Says matthew wanted to become a Police Officer and attended police camp over the summer. Neighbors say he was a delightful kid. Shock just shocked. Couldnt have happened at a worse time. Kids are off from school end jog their enjoying their holiday break. Just tragic. Reporter matthew was a fifth grader at ritter at that time larry school. The kids are on break but brief counselors will be available wednesday morning from 9 00 until 11 30. Live in franklinville david henry channel6 action news. Alicia. David thank you. This afternoon we know the names of the two People Killed in a row home fire in reading. 87yearold Pedro Morales and 88yearold miriam vega were can killed inside their home on spruce street last night. Crews found them in the first floor bedroom which is where investigators think the fire started. The fire marshal is still trying to figure out what caused the flames but does not suspect anyone set it on purpose. John rawlins has been speaking with family members and hell have a live report at 5 00. Police in bensalem identified the man who was shot in the middle of a crime spree at an apartment complex last night. They say 21yearold angel medero got on a womans deck performed a lewd act then broke in through a sliding glass door. Police say he then broke into a second apartment and attacked two people but someone who lived there got a gun out and shot him twice. They held him until police got there. Hes now listed in Critical Condition and will face burglary and Assault Charges if he recovers. Philadelphia police got a very public pat on the back today. State rep held a News Conference to give thanks and support to officers he say are doing their jobs the right way every day. Thomas said recent events in new york, ferguson and elsewhere are not representative of the officers here who put their lives on the line every day. He did though take the opportunity to call for what he dubbed sensible reforms to police policies. A Philadelphia Charter School is preparing to close for good this week and parents are scrambling to find other places to send their children. Parents, teachers and staff received notice that the Walter PalmerCharter School will shut down this wednesday december 31st. The School District of philadelphia had already shuttered the high school. Palmer was trying to keep the lower school opened but the board of trustees voted to close it. Well, it is a sunny and mostly warm monday afternoon as we get a first check of the accuweather forecast. Round out this year. Lets go outside to meteorologist cecily tynan in for adam joseph. Last few days of 2014. Brian and alicia temperatures are beginning to stepdown as we get closer to the new year coming off a very mild weekend. Temperatures this weekend were soaring up into the 50s, a high in philadelphia, take a look on saturday reached 57 degrees with the sunshine. Sunday we saw the clouds and the drizzle 56. Today were back in the sunshine with light winds. It is cooler, 45 degrees so far but still thats 4 degrees above normal and actually feels pretty nice with the sunshine. Right now in philadelphia its 45 degrees. In allentown its 41. Reading 43. Wilmington 44. Millville 42. And the boardwalk in Atlantic City 42 degrees. Satellite6 along with action radar showing theres more Sunshine North of philadelphia and theres more clouds to the south. That front that slipped through last night that brought us some showers has stalled off the virginia coast and thats whats bringing all the cluck to south jersey and delaware. That will really be the trend tonight. Clear skies north of philadelphia. More clouds down to the south and temperatures will begin to cool off as we head toward the end of 2014 and your day planner tonight showing that temperatures will be kind of slow to cool as we head through the evening hours. By taking a look all right day planner, 9 oclock it will be 40 degrees and temperatures dropping down into the 30s. Ill have all the details including a look at the first day of 2015 coming up in the full accuweather forecast. Brian. All right, right around the corner cecily. Thank you. Had you asked them a few weeks ago the eagles would have gladly told you they would be getting ready for a playoff game today. Instead, you know it, they had a task that was rather tough to swallow. Players showed up at the novacare complex this morning in south philadelphia to clean out their lockers. They finished the season yesterday with a win over the new york giants but their 10 and six record not good enough to make the playoffs. Chip kelly held a News Conference this morning saying he wont make any quick decisions about the future of this squad. Time is on everybodys side here. We dont have to make any decisions today. You dont have to make any decisions until you get close to free agency in terms of how we want to start to shape the roster for 2015. I think weve got a real good process in terms of how that works and i dont think theres no reason to be hasty in any decision. Of course a year without a playoff game is especially tough for eagles fans. After the strong start the team got off to, action News ReporterKatherine Scott has reaction from the faithful. I definitely thought they were headed to the playoffs. Reporter but the eagles season ended yesterday and their hopes for a playoff spot died a week before that. So what happened . Ugh. Reporter eagles fans deflated when trying to piece it all together. A mere month ago some were convinced the playoffs were in the teams future and maybe they are. Just not this year. Basically i think we need a whole new secondary. They were the worst in the league this year, terrible, too many big plays. Nick foles shoulders gave away the ball and why didnt they play like they did yesterday for the last four weeks . I just dont understand that. Reporter the birds dropped three in a row before beating the giants yesterday in their final game. The win was a refreshing change of pace for fans. If they were actually watching. Some didnt see