vernon odom. abc world news is next on choice. and "action news" continues at 10:00 on phl 17 with brian taff, sharrie williams, adam joseph and ducis rogers. and then please join us for a special troubleshooters report here at 11:00 on channel 6. nydia han has an extreme case of a home construction project gone all wrong. >> a local family is trying to transform this historic church into a home but they could use some divine invention and this has turned into a money pit after the family claims their original contractor walked off the job. the $300,000 mistake coming up on "action news" at 11:00. >>> for the entire "action news" team i'm jim gardner, we hope you'll join us for "action news" at 11:00. >>> tonight, the deadly train crash. the mystery revealed. authorities now revealing what happened with the conductor on that amtrak train. crashing at more than 100 miles per hour, killing eight, injuring hundreds. >>> the new demand involving the tsa tonight. after passengers revolt. three-hour waits, missing flights. forced to sle

vernon odom what happened there? >> reporter: jim, it's not that cocalited a 28-year-old man that lives in the neighborhood bought a soda here at takeout pt and as he walked hom out appeared a h gun pointing it at the back of the head of the r-old man. he said to him, empty your pockets and the man who was the victim is a 28-year-old security guard that has a gun permit and his response to the attempted robber was no way. >> at that point i was scared for my life. >> kelly was headed home this morning and talking to an old friend a hooded holdup man appeared and put a gun to the back of his head and at that point kelly a security guard took matters into his own hands. >> as soon as i seen the gun pointed at me and i ducked for cover and got behind the vehicle where i knew he had no visual on me and when i had visual on him i let two rounds off and off and i let with one more round off and he dropped the gun and that stopped the threat. >> he was arrested moments later at this nearby fast food restaurant and police id

we have vernon odom in center city philadelphia and sara bloomquist in wilmington let tart with you. >> reporter: people in biden's home state and across the country were waiting and wondering what the vice president would finally decide to do. speculation reaching a fever pitch in recent day, and then mid-day today biden confirmed he would not run. >> he confirmed that his family worked through the grieving process after the death of his son but now it's too late to one for president. >> beau is our inspiration, unfortunately i believe we are out of time the time to launch a winning campaign for the nomination, while i will not be a candidate, i will not be silent. >> in fact biden took considerable time to talk about his beliefs and his hopes for the nation going forward. >> we need to keep going forward in the arc of this nation towards justice. the rights of lgbt community, immigration reform, equal pay for women and protecting their safety from violence, rooting out an institutional racism. he called for an end to partisan politics and the nation needs to come together. we don't

son of one vernon odom. >> thank you ducis. cecily tynan has the accuweather forecast when we continue in a moment. jamie wanted a taste of the real new orleans and we just couldn't say no to that face. then we wanted more of that local flavor so betty says... oh yeah, that's betty. you're going to want to do this alligator thing. and betty didn't lead us wrong. a little later we passed some dancing. and who doesn't like dancing? especially when it's followed by fireworks everyone's nola is different. follow yours. >>> we have a bad situation on i-95 in philadelphia and you can see it right there, a car has flipped of on its roof and it is causing traffic problems and money personnel arriving on the scene, this is right near the vine street expressway and we don't know if anybody has been injured but we do know that the situation looks bad and is causing serious disruptions and slowing down any way of traffic tonight. lets go to the accuweather forecast and cecily tynan. >> and jim the rain is clearing out tonight and stormtrac

reporters have fanned out across the city to cover the important components ali gorman eva pilgram vernon odom and walter perez and john rawlins. >> and john rawlins live at the derailment scene. that scene was a rescue mission last night. what is the specific mission there tonight? >> well, now it's a recovery mission at this point they are looking for anymore bodies that may have been trapped in the wreckage or thrown from the wreckage, we heard from the ntsb a short time ago we learned that there is a safety device known as a possive train control that could have slowed this train down and prevented the accident the black box says the train was speeding and the engineer put the train into a full emergency braking mode but it was too little too late. >> maximum authorized speed through this curve was 50 miles per hour, when the engineer induced brake application was applied, the train was traveling at approximately 106 miles per hour. >> the ntsb knows the train was moving more than 50 miles per hour over the posted stead limit but does not at this point know why. >> our mission was to find

vernon odom is live at police headquarters. david henry is live at the scene. once again the vest saves the life of a police officer. >> the officer is doing fine and the suspect is dead and the residents of this apartment complex is unnerved after being jolted out of bed by the sound of gun fire this morning. >> it's ridiculous. you look outside of your window and there are kids it's really a scary experience. >> the shootout happened at 6:00 this morning when a homicide detective kicked in the door of this second floor apartment they were looking for a murder suspect, 26-year-old devon guisherd. the officer returned fire striking the suspect. >> the officer was saved by his body armor and garshard died in the shootout. he was being hunted down for a shot this killed megan doto, she and her baby died. this is the second time this officer was shot in the line of duty he was tracking down an s&p when the suspect fired through a wall, today the officer was shot in the stomach and was saved by his s.w.a.t. armor. >> residents here are glad nobody else got shot. >>

