>> ♪ >> "action news" delaware valley's leading news program with matt o'donnell, tamala edwards, karen rogers and meteorologist, david murphy. >> ♪ >> good morning. it's 4:30 now on this tuesday february 13th. >> good morning everyone. here's what we're following for you on "action news." the number of flu cases being reported across our area is exploding. >> questions are only increasing around what the white house knew and when when it comes to the spousal abuse allegations against a top aide. >> city of philadelphia has big plans today for the return of an iconic piece of art. >> but first up, let's get a check of your accuweather and traffic with meteorologist, david murphy and with karen rogers. good morning. >> was anyone else so excited about the return of sun? >> yes. >> i was like, sun, i haven't

seen it in so long. >> yeah, we were hoping we'd get sun yesterday afternoon, a lot of you did and this morning you're going to get some more once we get past sunrise. you can see that bank of cloud cover that was with us early yesterday now clearing the coast. some additional clouds may try and roll in later in the day but it's looking like a bright one. starting out colder though. 29 degrees in philadelphia. 27 currently in trenton. 25 degrees in allentown. 26 in reading. 29 in wilmington. 30 in dover and in cape may. and as we take a look, there is a little bit of a wind out there and so your wind chills are ick maaing -- make it feel like it's in the teens. 19. make sure you get the coat and extra gear. we have some flood warnings to talk about this morning. the first one in lumberton and pemberton along the rancocas creek and some of its stream tributaries. there's another along the maurice river near vineland. this is an area where some of the tributaries and stream

might be running a little bit high so just take it easy in those two areas this morning just in case there's some flooded roads. lots of sunshine, 29 degrees by 8 o'clock. still kind of cool there. we'll improve to 37 by noon and 40 at 2 o'clock. i'm expecting a high of 41 around 3 o'clock or so and you see some of the high clouds begin to streak in later in the day. 39 degrees is the high there. again sunshine on the way and those clouds really getting out of here nicely. karen, we do have a milder turn in the weather just in time for valentine's day tomorrow. >> all right, dave, good timing with that. let's take a live look outside and the check the schuylkill for you. the schuylkill was opened overnight. we've often had construction shutting it down but we've just had construction out here blocking a lane in each direction. you can still kind of see police out there and some of the cones. this is the schuylkill under 30th street westbound no overnight construction as scheduled though. eastbound should be clear in about 5 o'clock so another 30 minutes. we're live here in delaware county. this is i-95 near highland

avenue. traffic here moving pretty nicely. no big deal. we had some overnight construction that has cleared so no problems currently on i-95. and as we will switch our camera to i-95 approaching the betsy ross bridge, there we go, and you can see ahead construction blocks the left lane but no delay right now. traffic's moving pretty nicely. we're dry out there this morning. it's just cold, tam. >> okay, thank you, karen. we are suffering through one of the worst and longest flu seasons in years and the peak of the flu season could still be weeks away. jeanette reyes is live outside of jefferson university hospital with more. jeanette -- wait, what. i doing here? it got me for two weeks as well. how are you? >> reporter: i'm good p how are you. i'm like avoiding people so i don't catch it either. seems everyone is getting it. in fact the nationwide flu outbreak is among the worst on record and health officials are saying they really cannot tell or can't predict when this epidemic will end. the number of flu cases being

reported are increasingly alarming. the h3n2 strain also known as type a is that especially packing a punch this year. >> fevers, chills, a lot of coughing, sometimes even nausea, vomiting, diarrhea. >> reporter: the pennsylvania department of health is reporting 26 flu relate add deaths last week alone. since october 1st montgomery county has seen 2100 cases. the highest in the commonwealth. delaware broke a record with 995 cases reported just last week. that includes six deaths. new jersey almost doubled the number of flu cases last week with over 2000. that compares to the 4700 cases it saw the previous three weeks from one of the strains mutated. >> reporter: to help avoid getting the flu doctors suggest following a few steps including washing your hands avoiding other people if you're sick or if you have a fever or cough stay home. >> if you are around people

