Developing now on action news, Hurricane Maria closes in on puerto rico. We spoke with one local whom who is prepared to ride out the storm. Also developing, the death toll rises from a devastating earthquake in mexico. Search and recovery operations are still under way. Noplace for hate. A local college responds to a second student targeted with racist graffiti in a matter of days. Hello everyone. It is 5 31 on this wednesday, september 20th. David and karen you are up right now. If youve been missing the sunshine we get a little of that back. We do get a little back. We have issues down the shore and its all because of now Tropical Storm jose Still Producing breakers of five to 7 feet along the coast and thats still going to give you a high risk of rip currents today and some heavy surf. Dangerous for swimmers. Theres also a coastal Flood Warning until 2 oclock. High tide is between about 8 oclock and 9 oclock this morning along most of our coast and during that time we could have another round of moderate tidal flooding. Jose itself is still off our coast, getting up close to our latitude, maybe spinning a sprinkle or shower through the region today but in general its dry and were looking at a mix of clouds and sun as karen mentioned. Temperatures are pretty good this morning. 70 degrees in allentown and reading and lancaster. 70 in trenton. 71 currently in philadelphia and wilmington and we have 72degree readings in millville and cape may. As we go through the day its going to be warm. 81 degrees by noon. Your high is 84 at 3 oclock. And then by 5 oclock 82 and by 7 oclock were Still Holding at about 80 degrees for the start of the phillies game tonight. A little bit warm, breezy but overall a pretty nice day and a nice bounce back from yesterday. On the bus stop this morning, partly cloudy, mainly dry, 68 in the suburbs, 71 in center city, so pretty comfortable for the kids as they head to the bus. Karen, were going to track Hurricane Maria which is going to be just roaring through puerto rico today. Well show you whats happening with jose over the next several days and well get that big warmup for the weekend in the sevenday. All right, dave, lets hit the roads right now and get this wednesday morning started. Were looking live on the vine street expressway. Thats your westbound traffic headed towards the schuylkill. Moving nicely. It was shut down overnight for construction but we could see the lanes are opened, the ramps are opened so youre good to go. It will close again later tonight though so watch for that on the vine. Outside live on the schuylkill expressway, still seeing some cones in place in south philadelphia. No delay just yet but were here on the schuylkill at passyunk, thats eastbound track headed towards broad street. We still have crews out there. Penndot with the arrow board, just one lane getting by in this area but light volume so youre moving okay. And on the big picture we see speeds are doing great everywhere, blue route, schuylkill, i95, mostly in the 50s. No delays just yet. Yes, we have that construction in south philadelphia and also the phils play later tonight at 7 05. Weve got an accident here on the new jersey turnpike southbound past exit eight, speeds of only 34 miles an hour. The outer drive is blocked so expect some slowing here, tam. Okay, thank you, karen. Well, developing right now, powerful waves from hurricane jose took a bite out of new jersey and delaware beaches. It is now a weaker Tropical Storm but its not completely out of the picture just yet. The action cam is live right now in atlantic city. You can see the frothy top of the waves right now, still a little bit stronger because of jose and theres the chance for more minor coastal flooding as we approach high tide this morning. Now, this is the scene in North Wildwood last night. People running for cover as water crashed, boom, over the seawall. The final days of summer they will not be a total wash down the shore but look out for rip currents. It might be a good idea to go in just to your ankle if at all. Puerto rico is starting to feel the effects of Hurricane Maria. The monster storm is set to make landfall this morning, high winds are already causing the rain to fall sideways. The governor of the island nation said this could be the biggest and most catastrophic storm to strike the u. S. Territory in a century. Now, theres more video just in from san juan. The airports are closed, hundreds of shelters are filling up across the island. The hurricane has already obliterated parts of dominica thats killed one person in gad leap and of course philadelphia has a sizable Puerto Rican Community and on their minds this morning, their loved ones how are they going to fare as maria continues to rage. Action News ReporterKatherine Scott is live in our satellite center, shes been checking in with some of them and she has the latest. Good morning. Good morning, tam. Of course a lot of concern for those who remain in puerto rico. Action news spoke to a local couple, they were there visiting family, they were celebrating their wedding anniversary. They didnt realize how powerful maria was supposed to be and now theyre stranded. First time. Reporter rebecca ruiz of mayfair captured the first signs of maria on her cell phone. The hurricane hit guadalupe monday night and is churning toward puerto rico on track for arrival