odom is live at the scene. vernon odom you have the details. >> reporter: good evening jim. police constantly warn people of the dangers of trying to jump these barriers, day or night it led to a tragedy here at 11:30 last night. grieving relatives and friends of 16-year-old turner gathered outside of his home today still in shock after he was killed in a hit and run on route 130 in pennsauken. after visiting his girlfriend that stop after his left his job at the cherry hill mall. >> he was with me. >> what did he say when he said good-bye. >> he hugged me and said i'll see you tomorrow joe joe. >> he had a beautiful heart and was in church and helped to clean the church. and doing lawn care and whatever was needed. >> turner was killed police say when he jumped the route 130 barrier into the southbound lanes, the driver sped off only to be captured at 29th and clinton in camden, at the home of relatives. she is identified as susan highland of beverly, new jersey. she was driving the car belonging to her niece. faulk was in the car when the accident took place. she felt guil

live at 30th street station, i'm vernon odom, channel 6 "action news." >> vernon odom thank you. philadelphia city council passed a resolution calling on septa to reach a contract deal. yesterday septa officials asked customers to start figuring out alternate ways to get to work and school. the current contract for more than 5700 septa workers ends on monday night and a walkout could begin tuesday morning. there is more reaction tonight to the cancellation last night of a particular singer's endecision of the national anthem before the 76ers season opener. because of two words on the shirt of singer, seven streeter. john rawlins live at city hall. the words, we matter is causing considerable controversy. >> the singer planned to make a statement but in her words some lives are more disposable. and the 76ers said little, they put out a brief statement cauing for meaningful action driving social change but have not addressed what happened last night. >> streeter was hired to sing the national anthem at the home opener, but she was told she could not wear a street that read, we matt

thank you. >>> lets go live to "action news" reporter vernon odom. vernon you talked to families from the delaware valley that have a very personal stake in the destruction going on in the caribbean. >> reporter: jim, they are breening deep sighs of relief but the worries are not over because they have no ideas when their loved ones will get back to our area. >> hurricane irma has been especially brutal to the island of saint martin a lovely tourist destination with a mix of dutch and french cultures. the hour is out and the island destroyed and leaving vacationers from these parts marooned at their resorts, malory from pottstown and her boyfriend and his grandparents are trapped in their resort. but better than others in the caribbean. >> she was able to call out a few times, just brief information like are you okay? what are they doing where are you at? >> getting the call was reassuring to karen and now word of looting in saint martin triggering calls to the u.s. government to see when the americans would be evacuated. >> i thought when i called t

to have pushed a 4-year-old girl down the stairs, we saw it on surveillance video and today vernon odom talked to the lawyer hired by the little girl's family. and vernon odom is now live in primos, delaware county where the family lives. >> reporter: good evening jim that video makes your jaw drop, it's awful but tonight the suspect remains free on jail of $25,000 and her lawyer knows that video evidence is devastating. >> this is 4-year-old allaya humphrey seen in this infamous video, she is seen allegedly pushed down the stairwell by her teacher. sara folcroft. and she was immediately fired and arrested by upper darby police and her lawyer spoke with the first time publically today. >> my client is remorseful and thankful that the child was not injured and we will present more about my client and the person she is when we get to court. >> in fact he is already negotiating with the delaware county da and currently none of the charges are felonies including simple assault and endangering it's welfare of a child. >> the tape is upsetting, no two ways about it. but i want to focus on the

vernon odom is live outside of energy 64 in long crest, but first chad pradelli is live at the scene of the blaze, you have the details on what happened there this morning. >> reporter: jim, joyce craig-lewis was one of the first firefighters here on scene and she went into the burning building behind me trying to save a life and ended up losing her own. looking from the outside it doesn't appear to be one of the most devastating fires but one of the most tragic in city history. downstairs they encountered heavy smoke and a superior pulled them back and then her brothers in line realized she was still in line. craig-lewis got on her radio and called for help. >> 928 begin evacuation. we are getting emergency evacuation, they say they are trapped in the basement. >> we understand there was a call and she did call and indicate she was in distress. >> efforts to resuscitate the veteran on scene were unsuccessful. a procession escorted her body to the medical examiner's office which will determine the cause of death. >> she loved her job and was a heavily trained firefighter that served

sara bloomquist and vernon odom are on the scene. sabra let start with you. this is the same company that supplied choppers for the university of pennsylvania health system. >> reporter: jim that is right, but the pilot was the only person on board. no patients or penn medicine employees we learned the pilot was a 37-year-old man from franklinville, new jersey, the chopper went down in a drainage ditch and somehow the pilot avoided all the adjacent buildings. eyewitnesss caught cell phone video after the chopper crashed into this industrial park a mile southeast of the newcastle airport. >> it crashed here on quigley boulevard in newcastle. there was one person and one fatality. the pilot was conducting a solo training flight and travelled from atlantic city to newcastle this morning. at 11:55 the chopper when down in a drainage ditch and burst into flames. >> no other injuries as a result of the crash and minor damage to a shed because of flying debris and flames. >> it was operated by penn star that provides the services for the university of pennsylvania h

announced today he will run in the democratic primary against seth williams, "action news" reporter vernon odom joins us live from city hall with more. >> reporter: good evening monica, joe kahn is his name and he has been around for a while now, he is taking a bold step forward getting ahead of what could be a crowded field. >> i am joe kahn and i'm a democrat and running for the district attorney of philadelphia. >> joseph kahn with 15 years under his belt as an assistant d.a., and announced a challenge to seth williams in the may primary. he says he has made a mess of the office and has got to go.