who have had the flu or you're worried about being contagious make sure you wipe down all surfaces, especially in places where you're working. >> reporter: and it's still recommended that you get the flu vaccine. it can help against some of those strains. as for what else you can do, plenty of hand sanitizer never hurts. reporting live from jefferson university in center city, jeanette reyes channel6 "action news." matt. >> thank you jeanette. authorities in gloucester county new jersey are investigating a crash involving a school bus. it happened at tuckahoe and glassboro roads in monroe township at 4:30 p.m. know students were on the bus. officials say injuries were reported but they have not yet revealed who was hurt. detectives in philadelphia need help in finding the three armed kidnappers who bound and burned a man in the olney section. investigators say the 34-year-old victim was driven to the 5400 block of west ford road where his torturers poured gasoline on him and set him on fire.

he survived suffering second and third degree burns to half of his body and remains in intensive care. detectives say the ordeal started late sunday night when the victim was abducted while leaving his job helping special needs residents. >> we did learn that this family member did begin to receive messages from our victim's phone from the people that abducted him demanding $10,000. now, this went on for at least five hours until at 5:42 the police were called to west ford road. >> police do not think the victim was picked at random. they have not been able to interview him. however, he did initially tell rescuers the kidnappers were driving a black audi with tinted windows. >> the american association of poison control centers says there's a scam. the call comes up as the national poison hotline. the caller aggressively sol

lifts money credit cards or personal information and sometimes identifies themself as justin. officials say real hotline staff would not do that. >> the white house declining to answer questions about a former top presidential aide. abc's. >> reporter: the woman in the photo is taking on the white house. in a washington post op-ed colbie holdnerness the ex-wife of rob porter says she was living in constant fear and left the relationship a shell of the person i was when i went into it. holderness says she was dismay whether a white house adviser explained why she's not worried about porter's current girlfriend, white house communications director hope hicks. >> i have no reason not to believe the women. in the case of hope i rarely met somebody so strong with such excellent ininstincts

loyalty and smarts. >> reporter: holderness writes back writing recognizing and surviving an abusive relationship takes strength. she's also calling out white house press secretary sara sanders. >> does he believe rob porter's accusers or is he lying. >> believe all allegations need to be investigated thoroughly. he certainly supports the victims of domestic violence above all else and believes everyone should be treated fairly and with due process. >> that doesn't answer the question. >> i'm not going to go beyond that. that's where we are right now. >> reporter: holderness expressed disappointment in that response saying while i cannot say i'm surprised i expected a woman to do better. sources tell abc news hours after the domestic abuse allegations surfaced rob porter tried to down play the incidents. he told senior staffers his ex-wife's black eye was an accident after an altercation involving a glass vase. in washington, arlette stein, channel6 "action news." >> good morning america will

have much more on the report including a report by cecilia vega at the white house. >> today is mardi gras. [speaking foreign language] >> three, two, one. >> the mayor of new orleans gave rex the king of carnivale control of the city yesterday. the city expects more than a million spectators to line the streets today waiting to catch beads thrown from the parade float. fat tuesday marks. today is foss naught day. egypt star bakery in allentown expects to fry up to 60,000 foss naughts. >> only comes one time a year before people go to fasting

feast and ash wednesday they party it up and eat their greasy foss naughts. >> traditional foss naughts are made of hard sugar and but. >> putting the fat in fat tuesday. >> a beauty star chain is facing claims that it repack catches returned -- repackages returned makeup. >> 29 degrees in philadelphia but we're going see plenty of sunshine up over the horizon soon milder air is just around the corner just in time for you valentine's. we'll have details on the seven-day forecast. >> an iconic philadelphia sculpture returns to center city with fanfare today. that's next. >> ♪

>> happening today an iconic piece of art that makes us philly proud returns just in time for valentine's day.