there today. We began putting water aside making sure that we had potable water. We just put the storm shutters up and were just waiting. Its the calm before the storm. Reporter speaking by phone from the islands southwestern town of cabo rojo ruiz explained she never before endured a hurricane let s path. Im trying to just have faith that we will be okay because i do have two daughters in philadelphia. Reporter marias strong winds and rain already battered guadalupe. The storm could be the most powerful the region has seen in decades here. Thoughts here with those who remain on the island. Reporter ortiz is visiting her friend in philadelphia but is back in touch with her family back home. I would rather be home with my family. Reporter and meanwhile the city is ramping up for its annual puerto rican day parade. Local organizations are already talking about relief efforts to help those affected by maria. Were live from the satellite center, Katherine Scott, channel6 action news. Matt. Thank you, katherine. Now to another disaster in the making. Rescue operations continue in mexico where the death toll from a powerful 7. 1 magnitude earthquake has surpassed 200 people. The quake knocked down dozens of buildings in mexico city which is 75 miles from the epicenter. Panicked people ran into the streets. Mexican president Enrique Pena Nieto visited a school. Tourists at the airport described the chaos. The whole building was shaking for like five whole minutes, people just running in every direction. This is the second major earthquake in mexico in less than two weeks. It hit just as readiness drills were being held to mark the 32nd anniversary of a magnitude 8. 0 quake in devastated mexico city. Happening today, a bucks county man convicted of sexually assaulting six girls from the same family is scheduled to learn his sentence. 52yearold lee kaplan was found guilty in june. Authorities say the girls parents had gifted their oldest daughter to kaplan. They say he had assisted the family financially when they broke with their amish faith. Investigators say kaplan fathered two children with that that under aged girl and sexually assaulted five of her sisters. The girls parents have already been sentenced to prison. Time is now 5 38 and Cabrini University is now investigating a second incident of racist graffiti on campus. The racial slur written in marker was that found on the door of another africanamerican student. Sania van reported finding similar racist graffiti on her door over the weekend. Officials held a meeting on the campus last night toed a dress the issue. It really makes us all sick to have Students ExperienceSomething Like that and so who we are, thats how we respond. Were an institution who values social justice and inclusivity and weve always been that. The schools provost says he is proud of how students have rallied around each other and responded to hate with love. The Radnor Police department is investigating the incidents along with cabrinis Public Safety division. Time now to turn to dave murphy find out what you can expect in accuweather today. Going to be a nice day even on the beach nice. Just not in the water. Thats going to be the big issue. As we take a look at storm tracker6 live double scan most of our rain from last night and yesterday is now off the coast. As tam mentioned, she saw a little moisture on the ground this morning when she walked out. Some of you did get overnight sprinkles and that stuff out to the west is pushing away from us to the west because its bouncing away from now Tropical Storm jose. As we take a look outside we are looking at a decent day today. Camera might bounce every now and then because its still a little bit breezy across the region but overall a mix of clouds and sun, breezy, warm, pretty comfortable. Your temperature right now not bad, 71 degrees and with the dewpoint barely above that 60degree threshold for humid air it feels comfortable. Winds at 13, ocean temperature 72. Futurefuture tracker6 showing yu how were going to get bands of clouds coming in off of that Tropical Storm today. A little bit of a breeze but mainly dry and well bounce back and forth between the cloud band and the breaks of sunshine. At some point today, even into the early evening, theres the chance of a light brief shower but its really not going to amount to much. Tropical storm jose over the next several days is going to be meandering off our coast. Still looks like it will be an extra tropical low Pressure Center weakening as we go into the weekend but monday at 2 00 a. M. In the morning it might still be off our coast so we are looking at a probably continued issue in the ocean waters straight through the weekend, certainly for the next several days. Nice weather on the sand but continued rough surf, dangerous rip currents. Theyre definitely an issue again today and today were going get moderate flooding during times of high tide this morning. After that its probably minor flooding the rest of the way. 72 is your temperature in philadelphia at 8 oclock today. By noon well be up to 81 and man, its going to be warm and nice this afternoon. Just a little bit humid and a high of 84. Bit of a breeze adding to the comfort factor. 82 is your high in allentown. 83 in reading. 