the point. It was a meaningless game. A win like that is kind of hollow when you dont make the playoffs. Reporter while there was disappointment at the season ending so early many eagles fans we spoke to believe that if the team can make the necessary adjustments this off season then next year perhaps theyll be playoff bound. Defense. Quarterbacks. They need quarterbacks. So hopefully theres somebody coming out in the draft. We have a chance next year. I think we have to tighten up our belts and do some better work. Reporter there is work to be done and dedicated eagles fans will be watching next year. Im a eagles fan from 1975. Im going to be one until the day i die. Reporter in center city, Katherine Scott, channel6 action news. Well, the philadelphia mummers are putting the final touches on their props for the new years day parade. We got a look at the fralingers string band at work today in south philadelphia. They were polishing their transformers themed costumes and getting ready to strut down broad street later this week. The parade kicks off at 10 00 a. M. On thursday. And our broadcast partner phl17 is the home of the mummers. Its the only place you can watch the parade live this new years day. If youre not heading out to the parade you can catch full coverage starting thursday morning at 8 00 and brian and i will be part of this momentous day. Gladly. Always a fun day. Love it. Still ahead here at 4 oclock today a deadly hit and run killed a man on a bicycle. Now weve learned the driver is a high Ranking Member of a church will plus a massive fire breaks out on a ferry and sets off a frantic race to rescue the passengers trapped on board at sea. Thank you cable. For the slower internet upload speeds. For making me wait longer to share my photo albums. Thank you cable, because if we never had you. We wouldnt know the incredible difference verizon fios makes. The numbers dont lie. In Customer Satisfaction studies, fios is rated 1 in Internet Speed and reliability, and hd picture quality. So join the millions who enjoy the difference fios makes. Get a fios triple play online at an amazing price guaranteed for two whole years. Plus now get 400 bonus with a two year agreement. Call the Verizon Center for customers with disabilities at 800. 974. 6006 tty v at least eight people are dead after a ferry caught fire off the coast of italy. The flames set off a massive rescue effort to reach hundreds of other passengers stuck on board. Abcs hamus mcdonald has the story. Reporter it was a race against time to save hundreds stranded aboard a burning ferry in rough seas for more than 30 hours. These are the latest pictures showing rescue teams battling high winds lifting frightened and freezing passengers off the deck of the norman atlantic. Italian officials now say everyone apart from the captain and crew have been taken off the ship including this pregnant woman and her two small children. This video filmed by a passenger on board and obtained by an Italian News Agency shows flames engulfing the ships interior as he waits outside for help. The massive fire broke out on the ships car deck before dawn on sunday. Partway through its journey from the greek port of patra to you italy. Passengers were left had you had ling on the upper decks amid rain, hail and suffocating smoke waiting to be rescued. Some are reportedly suffering hypothermia. One man died after jumping overboard. Were outside says one frantic passenger. Were very cold. The ship is full of smoke. This survivor adding that the floors started collapsing from the heat. Passengers say that as they tried to get to the life boats below deck their shoes melted because of that heat. But the first lamp group of survivors rescued by this cargo ship is now back on dry land. With the death toll rising italian prosecutors say they are already launching a formal criminal investigation into how this happened. But the good news for the passengers is that they are now well on their way to safety. Hamus mcdonald, abc news, london. Police in los angeles are looking for suspect who opened fire on officers while they were sitting in their cruiser. The officers were driving slowly through a neighborhood when someone shot at them. They returned fire. Police say they arrested one suspect and they did find rifle but theyre still looking for a second person. This attack comes after a similar ambush in new york city that killed two officers earlier this month. A bishop from the Episcopal Church of maryland was the driver in a hit and run crash that killed a bicyclist over the weekend. The diocese confirmed that heather cook was behind the wheel saturday afternoon in baltimore. The crash killed 41yearold tom palermo. The diocese says cook left the scene but did come back 20 minutes later to take responsibility for her actions. Police have not said whether or not cook will face charges. To business on a monday afternoon. It was a light day of trading. Markets mostly flat today. The dow off about 15 points. Nasdaq barely moved. The s p was up about two points other day. Well, the clock is ticking for radio shack. That Company Needs to come up with money by january 15th or its major creditors can pull the plug on long term financing that the Company Needs to survive. Radio shack needs to have about 100 million in combined cash and available credit. Right now theyve only got 63 million. Executives announced a plan last year to save money by Closing Stores but its so cash strapped that it cant follow through with that. Closing stores means paying severance packages and paying fees to get out of leases early. The company says right now it simply cannot afford to do that. Well, youre watching the end of air tran airways as we knew it. A crowd of employees gathered to celebrate the carriers final flight last night in georgia. It went from atlanta to tampa bay which is the same route the airlines very first flight took back in 1993. Southwest bought air tran back in 2011 but the two carriers ran separate operations until