robert indiana's classic love sculpture makes its triumphant return to center city. crews have been cleaning and repairing it and repainting it for the last year. the statue will be part of a mini parade starting at 25th street and pennsylvania avenue at 10:00 a.m. it will make its way to love park where the sculpture will be installed onto a brand new pedestal. >> very nice. >> lovely. >> ooh. >> all right. so, going to be kind of lovely today, just a little chilly. >> it's cold right now. >> yeah, sun is coming up though in a little while. storm tracker6 live double scan shows that you we are dry. taking a look outside we have, ooh, the snow machines under way at spring mountain and, yeah, cold enough to make snow this morning and probably staying chilly enough to enjoy the slopes this afternoon if that's what you've got in your plans. right now the temperature is coat worthy. 29 degrees currently in philadelphia. winds out of the north at 12 and that's dropping that wind chill currently to 19 degrees in philadelphia. so, a little bit more

uncomfortable this morning than it was yesterday when we were milder with less wind. 29 degrees right now in philadelphia. 29 in wilmington. 25 degrees currently in allentown. 26 in reading. 27 in trenton and 29 degrees in millville. but cloud cover from yesterday really started to clear out nicely in the afternoon in a lot of spots and really is off the coast at this point so expect a lot of sunshine. eventually some of these clouds from the south may start to throw some high cloud cover into the region. that would be later this afternoon and even then it's not going to be bad. today's forecast overall, bright brisk and chilly, 29 degrees for your temperature at 8 o'clock. up to 33 just above the freezing mark at 10:00 and by noon, 37. i'm looking for a high of 41 around 3 o'clock and again later today some of those high clouds begin to streak in. by 6 o'clock we're sinking back to about 39 degrees. winds not too strong today, only about six to 12 miles per hour but when it's kicking with these chilly numbers you'll feel it a little bit. high temperature in allentown only getting up to 38 this afternoon. 39 in reading. 40 on the nose in trenton and wilmington and millville and

toms river. 41 in cape may. 42 at the boardwalk in a.c. really not much of a spread across the region with those numbers. tomorrow valentine's day, well, high pressure sets up to the south then courageous more of a southerly flow and we'll wind up milder tomorrow with a high of 52. however, we will see a fair amount of clouds through the day with perhaps some sunny breaks and then at night starting in the evening we'll start to see some rain push into the region. future tracker6 shows you that all the way up until about 8 o'clock there's a chance we stay dry across most of the region but if you have plans to go out with your special one, later in the evening we could see some showers. really any time after about 8, 9 o'clock in philadelphia i would look out for that. your exclusive accuweather 7-day forecast, well, today is chillier, 41 degrees, bright, a little on the brisk side and chilly but then tomorrow growing milder through the day, clouds, some sunny breaks and a high all the way up to 52. again in the evening some rain is possible. some of that rain will spill into thursday, an early shower can't be ruled out. otherwise it's mild, probably

fairly cloudy maybe some sunny breaks later. a mild high of 65 degrees and most of the afternoon should be dry. then on friday we got some morning showers and a high of 60 probable physical in the morning. those showers get out, colder air starts rushing in and that 60 will be a morning high with temperatures dropping probably into the 40's by dinnertime and then for the weekend 40 is your high. there will be some sun mixing with some clouds. and then sunday is now improving. we're going for sunshine as the next system looks like it's holding up a little bit. a high of 50 degrees, sunny and bright, nice, make some plans and then on monday, president's day, 57 degrees. there could be some more showers moving back in. >> okay, thank you, david. >> yeah. >> well, smoke forced 139 passengers on a southwest flight to evacuate minutes before takeoff in southern california. ground crews saw fire near the rear of the plane while it was still at the gate at john wayne airport last night. emergency supplies were deployed and everyone on the plane safely evacuated. firefighters extinguished the fire and the aircraft

auxiliary power unit. >> convicted new york bomber has a sentencing hearing. rahimi set off a small pressure cooker bomb on a new york city street and a charity race in seaside heights new jersey in september of 2016. the bombings left 31 people wounded. rahimi faces life in prison. popular beauty store ulta is accused of selling used cosmetics. a lawsuit filed in chicago says former employees were given a limit on how many returned items they could throw away. the suit claims managers put items back on store shelves and resold them so they didn't hit that quota. the lawyer says the danger comes from pathogens that can remain on products for years. ulta denies the claims in the lawsuit. >> barack obama and michelle obama presided over the

unveilings of their portraits. former president obama said artist kehinde wiley ignored his suggestions about giving him less gray hair and smaller ears. >> karen rogers up next with traffic. >> and we'll also show you the gender reveal announcement that only a firefighter could pull off. that's next. >> ♪ disinfectant spray. it kills 99.99% of bacteria, and there's no rinse required. time to come clean with seventh generation. #comeclean