84s up and down the i95 corridor between trenton and wilmington and upper 70s down on the beach. Dodgers and phillies tonight, pretty nice for this time of year, 80 degrees for the first pitch, 75 in the ninth inning. Hurricane maria has been downgraded to a category four but i hate to use that word to tell you the truth because this is still an extremely dangerous storm and its going to be that way all the way through san juan and the rest of puerto rico today. 155 Miles Per Hour winds. After that it looks like the storm just skirts past turks and caicos which really got slammed by irma a couple weeks ago. This will be the friday 2 00 a. M. Position right there when you see the bar. Then we see a category three on saturday, a two by the wee hours of monday morning and after that, the storm does head up more or less in our direction, although most models are keeping it off our coast. Too soon to be sure about that. Well keep our eyes on it. 84 breezy and warm today, Rosh Hashanah arriving at sundown. Its going to be nice the rest of the way as we head into that holiday. Thursday very warm and humid, 86. Look where numbers go after that. Still 84 on friday for the arrival of autumn but on saturday, 86, lots of sunshine and on sunday, yes, sure the eagles will play their homeowner and opener and its going to feel like mid summer baseball weather. We might hit 90 on sunday, maybe even monday as well. Back to 85 with sun on tuesday. An investigation is under way after police in the midwest shoot a man holding a stick. And we have video that will review your admiration for humanity and honesty. A teen does the right thing and is rewarded. Karen. I love those stories. Lets look outside in Exton Chester county. This is route 100 at sunrise boulevard where traffic is really moving nicely. Im going to give you an update on that water main break in norristown when we come right back. Welcome back. Time now to get a look at your traffic. Lets go over to karen rogers. Good morning. Were looking outside live right here and this is bucks county, i95 here at route one. The construction is clear so traffics moving better. Northbound we didnt have overnight construction. Southbound we had it and its all gone right now. So, looking pretty good. In norristown, weve got this water main break but it cleared on washington street at ford street. So, ive been warning you, you might see some delay. Not happening right now. Traffic is moving pretty good. Lets check some of our other areas here. Turnpike southbound near exit two in gloucester county, left lane is blocked until 7 oclock this morning. So, that one may cause you an issue a little later on. Its too early to see any problems at this moment. You see that green traffic flow through the area. 38 westbound approaching chapel avenue, theyve got some emergency construction here. Theyre blocking two lanes so two lanes blocked on 38. If this stays out here for your morning commute that will be an issue. Now, this construction on route 70 itself is wrapping up in about another half hour or so. Lets show you the temperatures through the region. Its 71 degrees right now in philadelphia. 70 in reading. 68 degrees currently in millville. A high of 84 today. Partly sunny skies. We are starting our warm streak. 84 now. The sevenday youre going to see a 90 on the map. Feeling like summer and loving it, matt. Indeed. Thanks karen. Developing now Oklahoma City police shot and killed a suspect who was holding a stick. The officer spotted the man last night near a vehicle believed to be involved in a hitandrun. The man was in a front yard holding a stick. Investigators say one officer fired a stun gun at the man, the other discharged his firearm. The man was pronounced dead at the scene. The officer who fired his gun is on administrative leave. The Los Angeles CountyHealth Department has declared a hepatitis a outbreak. That is a virus that affects the liver. There is no treatment for the disease but it is preventable through hygiene and vaccination. The county hopes to vaccinate 40,000 Homeless People to try to prevent the spread of hepatitis a. A teenager from california found a wallet full of cash and credit cards and didnt think twice about doing the right thing. Tyler opdike found the money when he was passing melissa vangs. Inside that wallet was 1,500 that was meant for a family shopping trip. Tyler did not take a dime and when nobody answered the vands door he held the wallet up to a camera and then left the money under the matt. I really thought about, you know, what would i want somebody to do if i was to drop my wallet and then i i thought about i thought about the house. I thought about the family that lives there. The video of opdikes good deed has now gone viral. He was later given a 150 reward. Worrying about your big. About the client dinner. You gonna wear . Hannah. Did you get that email i sent you . I need you to respond. Before you wake up. When life keeps you up. Zzzquil helps you fall asleep in less than 20 minutes. Because sleep is a beautiful thing. It is so hard being matt odonnell. It is. He put his love of the game of golf to good use. They had to twist his arm but out there he went. The charity manor raised money for bring hope home. It helps families burdened by medical bills due to a cancer diagnosis. Since 2008 bringing hope home has supported 4,000 families and its always nice to see matt out there. David and i tried to golf with him. We said we got to get out of here. Were