Eagles have huge draft day; Sixers advance; Suspect in deadly Philly bar assault surrenders; Cold night ahead
THE RUNDOWN:
1. Wheeling and dealing: Eagles trade up in draft for DT Jordan Davis, add AJ Brown from Titans
PHILADELPHIA – The Philadelphia Eagles acquired wide receiver A.J. Brown from Tennessee after swapping picks with Houston to move up and select Georgia defensive tackle Jordan Davis at No. 13 in the first round of the NFL draft Thursday night.
The Eagles gave the Titans the 18th overall selection and a third-rounder (No. 101) for Brown, a 2020 Pro Bowl pick who has 185 receptions for 2,995 yards and 24 touchdowns in three seasons.
Brown gives quarterback Jalen Hurts another playmaker at receiver, joining 2021 first-round pick DeVonta Smith. The Eagles also have Quez Watkins and Jalen Reagor, a 2020 first-round pick, who hasn’t lived up to his potential.
NFL Network reported the Eagles immediately agreed to give Brown a $100 million, four-year contract with $57 million guaranteed. Brown had been very active on social media wanting a new contract, and he was recently caught on video talking with Deebo Samuel, making it clear the Titans weren’t going above $20 million a year. Brown was the 51st pick overall out of Mississippi in 2019, and he had been the best receiver drafted by the franchise since moving to Tennessee in 1997. Brown played a full season only as a rookie.
The 6-foot-6, 340-pound Davis has unique athleticism and speed for a massive athlete who can anchor the middle of the defensive line. Davis ran a 4.78 in the 40 at the combine. He’ll join six-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Fletcher Cox and Javon Hargrave on the interior line.
The Eagles moved up two spots, sending a fourth-round pick (No. 124) and two fifth-rounders (Nos. 164 and 166) to the Texans. They already shook up the first round earlier in the month, sending picks Nos. 16 and 19 and a sixth-rounder (No. 194) to the Saints for the 18th overall pick, a third-rounder (No. 101), a seventh-rounder (No. 237), a 2023 first-rounder and a 2024 second-rounder.
2. Embiid scores 33 points, 76ers finish off Raptors in Game 6
TORONTO – Joel Embiid had 33 points and 10 rebounds, James Harden added 22 points and 15 assists and the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Toronto Raptors 132-97 in Game 6 to end the first-round series Thursday night.
Philadelphia will face Miami in the second round. The top-seeded Heat beat Atlanta in five games.
Tyrese Maxey scored 25 points, going 5 for 12 from 3-point range, and Tobias Harris had 19 points and 11 rebounds, to help the 76ers finish off the Raptors with a blowout after losing the past two games.
Danny Green scored 12 points and shot 4 for 7 from 3-point range as the Sixers finished 16 for 40 from beyond the arc. The Raptors struggled from 3-point range, going 7 for 35.
3. Dog leaps from window to escape burning Berks County home
Dogs jumps from window to escape fire. ( Steinmetz Family Farms)
BERKS COUNTY – Two dogs and a cat are safe after a devastating fire left a house in ruins in Berks County Wednesday morning.
Video from eyewitness Justin Steinmetz shows smoke and flames billowing from the home around 8 a.m. Initially, flames are seen leaping from the roof.
He said he saw the fire while driving down the road to work. After banging on neighbors' doors to call 911, he tried to put out parts of the fire with a garden hose. He realized, within a few minutes, the garden hose was a poor solution, in comparison to fire hoses and he reluctantly gives up.
He can be heard in the video saying, "I hope the dog's out."
Moments later a dog was seen frantically running in the background of the yard. Officials say it was rescued out the front door.
Suddenly, another dog, could be heard crying in the video. When the man ran to the front of the house a dog was seen trying to escape through a window, but was frightened.
With the help of neighbors, the dog jumped from the window to safety. Burns and ash could be seen on the dog's back. The neighbors did their best to calm the dog. The man says the dog named "Charlie" is recovering at the hospital.
4. Bouncer sought in deadly assault outside Center City bar turns himself in, officials say
Warrant issued for bouncer in deadly assault outside Center City bar, police say
Police are searching for Kenneth Frye, a Philadelphia bouncer who is believed to have slugged 41-year-old Eric Pope who died a week later. Law enforcement sources tell FOX 29 that a third-degree murder warrant has been approved against Frye.
PHILADELPHIA - Authorities say a bouncer accused in a deadly assault outside of a Philadelphia bar has turned himself in a day after officials approved third-degree murder charges against him and issued a warrant for his arrest.
Investigators say their search for 24-year-old Kenneth Frye came to an end Thursday afternoon when he turned himself in to police. Frye was allegedly captured on surveillance camera punching 41-year-old Eric Pope outside Tabu Lounge and Sports Bar in Center City.