live in king of prussia, i'm vernon odom, jim.e've seen it before. >> thank you, vernon. >>> new jersey's oldest bridge is open to traffic after undergoing emergency repairs. the route 206 bridge over the stony brook and princeton reopened last night. the bridge was closed two weeks ago after the new jersey department of transportation found cracks in the bridge's support. a truck detour will remain in place until permanent repairs are completed this summer. >>> members of the delaware air national guard received a warm welcome home in new castle today. >> daddy. >> daddy. >> dozens of airmen received hugs and kisses as they stepped off the plane. the 166th air lift wing returned from a four month deployment in the middle east. these troops say they are thrilled to be reunited with their names. >> want to spend time with the family and spend as much time as i can. i hate going away and missing the time with them but, love them so much and happy to be back. >> over the next two days another 60 airmen will return home. >>> coming up

vernon odom and john rawlins are covering this story tonight. john lets start with you outside of the councilman's home. >> where the councilman is recovering and surrounded by members of his family and young wife and his 96-year-old mother, he arrived here from the hospital shortly before 3 this afternoon. i'm doing fine and good spirits and i feel fine physically. 18 hours after being stabbed an up beat david oh was thanking a flower delivery guy this afternoon. last night the councilman says that while unloading his car a man came up and mumbled something and anally demanded. >> he said the keys, the keys to your car. i thought was there an accident does he need my car and then punched me mountain lower rib and i know what that is. i said did you just stab me. >> and he had. >> oh a one time prosecutor described as weapon as an shiv a homemade knife. and tried to back away but the demands for keys and cars and money continued. >> he was wild and swinging and lunging. >> and at that time an odd twist. the occupants focused. >> they were outsid

we have got "action news" reporters bob brooks and vernon odom on this story tonight. bob, let's begin with you at the burned out hull of the structure on the 700 block of north franklin street. first thing we need to know, has everybody been accounted for? >> reporter: well, jim, good evening. the answer to that unfortunately is no. everyone is not accounted for. and when we asked officials at a news conference earlier today has anyone been killed they couldn't give us a straight answer. behind me you see the work continues out here to make sure these flames do not reignite. without the help of neighbors aiding first responders many more likely would have been injured. it was a blaze so big, so hot that it still smoldering today. the barclay friends senior living communities went up in flames before 10:30 last night and then the mission to save seniors' lives began. >> they were running back in right into the fire. at that time it was raging. >> reporter: neighbor and witness larry kingsland says the fire crews never flinched. he says he and his neighbors knew they co

i'm vernon vernon odom channel6 "action news" at the philadelphia international airport. jim. >> you can be poetic, can't he? thank you vernon. >>> as you saw last night live on channel6 hundreds of thousands took to the streets of philadelphia to celebrate the eagles historic win and while most reveled responsibly there were a few celebrations that turned chaotic. a few windows were broken at macy's. traffic lights were brought to the ground in several locations and a car was flipped at broad and walnut right in front of the bellevue. an awning at the ritz-carlton collapsed after people were climbing on top of it. police say there were some arrests and more could be coming as they look at surveillance video. >>> philadelphia's newspapers commemorating the birds' historic win were a hot commodity today. fans stocked up on the super bowl souvenirs at newsstands throughout the city. the philadelphia inquirer shows the headline at last! you can see it sort of. the philadelphia daily news went with one for the ages splashed across the front page and of course the philadelphia

"action news" reporters nora muchanic in solebury township, vernon odom in buckingham township and trish hartman in doylestown have covered every angle. we begin with trish hartman with a full accounting of what we learned today. trish. >> reporter: well, jim, we now know much more about what happened to these four young men who have been missing since last week according to what cosmo dinardo told investigators, the d.a. says dinardo and his cousin, sean kratz face charges of homicide, conspiracy and abuse of corpse. the d.a. also says without dinardo's confession they might still be looking for the final body. >> as a result of an agreement that i decided to make with cosmo dinardo, we were able to also secure jimmy patrick's body and bring him home. >> reporter: here's what dinardo told investigators. on july 5th cosmo dinardo agreed to sell jimmy patrick 4 pounds of marijuana for $8,000 and drove him to his family farm. when patrick only had $800 dinardo offered to sell him a shotgun instead. dinardo then shot patrick and used the backhoe to bury his body. then on july 7th dinardo ag

live in juniata where it is freezing vernon odom, channel6 "action news." >> all right vernon. american airlines, u.s. airways and united have all canceled flights in and out of philadelphia international airport tomorrow. airport officials say they have 500 personnel dedicated to snow removal and so they hope to get operations back to normal as soon as possible. many airlines are waiving their cancellation fees. >>> penndot is providing an update on its efforts to keep roads clear right now. at a news conference in norristown, 538 state trucks are being deployed across the five county region. officials wants to remind drivers to be cautious of wind gusts and possible whiteout conditions and to stay off the roads if possible as conditions get worse. >>> so, what about the roads? let's talk to matt pelman right now. matt, we know it's just wet out there now but what are the weak spots in our road network? should the weather really get bad, which we expect that it will? >> yeah, you know jim normally we say any untreated unsalted roads are going to be the really rough spots but i

