Politics, Paul Wellstone told us, is about the improvement of peoples lives. I know that the work i have been able to do has improved peoples lives. I would do it all over again in a heart beat. For a decade, now, every time i would get tired or discouraged or frustrated, i would think about the people i was doing this for and would get me back up on my feet. I know the same will be true for everyone who decides to pursue a politics that is about improving peoples lives, and i hope you know that i will be fighting alongside you every step of the way. With that, mr. President , i yield the floor. And there you heard a rather emotional senator al franken announce that he will be stepping down from the senate, the twoterm democratic senator from minnesota has been plagued, of course, the last few weeks by allegations of Sexual Misconduct and inappropriately touching women. He said, in his speech, that he was shocked by the allegations. I was upset by the allegations that all women deserved to be heard and their experiences should be taken seriously, however, he went on to say that some of the allegations are not true, others i remember differently. He said he had been prepared for an Ethics Committee investigation but, thus, over the last 24 hours after the latest revelation and accusation came forward that he had inappropriately touched a woman or been accused of inappropriately touching a woman, he said he decided that there was enough pressure from orthosenators, democratic snrts along with chuck schumer, the Senate Minority leader that he would decide to step down. He was elected in 2008. He said that this was the best experience of his career and that he would fight on for the rights of all americans as a private citizen. I want to go to our nancy cordes, chief congressional correspondents on capitol hill. Nancy, you have been following this since day one. Quite an emotional speech from the senator who, up until a couple of weeks ago, believed he could still keep his job. Right, and its a big blow to the Democratic Party at large. There are a lot of long faces around here today, democrats who, though they believe that this is definitely the right thing for him to do, take no joy in it. You know, al franken is one of very few democrats in congress who can truly claim to have had a nationwide progressive profile even before he came to the senate in 2009 because of his air america radio show, and that led to him having a true ability to raise money for other lawmakers. He had a national voice. He was sought af er as a campaign surrogate, and he was even viewed as someone who could potentially run for president in 2020. So to have him fall so fast in just a matter of weeks is very disappointing to the entire party, and there were a number of democrats in the beginning. Who that perhaps he could pull through, perhaps they could wait for the results of an ethics investigation,. Who that what he had done was not the same as, say, a Harvey Weinstein or even a roy moore, and they felt that that should be made clear. However, as the number of women who accused him piled up, it became clear to them that what he was alleged to have done was disturbing in its own right and that he needed to go. He had been asked if there were any other incidents he was aware of when he gave a press conference a few weeks ago, and he said no but he couldnt say there would be none coming forward in the weeks and days ahead. He said i have used my power to be a champion of women. There has been a different picture of me painted in the last few weeks, but i know who i am. He didnt spare a moment to go on to say he was well aware of the level of irony with regard to these types of accusations leveled against the president of the United States and, of course, roy moore running for senator in alabama as well. Right, and for speaking to people close to him, he does still appear to believe that he did nothing wrong, but that in itself has been something of a disappointment to democrats, particularly Democratic Women here on capitol hill. You heard, in his speech just now, that he feels that all women should be believed, yet he doesnt seem to feel these particular women who are accusing him should be believed. He said some of them, apparently, are making it up. He said the accusations just arent true. And in other cases, he remembers what happened differently. So this could potentially have gone a different way if he were willing to acknowledge that he had at some times crossed the line, something some Democratic Women were hoping to hear from him, but he still maintains he essentially either doesnt remember doing any of this or he dimple r simply didnt do it and that is disappointing even to a number of his friends. It was a game changer yesterday when we heard from six democratic female senators spearheaded by senator gillibrand that hey, everybody step down, in their opinions. Nancy cordes, thanks to