Police say surveillance video from Apr.16 shows Pope being escorted out of the bar around 1 a.m. for being overly intoxicated. While standing along South 12th Street, police believe Frye punched him, knocking him to the ground unconscious.
Eric Pope, 41, died after law enforcement source say he was punched by Philadelphia bar bouncer. Courtesy: Edmund Byrnes
The video shows Pope lying on the ground for a minute before the bouncers moved him to the sidewalk where he stayed for several more minutes as a crowd began to form around him.
Pope died at the hospital one week later, according to police.
5 Dog of terminally ill Philadelphia woman receives hundreds of adoption requests
PHILADELPHIA - Hundreds of people from all over the country have responded to a Philadelphia woman's dying wish.
Valerie Alexander of Old City wants to make sure that her dog, Rosie, who she’s had for five years, is taken care of before she dies.
"She’s part of my family," said Alexander. "She’s my child."
Alexander has terminal brain cancer, and she was told by her doctor that she only has weeks left to live. Now, her main concern is finding a safe and loving home for her loyal companion.
Less than 24 hours after Alexander spoke to FOX 29's Chris O'Connell about her last request, over 300 people have reached out to help Rosie. Now comes the search to find Rosie a perfect match from hundreds of interested adopters, so Alexander can find peace.
Charles Bowles, one of Alexander's close friends who has been helping in the search for Rosie's new owners says that they have learned a lot about the people who have reached out to help and once Rosie finds her new home, he wants to help the rest of the people adopt dogs, too.
"Val is the strong one. She held on and inspired people from as far as California to reach out. Now, my intention goes to finding a homeless dog for all of them, no matter what the cost," Bowles said.
6. Moderna asks FDA to approve COVID-19 vaccine for kids under 6
WASHINGTON – Moderna is seeking to be the first to offer COVID-19 vaccine for the youngest American children, as it asked the Food and Drug Administration Thursday to clear low-dose shots for babies, toddlers and preschoolers.
Frustrated families are waiting impatiently for a chance to protect the nation’s littlest kids as all around them people shed masks and other public health precautions -- even though highly contagious coronavirus mutants continue to spread. Already about three-quarters of children of all ages show signs they've been infected at some point during the pandemic.
Moderna submitted data to the Food and Drug Administration that it hopes will prove two low-dose shots can protect children younger than 6 -- although the effectiveness wasn't nearly as high in kids tested during the omicron surge as earlier in the pandemic.
Moderna said two kid doses were about 40% to 50% effective at preventing symptomatic COVID-19, not a home run but for many parents, any protection would be better than none.
That effectiveness is "less than optimal. We were hoping for better efficacy but this is a first step," said Dr. Nimmi Rajagopal of Cook County Health in Chicago. She’s anxiously awaiting vaccinations for her youngest patients and her own 3-year-old son who’s ready to enter preschool.
Now, only children ages 5 or older can be vaccinated in the U.S., using rival Pfizer’s vaccine, leaving 18 million younger tots unprotected.
7. Weather Authority: Cold Thursday night, freeze warnings for most in the region
PHILADELPHIA – Temps will be down in the 30s tonight, and many suburbs will be below freezing for a few hours. The National Weather Service has much of our area under a Freeze Warning, to give you a heads up in case you have plants outside that you'd like to cover up or bring in.
Even though the wind takes a break tonight, it's back in full force again on your Friday. We'll eventually grab highs in the low 60s in the afternoon, and, it is another super sunny day.
In fact, our sunny skies keeps rolling right through the weekend. What a welcomed change to have a stretch of sunny skies!
It'll finally be less windy on Saturday, and it's finally milder with highs near 70. We're near 70 again on Sunday.
Next week, the cloudy skies and showers are back for much of your seven-day forecast, so enjoy the sun while we got it!
8. 2 gunmen sought in deadly double shooting outside Burlington County home, police say
EDGEWATER PARK, N.J. – Authorities are searching for a pair of gunmen who they say opened fire on a parked car outside a residential home in Burlington County Wednesday night, killing a man and injuring a woman.
Investigators say 23-year-old Samuel Barrett and a 21-year-old woman were parked in the driveway of a home on the 200 block of Ivy Street around 6:30 p.m.
According to police, two gunmen wearing hooded sweatshirts and masks approached the car and opened fire.
Barrett, a Willingboro resident, suffered a fatal gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The unnamed woman was brought to a nearby hospital and is expected to survive.
In a Thursday afternoon update, authorities said the gunmen fled in separate directions after the shooting. No description of the shooters was provided.