vernon odom we have a parade on friday what is the city saying about it? >> reporter: the city is gearing up and ready to go, they say they can handle it. the kenney administration predicted 50,000 to 75,000 people will come into town to take part in the celebration, in addition to the folks here every frit working and going to school. the villanova parade will kick off friday here at 20th and market at 1:00 p.m. sharp and then proceed five blocks east to market down into dillworth park where the tulips are flourishing, this is in the works since friday in case the wildcatted came through. >> they have a philadelphia school and a large regional city in the southeast part of the pennsylvania and we are happy that they won. happy to host it. >> these are scenes from the 85 celebration when villanova pulled off their upset against george town to win the mens title that year. city hall says the tab this time for extra services like police will be picked up by the university and the details were finalized midmorning and it was starting to plan on friday. >> we

being introduced by vernon odom. good reason to go up and see it at 8 o'clock 78 degrees, by 10 o'clock 74 a nice night with just a threat of an isolated thunderstorm. i'll have more details on your weekend including the shore and the poconos and talk about a stormy start to next week coming up in the full accuweather 7-day forecast. jim. >> and cecily this reminder. you can get the updated forecast any time on your phone or tablet including realtime views from storm tracker6 live. the 6abc app is a free download for your mobile device. >>> james collins of sharon hill was sentenced to prison today for selling drugs that resulted in an overdose death. collins pleaded guilty last month. collins sold heroin laced with fentanyl to a 28-year-old man who died last october. a judge sentenced collins to 19 to 38 and a half years in state prison plus seven years probation. delaware county district attorney jack whelan says the narcotics task force is continually working to track the source of deadly drugs and prosecute deale

vernon odom, channel 6 " frankl parkway. i read some piece that some analystics company says that the eagles have a 35% chance to be in the super bowl. >> why are they so pessimistic. >> there are a lot of tes. >> put that number higher. >> 75% jack it up. >> what got into your coffee today. they are 10-1 and the haters say the eagles have been played they visit seattle. ges when >> things are easy for the eagles maybe tooasy andhey won the last two games by a combined 84points have not had y ones, so playing the seahawksn seattle is a huge test. own mth o. -- >> we'll reserve t ps on the back son is over. and i like the personalp our guys that way. they live in the present and don't live in the past. and they are ready for a new challenge. >> the seahawks are that challenge. 7-4 they play 3,000 miles away in a notoriously difficult stadium for a visitin gets into they take pride in it. the team is confident and well coached and they have players zm eagles are off until tomorrow and get set to work on seattle when they head

vernon odom was there today. ♪ ♪ the raw weather could not dampen the spirit of this solemn ceremony. living flame ceremony for fallen firefighters and police officers were celebrated today. they joined the city's top brass and paid their respects. >> the city started this tradition is more than 20 years ago and it honors the memory of 500 police officers and firefighters who have fallen in the line of duty. >> fire department records dating back to 1891. since 1828, 328 recorded deaths of police officers that died in service in philadelphia. >> people come to place flowers on the memorial and the number of lives and the loss of our brave people have caused such change in so many lives. >> walter and his mother, worked to conceal each other as they brought the name of walter dewitt on the roster here. he spent 20 years on the police force, after succumbing last year to injuries suffered in 1995. >> he suffered an injury in 19 5 when the police cruiser lost control on him at a high rate of speed. >> we pray that no more names will be added to the living flame monument. when they gather

lets go to vernon odom outside of city hall. >> reporter: jim the republican nominee signalled today she is not a sacrificial lam here, she will put up a strong fight again jim kenney who she called just another city hall politician, they expressed their views on crime and how to fight it. both were high-profile today discussing poverty in generic terms and soon to be pressed by reporters on crime and how to fight it. vie vent crime is down, and thanks to the much maligned stop and frisk policy, the nominee calls it discriminatory and kenney vows to stop it. >> if it doesn't turn into something positive going forward, it needs to be stopped. >> i think we need to end anything that allows us to profile and discriminate against anybody in the city, and we need to look at ways to protect people if you look at the statistics stop and frisk is not working. >> police commissioner ramsey stays if he wants according to kenney. >> it's his choice. >> he is thinking about it and will tell me what he wants to do when the appropriate time comes prior to january of 2016 after november. >> no verd

vernon odom has the full story. >> the joyous celebration for their family and friends and the cops as well. the not guilty verdicts on all counts. >> the government has so much power, they grant immunity to a lot of these witnesses that just talked about things in order to help themselves. >> prosecutors helped their case on the testimony of dozens of drug dealers saying that the six cops used violence and lies to steal $400,000 the defense tore down the creditability of the government's witnesses. >> the things said about these men were ridiculous, a lot of people in this city owe these heroes an apology. >> a lot of people said a lot of things about us and i'm glad the truth came out. >> his mother defended him from the start. >> my son is coming home to his wife and children and his bed. amen. >> now that they are cleared of all charges, all six officers have the right to seek their old jobs back if they so choose. from the courthouse in center city, vernon odom channel 6 "action news." >>. >>> it has been nearly three years since super storm sandy hit the shores but things are not