now and now they will operate under southwest. It is time now for the action news traffic report and a lot of people probably taking these days off. Which means hopefully light traffic out there. Matt pelman with details in the traffic center. Hey, matt. It certainly was this morning, easy on the ride this morning. This afternoon thats a bit of a different story because now everybody is awake even after they slept in and trying to get here or there and its leading to some problems. One of them here on the schuylkill expressway eastbound as you go to get on 26th street southbound to head toward the platt bridge. It was an accident. Theyre together away the last vehicle and they have the right lane blocked on the ramp from the schuylkill eastbound at 26th street southbound as they do that. This isnt causing a huge delay but this is. On 422 a garbage truck overturned and caught fire. What a mess out here in the pottstown area. All westbound lanes of 422 are blocked between Armand Hammer boulevard and 724. Speeds just in the teens as you come away from sanatoga and head towards the closure pointer so stay up on ridge pike, high street or down on 74 as alternates around the 422 westbound closure this afternoon. Also a crash in west vincent Chester County closing down 401 near Chester Springs road. Horseshoe trail gets you around that. On the pennsylvania turnpike a truck overturned on the westbound side to willow grove. Ramp is partially blocked. Speeds in the teens as you come east of Fort Washington so that is another major mess. Lets grab the ipad do the commuter report on this monday afternoon. Friends talking about the big accident on 422 westbound in the pottstown area causing huge delays, 5 Miles Per Hour approaching the closure point. A lot of people complaining about that this afternoon and well keep watching it in the next half hour alicia. Matt thank you. Were in the midst of the flu season. The cdc is trying to raise awareness. Monica malpass joins us live in the news room with the story. The cdc says nationally were at a level they consider an epidemic but that doesnt mean you should panic. In fact, most years we reach epidemic level. Coming up at 5 00 reporter and registered nurse ali gorman will show us the flu activity in our area and why doctors are expecting this years flu season to be especially bad. Plus the new year will start with some very low gas prices, thats g coming up at 5 00 well hear from one analyst who says in fact prices are going to stay low throughout the beginning of the year. We like the sound of that. Ill have those stories and much more coming up on action news in a little bit at 5 oclock. Hope to see you guys then. All right. Hope those prices stay right where we are if not lower. Up next cecily is back with a look at your new years eve forecast from accuweather. Plus the latest on the search for a plan that went missing with hundreds of people on board. What investigators are saying about the moments before the flight went out of contact. And we want to remind you to head to facebook right now and like the 6abc action News Facebook page. That will give you access to all the top stories were following, weather updates breaking news and the best and most current viral videos. You can also communicate with members of the action news team. So, well see you on facebook. Get ready for some german engineered holiday excitement. At the volkswagen signthendrive event. Right now, for practically just your signature, you could drive home for the holidays in a new volkswagen. Like the sporty, advanced new jetta and the precisely engineered passat tdi. Ah, the gift of clean diesel. For the new volkswagen on your list this year just about all you need, is a pen. Festive, isnt it . Hurry in to the sign then drive event and get a fivehundred dollar new years bonus on select new volkswagen models. Offer ends january 2nd. The action cam was at the navy yard as crews loaded the fireworks shells out of those big barges for the shows on wednesday night. Youll have two chances to see the skies light up, one at 6 00 p. M. An repeat performance of course at midnight. Both shows are free with clear views from both sides of the river. And hoping for some clear weather as well. Yeah. Time for your accuweather forecast. Cecily tynan standing by with details on whether those skies will be clear. It will be clear. It will be dry and we should have great view of the fireworks. Sky 6 behind me taking a look above the ben franklin bridge and seeing a mixture of clouds and sunshine. Sun setting at 4 44. Days getting a little longer now that we passed the beginning of winter. Temperatures still on the mild side. Philadelphia currently 45 degrees. 41 is the normal high for this time of the year. Wilmington 44. Reading 43 and allentown slightly cooler with a current temperature of 41. Atlantic city airport 42 and trenton checking in with a current temperature of 42 degrees. And this month has definitely been on the mild side especially the last seven days. Overall this month were running about 4 degrees above normal. The past week temperatures soaring more than 12 degrees above normal almost 13 degrees and we only had onetenth of an inch of snow on december. That came on december 11th and theres no snow in the immediate forecast. Satellite6 along with action radar showing we did get some rain yesterday from a front that moved through. This is now down to the south. Its still bringing some clouds mainly south of philadelphia. Well see clearing skies to the north and there is some cold air trying to make it into the nation. Bismarck, north dakota its 2 degrees, international fulls its two below, sue falls 6 degrees. That cold air will be moving down to the south and then slowly migrating to the east but as it does it will be modifying so its not going to be quite that brutal but temperatures will be dropping below normal as we ring in the new year. So future tracker showing 2 oclock tomorrow afternoon temperatures right around 40 degrees here.