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>> ♪ >> good morning, everybody. how you doing today? it's tuesday. tam was just saying tuesday is the hardest day. we were arguing between monday and tuesday. i'm going to go with tam on this one. this is 422 at 23. both lanes opened both directions. just out of view the ramp from 422 eastbound to 23 closed yesterday. i had warned you about that one and it's going to last until late summer -- i almost said september. summer. you have yet more construction around 422, right, more to deal with. in coatesville we have an accident, sounds like a serious one on 340 that's kings highway at moore road. watch for crews coming to the scene in chester county with this accident happening right now. it's not our only one. we have an accident also on route 41, that's gap newport pike. this is new right at limekiln road. look for that to be a problem. fire location right now on

pilgrim road at callahan road. this is new castle delaware. so watch out for crews on the scene. you could stick to lambson lane as your alternate for that one. >> thank you, karen. now time to do that first look at business. the major stock indices started off the week strong the dow jones gained 410 points yesterday a little bit of calm after last week was filled with those wild swings. the dow's two day gain drew the best since 2015 but it still remains down from its all time high. the s & p gained 36. this morning futures do seem to be pointing to a lower open. delta is looking a little bit to the fashion run ways when it comes to its new uniforms. airline employees will now don the new zach posen designed uniforms starting in may. you might be wonder what does zach posen know about airline uniforms. he served peanuts worked at terminal gates and even scanned passengers. >> musikfest is welcoming

grammy winner jason mraz. tickets for the august 12th concert go on sell to the general public on friday at 10:00 a.m. the 35th edition of musikfest runs from august 3rd to the 12th in bethlehem. more headliner announcements coming soon. a firefighter in decatur georgia revealed the gender of his baby in this creative way. he and his wife embraced as they held a fire hose and bright pink water shot into the airy vealing that, yes, they are expecting a baby girl. >> that's different. >> yes, indeed it is. >> it is 4:53 and crows are making a mess in new jersey's capitol city. coming up at 5:00 federal wildlife officials are setting a plan in motion today to try to get rid of the messy birds. >> your child school lunch is going greener. up next how a simple change in philadelphia's cafeterias will send less waste to landfills. >> ♪

>> the school district of philadelphia is drastically changing the way lunch is delivered to your children. schools are doing away with styrofoam serving trays. officials announce they will begin rolling out the use of compostable round plates in an effort to better the environment. the district also plans a pilot program among its high schools to compost the plates. school officials say the new change means 284,000 less items in the landfills each month. >> the top dogs in their breed

group compete for best in show at the westminster kennel club dog show. judging began yesterday at madison square garden and so far a border collie pug bichon frise have all of earned a place in the best in show ring. sporting working and terrier groups compete today ahead of the best in show event. >> i think they're all beautiful. it's 4:57. patients battling the flu are packing into local emergency rooms and urgent cares. how tech is being used to stop the spread of the disease. >> it took firefighters hours to battle fierce flames engulfing a row home in trenton. >> excitement is growing for marvel's latest film "black panther." the movie is already being called a success. we're talking about it in the morning buzz.

(clucking noises) everyone wants to be the cadbury bunny

because only he brings delicious cadbury creme eggs. while others may keep trying, nobunny knows easter better than cadbury.

>> ♪ >> "action news." delaware valley's leading news program with matt o'donnell, tamala edwards, karen rogers and meteorologist, david murphy. >> ♪ >> good morning. it's 5:00 a.m. on this tuesday, february 13th. here's what we're following. >> the flu epidemic is still spreading across our area and fast. and at least one hospital is using technology to try to stop it. >> the super bowl celebrations for the philadelphia eagles provided a huge boost to the city. we'll tell about the good news for our bottom line. >> get ready for a rollercoaster ride of temperatures this week. we are timing out when temperatures return to the 60's. >> like that. let's hear more about that dave murphy and karen rogers has your traffic. >> you know, we've talked a lot about the milder conditions coming so people forget today is cold. >> really. >> at least the morning. you'll remember when you step outside. >> you will and it stays kind of chilly this afternoon. good point actually. you can see that the cloud