and vernon odom is live at police headquarters, what is the police game plan? >> they have an extensive one jim. the philadelphia police department is now experienced and adept at handling celebrations even if they are quite spontaneous. that could be sunday night and on saturday they handle the womens march on the pash way and then the eagles challenge and they say they know what they are doing and ready and know the key pressure points across town. >> should the eagles take the next step and punch their super bowl ticket sunday night. police are gearing up for fan celebrations that at times could get out of hand. the '08 phillies world series celebration was the last time the masses poured into the the streets and there was hoodlumism and unacceptable behavior and multiple arrests. enjoy yourself but don't go over the top. >> people will be reminded we are enforcing the law. open container and crime against a person or public urine nation. >> police lines are beefed up in certain sections of the northeast and certain parts of town that have historically gotte

lets go live to "action news" reporter vernon odom at city hall. what happened there today? >> quite a bit jim, tonight the local tow truck industry is crying foul to city council, because they barrelled ahead despite their protest saying that they will work on a more comprehensive reform plan later on. >> independent tow truck operators occupied bike lanes to protest what was going on inside. by a 15-1 vote the city council cracked down on tow truck operators saying there is too much unscrupulous action. >> they have to issue a ticket before it can be towed. >> right now all they have to do is take a picture and we have seen the unsavory picture put up signs and then take a picture and steal a car. >> and they stood with the law abiding operators they get lumped in with the crooks. >> when honest law abiding citizens are lumped in with the criminals. >> they know who the bad guys are, the names are blasted all over the news and they have video of what is going on and you expect the lifestyles of a lot of people. behind the bad doings of a few. >> behind the most prolific to

vernon odom has the detail sfwz the arrest of seven top ocs in zurich and the indictment of several others blows the lid off what soccer fans hold as gospel that fifa is a self governing behemoth. >> the whole thing has been corrupt for years and it's about time. the fbi is after fifa for three years. >> they were expected to uphold the rules that keep soccer honest and protect the integrity of the game and instead they corrupted the business of worldwide soccer to serve their interest and enrich themselves. >> among them busted was jeffrey webb a vice president seen here in march with mayor nutter announcing that philadelphia is one of 13 cities hosting preworld cup qualifiers. they are going to great lengths to stay clear of the fifa swamp. >> the commissioner made clear not to discuss the topic at this time. >> international soccer fans hopes that the charges will clean up the sport. >> everybody is getting rubbed. >> i'm surprised it took some long for the arrests to be made. >> because? >> because everyone knows fifa is corrupt. >> the criminal probe of fifa is far from over. he fully

lets go to vernon odom at school district headquarterers how big of a blow to the school district be how big of a victory for the teachers. >> it's a huge victory for the teachers union and a major blow and loss to the school district and reform commission, they lost big time and the district leaders are trying to decide whether to appeal this decision to the supreme court or simply bite the bullet. >> very angry and rightfully so. teacher president jerry jordan is pleased as punch with the victory for the philadelphia school district. in a 42 page ruling, they said that the school district acted illegally, when they imposed their own terms. after contract talks were going nowhere they proposed health care benefit changes that would have poured $50 million into the courtroom. >> the school reform commission was improper in canceling the current collective bargaining agreement. >> the school district says that there is no impact on the second semester programs but the loss of savings they planned on for the fall could be trouble including another round of layoffs for teachers nurses a

vernon odom has that story. this is 28-year-old eric miller of bensalem. he remains in the bucks county prison and arrested last night at this warminster shopping center arrested on kidnapping and stalking and impersonating a public servant a police officer. and talked two women in montgomery county here at street road driving the black honda claiming to be an off duty officer working for the u.s. marshal and allegedly stopped the females for a motor vehicle violation and then said they were drug suspects. >> and rummaged through their purses and took their cell phones. >> and then he calls for backup. calls the buck county 911 center and asks for a police officer to come to the scene to help him with the investigation. >> that is right. during the course of allegedly committing a crime he calls the cops. when the warminster officer realized this was a hoax. he locked up miller for theft and unlawful imprisonment and robbery are. and said the the defendant watched the victim in hatboro and approached them in warminster and pretended to be a police officer

odom is continuing his recovery in a private rehab facility in new information.... a local event is teaming up with one of the city's biggest money makers. the professional bull riders is helping to give las vegas.... "helldorado days"... new life. action news reporter.... marissa kynaston spoke with mayor goodman.... about what this means.... for the city. marissa intro i talked with the mayor here at city hall earlier today-- she says the partnership with pbr will upgrade and improve the citys iconic event. take vo coming up in may-- the pbr major last cowboy standing will headline helldorado days at the las vegas village. the mayor says pbr will help enhance the experience of helldorado for guests-- that will include new bleachers-- a paved venue-- new and improved carnival features-- all while preserving the history and tradition of helldorado days. take sot from mayor something about why it's good for the city marissa tag this will be helldorado days 82nd year in las vegas. ch13an. whether it's rain in the west or snow back east.. extreme weather is hitting eve

