who in these types of instances steps up is brave and say, you know, they see something and they say something, reporter: cannot thak that little girl enough. now, the parents here they wanted to stress some concerns mainly to the fact that the school does not have metal detectors. jim, they're hoping maybe those can be installed and also according to the police, the bb gun was not loaded but

it was also missing the magazine. for now reporting live in west oak lane, bob brooks channel6 "action news." jim. >> thank you, bob. so before stoneman in florida, before columbine in colorado, there was the homicidal rampage of howard unruh in camden. and tragedy has a haunting con to that first mss murder in america y ago. carly novelle is a student at stoneman douglaswes photograph of her grandfather. she says he the attack in camden when he was 12 years old. he hid in a closet. just likesh on wednesday in parkland florida. unruh killed 13 people in a shooting spree in camden's cramer hill on september 6th, 1949. the incident became known as the walk of death. unruh was held in a psychiatric hospital until his death in 2009. pennsylvania supreme court is now weighing a new proposal to redraw the state's

co this is the district boundaries map submitted by governor tom wolf last night. the governor says this proposal would even the playing field. >> i have subjected this map to all the tests of fairness. it is a fair map. and that's what i think we need as pennsylvanians. that's what we need as americans, fair maps. >> earlier this week wolf blocked a proposed map drafted by state republicans saying it was still gerrymanderedfavor th. court has until monday to adopt the or to draw its own map. coming up on "action news" tonight, we will go live to state college where thon is now under way. we will tell you about the weekend aimed at raising a lot of money for families impacted by childhood cancer. and jeff skversky is in florida live covering phillies spring training. jeff. >> reporter: jim, how the phillies are using umpires to

their advantage. yeah, umpires. cecily, how jealous are you of this? >> very jealous, especially since i'm tracking a winter storm. double scan live showing that moisture is developing across the southwest. it will run into colder air. i'll talk about what to expect and how much snow where you live in the accuweather 7-day forecast. >> those stories and much more when "action news" continues tonight. >> ♪ ♪ ♪ there are two types of people in the world. those who fear the future... and those who embrace it. the future is for the unafraid.

♪ ♪

the future is for the unafraid. >> we love doing this every year and so it begins. thon is now under way at penn state. it is the largest philanthropic event on any college campus in the world.

live at the bryce jordan center on the penn state campus is "action news" reporter chad pradelli. chad you'll be there all weekend. what is the energy like right at the start? >> reporter: the energy is fantastic, jim. you can hear the music blaring. the 700 or so students who are taking part in dancing for 46 straight hours of no sleep, of no sitting down, just got on their feet at 6:00 it won't end until sund at 4:00 and you can see the vibe inside the bryce jordan center. look at the stands. they're packed. you see the signs many people are representing fraternitiessos and this is such a tremendous effort they do here at penn state. it's been going on for four decades and over $146 million has been raised in time. i want to take you to just a few minutes ago when these students finally stood up hour . [cheers and applause]

>> three, two, one. [cheers and applause] >> ♪ >> reporter: you know, lking with these students they've been preparing for this all year. these seniors wait four years to finally get the chance to dance and to be a part of something so spectacular as thon. you just felt the energy from t their way clock in the afternoon. obviously a lot of families areffected. over 4,000 families have been impacted by the money raised by thon. it's to help those families pay the medical bills, it's to help with accommodations when their son or daughter have to get treatment at a certain hospital. it money goes to the four diamonds fund and penn state hershey hospital. many of the students are from the philadelphia area and they are so excited. we caught up with a few of them just moments ago. >> i've been waiting for this day for years. finally a senior and i'm capping off my career here at penn state by dancing at thon and, you know, you can barely

sleep last night, and you just can't wait to get on the floor. >> this has been my dream since i was seven years old. >> reporter: you're pretty excited. >> i'm so excited ♪ >> reporter: and she was one of the volunteers, you know, so many volunteers are out here supporting these dancers. they'll be doing it all weekend. we'll be here covering it bringing stories on facebook, on twitter and of course on 6abc. for now live at state college chad pradelli channel6 "action news." jim. >> chad thank you. 6abc.com is your home for thon coverage all weekend. we'll bring you the latest updates, photographs, videos, all from penn state and you can also find out how you can get involved and help the kids with cancer ftk. >> ♪

>> latest from phillies spring training. here's ducis rodgers. >> they're still fine tuning things down there in clearwater. they're still having fun and the manage?er is still raving about his players.

optimism remains high with the phillies. let's join jeff skversky live in clearwater florida with more. jeff. >> reporter: hey, ducis. new phillies first baseman carlos santana reported to camp today. he's not the only new face out here. out of the blue the men in blue showed up. it's not a sight or sound phillies pitchers are used to until spring training games and the regular season but new phillies manager gabe kapler is throwing a change up. umpires calling balls and strikes for bullpen sessions something they've never had done in the past. >> having umpires is not the most important thing it's just how can we find the last little detail to get just a tiny bit better gets us one step forward. look we're trying to win 90 plus games. it's not going to be easy. it's going to take all of us coming together and thinking about how we can sort of extract that last bit of value.