you. Now going to minneapolis, minnesota, his home state and getting reaction from jamie you those in his home state. What are you hearing on the ground . The word i keep hearing over and over again is disappointment. There are a number of people who didnt want to see him step down. He thought this was something the Republican Party had kind of pushed and they wanted him to continue on as a senator and have that Ethics Committee kind of look at things. I will tell you the state is so proud. They are people who really like being in the National Spotlight for good and this is disappointing he is resigner fog this reason. When you look at senator al frankens career, paul wel wellstone, he talked about, died in a plane crash. People were so saddened about that. That was a tragedy for the people of minnesota. Walter mondale, a former Vice President , ran to for that seat and lost to a republican. Thats when senator al franken in 2002 stepped in and lost by only 300 or there was a difference of 300 votes. Norm lost by 312 seat. He ran again in 2008 and people were proud of the work he was doing in the senate, people here in minnesota specifically. So this is a disappointing day for people here. I can tell you that, moving forward, the governor of minnesota has the opportunity to appoint someone. It sounds like, from a number of circles, ive talked to many people in politics here in minnesota who said that person will be the lieutenant governor. Her name is tina smith, widely known in both the republican and Democratic Party here in minnesota. She has worked with the governor in several years and well liked in the democratic and Republican Party here in minnesota. She did tremendous work after the i35w bridge collapse with the governor then who was a republican. So people see her as a good replacement for now but someone who may not run for the seat later on because shes so well connected. That would be two female Democratic Senators serving the state until the special election again, until next november 2018, for those who caught al franken who referred to his successor as her, he was likely talking about tina smith, the governor will likely appoint her as an interim senator. So thats it, the end to a potentially store idea career ended by sexual accusations. The accusations against al franken saying he will be resigning from his seat in the coming weeks, and there will be more on this on your local news on this cbs station and on our 24hour streaming news service cbsn and on cbs evening news with jeff glor leading the coverage of the wildfires. Cbs new york. Breaking right now at noon, senator al franken addresses the senate on capitol telling fellow lawmakers that he will step down in the coming weeks after allegations of Sexual Misconduct from at least eight women. His announcement comes one day after a majority of Democratic Senators told franken its time for him to step down. Good afternoon, im rahel solomon. Im . D idea. The lawmaker addressed his Senate Colleagues just moments ago. I am announcing that in the coming weeks i will be resigning as a member of the United States senate but this decision is not about me. Its about the people of minnesota. Its become clear that i cant both pursue the Ethics Committee process and at the same time remain an effective senator for them. I may be resigning my seat but i am not giving up my voice. I will continue to stand up for the things i believe in as a citizen and as an activist. And of course stay with Eyewitness News for continuing coverage of senator frankens resignation much more at 5 00. In other news this noon firefighters struggling for a fourth day to get an upper hand on wildfires in southern california. Theyre battling high winds low humidity while residents wait to see if their homes will be saved. Kenneth craig has has the latest from ventura. Reporter firefighters faced a wall of flames early this morning at the thomas fire in ventura county. It is the largest of four wildfires that have been devouring homes and its now threatening the city of ojai. Winds could hit 80 miles an hour today lifting the danger Rating System to unchartered territory. Today is the first time a purple rating has shown up and it indicates that any spark can and will start a fire and fires that start will be almost impossible to contain. Reporter with the fires spreading quickly authorities are issuing new evacuation orders every day. The fires have forced upwards of 200,000 people from their homes and some communities like this one in ventura, some residents are returning to find their home leveled and the home next door untouched. At least 200 homes have burned to the ground. Laura sanders has been searching for cherished belongings in the rubble of her shadow hills home. I found a whole bunch of books, looked like books and as soon as you touch it it just disintegrated. Reporter the fires are disrupting the lives of thousands of people in