. >> vernon odom spoke to chaka fattah. >> reporter: for congressman fattah, no hiding in the wake of the mammoth racketeering charges against him and four long time allies. he when to national night out events in his district. after more than 20 years in congress -- >> i want for people that support me and believe in the work i have done, they will have an opportunity to vote for me in the upcoming election next year. >> prosecutors claim that fattah was a king pin in the endless string of schemes to funnel money to his family and members of his inner circle. congressman fattah says this whole thing is a culmination of an eight-year-old witch hundred to bring him down. >> i am not going to quit my job and i don't like the attacks on my family. >> he is eluding to federal charges against his son chaka fattah jr. charges of bank and tax freud and then the matter of his wife a local tv anchor person listed in the indictment but not charged. >> there is no one that knows more about my activities than me and i am completely innocent and will prove it. >> congressman fattah's court appeara

the school reform commission is considering applications for 39 new charter schools and vernon odom is live now in spring garden, the hearing did not begin quietly. >> it did not and it will continue to be a tense situation on through the night and there is a lot of tense in the src meeting room and millions are at stake and funning is at stake as groups try to open new charter schools in the hopes they will be selected. >> we are going to fight! >> from the moment that this crucial meeting opened anti-charter school protesters disrupted disrupted calling it a disgrace of the financial situation in the school district. >> the first time they have an open selection process for seven years, there are 39 last minute pitches scheduled for this meeting tonight. >> you change the game for college enrollment for african-american males in philadelphia we send them in a higher percentage and in greater numbers. >> there is a lot of pressure on the src, in the wake of failing schools, state lawmakers with their hands on purse strings demand they approve more charters and local politicians are si

i'm vernon odom, channel 6 "action news." >>> transplant patients that are unable to attend an upcoming walk had one of their own today. they walks the halls of penn medicine to support be the walk run. bone marrow transplant patients have fragile immune systems and have to be careful going out in public. this raises funds for research and patient care costs and adding potential donors to the registry. you have cancer, explore your treatment options with specialists who treat only cancer. every stage... every day.... at cancer treatment centers of america. learn more at cancercenter.com/experts fodeveloping drugs to fight deadly diseases. as a scientist, i know there's more that washington can do to help families. i'm running for congress to protect planned parenthood funding so more women get cancer screenings and treatment... to pass a ban on fracking in the delaware river basin to preserve our clean water, and to always protect medicare and social security. i'm shaughnessy naughton and i approve this message. >>> ducis is counting down the tip-off s the like we are waiting for a year

live at the federal courthouse in center city, vernon odom, channel 6 "action news." >> thank you. >>> governor tom wolf talked about plans for pennsylvania's energy future with industry leaders today wolf addressed the leader of the center and believed that the commonwealth has the resources and manpower to become an energy hub, his goal is to attract more engineers to the commonwealth a bill proposed today would change the way pennsylvanians registered to vote, state senator vincent hughes unveiled the legislation at the center have you the option to register to vote. under the proposal. people would automatically be registered to vote with a chance to opt out. coming up on "action news" tonight. meet the septa driver that is transporting passengers around philadelphia for nearly five decades and the villanova and lafayette basketball are bound for pittsburgh their sendoff rallies are ahead. >>> after temperatures in the 60s earlier today cold air is rushing in and this storm system over texas will likely bring snow to the region on friday. i'll have details in the accuweather forec

i am vernon odom, channel 6 "action news." >> if you have not checked your tickets yet, here is a look at the winning numbers, 4, 8, 19, 27, 34 and the power ball 10. >>> charles ramsey is taking on a new opportunities and heading to drexel university as the first distinctished visiting fellow, and he will work with criminology and justice studies department, earlier this week he began working as a consultant for the police department in wilmington delaware. >>> a judge is requiring bill cosby to be present at a hearing next month as they look to disqualify kevin steel in the sex assault case against bill cosby. >> that he had a deal with former d.a. bruce caster that he would never be prosecuted for the alleged sexual assault against andrea constand. steel says there is no evidence that any such deal exists. >>> coming up on "action news" tonight, a philadelphia charter school is celebrating a high mark on a recent progress report, and school officials are sharing how they have become an academic success, ducis rogers back with the options still open for the eagles to fill their head

vernon odom is live in manayunk. he was last seenert thursday there. vernon whaseen -- earlythursday. >>reporter:the latest few have any idea where shane montgomery is or where he has been. his mother told me today he would have contacted her by now. he would never left her in this state of horrific fear and worry. he would have contacted her, "if he could." they posted shane montgomery's picture and the $25,000 reward money that is out here on digitized billboards across the region. he was missing since thanksgiving. he was last seen leaving in manayunk bar at 2:00 in the morning. >> the timeline shows him leaving the bar at a certain point and being on main street. at that point the trail goes cold. >> a ping from his cell phone was picked up from the cvs pharmacy. it was left an hour after he vanished. there was a new reward total standing at $25,000. the pub put up $10,000 on top of the 15,000 already there from the family and the f.o.p. >> i have a strong and resilient mother that raised us to be hopeful and prayerful and faithful. that is what i