>> reporter: the value immediate feedback for pitchers who are working every inch of the strike zone and for catchers who are trying to frame pitchers behind the plate. kapler made this experiment optional but phillies starters love it. >> it was awesome. it's the feedback really early in camp and i thinkve. you want to see kind ofhe you're at and tighten things >> it's definitely different today but i think that's the best way you can go about a withoutstepping on the mound ta hitter in the box. you got the umpire, i think it can help a lot. >> reporter: wow. phillies pitchers love umpires. when do you ever hear that? live in clearwater jeff skversky channel6 "action news." ducis. >> all right, jeff, thank you so much. to the ice, the flyers will skate in columbus tonight. flyers currently sit in the sixth playoff spot blue jackets one of those teams

fighting to get in. ben simmons joel embiid and dario saric will represent the sixers at the nba all-star weekend in los angeles. the three will take part in a rising star challenge tonight embiid will also take part in the skills challenge tomorrow as well as the actual all-star game. that is coming up on sunday. that's your look at sports. >> coming up on "action news" tonight, cecily tynan and that accuweather forecast when we continue in just a moment. >> ♪

this is gointo be the place for binge watching, ladies. is it, ladies? don't get me wrong, you have killer tech mrs. d, but you still don't have fios. ok? fios is a 100%ibk, literally engineer good advice. i've also got some ideas on a better cereal selection, which i will keep to myself.

experience netflix on the 100% option us with a two-year agreement. >> the phillies fanatic went to school today. he visited with second gradines wilmington em wanted to personally congratulate them for being one of the top

performers of the phanatic about reading program. students are asked to read for at least 15 minutes a day. and boy are they proud of their accomplishments and they had some fun today with the phanatic. how would that not be possible. >> all that of green fur is going to come in handy handy tomorrow. taking a look at the center city skyline. what you can see tonight but this time tomorrow night with the snow falling, the low clouds, we're not goi to be able to see itut you know one place they're happy about this. we are live on sky6 spring mountain ski resort. we've got the skiers, snow borders out and president's day weekend is a big weekend for skiing so this is great timing for the ski resorts. the a will show you first of all we get a big drop in temperatures. this morning we were 58 degrees. tomorrow we'll be 28 so that's a 30-degree drop in 24 hours.

saturday night we've got snow and rain depending on your location and then next week record warmth tuesday and wednesday, a real taste of spring on the way. right now temperatures not that cold yet but they will get cold. philadelphia 52. atlantic city airport 51. allentown 45. and lancaster 46 degrees. but the cold front that brought us those showers had cleared the coast so we have winds out of the northwest now pulling down that cooler air. wind speeds sustained anywhere from five to nearly 20 miles per hour. so, a noticeable wind out there. it will be clearing out the skies and bringing in the cold air. now satellite and radar showing i really like this because it shows kind of the train tracks for that low pressure. here's that cold front that's moved through that will bring us that colder air and if you look over here across the southeast, here's that low pressure that rides along the front, another piece of energy dives in helptensify the system but it's fast moving so we have limited opportunity to get the accumulating snow. so, future tracker showing tomorrow morning it's cold, temperatures in the 20's and

30's. but we get the sunshine at 9 o'clock. it's out of here by lunchtime. by 1 o'clock, thick clouds in place and then heading into the evening, this is when the snow develops with that rain along the coast. by 5:30 some pretty heavy snow north and west of philadelphia and then as we head later in the evening, we will see this rain-snow line start to push up to the northwest. by 10:30, near philadelphia. still a big question just how far north and west it moves. and then by 2 o'clock in the morning, the moisture is out of here. so, it's a real quick hit. so, if you live right along the coast, cape may county, southern delaware, we're looking at a rain event. no snow accumulation. interior south jersey, central delaware a coating to an inch before that changeover to rain. the i-95 corridos like one to three slushy inches. we'll get som mixing or changeover to rain. the far northwest this is where we have that winter storm watch in effect, three

to 5-inches of that heavy wet snow. saturday night if you have plans to go out, the northwest suburbs do be careful. the roads will be snow covered. the i-95 metro area including philadelphia, secondary road will be slushy. i think the main roads will just be wet so i wouldn't cancel dinner plans. really the same for interior new jersey along the coast just take your rain gear. it will be rain, not snow. so, the exclusive accuweather 7-day forecast, it'smorrow, the. the evening snow and rain. by sunday, the sunshine is back. we bump it up to 48 degrees. all that melting. we continue to warm up on monday, a warm front moves through. that could bring us a late day shower. 52 degrees the high but the main impact is@ the record warmth behind it. tuesday we'll likely tie a record high of 70. wednesday breaking a record high that was set way back in the 1930's, a high of 73. cold front brings us some late day rain and then temperatures drop back into the 50's on thursday and friday. i will be getting new

information on the storm system. i'll have details on "action news" at 11:00. >> all right cecily. abc's "world news tonight" with david muir next on channel6. "action news" continues at 10:00 on phl17 with brian taff sharrie williams adam joseph and ducis rodgers. then please joan us for a special troubleshooters report at 11:00 on channel6. nydia han has more. >> reporter: the troubleshooters were called upon to help with an emotional situation. it involves a mother's death a temporary mission and a family's effort to get her moved to her final resting place. >> it was really devastating. we had a lot of friends and family help us get through this and it wasn't easy. find out how this emotional story ends tonight on channel6 "action news" 11:00. >> and for cecily tynan ducis rodgers and the entire "action news" team, i'm jim gardner. we hope you'll join us for "action news" at 11:00. >> ♪

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tonight, breaking developments as we come on the air. the fbi's stunning admission. they had been warned about the shooter in florida six weeks ago. a call to an fbi tip line. how do they explain this to the 17 families who lost loved ones? also developing tonight, the massive indictment in the robert mueller investigation breaking today. 13 russians, 3 russian companies, not only operating overseas, but operatives right here inside the u.s., and tonight, the american pleading guilty and who is now cooperating with robert mueller's team. tonight, the new report involving then-candidate donald trump and a "playboy" play mate. raising serious questions again.

the play mate allegedly paid by a tabloid before the election. why was her story never