the los angeles area. Numerous freeways are closed and with smoke drifting for miles, dozens of schools are shut down for the rest of the week as crews fight hard to get the massive blazes under control. Kenneth craig for cbs3 Eyewitness News. Back here at home a pastor is arrested for sexually assaulting four children. The Burlington CountyProsecutor Says 74yearold harry thomas faces multiple Sexual Assault charges and charges for endangering the welfare of a child. Thomas is the pastor of Come Alive Church in medford township. The assaults occurred over a lengthy period of time. The shooting happened just after 7 00 last night on 52nd and master in west philadelphia. Police say the 17yearold victim was shot multiple times. He remains hospitalized in Critical Condition. A 19yearold man was also treated at the local hospital for a graze wound to his leg and he was released. Police have not released a motive. A crash involving three tractortrailers in bensalem backed up traffic on the pennsylvania turnpike this morning. Chopper3 over that scene in the westbound lanes just after 9 00 a. M. At least one Passenger Car was also involved. Two people were transported to local hospitals. The road was closed for a few hours but has since reopened to afternoon traffic. A tractortrailer carrying vodka overturned on woodhaven road at the ramp to i95 south early this morning. The road there was shut down while crews worked to clean up the mess but in has also since reopened to traffic. At least one person was transported to the hospital. And a driver is in Critical Condition this noon after this crash on the roosevelt boulevard just north of cottman avenue. This happened around 2 30 this morning. At left check the victim was taken into surgery. Meantime investigators are still trying to figure out if speed or alcohol were factors in this wreck. Today americans are pausing in remembrance of the 1941 attack on pearl harbor that led the United States to enter world two. On this date 76 years ago the Pearl Harbor Naval base in hawaii was bombed by japanese planes. More than 2300 Service People were killed in that assault. Nearly half were on the u. S. S. Arizona battleship which exploded and sank after being bombed the battleship new jersey in camden held a ceremony this morning honoring those lives lost on december 7th 1941. Personnel aboard the Historic Museum and memorial cast a wreath into the Delaware River to mark the somber occasion. A squadron of t6 tech and texan propeller planes. That is a fire ball crossing the sky over Hamilton Township mercer county. It was caught by the dashcam of a hamil Township Police officer early saturday morning. The American Meteor Society says the object is very bright meteor. Wow. Well, what in the world are the serious contraption is rolling in and out of the water in ocean city today . Take a look. Our ocean city weather camera caught it as it rolled from the beach to the water and then back again. For all of the space fans out there our crew cant help compare it to the at t robot from the star wars movie. Coastal research amphibious crab for short monitors coastal projects. And Eyewitness News is winging it out west as the eagles prepare for their matchup against the rams in los angeles this sunday. Eagles fans are expected to show up in force so the folks putting on the pregame show put out a casting call to make sure rams fans show up. According to project casting. Com producers are looking for l. A. s biggest nfl fans the casting call links to another page where people can request tickets and explain whether theyre rams fans or eagles fans. Our don bell winged it out west. Hes hanging out with the eagles as they get to take on the rams this sunday. Look for his live reports on Eyewitness News starting today at 5 oclock. Well be back with katies ahh. The new guy. Whoa, he looks he looks exactly like me. No. Separated at birth much . We should switch name tags, and no one would know who was who. Jamie, you seriously think you look like him . Uh, im pretty good with comparisons. Like how progressive helps people save money by comparing rates, even if were not the lowest. Even if were not the lowest. Whoa wow. I mean, the outfit helps, but pretty great. Look at us. Welcome back. You know were looking ahead to a really pleasant looking afternoon. Quite chilly but seasonably so. 38 is the current value outside right now. We do still have a noticeable breeze. Notice how its changing before your eyes live observations will do that. Well call it a brisk afternoon but at least its sunny. Theres nothing atypical about the temperatures were finding. The colder air is still working its way in. You can tell theres a westerly wind flow by tracking these very modest little bands of snow coming down. Wind currently lakes eerie and ontario. That lake effect snow has been couldnt find upstate new york. Its because of the way the wind is blowing. If it were to