. >> vernon odom is live now. the carnage in charleston obviously strikes very close to home, strikes at the soul of the members of mother bethel. >> reporter: very much so jim, mother bethel inspired the creation of ema in charleston, many people here new reverend pinckney but first we hear from the cousin of reverend pinckney who lives here in the metro area. >> he was always trying to fine a common ground among people. he is the cousin of the slain reverend pinckney and just visited with him two weeks ago on a trip to south carolina. he was the paster of the historic black church and was a senator. he talked about his cousin's humanity. >> i would imagine that when this guy walked in he was the first person to it welcome him into the church and then if there was a sense of concern he would be the first one to try to defuse the situation. >> mother bethel ame church was spawned in the 1930s, he knew reverend pinckney well sfwh i have known him as least the last nine or ten years just a great person state senator

vernon odom explains. >> reporter: city works late today trying to catch up on curb side pickups, in many cases residents are taking it in stride. >> what are you going to do? >> reporter: the reason for the delay is the impact the last several winters have been brutal on the trash trucks that are outfitted with snowplows to fight the storms. now nearly 10% of the fleet 38 in all sit in this lot waiting for major repairs or to be scrapped entirely. >> these vehicles are used for snow removal and trash collection and they are used year round the streets department want them to keep placing their trash on the regular scheduled days but the delays could last for weeks garbage not picked up on the regular day it will be picked up the next day. >> one city worker tells me that delays are getting mixed reactions. >> some are appreciative that we are out here still getting up. >> and others say -- >> others you know, they think we are just milking the clock but we don't really have the equipment. >> at least a dozen new vehicles are due to the city this summer beyond that 40 more are set to

vernon odom is live now at the marriott hotel that may sell out because of the eagles. >> there is lots of eagle green spirit flying aroun this town this weekend. and lots of green back dollar flying around propelled by the spirit of eagle green ♪♪ ♪♪ saturday night this was the raucous scene at the oldest ale house here since 1860 rocking this 158-year-old building. >> jumping and screaming and hollering and yelling and dancing. >> a rollicking crowd night. t >> tme a of destiny. mcgillins with a hallowed irish tradition we are serving green beer for a none st. patrick's day event. >> first time in the history. >> first time serving eagles or an eagles game. >> and local hotels january is normally the slowest move the year. this weekend is a mild jackpot. >> we had the united soccer coaches in town that is about 12,000 attendees and that along with the game a 20% increase in occupancy for saturday and 14% for sunday night and those numbers will only go up. >> so jhe eag soar this weekend so too will the local economy. i'm vernon odom channel 6 "action news" in center city. >>> there wa

live in police headquarters in coatesville, i'm vernon odom, channel 6 "action news." >> thank you. >>> some homeowners are dealing with powerful damage from overnight storms. the foundation of this gloucester township home collapsed in the midst of a downpour. it brought down a large section of the basement wall a few feet from where the resident was sleeping. no injuries at that home on beverly drive. >>> a business has been robbed at gun point twice in two weeks. one on august 3rd. a man walked in green deli and then three men came in the store and they took the man's gun. >> on a happier note the chance to win 700 million dollars has the chance to win. just $2. they were selling 8300 power ball tickets today as of mid-day. despite the long odds local reads are dreaming big. >> i would just be gone, i would travel and disney world. >> if we won, well lets see the education would be covered for the dead kids and that is probably the most important thing maybe a beach house who knows. >> or a few good luck. >>> coming up on "action news" tonight. the thunder over the boardwalk is bac

vernon odom was there. >> can you call this ground breaking ceremony a divine moment, the official kickoff of the redevelopment of the historic divine lorraine hotel, abandoned since 1999, it's an eye sore and they see the potential for a new lease on life, they are getting $40 million in state and local funding to make the deal. >> it has a mystique and spirit unlike any other project i have ever seen. >> the lorraine hotel was completed in the 1884 and after world war ii it was purchased by father divine, he declared himself god all mighty right here on earth. the mandates made it good for working class folks, the mayor says that the new divine lorraine will feature more than 100 high end partmentses and 24,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. a dramatic rebirth cht board street corridor. >> a tipping points of north broad street and here in north philadelphia with street improvements and the additional developments to follow, north broad will rival south broad. >> this building is an organism and alive and has a heartbeat and maybe it was hibernating for 15 years but we'll tu

vernon odom is live at the scene of the hit and run. >>. >> reporter: police say they have no firm leads yet michael toner is a well known actor here in philadelphia and new york especially for his portrayals of irish and irish american characters, he remains in critical condition unable so far to tell police what happened on market east. this is veteran stage actor michael toner well known and there is great concern about him. on the 1100 block in a driving rain storm he is the victim of a hit and run driver that remains at large they say he was crossing market when he was hit by a vehicle and his injuries so severe doctors had to amputate his right leg. where we found him was halfway -- toner say vietnam veteran, this is video of him performing in a play in 1991. the subject was war veterans. toner was slated to begin rehearsals at the walnut street theater of a eugene o'neil play. for now police are looking for the motorist that left him in the street failing to give assist an to a severely injured person. >> and it was raining at 1:00 in the morning probably did not have time to stop

vernon odom, channel 6 "action news." >>> nearly a month after suffering a heart attack in texas. tom ridge returned to his home in maryland. the former u.s. homeland security secretary and pennsylvania governor was released from a rehabilitation center yesterday. the 72-year-old was attending a conference in austin texas when he fell ill. the spokesman says that ridge thanks his well-wishers and the medical professionals that helped him recover. and a new museum opened in chester county today and the valley forge center in phoenixville houses the museum of girl scout history. visitors can see the organizations oldest artifacts and displays dedicated to the scouts courage and confidence and character building activi activities. the opening celebration of this museum is part of the scouts 100th anniversary year celebration. >>> the lights and sirens were blaring outside of wal-mart in quakertown as they escorted santa claus to town and tonight dozens of local students are shopping with officers from the quakertown and rich land police departments. >> each child has a chance to brow