not that good. That was jeff that who made that putt. Hes one of the many people in the tournament who lost a loved one and i bogied the hole you just saw me play. I dont know what that means but okay. [laughter] you humphrey bogarted the hole. Thats what i think of, okay. Good job you were participating with that. Lets move on. The ramp from i95 southbound to the vine street expressway. Southbound traffic there heading towards penns landing. A disabled vehicle on the left shoulder. We see penndot there assisting. Its not causing a big delay but they have set up the flares out there to try to help warn you about that one. I want to show you mass transit right now and, yup, everything on time, dave. On the big board, ive just noticed that this graphic was not changed from last night which is really my fault. This is now Tropical Storm jose. It has weakened as expected. It is off the coast close enough to dish some occasional cloud cover in and maybe a brief sprinkle or shower. The big issue show from this storm is still down the shore where we are still looking at rip currents and some moderate flooding during high tide this morning. After about 2 oclock this afternoon, that flood coastal Flood Warning finally expires. 81 degrees by noon. 84 today by 3 oclock. Away from the ocean and really even on the beach down the shore, its a decent day. 84, just a little bit humid, breezy, warm. By 7 oclock tonight we are still at 80, matt. Thank you, david. Camden is throwing its hat in the ring to try and attract an Amazon Headquarters to the city. The Camden County board of freeholders voted unanimously to work on a proposal that may include significant tax incentives. Amazon is looking for a Second Headquarters in a major city with easy access to mass transit, check and international airport, check and universities, check. Action news is looking back at the history of the ben franklin parkway. Be sure to tune in for a one hour special on the centennial, parkway 100 airs tonight at 8 00 p. M. You will learn more pout about the celebrations on the parkway all year long along with Rick Williams and cecily tynan. A Technical Glitch confuses some amazon customers who all were left to ask, what baby. Former Vice President joe biden heads to his alma mater at the university of delaware and talked about why the rising cost of college really scares him. Facing an epidemic fueled by opioid painkillers. Vanessa in honor of september being recovery month, we want you to know that recovery from addiction is possible, but you need to know the signs. They can be hard to spot social withdrawal, financial problems, irritability. Christie if you see these signs occurring together or suddenly, you may have cause for concern. The signs you spot today. Vanessa . Could save a loved one tomorrow. Christie call 844 reach nj or visit reachnj. Gov. Triple 5s on the clock. Now its 5 56. Taking a live look at the Commodore Barry bridge. 71 in degrees right now feeling summery today. Former Vice President joe biden spoke at the university of delaware, his alma mater. His top pick was the rising cost of education and the real struggle Many Americans have when it comes to paying for college. The majority of American People think their childrens lives is not going to be as high as theirs and thats about eight years old but the point is that was never the case before. The Biden InstitutePanel Discussion also focused on the opportunities and challenges in the current economy and how jobs can be created to support the middle class. The Pennsbury School district in bucks county is taking aim at opioid addiction. School Board Members unanimously passed a proposal to create a school based drug intervention program. It will increase training and add fulltime staff from a drug Treatment Facility for pennsburys Elementary Schools all the way through the high schools. The decision was about policy and personal tragedy. Members of the Johnson Family first proposed the idea to the school board. 22yearold luke johnson a Pennsbury High School graduate lost his life in june after spending time at a rehab in florida. School board president jacqueline rednors 28yearold son, josh, overdosed and died just one week ago. Its got to start with the normal everyday joe to you see something, say something. The program at Pennsbury Schools begins next week. It is now 5 57. Were following the path of Hurricane Maria as the storm bears down on puerto rico. Also hurricane jose deals a blow to local beaches. Well take a live look at the Current Conditions now that its a Tropical Storm. A starbucks customer stops a robber and now the crook wants to take the good guy to court. Action news. Delaware valleys leading news program. With matt odonnell, tamala edwards, karen rogers and meteorologist, david murphy. Good morning. Its 6 00 a. M. On this wednesday september 20th. Were following two developing stories, both of them involving major natural disasters. The first the desperate search for is your virus is under way right now in central mexico where a deadly earthquake left dozens dead and buildings heaps of concrete. Hurricane maria is ravaging the caribbean as puerto rico gets ready for a direct hit from the category five storm. A local woman is there riding out the storm. And there could be an end to the teachers strike in the methacton district with an unexpected approach by