turn more northwesterly parts of pa would get involved. We have our own snow chances. Storm scan remains nice and clear. That we look at the wide zoom it doesnt stay that way. We have our next storm system showing signs of development. Here, yes, thats snow even across the Mexican Border there but thats what is eventually going to roll northeast. Its the track that is giving us just headaches here in the Weather Department because this storm is going to essentially clip the coast. The problem is how far inland does it go . And im telling you with every single run of the guidance, it continues to flip on some models, stay consistent in others so its at this. 1 of those things i dont feel responsible telling you exactly whats going to happen because its still a question mark. So, im going to tell it to you in terms of chances. Youve got the best shot to see snow friday night into saturday, closer to the shore cause youre closer to the storm but there is still a chance that even the shore points get totally bypassed but there is a possibility that it notches say another 45 to 50 miles inland and even philly gets in on some snowflakes. How much will we be talking . Likely modest accumulations of a coating to an inch or two but again, thats something that weve got to monitor so please stick with us am meanwhile as we take you out to a pocono camera up at Blue Mountain that is some sun glare. You cant even see up to the top of the mountain. It looks like heaven shining down on Blue Mountain here but they are going to have a pretty good weekend i think up at the mountains because the chill is there and we dont have any major storms coming through to hinder folks from taking the northeast extension up towards the poconos. Heres where we stand. Temperatures are pretty much where they should be. I think well get you a few more degrees milder than this by the height of the afternoon. That 48 is what were calling for a high. Its cold in the mountains boy and its going to stay that way right into the next few days but beyond skiing weve got other events going on. Army navy game which youll see here on cbs3 if youre not a fan of the cold. Its certainly going to be a chilly one. At kickoff at 41 degrees at best and thats pretty much where we expect to top off, low 40s if youre lucky through the majority of the afternoon for the next couple of days. So, lets take a look. Its not just friday night into saturday that we have that possibility of snow from that bypassing storm to our southeast. Even sunday arctic airy inforce. S are coming in here and thats going to allow for a few additional snowflakes to fly out there on sunday. Wouldnt stick or accumulate necessarily but it would be enough to add the wintry atmosphere and then a new storm is possible to develop into tuesday and depending on its timing it could be snow, it could be rain, it could be a mix of the two. Its just getting active out there, guys and certainly chilly for the next few days as well. tis the season. Thank you katie. Feeling like the most wonderful time of the year and cbs3 is celebrating with holiday fest. Join our kate bilo and Vittoria Woodill tomorrow as we celebrate the holidays in Chestnut Hill. The fun begins at 5 oclock. Bring a new unwrapped toy to Chestnut Hill for to your joy of sharing toy fest campaign. You can also drop them off at our studios right here 1555 hamilton street. You can also visit cbsphilly. Com toy fest for a complete list of toy drop a special shoutout to our friends at 98. 1 wogl. Theyre working to raise money for the Childrens Hospital of philadelphia today and tomorrow. I joined them this morning for their kick offof their love our kids radio shouldnt fundraiser. Theres still plenty of time to donate. To show your support call the phone bank at the number on your screen or donate online. About that time again Pantone Color institute has chosen their color of the year. Drum roll please and for 2018 the honor goes to deep purple ultraviolet. Ooh. Pantone representatives say the color evokes a Counter Culture flare originality ingenuity and visionary thinking the shade has been seen in everything from home and commercial interiors to fashion and the art world. Love it. Thats the news you need to know. For all of us here at Eyewitness News at noon, im jim donovan. And im rahel solomon for katie and all of us here thanks for watching. Eyewitness news continues at 5 00 were always online at cbsphilly. Com. Its jack hi i was just hilary [ sighs ] i cant believe i never thought about this before, just coming to you directly instead of trying to get past that gargoyle blocking your office. Jack if youre talking about gloria, i hilary prepare to be amazed and delighted by the offer that im about to make you. I bring you lights, cameras, and an actionpacked deal that you cannot refuse. Lily hey. Hey. I got your message. Whats wrong . Cane not a thing in the world. Shh, shh, shh, shh, shh, shh