vernon odom, channel 6 "action news." >> thank you vernon we urge you to stay with "action news" and 6abc.com the night for updates on this story. if you live in the immediate philadelphia area, the snow is either going or gone accuweather hit this one accurately it's region has been hit with between 5 and 10 inches with the official city measurement on the low side of that range but the roads have been and are still treacherous please be careful. for young people like these guys in doylestown it's a day off from school and a day spent on the hills. at least somebody was enjoying it. so here is the full story of our early march blast of winter weather, whatever the final sattistics, we'll find out in a moment, this seems like our biggest snow storm of the winter by far lets get to double scan radar and meteorologist, cecily tynan. >> stormtracker 6 live double scan showing that the snow has shut off in philadelphia all areas north and west and another round of flurries that could move in later on but shouldn't provide any additional accumulation, we have a light to moderate snow acro

live in west oak lane, vernon odom, channel 6 "action news." >> thank you. you can fine details about the memorial fund and funeral arrangements for joyce craig-lewis at 6abc.com. we posted tributes from fellow firefighters and police officials. >>> cleanup is underway on german town avenue in kensington, philadelphia, a 20 inch water main broke sending a muddy mess on to the street and it dates back to the 19th century. characters are working to repair small mains in the area and the philadelphia water department says that the age of this main was likely the culprit. the wilmington mayor's office is balking at an article calling the city murder town usa. it's obviously not the kind of publicity that the city wants. the mayor insists that the article misrepresents the city. >> that is right, the article is loaded with facts and figures focusing on the violent crime rate with a population of just more than 70,000 people and coupled with the fact that the police department just put together a homicide unit but the article does not say that wilmington is the mo

vernon odom channel 6 "action news." >>> the united states embarrass to the u.n. will address graduates at the university of pennsylvania's 259th commencement. samantha power will speak on may 19th and power won the pulitzer prize in 2003 about america's response to genocide. he served as -- and holds degrees from yale and har verdict. >>> latest on eagles safety on nate allen. here is ducis rogers. >> nate allen spent four hours in a holding cell in ft. myers, florida, they are investigating that he performed a lewd act inside of his truck in front of a 16-year-old girl. he vehemently denies the alligation and the police put out a statement saying they are working with district attorney for a case review, yesterday's events left him shaking. >> i'm not even worried about football, that is here tomorrow it's the fact that i have an accusation that something as repulsive as that, that these women, a girl, women or whatever would call and easy it is to make a phone call and a false accusation and to have somebody's life change just like that. >> more of that intervi

i'm vernon odom, channel 6 "action news" in eddiestone, delaware county. >>> gun violence in philadelphia has risen to the level of a public health crisis. councilman johnson gathered are naacp leaders and mothers of homicide victims to address it's issue and plans to introduce gun legislation to fight it. >>> and republicans think they have the votes they need to finally repeal and replace president obama's affordable care act. the graham grassley bill was introduced. and this is what the gop wanted all along. >> republicans in washington don't like medicaid they want to get rid of medicaid eventually the first thing they get rid of is medicaid expanse and casey says it underminds it's spirit of bipartisan cooperation in congress. >> and another tech company is moving into philadelphia. freedom pay opened new headquarters in center city at the fmc tower. mayor jim kenney praised the company for bringing well paid jobs to philadelphia. >>> still to come tonight special honors for a woman that dedicates her life to fighting addiction. >> a local veteran receives a medal all the way from fr

i'm vernon odom, channel 6 "action news." >> one day after his win in the west virginia primary, bernie sanders is campaigning today in montana. sanders picked up 18 delegates last night but obviously he has a long way to go and a steep mountain to climb. he has to win 66% of the remaining delegates. to close the deficit with clinton. donald trump set to meet this man paul ryan tomorrow, he down played the meeting today it's just a chance to get to know one another. chris christie, all the talk there or much of it about the visibility role he has taken with the trump team and on a short team for trump's running mate. >> to be on the short list, is an honor to be considered for that position, but i was on mitt romney's short list and came up short. we'll see what happens. >> earlier this week trump tapped christie to lead the transition team should trump win the white house. >>> and now they are looking to recruit teachers for the next school year. a meet and greet was held in spring garden and perspective teachers met with principals and school leaders including superintendant hite. the

vernon odom is live now. you can say if this passes it will alter the gun rights landscape across america? >> reporter: good evening jim. and if you believe philadelphia police commissioner ross and the attorney general of the commonwealth it makes the alterations far more worse for law enforcement across the country. >> philadelphia's police commissioner and the pennsylvania attorney general called on congress today to quote, think deeper about a gun bill they may be about to pass and they are blasting the pleasure of hr 38 allowing a person to carry a concealed weapon in every state, in other words if you have a gun permit from mississippi you can drive into new jersey or any other state and keep on carrying your concealed weapon. no more questions allowed by law enforcement. >> particularly in philadelphia, we have close to 40,000 people with mer pits to carry. and like i said they are not an issue for us. but we certainly don't need a whole lot more people coming through with permits that we were not able